March 2011 Stash Peek

So it’s the end of March, and we’re overdo for a peek into my stash. I told everyone last month that I’m going to try to work harder to let you virtually roll in my goodies, and by gum! I’m sticking to my word (By gum is such a fun, antiquey turn of phrase). Anyways, on to the show!

Ok, I actually seem to have acquired quite a few yarns that I like this month, so I’m a little divided about what to show you. But I think I’ve narrowed it down to my top three. The first one is Gaia’s Colours Fibre Arts Umaj Sock, a merino, bamboo and nylon blend in a lovely peacock-colored colorway called “Persephone.” The reason I want to talk about this yarn is because Gaia’s Colours is shutting down, as the dyer, Ursa Hawthorne, has announced that she doesn’t have the time for it anymore. So why am I telling you about a yarn that isn’t going to exist in a few months? Hello! This is your chance to get your hands on some of her lovely yarns and fibers before they are all gone! Seriously, go now. Buy some yarn at deeply discounted prices.

Ok, now that you’ve filled your cart up and emptied your PayPal account, let’s talk about this yarn here in particular. Now, I must start by saying that I’m not a big fan of bamboo blends for socks. Bamboo is just rayon by another name, and it doesn’t have that nice hand that I expect when I touch wool or even cotton. Often it doesn’t dye well, and it usually makes me just go “meh.” However, Gaia’s yarn is really lovely, and I find myself reluctant to let it out of my sight. The colors are just so rich and gorgeous, and the base has a great texture. I’m not sure if its the nylon in the blend or what, but this combination of fibers creates a silky, yet springy yarn. And I may have put it down my shirt I like it so much.

Gaia's Colours Fibre Arts Umaj Sock in Persephone

My next skein of newly stashed yarn is by one of my all-time favorite dyers, The Sanguine Gryphon. This yarn in particular I am showing off is called QED, and it’s a worsted weight, 100% Blue-faced Leicester wool that has this rich, almost creamy texture. And yes, I know that sounds ridiculous (how can a yarn feel like cream) but I swear it does. It’s a tightly spun 5-ply wool with a longer staple, and while the Sanguine Gryphon claims that it’s soft enough to put next to skin “but nothing luxurious”, I beg to disagree. It’s delicious and I would stick it down my shirt if the Umaj sock weren’t already there taking up space.

This is actually my second skein of QED. My first was a pale peach colorway that didn’t do it for me, but I knew I needed to locate another skein pronto that I could love and keep forever and name George. That yarn is this one, in a fabulous colorway called Multiplying Rabbits. I think I’ll tuck it in my stash and hope that the next time I open up my Rubbermaid container the yarn has multipled.

The Sanguine Gryphon QED in Multiplying Rabbits

My third skein of yarn for this month did not come through a swap or trade. Yes, I actually out-and-out bought it. I know. You can gasp in shock now. I participate in the Phat Fiber Sampler Box. Every month I send in a crapton of stitch marker samples (by which I mean, over $100 worth of samples), and receive a contributor box in return. It’s a great way of advertising, and it helps create a wonderful community of buyers and sellers working together to both improve their merchandise or marketing and appeal to what the customer want the most.

Well, last month I became a customer, when I caved over a skein of All For Love Of Yarn‘s new yarn called Sparkle Lublu in the colorway Black Labradorite. This yarn is a sumptuous blend of merino, nylon and stellina, which is a nylon-type synthetic that creates sparkles all over the yarn. Hey, I never said I was immune to sparkles in my socks.

However, I must confess it was not the sparkles that did me in here. It was her dye job. This skein is just sort of…it leaves me breathless. I absolutely love the way she’s created this fabulous depth of color, creating a world of blues and greens that you just want to sink into, like sliding into the warm, silky waters of the Caribbean ocean on a hot summer day. The photographs in her Etsy shop really don’t do her yarns justice, because they are very striking. By the way, if you are interested in checking her stuff out, she is having a 20 percent off sale right now that may interest you… 😉

All For Love Of Yarn Sparkle Lublu in Black Labradorite

Ok, that’s all the time I’ve got this month. I’m trying to resist acquiring more yarn (as I try every month), but I’m sure by the end of April I’ll find myself with three new yarns to share with all of you. Until then, enjoy!

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Stitch Marker Mania Part Deux

Well, I have several other cool things to post about but since I just finished uploading a bunch of new stitch markers to the shop I thought that I’d take the time and post a little mosaic of them for you all. So that’s two mosaics in a row but I’m sure your drooling mouths can handle it, right? 😉 And remember, the link to my Etsy shop is to the right of the screen or here.

Stitch Marker Mania!

I’ve made so many stitch markers recently that there isn’t room to show them all to you one by one. So I made a mosaic collage thingamabob! Yey! Oh, fine, here’s the link to the shop, go check them out.

And the Little Red Poppet Keeps…

I got a poppet today. It’s a little red poppet. She’s just over two inches tall, and I think I may be sunk, because owning a poppet is akin to becoming an addict. You cannot have just one.

What are these poppets, you might ask? We don’t know much about poppets, not even artist Lisa Snellings knows where these whimsical creations came from. What we do know is that Poppets help us see the world more clearly. We know that Poppets are bigger inside than out. We know that Poppets are sweet and sometimes a little creepy. We know that Poppets are always watching. We know that Poppets are made with love. You can get your own poppet at Stangestudios.etsy.com.

This is my poppet. She came in the mail today.

Little red poppet.

She was intent on exploring her new home immediately. She met the cats first. There is much fortitude in poppets.

Hello...cat.

Stand very very still.

She was not pleased with all of her new friends. I believe her words were “not scintillating.”

"Hello. Who are you?" "Hoo? Hoo?"

My new poppet and I are very happy.

Looking out the window.

Betty & Veronica pattern goes live today!

A new published pattern, the Betty and Veronica Scarf, goes live today! After a month of testing on Ravelry (I had eight fabulous testers helping me out), we’ve worked out all the kinks and come up with an accurate estimate of yardage to make it easier for everyone else to enjoy knitting.  I’m thrilled to report that one of my testers likes the pattern so much that she is starting a knit-a-long for it on Ravelry, in the Fun KALs – Shawls and Such group that she runs.

You’ll notice that currently I only have links to Ravelry for downloading my patterns. Well, that is going to be changing soon as I want to be a gateway drug for Ravelry give those who aren’t on Ravelry the opportunity to download my patterns as well. After all, I clearly remember trolling the Internet looking for great free patterns to knit up for myself, so it only makes sense that I would give others the same courtesy.

Also, for those of you interested less in the knitting aspect of this project and more in the owning of said scarves, I am selling two of the finished projects in my Etsy shop. The Raspberry Cheesecake Souffle one was the scarf that was actually the first of my final design prototype, and was knit in an extra-ruffly style that really makes the Veronica version of the scarf stand out. The second one I am selling is Veronica’s Dark Secret, and it was inspired by the fictional character Veronica Mars, from the television show of the same name. There’s just something lovely and deep about that scarf, and it is the first fine-tuned version of the pattern. The others have been traded and given away in turn as promotional efforts for the pattern.

Again, I want to give a huge thanks to all of my testers and everyone who willingly helped me out by knitting one, or two, or even  more of these for me! In truth, this pattern is slightly addictive, and many found that they couldn’t resist doing a second or a third to see how different it came out every time! I’ve actually knit this scarf six times already, and I’m currently on my seventh scarf. As soon as I get a chance to push aside my other deadline knitting projects, that is. This is a great stashbuster – my favorite kind of project!