Rain and Sheep and Wool

It rained on Sunday. It rained so much that the front half of the top of my pants was soaked before we even left DC. Boots and raincoat did their jobs, but walking requires moving. 

It did mean there were less people there. It did mean, that, plus the retirement of of of my favorite dyers meant I had less booths on my must visit list. It did mean the main barn was popping, since covers plus more vendors. 

But we came, we ran into most of the people I knew were there. Some I didn't. And then came back home and got dry clothes and snacks. It's interesting how the combination of social media, the DC area now having more yarn stores owned by a wider range of people, and the Internet has made such festivals both fun but also less necessary. Can you touch more yarn in one place there still? Oh of course. Can you eat fair food and see actual sheep and other animals? Yep. Will you normally see more people in their hand knits than other places? Yep. (Rain gear often covers hand knits. So some impact there.)

So it may have been a speedier trip, but still fun. 

New Bar Set

I believe I've mentioned before that I enjoy seeking out examples of extremes.  It's fun to see how much more of this or that that someone else has so that you can say, well, I don't have 400 unread books like that one person.  (For example.  Not that there's anything wrong with 400 books in the TBR pile, as I often say, if you're still able to pay your rent/mortgage and buy food, then I think you're good.) 
But sometimes you hear about something and instead think, I can do better than that.  And I confess, when a fellow raveler passed this link on, that might have been what I said. 

Magic Yarn Ball Swap

So, this swap was the magic yarn ball swap, and I will just let the pictures do (most of) the talking. I ended up being spoiled again by the lovely dragondancer, who spilled me in the In Like a Lamb swap.
I had been warned not to be put off by the box.

Inside we had this:

And of course, the magic yarn ball.

Which unraveled to reveal, several things. A close up of the Saskatoon berries:

But there was also:

So, hidden in that yarn ball (which was, by the way, Galway Irish worsted knitting wool) was:
Chocolate Covered Saskatoon Berries
Pencil
Butterfly Clips
Sweater Key Chain
Handcrafted Stitch Markers
and Shepherd's Cottage Wool (a bison wool blend)
In addition to the Guide to Regina, Chocolate coins, Commie Mints and a Shawl pin.
Thanks again, Deb!

More Swappage

The theme of the latest Rubberswap is local stuff, although I personally took a broad interpretation of that. Fortunately I sent mine off just before receiving mine, because, wow, what a package. The lovely Spirals aka Obsessed with Knitting sent me this package of goodies.

All beautifully wrapped.

And inside...



Contents:
Noro pattern book
Gorgeous bamboo silk wool blend yarn - Argosy's Bonsai Bamboo in Vineyard
Cat treats (which my cat will adore!)
Card Case
Stitch markers (they got their own photo - so cute!)
Cupcake mix (must try!)
Card - that's also a scarf pattern
Flamingo Pen
Lovely Charm
So, thanks so much!

Yarn Finds a Home

(Not mine. That's would be a different story.) No, this is a story of a knitter getting custom yarn to commemorate an event. (I take no responsibility for this leading you down a whole new path in ways to commemorate stuff. I will, however, accept thanks.)

H/T to the Yarnista.

Sheep, Wool and Buttons

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival came and went this weekend. I was, ahem, very restrained. I just bought this one bag of yarn. See. Not much in there. Just some Brooks Farm, Tilli Tomas, Unique Sheep, and some buttons.
I arrived just about in time to hit the Ravelry meetup where I managed to run into almost everyone I knew there that day, pretty cool how that worked. We also successfully forced ourselves on Ysolda Teague who was wearing no less than three of her own patterns (Coraline, Ishbel scarf and Ishbel beret if you must know).
So then, I grabbed some ribbon chips before starting the shopping. I discovered that juggling, a purse, a bag, an umbrella and some ribbon chips - particularly ribbon chips dressed with 'cheese', sour cream, chives and bacon bits, is harder than it might seem. I managed to get cheese on my fingers (expected), my jacket, and on the inside of my umbrella. Fortunately the rain had dampened the napkins so that cleaning was easier.
After being very restrained through the first batch of booths and barns, I encountered Feederbrook Farm who had lovely handspun that even comes tagged with the sheep's name and personality.
Then, I fell in love with a shawl set with Unique Sheep yarn. I found some well priced Tilli Tomas yarn. And then I might have gone a smidge nuts (yarn fumes!) in the Brooks Farm booth.
Oh, and I found these adorable buttons.

