Stash Enhancement: Before the Year Gets Away...

Happy Saturday! It appears that I've not done a proper stash enhancement acquisition type post since I came back from Lambtown and that was in October.


Now, I would love to tell you that I've not had any yarn come in at all since then.


Of course, I would be lying. And for the sake of transparency, I'm going to disclose the last few month's acquisitions.



Since my last post, a few things have come in, and not all of them were fibery....but they are all related to my fibery endeavors so I think it counts. These aren't going to be in in any sort of chronological order but I do try to group things. Also, it's a photo-heavy post :)

I picked this up from Erin Lane Bags. Yes, you read that correctly. She's had some extras of some of the yarns and bags from some of her clubs so she threw them up on Facebook and we could claim them (sort of like a Facebook Live sale, without the video part). So, these came to my house. This is five mini skeins, a Safronie Fairy Tales gradient pack. The colors included are Denim, Egregious, Total Teal, In the Pink, and Natural. Each mini is approximately 76 yds, so I have about 380 yds total.

I also picked up a skein of Holiday Yarns Super Sheep DK from Erin Lane Bags. The colorway is Shire and I believe it was from her Middle Earth Club. It has about 260 yds. I have no idea what it wants to be when it grows up. For now, it's just mine.

Over on the "winning" side of things, I won this skein of yarn over in the LSG Monthly Thread in September. It's a skein of Frabjous Fibers Cheshire Cat in Tulip Roots and is about 520 yds of fingering weight yarn. The person I won it from also sent some stitch markers along :)

But wait, that's not all! I won yarn last month, again in the LSG Monthly Thread. These are two skeins of Cutthroat Yarn Laceweight in Purple People Eater. It wants to be a shawl when it grows up because it's about 1750 yds total.

I'm apparently good at winning over in that thread. I also won a cowl someone else had made (it needs a wash and block, however, because she has cats and I had it on for about five minutes before my allergies kicked it - it's gorgeous and I will wear it a lot after it's been washed/blocked again).

This yarn is interesting. I got this in the annual Claudio Sanchez Swap in the LSG group on Ravelry. I know the three on the right are handspun merino (according to the sender). The two on the right are two-ply and the other one is single. The lighter green is handspun wool (probably Corriedale) that was dyed with Kool-Aid. None of these are listed in my stash on Ravelry because I'm unsure of weight and yardage. But, I know I have them.

Toward the end of October, I caught a little something on Instagram. Valkyrie Fibers (which is somewhat local - she's in the Tahoe area) was having a Rocky Horror Picture Show special colorway club and I managed to snag the very last one.

These are all on her Matte Sock base. The top one is Frank's Laboratory and is inspired by Tim Curry:

She also included two minis. The red is called Sonic Oscillator and the sparkly purple is Frank's Lingerie. She also included a pear stitch marker (because, as you can see in the above photo, Doctor Frank-N-Furter is wearing a string of pearls).

Outside of those, I only made three other yarn purchases:

Ever since Artfibers closed in San Francisco, I've been scooping up some of the bases that I like when I see them come up here and there. I don't check super often but I check once in awhile. These came up in the Artfibers group on Ravelry and they came home. They're all partials of various lots. I'm pretty sure the bottom right is their Anime base, for which I have a liking. I think the two white ones are a cotton base or cotton polyester blend. I'm not even sure what the bases are, honestly. I just like them so they came to live with me.

I also contacted River's Edge Fiber Arts about the one skein of purple yarn I won at the auction at Wisconsin Sheep & Wool, asking if she had a couple more on hand. She said she was en route to another festival but when she unpacked, she'd pull them and send them my way. So, these two arrived in October sometime.

In November, one of my bestestest friends from college was here for about a week or so and we went to ImagiKnit in San Francisco. I had not been there since we moved to California 5.5 years ago. It was time to go again. So, we made the trek into the city (not that it's all that far) and these two skeins of yarn came home. They're from Apple Tree Knits and the base is Plush Fingering Gradient. They're both rainbows (not that you can see the second one) but one goes from red to purple and the other goes from purple to red. The colorway is called Chakra Gradient.

And, truthfully, that was all that came home that was yarn....well, mostly....

I came home with these three little kits. The yarn, any "extras" (stuffing), and a pattern are included. The yarn is actually embroidery floss, which is fine. I just need to find the needles (US #1, if I'm remembering correctly).

I also found this otter view bag. The inside has lily pads. I couldn't resist. I have a gazillion project bags but I wanted this one, too. I think this is my only bag with a view window.

I also came home with a new bottle of Eucalan and two books. The Cable Left/Cable Right book goes well with my Cast On/Bind Off and Increase/Decrease books by the same author. The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques has been on my radar for a bit and I finally just bought it.


But wait, that's still not the end of it....

