Annual Yarn Bender: Stitches West 2011 Haul

Friday's damage:
5 skeins Blue Moon Fibers Woobu in Deep Unrelenting Gray
2 skeins Miss Babs Tierno in A Day in Mansfield Park
2 Coco Knits patterns - Leisl and Ruby (which are practically the same but one has pockets)
2 skeins Valley Yarns Superwash merino in #200 Gray - to add to what I already have for the Solstice cardigan
1 ring from Hartstring Jewelry that I could not resist.

Saturday's Damage:
3 skeins Miss Babs Yowza-Whatta Skein! in Blackwatch
2 skeins Sanguine Gryphon Codex in The Secret Garden + Soap bar called Tangerine Dream
13 skeins Berroco Origami in Cucumber Water
1 skein Sunshine Yarns Luxury Sport in Cliffdiving
3 Lo-Lo Bars (1 travel tin, 2 regular tin)

I went way over budget. This is the most I've ever spent at Stitches West EVER. I went in only wanting to blow most of my budget on Woobu for the Traveling Sweater. ..then I lost focus. This is what happens when you go two days in a row. The ring, Lo-Lo bars, Miss Babs Tierno, and the skein of Sunshine Yarns were definitely impulse buys. Yikes.

From this point on I CANNOT buy anymore yarn till I finish:

Saroyan
Traveling Cardigan
Leisl
Tea Leaves Cardigan

I can do it! This is when I wish I was a size 2. I'd be able to squeeze in so many more tops/sweaters. Sadly, knitting up my size takes more time and yarn.

Somewhere in there I'll squeeze in a shawl for my mom's birthday gift in April. I'm thinking of making Traveling Woman by Liz Abinante. I missed her at Miss Babs booth on Saturday. However, the only knit rockstar I spotted were Cookie A at the Habu booth on Friday. If I was a fanatical sock knitter I would've been more excited. It was cool to see her in person though. As I was leaving Saturday (or was it Friday?) Jess and Casey of Ravelry fame were in the lobby of Stitches West walking into the Market Place.

Ishbel...in public!

Ishbel...in public!, originally uploaded by Filipina Sakura.

Another one of those projects where I'm so happy to be a knitter. I love this shawl. When I had this project in mind it was always meant to be worn as a scarf.

This has me amped up for Stitches West next week!

Have I mentioned I don't like knitting lace?

Ishbel + A Verb for Keeping Warm's Annapurna = New found LOVE for lace.

Let me clarify about not liking knitting lace. I prefer lace that's not knitted from fingering or lace weight yarn. Annapurna's sport gauge and drape is a wonderful choice for this project. I like how weighty it feels. Unfortunately, Verb is discontinuing this yarn. At Stitches they'll be selling whatever is left at a discount. *sad face* As soon as I hit Blue Moon to get my Woobu fix, I'll be heading to the Verb booth soon after. (Note to self: Print out Stitches booth layout and come up with a game plan.)

As you can see, the edging is a different color. I ran out of Silk Velvet and shortly after I got the news about Annapurna getting discontinued. Naturally, I freaked out. What to do with an unfinished Ishbel and no available yarn? I asked the Verb board on Ravelry if anyone had some in their stash they're willing to part with and sell to me. No luck. Instead I got an idea from a member to use a different color to finish.

Idea #1 - Rip back to the stockinette part and use a new color for the lace.

Idea #2 - Rip back to the beginning of the edging section and use color for edging.

As you can see, you can tell what option I took. Frogging all the lace work is equal to stabbing my chest with a knife and twisting it. I couldn't do it. Going back two rows and starting the edging over was less painful.

The 2nd color is Thai Iced Tea. It was the only color on Verb's shelves that looked like it could work. What do you think?

I was worried that I wouldn't get the finished dimensions so I blocked the crap out of this shawl. I'm able to wrap my neck so it worked. The only thing I shouldn't have done is made the points so pointy. I got overly excited using my blocking wires for the first time while watching The Bachelor. My mind clearly wasn't all there.

I'm so stoked I finished 2 shawlettes within a week! Citron is off the needles too.

I apologize for the shitty iPhone pic I took in my dark cave cubicle. Next time I wear it I'll take better photos with a real camera.

What's on the needles now? Goodale made with madelinetosh Pashmina. OMG. So luxurious. At about $30 a skein it better last me through my old age. My freakin' great granddaughter better be able to wear it or re-purpose the yarn into something else. I can't wait to get it done by the time the weather warms up! It's a lot of boring endless stockinette. Kill me. On the other hand, it's great for mindless knitting at work during down time.