Okay, Just a Peek

So, apparently I can be easily persuaded.

I really, really wanna show off my yarn. But I'm also really, really embarrassed that I bought so much. Especially when my stash is already in three different locations in my house (at least). There's some in the attic (that's probably stuff that can actually leave the house, I'd just have to actually go through it and make a decision!), some in an under the bed storage box (okay, TWO boxes) under my bed, and then there's a basket in the living room. Okay, okay, so there's a basket in EACH living room in the house. But, in my defense, one basket (in "my" living room) is full of hat yarn and sock yarn (lots of friends with babies lately), and one basket (in the "family" room) is full of sock yarn.

Well, now there's a whole chair full of yarn as well - cause my Stitches additions take up the oversized chair in my living room as well. I'm trying to wait patiently for my new ottoman to come in so I can properly store all my yarn (the ottoman has 4 storage compartments - smart, eh?).

And I really wanna show it all off. Just not too much at one time. Maybe those reading will loose track of how crazy I was. Maybe?

So here's installment 1:

I met this lovely lady on the last day of the event: It's Karida from Neighborhood Fiber Co.
I was attracted by the lovely colors there on the right side of the frame. Then saw that she was knitting a Monkey (!) sock via the magic-loop method. After we got talking, I realized she was a "local" business that I needed to support.

I can't believe I went all the way to Baltimore to meet her - she's from DC. Not that I'm from DC, but it's closer than Baltimore!!! She is a really cool person. She dyes wonderful fibers in brilliant colorways and then - get this - gives each colorway a neighborhood or "place" name from DC! Genious, right? Yeah, well, looky what I fell in love with while I was talking to her


Remember, this was the last day of the event, and I was supposed to be "done." But, these colors just called my name! Wow. I love it. It's sock yarn in the colorway "Brightwood." 100% superwash, in a tight twist similar to Koigu. Everyone wants to be like Koigu, and that's not a bad thing!

She's got a new seacell and merino blend coming out soon called Watershed and is giving back to the environment with the proceeds. Her launch party is next Wednesday, and I'm considering cutting out early on The Boy's soccer practice to go by. If you're local, you should too - it's going to be at Knit Happens in Alexandria. A lovely place to get yarn!

While I'm discussing the last day of Stitches, I'll show you the yarn and pattern I got from my last visit to Ellen's 1/2 Pint. Yes, apparently I tripped and fell into their booth several times this past weekend. They probably think they have a stalker!

The pattern is the Fingertip Length Duster by Sue Mixer. It was in the fashion show, and part of the reason I had to go back. On Friday,when I went by, this little lovely was not there - it was in the wings of the fashion show. So I had to go back, right? I didn't get yarn from them for this one yet - it uses their wool/silk blend, which is $100 a hank. Yeah, couldn't go "there" on the last day. No way. But I did break down and get some sock yarn (at the bottom of the frame) for The Boy's first knitted socks (well, that he'll actually be walking in), and two hanks of their Baby Alpaca and silk-blend laceweight. This was a value, I felt, because one hank with 425 yards is only $15.00. So, a $30 shawl is in my budget, right? Please agree. Smile and wave, y'all, smile and wave!

Oh, and by the way - I always knit baby hats out of Lion Brand Microspun. Lovely, soft on baby's head, wash it, wear it, do anything to it and you can't kill it. Trust me, one lived at the bottom of The Boy's diaper bag for the better part of one year, came out with a bit of goo (diaper cream) on it, ex-hubby threw it in the back of his closet, and it didn't get washed until about 6 months after that, and it's STILL gorgeous! Even though this is 100% acrylic yarn, it's very soft, and won't irritate anyone's skin. After all, an infant can't tell you his head is itchy. He'll just cry and make everyone miserable. Yuck.