SHOP HOP ATLANTA

SHOP HOP ATLANTA

SEP 28- OCT 6

Hello Blog,

Recently a friend and I participated in Shop Hop Atlanta, A Yarn Crawl of nine shops in the Atlanta Georgia Area.  Over the next week or so I will be sharing with you some photos from the hop.

In addition to the fun of spending a whole day buying yarn, the shop hop was a great opportunity to get out there and see what variety the yarn stores in Atlanta had to offer. Since we lived a good 2 ½ hours away, we probably never would have felt the need to visit any of these lovely stores without the shop hop incentive. Now that we’ve seen all of the nice stuff  they have in stock, we wont be able to resist going back.

As if that wasn’t enough, there is a competitive side to the shop hop too. Prizes! Each shop gave away a free knitting pattern, and spending $10 earned you  a stamp on the Shop Hop Passport and an entry in a prize drawing – each shop has 3 prizes up for drawing.  In addition, people who get all nine stamps will be entered to win the grand prize : $900 in gift certificates, $100 from each store!

Here’s what our trunk looked like after one shop, tune in next time to find out what happened!

FIBERFEST FUN!!!

Hey Everyone! How are you?  I'm good, still recovering from all the wool fumes from Sunday!

My newest Vlog Episode is live; In it I talk all about the festival and my plans for Nerd Wars in October. Check it out!
If you don't want to listen, no big, I'll hit the important highlights here:

Amanda and I went to the Georgia Alpaca FiberFest on Sunday. It was Awesome.

First there was the completely worth it 1 hour detour for Pumpkin Spice Lattes. 

Everyone at the festival was super friendly and eager to teach new skills. We got to try weaving for the first time. Can you say hooked? 

My humble little stash from the event. A few ounces of silk and alpaca. I CAN'T WAIT to start spinning it!!

WIP Yarn Crawl

Hello everyone,

You know what I love? I love being woken up at 5:30 in the morning, because your insurance company wants to sell you stuff, and doesn't realize you are on vacation on the opposite coast. Grr!  Oh well, since I can't get back to sleep, I guess I'll write a blog post!

as far as WIPs go, I've been knitting on the Crooked Cathedral monogamously all week. And when I say that I really do mean totally, completely, monogamously. The other three projects I brought with me have not even been unpacked from the suitcase. I'm loving everything about this pattern, and with only 10 more rows to go, I'm kinda hoping I can finish in time to wear on the 4th. (Tomorrow). Aaron had a fever all day yesterday, so I'll probably get to sit around the house and knit all day today, in the hopes that he gets better in time for the 4th. It's going to be a very big day.

Yesterday, Grandma and I did a little yarn crawl. We went to two yarn stores and I got 5 skeins of yarn ^__^

The first store was a pleasant, tiny little place that was actually a cross stitch and needle point store that has recently branched out into the knitting world. I got a skein of Malabrigo sock in the pocion colorway, and this delicious 50% silk lace weight. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it is pretty!

The second store was slightly bigger. They had an antique wheel on display in the window, and a little lady bug wheel on display inside. I got three skeins of this vintage yarn. (it's got acrylic in it o.0;;  ) And  I'm not sure how I feel about the purchase. I really wanted a purple fingering weight to knit a very specific project with, but neither store had any purple fingering weight that was a solid color, so I got this DK weight instead. I know  that doesn't make sense, I know I should have just waited, maybe bought the appropriate yarn on-line instead, but for some reason I was determined. I like heavier weight shawls anyway, so maybe I will go ahead and knit it this way.....or maybe not. I don't know. So torn.  Either way, I didn't bring any other needles with me, so I can't cast on anything new until I get home.

If you enjoy reading about WIPs, check out Tami's for more!

Random Tuesday

Hello everyone, 

It's kinda rainy and dark out this afternoon, but I thought I'd pop in for a brief update. It's been awhile since I've checked my mail, since all I have is a PO Box right now, so I stopped at the post office today and sure enough : 






The first packet is my 2nd braid from Willow Mist Acres Braid Bonanza club, the second is a solicitation for a knitting magazine subscription. I included it in this photo because I was just so tickled pink to be getting yarn junk-mail. Just finding an envelope with the words "Love of knitting" on them put a big grin on my face. I'm not really big on knitting magazines though, so I'm not really familiar with love of knitting at all, and had to google it when I got home to see what it was all about. 
Anyway, enough talk, I'm sure you want to see what the fiber looks like :





Once again, I love the colors!!!!  Especially the orange and the teal! ZOMG ^^;;
For refference, here is my current progress with the first braid :

The first braid was 5.2 oz (there was a bit extra thrown in ) The second one is 4 oz.

