I am not sure how it got to be Friday already, but it is. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. It has been a bit of a blur and my apologies for lack of a post.
We played hooky last Friday and spent the weekend at the Cape with friends. We had a great time and I ate my share of fried clams, lobster, steamers and such. Didn't quite squeeze in the lobster roll, but there's always next time. Needless to say, getting back in the groove was a tad bit difficult on Monday morning. Here's a couple of my favorite snapshots from the weekend.
If you have never been to Cape Cod, I highly recommend it. It's beautiful and each town along Route 6 which brings you all of the way out the "hook" to Provincetown has it's own personality and charm. Plus, there is nothing like the National Seashore. As you can tell from the pictures, our day at the beach wasn't the best, but the kids didn't care. The water temp was a chilly 59 degrees, but even with the overcast skies and the fog that rolled in and out, it was still a wonderful time and just great to be away.
Okay, back to the business of yarn. There was a lot of yarn arriving this week. At one point I think we had to send in rescuers to dig Sharlene, our receiver, out of the piles!
I'm going to run through some highlights and link to whatever I can - not sure where we are in getting things up on the web. I have some pictures, but I don't have everything.
Southwest Trading Yin and Yang are now in. Yin is a 60 wool/20 silk/20 bamboo blend that knits at 5 sts = 1" on a #6 and retails for $11.00. This yarns just feels luxurious and the colors are spot on. It's mate, Yang is a personal favorite. Those of you who know me know, I love sparkle. Steve is often skittish buying sparkly yarns, but this one was not up for debate. It has the same composition as Yin, but with a 100% silk wrap with sequins attached. It is luminous. At $15.00/skein, it is a tremendous value over other sequin yarns. I think a shawl or even fancy scarf would be great in this yarn. It's on my (never ending) list of yarns to work with.
K1C2 has introduced a handpainted version of it's Ambrosia yarn. Ambrosia is a 70 baby alpaca/20 silk/10 cashmere blend, which is beautiful in its own right. But owner Helene Rush has taken this yarn to a new level with the handpaints. Her palette is absolutely stunning and like no other that we've seen on the market. Subtle, sophisticated and blended beautifully, I am truly tickled by her colors. The handpaints retail for $14.00/hank for 137 yards with a recommended gauge of 6 sts = 1" on a #3. Shawls, scarves, luxurious socks, wristlets/handwarmers - this yarn is made to be used for luxurious gifts.
We have received in the new Teva Durham Loop-d-Loop collection as well. Consisting of three yarns and a dedicated pattern book, the entire collection completely reflects Teva's style and design sensibilities. Moss is an 85% extrafine merino/15% blend and is a classic, sophisticated yarn. It retails at $9.95 and is used throughout the pattern book. Shale is a bulky blend of 35% mohair/30% acrylic/20% nylon/15% viscose. I'm sure some of you are raising an eyebrow on the content, but don't let that fool you. The fuzzy mohair is bound by the acrylic so it won't split when working with it. Plus the binder has a sheen and slightly different color variation that truly makes the yarn intriguing. At $9.95 for 73 yards, it will be a fun and quick knit. Last, but not least is Fern. Now, I will say, done by anyone else, Steve and I would have probably passed on this yarn. It is VERY different. But knowing Teva, we knew she would design it into incredible things. Fern is a wide, lacey ribbon with a scalloped border. I know, again raising an eyebrow, but stay with me. It's born to make accessories - she has designed an adorable vintage clutch bag and this yarn is truly at it's best when blended with Shale and/or Moss. It knits at 3 sts = 1" on a #13 and retails for $8.95. The dedicated pattern book is $14.99.
So there are a ton more yarns - haven't dipped our toe in yet, but I will stop here for now.
I have received several messages asking me about various projects. My knitalong sock from the podcast is coming, I'm at the heel turn and just need some quiet time to get through it (and maybe a little expert supervision).
My "Not Just and Apron" from http://www.crochetme.com/ has been in a bit of a time out for the past few weeks. I was nearly half way done and starting the second set of darts when I discovered the garment had lost 4 stitches along the way! I was not pleased. Now, I know I can count to 88, so it had to be the garment itself - fooling around when I was looking. I talked to it and said I was not happy. It layed there on my lap without so much as an apology. Now, had I been able to recover the stitches by frogging a few rows, I would have forgiven it and moved on. But that was not meant to be. The garment was truly testing my will. I had to frog back to the first set of darts. That was pure insubordination. Crochet is not suppose to do this to me. Crochet is fun, crochet always works out, it never fails me or tests me the way knitting does. Crochet is my reward. I had been waiting for quite awhile to make this garment and this is the thanks I get. So, it's been in time out. I've frogged it and done a few rows, but there's a long way to go. I still don't trust it and now I am slowed because I am constantly counting. This is how knitting treats me, but I will not take it from crochet.
And if it thinks it's coming to Chicago with next week, well, it's in for a RUDE awakening.
Kathy
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