Monday, January 07, 2008

So That's Where My Pictures Are!

I kept wanting to blog about fibery stuff, but kept forgetting that my pics were on my work computer. Missing camera cords and all that good stuff. Work has been very busy these days. I get to pay all the library bills now, and apparently they like to have them paid on time. Go figure.
Let's just jump in headfirst! On our way to Gatlinburg, after Christmas, I made, I mean I asked John to stop at the little yarn place in Dillsboro, NC. It's a cute little place, very nice, and it sells cross stitch and needlepoint stuff, too. Turns out the owner has sold the business to a couple who have another shop, so there wasn't anything new, but I did get 15% off my total order. I do love a sale. She usually carries Clover needles too, which I was going to look at, but she hadn't replenished her stock, since she sold the place.
Anyway, this is what I bought there:

This is Ironstone, and because I don't have the label handy, I can't tell you what the colorway is. I loved the colors, though, and have decided to pair it with some black wool, and hopefully learn to knit some shadow knitting. No illusion stuff, just somehow knit it so it looks more black one way, and more rainbow the other. Does that exist?
Moving on, I think I'm going to make a pair of Dashing handwarmers with this. I don't need them up to my armpits for goodness sakes, so I'm going to make short ones. I think we've had all the freezing weather we're going to see here in South Georgia. It's supposed to be 74 today. I know, maybe I should consider something else.
It's Rowan's felted tweed, in a luscious color, the name of which escapes me right now. As you can see, I picked yarn by color only this time. Oh, and of course by texture.
The next fiber just happened to be sitting there, side by side. I think someone had changed their mind and dropped them there, together. I couldn't resist. I didn't think, I just picked them up. Called them my little fluffy wonders and made John pay for them.

The cream is Nature Spun worsted, which I have used before and like, and I can't remember what the pastel skein is. I know I used it before, with Lamb's Pride, to make a felted hat, but I can't remember what it is. Is it Brown Sheep, too? It's at home, wearing it's label. I don't know what I'm going to do with this yarn, but I'm sure something will come to me.
Over the Christmas and New Year holiday I knit no less than 7 pairs of handwarmers, bringing my total to around 16. I made some down and dirty ones out of Red Heart. Hey, they bought the yarn, not me!!


On to Gatlinburg. All these years we've been going to Gatlinburg, and I never knew there was a shop called the Smoky Mountain Spinnery. Kick me now. I found it this time, and I could have stayed there all day. The husband runs a fishing/angler shop on one side, and the wife runs a knitting/spinning/fiber/weaving/allthatgoodstuff shop on the other. She's got all kinds of goodies mixed in, like antique stuff and little notions. Something about the place made me want to move in. It was very down-home, very earthy. I like that! I bought some Merino to spin - 4 oz. in the English Garden colorway, and 4 oz. in Midnight blue. She doesn't have a website, as far as I know, but she will do mailorder. Her email is smokymtnspinnery@aol.com. You have to visit her shop if you're in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville area.

And here's the ring, kinda blurry, but nestled in some roving. How lovely.

2 comments:

Julie said...

The pickles are a labor of love for my family and friends. Like I said earlier Mammie taught me to share. I'll be happy to share with you. Mammie always said that one reason she didn't share her recipe was so that she could always have a gift for her friends that only she could give them.

Jenny said...

I was reading about your "equal payment" problem. It reminds me of last year when, from August to July, we paid over $100/month in gas bills to supposedly heat our crappy old house. It was so poorly insulated we had his & hers electric heaters, one on each side of the bed, and we still froze. The house just hated us. I think gas and power companies come up with these levelized things so they can bleed you dry and maybe you won't notice.

Catching Up

First things first - you might have noticed I've changed the name of the blog. Knitting NonPareil was appropriate at one time, but I don...