Stash Enhancement: No, seriously, I'm on a yarn diet....

Happy Saturday!

It occurred to me this past week that I may have neglected a StevenBe Inappropriate shipment. And then there were the.....other items that showed up.

So, let's have a chat about my stash acquisitions :)


Firstly, let's get to the items that came in *mumblemumble* several weeks ago *mumblemumble*

I participated in a swap on Ravelry. I've done plenty of swaps, including a previous year of this one. Anyway, this swap is known as the Claudio Sanchez Swap in LSG. It's inception stems from one of our beloved members of LSG getting a random package with a bunch of random....well, random shit, really. I think this was three years ago now. Just weird things from someone's house. If I remember correctly, one of the things she got was one of those packages of Affy Tapples with one of them missing (Affy Tapples are caramel-covered apples...taffy apples, basically, and you can buy them around Halloween in packages of 3), a tea towel, a little tin of soaps or something like that...just bizarre stuff that people have around their house that they may never use but just, you know, have. The box didn't have a return address other than "Claudio Sanchez" where the return address would go. Based on the contents of the box, there were a few "rules" that came about, including one known as "The Holy two-thirds" wherein you get 2/3 of something (because Affy Tapples), and you can't go out and buy anything for the swap; everything has to come from your house and be not gross. In other words, we don't want your old retainers or anything. Yarn is customary but not a hard-set rule (but, really, we all send yarn). For example, the box I sent contained a couple of those travel-sized toothpastes you get from your dentist, an unused pregnancy test, a notebook, an old copy of Lord of the Flies that I bought at a garage sale intending to read but, really, I didn't read it...uh, what else was in there...some Proactiv bottles, Halloween stickers, a pin from Mexico....oh, and of course, yarn.

I, in turn, received a box from someone else. I'm not going to go through the entire contents of the box but I will show you the yarn and knitting magazine I received :)

This is the magazine. It's the first, and from what I can tell, the only edition ever printed. It was apparently a UK start-up knitting magazine that just didn't take hold. But, I can knit my own Medusa if I want. It's actually something I might use so I added it to my Ravelry library.

I was also gifted a Clover Kritter Case, specifically the crocodile, which is difficult to find. I had no idea what it was but now that I know, I might have to hold onto it for awhile.

In addition to many other things in the bag, I found a ziplock with yarn. I didn't delve in until a few days weeks later. Upon initial viewing, I thought it was a bag of the same kind of yarn...and I was mostly right.

The four purple skeins are Berroco Flax, which run about 65 yds of worsted weight linen/flax each. So, I have about 195 yds of the violet and 65 yds of the purple...and I have no idea what to do with it. The fifth skein, which I thought was going to be a blue color of the same kind of  yarn....yeah, it turned out to be Malabrigo Finito, which runs about 200 yds of fingering weight. So, there's that :)


But that's not all!

In addition to the Claudio Sanchez swap that I participated in, I also had a shipment come in from StevenBe for my StevenBe Inappropriate. This was my 4th shipment and it came about the middle of November and with everything going on, it just slipped my fingers.

But, let's share now :)

Firstly, the box came with an "Unsolicited Dick Pic" which was a photo of Dick Van Dyke from Marry Poppins. I had a giggle.

Inside the box:

That's the pattern(s), yarn, goodie, and the code for the special area of the StevenBe website.

The book is of Pickups & Come-Ons. I've found quite a few entertaining ones in there.

And, of course, delicious yarn! This one is, again, dyed by Three Irish Girls on their Springvale Worsted base and, as you can see, the colorway is Organ Grindr (which spell-check amazingly did not underline...but it underlined "colorway" ::sigh::).


But wait! There's MORE!

I know, I know. I have a problem. The sad part is that there are at least two more skeins coming. That was 100% a deal I couldn't pass up but I'll tell you about it after they arrive. Anyway, more things have come in...

These first two speak to my love of Hunger Games and, really, my love of Three Irish Girls. These are both Springvale DK. The top is the District 12 colorway and the bottom is the Girl on Fire colorway. I bought them from the same person's destash and I think I'm in lurve.

The second two were also purchased from the same destash. The top is a skein of Wollmeise 80/20 and it was so so cheap. I couldn't pass that one up. Seriously, I think it was $18 (FYI, if you're not familiar, this Wollmeise usually goes for around $32/skein). I don't know the colorway (it's got the "We're Different" label) but it's a dark burgundy. The second one came from home. It's Sun Valley Fibers MCN Fingering in the Cinnamon colorway. I say it came from home and that's not a lie. Jeanette, the purveyor of SVF, is back in Wisconsin and I adore her (and miss her - she was quite fun to sit and knit with). So, that one had to come home with me, too.

