More Sock Yarn Than You Can Shake A Stick At
It was a wonderful early spring weekend here in Chicago. And it was marked by my first fiber festival of the season, the Stephenson County Fibre Art Fair in Cedarville, Illinois. This is a fair put together by a local community group and not a huge fair by any stretch of the imagination. But it was a wonderful drive out to Cedarville and it's always nice to find out about a little more about the state I live in. It was also a blast to see some people I have met through the KIP as well as meet Tina, who is one of the Audrey KnitAlongers, in person. Tina had a fab version of the Lo Tech on. She found another way to make it look great with out a hood by adding a lovely seed stitch collar!
Even though it was a very small show, I did find some goodies to bring home. The most "blog worthy" find came from "The Fold" a store in Marengo, IL. They carry yarn and rovings from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. WOW is the best word for the sock yarn and silk and merino blend rovings she had on hand. I couldn't leave without grabbing some of this to take home with me:
Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock" in Tiger's Eye
Definitely a new color direction for me. It reminded me a lot Interlacements Little Toes. It's 100% superwash merino with a strong twist. You get 200 yards on a 2.75 oz skein -- more than enough for a pair of socks for a guy with big feet -- and it was a real steal at $9/skein.
When I got home and went to put it in a nice, safe, cat-free place, I came face to face with a shocking discovery: I have an awful lot of sock yarn. Don't believe me? Well just take a look here and here. In the interests of full disclosure, I must point out that the bottom shelf in the first picture is two level's deep and that I didn't even take a picture of the Cascade Fixation knock off yarn that I just bought from Elann.
I just can't help myself when it comes to sock yarn... usually it's only a couple of skeins and the colors are often just too yummy to walk by.
I really need to stop buying yarn for a while, tho. I'm going to Maryland Sheep & Wool and I know I'm not going to be able to restrain myself when I am there...
The thing about sock yarn is that you only need 1 or 2 balls,so it doesn't seem extravagant.it gives you a chance to go wild with colours & use colours you wouldn't use in a larger garment.
I find having a large sock yarn stash is very comforting.
Your new yarn looks gorgeously wild !
Hehe...I do the same thing with toy yarn. I'll buy one or two skeins to knit a small toy. If I knit socks, I bet I'd be doing the same thing with sock yarn!
Holy sock-horder! That is a lot of sock yarn ;) What am I saying? Instead - Congratulations on adding to the stash! Your new colors are a very nice addition.
You got the Tiger Eye! I was there in the afternoon, and she only had one skein left in that color. I loved the Tiger Eye colors, but had to settle for the Garnet Dreams color instead.
Erica -- How funny! That happened all day. There was a color Bonne Marie wanted and another person we knew grabbed three out of the four skeins of it, and Bonne Marie had to pick something else. Lucky for us all there were many great colors to pick from! And you may be able to order from her website...
Let the Fiber Festival Season begin!!
Glad you enjoyed yourself...I'm fighting with myself about going to the Fleece Fair at Green Castle, Indiana this coming weekend. If the weather is nice it will not to go.
I am so excited that I'll finally be able to realy meet so many of the bloggers I read, coz my friend and I are bringing sheep out to Maryland (from Oregon!) Look for us; we'll be the only ones there with Romeldales (CVMs). I'm starting to get nervous about how much we have to do in the next few weeks before we hit the road...
Hate to tell you, but to me that really doesn't look like a lot of sock yarn! I have soo much more. What would happen if they stopped making sock yarn and socks, too, and you were forced to make all your own socks? Better hurry out and buy some more..... latifa
Is Chicago near Maryland?!
I agree - that's not a lot of sock yarn at all! Since I organised my yarn by colour it's harder to see just how much sock yarn I have. Which is good because I can buy more! You can never have too much sock yarn! :-)
OK, on your second picture, the koigu, second from the right, the red stuff, I WANT IT! That is just gorgeous! Mmmmm. I don't have nearly enough yarn. And because I'm currently broke, and appeasing my husband, I'm using up my stash, which is mostly Encore worsted. Great for little girl ponchos and hats....and that's about it. Anyway, good job on the stash.
Mmm, you'll love working with that Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarn! I just finished a pair in the Moss Agate colorway -- can't remember when I've enjoyed working with a sock yarn as much. It flies through your fingers, and the finished socks feel (and look) so good.