Work in Progress Wednesday 121

Happy Wednesday! I hope you're all having a great week. Our move on Saturday went okay (though it was TOUGH on our bodies!) and Sunday we got our tree! I don't have pictures of it yet (well, I have a few on my Instagram), as the tree only has lights right now. We're going to fully decorate it this coming weekend. We decided to go all out and got a tree that almost touches our ceiling in the new house. It's 8' tall! It's so pretty and I LOVE having a real tree each and every year. It' makes the house smell so good and the kitties and puppy love it too!

Before we get into WIPW this week, I have big news to share with all of you today! One reason I haven't gotten a lot of knitting done recently is Candy Skein will now be offered in a LYS store. If you've been following me on Instagram (Candyskein) or Twitter (@candyskein) you've probably been seeing me post LOTS of pictures of Delicious fingering (70% alpaca/20% silk/10% cashmere). It was for an order of 72 skeins in 12 different colorways that will be delivered today (Wednesday) to Yarning for You in San Marcos, CA. If you live in the San Diego (or southern California area) and would love to go see/feel how awesome this yarn is, it will be in the shop starting Thursday morning! I'm SOO excited and so proud of how all the skeins turned out! If you do get a chance to check Yarning for You out, I will say, it's definitely worth the trip. It's an amazing LYS with a great selection and amazing owner/staff. I highly recommend it (even before they were going to carry Candy Skein!)

Not enticing enough? Here's the selection that will be available sitting in my studio ready to be delivered today! Pretty awesome, right? If you click on the picture you'll be able to see it enlarged. :)

From left to right starting at the top: Cafe au Lait, Strawberry Margarita, Robin Egg Malt Ball, Honey, Sour Apple, Fudge Brownie, Butter Pecan, Tequila Sunrise, Berry Salad, Cranberry, Plum and Midnight Mousse

Okay, now to WIPW!

Remember these socks I started in November! They're back out and on my needles. This is a surprise Christmas gift for my husband (or I hope it's a surprise and hope I can finish them by Christmas!) As you can see, I just finished the heel flap and am about to turn the heel once I'm finished with this post! I'm using the Candy Skein Yummy fingering November '12 colorway, Pumpkin Pie.


That's it for me today! I hope you have a fabulous rest of the week and I'll see you all on Friday!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

A Trip to a Fiber Fest!

As I promised, I'm finally getting around to write about my knitting group's (or some of us) trip to a fiber fest in Torrance, CA a few weekends ago. We all decided to get an early start, as we were driving about an hour and 45 minutes to get there. Of course, the weather decided not to cooperate, as it was pouring rain on the way there, but we got to the event safe and sound. I have to say, this was my first fiber fest I'd been to, other than the Vista Fiber Fiesta in which I had a booth. It was nice to walk around and not have the stress of having to sell my own yarn, though I do plan to try to have a booth next year.

We weren't sure just how big the event would be, and when we first walked in, we weren't very impressed. My first impression was a hoarder's house, as the "booths" (and I use that term VERY lightly) just had bins and bins of fiber, weaving items, books and yarn piled up on the floor and tables. Luckily, we found out it was several other rooms, so we took our first thoughts with a grain of salt to start. Luckily we weren't disappointed with the rest of the show. As we went, there were booths/companies we were very excited to see. Some of the yarn was SO pretty, it was hard to resist...and so I couldn't! I took quick pictures of what I bought, yarn wise at the show.

I picked up a skein of sock yarn from Bee Mice Elf (pictured above). She's mostly known for her fiber, but since I don't spin, I figured I'd try a skein of her yarn. I haven't used it yet, but it sure is pretty!

Another dyer I was impressed with was Chameleon Colorworks. I was lucky enough to get a skein of her Bambino sock yarn. It has a beautiful shine to it and is so soft. I can't wait to use this as well. The new year can't come soon enough!

I also bought two project bags (sorry, no pictures of those right now), one for socks that has the traditional MGM monsters on it, and one for larger projects, which has yarn guides. I LOVE it for my Rhombi sweater, since I'm going back and forth between two cakes of yarn. The larger one have little sheep knitting on it. SOOO cute. I promise to take a picture of both of them at a later time.

One last thing I bought were beads. Now, I've never beaded a knitted item but I couldn't resist these. They are a black matte finish, but have a rainbow effect of gold when the light hits it. Oh yeah, and they're SQUARE! So awesome. I might use my skein of Candy Skein Yummy fingering in Midnight Mousse with the beads. Maybe a scarf? If you have any pattern ideas, let me know!

