Knit and Crochet Show 2007

Being in my own literal backyard, I couldn't resist visiting the market at the Knit and Crochet Show this year. As with all of my fiber arts purchases lately, it's been spinning fiber heavy.


Yak fiber, 2 - 8 oz bags from yarnplace.com


Merino/cashmere (95/5), 8 oz from yarnplace.com

Yarnplace is slowly becoming one of those places I buy from whenever I run into them (last time it was the gold recycled silk at Lambtown). Really though, the yak is amazingly soft and a super short staple... I have it in the back of my head to save it to card with a natural brown merino for a sweater qty of spinning fiber... one of those pipe dreams similar to the baby alpaca/silk from matahari spinnery, but you never know :) The merino/cashmere is the same fiber percentage as the "clouds" yarn I have but it's not the one listed on their site right now... they did have it at the K&CS though, not sure the deal on that. They also don't have their spinning fibers on their website, but they had several grades of cashmere along with camel as well at the show.

I also picked up a 1400 yd ball of gentle, because yall know I knit *so* much lace.


Crosspatch Creations triple play roving (wool, silk & viscose), 4 oz in "Edgar Allen"
from Carolina Homespun

I've really been curious about Crosspatch Creations since seeing this awesome, awesome fiber sampler newsletter on The Bellwether's site (you do know Amelia has a bring you to your knees new website, yeah?)... and this purchase has spurred me on to subscribe. The color's just amazing, and will spin into a fun textured yarn for me (if I can manage to not spin it too finely!)


Corriedale roving, 2 - 4 oz braids in "chocolate" from RoyaleHare.com

I've finally come to terms with the fact I don't have to just spin superwash merino, or just merino :) The royale hare booth was so friendly (almost too much for staring at my shoes me), and told me that this roving was meant to be chocolate (brown) but instead broke into the beautiful purple/gold/brown you see here. I have been buying larger qtys of spinning fiber lately, always thinking I want to spin something substantial...

Aside from fiber, I snagged acid dyes and a set of US 3 Boye dpn's from SheepCityUSA (I swear this is the only needle size I constantly lose) and some wool/silk destash yarn from Caila Handknits (one of my favorite stops whatever show they're at). I felt the most amazing brown-black alpaca fiber at Pacific Meadows Alpacas but they only had 4 oz (I should have picked it up, it was amazing), and saw the cooooolest blocking solution at Article Pract's booth (my lys) called the "knitter's block." It's a set of interlocking foam pieces like little kids' puzzle mats, but the "foam" was covered and not just open and non-absorbant... it was packaged with t-pins and an Egyptian cotton pressing cloth in an adorable tote and gosh I wanted it but had hit my budget, so I hope they'll have it in stock next time I manage to pop over there on transit. My birthday's coming up, so we'll see :)

All of this fiber and no where to put it means I've come to terms with the fact I can't knit (or even store) all of the yarn that I spin, and will be listing a couple handspun yarns in my etsy store as soon as I wrangle time to figure out their weights and yardages (you can sneak a peek at them here, and I'll probably be posting about them on Wednesday.)

Til then! :)

Knit and Crochet Show Spring 2006, the second.

Knit and Crochet Show market take two...

I couldn't help myself, the market being so close to me and me with an empty Sunday and the possibility of more than yarn. I headed back to the show, had the best time in ages (notwithstanding the fact the yarn was the same as it was on Thursday), and wish I could be so free to go out like this all of the time.



I picked up an 8 oz hank of Henry's Attic Kona Superwash from Caila Handknits... I have no more undyed yarn since my easter egg dying explosion, but only got the one since I think the next Henry's Attic I want to try is their new Kona Superwash fingering/sock weight (its what I'm planning to use for Dye O Rama, myself). But $10 is a good deal for the 8 oz and I'm sure I'll find *some* use for it. :)



I also bought the "sunburst sling bag" pattern from JustOneMoreRow.com -- and 3 balls of sari silk from YarnPlace.com ($6.50 for the pattern, $6 each for the sari silk on sale-- on Thursday it was $8). The sari silk is soft and quite pretty, and heavy-- the balls are 8 oz+ each, enough for a large size sling bag.