See - not much at all.

Homespun and Other Yarn

A last minute change in plans meant I got to attend the Homespun Yarn Party. And I picked up a few things.
From Three Irish Girls - Wexford Merino Silk in Aiden.

From the Yarn Love side of the table, Charlotte Bronte Worsted in Sweet Tangerine.

From Woolarina, Lux Sock in a yummy oceanic type colorway.

And from Treadle to the Metal, some yummy handspun in Iced Hibiscus and Lavender Sunset.

And people said the good stufff would be gone by the time I got there. Mwa-ha-ha.

In Like a Lamb Swap

I received my swap package for the In Like a Lamb swap. It was a combo knitter/spinner swap where knitters (such as myself) sent fiber to spinner and spinners sent handspun yarn to knitters. (It was a round robin swap, so spinners were not sending and receiving to and from the same knitter.)
This is my package from the lovely drangondancer (her nom de Ravelry). A shawl pattern, some candies, and of course lovely hand spun yarn.

I'm still deciding which is my favorite.

Rubberswap Part Deux

Oh, I was spoiled.
First I got yarn. The note promised there was more to come, but it was such lovely yarn. Handmaiden Seasilk in Lily Pond.

Then, yesterday the mail carrier brought a box. It was small but heavy. And it smelled yummy. I opened it up and discovered there were scented soaps, a scented spray, tea (chai tea, even, it's so cool), and chocolate. All the rest was chocolate. Yummy, yummy chocolate.

This here, is a representative sampling. But there's more. Lucky me.

Yarn, for a change.

So, I joined a new stash club. (Well, new for me.) Three Irish Girls has a stash club. Each month they have a semi-solid and variegated yarn to choose from. I joined in November and went for the variegated - Petit Fours.

For December, I found myself unable to choose just one, so I got both. Cinnamon Spice and Gingerbread.

ETA Picture - whoops.

FPSA

As we enter the holiday season, I want to talk a little about a group that is often forgotten. The poor, lonely yarn.
Some are skeins, some are balls. Some have traveled long distances, some have been stretched, pulled, tugged and even dyed.
They are sent to foster homes, where some watch their siblings get sold off while they get left behind. They huddle together each night, telling themselves that tomorrow will be the day they get to find a real home.
So, please, think of the lonely yarn. Adopt one today.

And More Yarn

I also picked up this gorgeous Brooks Farm Yarn - Ellie, a thick and thin blend.

And some Storm Moon Knits Twilight Sock Yarn.

More Yarn

Also picked these up at Stitches East.
I could not resist this yummy yarn from The Sanguine Gryphon. I was, ahem, talked into getting two skeins so as not to limit my options.


And this gorgeous Malabrigo worsted.

Yarn

Yeah, so, deep into the writing now...


So, I brought you yarn. These are from Stitches East (last one in Baltimore, at least for now) purchases.
Aruacania's Ranco Yarn never ceases to thrill me. I love the variegated (or multy as they call it.)

And the solids (which are what I would call semi-solids).

Fun with Web Filters

So my company uses a web filter. They block things like blogs*, pRon, and social networking sites. And now - yarn. Why yarn? Okay, well it's not all yarn, but the other day I was trying to get to Three Irish Girls** and got this:

I am so highly amused by this. I can't decide if some sort of trigger word on the site has caused this or some web person somewhere decided all sites with girls in the name must be about sex or how this has happened. I am tempted to contact them and tell them that while really nice yarn, in my opinion, it is just yarn. The pictures - yarn. But perhaps there are undiscovered yarnies in my company and the bandwidth got to be too much. Let's hope this isn't a trend.

