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Sunday, November 30, 2003
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Arizona must be the yarn capital of the world.
Yesterday's trip to Tucson yielded fabulous deals. Our trip to Tucson was pretty much for yarn, as that's all we ended up doing besides shopping at Trader Joe's (I'd never been to one, but heard such good things we had to stop), stopping at gas stations for beverages and directions, and eating not-so-great steak.
First we stopped at the Purls (not gonna link 'em cause I didn't like 'em) store on Speedway Boulevard. I was severely disappointed. The yarn was overpriced, everything was disorganized, there was no room to move around, and the staff was not very friendly (though they WERE busy). The selection of yarn wasn't very spectacular, though I saw a few new things. They had a 50% off section, which made me happy - I picked up two skeins of K1C2 BonBon in a frosty blend of grey and lavender and peach. My only other purchase there was of the vixen that is Dale O' Norway book #126. I was especially attracted to Empire - that'll definitely be something I do in the future.
The second Purls store was harder to find (but is right near Trader Joe's) and slightly better. It's a little more organized and a lot more friendly, but still disappointing. Again, I only bought sale yarn - four balls of two different colors of Cascade Fixation and three balls of GGH Safari (a linen/nylon blend), which I hope to turn into a summery shawl.
The find of the day was was the Backdoor Bead and Yarn store. We would've missed it if it weren't for the little sign by the side of the road proclaiming "Beads Yarn --->). It was fate, I tell you, for we got there fifteen minutes before closing. What fun yarns! What great prices! I got to see a lot of stuff I'd never seen before. There's a great selection of novelty AND "normal" yarn, and it's all very well-organized. The best part were their baskets upon baskets of discounted yarn. 40% off most of it! I ended up with three balls of Noro Kureyon in color 36 (a felted bag, I'm sure!), two balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a deep slate blue (they'll become fingerless gloves, probably), and 11 balls of Debbie Bliss Merino DK in my-favorite-shade-of-green (which is a springy, leafy green), destined to become a sweater of some sort. I can't tell you how happy I was about these finds, though my last thought before going to sleep was that I should've gotten enough Cashmerino for a sweater! Brandon was helpful and looked at the notions while I fondled yarn - he found a Norwegian knitting thimble (why I'd never seen one, I have no idea) and I had to get that. I'm destined to make great fair isles. I've got Norwegian blood, after all.
I cuddled my yarn most of the way home. Me? Weird? Nah.
One of the best parts about yesterday's excursion was that I got my mom to buy yarn and needles for herself! She used to knit and taught me the finger-loopy sort of cast-on and the knit stitch ages ago (which is probably why I picked up knitting so easily the second time). I made her a felted bag pre-trip and a scarf en-trip and told her about the fabulous yarn stores around here, and now she's tempted to go at it again. She ended up buying a ball of some wool blend and two skeins of BonBon at the first Purl store, a pair of size 10 bamboo needles at the second, and two balls of this adorable, wild Gedifra stuff and size 8 needles at the Backdoor place. I'm so proud!
Another scarf is finished - the Wendy Strata scarf for my step-sis. It's just garter stitch and fringe, but it's very hip and cute. I'm damn near done with the Uxbridge Tweed scarf, as well; I'm hoping the 2x2 ribbing relaxes a little with some blocking, though. If it doesn't, no big deal - it's still cute!
Tomorrow night we'll be back in Minnesota. I'm almost sad, since I'm getting used to the perpetual summer!
Tipper @ 7:09 AM * link
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Thursday, November 27, 2003
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And so it continues...
San Diego is an absoutely gorgeous town, and both Brandon and I were sad to return to Phoenix. Of course, yarn stores were visited between trips to Tijuana (blech!), the zoo, the beaches, and eating lots of cheap, awesome food.
Needlecraft Cottage was the first stop, right on Pacific Beach. It's mostly needlework stuff, but they have a nice selection of yarn. I ended up with some Online Linie 43 Punta (a black eyelash and metallic purple, blue, gold, etc. boucle), a ball of GGH Joy, a sweater defuzzer for those nasty felting fuzzies, and a pair each of bamboo straights in 11 and 13, as I couldn't wait to get home to make some more fast scarves. The yarn store lady was very helpful in pointing us towards some great restaurants.
We went farther eastward to check out two stores, but they were closed. Their loss!
