Birthday Yarn and Fall Baskets

Alright I know I said I'd stop with the stash yarn but I  never showed you my birthday yarn, did I?

The Incredibly Patient Mother has a spinning wheel (though I need to nudge her back towards it) and Sibling the Elder sits down and a lace shawl falls off her fingers when she stands up five minutes later.  These are good women to have shopping for you when you are a bit of a yarn-a-holic. Which I might be. Perhaps.

Anyway....back to birthday wool.

My sister knows I love all things blue and teal and purple and green and such. I'm in good company, if the Sanguine Gryphon and Wollmeise updates are anything to go by--those always seem to be the first colors that sell out. 



So she went in search, this sister of mine, for yarn that bore my name and was of a proper shade to fit in with the rest of my stash.




Isn't it pretty? :) Apparently, there is only one store in the United States that carries this particular type of Schaefer yarns. Others carry Schaefer Anne and other such but not Abigail. She tracked it down, called the shop and put in a special order for 2 skeins that are a gorgeous shade of blue with hints of gray. Lovely and squishy.

She also knit me a stunning shawl.  (I know, I'm incredibly spoiled) But I have not been in her presence or that of a certain Cartoonist or Restaurant Man of late and I need someone with a good camera. We'll do something at Christmas probably to rectify this error.






Now, my mother is also wise in the ways of the Hedgehog. Wise mother has heard me lament--at great length--that indie dyers aren't doing black and teal combinations. Brown and teal I can find in excess but not black and teal. I'm fussy, I want black. So what did she find me for my birthday?



Blue Ridge Yarns--in black and teal. Not just pretending to be black and teal but truly and vibrantly black and teal.

No clue what I'm making yet but isn't it stunning?






She also got me some handy yarn storage.  I'm sure she probably meant it for other uses as well but really, in this apartment, it's yarn storage.



Now, there are three of these, progressively smaller. And it was to my surprise not that the cat claimed them but how. She likes to sleep on top of the largest one. When she curls into a round, it's perfectly cat sized. We're still having discussions about not using ones claws on them but she's doing pretty well.

Change of plans...

I was going to show you detailed pictures of all of my recent stash acquisitions, many of which have interesting stories. There was going to be LONG blog posts about all of it.

However, I was getting tired of writing it all. Which meant, I suspect, that you were getting tired of reading it all.

So...it's time for a stash flash.  A quick view and no more than a line or two description....



This is a double skein of Ewetopia Fiber Sport Weight Handdyed. Kathryn had it behind her counter where she was going to split it up into two skeins. Ferreting it out with AudioGirl, I asked if I could buy it whole and Kathryn agreed. It has no ball band, I'm calling it Midnight Sky. 

Next up... EcoWool+. Now they make this stuff in colors other than Sheep! Not that there is anything wrong with the sheepy colors. I have a lot of Latte in my stash. But still..it's purty.A score with AudioGirl from Baskets of Yarn.



Now, you know I love my sister very much. So much that when we were IMing one day and a Loopy Ewe Wollmeise Lace update popped up I said "tell me what colors you like and I'll get you one for your birthday!" and she did and I did and there you go. Let it not be said that I don't enhance the stash of others.

When I caught another random Friday update of lace, I grabbed a skein of semi-solid. Because it was coming from the WM directly, I didn't know what shade it would be. And sibling mine...I love you very very much. But this is MINE.



I'll figure out something else for you for Christmas. Hopefully post haste.

I also, in the last couple months, got a Wollmeise Grab-bag and scored these beauties:



I now am able to see an update go by without feeling frantic. I have six skeins of my own that should be knit up. I will be okay. Really...okay. Keep telling myself that.

There's one other skein to show you all but it really does have a good story to go with it. Next week perhaps when you're not quite so tired of all of my wool....

20 Days to Christmas....Stop Me From Shopping

So..there's not a lot of space at the new Chez Hedgehog. I've mentioned that already I think. Certainly it's a lovely 1.5 bedroom garden apartment and for one small female and one small gray cat, it's plenty of space.  But for a girl with a large library and well fed stash..it's um...kinda tight. 

I own a lot of yarn. Beautiful yarn. Yarn that has stories behind it. Yarn that I can't wait to knit up whenever I dig it out of the bins and remember that I own it. And we're 20 days from Christmas. By now I should be absolutely crazed with Christmas knitting.  I should at least be contemplating what I'm giving people for Christmas.

Instead...here I am sitting, reading archives of the Yarn Harlot's website, and trying to justify to myself the purchase of more sock yarn. I don't need sock yarn. I have over 50 skeins of yarn that fit into the "sock weight" category, though most of them are fingering and not really sock yarn.  We're looking about about 14 pairs of socks really if we're talking "sock" sock yarn.  Why am I considering stalking The Loopy Ewe or dashing over to Blue Moon Fiber Arts?  Why am I peering out of the side of my eye at the gift certificate to Loopy that the women I worked with gave me upon leaving?  Why on earth, when I have 3 square inches of living room floor to stand in, am I even remotely considering adding one more item to this chaos? 