My progress on the sunburst sling bag-- 2 triangles of 10. Two of the sari silk balls are very similar in color where one is more blue/red, so I think I'll stack the triangles like this: light 1 - red - light 2 - red - light 1 - red - light 2 - red - light 1 - red ... same with the other side, assuming I have enough red... never seem to have enough red. I'm to the point where I need to start a new triangle, so I'm going to weigh the ball before & after to guesstimate how much each takes and make sure this works out.

Is this the hairiest sari silk you've ever seen? Hard to see on the body but you can see on the edges the lengths & quantities I mean. I've not knit with it before, and have read it is hard on some hands (not mine), can be scratchy (no), can shed like a rabbit in heat (not yet), twisty (no problems so far), but is soooo hairy! I think I'll take a pair of scissors to it once its done, just to take the shag factor down a notch. Aside from the hairyness, I think its pretty cool... the fabric its making is perfect for a bag (would be sooo heavy as a garment though!), and is knitting up pretty quickly. I am planning on lining the bag, maybe a fusable interfacing since I have no sewing skills to speak of... though I know nothing about fusible linings, either :)

I started and frogged a hat from the Colinette Skye from my earlier jaunt to the KaCS market on Thursday; I used Marnie MacLean's Nautilus hat pattern with eyelets, and its huge. Huge even for my head, and certainly huge for my mom's head (who has a somewhat smaller head than me, but bigger hair.) I didn't get gauge (4 sts/inch)... instead I got 5.5sts/inch on US 7. So I decided to make the large size... eh, no. I was almost done and had to frog the whole thing. No matter, its a quick easy knit and I'll restart it as soon as I stop being so mad at myself for never being able to knit a proper hat.

I also knit it on dpns, which was far less awful than I thought it would be... Marnie's pattern is a top-down one (one of my requirements, since I wanted to make a longer hat and didn't know how far the yarn would take me), so working the circumference on a small # of sts and then working up is far easier than the time I tried to knit a hat on dpns from the bottom up (& quit and went on circs instead).

Back at the market, I went to see all of the booths again but nothing grabbed me as "essential". I did spend quite a long time at the Interlacements booth, sorting thru their specials table-- sometime between Thursday and yesterday they added a whole bunch of "Northwest territory" yarn (mohair, acrylic, weird twisty looking yarn) to the table and as I was looking for that unfound, extra grey skein of Merino Worsted under the acrylic pile (and any other superwash that may have grabbed my attention), another shopper looked at me and said I radiated calm. Heh, I told her it was being surrounded by all of the yarn, since I couldn't say I was drunk on conversation.

I headed back to Lisa Souza for more Sock! Merino, but again didn't want to duplicate any colorways I already had (though I did hold onto a skein of purple/black for an unseemly amount of time before wishing it well and setting it back down). I was on the lookout for Lantern Moon ebony dpns in US 1 & 2, but didn't find any...

I miss the beard, too :)

Knit and Crochet Show Market 2006 (pic heavy)

First with the pics, then with the yakyakyak below...

Knit and Crochet Show 2006, Spring
Market Preview
Thursday 4/21/06

Interlacements


Merino Worsted
100% superwash merino
560 yd/8 oz
4.5sts/inch on US 8
Desert Lichen colorway 208


Merino Worsted
100% superwash merino
560 yd/8 oz
4.5 sts/inch on US 8
Chairman of the Board colorway 217


Merino Worsted
100% superwash merino
560 yd/8 oz
4.5 sts/inch on US 8
limited edition colorway
These 2 looks closer to my eye than the pic, if I use them together in a sweater for mini me, I'll switch colors every few rows. I should have picked up the 3rd, lightest skein and made a sweater for me :)

I love Interlacements' show specials. $15 each for 8 oz hanks of superwash that I will wrestle into socks (even though they're listed as worsted). I love these new colors as well.

I was the only one and had time to pick and choose these skeins, where at Stitches I couldn't even get near their sale bin to even look. They also had Oregon worsted (100% wool, feltable), a few rick racky looking skeins of rayon? cotton?, a hank of green lace. All were 8 oz, but it was mainly the Oregon & Merino worsted out on special. They had their normal offerings too, but I earmarked their booth to graze on the specials bin.