Saturday we visited Knitting in La Jolla, which is an awesome store. The prices really astounded me, given that it's such a ritzy area - many of them were lower than we find in Minnesota. They've got an awesome selection of Colinette and Rowan and K1C2 and Trendsetter and lots of other stuff I usually don't see so extensively. To top it off, there were SALE items (including nice stuff like Rowan). I wanted to buy lots, but I limited myself to two skeins of Bartlett that were about $5 each, one in turquoise and one in tan - they'll make a cute felted bag. This lady was also really helpful.
We've been back in the Phoenix area since Monday but really haven't gotten out much. Yesterday we had the adventure of going out to Tortilla Flat through the Superstition Mountains. The scenery's nice, but the drive's trecherous, and neither of us is really into the Old West/Southwest stuff that's around here. Before we left, however, we went up to Scottsdale to visit Arizona Knitting and Needlework. HOLY COW. They've got skeins hanging from the ceiling, even! I saw a ton of stuff by Berocco that I'd never seen in person before, as well as a lot of other obscure things. They've got half a store full of Colinette, I swear. To make things even better, these were the NICEST yarn store ladies I've ever met in my life. We jabbered quite a bit and they understand my urge to roll around and fondle yarn. They get it. I walked out of there with an older Jaeger magazine for $2 (marked down from $12!), two balls of Berocco Uxbridge Tweed in the beautiful green color (it'll be a scarf for a friend), a ball of some Wendy yarn that's a thick-and-thin wool/acrlyic blend which I'm turning into a scarf for my step-sis, and a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot in their firey colorway... my lord. This was a very luxurious purchase, as it was $19 for the skein, but it'll make a pair of the most gorgeous socks ever. It's a superwash/mohair/nylon blend and is wonderfully soft and has a really nice halo. I'm so excited about it!
I've finished the Punta and Joy scarves already. I should take a picture of my mom in her Punta scarf before we leave today (we're currently at her house digesting our big Thanksgiving meal). I've got a really good start on the Uxbridge scarf, which I'm doing on 10.5's in a 2x2 rib, and I'm very close to being able to start the heel turn on the first of Jack's socks. It's amazing how much knitting I'm getting done when I'm not even doing a lot of it!
I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!
Tipper @ 3:57 PM * link
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Thursday, November 20, 2003
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For some strange reason (that is, my mother), I've given up the delicious bitter cold of Minnesota for the hot (that is, 70 degrees) clime of Phoenix, Arizona. Man, without these fans going, I'm sweatin' like a pig. And the sun! It's so disgustingly sunny here! I suppose it's worth dealing with in exchange for an authentic family Thanksgiving.
In FIBER news...
Yarn Shop #1 for the trip was Fiber Factory in downtown Mesa. Mon Dieu! This is one of the best - if not the best - fiber-related shop I've ever shopped. The place is rather large and full of looms, wheels, books, rovings and tops and fleeces - oh my!, and YARN. There was even yarn that was ON SALE!
I ended up taking home two balls of Crystal Palace Mikado Ribbon in shell mix to make a shorter version of these (after making my rockonathon cuff, I've become near-obsessed with such things), a scarf kit it's green and blue and there are cute beads involved - how could I resist?), two balls of DK cotton/acrylic in a nice mauve color for socks, the Summer 2001 (or 2002? I forget.) IK that I've been searching for, 4oz of merino/mohair roving in a beautiful combination of blues, and 4oz of merino/tussah roving that's awesome shades of green and brown. The latter two items were 25% off and were cheap to begin with.
It's just a delicious store, though the owners/workers aren't up there on the super-friendliness scale. They weren't rude, at least, and I suppose that sort of oppressive heat could make anyone crabby.
Arizona has two things over Minnesota: they sell liquor til 1am and there are SONICS!!!
I'm unsure how many other yarn stores we'll be stopping at, though I have a whole list. An impressive number of shops are in Arizona! I at least want to check out one in Tucson when we visit on Tuesday and there's a shop with mostly handpainted stuff in Sedona - we'll be up there next Saturday for an art festival. Tomorrow we head to San Diego for the weekend; I've got three shops mapped out, but we might be distracted by all the cheap booze in Mexico. I don't know how much more yarn shopping I can afford, either!
Oh, and I finished the diagonal mohair scarf on the plane yesterday with an hour to spare. I've started a pair of socks for my 13W-feeted friend and am making good progress. I might, however, seriously regret doing sock yarn socks on size 2's for him. (But I guess he's worth it. Sorta. :P)
Toodles, mes amis!
