Stitches Part 1: The Yarn

As promised, here is the first of my three recap posts of Stitches South. I decided to break it down into three posts: one detailing my yarn purchases, another discussing my new-found love of spinning and fiber, and a third reviewing the classes I took and my overall experience. I will say first that I had a great time! I went by myself, and was worried that I would miss having a group of friends to peruse the market with or have meals together. But, it really was nice being alone and getting to do what I wanted. I stayed with my aunt who lives about thirty minutes away from the Cobb Galleria. It was nice to have a free place to stay, but I would have enjoyed being at the Waverly and getting to enjoy some of the late-night events! Maybe next time.

Okay, the market was seriously overwhelming. But, I went in with a bit of a plan. I had a budget, knew some of the stuff I wanted to buy, and pretty much stuck with it. For example, I knew I wanted to buy a nice drop spindle, which I will talk about more in the next post, and I knew I wanted to buy some Bugga. I did both. But not much else, as you will see.

My first stop was at The Sanguine Gryphon's booth. Actually, I was the first one there that day! I was in line early and headed straight for her booth. I love bugga, and intended to buy a couple skeins of their spring line, plus a skein for a friend. But, I got there and instead decided to buy four skeins of holly blue butterfly for a sweater. Maybe a lightweight pullover? Any thoughts? I hadn't planned to purchase that much bugga for me, and that decision started me out with a budget issue! But, as you can see, it is gorgeous!



I also got a skein of bugga for a friend of mine in blue emperor dragonfly, a color that will be gorgeous knit up.



From there I went to buy my drop spindle, so that I would know exactly how much I had left to spend. After making that purchase, and without much money left, I continued my browsing throughout the market. There was really a lot of gorgeous stuff, and a lot of yarn I'd never heard of. I wish I were more adventurous at trying new yarns from unfamiliar places, but I often still feel like I don't really know what I am doing when it comes to judging yarn. But, I did find a new-to-me company that I really like so far: MacKintosh Yarn. I enjoyed talking to Liz, the owner of the company, and she does a beautiful job dyeing her yarn. I ended up with one skein of iona worsted yarn, a really lovely merino/cashmere/nylon blend, in cabernet. I wound this last night and decided it wanted to be a felicity, a simple, somewhat slouchy stockinette hat.



And one skein of iona fingering, also a merino/cashmere/nylon blend, in misty highlands. I just love the color of this yarn and can't wait to knit it up. It will look awesome in a shawl. Maybe a herbivore?


All in all, I am really happy with my yarn purchases. I didn't come home with a ton of yarn, and had projects in mind for each of the skeins I purchased. I did buy some fiber in addition to the yarn, which I'll talk about soon. I guess if I hadn't bought the fiber I would have bought more yarn, but I am really excited about learning to spin! I can't wait until my next yarn/wool festival! I am going to the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival in May and taking a dyeing class, and, of course, going to their market!