These are my issues on Sunday afternoon. I'm waiting on a new camera cable. I have one but despite moving in the car it has managed to become lost somewhere here in the apartment. I had it the day I moved. I know that because I uploaded some pictures to this laptop. Dang if I can find them now.  So I'll just have to work on that backlog of stuff and promise you that I've nearly finished a pair of socks, I've knit and ripped out a scarf, and that my apartment is a disaster. 

Guess I need to turn the kettle on again and see about finding some living room floor before I have to go to a Be the Groove Show later.

Strawberry Chocolate Progression...

A few months back I saw the Yarn Harlot talking about cotton. That in and of itself caught my eye, as she's a self-proclaimed not-really-a-cotton knitter. I'm increasingly less so, wool is so much more forgiving and alpaca is far more squishy. Still, I was fascinated with the color progression shown in the skein and clicked over to Wolles Yarn Creations.

Color changing cotton is all she does and it's lovely! There are a lot of variety of shades and you can request custom blends.  Most of her blends come in two skeins --a light to dark and dark to light with the same shades. I threw her store feed into Google Reader (my new favorite way to follow Etsy store owners) and waited for something to catch my eye.

What came up was the Strawberry Chocolate. I have a friend who lives the pink and brown combination. As she's a beach bunny, cotton would probably be perfect for her for a small shawl. It'll be far more washable and usable than wool would. It's four ply and 480 yards.

Having successfully gotten through the Old Man of Storr, I thought that might be another simple but lovely shawl that I could knit without having to pay too much attention. This became my computer knitting.

The majority of Old Man of Storr is garter with increases, so I was waiting for the color changes to make things interesting . The plies aren't twisted together and that is a little creative. I'm using wooden needles with a blunter tip and, for me, has helped me fight the splittiness but it's still a challenge.


First we began with bubblegum pink. There wasn't too much of this, so that went pretty quickly.

Then I got to the first change. I wondered how she had done it, it was so intriguing to me, I was trying to determine what dying process could possibly have been used to create this gradual color progression. And then I reached it.

The first knot! The slow shifts in color are made by cutting a single ply and replacing it with a new color.  It will mean a lot of teeny little ends to weave in but as they are only single ply ends, it's not too much of a hassle.

I've progressed through two color changes now and am on two strands of red, two of pink, about ready to change to three of red, one of pink.  While you can see the shifts in person, the camera shows them far more clearly than the naked eye does...





Not sure how quickly I'll get it done. As memory serves I don't have that much more to go on the garter increases on the body.  Something like 20 rows last I counted. But at the moment my hands are fully cramping from delayed moving syndrome and I'm not entirely sure where I packed the project. I think it's in the giant hedgehog floor pillow.

Let Someone Else Drive....(Part 3)

But of course, on this long adventure of the LPL Yarn Crawl, we didn't go only to one store! After YD and buying a new vase, (Seriously--what's wrong with me that a month before moving I'm buying vases?) it was off to What in Yarnation! in Cannon Falls, MN.

What in Yarnation!* opened in September 2010, so I think we were the first big tour that they'd had. We were greeted with cookies and wide open arms. As we were rejuvinated and came with wide open checkbooks, this was good!

The store is lovely! It's not huge but they've packed a whole lot of yarn into it. It's a Berroco store, so I got to play with all of those different blends. As the shops near me were all Cascade, it was a nice change. I nearly bought 2-3 sweaters worth of a tencel wool blend that just glowed in the skein. But the owners showed those of us who were drooling that it loses a lot of the sheen when knit up. That was disappointing but I appreciated the honesty.

There was a lot of variety in addition to the Berroco and a wonderful sit-and-knit space where we all congregated before and after checking out. As I'd been suffering through broken size 15 circular, I took the opportunity to replace that to my greatly increased sanity. There was every color of Lion Brand Homespun**, Brown sheep, and some local stuff too. I like it when there are indie dyers/indie spinners available.

Personally, I went for sock yarn. There was an interesting selection and I found two things that seemed worthy of following me home.

First: Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Superwash in Sport Weight in Sage



They are small skeins, so I bought two to make a pair of socks, but I think there should be enough to make some toasty knee high socks. That's the goal at least. I have been meaning to tackle one of Wendy Johnson's basic toe up patterns--as I've only knit cuff down before--and this yarn seemed perfect for that hurdle.

I also found this yarn which I bought entirely because it was interesting.  Which might not be a good thing. I haven't decided. But look at it:





It's Bamboo Zania in Gold/Burgundy. Rainlover on Plurk tells me that it isn't the best for socks. I figured it might make for an interesting shawl, hence the 3 skeinlettes. I was really mostly struck by the color combination. I don't think I've ever seen that golden yellow and burgundy in a skein before. And I have no idea what to make with it that won't pool. 