After the show, we decided to grab lunch. Luckily, the weather had changed at this point, and though it was cold, the sun was shining. Since it wasn't too late, we decided to hit up one of my favorite LYS in Southern California, Alamitos Bay Yarn Company in Long Beach, CA. I don't get their often, as it's about 1 1/2 hours from home, so it was fun to visit. I was the only one in the group to have shopped at the store, so it was a treat for everyone. We got there right before they closed, but they were generous enough to stay open past their closing time. I couldn't walk out without buying something, and they had this amazing sample blanket made out of Frog Tree Merino Worsted. Since I couldn't stop fondling the blanket, I figured I needed a few skeins. Again, NO clue what I'm going to do with two lonely skeins of blue worsted yarn, but I had to have them. Any ideas of pattern, again, I'd be grateful!



After our shopping splurge, we figured we needed to take a picture to document all of our fun. We pulled a poor guy aside to take our picture. The LYS is on a beautiful bay, so we wanted to get the water in the picture.

From left to right: Me, Terri, Miki, Christi and Elizabeth

That's our trip! Overall, we had an amazing day and even got home in time to beat the last part of the rain storm! I'm so glad we decided to trek up there, and I hope we do it again!

Vacation- One LYS at aTime

As most of you know, I was on vacation between December 26-January 1st. I had a great time traveling up the California coast. It's one of my favorite trips, despite the long hours in the car from San Diego to San Francisco. We decided to work our way slowly up and then work our way back down until we ended up back in Los Angeles where we could pick up Milo, our Corgi, from my parents before going back home.

Heading up the coast, we didn't have much planned except for a hockey game in San Jose, where my husband's and my favorite hockey team were playing! We couldn't have planned it any better. They even won 4-0! I was lucky to not be beat up by the crowd as I celebrated wearing my LA Kings jersey.

Beyond the hockey game, we knew that we would be visiting a ton of tiki bars (my husband's interest) and a ton of yarn stores. Our trip definitely didn't disappoint. We went to all the LYS that I had planned, and even threw in a few more for good measure. Here is what I got at each stop along the way (and yes, I counted this yarn into my yarn diet)!

• San Luis Obispo, CA- Yarns at the Adobe: We got a room at the Madonna Inn, a place I had always wanted to stay. Each room is themed (we stayed in the Cabin Still room) and we had a blast. The next morning, I had a yarn shop on my list. The shop was small (it was in the old part of San Luis Obispo across the street from the missions), but had a lot of yarn crammed into it. I was so excited to see they had hand-dyed yarn, a perfect way to remember this stop on the trip. The first picture below is a hand-dyed skein of worsted yarn. I don't know what I will use it for, but I couldn't resist. Below that, I got two skeins of Mirasol Yarn, Akapana in teal. I thought I may make this with it, but I'm not 100% sure. I know I do want to make a cowl though.

• San Luis Obispo, CA- Beverly's: Surprisingly, when we were trying to find a parking spot for Yarns at the Adobe, we ran into a Beverly's. I have one close to home, but wanted to see if this one carried Red Heart's new boutique yarns, as mine does not. Beverly's website carries it, so I figured some of their box stores would. I wasn't disappointed! I was lucky enough to get three skeins of Red Heart Boutique Swirl. I can't wait to use it. I'd been wanting to try some of their boutique yarns, but didn't want to order it online. Wanting to pick a dyelot I wouldn't normally choose, I let my husband pick which colorway I bought. I normally go toward the blues, so he picked brown, which I'm very happy with. It's crazy soft. I'm not sure what I want to make with it, but I have a little over 300 yards. I was thinking something like this, the Reversible plaited scarf.
  

• Santa Clara, CA- The Bobbin's Nest: Next up, we headed to San Jose for the hockey game. It was great fun, and our hotel was crazy nice for the price and even a short walk to the arena. We couldn't have asked for a better night. The next morning, I searched for LYS in the San Jose area and found The Bobbin's Nest in Santa Clara, just a few short minutes from downtown San Jose. I wasn't sure about this shop before visiting, but it had to be my favorite of the trip and one of my favorites I've ever visited. They had a great selection, the store was roomy and the staff was awesome! I was lucky enough to hit a sale, and found a great sock yarn, Hazel Knits, that was dyed just for the shop. I bought the last skein of the colorway they had! I also bought some wood buttons there that I can't wait to use when I learn to knit socks (the buttons are in a picture further down).
  

