Destash: Let the yarn sale begin!

Blue Moon Fiber Arts' Socks That Rock medium weight in Gingerbread Dude

Ever since I began designing, my stash has been feeling neglected. As has my, um, bank account...

A firm believer in palliative care, and after careful consideration, I decided to alleviate further yarn-suffering while funding my ongoing design ideas. How, you may ask, do I plan to do this?

Well...I’m having a stash sale!

You think this is a lot? Well, guess what: It's a two-year-old photo!

Are you on Ravelry? If so, here's a link to my destash page. For the "non-Ravelers" among us, here's a list of yarns and prices:

• Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in Blarney Stone: $18 SOLD
  
• Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Medium-weight in Gingerbread Dude: $19
  
• Claudia Hand Painted Fingering Weight in Pink Dot: $18 for 2 sks
  
• Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Select in Moody Blues: $19
• Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in color 1856 (pink, green, blue): $18
• Hand Jive Knits Nature’s Palette Fingering Weight in Lupine: $18 for 2 skeins
• Margaret Stove Artisan NZ Merino Lace (blues and greens, like a tropical sea) $15
• ONline Supersocke 100 City Color 80: $10
• Cascade Fixation (light blue): 2 balls (enough for a pair of socks) for $10
• The Wool Peddler Silk Solids and Hand Picked Hues in "Dark" (very soft, in deep burgundy, teal, etc.): 2 skeins for $20
• Debbie Bliss Cathay in pink: 1 skein, $5
• Karabella Yarns Kiko in pink/brown/cream colorway: $6
• Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (1 in gray, 1 in black): $5 each
• Lorna’s Laces Lion & Lamb in Irving Park: $20 ea OR 4 skeins for $72 (that's enough for a Clapotis!) SOLD

Margaret Stove Artisan NZ Merino Lace

I’m willing to ship to addresses outside the USA (we can work out the postage). And you can pay via PayPal, which is very secure.

Please drop me a line at KnitSix@gmail.com or PM me on Ravelry (I'm KnitSix) if you see something you'd like to have in your own stash. Thank you!

Hannah

Destash: Let the yarn sale begin!

Food, Fiber, and Fun in Frederick on our Fifth

When we moved out of D.C., we knew we'd probably have to look a little harder to find non-chain restaurants. We were right. But laziness prevails, and we've spent a couple of months eating at Waffle House (cheese grits...yum!), Bob Evans (reliable, if uninspiring), and Perkins (where we recently had a very bad experience). And a local place, Barley & Hops, where they brew beer that tastes like watered down Coors Light. Yeah.

So when we found ourselves without a plan on our 5th Anniversary, Chris and I decided to branch out a bit. I should point out that we tend to be pretty casual about these things -- spending tons of money isn't always the answer.

We remembered, a few weeks back, walking past a brew-pub in downtown Frederick, and thinking it looked interesting. Plus, it was near a LYS, Keep Me in Stitches, that I hadn't visited yet ;-)

Of course the yarn store came first. Packed to the brim, Keep Me in Stitches is a friendly store that carries yarn that most of us can actually afford, including many mainstream brands not found at other stores in the area (Berroco, Plymouth, Dale of Norway, etc.).

But don't stop there: You'll also find some local alpaca yarn that's to die for; gorgeous sock yarns, including Claudia Hand Painted Yarns (one of my favorites); and a nice selection of crochet threads and other needlework accoutrements. The store also offers a great selection of past issues of knitting mags. I was happy to find the Fall 2004 issue of Interweave Knits, which I vaguely recall throwing away when clearing out for a move.

Once I had my LYS fix, we moved on to the restaurant: Brewer's Alley. Beer is, of course, of the utmost importance at a restaurant with Brewer in the name. So we both tried a pint. I had the IPA, and Chris had the Winter Wiessen. Both were surprisingly good! Mine was hoppy and bright, and Chris' was smooth and complex. Very nice stuff :-)

We decided to order soup, followed by a wood-fired pizza off the "daily specials" menu, and again, we were surprised. My Butternut Squash soup was creamy and garlicky, rather than traditionally sweet. Chris' gumbo was peppery and packed with shrimp, chicken, sausage, and all the other stuff that makes Cajun cooking so fabulous. Then our pizza arrived.

No ordinary pizza, this. Instead of tomato sauce, the Smokehouse Pizza is covered with BBQ sauce. This initially had me feeling a bit wary, but it boasted a perfect balance of sweet and sour and spicy. Yum. And the toppings, which could have been overdone, were just right...interesting, tender, and spicy. Perhaps most importantly, the crust -- I broke off a piece so I could taste it on its own -- actually had flavor, unlike many pizzas we've encountered.

Completely stuffed, we forged ahead, ordering coffee for both, bread pudding for me, and crème brûlée for Chris. The desserts were almost as good as the pizza -- it's hard, it seems, to find a good pastry chef these days! -- and the coffee was strong and delicious.

All in all, a good day, spent with the man I love -- who was also celebrating his birthday -- filled with yarn and good food. Who could ask for more?

Food, Fiber, and Fun in Frederick on our Fifth

Frozen Peace Fleece, Anyone? (No? How about some Lorna's Laces...)

OK, please be honest. Am I the only knitter (AKA: stasher) who takes preventative anti-moth measures?

What you're looking at are three skeins of Peace Fleece, which I bought at Eco-Green, a local shop that specializes in organic, green, fair-trade products.

