Chicago Adventures

I took a very quick turnaround trip to Chicago for a professional conference. It didn’t turn out to be the most relaxing of a trip due to some work stress. So, what is a girl to do? Yes, find a yarn store!!

I managed to walk to Yarnify on Chicago’s South Side and peruse a LOVELY store. I forgot to take any pictures of the inside or outside because I was in a mood over work issues. But I did manage to spend some money in the store.

I always try to support local dyers or dyers I don’t see very often. On the left I grabbed some Leading Men Fiber Arts yarn. I grabbed some vivid mini skeins for my scrap/mini skein blankets. And then I got a skein of the Dramaturg base in the “fortune teller” colorway. Next up on the top is some RMR in the Rocio base. New to me dyer and it’s not on Ravelry but I couldn’t resist the speckles.

Next up on the right is some Baah Yarns Savannah in “Lincoln Park After Dark” colorway. This is a cashmere blend and I plan to pet this skein QUITE a lot. And then I finished up with the top corner of some Stone Barn Farms gradient cake called “Eye Of The Storm” colorway.

I really need to take one of these hot afternoons and get all my summer yarn purchases put away and organized into my bins….

Happy Stashing!!

Sweet Georgia Haul

Vancouver Canada was wonderful, but a bit of a madhouse with the FIFA World cup and having a team practicing in the City. We made it off the boat and to our hotel with a few hours to kill. I REALLY wanted to get to Baaad Anna’s Wool shop but it was deep in the heart of traffic and chaos from where were were staying.

So opted for a closer option, the SweetGeorgia main headquarters!

The store was lovely and I could see part of the warehouse and dye studio in the back. My mom came with me and it was her first ever Uber ride. The store is a little hard to find in the industrial park but we made it.

I picked up a DK weight party of five set, some BFL DK (Trifecta DK) and a skein of their superwash worsted. I rounded out my purchase with a skein of Cashsilk Lace and a travel bottle of soak in the fig scent. I’m a sucker for fig scents!!

One of my goals will be to get back to Seattle and Vancouver when the chaos is less and my family is NOT with me to do more of yarny vacation. I think it would be gloriously fun and such a great place to visit!

Happy Stashing!!

Skagway Yarn Shopping

Skagway was my favorite stop on the cruise. Mostly because I got to hold 8 week old sled dog puppies but also because the town was beautiful and so much to do.

I found Auroras Yarn and dropped some tourist money there.

There were two indie dyed yarns in there: Raven Frog Fibers and Alaska Yarn Company. From Raven Frog I picked up a hat kit that was Glacier Bay themed, then a dark green sock yarn and some grey mohair to do more hat/cowl things. Followed by a worsted skeins, one each from Raven Frog and Alaska Yarn Company.

I had to vacuum bag and seal up all the yarn to fit it to go back home. Totally worth it and would do it again 😁😉

Happy Stashing!!

Juneau Woolies Haul

I was able to find yarn in Alaska! First stop was Juneau and Juneau Woolies. Walked up a very steep hill to get there but it was worth it.

The shop was quant and did a great job on the window display. My kids preferred the ice cream shop next door though.

I picked up some spinning fiber in a bright purple and it’s a merino/tencel blend. Next up was some Juneau Woolies hand dyed yarns. I picked up a mohair lace for more fuzzy hats with some of their cashmere merino sock yarn. Then two skeins of their worsted for hats and an Aran weight skein for maybe some mittens. And finally a wee mini skein for scrap blankets.

Oh and I grabbed some wool wash in cash I magically need to block something in this trip! Hahahah, wishful thinking.

Next Jellybean and I found a used book store on the way back to the boat!

Happy Knitting!!

Trying Caracol

It’s been really tough work this year and I was tempted by the Yarn Barn window while I was on a lunchtime walk during my work day.

I perused the sale section, got a pair of needles to replace ones that broke and didn’t really find anything super exciting. So I went to the malabrigo section and fell in love with this super bulky Caracol. It has a black ply that wraps around a changing core yarn.

