One more about Harrogate...

Yes, I did want to do one more post on Thursday and going to the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching show...

I didn't take many pictures at the show. Really, the day went by so fast! I managed to get an introductory walk through before taking a bead knitting class where we learned how to string and place beads. I then went back to the Knit & Crochet Guild stand where Susoolu and Wye Sue were. Susoolu and I made a run around to a couple booths, and I found some lovely Shetland Chunky from Jamieson's. I found a 10-skein colorway pack containing 5 different colorways. I have it earmarked for a cardigan of some sort for myself, because they are just my colors.

Jamieson's Chunky Shetland Marl

I then went and grabbed some lunch, and made my second pass around the exhibition - this time with intent to purchase! I got a couple skeins that are intended for Christmas gifts, so I won't detail here. I then found the Euro Japan Links stand, where I got some beautiful Japanese fabric, along with a pattern/zipper for a small change purse:

Change purse fabric

One of the things I was looking for was the perfect yarn to knit up Muir. I had decided to buy some laceweight from Jamieson & Smith, when I decided to wander into the "A" hall. From last year, I had remembered this hall as being all textile exhibits, so I had skipped it on my initial passes, purely for reasons of time. I decided to pass through and learned that I was wrong - there were also some stalls selling yarn, one of which was the stand for Habu. There, I found THE yarn for Muir:

Bamboo lace-weight Habu

I also got some of the silk/stainless steel blend of Habu, as well as some merino laceweight.

A trip back to the KCG stand to drop off my purchases, and I soon met up with Mary. I had mentioned to Susoolu and Wye Sue that I have an interest in bead and wire knitting, but just hadn't tried it yet. I was told that Mary was the go-to person, so she came and imparted so much wisdom onto me, I think I'm still processing it. The gem to me was when she said something to the effect that, with wire/bead knitting, "you're not knitting to clothe the form, you're knitting to create the form". Major. Lightbulb. Moment. I was inspired, and went in search of wire.

It was such a different experience from the previous year, and I'm not sure if I'll make it to next year's or not, but for me it was worth the trip.

(Late) Eye Candy Friday

Last Friday, the day after I posted about the sale at my LYS, I came home to find this waiting for me:

Welcome surprise

Turns out that Mr. Tall stopped by the same shop and picked up a couple extra skeins of Baby Alpaca DK for me. This was my special purchase to myself, so it was an extra special gift. I have seven luscious skeins of this waiting for me once I finish my Christmas knitting. Apparently, his "stash" are some other goodies he picked up at the same sale.

I have a confession: after thinking about how sweet a guy Mr. Tall is for thinking of me and spoiling me, my next thought was a very sound, logical one: If he has a stash yet doesn't knit, then he can't really can't comment on the size of my stash, can he?

For those wondering, the "who has two thumbs..." is from the US version of "The Office"

Tidbits and Miscellany

First, thank you all so much for your helpful comments on my last post. While I started blogging for myself and my own record keeping, it's really great to get support and advice from others out there. Knowing people are stopping by is great motivation in so many ways.

Yarn Sale
One "LYS" in this area is actually a news agent. They have a small (but luxurious) selection of high-ticket yarns - RYC, Rowan and the now discontinued Jaeger. Unfortunately, they have recently decided to stop selling yarn, and are selling their inventory at 2 GBP a skein!!! This is roughly a 50-60% discount over normal prices. I did indulge, but won't be sharing my finds with you today. The majority of what I purchased is for Christmas knitting, and some recipients-to-be read this blog (hi mom!). So much of the fun of gift-giving is in the surprise, so I hope you'll understand. If you are local, head out to Market Cross News in Beverley (located in the Saturday Market) and go wild!

Things to Come
I have a few ideas ruminating in my head for recurring posts here. I hope to get the first of these started in October, so stay tuned and check back. If there's anything you'd like to see or see more of (would you like to know more about me? want more pictures?), let me know!

In Progress
I'll post more details on this later, but here's a part of what I'm working on right now. It is very seasonally relevant, but it's not a turkey.

Bird Leg

Eye Candy Friday: Woolfest additions

Following a gentle reminder from Susoolu, I felt that it is my duty and obligation to share part of Woolfest with you all. While I took a ton of pictures (and some video as well!), I think I'll focus in on the Newly Acquired Stash for this post.

530g 100% wool sock weight (I think)

I really couldn't resist this. I've been meaning to add some non-solid color yarn to my stash, but have almost been afraid to. What if the colors pooled? What if I can't find a good pattern to show the colors off? In the end, I decided that it was worth the risk.

