Friday, July 3, 2009

They Followed Me Home

Time for Show and Tell!

The first thing I found at Black Sheep on Friday was a copy of Heirloom Lace by Sharon Miller. It’s one of those books people mention all the time, full of charts and techniques. It’s a good reference book to go into my library.

Heirloom

That same day I found a skein of Lightweight Mill Ends from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. It’s mostly blues and greens, with some purple thrown in for good measure.

STRMllEnds-02

On Saturday I spent an incredible amount of time dithering at the Tactile Fiber Arts booth. All of their yarns are dyed with natural materials, and the colors are just amazing. I settled on a skein of their merino laceweight called Pomegranate, which is quite a departure for me, as I’ve never worn much red.

TactileLace-02

On Sunday, I took my mother to the show with me. I told her the same thing I did last year, “Pick a sock yarn, I’ll knit you the socks.” Then it was her turn for dithering, and she finally decided on a merino/bamboo blend from Wolf Creek Wools.

WolfCreekOlive-02

Oh look, more lace yarn! ('cause I might not have enough...)

BlackAlpacaLace-02

This is a 2-ply alpaca from Rolly Thompson of Fox Hollow Farm & Fiber. It’s so black you can see blue highlights in it, and it has the most incredible shine to it.

Next was a skein of Cashmara sock yarn, a blend of superwash wool and cashmere. This is even now on its way to a friend as part of a swap package, and I hope she likes it!

Cashmara-02

Finally, the last purchase, the one I agonized over the most and the one I’m most excited about.

TootsLace-01

Four skeins of 60/40 Merino/Angora laceweight from Toots Le Blanc & Co. No dye in this, just blended colors from different animals to get this beautiful grey color. I was fingering a skein of it when the vendor pointed me to a beautiful scarf knitted out of the same yarn. It halos in the most amazing way, and the piece was light as... as... it’s amazing stuff.

TootsLace-02

This is destined to become an Orenburg shawl of one type or another, as I think the garter-stitch the style is based on would suit this yarn right down to the ground.

All this, and I stayed within my budget! Granted, I’d been squirreling money away for a year, but still...

14 comments:

Wendie / monkey loves oliver said...

oooooh, such lovelies!

psst: you want to knit that pomegranate lace weight into something nice for your good friend Ven.

m1k1 said...

What a fabulous array you have found following you home.

iKate said...

GORGEOUS--each and every skein!! Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you. :)

marycatharine said...

Every skein is more beautiful than the next. I can't wait to see what you create with all the lace.

Diet Coke Mom said...

:kerplunk: (falling on the floor with a thud at the awesomeness of these beautiful fibers :kerplunk again:

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of lovies to follow you home. I hope you're spending a lot of time fondling them. :)

essjay said...

You did a great job picking everything out - SO lovely! I'm also glad you stayed in budget - makes those yarns even sweeter!)

Rose Red said...

Oh gorgeous stuff - excellent choices! Love the pomegranate especially and the Toots. I don't think I could have left that behind either!

Bells said...

I think you chose some stunning stuff. Just amazingly beautiful.

Joanne said...

Well, with these two different BSG posts, I almost feel like I was there. Almost, but not quite...and I wish I'd been there with you!

Thank you for all the lovely thoughts in my direction via my blog. On the box count? I think we're up to 288 now. It's amazing how much stuff we have. Hard to believe, I feel like I've already given most of it away!

Alwen said...

The amazing thing about the Orenburg shawls is the yarn is so fine they don't even look like garter stitch.

Bridget said...

Niiiice!

(P.S. Are you still singing the song in your head???)

Chandler said...

Mmmm...tasty eye candy! The Heirloom book is on my list, too! Enjoy your spoils!

Donna Lee said...

Nice haul. There's something about alpaca. It's so light and yet so warm. That will make a lovely lovely piece of lace.