I can't remember if I've shown these or not. I bought the fabric from Spoonflower well over a year ago, back when Erin Lane Bags was doing custom work. Life got in the way and like eight or nine months after I had purchased the fabric (and washed/pressed it), I found it. By then, the custom bag option was nowhere to be found on the website. A quick email to Lindsey and I shipped my fabric off. A few months later (because she was in the middle of festivals and such), I had my three lovely, Hunger Games inspired project bags. The top two are sweater bags and the bottom is a two-fer.

.......and then I fell into one of the Erin Lane Bags Facebook Live sales and may or may not have spent too much money. I picked up two dice bags (the Star Wars and Snoopy Red Barron bags) and two of the sock bags (Fantastic Beasts and Nightmare Before Christmas). I also found this in my package. I've seen them in her booth and I cannot find them on the website. I believe it's a lanyard keychain (not the kind you wear around your neck). I'm a fan.



But that's it, I swear!

Stash Enhancement: Lambtown 2017

Happy Saturday :)

I am writing this from my bestie's house in Wisconsin a week early so hopefully I don't screw up the posting....

Anyway. it's Saturday and I have been festivaling again, which translates to a Stash Enhancement post.


Two weeks ago (tomorrow), kind of on a whim, I went to Lambtown in Dixon, CA. I didn't have a huge budget (what's a budget) but there were a few things I thought I might look for and maybe find a few fun things along the way.

Whatever, let's just see what I bought already!

Two skeins of Cormo Worsted from Sincere Sheep. These are squoooooshy and want to be something wonderful when they grow up. I'm leaning toward fingerless mitts and a hat or maybe an infinity scarf/cowl of some sort.

I stopped off in the Invictus Yarns booth because I have no shame or self control. I wasn't planning on getting anything but yet, here we are. This came as a kit, obviously. It's all on the Victorious base, which is a 100% superwash merino base. The pink is 400 yds of Hubba and the minis are about 600 yds total of a gradient of greys. I also came home with a needle gauge/ruler from them.

These are slightly different dyelots of a BFL/Tussah blend fingering weight yarn from Shaggy Bear Farms (who do not have a website). They specialize in rare breed fibers. Last year, I bought some Lincoln roving. This year, I bought the above yarn and....

Two 4.3 oz. roving balls of Black Welsh Mountain sheep, which has an estimated worldwide population of either ~2,000 or ~ 5,000 (I can't remember off the top of my head).

I visited the Houndstooth Fiber Arts booth and came home with the above skein of their HopScotch base in Canary. It's a merino bulky yarn that I found in the clearance bin (WUT?!).

In addition to the above skein, I also came home with this skein:

This was a TOAK dyed skein on their Painted Ladies base called "Wicked." So, TOAK is Two of a Kind. The first skein of this yarn was being knitted into socks and this one came home with me. She had to take a photograph of it because she didn't write down the dye recipe so she may recreate it someday. This is about 463 yds of a 75/25 merino nylon base.

Normally, I pick up fiber from Wonderland Dyeworks but this time around, I picked up a skein of yarn. This is on their sock base, which is an 80/20 merino nylon blend in a colorway called "Star Gazer."


In addition to all of the above, I also came home with:

the official Lambtown t-shirt (front and back) and tote bag for 2017.

a bigger bottle of Power Scour from the Clemes & Clemes booth. They were at Wisconsin Sheep & Wool and I debated about getting the big bottle then but I knew I wouldn't be able to get it on the plane in my carry on so I asked if they'd be at Lambtown and the guy looked at me like I was nuts and I told him I lived out here and it made more sense. And then I actually did get the big bottle.

a new "bowl" for my support spindle from Trif's Turnings (the Etsy shop is still there but it hasn't been updated in almost a year).

I got a stitch marker and two little bags from A Needle Runs Through It. I know only one bag is pictured but the second bag is the same shape but with little sloths on it. The one with sloths is housing my headphones currently.

I picked up a couple of the Lo-Lo Body Bars (in travel size) and a couple chapsticks made by The Bar Maids (yes, I know only one chapstick is pictured...the other was in my pocket). I also picked up a new plying bobbin. Those three purchases came from Carolina Homespun. The bobbin was one of the things I intended to look for on my travels so I'm glad I found it.

The last thing I came home with, which I picked up in the Sincere Sheep booth along with that lovely cormo, was a Stitch Holder Kit.

The idea is that you thread the cord through your knitting in order to try it on but the beauty of this one is that once you've threaded the cord through your live stitches, you can continue working because one end is a needle. I imagine it will be wonderful for a sweater (if I ever get that far!). 

And, of course, my fleece that I swore up and down I wouldn't buy...but that's out for processing right now. 

So, there's all of that :) I hope you're having a lovely Saturday!

Stash Enhancement: Wisconsin Sheep & Wool 2017

Happy Saturday! It occurs to me that I've acquired a few things and should probably have full disclosure to the wide-open spaces of the interwebs.