While visiting Woolfest, I took a great class on hand spinning. This was taught by Carol and Pete Leonard. If you have the opportunity to take a class from them, don't let it pass you by! I won't say that I'm a natural yet, but in my defense, I knew NOTHING about spinning. After an hour of spinning and plying, this is what I had:

First spinning attempt

Apparently, spinning in such an uneven manner is in fashion now. If that's the case, it's the first time in my entire life I've been "in fashion" - especially with so little effort. I think I really like spinning *evil grin*.

Lumpy-bumpy spinning

I had secret hopes that I would pick up the spindle and magic would happen. Long, gossamer filaments would almost just appear without any effort. Of course that didn't happen, and I wasn't surprised in the least. As a consolation, I was told that most experienced spinners can't spin this "in fashion" style because they're just that good at spinning the long gossamer filaments that I covet. Personally, I think it's a small consolation - there's something a bit uncomforting about the fact that I spin so poorly that people with years of experience can't even intentionally spin that bad. But I will get better in time.

Despite this, I made a beeline for a stand that had some beautifully dyed roving I had my eye on. The booth was run by the dyer, Freyalynn Close-Hainsworth and all her colors were absolutely gorgeous. She noted the colors I kept picking up (blues and greens and purples), and suggested her Wisteria colorway. I'm saving this for a time when I know I can spin it very well.

Hand dyed roving

I also grabbed some solid color merino for extra spinning practice.


100g balls of Merino from Scottish Fibres


500g Blue faced Leicester

Now, if you're a spinner (or highly intelligent), you have got to be wondering about how I plan on spinning all this fun new stash...

Zebrawood Bosworth Midi Spindle

I knew I wanted to get a spindle while at Woolfest. I was torn between getting something "cheap and cheerful" and splurging a bit on this one. In the end, the splurge won out, and I grabbed this Bosworth model. My rationale? It's a late birthday present to myself... yeah, that's it.

As a final note, I must thank Mr. Tall for accompanying me. He was such a champ and super patient with me, and even carried all this swag around for me like the sweet guy he is. Awwwww :)

Eye Candy Friday: Scenes from my stash...

The other day, I realized that I am Smaug. Instead of curling up at night on a pile of gold and jewels, I curl up on... yarn. Okay, so not exactly, but as my stash resides in bins under my bed, I figure it's close enough.

After thinking about it a bit more, I realize the similarities don't necessarily end there. Like Smaug, I feel a restless urge to acquire more treasure yarn, but yet am a bit reluctant to spend knit it.

I thought that for Eye Candy Friday this week, I would share with you bits and pieces from my stash - some of which I know what I want to do with it, some of which I have no clue.

In the process of taking pictures, I realize that I have a very definite set of likes in terms of colors - cool, dark colors, mostly purples and greens. I wonder if that will change with the seasons?



I have enough of the KnitPicks Swish Superwash (in Jade) that I picked up specifically to make my first sweater - A Cardigan For Arwen, which was initially in Winter 2006 Interweave Knits. I figure having an established KAL will be of great benefit to me.



I have two skeins of this for my second pair of socks. This is Wildfoote from Brown Sheep - a handpainted sock yarn. I haven't knit my first pair of socks yet, but I have some less pretty generic yarn for my first pair. I don't want to use this yarn until I have a better idea of what I should be doing with it :)



I picked up this one skein at a gift store near Castle Stalker just outside Oban in Scotland. This is a "naturally-coloured, dark wool" that is spun from Hebridean sheep from Western Scotland.



I picked up 500g of this in Dublin a couple weeks ago. This is 100% wool, undyed from Donegal sheep. I think I might do a felted project with this (and perhaps the above Hebridean skein as contrast). I'm thinking there's enough there to make a nice bag. Any suggestions?



A few months ago, I was inspired by BlueADT to visit Coldspring Mill. Let's just say I was lucky to escape when I did! I think having Mr. Tall there helped. Coldspring Mill doesn't ONLY sell great yarn - from things they dye there to end-of-the-line things from major yarnmakers. They also sell outdoor gear and clothing (I love the outdoors) AND used books (be still my beating heart!). I found a discount bag containing 8 balls of this gorgeous yarn. I believe that it's Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, as the fibre content is listed as 55% cashmere, 12% merino. I am not sure yet what I plan on doing with it. Thoughts?



Also at Coldspring Mill, I found this. It is 960g of yarn for just under 10 GBP - yes, 1p per 1g!! This was the only info I had on it. Just from looking at it, I would say it's probably DK weight, and given the price, it's a nice soft acrylic :) Again, not sure what I might do with this. I have a few ideas but still deciding for now.

Any pattern suggestions are quite welcome :)