Berkeley, CA- Stash: Originally we didn't plan to stop in Berkeley, but we had some time to kill between tiki bars. We were in Emeryville at the original Trader Vics, so I looked up yarn stores in Berkeley on Ravelry since it was a short drive from where we were. We had a hard time finding the store, parking a few blocks down and walking the rest of the way in the rain, as they had moved recently and didn't have a sign outside. I liked the selection at this store, but wasn't crazy about the store/staff themselves. They were friendly enough, but a new knitter had questions about a yarn while I was there and the lady seemed a little rude to her in my opinion. I ended up getting two skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca in sport weight. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I love these two colorways together and the yarn is crazy soft. Unfortunately, the yarn is super soft in the hank, but reading comments on Ravelry, people say it's a little itchy. Considering I have crazy sensitive skin, it can't be anything too tight/close to my skin. Any ideas are welcome.

• Berkeley, CA- Pegasus Books: Since we had time to kill, we walked around Berkeley a little bit and happened into this bookstore. They had a mix of new and used books, so of course I headed to the craft section. They had a TON of books, it was so hard to choose from. I finally ended up with The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics. The projects are a little hard for me now, but I love some of the patterns and thought they would be great for later on. Does anyone else have this book?

• Carmel, CA- Knitting by the Sea: Carmel is a funny area. It reminds me a lot of Del Mar. I wanted to go to this yarn store, but wasn't holding out much hope. Like Del Mar, Carmel is kind of ritzy and stuck up, so I expected this yarn store to fit that bill. Fortunately, it didn't. It had a GREAT selection and the lady was so amazingly nice (as was her dog!). She asked me what I was working on and what kind of yarn I liked. I felt like she saw me as a person, instead of a sale. She, too, was having a New Year sale, and I wanted something that was universal. She suggested the Plymouth Worsted Superwash and I couldn't turn it down. There were tons of colorways to choose from, and I picked these three (not in the blue family I must add). I want to make a stripped scarf from them, so if you have any suggested of patterns, I'm open. Each skein is 218 yards, so I have a lot to work with. Can these colorways be any prettier?
  

• Monterey, CA- The Twisted Stitch: We were randomly driving around Monterey where we were staying, looking for a place to park the car for a tiki restaurant that was on my husband's agenda when we drove by a shop called The Twisted Stitch, and wondered if it was a yarn store. While we were eating lunch, I quickly looked it up on Ravelry, but didn't find a thing. Then I Googled it, and found that sure enough, it was a yarn store! Luckily, we were parked close, but were running out of time (it was a 90 min parking spot) after we finished lunch. My husband said we could run there if I could shop fast. Luckily, on their site, I saw that they sold Malabrigo. Who could turn that down? As you may remember, I just recently bought Malabrigo Chunky, but didn't have any in a worsted weight. I flew into the store and went straight for it. Luckily, I instantly fell in love with a colorway. The lady was awesome (and British!) who owned it, saying that she just opened the store a few months ago. I was so happy to give her business! I bought two skeins and can't wait to use it, though I have no clue what I will make from it. Isn't it beautiful?
  

• Pacific Grove, CA- Monarch Knitting: I actually had high hopes for Monarch Knitting since their site has so much stuff. It was easy to find and had a beautiful location. I will say though, it had a much more box store feel than it did a LYS. It was big and had a great selection, but also carried lower end yarn and it was almost too big. If I lived in the area, I would probably go there over my local Joann's or Michaels, but it wouldn't replace my LYS. I figured I would go out with a bang before the yarn diet, so I purchased my most expensive skein of yarn there. That's right, I am now the proud owner of a skein of Madelinetosh Vintage. I could only buy one skein, but I'm still proud of it. I broke my blue rule on the trip for this, as I couldn't pass up this beautiful colorway. I think I may want to make , Thermis, with it, but I don't have the skills yet, so will have to wait until I get a little better at knitting.
  