I can’t help but think this would knit up to look like stained glass. I think thinking a simple stockinette bulky cowl. I have 180 yards or 300 grams to work with. I can’t decide yet if I will just invent a pattern or find one to work from. And in the meantime this yarn served it’s purpose in lifting my mood!

Happy Stashing!!

A Retirement Hat

I have a dear former colleague who is retiring after 35+ years of service to the organization. And we have seen SOME SHIT. So I feel like want to make something special as she was kind to me as a peer and a boss.

This leads me to her favorites. She LOVES the LV Raiders and my Touchdown Beanie pattern just so happens to have that colorwork option. AND TreasureGoddess Yarns sells a Raiders kit. SOOOOO, I bought more yarn.

I got the Raiders kit which is the Pieces of Eight (grey), White Sand Beaches (white) and Gunpowder (black) to make the hat. I even lucked out because she didn’t have a half skein of the light grey and threw in a full one instead. She really is the best.

I also picked up an extra skein of the Ruby Daggers in Warmth Worsted so I would have Chiefs colors on hand again in case I need to whip up more of those hats.

Now I need to get knitting before her party on March 20th!! Happy Knitting!!

Found The Lost Tub

I did a DEEP purge in my storage and laundry area this week. I took several bags of kids clothes to the local Boys and Girl Club as well some household stuff to the thrift shop. It felt really good to have more space!

And I did in fact find the tub of knitting items that I knew I was missing. Some of this yarn I had forgotten about. It was a lot of Caron Simply Soft and some chenille for blankets. And weirdly a ton of knit picks back from my craft fair days.

I kept some of the knit picks and put a lot of the rest into my donate pile. And reclaimed an entire storage tub!

Now on to the knitting part!

Tossing The Stash 2026

I have to admit that I love collecting yarn. And I hold that buying yarn is a completely separate hobby from using it. And I have still been feeling overwhelmed about how much I have and how many places it had scattered in my house. I couldn’t find my favorite sock needles and my WIPs were overflowing.

So I did a big New Year’s round up of everything that I could see or remember from the house and pulled all my yarn storage. It filled my California king sized bed….

I did the stash first and sorted through all the yarns and redid the bin storage. Checked everything for water or bugs and made some decisions to keep or toss. I think I got everything back into (less) stuffed bins and grouped nicely. Not to mention an entire bag of acrylic and novelty yarn from my early days that is going to donate.

I also tossed all my project bags to cull my projects. I frogged or abandoned seven projects and reclaimed like 10 project bags back into my stash. I found so many needles, stitch markers and tape measures and put back into my tool storage. I also consolidated all my WIPs I still love into one large tote bag. I was proud of myself and only pulled yarn for one new project. More on that later…

I really need to get into my laundry room and storage area to clean. I think I am missing one tote of knitting related items that is in a stack somewhere. I also have three totes of kids clothes to sort and just overall reorg the storage area to be more usable. Sigh….so much adulting!

Happy Stashing!!

K-Pop Yarn for PB

PB, like most girls her age, is obsessed with K-Pop Demon Hunters. And Stacey of Must Stash Yarn released a self striping colorway on brand. I had to buy it.

I haven’t knit a sock in AGES but I am thinking of some sock tubes for PB to rock around the house. Her feet are still growing so I am hesitant to do socks with heels that she will outgrow.

I am leaving this skein out on my desk to see if PB peer pressure and proximity would spur some sock knitting mojo….

Happy Stashing!!

SSK 2025 Door Prize

I didn’t just come home from SSK with market purchases and yarn shop hop goodies, I also won two door prizes!

First up is a lady bug handmade pouch. This would work equally well as a needle/notions pouch or for a pencil case. I might ask if PB wants to use this one? She used to have a thing for Ladybug and Cat Noir cartoon.

Next up are three skeins of sock yarn in coordinating colors. All three are from different dyers but are merino or merino/nylon mixes. The pink is Yarn Cafe Creations, The green is an indie Dyer out of Alaska and the green/pink mix is Unique Sheep sock yarn. I have left these bundled together and I might consider a wrap or faded cropped sweater? I need to marinate more on that….

Happy Stashing!!