Very Tasty

I was cordially invited, by Sarah, to attend a yarn tasting last night with her and Johari. The event took place at LYS, Yarn Haven. Having never attended a yarn tasting, I found myself wondering what to expect. How well-cooked would the yarn be? Felted or raw? Does one use fingers or sticks? What if something tasted icky? What if I *gasp* spilled something? I decided to take my set of Denise Interchangeables just to be safe.

Being among other fiber fanatics, I shouldn't have even worried a single bit. Sarah did insist on taking a few photos of us tasting the yarn. (And I DO mean tasting!) Photos may show up over on her blog. (Go wish her a Happy Birthday!!) I didn't take any pictures. I do have a shot of what we tasted, though:



Starting at the top left and going clockwise, Amaizing (made from corn), Paca De Seda (alpaca), Karaoke, Dream, and Flake Cotton (orange). I enjoyed knitting with the Flake Cotton. The thick/thin texture of the yarn creates a pattern of thick and thin stitches in whatever you knit. I didn't buy any of these yarns, though. I bought 3 balls of Naturally Nazareth wool in shades of blue (on clearance) to make a felted bag and some Addi Turbo needles.

Why more Addi's? you ask. This week, while babysitting students who were making up the required Ohio Achievement Tests, I taught myself a new trick. Look!



Yes, that's a sock on two circular needles. Lorna's Laces Red Rover, if you want to know the yarn color. Addi size 2's. Last night I bought two pair of size 1's.

Why size 1's? In anticipation of this, which arrived in the mail today. Yarn Pirate yarn!!!

"Malamute" is here! and "Cannon Beach."

The long-coveted "Malamute"

When I get stressed or have decision-making to do, a couple of things happen. I lose sleep because I can't shut off my brain. Second, I have occupy my brain with something else, like learning something new. Hence the sock on two circular needles. I just needed to wrap my brain around something other than what has been bouncing around in my head lately. Might as well learn a new trick, right? I also cast-on for the Baby Surprise Jacket this week. (Don't worry, it's not for me!)

Some Things I learned

Once again, I found meeting a Knitting author to be enlightening. Like me, Annie Modesitt is a self-taught knitter. She's been told, "you're doing it wrong," more than once, and has even had people take over her knitting to show her the right way. Ha! Annie has also worked for Vogue Knitting making samples and as technical writer. She eventually got over what others thought about her "wrong way" of knitting, discovering later that it is actually "combination knitting". Again, there are many ways to get to the end result. Knitting has kept Annie sane through some tough times and there are many, many readers out there who can relate to that. You know I can.

Know what else I learned? Annie grew up in Toledo. OK, I knew that from her book, Confessions of a Knitting Heretic. BUT, she went to school in the district where I work. Annie went to junior high here, in my building where I work every day!!! Annie walked these halls, and sat in these classrooms where my knitting and I spend our days. How cool is that? We had the chance to chat about it for a couple of minutes. She admired my simple garter stitch scarf and signed my book, "To Karen - I love your scarf!" The scarf is made from Cascade Malizia in a rose, green and tan colorway and looks like it has butterflies or flowers in it because of the way the yarn is made. Here is Annie's account of the evening... you can even see Sarah in the bottom right of the photo!

Vintage Yarns owner, Shirleen, was sweet enough to give everyone in attendance a 15% off coupon for her shop. After Annie finished speaking, Sarah and I headed into the store to get goodies! We both bought Cotton Fleece to make the Rusted Root sweater. Sarah chose two different colors, Candy Apple and Periodot. I chose a very light blue called Nymph.

Pictures of the evening...

Lovely Sarah modeling one of Annie's hats.

Annie Modesitt with her amazing hats and knitting.

Me, Annie, and Sarah. "Say 'Sheyboygan'"

Other news? I finally managed to score some of Yarn Pirate's lovely "Malamute"!! How? I commented recently on Sheri's blog (you know, Sheri from The Loopy Ewe) about missing a recent update but being told there wasn't any Malamute that time around anyway. Georgia, the Yarn Pirate herself, emailed me info about where and approximately when to find some Malamute. Today, One Planet Yarn and Fiber had an update and I grabbed my Malamute and ran! Yay me!