These last four skeins all arrived last week. I don't even want to talk about it.


I expect I'll be back again because I already know I've got another two skeins coming.....

The Haul (Stitches Midwest 2013)

When we were planning this trip back to Wisconsin, I really didn't think about doing anything for myself, necessarily......other than visiting some people that I knew I wanted to see. And then, out of curiosity, I checked to see when Stitches Midwest would be happening...and lo, I discovered that it was the first weekend we'd be back in Wisconsin. I looked at Husband and said, "well, if you're going to go drink beer on that Saturday, I'm going to Chicago and buying yarn." He couldn't really argue. I even managed to have someone watch Little Man. Sherri is the bestest bestie to have when it comes to watching Little Man - her kids entertain him and all she has to do is make sure he eats, has a clean diaper, and doesn't fall off the roof. It works out quite well.

So, Stitches Midwest......the last time I was there was in 2011 :)

I did a lot of driving on Saturday. We drove from Husband's parents house outside of Milwaukee to Mt. Horeb so I could drop Husband off with MegAndy (Megan & Andy), then I drove Little Man back to Sherri's in Stoughton (just south of Madison), and then I had to drive from there to Schaumburg. Normally, Schaumburg isn't that bad of a drive. We could get there in a little over an hour (about an hour and ten minutes)...but there was construction so it took me almost two hours to get there. But, I got there in one piece :)

I only planned on shopping because I didn't know how tired I would be, if I could get down there for an early/late class, and I didn't find any classes that interested me on the days I could be available to go. So, just shopping....and I shopped.

I walked down every aisle, looked in almost every booth (there were a couple that just didn't interest me so I passed them by - which is no fault of the booth owner) and bought things that I knew I'd have to otherwise go online for.

"Enough already, show us the damn photos!"

Okay, okay, photos.....(yes, it's another photo-heavy post)

University of Wisconsin Christmas Stocking kit

University of Wisconsin Button Beanie kit

University of Wisconsin Bucky Ski Hat kit

I picked up these three kits from one of the booths (and yes, I'm forgetting which one off the top of my head). There is a fourth one that I may order and it's for the scarf. The nice thing about these is that it's already set to go - you're given enough yarn, the pattern, and you go.

Four Erin Lane Bags

I have a couple Erin Lane bags that I bought at Stitches Midwest in 2011 and I love them so I was quite pleased to see her again. The three on the right were bagged together as a three-pack and the one on the left was purchased alone. You, too, can own Erin Lane bags by visiting her Etsy Shop (which is currently empty but, you know).

Dazzling Ewe Stitch Marker (found in Miss Babs' booth)

More stitch markers (turtles and some knit/purl yarn balls)

I picked up some stitch markers. The first two sets were found in Miss Babs' booth and they're from Dazzling Ewe (Etsy Shop). The second two sets I, regretfully, don't remember from where I purchased them. But, they're cute.

Signature Needles and carrying case

Last time I was at Stitches Midwest, I picked up six sets of Signature Needle Arts DPNs and a carrying case. I did the same thing this time (but this time I remembered I wanted longer DPNs and I picked different sizes than what I had). I think I've pretty much rounded out my collection of DPNs now...

Stardust

This was the first skein of yarn I picked up. It's from Lost City Knits and the colorway is called Stardust. It is, of course, sock yarn.

Sookie

This was a lovely little booth called Fresh From the Cauldron. She had a lot of colorways inspired by True Blood (and probably other places, as well, but I noticed the True Blood ones). If I had planned to send more boxes home, I may have purchased another skein or two from this booth. It, too, is sock yarn.

"One of a Kind"

These two skeins from Zen Yarn Garden called to me. They're both labeled "one of a kind" but, you know, they look like they came from the same dyepot to me. Actually, there were a few more...but I couldn't bring myself to be a total Zen Yarn Garden hog. Did I mention that this was sock yarn?

Hagrid

I picked up these two lovely little skeins from Jeanette at Sun Valley Fibers. I hadn't planned to buy anything from Jeanette but, you know, she went and named these skeins after one of my favorite Harry Potter characters and I had to own them. ::sigh:: Does the sock yarn ever stop?

