Saturday, April 30, 2011

A little knitting, a little yarn...



I've been working on this for awhile. It will eventually be the Queen Silvia shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia, by Nancy Bush.

Eventually it will look like lilies of the valley, but right now it doesn't look like much. Lace never does at this stage, I guess.

I also added to the stash today. Here are the latest additions, although the photo doesn't do justice to any of them. They all look very blu-ish, which they are, but you really can't see the colors. I'm not sure what's wrong with the camera. I tried an outdoor photo and then an indoor one. Neither worked, but this one is the best.


From left to right, Three Irish Girls Westerly SeaSock (70% merino, 30% seacell), colorway: Estuary

All For the Love Of Yarn Sumptuosity (70% Baby Alpaca, 20% silk, 10% cashmere), colorway: Bluebell

Three Irish Girls Beckon Stretch Merino (100% superwash), colorway: Aurora Borealis

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Because it's just so pretty...


I had to post a WIP photo of these socks. It's the Embossed Leaves Socks from IK Winter 2005. The yarn is Tuscan Grove Venice-style, 100% Superwash Merino, colorway: Topiary.
Love the yarn. Love the pattern.
I purchased this yarn several years ago at Soft N Sassy Yarns in Broadview, OH. This is a great shop and I always enjoyed visiting when I was in Cleveland for business trips. I hope Tuscan Grove is still producing yarn. Their colorways are lovely.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Yarn Quest 2011


I couldn't let the yarn crawl happen without me, so today was the day to participate. We finally have warm spring weather - lots of sunshine - and it was a pleasure to visit some familiar shops and discover some new ones.
Stop 1. I started out at The Yarnery. The pattern is a buttoned cowl made from 1 skein of All for Love Yarn (colorway: Calypso). The yarn is 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon.
Stop 2. Darn Knit Anyway. This shop is new and I really liked it. It would be a good place to explore when it's not as busy. Their pattern is also a cowl this year and the yarn is by Three Irish Girls - Wexford Merino Silk (colorway Luxor).








Stop 3. Lila and Claudine's
Really, really liked this shop. It's relatively new and it, too, deserves a good explore on a non-crawl day. Their pattern is a small shawl. The yarn is Happy Hands Hand-Dyed Yarn - Superwash Merino Worsted Weight (colorway: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds)








Stop 4: Sheepy Yarn Shoppe. I got the pattern but did not get the yarn. As you can see, if you clicked on the link, it's a yarn that is not local or particularly noteworthy. It was a little disappointing, but the pattern is nice - a lace rib scarf.

Stop 5. Shepherd's Choice. This was my first time at this shop. Shepherd's Choice makes their own yarns. The special pattern is a felted bag made from 2 skeins of their own yarn. They were selling kits for the bag, but I didn't buy any.


Stop 6. Amazing Threads. Always one of my favorite shops. They did not disappoint. Their yarn was available in a couple of different weights, which was really nice - you could get worsted, sport, or fingering. Their pattern is a very pretty shawl. The yarn is another offering from Three Irish Girls. This time, the colorway is Lovestruck. I got the fingering weight - 80% merino, 20% nylon.








Stop 7. Coldwater Collaborative. I like the pattern that was offered this year. Another shawl with a pretty box-stitch pattern. The yarn offered is one I've looked at a number of times - Schaefer Audrey, but today wasn't the day to buy that yarn. It's very pretty and glossy, but I didn't think I wanted to make something from lace-weight yarn, held double.


Stop 8. Skeins. I liked the pattern, a ruffled neckwrap. The yarn was Mountain Colors Twizzle (colorway Watermelon Salsa), which is a limited edition color. It was pretty, but it wasn't something I needed to buy.

Stop 9. I told Steven that I saved the best for last. I think his new shop, StevenBe, is really wonderful. I've shopped at his original location, Yarn Garage, for several years and always enjoy it. I look forward to exploring this new venture when there isn't a CROWD! The pattern is a hat - very cute - using the yarn crawl charms as a decoration. Instead of one unique crawl-only yarn, Steven has 4!
There are two different skeins of Three Irish Girls Adorn sock, 80% merino, 20% nylon. The other two skeins are Madelinetosh Pashimina, 75% merino, 15% silk, 10% cashmere. The colorways (from left to right) are Three Irish Girls Glitteroti, Three Irish Girls Limelight, Madelinetosh Pashmina Confetti, and Madelinetosh Pashmina StevenBe Blue.