Why are they in the freezer, you ask? Well...because I'm sick. I literally dream about finding moths in my home (more of a nightmare, really). So whenever I buy yarn from a store that's an "unknown quantity" I pop it in the freezer for a couple of days to kill any fabric bugs/eggs that might be hiding in the depths of my new wool-babies.

The red yarn and pretty needles are going to be the Knitting Needle Bag from Bag Style. You can also download the pattern free at Knitting Daily.

Here's how the freezer trick works: You put the yarn in the freezer for 24 - 48 hours, which either kills the little buggers or puts them into dormancy. They think it's the deep freeze of winter. Then, when you take the yarn out of the freezer, they suddenly think it's spring! You give them 24 hours in the warmth of your kitchen, and then--this is the evil part--pop the yarn back into the freezer for a day or two. This kills the little guys who made it through the first freeze.

Three skeins of DK-weight Peace Fleece I bought at Eco-Green earlier this year...They're going to make some hefty boot socks to keep Chris' little piggies warm!

But I want to get back to my question: Do you ever take preventative anti-moth measures? Or do you know anyone who does? I need to know. Maybe, if I'm not alone, I won't feel so OCD! Do you think it's weird?

An orphan skein of Claudia's HP, rescued from Stitch DC last spring. Too pretty to pass up, don't you agree?

SWAP, ANYONE?

Last fall I bought five skeins of Lorna's Laces in Gold Hill, which I thought would make a really pretty leaf-patterned autumny wrap. But they've sat in my stash for the past year, and I've finally come to terms with the fact that I'm probably not going to use them.

Help us fulfill our destiny!

I know, I know, I could make socks with them. But I wasn't particularly happy with the pooling in my Waving Lace socks (made with LL in Watercolors). I like how the yarn feels, and I like the solid colors, but the multicolored LL yarns aren't my top choice.

So... If anyone would like to buy them, or swap for them, please drop me a line at knitsix@gmail.com

Happy knitting!

Frozen Peace Fleece, Anyone? (No? How about some Lorna's Laces...)

Feeling Pretty

Mmmmmm. Pretty colors...


I promise to talk about something else after this, but I just had to share my recent sock yarn madness. This is the stash accumulated, mostly, during the past month...Largely rewards for meeting a goal I set for myself :-)

The two "cakes" are Lorna's Laces Watercolors and Neighborhood Fiber Co. (NFC) Brightwood. The skeins, clockwise from the top are: Claudia Hand Painted Chocolate Cherry; Sundara Yarns' Cherry Blossoms; NFC's Brookland (teal and purple); a gorgeous cranberry-colored semi-solid from NFC (I forget the color's name!); and Claudia's Pink Dot.

And, to quote Basie, "once more once," before they head to the post office today--the oh-so-pretty Orchid Socks (AKA Simply Lovely Lace Socks in Koigu KPPPM)...complete with sewn-down picot edge.

Please be advised: These socks are meant for far smaller feet than mine! (As you can tell.)



Finally, because Maggie's been getting all the attention lately...

This is Katja, looking pretty and pensive. Despite her precious "Fancy Feast" appearance, she's actually a hellion--a wannabe barn cat. We love that about her.

Feeling Pretty

Indulgence, Part 2

OK. Breathe. Crises averted. Illnesses passing. Ailing resting comfortably.

World peace? Well, all I can do toward that particular problem today is meditate and send what my grandma used to call "positive vives." And, of course, vote based on my personal beliefs. Which, because of my low threshold for righteous indignation, are probably far from mysterious. Let's just say that when I travel, I'll be the one in the "I'm From Ottawa" and "Nova Scotia Rocks" t-shirts.

Sorry. Back to knitting.

A couple of weeks ago, mired in wintery drizzle and grayness, I started longing for COLOR. Remember? I was looking at Claudia Hand Paint sock yarns in delicious colors, like Chocolate Cherry and Pink Dot. Names that actually make my mouth water...Mmmmm.

Well...at the end of the first week in April, I achieved a personal goal, and immediately knew how to reward myself:
Yarns ordered online, from Ewe Need Yarn. They were great :-)


On the left, ladies and gentlemen, we have Chocolate Cherry, a luscious blend of dark, rich mocha and deep chocolate brown, delightfully blended with, well, cherry red...
(Hey, wait a minute...What's that dust-bunny doing behind my chair?)


And on the right, we have Pink Dot: An ambrosia of berries, grapes, and minty greens. So lovely... And "lite" to boot!
(Eek! That's no dust-bunny--It's Katja! CREATOR of dust-bunnies.)

Sorry for the silliness and political commentary. It's been a long day, and a longer week.

See you soon, with some eye-candy. And as soon as it arrives, I'll follow up with Indulgence, Part 3!

Indulgence, Part 2

Grey Saturday...Warm Colourways

Hypothetical Situation: You have $60.00 to spend on yarn. What do you buy?
The answers (if you're me, and, like me, you have a "sweet tooth"):

1) A skein of Sundara Yarns' luscious Cherry Blossom sock yarn. I live in Washington, DC, so this is a must-have, right? (Oh, Purly, puhleeeze tell me I can still get some Cherry Blossom if I have to wait until post-rent-week!)

2) Two skeins of Claudia Hand Painted Chocolate Cherry sock yarn (Do you see the color pattern developing here?)

3) One skein of this Claudia Hand Painted "Pink Dot" sock yarn, to go with the orphan skein I rescued from my LYS yesterday
Now, if only I had that $60.00... Hmmmm. What can I pawn? I have lots of stash yarn and a ton of books I could sell--anyone interested? ;-)

Grey Saturday...Warm Colourways