A New Love/Addiction

I alluded to the fact that I am now the proud owner of a loom several posts back.  Kev bought it for me for my birthday.  My first go at it was with a skein of sock yarn.  I wasn't too impressed with the process or the finished project.  Well, that was a waste of money, I thought.  But I'm not one to give up that quickly.  Besides, fiber is involved.  There has to be more to it.  

I had this skein of 'Slubby Blue' by Fleece Artist in my stash and I kept picturing it as a woven scarf.  Well, when inspiration hits, you gotta run with it right? So, I took out my little cricket loom again, for another try.  I was like a woman possessed, once I got past the warping of the loom that is.  

I couldn't stop thinking about it.  Every spare moment, I would add a few wefts.  (Not sure if thats the correct terminology, but the weavers out there know what I'm talking about).   Within 2 or 3 evenings, I had this 8 foot scarf.  Wow.  No way you can do that with knitting.  Or at least I couldn't, unless I was knitting with turkey basters and 10 strands of worsted weight held together.  Hmmm....I might file that idea away for later.  Imagine the stash you would eat through.

 Here is the finished scarf.  Its so hard to photograph though.  I'll try again in better light. Its a beautiful yellow, with bits of rose and forest green.  The warp yarn is just a plain natural worsted weight yarn by Lion Brand - Fisherman's wool, I believe.

I've already warped the loom again, for another scarf of the same width.  I'm not sure about the length though, as this time I'll be using handspun that I bought (gasp!) from A Good Yarn.  I had planned on giving it away, but got greedy when push came to shove and kept the yarn myself.  Its spun by this lady on the west coast of our beautiful province.  I am so envious of her yarns.  When I grow up, I want to spin art yarn like her.  And, oh my, art yarn looks glorious woven.  More on that later.

Maybe I've gone a little overboard

This past weekend I went home. That is, my hometown. My nephew is graduating high school and they had the ceremonies that weekend. And he was the valedictorian. I am so proud. My sister (and I guess in some small part, my brother in law) have done a fantastic job of raising him. He is smart and respectful. He is kind, handsome and ambitious. I couldn't be more proud.

Of course this was also an excuse to do a little shopping. My LYS is nice enough, and I love Mrs. March. But, she doesn't carry Fleece Artist. And I love me some Fleece Artist. I think I may have went a little overboard. I bought 2 thrummed mitten kits. The store owner of Wool Trends (St. John's) had these fantastic shop samples knitted up and even though it was 20 degrees celcius, I really felt the need for some thrummed mittens. I've bought this kit before when I was in Bathurst last summer/fall, and I love thrumming. Mrs Wool Trends had the best thrummed mitten sample ever. They were like boxing gloves. No way a hand can get cold wearing one of those.

I also had a gift certificate for Michaels that I had to spend. So, I stocked up on some Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick. I like that yarn for gift knitting. I also bought some Lion Brand Homespun and Suede as I want to try those faux shearling knitted baby booties and hats that I've seen around Ravelry.

So, I think that I've more than enough yarn for the next 2 or 3 lifetimes. Then I get mail. I'd forgotten that I'd taken advantage of Webs anniversary sale. I got me 2 skeins of this golden Malibrigo.
I've been actually craving it since I knit those Chevalier mittens this winter. They have since mysteriously disappeared. No one knows what happened to them. I'm very suspicious of the usual suspects. But I want more or maybe I just want to knit more. And I've got me some cashmere. Yes, they had cashmere on sale. I've never knit with cashmere before and I'm super excited. My boss is turning 70 in June and I want to do something special for him. I'm thinking the 'swelligent' scarf from Son of Stitch n' Bitch. The cashmere is actually 90% cashmere, 10% silk tweed by Rowan in a great pewter grey colour.



And to top off a fun, fiber infested week I got some roving from etsy seller frecklefaced fibers. I've decided to give spinning alpaca another go. This alpaca is buttery soft. If it turns out scratchy, its my fault.

I've been bad.

I bought $180 worth of yarn. There. I said it. I'm not apologizing, but I just glanced through my stash and it is seriously getting out of hand. I blame it on the stress. I went to Bathurst with Amy for her orthophragnatic surgery. She had her top jaw broken in two places and her bottom jaw broken on one side. It's a very unpleasant experience to see your only child in such misery. But I used yarn as a coping mechanism.

I also cast on for two new projects. I bought a kit for thrummed mittens - which I've been dying to try ever since I learned that this is a Newfoundland technique. Who knew? I've seen (and likely owned) thrummed things all my life, but never knew that it originated here.

We have a very rich knitting history. I also cast on for another pair of plain vanilla socks. I'm not even sure what the yarn is. The truth is that I only bought it because it has aloe vera in it, and I really wanted to give it a try.


I also finished my Spring Forward socks from knitty. They are lovely and blocking as I type.