Bought.

Does it feel like the world is coming to an end? It sort of does here. I actually *gasp* ordered sock yarn.

I had been really enamored of the Schaefer Heather yarn (55% superwash merino wool, 30% silk, 15% nylon) when I found it. That is what I want to knit my next socks from.

I had been interested in the Fleece Artist Sokomo, but it was spendy. Then I saw the Nyoni sale and I had to have some. I plan to use it with the Estonian Lace book.  I could not pass up a $20 for 800+ yards of 65% merino wool, 20% kid, 10% Nnon, 5% silk. I expect I will think it is a laceweight yarn despite the “fingering” tag, but that was keeping me from ordering it when it was 65% superwash merino +++ at $23 for 325 yards. 

And with another Pagewood Farm skein, I got free shipping.  I will say how happy I am when I receive it. Right now I feel more than a little ill.

Buying of stuff.

No idea if this interests you, the reader, at all, but my Knitpicks order, which shipped on 2/5/09, arrived today, 2/12/09. It says shipping time is 5-14 days, so I am pleased to have been at the low end of the range while still getting free shipping. 

I ordered on 2/3/09, so that is 9 days from ordering to receipt. I have not yet done a thorough examination of the contents for quality assurance purposes, but I received everything. 

It takes me about a week to get up the gumption to go to the LYS because of the hassles about their hours and parking. (Shockingly there was a post in the local Rav group saying how great the local LYS is. I must have completely different expectations.) So even with slow shipping, I am still getting about the same result.

The postal carrier said that there were no packages at the warehouse because shipping volume is so low. I think that will encourage me to send more things. Or it could. I have been really irritated at the massive increase in retail shipping costs, but if it means better service, it might be worth the money. 

I bought myself 6 circs, 2 #0, 2 #1, 2 #2… That means no matter what the sock yarn knits like, I should be able to deal with it. I have a set of 2 #1 Addi turbos, but I hate them when I have to pick up wraps at the heels and k3tog.  That meant I preferred the slovenly short-row methods where you pull tight and hope. 

I splurged and bought new yarn needles. I don’t think $2 for 4 is a terrific price, but I keep losing mine and it would cost me more than $2 if I had to drive all over shopping for them. Since the new ones are metal, I will magnetize them and put a strip of magnet tape up to hold them. If they had a nice home, I think they would not vacation as much. 

I got a few extra interchangeable tips and a few more cables. I decided from the beginning that I wanted to have a cable for every set of tips I owned and I do, but the 60″ cables do not get a lot of use, so I wanted some spares in more managable sizes. I am hoping there will not be any quality issues where the tips are not threaded inside like there were with the Harmony tips I bought last year. I did opt for only the nickel-plated tips in hopes of avoiding that. Sometimes I wish they had different colors of cable available for those of us who do the 2-circ method since there is no way to distinguish the needle tips. 

I bought the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts sock book and 2 skeins of Imagination in the new color “Mermaid”. The Mermaid is really cheery without being garish. I like it a lot in the skein, we shall see if it knits even tolerably. It will not be especially durable since it is only 2-ply, but the alpaca made my Ceris Major socks very warm. My feet were warm enough that I could go through my apartment shoeless in January. And the price is good. If they were selling it for retail-store prices— like the Lorna’s Laces prices, since that is a similar size skein– I might have higher expectations. 

From yarns

Shopping wise: I was turned onto Little Knits, and they have some excellent prices though their shipping costs are opaque. I also found that Colorsong is having free shipping on yarn and their prices on Fleece Artist are better than most everyone else’s. I have been seriously considering the Bearfoot sock yarn from Mountain Colors. I like the fiber combinations, but the pictures most sites have vary so much that I feel like I should shop in person. I hate being this grouchy about shopping.

Various updates on the weekend

[[All pictures can be clicked to view larger.]]

New sock yarn purchased… It looks mediocre compared to the Pagewood Farm, which I thought was pretty mediocre. But this was the best of the sock yarns at my nearest LYS. I do not agree with their categorizations of yarn; if it is 2-ply and 100% merino and loosely spun, it does not matter if it is the same fingering gauge, it cannot be sock yarn. They have not heard of cabled yarns. Next time I will see if the shuttle is launching soon enough to put me into orbit around Saturn where maybe I can see if Purlescence lives up to its reputation? I hate that I had to pay for parking to visit the LYS here and I had more information than they did. Plus I was like the only one there, so I felt obliged to buy something.

New sock yarn from LYS ($23 sale price with tax) 450 yards “100% wool” (it says superwash on the back of the tag) 3-ply [1.5] yarn:
 

Old sock yarn from Knitpicks (4 balls Essential, $16 total, superwash merino+ nylon (75/25) 800+ yards, [1.5] yarn):

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“Candy Butter” progress. I divided the lump of fiber into 2. Then I divided one half into 4. I spun 2, then plied them (first quarter). Now I have the remaining 2 spun into singles. I will ply them today, and then ply both the 2-ply yarns together. I will end up with 3.5 ounces of 2×2-ply yarn. It will probably be thicker than sock weight because I am not very good at spinning finely.

Picture of the first quarter (2-ply), then the second quarter which are single ply (and were plied this morning). Please excuse the really horrible winding on the 2-ply bobbin. I dropped it and it rolled away.

One thing this project has done, my fine gauge spinning has improved. I put my wheel into the largest ratio whorl and I just zip through it. Since nothing can happen to this that will make it any uglier than the color started out being, I am not being uptight about my spinning and that really helps. 

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Raspberry Friday Sock progress. I have finished 4.5 repeats (the pattern started right past the toe). The pattern is 18 rows high. I figure I will need another 1.5 repeats before it looks sock-height. Then I get to start the second one.

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I ordered that Estonian Lace book that everyone raves over. It took 2 months to get here. I am hoping it really inspires me for my Siduri. That is the name for the Source of Gilgamesh yarn’s project. I should really wash that yarn. 

I requested a motif dictionary from the local library. I went on Monday, but right before they unloaded the books from other branches. I meant to go one of the other days but my priorities shifted. Plus I was peeved that they had been open for 2 hours and still had not unloaded the bags, but by the time I got home, the email saying I should come get the book was waiting for me.

RIP ArtFibers

ArtFibers is closing their SF store. That is the only in-person store, but they plan to still sell online. 

I recently bought a ball of Satori because it was the first yarn I fell in love with, back when I was still an acrylic knitter and was appalled that I would need >$100 to knit a sweater. It was $15 for 50g.  It would have been cheaper back then, but not a lot cheaper. I got the one ball as a souvenir more than anything. I think it might knit into a skull cap, but there really is not very much yarn there. 

There is a sale, but all the good yarns are only 10% off.  Many of the yarns they sell are singles. As a spinner, I have learned the power of ply. Now I do not mean to say that ArtFibers has nothing good. They have fabulous dye jobs and some unique blends of fibers. It just is not what I want to spend my money on. I would definitely have gotten a sweater’s worth of yarn in Satori before I spent a dime on Malabrigio, for example.

It seems odd that more yarn stores have closed since knitting became pervasive. But maybe if you cannot make a significant profit during the high times, it must seem really pointless during the lulls.