Extravayarnza

Yesterday was a full day. For us Knit Michigan started at around 5:30am. We arrived early to set up our booth. This is always interesting for us since we only do like one show a year. I just wing it when it comes to booth setup. I think it turned out really well this time though!

We had a few minutes to breath & then at 10am the flood gates opened. I was amazed by how good the turnout was, especially for an event in it's first year. We had a steady stream of people in our booth that just didn't let up till late in the afternoon. It was just fun. I love meeting knitters.

Plus I did get one thing for my stash. I keep finding myself picking up sock yarn at shows. I want to try them all. Yesterday I found a skein of Schaeffer Anne that just had to some home. I might just be a little overly enamored with it...

I know it maybe a while before a can knit it, but for now it's going to sit by the computer & look pretty.

After the market closed we had a quick dinner & classes began. I think my students did amazing. I couldn't believe how alert they were at 11pm considering they had been there since 9am. I also don't think I want to teach till that late at night again. I was wiped out.
My class was held in a Science Lab. It's certainly the oddest setting I've taught in. The tables all had sinks & electrical outlets on them.

We all crowded around a lab table & knit the cutest little thrummed mini socks!

This school has to be so cool. The science room had hand made models of the elements handing in it plus lots of cool pets. The chinchilla was quite interesting. He kept running around & making noise. He sure was cute though...

The only bad part of the whole day was how it ended. The car is dead. Murphy's Law, the car will die when it's below 0 out & you're an hour and a half from home (dropping a chair on your foot and having it swell up & bruise must play in there somewhere too). Well, we eventually made it home & the car is now in the shop. Let me just say that despite the fact that the day ended so badly I'm still in good spirits and mostly just laughed the whole time we were attempting to get through to AAA & figuring  out how to get home. I'm still laughing now. I think that's the best way to handle stress. You just can't be upset if your laughing so hard.

So,
It was a long wonderful weekend. The type of vacation you need a couple more days off to recover from.

Lynn & I headed out fairly early Friday morning to make the 5 hour drive to Toronto. For the first time in my memory I actually ran into construction in Canada. Major construction, this stuff made MI highway construction season look like a kid playing with legos. We didn't get into Toronto until after 4. On the positive side I got some amazing practice driving a stick (that mostly stopped highway backup can teach you how to get into first really well).

It was so worth it though!
Just look at the crowd at Indigo~

As usual Stephanie was charming & funny making sure we were well informed of the presence of CHOKE (they are everywhere) & the need for knitters to be proud and represent.

Plus, unlike any knitting event I've attended before we got to gather at The Spotted Dick and partake in the dangerous mix of drinking and knitting. (For us American's the whole Spotted Dick thing will never get old... I delighted in getting to ask the male employee at Indigo "So, Stephanie tells me you're the man who knows about The Dick", minds out of the gutter people, I was only attempting to get directions to the pub).

After luckily making it back to the hotel for the night and getting in a much too short nights rest, Lynn & I hopped on a street car and made our way to the Naked Sheep (is it just me or does this trip sound risqué so far?)

Can I just say right off the back that every shop we visited was just lovely & I was lucky to have only come home with a modest stash enhancement. My rule for the day was simply that I could only purchase yarn that I couldn't easily get in MI.

Our next stop on the tour was a shop that was new to Stephanie (Thanks Amy for the recommendation), Americo.
Americo was the most unique yarn shop I've ever been to, no Debbie Bliss or Rowan for them, nope only hand spun yarn here.
Funky Wool Hand Spun

Dreamy Cotton Hand Spun

And for me to bring home, Precious Hand Spun Cultured Silk in Lace Weight (about 800yd)

Our next stop of the day was Romni Wools. Cleverly chosen to be the stop before lunch because we easily could have spent a week in there & not have found our way out yet. Stephanie figured calling us all to lunch would be our only hope of ever leaving. She was most likely correct on that point.
Well, Romni is where I found my goal of the day. A skein of Fleece Artist Sea Socks!

A couple of skeins of their Angora/Silk blend also followed me home.

A short Street Car trip & we found ourselves at Kensington Market for lunch & to visit Lettuce Knit. I can hardly believe how amazing Lettuce Knit was, especially since it's only 200 sq feet!
Here's the whole gang infront of Lettuce Knit...

I'm easy to pick out of all the group photos! Just look for the only knitter wearing sunglasses (I have transitions so I'm never in risk forgetting my sunglasses).
Some stash building happened here too...
Some Smooshy for Mum~

And some BFL braids for Me~

After a long wait for a street car (all of 20 min, I'm told that's long in Toronto. Also it's long enough for Knitters to wonder how many of us will fit in a bus shelter... You'll have to go to Stephanie for that answer)
we then headed to AlterKnit...
There were sock Monkeys knitting!

And a skein of Sea Silk that just called for me to bring it home...

So, I'm home again, and my stash has grown to take up even more of my home.

Plus during my days off I started an Etsy Shop! Some of my hand dyed yarn is up there. My patterns will be joining them soon, but in the mean time they're available on my webpage by clicking the link over on the right.

So, I didn't mean to be gone this long from the blog. All weekend something was up & I couldn't log into Movable Type till this morning?! I still am so wound up / overstimulated from this weekend that I can't really gather my thoughts.