Full Thread Ahead



Cherry Tree Hill Supersock
420 yd/4oz
100% luxury fingering merino
Potluck -- waters
This pic is a little darker than in reality... we're overcast today and I can't get a good, light pic.

$18 show specials for CTH Supersock, although most vendors sell these "potluck" dyelots at about $18. They did have a few of the normal colorways in addition to the potluck ones, but not many and none called out to me. I was hoping to get some African Grey supersock but they didn't have it.

I made a special stop here since HoJo (owner) is a presence at Knitter's Review Forums and I dig that kind of attention to knitters and the online community. Oh, and b/c I wanted supersock :)

This is the new labelling for Cherry Tree Hill, which now states the sock yarn is hand wash in cold only-- before (same yarn I'm 99% sure) was listed as machine washable. The base is Louet Gems pearl (as it is for Koigu) which says it is machine wash & dry, but I have had problems w/ CTH fading in the wash, so perhaps they changed the labels for that. (No felting problems though, personally.)


Carolina Homespun



Nature's Palette
by Hand Jive Knits
185 yd/50 gm fingering weight
100% merino
Odd duck colorway #1, dyelot 116

I think this yarn is so cool... dyed with natural dyes. I'll use it in a pattern that specifies Koigu as they're the same weight... I may like this better. :) Hand wash only.


The Knitters Studio



Mountain Colors Mountain Goat
230 yd/100gm
55% mohair, 45% wool
5 sts/inch on US 6-8
Rich Red colorway

I actually thought there was goat in this til I brought it home and photographed it :) It will make some interesting, warm socks... I must say despite the fact it has the same composition as the wool/mohair I bought from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks at Stitches, it is not nearly as soft or is close to the luster of the CRD wool/mohair. Just an observation. I love the color.

The Knitter's Studio was also selling at 20% all purchases over $1 Thursday & Friday, too.


Caila Handknits
(no web presence?)



Noro Cash Iroha
40% silk, 30% lambswool, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
40 gm/100 yd
Color 83



Colinette Skye
163 yd/100gm
100% wool
Florentina colorway (?)



Crystal Palace Cream
50% wool, 50% silk
135 yd/50gm $2!!

I never go into these kind of booths (bags of yarn for sale), but they drew me in as no one was there and they had some interesting stuff. Apparently they sell discounted, discontinued, somehow orphaned yarns for quite a discount... They had a bunch of bags that I actually considered buying despite the fact I just can't get in gear and finish Starsky (much less pick it up and work on it!)... merino dk superwash 10 balls, $30. Debbie Bliss merino dk 10 balls, $40. 2 hanks of Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace, $25 each (I almost picked these up, but I don't/can't knit lace, and I think there was a dye smudge or dirt/something wrong w/ the one colorway that appealed to me). Boxes of discontinued Colinette, other discontinued fancy looking yarns that I have no idea about but a more seasoned knitter probably would. They also had ziploc'd bags with a few matching skeins-- the Noro Cash Iroha above is 2 & 1/2 balls (40 gm normal weight, the ball is 30 gm) for $15. The Colinette Skye on its own was $5 (will make a big hat for my mom, who apparently likes big hats and has been paying someone an arm and a leg to *crochet* giant, chenille hats for her... ergh!). The Crystal Palace Cream was $2 (they had an oddball $2 box, which of course I dug into with both hands!)...

This was a cool booth. I have to say if you have allergies or squeemies, it may not be for you... the Colinette had a few stray white hairs interspersed (pet hair?), same for the Noro (but who knows what you find in Noro, anyways). I don't care, its homeless yarn that needed a home :)


Foxyknits



Koigu Premium Painter's Palette Merino
100% merino wool
175yd/50 gm
28 sts/4 inches on US 3
colorway P714D, lot 68
The nearer skein is closest to the color

I was pleased that I wasn't bodyslammed like I was in the Foxyknits booth @ Stitches this time :) Actually I had the entire place to myself practically... perfect for me :) I wanted to pick up another colorway, but nothing really called out to me. I also resisted the urge to go thru their "mini skein" boxes-- not a deal if you use it for socks (.22/gram, same price as regular full skeins) and I still haven't used the minis for baby socks that I bought from Stitches last time... but it looked like they had some pretties and oldies in there. I looked over the solids but wasn't impressed... perhaps I am not the fan of Koigu that everyone else is. (I do think this colorway is very pretty though, it jumped out at me!)

