Like a kid in a candy store (or: Prepare to be Jealous)

Thursday night, my aunt Pat (you remember, i'm sure i told you about Pat: not really my aunt, but she is my mom's cousin/closest friend from when they were kids, and she might as well be a sister to my mom and therefore my aunt and so I think of her as my aunt Pat. whew) met up with me at her friend's house. Her friend, a lovely woman, used to own a yarn store.

(I heard you gasp. wait. there's more)

And, not only did she formerly own a yarn store, but she still has stock from that time that she is getting rid of.

(I know!)

And, not only that, but she LET ME WADE THROUGH the PILES of yarn. Rowan. Alpaca. Cottons. Filatura di Crosa. Anny Blatt. Did I mention the Rowan and Alpaca??

(yes. maybe I should have told you to sit down)

I felt like a kid let loose in Toys R Us after closing. "Go ahead kid," the Toys R Us people would say. "Play with ANY toy you'd like. Then, when you're done, you can take some home with you for crazy cheap prices."

(did i mention that she is trying to get rid of the stock and is therefore selling it very cheap??)

I've never had the opportunity to knit with really nice (read: expensive) yarns, so this is like giving a kid ice cream for supper. sigh.

So, in the spirit of sharing my finds with you, and not at all intended to induce envy or coveteousness among my fellow knitters, I present your daily dose of ehem... (yes, i'm going to say it again. it makes me laugh. maybe i'm 12 years old) yarn porn!

Odd balls of Rowan Magpie: probably enough for a crazy-stripey v-neck (of course) sweater, or maybe a ton of hats and mittens. My internet research tells me this yarn is discontinued.



Rowan Designer Collection DK: enough for a sweater (i hope). I couldn't find ANYTHING about this yarn online, which makes me think that it has been discontinued for years!! Also, you may notice (if you are obsessive like me) that the top 2 balls are a slightly different shade. The yarn was all packaged up together and it seemed that it was all one dye lot. It wasn't. I'm not sure if there will be enough for the sweater I had in mind, so I'll be looking for different ideas. There are 7 balls of one dyelot and 2 of another.


More Rowan Designer Collection DK. The color of the lighter green was the subject of much debate at the Yarn Lady's house. We finally settled on the description: Seafoam Green. The darker green is a really nice dark forest-y green.

for some reason the colors refused to photograph true. dunno what's up with that.

A big (BIG) skein of beige/natural thick and thin wool. I have plans to dye this.


I tried to un-skein it (i.e. to wind it) and ran into this:

the width of that skein is probably about 4 1/2 to 5 feet. let's just say that i got a good leg stretch while unravelling it.


the cross-over middle section. whee

After much frustration, I realized that it was wrapped in a figure eight pattern, so I was actually able to unwind it without tears. It took a long time, but I'm happy that it's done. Hopefully it won't tangle when I want to dye it. (note to self: cross fingers. knock on wood. etc.)

Finally, the yarn that I wanted to squish all evening. I wanted to hold it like a teddy bear at night. I can't wait to make something out of this:
Indiecita Alpaca. Un-dyed. Crazy soft and squooshy. sigh.


The labels on this yarn are so cool. I love the little cartoon llamas


But, the BEST part of the label is this drawing:

I can't tell if she's scared of the llama or what the deal is, but it's pretty funny. Does the llama want the yarn back? Is the llama resentful of the use of it's fibres in this manner? Is the llama trying to be helpful??

(i realize that the animal depicted is most likely an Alpaca, not a Llama, hence the term "Alpaca" yarn, but I like the word Llama better. Extraneous letters crack me up. Plus, there's that llama llama duck thing that went around for a while.)(you want to know what the llama llama duck thing is? are you sure? It'll get in your head like a chigger.)(don't say i didn't warn you: The Llama Song:)