• Monterey, CA- Cannery Row Antique Mall: Monterey is one of our favorite cities we've ever been to, so when we realized we had a chance to visit there this past month, we couldn't turn it down. Last time we were there, for our honeymoon, I sadly had pneumonia (crazy timing with being sick right before this trip, isn't it?) so we didn't get to do a ton, but we did find the Cannery Row Antique Mall. Last time (3 1/2 years ago), I wasn't into knitting/crocheting or even crafting, so I didn't realize the amazing items that this antique mall had to offer. This time I did! They, too, were having an and of year sale where every stall had a percentage off. I got some amazing stuff! My husband and I are really into the 1940-60's, so when I found old pattern books from the 40's-60's I knew I had to buy them. My favorite is The Men of Action from Beehive yarn. I can't wait to get good enough at knitting to make a few of these sweaters, along with a few socks/slippers and hats/scarfs from the other books. As you can see, I also found size 5 US antique needles. They are in great condition, except for the end a little rusted. The stall had a bunch of sizes, but these were my favorite, and I don't own size 5, so it worked out perfect. I also got a great collection of antique buttons (all from the antique mall except for the brown top middle row which I got at The Bobbin's Nest) that I'm sooo excited about. I can't wait to use them for cowls, hats and sweaters.

• Woodland Hills, CA- Tuesday Morning: Since we had an extra day in LA when we got back into Southern California (and I had another day left before the yarn diet kicked in) I thought I would head to the Tuesday Morning's in my parent's area. I don't have one too close, so I like to visit this one whenever I'm in town. Last time I was there, I wasn't into knitting, so I was excited to see what knitting books they had to offer. As you know, craft books are so expensive, so when you can get them on the cheap, you have to snag them. These are the two I got, along with a skein of Knitting Fever Indulgence sock yarn that got a good rating on Ravelry, though I'd never heard of it. It's super soft and I loved the colorway.

That's it for the trip! I hope you enjoyed reading about it. I had a great time documenting each spot we stopped at.

Weekend Fun

First off, I wanted to thank everyone for the amazing suggestions/ideas on what to work on for my next knitting project. You are all awesome and I knew you'd come through for me. I didn't want you to have to wait holding your breath (because really, who isn't? I mean, isn't the project I pick like the biggest thing ever...umm, yeah, I know. No one probably cares. LOL) until Wednesday, so I thought I would share with you what I decided.

I decided to work on something flat before jumping into the in the round train. Autumngeisha suggested the Waffle Stitch Fingerless Gloves. After looking at the pattern, I thought it was the perfect project to move onto. It was a new stitch that I had yet to use, but a quick and easy project. I also knew just the yarn to use. I decided to go with my kettle dyed (by me) Lion Brand Fisherman's wool that you can see here. Since it was a huge skein split up, I had no clue how much I had, but once I wound it into a ball, I realized that I would have enough for at least a pair of the fingerless gloves. Perfect! I started right away, despite Christmas looming (I know, how dumb can I be?). I'm happy to report, it's going great and I should be finished with the first gloves today! I don't want to share a picture, since WIPW is right around the corner, so you'll just have to wait. :p

That all being said, my next knitting project will be a hat in the round and I can't wait! I think I'll be using this pattern, because it looks pretty simple, but still cute. It might be the perfect project for this yarn or this one. What do you think?

On to my weekend fun!

My neighbor asked me to watch her cat this week, so she showed me where everything is, etc. When walking to the door, I saw a set of knitting needles. I couldn't believe it! I asked if she knit, and she pulled me back inside and showed me what she's working on (about three different projects), as well as ones she had recently finished. I had NO clue she knit, not at all. You could imagine my surprise! She was showing me a few different yarns (some very expensive...around $32 a skein) and it was all beautiful. She told me I could ask her any questions and she could help me out. I'm so excited to have someone close by that can help when needed. She didn't know about Ravelry, so I was sure to tell her about it and make sure she signed up.

Lastly, I was able to go to a LYS in a town about an hour and a half away from where I live. My husband needed to pick up a piece he had framed there (shipping was going to be insanely expensive, so it was much easier to make a trip out of it) and we decided to make it a day. We weren't able to leave yesterday until about 2 hours before the LYS closed, so we would definitely be cutting it close. Speaking of which, why do LYS close SO early on Sundays, if they're open at all? This one closed at 4pm, which I found a little odd, but then another one I also looked up in the area closed at the same time. If I owned a shop like that, I would stay open until at least 5pm, especially since they open at noon. So odd. Anyway, we made it in time, despite getting a little lost.

Since I'll be starting a yarn diet January 1st (more details to come in a later post), I had an idea of what I wanted to buy. I realized recently I don't have much chunky yarn, so to make sure I had enough to do a simple projects which may call for it, I wanted at least 2 skeins of something in that weight. I have also been dying to try Malabrigo, and from the store's website, I knew they sold it. Sure enough, not only did they carry Malabrigo, they carried Malabrigo Chunky! It fit both categories I was looking for in one swoop. Here is the colorway I chose. Isn't it pretty?



