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!

Kentucky Wool Fest

A few weeks ago, DJ (my husband) and I went to the KY Wool Fest in Falmouth, KY, with his mom and dad. I had never been before, but the festival is huge in the craft collectors-crowd. There are multiple tents where people sell their crafts, lots of food, and, my favorite, wool and fiber! This was my first fiber festival, and I loved it!! The KY Wool Fest is still growing, but I got to meet some lovely women who dye and spin their own yarn--some of whom even raise the sheeps! We had a great time and it has inspired me to keep knitting, and even learn to spin! I purchased a drop spindle (have yet to find time to use) and some roving to get me started.



Here are some of the other goodies I bought:

Sock yarn by LunabudKnits

Handspun yarn by a woman who raises her own sheep:
Of course, there were livestock at the festival! I got to meet this lovely alpaca, along with other animals, including sheeps and even pot-bellied pigs!

I was super excited to watch the sheep shearing. Although I know I saw this as a child, I only started knitting about a year ago, so I did not appreciate what I was seeing back then.
I had a great time and I can't wait to go to more fiber and yarn festivals!! I don't have anymore planned at the moment, but really hope to go to Stitches South next year!

Confessions of a Yarnaholic

I am officially addicted to yarn! (what knitter isn't??) I love and hate Ravelry for introducing me to so many wonderful types of yarn, especially hand-dyed yarns that I can't get at my LYS. Don't get me wrong I am glad to have these additions to my stash, but my pocketbook isn't . . . nether is my husband! I was watching Confessions of a Shopaholic last night and Rebecca's description of shopping and the pleasure she gets from shopping completely match the pleasure I get from buying yarn. For example:

You know that thing when you see someone cute and he smiles and your heart kind of goes like warm butter sliding down hot toast? Well that's what it's like when I see a store. Only it's better.

And comparing shopping to men:

A man will never love you or treat you as well as a store. If a man doesn't fit, you can't exchange him seven days later for a gorgeous cashmere sweater. And a store always smells good. A store can awaken a lust for things you never even knew you needed. And when your fingers first grasp those shiny, new bags... oh yes... oh yes.

Swap "store" for "yarn" and these quotes may ring true for some of us. Am I right? And, even more, is that a sign I (we?) have a problem? This is something to consider for a later day. As a newer knitter, and an even newer stasher, I still feel like I have time to keep stashing before going overboard.

I finally caught my first Wollmeise update last night! I got a small "We're Different" grab bag in Blau, Twin. I can't wait for it to arrive so I can check it out. I also bought my first yarn by Yarn Chef today. I posted earlier about Sockdown and knitting yellow socks in September. Although I bought some Dream in Color in butter peeps for that month, I found some on Yarn Chef that I like better. It's the Minestrone line (75% superwash merino, 25% nylon) in straw hat. It's going to be gorgeous! Maybe I'll exchange my butter peeps for a different color...

My recent exposure to these yarns got me thinking about hand-dyed yarns and smaller operations that I may not know much about. Does anyone have any they can't live without? How do you guys find out about new yarns? I get a lot of information from Ravelry, but there is so much out there that it is hard to process!