Christmas Yarn Part I

Dear blog,

One of the most exciting times of the year, Christmas, is upon us. Or, I should say, was. I'm feeling pretty good about the fibrey part of this year's Holiday celebrations. Starting with a short little field trip to Fibre Space.
 My BFF and knitting co-conspirator Jeanne, planned for and financed the whole trip, and we ended up making a day of it. Commuting by Metro and walking five blocks in (sort of ) snowy weather definitely got us into the Christmas/yarn shopping mood. But first we ate at my favorite burger joint : Five Guys.  You can sit inside and stare at the yarn store as you eat, as I did.






Inside, Fibre Space is pretty awesome. There are two couches for sitting/purse storage. Yarns are organized by weight, the shelves are labeled with estimated cost per X yardage (to help those who want an idea how much a sweater in said yarn would cost them. ) And there were some pretty awesome locally produced and American grown yarns as well, something I always love seeing in a good Yarn Store.




They also have a freaking amazing logo and set of T-shirt and Bag designs. I think our favorite is the yarn planet + Rocket design. But I also love the Space Chick one. Couldn't resist nabbing it.



Not pictured, they also had a pretty sweet selection of fibre for hand spinning, as well as some hand-crafted drop spindles. Yummy! I resisted though, and satisfied myself with a Shawl's worth of Shelter.



Jeanne scored something Chunky in a delicious green color, also for a shawl, but in my excitement I forgot to note the brand name. Needless to say it was soft and squishy :)

Anything But Swift

Dear Blog, 

Disclaimer: Let it be known that under normal circumstances the ball winder and swift combination is a very simple, fast, and rather fun way to wind yarn. I have on numerous occasions operated this set up successfully. Some of the pictures shown in this post may cause distress to knitters. View with caution.

On black friday, I may have had a slight black out, after which I regained consciousness with a credit card in my hand an an inexplicable invoice in my inbox. I'd feel a little guilty this close to the holiday season, but its not my fault. A good friend, (you know who you are), told me about the sale at eatsleepknit, and I got 25% off my order. Also, I only ordered yarn that 1.) I'd been planning to buy any way or 2) is for knitting for other people. I might blog about the total haul later, but of importance today are the two skeins of Shibui Sock. They are intended to be socks for my boyfriend, so there is no guilt in this yarn purchase. He has alternately been asking for either socks or a sweater for awhile and he's already been told he won't be getting a sweater. (yet.) He has also passed another crucial landmark. I prefer to only oblige hand-knit request if the person has

1.) given a fair attempt at knitting

2.) does some other kind of craft.

3.) has witnessed me knitting for a considerable amount of time and is thus able to appreciate the effort involved. 

This helps me stay friends with co-workers who often thoughtlessly ask for knitted items without really being aware of the level of commitment they are requesting. (Try knitting something for someone who has completely forgotten ever asking for the item by the time its done. So fun. ) 

All this to say that I pulled out my ball winder and swift, intending to quickly wind up some yarn before bed. And this is what happened.

,

There isn't a whole lot of space in my tiny barracks room for the swift, and I was also having unusual trouble getting the yarn to wind off smoothly. One jerk too many too hard, and the whole thing came crashing to the floor.

The little peg that goes through the center of the swift snapped in half and is now unusable.

I don't think the yarn was tangled in the actual fall, but in my delirium I picked it up and, trying not to weep, horribly mangled it. It took the better part of four hours to wind into a ball.

I eventually had to put it down and go to bed. But I was so upset that I couldn't sleep well. I knew I couldn't go to work until it was fixed. I wound the ball into a very loose messy looking yarn-cake. (doesn't work right without the swift. But I was determined to try.)  Then Aaron held the swift steady so that I could wind the second ball. It was still a little stubborn and I'm wondering if maybe I'm unwinding the skeins and putting them on wrong? 