I continued to wander the store. I didn't want to buy too much, as I'm trying not to buy things for myself right now. Also, we'll be going on a trip up the coast of California between Christmas and New Year's and I knew we would be stopping at a few shops along the way. I was content with my Malabrigo Chunky...and then I saw this. Cascade Eco Duo. OH. MY. GOD. Now, I previously didn't think I really liked Cascade. I'd never used it, but the only lines I had come in contact with were crazy scratchy and I would never been able to use (like Cascade 220). This was different...WAY DIFFERENT. I couldn't stop hugging and petting it. I was instantly in love. My husband could see the gleam in my eye, and knew we would be coming home with at least one skein. Now, normally, when it's an impulse buy like this one, I buy one skein and call it good. But wait! What if I wanted to do a larger project with it, and I AM going on a yarn diet in about 2 weeks. What's another skein going to hurt, other than my bank account? You guessed it...I came home with 2 skeins of it. Here it is:



Amazing, no? I mean, it doesn't look like much, but if you could only feel it. I wish I could just sleep with it. LOL I think this is the first yarn I've felt this way. It's 70% undyed baby alpaca and 30% undyed Merino. Can't you just imagine the heavenly feel of it? Have any of you worked with it yet? The lady at the store mentioned it's one of Cascade's newer lines. I see a lot of this yarn in my future, and in fact, I think it's soft enough that once I start making sweaters, I would be able to wear it without any discomfort. I think this yarn will be calling my name until I made something from it.

So that was my weekend, how was yours?

Randomness of the Week

Today's post is going to be full of random stuff, but it seemed silly to make several posts about a bunch of little things.

As a few of you found out due to my Ravelry page, last Wednesday was my birthday. I decided that I would buy myself something in honor of turning 31. I'd wanted to make an order to Knitpicks for awhile now, and what a better time!

Right away, I knew I wanted a ball winder after the mess I had after dyeing the Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool. I've also been buying yarn that comes into hanks rather than skeins. One of my LYSs will wind the yarn for you when you purchase it there, but I didn't want to have to rely on that. So, I noticed the Knitpicks ball winder is only $19.99, so I couldn't pass it up. I have yet to use it (as I got it yesterday), but I'm sure it is going to be a HUGE help!

Here is the yarn I also decided to purchase. I didn't want to get a lot, since this was my first time ordering and I'm always leery of not being able to see/feel the yarn.



1 ball of Blaze Heather Andean Treasure (It was on sale and I wanted to see what it felt like)
1 skein of Silver Sage Shine Sport (It was on sale and I wanted to see what it felt like)
3 hanks of Frog Prince Imagination (for socks for my husband. He actually picked out this yarn)
1 Natural Bare Superwash/Nylon Fingering (for dyeing)
1 Natural Bare Superwash Worsted (for dyeing)

Speaking of my birthday, despite my husband already getting me my present, my sewing machine, he said I needed a gift to open on the night of my birthday. I had no clue he was coming home with a gift, let alone Thai for dinner (YUM!) and a pumpkin cupcake! Here is what he bought me! He got the white cotton for me to dye!



My mother-in-law sent money to buy something for my birthday that I wanted. Of course, more yarn! Weirdly, I had yet to visit any of my LYSs in San Diego, so I thought it was as good a time as any. We headed to a great one I found out about through Ravelry, Two Sisters and Ewe. They had a great selection of yarns, most I hadn't seen before. It was so hard to decide what I wanted. I had $50 to spend, and knew I didn't want to go over that. Unfortunately, the yarn I loved a ton was a little over my price range, $20-30 a hank/ball/skein. They had an amazing selection of hand-dyed yarns I couldn't help but fondle. The ladies were very friends and they even put my hanks into balls for me. When I came into the shop, one of employees was even helping a customer with one of her knitting projects! I thought that was awesome.



