Friday, June 29, 2007

Bag the third plus stash enhancement!

Are there Rules of Acquisition for yarn?  Perhaps there should be…

We went up to Maine on Wednesday - a lovely ride, but a very, very hot day.  On the way back down Rte.1 as we were starting to head home, Myria spotted a sign that neither of us had noticed before.

“Did you know there was a yarn shop in that plaza?”

I hadn’t known - had never noticed the sign before.  So we stopped (after a little pro forma resistance on my part, of course!) and checked it out.

It’s called The Yarn Sellar and is really quite a nice little shop.  It has a very decent selection of yarns from the standards like Lamb’s Pride and Cascade to things a tad more exotic like Tillie Thomas worsted weight silk (which I stood and fondled for a positively indecent amount of time - you can’t believe how incredibly sensuous this stuff felt!).  The color ranges were very good and though the shop was well stocked, it wasn’t jammed or crowded.  Also, the lady minding the store on Wednesday was very kind and helpful.  In short, this is the kind of store I’d frequent if it were in my neighborhood.

Still - now I have even more to look forward to when we head up to Maine!

No, of course I couldn’t resist temptation.  I did try, but...well...not very hard, I’m afraid.  I won’t tell you this jumped into my arms because I darn well picked it up myself, but this fabulous stuff…

...came home with me.  This is Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca - worsted weight (on the lighter side), 50% alpaca, 50% wool.  I bought all they had of this color, Lavender Mix and it’s wonderfully soft.  In fact I held it to my neck for a few minutes, waiting for the scratchy-itchies to start and they never did!  There were 6 hanks (100 grams/215 yards) one of which was an odd dye lot.  However, even when I got the stuff outside into the sunlight, the odd hank wasn’t discernible from the others.  This will go for next winter’s project - whatever that turns out to be - and I am delighted with it.

After a number of false starts (and just plain goofs, let’s be honest), Bag the 3rd is under way :)

This yarn has such a glorious, gleaming finish that it’s a little difficult (for me, anyway) to photograph well.  It’s also rather slick which is one of the reasons I wound up starting it over several times.  This is the Classic Elite Newport and you want to watch this stuff carefully when you work with it because the slightest inattention causes it to jump right off the needles and unravel like mad :) But it sure works up beautifully.  Given that the yarn itself has such presence, I thought going with a simple basket-weave pattern would do the trick.  I like it so far…

And Bag the 2nd is complete.

I only have a minor quibble with this and it’s the strap - which I don’t really like and will probably change.  I’d like to be longer than that and not quite as heavy.  Fortunately I have plenty more of that yarn so no problem.  Otherwise, I think this works nicely!

Have a great weekend :)

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1. oh, i like the ‘shine’ factor of bag #3- show me the ‘bling’ and i will show you the drool!

   your new yarn acquisition just screams ‘robbyn’ so how could you have resisted it! that newly found yarn shop just showed up on your radar because that gorgeous color was in stock- I am already thinking ‘new sweater’ for you from that- nag, nag, nag!

   stay happy-

   Posted by  on  06/29  at  01:45 PM
   Location : rapidly approaching a deadline with wild look in p



2. Yummy yarn, and how great is it finding a yarn shop you can visit while traveling?  I have one like that in Gatlinburg, TN I visit every time we are there.  And the bags are adorable.  Did you give the dimensions?

   Posted by Peggy  on  06/29  at  05:00 PM
   Location : Bowling Green, KY



3. Barb - Ths would make a lovely sweater, I admit.  But I also have to admit that I’m chicken-and-a-half about commiting this lovely stuff to sweater making which for me, as you kjnow, has been a serious hit-or-miss proposition.

   On the other hand, I don’t plan on working with this over the summer so I’ve got some time to figure out what to do with it :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  06/29  at  06:28 PM
   Location : Right here in my chair!



4. Peggy - You know, I had that thought too :) Whoopee!  There’s a yarn shop I can visit when I head up north - like I needed another reason to love Maine!

   I hadn’t talked about dimensions, but the bags are all roughly the same size - 4.5 - 5” in diameter and 5 - 5.5” tall.  You probably wouldn’t use any of them as purses, but they could hold a collection of things tidily in your purse :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  06/29  at  06:31 PM
   Location : Right here in my chair!



5. That alpaca is a wonderfully soft yarn. I bought some to make winter accessories. I didn’t notice an itch factor either. Yay!

   Posted by Lisa  on  06/30  at  08:30 AM
   Location :



6. Maine.  Sigh.  I really want to visit Maine.  I keep checking with Google Maps and hoping the number of hours it takes to drive there from central PA will change.  Sigh.  The dark lavender alpaca is gorgeous.  I got a skein of it in a dark blue in the goody bag from Knitters Connection—it does feel wonderful.  Enjoy!

   Posted by Rob  on  06/30  at  03:02 PM
   Location : home



7. Lisa - Yay indeed!  Soft, warm yarn - what could be better?  If it were purple?  Oh yesssssssss :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  06/30  at  03:29 PM
   Location : Right here in my chair!



8. Rob - You don’t have to go all the way to Maine.  Make it as far as Massachusetts and I’ll bring you the rest of the way :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  06/30  at  03:32 PM
   Location : Right here in my chair!



9. What gorgeous yarn you picked up! The bags are really looking good too. I just love the colour and shine of Bag the 3rd.

   Posted by Opal  on  06/30  at  04:20 PM
   Location : Honolulu, HI



10. Opal - That cotton is really gorgeous but it’s slicker than snot to work with.  I wouldn’t take long odds on that lovely gloss lasting past the first washing either :)

    Posted by Robbyn  on  06/30  at  05:20 PM
    Location : Right here in my chair!

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