I'll start out with my own personal knitting projects...
The LPO was dangerously close to being finished. I crocheted for hours on the way to Columbus, only to suffer a horrible fate, I ran out of yarn. (I'll just let that sink in a bit, this had never actually happened to me before so I was quite stunned). Really I wasn't even close. The last ball of yarn only managed a touch over half of the bind off. Seriously this shawl will take a full 2 balls for my simplified version of the bind off. If I did the full amount of chain stitch loops it would probably have taken 4 (or about 500 yd).
Luckily Kat at SWTC took pity on me & has already sent me one more skein of Inspiration. SWTC is one of the best companies I work with, they are all so fantastic & supportive. So, according to UPS I will have my yarn on Monday & the bind-off will continue. Until then the LPO will be hiding in a suitcase unable to face the world in it's embarrassing state.
My Chevron Scarf officially reached it's half way point. That's a lot of knitting. I need to wind the 3rd & 4th skeins of Claudia's Hand Paints so I can continue on. Luckily I did remember to bring it onto the show floor with me & got to show it off the Claudia herself! (Again, a super wonderful person, but honestly everyone I met up with at the show was, we are all knitters after all).
Next up, a project I actually have a photo of to show you!
I started a pair of socks in Regia Silk~

These started off as a sort of basic toe up sock (to test out the new CPY star needles), & I now have a new pattern in the making. I think you'll all really like the stitch pattern I have planned for the leg of these socks...

Now to the new goodies,
I have lots of samples for an amazing new line of yarn, Mirasol. When I first heard the story behind these yarns & saw the photos of the people this yarn will be helping, I knew my store just had to be a part of this!
Here's the short version of the story behind this yarn:

Peru's hertitage and culture of textile artistry is one of the richest in the world. Without the shepherds tending their animal in the peruvian highlands we would not have this beautiful luxurious yarn. By purchasing it you are supporting the children of these shepherds and the continuation of this tradition. A portion of every purchase is dedicated directly to the funding of a school in the remote area of munani in the region of puno.

A website will be up soon with the more detailed version & lots of photos of the people from this region. I will put up a link to it as soon as the sites up.

As for the yarns... they are very dreamy & wonderful.
First up we have Cotanani, 60% Pima Cotton, 40% Merino Wool. These are colors 404 & 406:

Next we have Hacho, 100% hand dyed Merino. This is a hand wash dk weight yarn. The colors are really quite brilliant.

Last up are Sulka & Miski, Sulka is a chunky single ply Alpaca, Wool, Silk heathered blend & Miski is a 100% Baby Llama 2-ply yarn. Both are amazing soft & I have a hard time remembering which one has the silk in it because they're just that soft.

I have these samples at my shop in Lansing, MI if you wish to see them (or fondle them) in person. I expect the yarns to start arriving in August.
I also brought home samples of two new Elsebeth Lavold yarns, Silk Flamme & Baby Llama. These both will of course come with Elsebeth's timeless color pallet & her classic sweater designs.


The last new yarn I have to share with you is Evolution from Chameleon Colorworks. Many of you may know the owner of Chameleon Colorworks, Janel, from the online magazine Spindlicity or from the cover of the current Spin-off magazine.
Her new yarn is Evolution which is a soft Merino yarn that has been stretched so that the fiber is almost as fine as Cashmere. Everyone who touched this yarn just stood there speechless while fondling the yarn. You can hardly put this stuff down. I've know Janel for a while now & was lucky to score a stash of this for a project in my book.

I also ordered in Lace weight & Sport weight Evolution for my shop here in Lansing. I'll have my skein's here for you guys to drool over & the rest of the skeins will arrive in September.
Gosh, I really just think I ordered some fantastic things at the show, maybe too many of them to really list... I'll run through the highlights though, JoJo land yarns, Malabrigo (including lace-weight), Lexi Barnes Bags (arriving soon!), Moving Mud glass shawl pins, Glass Circular Knitting Needles (and DPN's too!), and more books than I know where to put. In fact, copies of all the knitting mystery books (including some new installments!) should be arriving soon. I got to meet Maggie Sefton & she gave me a signed copy of her newest book. I'm a few chapters in & just loving it! She also told me a few hints about the next book in the series (due out in 2008) and things will definitely be getting more & more dangerous for Kelly and the crew.

I think Fall is finally settling in on Michigan. We're still having typical MI weather (ungodly hot and humid one day, frost the next...), but the leaves are changing and the coolish days seem to be outnumbering the hot.
Plus I have a huge desire to cast-on for a sweater and seem to be addicted to knitting blankets. Yep, I knit another one (yes in like, one week). But it's so pretty!
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This time the doily pattern is from a book, a Danish book, called Knitted Lace. The best place I've found to get it so far is directly from Lacis, but I'm hoping to get it into my shop later this Fall.
The yarn is Rowan Pure Wool Aran. I used 6 balls to get a respectable 6 foot wide blanket.

I've been busy making last minute preparations for my knitting retreat this weekend.
Nothing makes thinks feel more official than picking up the tote bags...

Oh, and Robin says hi, he's been kept pretty tired out at the new dog park.

Okay, I'm attempting to watch the entire first season of Dexter before Thursday, so I'll see you all later~