Tipper @ 10:19 PM * link
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Sunday, November 16, 2003
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ROCK ON!!
I saw mention of the Rock Along in Christina's blog, and as I was under the influence of half a vodka martini and have an almost embarrassing tendency to overuse the International Rock On symbol, I had to participate. The pattern is here. I just finished one cuff - I'm not sure if I'll make two, though I'm tempted - and I just loved doing the duplicate stitch once I got the hang of it. The cuff is nice and warm and provides a nice cushion for typing.
Alas, I have more pictures!
I met this yarn last week before Knittin' Night, and had to have it. It's called Kolibri - it's 100% alpaca and soft and light as a cloud. I knit this scarf on size 17 needles in about an hour; I cast on about 7 stitches, je pense. I've yet to take it entirely off the needles, as I'm not sure if I want to re-knit it (assuming I can rip it) on larger needles. It's not very long as it is.
Next we have an on-the-diagonal scarf from Reynolds Fusion. I'm using size 10.5 needles and things are just flyin'. It's very nice to work with and the colors are splendidly blended. Ms. Keyboard Biologist has excellent taste - she's using the same yarn (in the same color) for a sweater.
And, as you can see from the carnage, cats like it, too!
I've also started the Colorwork Hat and Mittens from the Fall 2003 Interweave Knits. It's my first fair isle project, and I'm doing very well, I must say. It's hard on my hands, though; the stitches are very packed on a 16 inch circular and they're size 2's at that. I'm using Cascade 220 and falling in love with it.
And that's about that. I'm going on vacation for the next couple of weeks, but hopefully I'll be updating on the road. I hope to hit as many yarn stores as possible!
Tipper @ 11:55 AM * link
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Saturday, November 15, 2003
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| In lieu of actual content, at the moment, I bring you a working free patterns page!
Tipper @ 4:52 PM * link
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Friday, November 07, 2003
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So many projects, so little time! I'm at the threshold of starting a billion different things, yet I'm hesitating. I want all of my ideas to come to life beautifully, since so many come out less-than-perfect.
I did start something today - fair isle mittens for my aunt. I've gotten less than one round of corrugated ribbing done; all my time was spent designing a fair isle pattern for them, and then the husband came home and needed cuddles. I wanted to start my own mittens, since I seem to have lost mine. Here's an old picture for you!
Completed mid-December last year.
This is one of my first "real" projects - I'd only done a couple of scarves and a ribbed hat before. The yarn is some handpainted Crystal Palace Labrador I bought off of eBay; I had just enough in one hank to do the set. I adore the colors - I'm a green sorta girl! Unfortunately, I went to dig out my hat and mittens when it got cold, and I could only find the hat. I've NO IDEA where the mittens are, which saddens me greatly. They're awesome and warm and oh-so-groovy.
So, I want to start on a new pair of mittens using Cascade Indulgence that was definitely an indulgence for me at $18-something for a skein. It's a deep pink that will match the scarf I made for myself last year and the pink scarf I'm making now, and probably the two hats I have kits for:
The Red Palm hat from Poems of Color. I got the kit from Kimmet-Croft at last year's Yarnover.
Vogue Knitting Winter 2002 cover hat. I adored it when I saw it, but wasn't going to shell out the bucks. However, lo an behold, on the knitting-for-sale list (which I HAD to dump as I wanted to spend too much money!) someone was offering up their leftovers, enough to make a second hat. At $35 including shipping, how could I resist?
I organized my yarn today. Again. Random new yarn was taking over my sewing corner of the guest room and something had to be done. I have the equivalent of two more 59 quart bins more yarn than I did last time, bringing the total to 5. Eep.
Progress report:
Kidsilk Haze scarf: Tuesday night's knit night led to me doubling what I already had, and it now fits around my neck. I hope I have enough Koigu, though I suspect I'll run out. It's an awesome scarf, though it might be a very expensive one.
The Project That Shall Not Be Named: fabulous progress! I'm a third of the way done!
Felted bag present: I started a felted bag - it'll be about the same size as the City Shoulder bag in my gallery, though I'll be doing the strap differently. I'm about halfway done.
For those of you in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area:
Feel free to stop by White Rock Coffee on Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul on Tuesday nights around 7. It's our new official knitting night location! They've got fabulous coffee (try the cafe miel) and it's a well-lit, comfortable, inexpensive place.
Tipper @ 6:47 PM * link
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