Just to be on the safe side I also wound the skein of Tanis Blue Lable Fingering, and it worked fine. (mostly.) So it's still inconclusive as to if it was me or the yarn at fault. At that point I was using a pencil to replace the peg, and the wobbling meant the swift kept traveling across the desk.

Anyway. I've licked my wounds and am recovering from the trauma. Very little knitting got done today.

Multiknitter

Dear Blog, 

Experts tell us that multitasking reduces our productivity. For some of us, that just sounds like common sense, but for others, we know it's just silly.

Knitters know that when their project is going slowly, one of the best ways to speed things up (barring an all-day TV marathon ), is to start another project. We don't really know why. Maybe the project you were working on was boring, and you just needed some space from it? Maybe you made a mistake and needed a confidence booster before going back and fixing it. Maybe knitting cables on size 1 DPNS isn't something you should do exclusively for two months straight. Whatever the reason, we can feel confidant that rather than detracting from our progress, starting something new can improve it.

When you hit a dead end, it's OK to back track and go around the problem. Forward motion is always better than standing still doing nothing.

Until Next

Cheers!

Small Haul

Hey blog!

We know the posts have a been a bit thin lately. Don't worry! I've been knitting hard on the blanket, and now that it's nearly done I expect a bit more momentum here. Which reminds me, with the blanket's eminent FO-dom, I've been thinking allot about what my next project will be (and I haven't forgotten the other WIPS, either. ) Here's a small taste of what to expect in the future :

Got these at a Joann's (nearest one is 45 minutes from where I live. Yeah. )

Since the stop over was unplanned, I wasn't prepared to buy buttons for my sweater. Had no idea what size or color to get, so I grabbed these kinda randomly. We'll see if they work out or not this weekend ^^;;

Until Next

Cheers

FO : Rose Hat

The Rosebud hat was my guilty pleasure knit during Christmas break. I knit it with SHELTER, and it was amazing to work with ^^;; I like hat patterns because they are quick no muss-no-fuss projects on circular needles. It's pretty hard to mess them up, and when you do, it's pretty easy to fix. Also, you can never have too many hats!

And I have to say, I'm in love with SHELTER. It's got this intoxicating crunchiness that I just love. I wont say that it's soft - and some people have told me it feels like steal wool- But I really like the feel of it and enjoyed knitting it up. I probably wouldn't knit a sweater out of it, but hats and maybe a cardigan or something? Sure. I've got a second skien of this in the same color, so we'll have to see if I can cook up a matching something or other.

Pattern : Rosebud

Yarn : SHELTER color Thistle, 140 yards.

Needles: US 4, US 7

CO : December 20

BO: December 26

Xmas Stash

Dear blog,

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a good time, and got all their essential x-mass projects finished in time this year. Naturally I've been super busy visiting with my family and friends. I haven't seen any of them since January last year, so pretty much every waking moment has been spent trying to catch up. Nevertheless, knitting has still been progressing. I finished 1 whole skien on the surprise project and am about halfway done with my rosebud hat (coincidently, the first thing I've knit for myself since May.)

But thats a story for later posts. Today I want to talk about my haul.

Now, Christmas isn't about getting stuff, but I always seem to come out of the bargin with new stash, and that's not something I'm likely to complain about. Some of it I bought for myself - like the shelter I ordered a few months back - and some of it is gifts. Check it out :

First up, two skeins of brooklyn tweeds LOFT, one purple, one yellow. I've only knit a tiny little swatch, but I LOVE IT TO DEATH. It's wooly and springy and thick. It has more crunchiness and weight than other wools I've tried, and it somehow seems heavier despite being fingering weight and very fragile. Probably the only complaint about it is that it breaks if you so much as look at it the wrong way, but it's something I can definitely live with. The green on top is Classic Elite Yarns' LUSH. It's 50% angora and super squishy. It's an obnoxious spring green color that I think will be a nice change from my usual dark winter reds and blues ^__^ I'm thinking probably mittens or a smallish cowl is in this singles' future

Here's more loveliness. The Shelter is one of two skeins - I'm knitting the other up as a rosebud hat. For a yarn review, Ditto the LOFT yarn. The Manos... Never knit with it before. It's really soft and has an interesting texture that I'm dying to knit up in plain stockinette, probably with a garter boarder. The brown will probably be knit in stripes with the Manos. I've been a fan of ultra alpaca for awhile, and it can keep up with the Manos in the softness department while also being a little bit more firm and solid.