Soooo....two weeks ago I was in Wisconsin and I went to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Jefferson. If you're interested in my non-stash photos, you can find them in this post...but I may wind up repeating a few of them. Live with it.

Firstly, the fibers (because, really, it was a Sheep & Wool festival...of course I bought fiber):

River's Edge Fiber Arts Falkland Island Merino, 4 oz, unknown color

I won this in an auction bid with yarn from the same dyer, River's Edge Fiber Arts. It's 100% Falkland Island Merino and I have no idea what the colorway is but it's got mostly browns and greys but there are hints of blue, green, and purple. It should be a fun spin. Someday.

Whispering Pines Shetland, 2 oz total, Under the Sea

These four are deceiving. Each one is only a half-ounce of Shetland fiber from Whispering Pines, and they came a long way from New York. It was some of the last that she dyed herself so I scooped up four of them. She dubbed these "Under the Sea" and they are, obviously, mostly greens and blues but I suspect there are some purples in there, as well. I won't know until I get around to spinning it.

Whispering Pines Shetland, 1/2 oz, "Blue Diamond"

I also picked up this one from Whispering Pines. Specifically, I won it in the auction. I think it went into the auction because it was the last one from this specific sheep, named Blue Diamond. When we went back to the booth after the auction, her husband mentioned that he hadn't seen that name in awhile. So, it was probably a one-off...but it's mine :)

Whispering Pines Shetland, 2 oz total, Neck Wool

I couldn't resist these two, either. In fact, I've already started spinning the one that's been opened. These are a little different. She has batts that come from specific sheep and she keeps those together but this is "neck wool" which is a combination of all the wool off the necks of all the sheep. So, there's grey and white and brown and black all mixed in. And, since I already started spinning it....it's lovely to spin.

Whispering Pines Shetland, 3 oz total, "Fanny"

I think I spent most of my time in this booth. Seriously. I also picked up this 3-pack from a sheep named, "Fanny." I might have to order more online from her someday.....this is going to be so much fun to spin.


In addition to the fiber, there was also yarn...because of course.

Illinois Wool & Fiber Mill, 150 yds bulky handspun

I won this in the auction, as well. It's a handspun Romney that's been dyed (I'm assuming over-dyed with some sort of reddish color). It's approximately 150 yds and based on the skein weight, it would make this an Aran or bulky weight yarn.

Bleating Heart Haven Corriedale, 500 yds total, sport weight

Again, this was an auction win. Bleating Heart Haven is located somewhere near Milwaukee and I do have some yarn from them somewhere in my stash. These are about 250 yds each, about a sport weight. The fiber is Corriedale and is a dark chocolate brown with little flecks of something lighter. I have no idea what I'm going to make but it's going to be epic. Maybe.

Sun Valley Fibers 80/20 Merino Nylon, fingering weight

Honestly, I feel like no Wisconsin fiber festival is complete without a visit with Jeanette & George of Sun Valley Fibers. I've known Jeanette for....well, I met her soon after I started knitting so I've known her almost 10 years now (holy crap, has it really been that long?!). I have a bunch of yarn from her in my stash...but that obviously didn't stop me. But, I'll be honest, I had another skein in my hand and I put one back. This one had to come home, if only because it's called "Run - Zombies!"

Bumblebee Acres Fiber Farm, Coquette Sock

This yarn caught my eye on Friday when I first went to the festival and it was still there on Saturday, which means I had to take it home. The yarn is not in the Ravelry database (yet) but I don't care. It's approximately 434 yds and the colorway is "The Great Pumpkin." I have no idea what I'm going to do with these but maybe something for the boys. Or one of them. Maybe.

Sophie's Toes  Merino Sock Yarn

I've been buying yarn from Emily of Sophie's Toes since...well, again, soon after I started knitting. Sadly, the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival was her last. She's getting out of the yarn dyeing business and focusing more on quilting. So, I picked up this skein, "Rain & Roses" and I also picked up.......

Sophie's Toes BFL/Nylon Sock Yarn

.....this skein, "Rhinebeck is my Happy Place," which was in the sale bin (WUT?!).

Neck-Down Base Shawl

I also won this yarn in the auction (along with the fiber from the same company: River's Edge Fiber Arts). Apparently it called to me, demanding to be wound...so I hand-wound it while watching movies at my bestie's house.


In addition to the fiber and yarn, I also came home with two support spindles and the bowl:

That's where that open Shetland fiber is going....

This is a Handy Andy, which is for Andean plying. Normally, you wind your remaining single onto your hand...which can get a little tight or heavy so this takes that burden.

Two "FiberKnotes" notebooks. They have knitters' graph paper, lined pages, and blank pages. Oh, and a bookmark.

And lastly......

I picked up a squid mug from Jennie the Potter. It was the only one like it she had it became mine in a heartbeat.




So, full disclosure and all that. Happy knitting and spinning!