Lisa Souza



Sock! Merino
100% superfine merino superwash
560 yd/4 oz
8 sts/inch on US 1-2
South Pacific colorway



Sock! Merino
100% superfine merino superwash
560 yd/4 oz
8 sts/inch on US 1-2
South Pacific Little Devil colorway (thanks Dave!!)


Like I said for Stitches, Lisa Souza is the best sock yarn deal of the market. $16 for 560 yd/4 oz of superwash, handpainted merino that is tdf soft. I'm totally on a "big" skein kick lately too, and really appreciate the size/generosity of these skeins. She said (she's sooo nice too!!) that her Sock! yarn was going to be slightly heavier gauge-wise soon, but she would continue winding the skeins to allow for extra yardage (I think she said 4.2 oz will be the new skein size, to offset the difference in yarn weight). That's rad.

And the colors!!! I wanted to pick up more than I did, but I didn't want to duplicate the ones I already had in stash (I almost bought another mahogany since I used it for the Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern), but held off.


Sheep City USA



100% merino superwash
280 yd/4 oz
4.5sts/inch on US 3
Sunwashed Ocean colorway

Very pretty, and I like the colorway despite not having much blue in my stash. Its a little lighter in person and has a bit more white in it than in the pic. They had very pretty handpainted yarns (others beside the superwash, too), but every hank but this one was 8 oz and I only wanted a 4 oz size. It was a good deal too, $13. More soft, heavier weight socks on the way.

***

I didn't mean to, but it looks like my purchases have a definite purple bent to them. Strange as I never thought of myself as a purple girl, but why not :) I'm in a red phase, too.

Of course, this wasn't Stitches in size or scope, but it was a very nice selection of quality vendors, a much slower pace than the frantic Stitches market, and everyone seemed much happier here (vendors and buyers)-- perhaps just because it was not as high paced or heavily attended. I'd say it was close to empty, but this was only the market preview and perhaps it will be busier over the weekend (and cheaper!! I paid $15 entrance!!), but I had a great time (obviously).

If you go, check out the 8 oz Interlacements specials table, the new Lisa Souza Sock! Merino (you'll understand when you squeeze it and when she doesn't charge you tax! ...perhaps I was just lucky though...), and if you're looking for either sweater quantities of dk wool and/or Colinette on sale (or small lots of odd, beautiful yarn graced by a few strands of pet hair), Caila Handknits. Full Thread Ahead is also sporting those glow in the dark lighted needles, if that's your bag or if you just want to feel like a Jedi. The crochet hooks at Dodo's Design are gasping for breath beautiful (I don't crochet), and the ones at Asciano Fiber Arts Tools are fall on the floor in admiration amazing (I think Dodo's were less expensive, but different woods, both beautiful). Newton's Yarn Country has its usual 50% "only" on Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday sale, with wool and wool/cashmere laceweight that almost sucked me in (along with acres of novelty yarns that just hurts my brain to think about but was drawing crowds of oohers and aahers). Angora Cottage had some of the nicest staff ("come in! touch, see, feel!" ... just what knitters love to hear) and pretty rovings and yarn. Lots of great vendors-- see them all here.

My only beef was with TKGA/the entirety of the market preview tonite... just little irritating things that had nothing to do w/ the vendors but means I probably won't go back again (though I wanted to take munchkin and my mom to see).

Have fun if you go! Don't get a parking ticket! If you go on Saturday &/or Sunday, there's a garage on Clay Street that is free on the weekends, a few blocks down from the convention center, driving away from the downtown center and away from the water/marina. (It's across the street from the Calfornia state bldg on Clay and... 12th? Btw 12th & 13th, I think. Big plastic printed sign, free parking on the weekends.)

Thanks for looking :)