Proof

Yes, it's as soft as it looks. No soft-focus lens, no trick lighting, just 1200 yards of pure cashmere. I'll give you a moment alone.

Then there's this little unlabeled ball of wonder. I think it's also cashmere or some exotic blend. It's just as soft as the white cashmere, but a wee bit finer and silkier. Darn the previous owner for just tossing it in a box and discarding the label!

This is the token odd ball. It's probably DK weight or light worsted. Not very soft at all. Pink, purple, green shades of a boucle-type yarn. Odd. This one is going to be added to the prayer shawl stash at church. Mixed with other yarn, it just might be ok.

Berroco ChaCha...5 hanks and 1 center pull ball.

Berroco Pleasure...10 balls (enough for a sweater!!)

This is only a tiny portion of the contents of the yarn I bought at that sale last week. It took me most of this week to get it organized, counted and in bags. Untangling the sock yarn took two nights (Liana, I did it for you!) I'll post more photos as I take them.

My passport finally arrived the other day! Whee! Now I just have to figure out what knitting project(s) I'm going to take with me to Quebec. Suggestions?

And, a bit of self-promotion. Punchy is now available on Etsy! Only two available. Get 'em while they last!

The Grail

I have a weakness. Ok, so I have "another" weakness. Besides yarn. I have a weakness for estate sales. I don't know what it is about going through other people's discarded stuff. Now that I put it that way, it does seem rather...icky. But I do it anyway because it's fun.

I'm always on the lookout for a bargain and last weekend there were a few sales that caught my eye. For a few bucks and a little bit of time spent digging, I walked away from the first one with a huge enamel tray for dying fiber, a couple thousand yards of slubby lace weight cotton linen blend yarn and some purple aluminum knitting needles. I do love the old aluminum needles...and PURPLE.

I had very little time for the second sale, but they specifically listed yarn in the advertisement. Would anything be left by the time I got there? Would it be green variegated acrylic? Like I said, I didn't have much time so when I spotted three boxes and a basket piled up in a corner, I pulled them out, stacked them up and asked, "how much?" I did do a little poking about before asking what she wanted for the lot and had a hunch that I wouldn't be disappointed. Was that Koigu? Did I see a Rowan label? Addi turbos? Seriously? $30. For all of it.

Now, mind you, a lot of the yarn was a tangled mess. There were about 6 UFOs still on the needles, 4 socks in progress and several other bits of abandoned swatches that had been ripped off the needles and tossed in a heap. (Remind me to tidy up my stash and swatches.) Even though some of the yarn was tangled beyond comprehension, it was surprisingly clean. No funky smells. No chewed up pieces. Clean. I set the tangles aside and concentrated on the intact skeins with labels.

Berroco, Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Lorna's Laces, Blue Sky Alpaca. Each time I pulled a handful of yarn out of the box it was a new treat. Then I dug a bit deeper and my hand touched the Holy Grail. Cashmere. Oh. My. God. Cashmere. So much for pulling skeins out one at a time. I dumped the box on the floor and out rolled two more hanks of the same creamy lace weight 100% cashmere. 1200 yards total. I had to take a shower.

Etsy Update: Peacock Superwash Wool Hand-Dyed

P1010089
Originally uploaded by KnittyBits

New sock yarn just listed!
460 yards
75% superwash wool / 25% nylon
Chrysalis Fibers

Done with Terra Firma

P1010086
Originally uploaded by KnittyBits

I've finally finished the Terra Firma Socks That took forever Rock. The yarn did not give me joy while knitting because I'm just not a fan of hard twist sock yarn. It felt "hard" and wasn't all that springy. But then I blocked the socks. I soaked them in warm water with a drop of shampoo, and the yarn relaxed and bloomed! I could almost hear the yarn sighing with joy and release! There was a bit of color bleed in the water, but nothing terrible. Now, the socks are just lovely! I'm quite pleased with the way the yarn pattened at the top of the foot right below the cuff. It's the same pattern on each sock but it happened in a different part of the skein. I'm not one who needs her socks all matchy matchy but I do like them to be a pair...and these socks are a lovely pair.

The pattern was rather simple.
Cast on 64 stitches (or any increment of 4).
K1 P1 rib for however long it pleases you.
Then switch to the pattern:
Row 1: K3 P1 for the entire round
Row 2: K1 P1 for the entire round
Could it be any simpler?
The heel flap is a basic slip stitch heel. Nothing fancy on the gussets either. The foot only has 32 stitches of pattern on the top and is plain stockinette on the bottom. Simple toe decrease. I just used other sock patterns to figure out the heel calculations. If you've knit socks before this one should be a breeze. I really like the rib like stretchyness. I'm looking forward to the next cold day so I can wear them...it may be a while!

A treasure within a treasure

This past spring, Randy and I hooked up the camper and headed to northern Alabama. We didn't really have an agenda other than to go somewhere neither of us had been before that was within a couple hours from home. We decided on Joe Wheeler State Park.

We drove around the area and did some dam exploring (couldn't resist) and hiking. A little research before the trip put us on the trail of a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Florence--the Rosenbaum House.

I'm not going to go on about Frank's Usonian architecture or all the details of the house. For those that want to know more, see the website: http://www.wrightinalabama.com/. It's wonderfully simple and elegant.

As we entered one of the bedrooms, I believe I gave a little yelp...or maybe it was a loud yelp. You see, Mrs. Rosenbaum was a fiber artist, and an entire bedroom was dedicated to her STASH!

The photo on the desk is of Mrs. Rosenbaum at one of her looms.

Table runner woven by Mrs. Rosenbaum
How delightfully unexpected!