Let the Drooling Begin!

...Or, Suna Goes to a Fiber Festival

After a little frustration at my wedding dress fitting (I got lost) and our lunch (kid at DQ in New Braunfels was not all there), Deana and I ended up having a darn good time once we got to Kid 'n Ewe in Boerne (the drive over was really pretty, too). We didn't see as many people we know as I did last year, but we saw plenty. Mostly I was intently focused on getting exactly the yarns I intended to get.

The only real disappointment was that the JoJoLand lady wasn't there. I didn't get any of that yarn, figuring I can get it if I ever head out to Yarnorama in Paige (or however you spell that town).

We found all sorts of stuff, ranging from normal mass produced yarn from a new store in Comfort to yarn from a specific alpaca. I took lots of pictures, so I will share all the stuff I got.

Here we have some yarn I got from the booth of a new LYS in Comfort. I figure I really should support any new local place to get yarn, and this stuff is some sock yarn I have never seen before. It's Pagewood Farms Yukon, which is a bamboo blend sock yarn dyed with lots of colors, though primarily purple. It is incredibly soft and bamboo-y. I think it will knit up nice and mottled, and until I knit it, will be a lovely decor item. I also got a tiny light that will enable me to knit in the dark in the car or band bus, I hope. I really needed that light last night!

Next we have another sock yarn I got from a booth with a very nice mom and daughter staffing it. I also got one of those neckaces that look like a chambered nautilus but are really needle gauges there, in black. This yarn is pretty intense, and is from the Accidental Knitter, who wins the prize for brightest clown-like colorway, best color name ("How Cool Is That!") and funniest yarn label (it goes into great detail about the fact that there are cats in the home where the yarn is dyed). I know this is a garish colorway, but it will make darned fun socks.

Now we have our final sock yarn, or at least sock-weight yarn, since this is almost too lovely to make a sock out of. It's Brooks Farm Acero, that wonderful stuff that is wool, silk and viscose. The shades or red with a little golden color remind me of my wedding dress and are my favorite colors to wear. Who knows if this will be socks or a scarf--the yarn is just luscious. Very soft, silky and with a great sheen. I also really love the way they spin their yarns. Each one is very different from the standard stuff. This one is a very loosely spun two-ply.

Now, what I really wanted was some DK weight yarn to make a shrug and some cardigans out of. I found that stuff I didn't get any of last year, from Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. I am glad they returned. I love their sport/DK weight yarn, both the colors and how it is spun. This stuff is single-ply and has some thick and thin texture to it. I ended up getting two colorways. One is called "dip dyed" and is shades of gray and brown. They call it "black/brown." The colors look to me like they will go with pretty much everything I own, and remind me of the Mineshaft color I am making my current socks from (no, no knitting on them so far today--I drove for 5 hours).

The other Plain & Fancy colorway I got is one of their many lovely variegated ones. It's called Autumn Leaves. I think what they do is dye the yarn a base color, then splash other colors on it. I think it will knit up without striping, and I hope it will really liven up a more plain item. I got three skeins of both of these yarns, which should be plenty for a reasonable shrug, shawl, or light cardigan. No way am I going to be irritated at not getting enough of anything this time! Another great thing about this stuff is that it is from Texas. I like buying local!

The other yarn I got a lot of is really special. It is Brooks Farm Duet, one of the loveliest yarns in the land. And Brooks Farm is in Texas, too, which I forgot to mention earlier. This is 50/50 mohair and wool, where the mohair strand wraps in a very interesting way around the wool strand. I got this blue and purple color, thinking it will go well with jeans. And I got a LOT of this yarn: three skeins, which comes to at least 1500 yards. I really want a warm cardigan with some length to it. I have seen a number of nice ones in magazines and books lately, and I think this special yarn would really shine in a simple design.

Now, of course I had to get me a yarn from a specific alpaca, like I did last year. This was, after all, a festival of the alpaca and mohair! I found the owner of last year's alpaca, Miss Maisie, and found out that she is fine, but getting up there in years. She had her fiber spun into some pink and purple yarn this year. But, I ended up getting yarn from another ranch, Hill Country Alpacas. Deana and I talked to the owner a bit, and she showed us this precious new baby that had just been born this week. A real cutie that is medium brown with amazing white legs. I chose some yarn made from the mother of this newborn, whose name is Escondido Shadow. It is a lovely natural shade, and spun into worsted weight yarn. I got two skeins, which should be enough for a really nice scarf or some very warm mittens, which I need for football watching. I'll remember talking to the owner and seeing the pictures whenever I see the yarn label and when I get to knit with this stuff. I really like getting yarn with a connection to its donor! What fun.

One more item I got was a skein of Brooks Farm Primero in the same periwinkle blue shades I got last year (so I am skipping a photo). My goddess, this yarn feels practically sinful to touch. It is soft and has a lovely heft, and practically glows. This purplish-blue color is also really, really full of depth. Now I will be able to actually make something out of it. The dye lots are slightly different, but I know I can just alternate rows with each skein and it will be beautiful. It really is some of the loveliest mohair yarn I have ever touched. I can now make the CeCe shrug from it. If I ever get to it...

Deana also got some fun sock yarn, including a really nice Brooks Farm Acero colorway. I am glad she went with me--we had lots and lots of yarn-touching fun, and I enjoyed talking to her while I drove and drove through the fall landscape. It's really dry here, so the trees are browner than usual, too.

Well, we are off to a concert, and I will try out my little knitting light on the way. I hope you enjoyed my photos of stash! If you drool, don't mess up your keyboard.