We stumbled out well laden and headed back to La Crosse. Overall it was a lovely day and I spent way too much on yarn.  But hey, that's what a good yarn crawl is all about right?

***

*Sorry, I can only find the FB page. If there's a website and I missed it, will someone shoot me an email?
**Makes a good blanket on size 50s..
***I'm prescheduling this. When it posts I'll actually be at my first day at the new job! Wish me luck.  :)

Let Someone Else Drive....(Part 2)

After cleaning out Yellow Dog, which we did with credit cards flying, there was lunch and a bit of time at the local Antique Emporium. Leave no corner unsearched for elephants and hedgehogs!

But it was neither collectible animal that caught my eye. In the back corner of the second of three floors, I spotted some silver vases and tea pots. I'm a magpie and this was irresistible.

I had a look at a couple of pieces and picked up one of the teapots. Everything was plate and the prices were okay but not fabulous. And then I picked up a vase.  Over a foot high, it was much heavier than anything else on the shelf. More interestingly, it had hallmarks on it. Now--I like silver but I'm not quite up on my hallmarks. And wouldn't you know that M, who knows these things, was out of the country that weekend?  Most inconvenient. I asked the gentleman behind the counter but all he could tell me was that it was plate and that it was English, which I'd already figured out.

And it was the same price as the much less interesting (and much lighter) little silver plate tea pot. I consulted with another member of the knitters, one who works in a jewelry store, and we agreed that it was just too interesting.

So, here it is, pre-shined up. It's a lot shinier now,  but I tossed my jar of silver polish and need to get another to keep everything shiny at Chez Hedgehog.  I tried to take a picture of the hallmarks but they're just proving impossible, recessed a couple inches into the bottom of the vase. I got a fuzzy picture but I won't inflict it on you. M is currently translating. 



It should make a lovely straight needle holder, don't you think?

Let Someone Else Drive....(Part 1)

Every good yarn crawl should come with someone else behind the wheel. So when the reader's advisory librarian at La Crosse Public Library asked me if I thought we could fill a bus for a yarn crawl, I hastily agreed. We took names at the spring Knitting in Public Day.

The date was finally set for October 30. I had to get up at an entirely unreasonable hour to go. Gypsy was very confused that I was leaving the house before 7 a.m. That may be a more common occurrence now, *sigh*..

We headed out from the K-mart parking lot as the sky grew light. Our bus driver was a delightful man who teased us good naturedly about having so many beautiful women. I drank my coffee and knit and watched the sky lighten. I spend so much time behind the wheel, it's rare that I have the opportunity to just enjoy the scenery as it rolls by. I was a bit reminded that I can only knit for so long while riding in a car, I do get a smidge car-sick but nothing too awful.

The project was one of the endless City Shawls--but that's another post.  Suffice to say at least one other knitter in La Crosse is working on the same pattern!

Our first stop was Yellow Dog in Eau Claire. This was my second trip to EC--my first having been for blueberries last summer. I'd heard a lot about Yellow Dog, it's touted as one of the best shops in the region, and is probably the most well known. I had heard of it before moving there, which to me says a lot. They are known for having a lot of really good teachers come in. I really wanted to take the Knitting Runes course that was offered a couple of years ago but the prospect of driving three+ hours in the snow of January made me hesitant. Still, I think runes as colorwork could be fun. 

The store itself was a lot smaller than I expected. That's not a bad thing, I'm sure it's cozy generally, but 25 knitters made it just a tad bit squashed.  And as we were all now fully awake, we were in the mood to shop.  As the owner explained to us, she's one of the two stores in the US that is licensed to carry Garn Studios/Drops yarn, which is primarily found in the EU.  So that is 90% of what she carries, all of the different types of yarn that they have. I had heard that in England one goes to a Rowan store or a xyz brand store and wondered if this was what is was like.

She'd also invited in an art yarns spinner to demonstrate for us that morning.  I like art yarns but only in a bowl.  It was lovely to watch her spin though and certainly a different way of approaching spinning. I am staying far far far away from wheels. I'm just mildly terrified that if I were to buy my own wheel, I would have to move again to a bigger apartment to accommodate all of the fiber. Did I mention I have no closet space in the new place?

I was a little disappointed at what was available in the shop. While the owner was very willing to order and ship us whatever we were interested in, I was there to tangibly shop. I was seeking the impulse buy and getting something out of a catalog that would then be shipped to me just wasn't quite the order of the day. There was a lot of variety but, for me, not quite enough quantity.



Not that I truly let that stop me. I found a sweater's worth of Karisma in a lovely aqua/sea foam. It's a DK superwash and will make a beautiful sweater if I ever get around to letting AudioGirl nag me into making one. As I am presently completely dissatisfied with the sweater contents of my wardrobe (one or two exceptions of course), this might happen sooner rather than later. Considering the amount of sweater quantities in my stash, this might not be a bad thing. 



More on the rest of the trip in a bit...