SSK Door Prize

One really cool feature of SSK is the simply astronomical number of door prizes that the KnitGirllls are able to source. I’m talking like close to 50 or 60. You win tickets, earn tickets and get some tickets for just attending. And then you can put those into drawing for prizes and I won one!

This was one of the bigger grand prizes. It is a foldie travel bag with two yarn baby skeins of CeCe’s Wool. That is a new to me yarn brand and boy howdie is that a lot of sock yarn! The color is “Over The Raindow” and it’s 2,240 yards of fingering weight sock yarn. It’s also 100% merino. Enough that I can knit a full Rachelle sized sweater!

I am super grateful for winning a prize and I really want to find a sweater to knit but less enthused about a sweater on US 2s or 3s, lol.

What should I knit?

Caution: Wool Fumes Ahead

Okay, even for me…..this was unprecedented. I fell victim to the wool fumes and blew past my budget. I am aware this is a privilege and I am incredibly grateful. I just was surrounded by so many great SSK vendors that I had to support them all. Now I have a lot of crafting to do to spend this down….

I focused on adding to my spinning fiber inventory and one sweater’s quantity. After I achieved those items I added to my single skein stash for worsted and DK. I don’t believe I had yarn from any of these dyers except for maybe Miss Babs?

  • Oink Pigments
  • Old Rusted Chair
  • Geektastic fibers
  • Miss Babs
  • Urban Girl Yarns
  • Republica Unicornia
  • Sweet Tea Yarns
  • Another Crafty Girl
  • HipStrings

It is my intention to talk more about these skeins as I use them. I also grabbed some Tuft Woolens restock of hand lotion and wool soap. I had just run out earlier this year so it was nice timing.

Happy Yarn Fumes!!

Bliss Yarns Haul

On one of my breaks from SSK classes, I hopped in my car and navigated to Bliss Yarns in nearby Brentwood.

It was a lovely store where there was a knitting group going on. They were so delightful and we shared lots of regional crafting information. Turns out the shop owner grew up in Kansas and was delightful.

I walked away with a skein of Twisted Ambition Yarn Sweet Sock in the “Gold Rapture” colorway, a skein of Big Sky Yarn Squish DK in the “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” colorway, and finally some Whimzee Stitches Yarn Co Select Worsted in the “Love My Tennessee colorway”. And as a SSK bonus prize, I got to pick out some needles stoppers and I chose cacti.

I would highly recommend this yarn store to anyone. It has a great selection, easy location and great customer service. Happy Shopping!!

Restocking Hat Yarn

With all this hat knitting, I needed to restock my worsted yarn. I stopped by YarnBarn in Lawrence and grabbed three new skeins. All Rios but in English Rose, Hojas, and Medusa.

The Hojas color is already on my needles per yesterday’s post. I tried to grab some colors that were different that what I already had made. And I love that YarnBarn already wound these for me. Worsted doesn’t take that long but it sure makes it easy to start another hat super easily.

Happy Stashing!!

KITH Yarn Haul

In between Knitting In The Heartland events, I did some time in the market. After an initial lap around the vendors I decided to focus on mini skeins for my scrappy granny stripe blanket.

I have all my scraps organized and I noticed some gaps in the color wheel. So I tried to pour through booths and find colors to help fill out those missing areas. Mostly I need the warm colors of red, yellow and orange and some more jewel tones.

I think I did well! I also nabbed a tshirt going out on clearance, a knitting book for my friend and a couple of worsted skeins to replenish my hat stash. I am pretty proud of myself and saving most of my yarn funds for SSK this summer!

Happy Yarn!

This Could Mean Trouble

My new job means a new commute. The silver lining? The new area I work in has a LYS! And on a break this week I fell down in the store and my card bought new yarn.

Am I going to Knitting in the Heartland conference in less than two weeks? Yes. But I was feeling good this day and the yarn fumes got me. I picked up three skeins of Malabrigo Rios in Matisse Blue, Cian, and Purpuras. Then one skein of Malabrigo Arroyo in Sea Slug. All of these skeins are destined to be hats. My brain cells are taken up by the new job some easy hat knitting feels good.

Next up was two skeins of 316 Dye Studio in their House DK and graffiti colorway. I have some of this in my stash for a sweater and my post COVID body needs more yardage. They are different dye lots so I will have to shade/alternate. But I’m okay with that. Lastly are two bunches of fiber from Malabrigo Nube in Solis and Indiecita colorways. I think I will spin each as singles and ply together. They coordinate nicely.

Someone asked me what I was making and I said ‘Happiness’ because you should never ask a knitter about their stash!

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

I have basically knit through all of my worsted weight stash (that isn’t handspun) and I have been getting great joy from knitting hats lately. So I jumped on Etsy and grabbed some more worsted from one of my favorite dyers, Lilliput Yarn.

Though my brain has not been working lately. I came down with an upper respiratory virus from my conference and my husband caught COVID from a work exposure. So we have been feeling really puny around here. I THOUGHT I purchased three skeins of worsted. But what I had done is two skeins of worsted and one skein of Rudy’s sport. Score one for cold medicine and brain fog.

The sport skein is a mix merino and nylon and will make an excellent pair of socks. I think that might be my next cast on after I finish my Emotional Support Socks. And I think I will try to get the other two started as hats ASAP for TV knitting and travel knitting.

Happy Knitting!!

Gal’s Gifts

I firmly hold that one’s “gals” give the best gifts. I had the good fortune to bond very deeply with a work colleague who moved on to another City. And we developed quite the group chat with one of her new coworkers because we missed hanging out. We all three enjoy crafty things and each other’s senses of humor.

This lovely box was delivered to me from those two gals. Without asking they know exactly what to gift me.

This box contained many yummy chocolates and two full sock sets from Amber Waves of Fiber. The color is called “Santa’s Workshop” and the content is 80% merino, 10% cashmere and 10% nylon. I have enough yarn for a large shawl or multiple socks. I need to meditate on what this yarn wants to grow up to be.

Happy Knitting!!

COVID Consolation Prize

Our family finally got caught by COVID. Three out of the four of us tested positive. The hubby and I went on our first real dinner and movie date in two years and came home with COVID. Pretty poetic, right?

We spent all of last week laying low and staying home. We are on the mend but PB can’t go back to daycare for another week yet. It’s been hard, trying to work my busy season from home and keeping two kids in good spirits. So I purchased myself a consolation prize….some Chromatic Yarns/Corner of Craft goodies.

I picked up a sock set in her her Naiad colorway and a beaded unicorn stitch marker. The sock yarn is BFL/nylon mix and I envision it will be socks some day. I have already put my stitch marker on my current Stark Effect Socks.

Happy Knitting!!

A Resistance Collection

I may not be knitting much, but that hasn’t stopped me from buying! I am a patron of the Corner of Craft patreon. And that provided me early access to a recent collection launch for Chromatic Yarns. Hannah is a dyer that uses D&D themes. I don’t play D&D but I love Hannah’s colors!

I picked up the entire Resistances Collection on her Sturdy DK base to make a faded something….probably a sweater? From left to right the colors are:

  • Cold Resistance
  • Lightning Resistance
  • Charm Resistance
  • Poison Resistance
  • Chaos Resistance
  • Spell Reistance

I think they are ALL amazing and make me itchy to cast on a DK sweater. I have found that is my most worn weight of sweater that fits my climate both at home and work. Now I just need more time and more energy, lol. That or less adult responsiblities!

Happy Knitting!!