Splendour Beetle

Copper Demoiselle

These two skeins were from Cephalopod Yarns, Bugga and Skinny Bugga. I'm a sucker for Bugga and Skinny Bugga so, you know, how could I say, "no" to this? I also got talking to the owner about my having to adjust sock patterns all the time because I have large calves (but thankfully no cankles) and she told me I needed to go to the next booth (and they were basically sharing a booth anyway) and talk to them. They might have a book that can help me out...and apparently the sock yarn isn't ending yet...

Big Foot Knits by Andi Smith

The next booth over was Cooperative Press and this is the book in question. I think this may be my next book review so I'm not going to say much about it now...

 

...other than I got it signed by Miss Andi Smith herself :)

Wattle Cup Caterpillar

I also stopped at The Verdant Gryphon. In the not-too-distant past, Cephalopod Yarns and The Verdant Gryphon were the same company: The Sanguine Gryphon. There was a reason they split and I don't remember the whole story and I don't care to rehash it. Either way, they're now two companies but they kept some of the yarn line names the same (Bugga and Skinny Bugga, for instance). In this case, I picked up another skein of Bugga :) Guess the sock yarn thing isn't going to end...

So, that covers everything....except my two BIG splurges (as if the Signature Needles weren't enough):

Qiviuit Sock Yarn

I picked up this gorgeous skein of Qiviuit blend sock yarn (and the bag) from Bijou Basin Ranch. It says it's sock yarn and it's machine washable. That's grand. However, I'm not sure this skein of yarn wants to grow up to be socks. She kind of balked at the idea, actually. I think she wants to grow up to be a shawlette of some sort. We'll see how things go. For now, she's content being a skein.

Qiviuk

We have finally come to the end of the sock yarn. This yarn is Qiviuk, which is also a blend, from Windy Valley Muskox. It's laceweight, and there are almost 220 yards/skein so I have almost 880 yards to work with. This yarn, too, has not told me exactly what it wants to be when it grows up...they've been arguing. They've agreed that a shawl or a wrap would be nice but they can't agree on anything else (size, shape, etc.). So, they're staying in ball form until they can come to an agreement.


So, there you have my Stitches Midwest 2013 haul :)

C'mon everyone, group photo!

Yarn Review #2: Sun Valley Fibers

It's the middle of the month and that means that it's time for a Yarn Review! Oh, and Happy Valentines' Day.

The intention is that once a month, roughly about mid-month (depending on the day - Year of Projects are on Sundays, WIP Wednesdays are on Wednesdays, and FO Fridays are on Fridays so rarely will you see a Yarn Review on those days), I'll do a yarn review, which may or may not include multiple types of the same yarn or multiple different yarns on the same day. The yarns in question, unless specified, are coming from my stash, purchased by me, for me, and for my use. I've been given no money or other non-monetary gifts for these yarn reviews. The reviews are of my opinion and do not necessarily coincide with other fiber enthusiasts, though they may.

There. My disclaimer notice (of sorts). 


Today, I've picked some yarn from my stash that you've seen before in a couple different projects (socks, specifically) and it's time to review it...let's get on with it :)

Sun Valley Fibers' Merino Cashmere Nylon Fingering Yarn

1. Information about the Company: Sun Valley Fibers is a family-run business. They have a farm not far from where I grew up in Wisconsin (seriously, it was around a half-hour drive from my house - less if it wasn't winter). The head honchos, so to speak, are Jeanette (find her on Ravelry!) and her husband, George. They have a full farm: two daughters (one named Renee and no, it's not me), some cats and dogs, llamas, and sheep. They started doing fiber festivals in 2006 so the dyeing process probably began sometime before then.

From their website: "Sun Valley Fibers is a family-run business, located on a farm nestled in the hills of southwest Wisconsin. We specialize in hand-dyeing luxurious artisan yarns and fibers in rich, inspring colors for your one-of-a-kind knitting, crochet and weaving projects. 

Our Permanent Collection of colors is always available, dyed at your request in your choice of yarn bases. We offer many other colors in our In Stock shop section, and you are always welcome to contact us to order those colors in other yarn bases as well."

 2. Other Yarns Offered: There are quite a few different yarn bases offered. Merino/cashmere/nylon comes in laceweight, fingering, and worsted. There's a merino/cashmere/silk blend in fingering weight. They also offer an 80/20 merino/nylon in fingering weight. There's also a 75/20/5 which I think is merino/nylon/bling (glitter or sparkle) which also come in fingering weight. Outside of that, there are single-plies in laceweight, fingering, and worsted which are all superwash. Also, because they have their own llamas and sheep, Jeanette has taken up spinning, too (though I don't know if they sell that online - it's not listed on the website but I have seen some of her handspun when they do fiber events). 

