I had to order some more Wool of the Andes yarn from Knit Picks (because I decided to knit mittens to match my scarf) and when I did, I ran across Knit Picks Gossamer…

Isn’t it pretty? From left to right, the colorways are Trail, Blue Jeans, and Carribean.

I thought the “Trail” colorway might make a nice man’s sock — it’s nice manly colors like green, brown and gold with a slight bit of brick red thrown in. The “Blue Jeans” — well I thought that would just be nice to wear with jeans! And I’m always a sucker for bright colors, so that’s obviously why the “Carribean” colorway caught my eye.

The best part? It’s only $2.99 per hank. Check it out. The Gossamer also comes in undyed hanks for only $4.29/hank — perfect if you’d like to try your hand at dying your own yarn! (Tempting! Ha ha.)

… So that was my nice but not so “exciting” yarn pr0n for today. I should have some real goodies next Friday though. Hehe.

I got some scrumptious new sock yarns in the mail to share with you today for Fiber Friday:

The top two yarns are from my favorite online shop, The Loopy Ewe. The first is Sheepaints Bamboolaine in “Cinderella”. This isn’t a color I’d normally pick out, but something about it caught my eye and I just love it. It really does make me think of Cinderella too. Then in the middle is Chewy Spaghetti Spagettioni in “Starry”. That particular colorway has caught my eye in the past but it was never in stock, so I was very happy to get a hold of a hank of it finally. Lastly, I got the Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock limited edition November ‘07 colorway “Autumn Leaves” from Jimmy Beans Wool.

If I had yarn-budget, I’d have surely blown it this month. (Incidentally, I need to start budgeting my hobby-spending, I think.) But anyway, check out the yarn haulage from yesterday:

Isn’t that a lovely sight? In the front row is my order from Knit Picks which arrived in the mail yesterday. I got 10 skeins of their Felici sock yarn (4 clay, 2 Arugula, 2 pebble, and 2 Aurora) and I also got 4 skeins of Wool of the Andes in Claret Heather (to make the Irish Hiking Scarf with).

Then, in the back row of that picture, we have my haul from the Schaefer Yarn Co. trunk show at The Neighborhood Knit Shop last night. That is where I went wild:

Schaefer Heather
Colorway: Coretta Scott King

I’ve used Schaefer’s Lola sock yarn before and it’s great. Heather is a thinner sock yarn, and seems softer (to me). I got this particular one because I thought it was a nice, masculine colorway. I don’t have a lot of masculine-colored yarns and I thought with gift-season approaching, maybe I could think of a special someone to knit socks for with this.

Schaefer Helene
Colorway: Jane Addams

Helene is 50% cultivated silk, 50% merino wool. I have NO idea what I’m going to do with it — but it was so soft and silky, so pettably wonderous, that I HAD to have it.

When I was standing in line to make my purchases at the yarn shop, I was petting this yarn. When I was stuck at a red-light on the way home from the LYS, I was petting the yarn. When I got home, I made my poor husband pet the yarn. It’s just… YUM.

Maybe I should make a lovely lacy scarf with it, so I can pet it all day long? Ha ha. We’ll see I guess. This one is just going to live in the stash for a bit, I guess.

Schaefer Sandra
Colorway: Jeanette Rankin

This is the other yarn from last night that I fell madly in love with and HAD to have. I actually purchased three hanks of it (I only got one of the other yarns I bought). Unfortunately, I only got one and had to order the other two though. Hmph.

Anyway.

The photo doesn’t do this yarn justice at all. It’s baby-soft colors with a thread of iridescence woven through it. It’s heavy, and drapey, and wonderful. I’m thinking it would make a lovely shawl.

… and finally …

Schaefer Susan
Colorway: Minnie Pearl

This was actually the first yarn that I picked up at the trunk show. It’s 100% cotton and very shiny and lovely.

I debated on getting it, till I picked up a copy of this pattern. They had a sample of the scarf in the store, and it was absolutely beautiful. So I guess I know what I’m doing with this!!

On a slightly different note, I also received my order from Hello Yarn in the mail the other day. I got some roving and a drop spindle so (theoretically) I can learn to spin. Thankfully it also came with lots of detailed directions. Unfortunately I’ve just been too “duh” this week to be able to concentrate on reading the directions and trying it. Maybe over the weekend. I hope I can get the hang of it.

So…

Other than buying more yarn, I have been knitting too. But not very successfully.

I cast on my Cherie Amour sweater for the second time last night. The first time, I blamed my issues on the cheap circular needles I was attempting to use. The second time, I cast on with Addi Turbos (my new love, needle-wise). I knit five rows. On the sixth row, I counted the stitches — I’d apparently forgotten to do some yarn-overs, because I was 3 stitches short already. ARGH! Now, I could just scatter some increases in to try and “fix” it, but when I’m only a few rows into it, I hate to start fudging things. Instead, I’m thinking I’m going to frog it for the second time, and hope that the third time is the charm. But I think I may wait a few days to cast back on — because once again, I’m lacking focus this week (apparently).

So instead, I think I’m going to go back to the socks I’ve been working on. I’m about 75% done with the first sock of the pair. They’re a Christmas gift, so I want to get them done because I have some other Christmas gifts in the queue too.

And maybe I’ll start knitting up the Sandra yarn that I bought last night. I’m thinking of using this pattern. Just something simple.

I think I have enough yarn to keep me busy for a LONG while though!

I have something to confess: I have an addiction to Lily’s Sugar ‘n Cream cotton yarn. Every time I’m in a JoAnn Fabrics, Michael’s, or other craft store — I can scarcely help myself from picking up a skein or two. If there’s a color I haven’t knit before, I buy it. If it’s on sale, I buy lots. I can’t help myself! (Hence the 50 dish cloths project.)

A lot of knitters are similarly addicted to sock yarn, it seems. I fell prey to sock yarn when I was browsing Etsy one day. Sock yarn comes in the most jaw-dropping colorways. Hand-painted, self-striping, soft, and yummy. It’s easy to see why it becomes an addiction.

Up till now, I’ve been able to avoid the full-blown addiction because I don’t know how to knit socks. The more I read about it, the more I read knitters singing the praises and wonders of hand-knit footwear, the more I realize I need to learn. Like, NOW.

I bought myself a copy of Getting Started Knitting Socks. I spent last night reading the introductory chapters. It definitely made the idea of knitting socks a bit less terrifying.

So I dug out one of the two beautiful skeins of sock yarn that I’ve been hording. I chose to start with the Coral Pink colorway from Fearless Fibers. I cast on thirty stitches, intending to start my very first gauge swatch for a sock. Then I quickly realized that I was far too tired to be working on size 1 DPNs using such teeny-tiny yarn.

(Damn… I’m only 25 and I’m already going blind?)

Anyway, I was forced back to finishing a couple other projects I had going. Not really a bad thing, I guess.

Tonight, though, I will attempt to begin conquering my fear of knitting socks! Then the sock yarn obsession can begin.

(Secretly, I admit I also have a hope that I can sway my hubby-to-be, Nick, into appreciating my knitting a bit more if I can woo him using knit socks, as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee describes in her books… but that’s a whole other issue… he he.)

Incidentally, anticipating this upcoming sock-yarn obsession, and recalling a not-so-fond memory of winding the sock yarn I bought in the past, I decided to order an umbrella swift off eBay today too. Let’s just say: untangling 200+ yards of sock yarn is not something I want to have to do twice in my lifetime.