*Thank goodness for pre-posting abilities.
** Yes, I know, ideally I wouldn't be on yarn sites at work. As soon as my job stops interfering with my nights and weekends, I'll work on that.

Starbucks and Yarn Swap

I got my package!

It includes:
A gorgeous bag knit and felted by the lovely Catherine, known on Ravelry as cm6321.
A Starbucks gift card.
And three yummy balls of Sublime Soya Cotton dk in Ginseng and Indigo.
Thanks, Catherine.

Last Wednesday

(Now with pictures!)
Wednesday was the day I switched hotels to the conference approved hotel, although it wasn't the conference hotel. In retrospect I could have just stayed where I was and all that but, the contrast of a busy street overlooking hotel where you step onto the sidewalk into swarms of people to the JW Marriott where once inside you felt you might be in a bubble, was kind of interesting. And considering the mayhem that was the lobby at the San Francisco Marriott (where the RWA conference, plus some management conference, and a good number of airlines crew, as well as some of the union folks, to say nothing of your regular smattering of tourists) - I was quite happy to stay elsewhere. (Yes, I'm sure the rooms at SFM were lovely and tranquil.)

I registered fairly early in the morning (free books) and then stationed myself - knitting visibly - in the Starbucks where I was meeting some fellow Ravelers. My plan worked as Knitterary immediately said, "Are you one of the Ravelers?" and then Yarnagogo and Twistedandwarped arrived too. So, Yarnagogo took us first to Artfibers. You head up a windy staircase, lined with knitting drawings and then - cones and cones of yarn. (If you want smaller amounts, they will wind you a ball. They also ship - which may be very dangerous information.) They also have a whole giant setup for yarn tasting, should you want to swatch up a bit.
So, deciding that special, San Francicso yarn, was just what I needed, I did manage to restrain myself to two cones. (What? There was a lot of pretty and shiny in there.) (PS. Poking around their website, they sell undyed yarn to. You're welcome.)
After that we went to Imaginknit, which had some gorgeous yarns also. I wandered about stroking the pretties until I discovered they had a yarn named after me, it was even spelled correctly, and it was on sale! So, grabbed two balls of that and discovered they had the other yarn named after me, the one that's spelled wrong (Dear Fibre Co, I kid becuase I love.)
This led to quite a discussion with Kurt, who worked there and had even put up a sign declaring the Terra to be his pick. So, I grabbed a skein of that too. And maybe found a skein of Nature Cotton.

Then Yarnagogo took us to the "best burrito place in San Francisco" where we were treated to yummy veggie burritos. After that, we headed back to the SFM.
I dropped my yarn back at my hotel before wandering back for the Literacy signing. Having heard stories in the past, I decided to be in line crazy early. I had narrowed the list down to people I really had to get to, and then bonus people. Some (Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann) either didn't have their newest release at the signing, or I already had it all because I get twitchy, and/or I already had signed books from them. (I did not buy anything released the week prior to the signing, but that was about as restrained as I get, bookwise).

Chatted in line with various folks before they opened up the doors and we swarmed in.

I made a beeline for Marjorie M. Liu such that the poor woman was still seating herself as I rushed up and said something like," Hi! IalreadyreadTheIronHuntanditwasreallygoodandIloveyourblogandnowIneedTheWildRoadandcouldyou-
signitplease?" She did.

I wandered past the Suzanne Brockmann line and talked to the author's mom (who I had met in Atlanta, I'm a little stalker not a big stalker, and I did re-introduce myself.) And I talked to some authors, telling them that I had their books, but was a big fan. They were all very gracious. (In fact Roxanne St. Claire signed a bookmark for me.) I told Anne Stuart I had met her at Cherry Con and she gave me a Dogs and Goddesses bumper sticker. Lisa Gardner's daughter was helping her sign (aw!).