3. Information about the Yarn (specific to the yarn I'm reviewing - MCN Fingering, in this case):

     - Official Name: MCN Fingering

     - Fiber Content: 80/10/10 merino/cashmere/nylon

     - Skein Weight & Yardage: 100 g (3.53 oz) & 400 yds (366 m)

     -  Gauge: 28 sts/4" (on US #2/2.75mm needles)

     - Weight: Fingering

     - Washing Instructions: Machine wash, lay flat to dry

     - Where to Purchase: Sun Valley Fibers (website) though, if you're in the Madison (Wisconsin) area, you can find it at The Sow's Ear :) I believe she will ship internationally, if you're interested...but I would check with her first. 

4. Review (the real reason you're here):

     - Pros

          1. Variety of colors - solid, semisolid, and variegated

          2. Superwash! This is always a plus in sock yarns. Personally, I hate handwashing socks because I feel like I can never get them clean enough. 

          3. Non-felting! This probably goes with them being superwash...but they don't felt. I've washed my socks at least two-dozen times and they just don't felt and that's awesome!

          4. No shrinkage! I mean, there's a little pull back if you throw them in the dryer but a little spritz with water and it'll block right back into place.

          5. No stretching! You know how cotton will stretch out and stay that way, no matter how much you try to make it not happen? Yeah, this yarn won't do that :)

          6. Difficult to break - I have pulled and tugged at this yarn and it is incredibly difficult to break. That may be partly because of the nylon content but who's counting?

          7. If you want something specific, you can contact Jeanette and ask her if she's got it available or if she'll whip something up just for you :)

     - Cons

          1. $25/skein, which isn't horrible (it's not Wollmeise or qivuit, for Bob's sake!). For hand dyed yarn, that's about average, though (and it's totally worth it but if price is a factor, than this can be a con for you)

          2. Occasionally you'll find that the yarn didn't take the dye properly so you have some lighter patches. This is fairly normal for hand-dyed yarns but if it's something that drives you nuts, you may want to look at commercially dyed yarns. 

          3. Use your common sense: match dyelots, especially with hand dyed yarns! If you need a lot of a certain color or type, contact Jeanette directly because then you can be sure of getting matching dyelots. 

Here are a couple things I have with MCN Fingering...

Eat Your Monkey Socks

Hermione's Everyday Socks

I hope you've enjoyed my review of Sun Valley Fibers' MCN Fingering yarn. I'll be back tomorrow with a FO Friday and again on Sunday for my Self-Imposed Year of Projects Update!

Self-Imposed Year of Projects: Update #26

Sunday Sunday Sunday............

Yes. It's Sunday and that means that it's time for another installment of my Self-Imposed Year of Projects. 

This is the beginning of my 26th week. My cohorts are finishing up their first annual Year of Projects. There have been some lovely projects completed, started, and otherwise worked on...and some flops. It's all in the name of challenging ourselves :)

But, I'm six months behind everyone else because I started in January, not July. It's okay though. That's why it's self-imposed.

Anyway, onward......

FINISHED OBJECTS
1. Claudia: started January 3, 2012; finished January 10, 2012
2. Mama's Simple Skyp Socks: started May 22, 2011; finished January 9, 2012
3. Little Man's Cobblestone Baby Blanket: started July 2010; finished February 2, 2012
4. Dalek Dishcloth: started February 6, 2012; finished February 8, 2012
5. Baby Traveling Vines Socks: started September 18, 2010; finished February 17, 2012
6. Snail Hat: started February 18, 2012; finished February 19, 2012
7. Lothlorien Hat: started January 25, 2012; finished March 5, 2012
8. Habitat Hat: started April 10, 2012; finished May 8, 2012
9. Mini Sweet Girl's Pumpkin Hat: started May 31, 2012; finished June 4, 2012

WORKS-IN-PROGRESS
1. Little Man's Giraffe: started May 11, 2011
2. Icarus Shawl: Started March 15, 2010
3. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit Socks: started January 23, 2012
4. Pine Forest Baby Blanket: started February 21, 2012
5. Hermione's Everyday Socks: started March 6, 2012
6. Sweet Girl's Hippo: started May 10, 2012
7. Mama's Vanilla Socks (round 2): Started June 29, 2012

You'll notice that I've started another project.