Here's the yarn I bought:

Berocco Vintage in (the green was in the 25% off bin!)
Knit One, Crochet Two Ty-Dy Sock yarn (Also in the 25% off bin. I couldn't pass it up because it would normally be too much money for me)
Kraemer finger weight (for dyeing)

We then headed to another LYS not too far from the first (these are both about 15-17 miles from my house), Needleworks. The weirdest thing about this shop was the culture shock. It's next to a Hooters restaurant and it was Sunday, so the outside and parking lot was full of smoking and drinking football fans. Totally weird to then walk into a crochet shop. They had a group knitting, but their yarn selection wasn't too big. They also sell stuff for needlepoint, so the store was divided. I did get a skein of Berocco Sock yarn, which I had yet to see in the stores.


I recently received Amazon gift certificates from credit card bonus rewards (don't you love those?) and wanted to get a few craft books along with a graphic novel and a novel. Here is what I ended up getting on the craft side of things.



I showed you my first small skein of hand-dyed yarn, but haven't shared my second batch. I've been waiting to share my second when we have some better light. It's been raining here and just totally gloomy. I used Kool-aid for this skein and then over-dyed with teal Wilton's Icing Dye.

Trip to LYS and Swap

Okay, not the best blog post title, but I'm really really tired. As many of you read, my husband and I went on a whirlwind trip to Los Angeles to see the Eels in concert for the second time in a few months, this time at The Music Box on Hollywood Blvd. It was our first time there, and an amazing little venue. I love all of the old venues in LA.

We were only there for about 21 hours, but it was well worth it. We got in for a late lunch at one of my favorite Mexican take out restaurants, Mission Burrito. YUM! Not sure where we wanted to go next, my mom solved the problem (I grew up in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of LA, where my parents still live) when she handed me a coupon to the LYS, The Close Knit Circle, I had yet to visit. Last time she also had a coupon, but we were unable to make it since we were busy Saturday and they're closed Sunday. They just opened this July, so they have been putting coupons in the local savers and newspapers to let people know they're there.

How awesome is this? They're giving them as a promotional item. It's a pen and a tape measure

First off, I must say, the place was well organized, yet felt homey. You could tell they were new, as everything was pristine. There was a group of knitters in the store working on projects and everyone was friendly. The ladies who worked there were crazy nice, almost too much so! Finally they joked that they were going to stop bothering me until I had a question. Since I'm new to LYSs (this was my second one, my first the store in Las Vegas), and fancy yarns, I love to walk around and feel all of the fiber. I have crazy sensitive skin, so I can't just buy the yarn that is the prettiest, but one that I can handle itch-wise.

When I would pick up a yarn, the ladies would help me out, telling me a little about it. Normally that would annoy me, but I actually enjoyed it. They had swatches of most yarn, and even had a few knit and crochet projects out of certain ones so that you could see how it knit/crochet up into a sweater/scarf/ etc.

When comparing it to the store in Las Vegas, they didn't have as big a selection of type/brands of yarn as the Vegas store did, but they had more colors of each it seems. A lot of the yarn seems to be specialty yarns that I'm not sure I would ever use, but I found some I loved. I had a hard time choosing what to buy. I didn't want to spend too much money, so I picked these two.



As I've mentioned, I'm fascinated by fine and fingering weight yarn right now, mostly for socks. They didn't have a huge selection of it, but I found one I love. The Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine was soft and came in great colors. I bought it in Blueberry Mix, a color that is amazing (as you can see above). It's a deep, rich blue with a tint of raspberry color running through it. Has anyone used this yarn yet? What did you make with it?



My second purchase was easy. Alea was nice enough to order me a skein of Berroco Comfort Worsted in Crypto Crystalline (as you can see next to the gray in the picture above. Won't they look great together!?). The yarn is SOOO soft, yet I wasn't sure what to do with it since I only had one skein. When I saw that they had the yarn, I wanted to get a nice color to compliment the one I had to make a scarf with. I decided on Smokestack. I thought a nice gray would look great with it! It's a very pretty gray.

Before I move onto my post regarding my swap, I have to ask a question. Why does it seem like crochet is the ugly stepchild to knitting? It seems like everywhere I go, people assume if you're buying yarn, especially nicer yarn, that you must knit. Why??? It drives me insane. I almost feel like I'll be looked down upon if I mention I crochet. I just nod my head and keep my mouth shut.



I mentioned a few posts ago, on FO Friday 3, that I was doing a swap with my writing critique partner. I sent her this hat, and she was going to make a necklace for me. I had a great time making the hat, and it turned out great. She seems to really like it, despite it being a little snug. The great thing about this swap, I don't make necklaces, and she doesn't knit/crochet. It's always great to get something that you can't make yourself in return! I wanted to share the necklace, even though it's not crochet. I hope you all don't mind! Look at how beautiful it is!!!!

