I went to NH and all I got was a pile of yarn. Life's tough, eh?
There may have been a lot going on at the Knit & Crochet conference, held this weekend in Manchester, NH, but I was there for the fiber, and the fiber at Maple Creek Farms booth, in particular.
As soon as they opened the doors, I made a beeline to the Maple Creek booth with the sincerest hope of getting some more of their merino/cotton blend yarn, which, as I have mentioned at least eleventy billion times, is absolutely scrumptious.
I learned immediately, in talking with the dyer directly, her supplier isn't making the 60% merino, 40% pima cotton anymore. I gushed so much disappointment she must have thought me a little touched with the crazy.
I didn't walk away empty handed, though. I purchased two skeins of the same colorway as my scarf, PA fall, in a worsted/bulky merino, and two skeins of the merino/cotton in a pale red colorway.
This vendor's yarn bases, for both of the yarns I purchased, are phenomenal; the slubs and variations are as endearing as the yarn is velvety to the touch, even this worsted/bulky merino:
I can't wait to see what she'll have for Rhinebeck in October.
No matter how hard I tried to limit my purchases to yarns I couldn't get online, I found myself picking up some old and new friends, such as Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock:
Madelinetosh sock:
Dream in Color Baby laceweight:
I have ogled that Daffodil colorway of the LL an untold number of times over the past year. It's been a love/Ugh! relationship from the beginning. It's so vibrant and bossy and who knows if I'll actually ever knit with it, but I want it to be mine, all mine, and now it is.
I finished up at the Tess' Designer Yarns. I was convinced I was done with the yarn buying as I tread the perimeter of the booth. Of course I was dead wrong (fancy that?) I just couldn't say no to this scruptious 100% merino sock/baby yarn, in a color reminiscent of a pale artichoke:
And then I fell head over heels in love with this heavenly fingerweight 50% silk/50% merino, Silk & Ivory. I picked up two 675 yard skeins of it.
I have already caked up one of the two skeins of the Silk & Ivory and was immediately compelled to knit a half swatch. I had originally thought this would make a beautiful shawl, but the swatch changed my mind. A shawl would get intermittent wear, at most, and this yarn begs to be worn as often as is possible. A sweater it must be. Hopefully I'll have enough yardage.
"the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as to produce little effect after much labour" - Jane Austen
Comments
You managed to snag some great yarn! I hope I get to see it in person......
Three cheers for Lorna's Laces! I'm knitting socks with that now. I forget how much I like that yarn!