The fun stuff is done.

The lace shawl was fun, but now I'm back to stockinette. All stockinette, all the time. I. Can't. Stand. It.

I'm done with the body of my gray sweater, but on initial fittings it looks hideous on me so am not certain of its future. I'll probably finish it just because with the flicking and spinning there's an awful lot of time already invested in it, but it will likely never be seen on me in public. We'll see.

I had a wonderful time at the Madrona festival in Tacoma! Since the first question out of everyone's mouth is "Did you buy a lot of stuff?" I will tell you that yes, I did. No matter what your scale of "a lot" is, I bet I rank right up there. Surprisingly with my recent lace advenrues my focus was all about lace yarn. I bought a bunch of different sock yarns, but mostly it was laceweight. Here's a picture of the lace pile:

Left to right we have:
Blue Moon Fiber Arts Laci in Thraven
Malabrigo laceweight merino
Just Our Yarn cashmere
Prism laceweight
Handmaiden Sea Silk
and the two on top are Plucky Knitter merino/silk laceweight

And more yarn:

Top left are a couple colors of Kauni
Top right are Toots le Blanc's yummy rambo/angora
Left to right: Trekking dyeable sock yarn
2 Socks that Rock
Boo Fly merino/bamboo/nylon
ShiBui sock yarn
Flat socks - knit by a machine then dyed, unravel to make socks.

Roving in earth tones:

Crown Mountain Sock Hop "Under the Boardwalk"
Butternut Farm angora roving
Handmaiden merino/seasilk
Crown Mountain camel/merino
Artful Ewe's merino/silk

Roving in green tones (all Blue Moon):
Sheep to Shoe in Bruiser
Merino/Bamboo in Lunasea
Merino/silk in Thraven

And other fun stuff:

Spindles are Grafton mini-swan in laminated Hazelnut and an Ebony & Holly Spindlewood (a wonderful gift from Mr. Steve himself, OMG!)
The shawl pins were purchased at Just Our Yarn but I can't remember the guy who made them - I've bought stuff from him on eBay, darnit. Wish I could give him credit! And the glass orifice hook is from none other than the glass goddess herself, Sheila Ernst. This is a welcome home present for my Betty Roberts wheel, that should be here in SIX MONTHS. (I'm being tested by a cruel Fate.)

The Grafton spindle had me worried at first because it completely freaked out on me. When I bought it, I spun some of that camel/merino on it and it spun so smooth and fast you couldn't tell it was even spinning - those circles just stayed perfect circles. So then I bought that merino/silk from the Artful Ewe and had to spin it right away. The spindle wobbled and danced and after about 12" would flip itself upside down! I was extremely frustrated. So I got it home, figuring I must have whacked it somewhere and it needed some tweaking. I tried some straight wool and it was significantly better. Hmmm. I took the cop off that had the merino/silk and spun some more wool. Steady and perfect. The spindle is allergic to silk. I'm very glad I didn't return it, which was my first thought.

Of course, the BEST part was getting to see a bunch of friends I rarely get to see, and making some new friends who I look forward to seeing on an annual basis! Wish it was more...

Comments

[Chris]

My goodness. I think I need to have a nap after that!

[Melanie]

Oooh, nice haul! Beautiful colours, and gorgeous glass and wood. It was incredibly good to have seen you again at Madrona.

[CarolineF]

MMM, ok so talk about how that square thing spins....

I had the same problem with that Grafton ebony spindle I ended up returning. However I didn't take time to do research about what it did and didn't like! Funny, that.

[June]

Six months?!?! What happened!?

That's a lovely gift you rec'd from Mr Steve - very striking!

And what a stash you brought home! I want to see all of that spun and knit by this time next year. :b

[Vicki]

Nice haul!

So, what's the problem with the grey sweater? Too grey? wrong style?

[Jan]

It's all just luscious! Which one are you going to start with? Nice spindles, too. I have some that dance and hop till they get a little cop built up; then they spin like a dream. Personality! I think your swan is a kitty cat at heart...a finicky eater, but then purrrrrrr.

[Mary A.]

Gorgeous stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing and petting it in person one of these days. The gift from Steve is nothing short of sensational! I may need another square whorl myself. Oh, that's right, I can't buy any spindles can I? I cheated and got two from Tracy at Woolly Designs. One has spiders and t'other Kokopelli. They are both great! Glad you had such a good time!

[Angela]

Oh my - you did very well!

[Deb]

Beautiful fiber aquisitions!!!

I'm just loving the "Crack" Mountain, Handmaiden, and Lunasea merino/soysilk-- I can't wait to see how they spin up for you. :)