Stash Enhancement

My (stash enabling) knitter friend & neighbor emailed me that she added a new rule to her personal knit from your stash guidelines. If the yarn is new to you, you are allowed to buy it. (Don't know if that means you can buy one skein or a whole project's worth.) I liked that rule. For her, it meant she could buy Colinette's new Jitterbug sock yarn. For me, it meant that I could use my birthday money and order a whole squishy full of new to me sock yarns from Astrid in the Netherlands. (They arrived yesterday.)

I got some Opal Bamboo in grey stripes for DH's socks, some Trekking Pro Natura (wool/bamboo in solid colors), some pale blue Regia silk, some Opal wool/cotton in the Hundertwasser artist colorways (the Positive/Negative yellow color is just luscious), some Trekking in pink and charcoal (very 50's), also some of the tweed and an interesting speckled color, and a skein each of Fortissima Socka Colori, Opal Smoke and Gedifra, each in various different blue and grey self striping colorways. It's a good thing I like blue! Those three skeins were on sale, and blue and grey always works well for gift socks. Average price with shipping, $11.00 per pair of socks. Astrid also sent 5 free sock patterns and a bonus skein of white angora yarn, and I got some 6" long bamboo double points to try out. I think I might also get some Jitterbug yarn. After this, though, NO MORE SOCK YARN for me, unless I trade other sock yarn for it.

I swatched for a new pair of socks using the Opal Hundertwasser cotton/wool blend. After considering the Quill lace pattern from the Spring Knitty, plus a few other simple lace patterns, I think that the Vine lace stripe pattern from the Socks Socks Socks book is going to work out best for this yarn. It's a simple 4 round repeat, easily memorized, which isn't totally obscured by the pattern of the yarn.

Last year I got inspired to compile pattern conversions for some of the stitches in the 365 Stitches calendar and the Barbara Walker Treasuries to knit in the round, for socks and other circular items. I now have a big Word document complete with images and the stitch patterns all typed out, along with multiples and repeats. I've also added stitches and images from sock patterns as I find them. At this rate I won't need a new sock pattern ever again.

I got a BIG Squishy

I got a package from Astrid in The Netherlands! Enough yarn for 17 pairs of socks at an average price of $11.00 (shipping costs are astronomical from Europe to California, but cheaper than flying there to pick up the yarn.) I got a skein of the Opal Hundertwasser (and a free sideways knit sock pattern to use with it) in the Silver Spiral colorway. I think it's the best of the Hundertwasser colors, which I saw in person at Stitches West. I also got two socks worth of Regia Bamboo, some Opal Smoke in masculine colors, great Regia Mosaic in browns & another in blues & greens, lots of Regia cotton that was on sale, some Meilenweit Stretch cotton in blues, Strapaz 6 ply cotton in black and a striping color, Regia cotton in solid Denim, and two balls of Schachenmayr Chamonix (under $2.00 a ball) to add to a felted bag or slipper cuff. Enough yarn for 17 pairs of socks, eek!

I've never ordered from Astrid before, but it went fine. The squishy mailing bag had two small slashes in it where (I guess) the customs agents had checked it out, but the yarn was in good shape. The site is sort of hard to navigate through, but the prices are great. I ordered on 2/18 and the package got here on 3/5, about 2 weeks. Unfortunately I ordered before she got in the Opal Bamboo and Uni cotton. I feel a group order coming on to get the best shipping price.

Remember, sock yarn doesn't count as stash!

Sunday Seven Part V

The title sounds like a Shakespeare play, doesn't it? Henry VI, Part II

Seven Things I am grateful for this week.
1. I missed last week due to Stitches West, so we'll start with that. I had a great time and learned a lot
2. My mom is home from the hospital less than two weeks after hip replacement surgery.
3. My Rockin Sock Club shipment arrived, and I completed my first short row toe successfully. I love the little keychain with emergency sock yarn attached. Last year I had to use the yarn to complete the toe of my second sock, so it's good to have.
4. Books on Tape
5. Joyce Williams, who unvented knitting small circumferences on two circular needles
6. Cat Bordhi, who made it fun
7. Knitting at KNoon's great videos and free patterns

Stitches West/ I succumbed

I had 4 days of classes at Stitches West, met someone for lunch on Saturday (no shopping that day until after class at 5:00), and yet I still managed to buy yarn. It was a good thing I brought a bag lunch on Friday because I spent my whole lunch break (2 hours) at the Woolstock booth looking for another bag of some Louisa Harding Aran weight cashmere blend. Everything at the Woolstock booth was 1/2 off but you had to buy the whole bag. I also got some Noro Kochoran for $10.00 a skein there.

Sock yarn purchases:
Sock Candy from STR (stretchy cotton, hand dyed) plus the Fairisling on Blue Moon book.
Shelridge Farms Ultra in heathered purple (never mind that I already got some in another color two Stitches ago and haven't knit it up yet). I am almost finished working on another pair in rust heather and it is wonderful.
Fleece Artist in parrot, which has blues, greens and roses, plus lilac
Sol Joy in a dark blue/multicolor
STR light in Hen House (rainbow)
I also tried to buy two skeins of STR that I already owned but haven't knit yet. Luckily they could tell me at the check out table that I did own it, so I saved some money there.

I resisted buying anything at Webs and was glad I had ordered some sock yarn from Astrid in Holland the week before so I wasn't tempted by the bamboo blends. I almost bought more Hand Jive Nature's Palette in a pinky grey burgundy odd duck dye lot but there was only one skein. Next time. That was at Carolina Homespun and they are a somewhat LYS. That's not all the yarn I purchased: more next time.

I also got Lily Chin to sign my French Madeline book. She was dressed as Madeline at the student banquet Saturday. She thought that was a hoot and said I made her day on Sunday afternoon, after a long four days. She even signed en francais.