Lastly, these turbo lace circs in US1. I've heard rave reviews about these and can't wait to see how they hold up in comparisons to the knitpicks ones I've been using (supposedly they are nicer). I'm hoping to do socks and mitts and thing on them using the magic loop method.

Anyways. Thats my longish Christmas post, hopefully my next one will be an FO followed by more explicatives about gauge.

TTFN

THEO

Dream in mailbox

Dear blog,

Guess what came in the mail for me Monday morning?

This beautiful sock yarn was shipped to me from simplysockyarn and it is SOO delicious! The color is something you have to see in person to believe, and it's so soft and squishy! I can not wait to start knitting this. It's taking all of my willpower to make myself continue knitting on the sunshine shawl instead of casting on something new!

It's Dream in Color Smooshy, the colorway is Raspberry Blaze, and OMG. What a treat. It's destined to be knit up as the peacock shawl, and Boy am I looking forward to it.

Next post will be another Wishful WIP. There are so many sock patterns I want to try out that even I don't know which one I'll blog about next ^__^

Super Bulky

Dear Blog.

Remember that trip to AC Moore? The one where I went crazy and decided to start a sweater project? Well, I bought more than just sweater yarn. Two additional skeins. One, Paton's Shetland Chunky, in a very romantic shade of soft teal. The other, Lion Brand Hometown USA In a Super Bulky Charlotte Blue. I love these two skeins of yarn, and the fact that I bought them is absolute proof of my ironclad self-control. Twice, two times I went to AC Moore and petted, fawned over, and drooled on these skeins. I wanted them, Oh how I wanted them. But I knew I was on a yarn budget and supposedly working out my differences with my Swallowtail shawl. It was only on that third fateful visit that I finally bought them. If that isn't self-denial I don't know what is!

I absolutely love the color of the Patons yarn.... But the Hometown is so perfectly squishy! it makes me so happy, just squishing and squashing it. I wish I could meld the two skeins together and make one perfectly colored happy, squishy, shetland skein of pure bliss.

If I have my way, they will both become hats. One, full of cabled goodness, and the other a simple stockinette slouch with a seed stitch brim. (Yes, I love this yarn so much I'm even willing to knit seed stitch for it. That's true dedication)

I've got my hands full with other things *chough*sweaters,lace,cursedscarf*cough* but expect to see these two beauties hitting the WIP list very soon.

Cheers!

Theo

Maryland Sheep and Wool

Hello blogverse, and wow!  I've been extremely silent lately haven't I? Over the next week or so I'll try to update you on what's on the needles, today is the much belated Maryland sheep and wool post. 

So, Maryland Sheep and wool was way back in the first weekend of may. I went on sunday with my room-mate, and if you remember, it was cold and rainy that day. It was the most miserable weather, cold, wet, and MUDDY. Despite this we managed to have loads of fun looking at the sheep and all of the gorgeous stuff for sale.  Although, being an unemployed student did make the trip a little depressing. So much stuff that was just totally out of reach for me. For instance, the spinning wheels. Wow are they pretty! 

Anyways. I wont bore you with much else. Watched the shawl auction which was pretty cool, and BTW the kettle corn there was TO DIE FOR.  This is what I bought :

The candy wrapper came with the yarn. Since the yarn dyer is from Idaho she included the candy with the purchase! I thought that was a very sweet touch ^__^
The candy was.... marshmallowy dipped in chocolate. Not really my cup of tea, but not half bad either!
I love the colors in the yarn and cant wait to knit it!

Snowball's Chance Summer armwarmers

Hello Blogverse, Theo here.




My knitpicks order came in today. Two projects worth of yarn, for Hey Teach! (Guess which color I picked.) and for the Armwarmer Project.





I've already started swatching for the arm warmers, but there's a lot of anxiety. Me and math don't really mix well and in order to do this project you have to measure your arm and put in all these numbers. What if I finish it and it ends up not fitting??? Uggh. Angst.

Anyway, I'd love to start swatching for Hey Teach!, but I've got to wait for my knitting buddy to get her yarn together so. Meh. Also, went to Michaels looking for yarn for my HP scarf but the only color they had in the red heart sport weight were pink and green. Pretty but Meh.

'cheers
Theo