I know, I know.....I have no business starting another project when I have six on the needles right now. I did not intend to start this project...but there was a slight glitch in my Late Night Knitting plans this past Friday. I knew I was going to go to The Sow's Ear for my last Late Night Knitting in order to pick up some Badger-themed yarn that I had ordered from the lovely Jeanette (and you can order your own, too). I was planning to show her my Hermione socks (as I'm using her yarn)...so I grabbed what I thought was the project bag containing said socks.

Nope.

I grabbed the bag that contained my frogged Mama's Vanilla Socks. Luckily, my needles were still in there. So, what's a girl to do? I started a new pair of socks, of course.

We'll see how it goes using 72 stitches instead of 64...I'll know in a few weeks.

I did spend some time working on other things. I'm somewhere in the middle of the 14th repeat of the last section (I need 18 total)...and then the border rows and I'll be done with the baby blanket. This is a lovely and grand thing. It means that I can block it and ship it off to Maryland for the new baby.

I also worked on the Hippo. I only did a couple rounds on the body but it was one of the projects that was packed away in a box (yes, I labeled it so I could find it faster once we move). I completed a few rounds on my Honey Badger socks, too...and Hermione's Everyday socks...

I'd say that's pretty good, considering that I'm in the midst of PPP (panic, pack, and purge).

Anyway, my plans for the next six months......and I may or may not make it that far. We'll see.

PLANNED HATS
1. Hermione Hearts Ron
2. Ogre Babies!
3. NIN Hat
4. Brandon Ribbed Beanie
5. Godric's Hollow Hat
6. Raglan Hat
7. Bergen Street Tuque
8. Nolan
9. Simple Baby Cap #1
10. Candy Cane

OTHER PLANNED PROJECTS
1. Freeport Vest
2. My Little Slug
3. Shaun (as in Shaun the Sheep)
4. Curly Snake
5. Penelope the Empathetic Monster
6. Socks of some sort (something with yarn from Sun Valley Fibers, possibly two-at-a-time, toe-up)
7. Adipose (Ravellenic Games 2012 project for Team Tardis)



I expect that I'll be quiet for a few days as Husband is home from California until Wednesday. I picked him up just a few short hours ago and I get to keep him for a few days longer this time.

I fully expect a trip to Chicago and many other things to happen while he's here. So, forgive me for being quiet. We have a ton of stuff to do...

Let's Talk About WIPs, Baby....

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for another installment of WIP Wednesday. I'm even going to show you photographs today!

I spent some time on Monday afternoon (while everyone was napping) photographing my WIPs and some other things (which you'll get to see, too).

So, let's visit my current WIP list. On my needles, we have the following lovely items:

1. Mama's Vanilla Socks: started December 6, 2011.

Admittedly, these are not very far along. This is still the first sock and I'm still not very far into the leg portion. But, the self striping is coming out fun (to me)...I fully expect that these socks will be fraternal twins. That is just fine with me. 

2. Little Man's Giraffe: started May 11, 2011

Yes, I'm making a green giraffe for Little Man. Obviously the "big" pieces are finished. I have ears to attach (they're finished), spots, horns, hair, and a face to make...and then he's done. I'm sure this giraffe is a "he"...but maybe that's just because he's intended for Little Man (who is already in love - he hugs him whenever I bring him out). He's currently sitting in a project bag with all the appropriate yarns, needles, and notions, just waiting for me to finish...

3. Icarus Shawl: started March 15, 2010

I've probably not worked on this since the last photo was taken...actually, I don't think I've worked more than a row or two since the last photo was taken. Oh well. I hauled it out and looked at it and still loved it as it was...so I'll probably plug away on it here and there.

4. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit Socks: started January 23, 2012

Okay, this isn't a new photo. It's recent enough that I didn't need to take a new one and nothing has changed since this photo was taken. I'm still at the beginning of the true leg portion of this sock and this is still what the first sock looks like. I'll get there...

5. Pine Forest Baby Blanket: started February 21, 2012

This is almost a true representation of the colors. The green isn't quite as brown as it's coming out and the pink isn't nearly as bright...but it's pretty close to these colors. I'm probably about halfway through the pink section...maybe not quite that far but I'm close to that. So, the blanket is, overall, at about it's halfway point. I should have it done in a couple weeks if I sit and plug away at it.