Lucky Me! My Visit to a LYS While on Vacation

Sorry it's been quiet around here the past few days, but I was on vacation! Each year, we try to go to Las Vegas for a preseason hockey game that my favorite team, the Los Angeles Kings, participates in. It's a great excuse to plan a trip to Vegas, and the game is always great fun (it helps they seem to win each year, as well!). Originally we planned to arrive back home on Sunday, but my husband decided to take Monday off from work so that we could stay an extra night since the room was so cheap.

This was my first trip out of town (other than visiting my parents in Los Angeles) since I became a yarn-aholic. Before we left, I managed to sneak a peak to see if there were any LYS (Local Yarn Stores) close to the Las Vegas strip. Luckily, there was! About 10 minutes away from our hotel (MGM Grand), there was a store called Wooly Wonders. The reviews on Yelp were great, but their site left a lot to be desired, so I wasn't sure what I would find once we got there. Also, I don't know how many of you have been to Vegas, but once you venture off the Strip or away from Downtown, Vegas isn't in the best of areas. Some reviews on Yelp mentioned that it wasn't in that great of an area, but that didn't stop us.

Upon arriving, it wasn't in as bad an area as some made it sound, but then again, I grew up in Los Angeles. Maybe if you're visiting Vegas from a small town that doesn't really have "bad" areas, I could see where you would mention it. The place looked pretty small from the outside (it's in a mini mall), but inside, it was quite roomy for a LYS. They had a knitting/crochet group going with about 10 ladies sitting around a table in the middle of the store working on projects. I was a little nervous at the reception we would get walking in, but right away, the staff (an older lady and a girl about in her 20's) greeted us and asked if we needed help. They were both very friendly and continually asked if I had any questions. They also said to feel free to fondle any of the yarn as much as I wanted. They got major brownie points when they let me use their restroom even though I had yet to buy something. I felt right at home.

The front room had the yarn on the perimeter, mostly on shelves, but they did have baskets of certain brands, as well as yarn by the hank hanging on a hat tree looking stand. It looked kind of awesome. If I had room to do something like that with my yarn, I definitely would! They also had several racks of books (99% knitting). I don't know how to knit, so I didn't look at them too closely, but my husband pointed out that they had one that was JUST Harry Potter knitting items. I'm a HUUUGGEEE Harry Potter fan girl.I almost wanted to buy it in the hopes that some day I'll be able to use it, but I didn't really want to spend the money. Does anyone have this book?

The back room they had spinning and loom items, which I was very impressed with. I don't know how many LYS carry supplies for either, but it seemed very cool. They also had books regarding both.

Their selection of yarn was great and everything was very visible and easy to find the prices. I know that is some people's complaints about LYS. Each yarn was priced on the labels clearly. I don't have much experience with LYS, but their pricing seemed resonable. They had tons of Berroco and Cascade, as well as other brands I can't quite remember. They had tons of colors of each, which was nice. It seemed like most of the yarn had fiber contents of wool, merino, silk, cotton, rayon and/or alpaca.

I didn't want to spend too much money, but knew I had to get something! I have issues with some wool, as I have major sensitive skin, so I knew a lot of the stuff I was drawn to was out of the question. After walking around the store 2-3 times, I found that I was instantly attracted to the alpaca and merino wool yarns. They were soft enough on my skin so I didn't have to worry about rashing when wearing them and for the most part, I could afford them. There was a 100% alpaca that I LOVED, but I couldn't justify the $18.95+ sticker price for one small hank.

I settled on two brands/yarns.


I bought two balls of Cascade di ve Autunno in the 48162 shade. It is 100% Merino Wool and so so soft. I wish they had one more ball of the same dye lot, but they didn't. I think I'm going to start on this hat with it and see if I have enough. That is, if I can figure out the pattern! LOL




I got two hanks of Berroco Cuzco yarn, which is 50% alpaca and 50% Peruvian Wool. Weirdly, their site doesn't have the two colors I bought, but one is an oatmeal and the other a forest green, as you can see in the picture! I think I'm going to make a scarf, combining the two colors.

I haven't used either brand/type of yarn yet, so I'm super excited. I can't wait to get started soon. Overall, I'd say the trip was a huge success and it only makes me want to visit my LYS in San Diego even more. I know I'll be stopping at Wooly Wonders every time I'm in Las Vegas.