I got the anthology with Cindy Gerard's latest. I got Cindy Dee's latest - a new suspense series (yay!). I fawned politely over Christine Feehan. Some folks who had lines I decided to not pressure whoever was already there talking to them. So, I was pretty restrained on the purchase front (for me) and I was done in a reasonable amount of time.

Food: Chai, Banana bread, Vegetable burrito, jicama salad, chile rellenos, tostadas, strawberry marguerita.

And You Thought I Was Done With Ocean Colors

(Or did you?)

Araucania Patagonia Nature Cotton. And did you know there is also a Pima Cotton?
I didn't either!
Pomaire Pima Cotton.

Oh, I have great plans...

The Haul

{Warning: Picture heavy post ahead!}
So, the aforementioned haul from Maryland Sheep and Wool. First, I would like to say that while I did not set a budget, I did try to stick to stuff I could not get the rest of the year (or at least not at that price) and I brought a bag, a big purse, and a backup bag, but everything fit in the bag. See?

I first made a beeline for the Fibre Company booth. They had mill ends of Savannah Bulky. (Sadly, a very limited selection of Terra, which apparently produces less mill ends.)

And then I saw a colorway I had missed, so I got more.

Some Rowan Summer Tweed.

A little Debbie Bliss Pure cashmere.

I got some Socks that Rock in the Knitters Without Borders colorway.

Brooks Farm has a new yarn - Willow - a wool bamboo blend. And there was some Four Play on sale that goes with the stuff I picked up last year.

Her is is all together. See - not much at all.

Travel, Partying and Yarn!

Short version of my weekend:
*Went to Ireland, Latvia, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Romania. Yes, the European Union members all had open houses at the embassies this weekend.
*Went to the Ravelry party - got buttons, but sadly no raffle prizes. (That's okay, I soothed myself with yarn.)
*Went to church - we had a great discussion in youth group about racism.
*Went to Maryland Sheep and Wool - bought a little yarn. Sadly, was unable to track down the deep fried Oreo.

The embassy tour was fun. Ireland had food, Bulgaria had food, wine and dancing, and it was neat seeing some of these amazing residences. For the locals, the non-EU embassies will be doing something similar in a two weeks, plus there are additional events in between. Check here.

Ravelry party - I wore my Parthenope Shawl (More on that another day, promise.) Miss Karida herself walked up to me and asked me if I we had met. I flashed the shawl and said yes. She cooed appropriately and showed it to her non-knitter friends so they could the the yarn in action.
I ran into someone who had been near me in line to see the Yarn Harlot in Annapolis. Stared at Casey and Jess (they were busy chatting and while I know you don't host a party like this and not expect people to talk to you, I opted for leaving them with those who had found them already.) I bought Ravelry pins. I found Westerly Whimsies - my former swapper. I did not win the amazing raffle prizes for the party or from Ravelraiser. (I'll survive.)
Youth group was an open topic day, so we ended up talking about racism and it was really interesting. I am constantly amazed by how thoughtful all these kids are.
Then I hightailed it up to West Friendship where I went to Sheep and Wool. I think I did a better job of covering stuff this year. I brought a big purse, a bag for purchases and I had a backup bag. No need to break out the back up bag, everything fit in the tote. So, really, I was very good. (I also - with the exception of some STR, bought only stuff that was mill end or not available online.) So, for all you people who think there isn't yarn left on Sunday - pshaw.
Ran into a Raveler from the party. Met up with some knit group Ravelers - some were better influences than others. (To be fair, I am probably the worst influence.) Saw Casey and Jess walking around (it was post-Rav meeting, so we left them in peace). Met a fellow Raveler who has sadly lost her voice. She was accompanied by a translator who was able to convey the story and the sadness, and spare her writing hand a bit.
I was unable - after tireless searching and a bit of asking, to locate the mythical deep fried Oreo. A couple people who had heard of my quest were very concerned for my health. First, my cholesterol is fine. Second, I was planning on having one once in my life, not a regular weekly thing, so I think even my doctors would agree that in such moderation, it would have been fine.
Ah, well, at least I have a little yarn.
(Pictures to come once my computer cooperates.)