6. Hermione's Everyday Socks: started March 6, 2012

This is a much closer representation of the color than the first one...but it's still too bright. I blame the natural light and the background. If it helps, the background is actually a chocolate brown color...so everything should be darker, overall. This had no flash...all done with natural light...but it's still too bright. *sigh* Someday, I'll get the color right...

So........there you have it, my WIPs. For more WIP Wednesday love, visit Tami's Blog.

But, that's not all I have to share with you..........

First of all, I wound yarn for another project (which I mentioned awhile ago). One of the items on my Self-Imposed Year of Projects is the Hippo from Itty-Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson. I'm making it for Sweet Girl, hopefully before the new baby arrives (the one that's going to get the aforementioned Pine Forest Baby Blanket).

Last summer when Husband, Little Man, and I went to visit my BIL and his family last summer, we wound up in a yarn shop (which is now sadly closed) in Frederick, Maryland called Eleganza Yarns. The people that owned said shop also had an individual line of yarns and they closed the shop in order to focus on said yarn line: Shalimar Yarns. Anyway, Sweet Girl came into the shop and helped pick out the yarn for her Hippo (which she had decided upon the day before)...and she picked out two skeins of Shalimar Yarns. I have a feeling her hippo is going to be pink with purple instead of purple with pink...but we'll see when I get around to starting this project.

But wait, there's more! Sorry, we were watching a CNBC Original about the As Seen on TV company...and that phrase has been stuck in my head since yesterday.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago the Madison Knitters' Guild had their annual Knit-In. I was extremely well-behaved (for me).

This is most of what I picked up that day. The five red & white skeins are from the same person, the little skein in front was a freebie, and the skein in back was from another place. Let's take a closer look, shall we? No, I'm not waiting for an answer...

This is my new project bag. It's from Blue Tulips, which is extremely local for me. Seriously, she lives about 15 minutes away from me. I love her project bags and have several, actually...but this is the one I bought at Knit-In.

These are four skeins of worsted weight from Sun Valley Fibers. Jeanette, too, is local...she's also a member of the Knitters' Guild. Actually, I'm using her Merino/Cashmere/Nylon to knit the aforementioned Hermione's Everyday Socks.

She was our vendor for one of the Guild meetings a couple months ago (December, I think) and she had asked for requests in her Ravelry group for what kinds of yarn we wanted (colors, fibers, weights, etc.). Several of us requested Badger-themed yarn. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, the Badger yarn was gone..........but she had some at Knit-In. So, four skeins of worsted and....

....a skein of sock yarn, Badger-themed so I always know where home is located :)

I picked up a(nother) skein from Emily at Sophie's Toes Sock Yarns. There was this one and one that was like a darker version and I decided to go a bit outside my box and pick up the lighter of the two (not that you can tell from this photo).

Our freebie at the door. A mini-skein from Miss Babs. I picked up something that I normally wouldn't pick (as far as colors). It's just lovely :)

I also had some paper love in the form of a pattern, a book, a magazine, and some magnets.

I picked up this pattern, The Renaissance Shawl (which sadly is not listed in Ravelry's or Patternfish's databases). I probably have yarn somewhere for it...we'll see if I ever get that far. It looks lovely, doesn't it?

I also picked up this:

I couldn't remember if I had this one or not...luckily, I didn't.....unlike The Knitters' Almanac, which I have two copies of. Oops.

I also found this (in the same booth where I got the book and the pattern). I had read most of the article about Elizabeth Zimmermann in this book while waiting around at the allergy clinic a couple months ago. I had tried to find copies that I could buy but I didn't have any luck...and then I saw this. I didn't even think about it and just purchased it. It was totally worth the purchase.

I also found these. They're magnetic and help you know where you are in patterns (especially complicated ones where you have to pay attention to every line of directions - obviously they can be used on charts, too). They're different from the boards because these are just magnetic strips that fold over the page and sticks to itself. You can use them on single sheets, books, etc. I haven't used mine, yet, but I expect it'll come in handy.

The last thing I purchased was a Nostepinne. What? You have no idea what a Nostepinne is? Really?

Okay, I didn't know either...it's a manual ball winder and it makes center-pull balls. It functions like a ball winder except that the cakes don't come out with the ability to sit very well. They're nice for handspun or when you have a loud ball winder and a sleeping baby...........go ahead, ask me how I know about that one :)

Anyway, that's all I have for right now. I might have a proper FO Friday post, too...but only to show you something that I finished awhile ago that needed some love in order to be shown again. Yes, cryptic. I know. That's the point.

I hope you're having a lovely Wednesday :)