Skip to main content

I Went To YarnCon, And All I Got Was...

My favorite yarn/fiber event took place here in Chicago last weekend - YarnCon! I went with a friend to shop the marketplace for a few hours on Saturday afternoon and managed to make only 1 purchase: 4 skeins of gorgeous hand-dyed yarn from Black Cat Fibers, which I plan to use for another So Faded Sweater:

Untitled
R-L: Vamp, Alchemy, Dirt Nap and Quarry

I don't think I've ever knit a sweater twice, but I really like how my first one turned out, and it fits me perfectly (especially now that I put a collar on it - no more Flash Dance sweater!). I still have the pattern with the numbers for my size circled, so I doubt it'll be long til I cast on....never mind that I am also currently working on a Comfort Fade cardi in some OOAK hand-dyed colors of Lhasa Wilderness. 2018 is the Year of the Sweater after all, right?!

Untitled

As you can see, the YarnCon marketplace was full of temptation - it took quite a bit of willpower not to bring everything home with me. Thankfully, my recent spring cleaning exercise is still very fresh in my mind, so I was able to avoid a lot of random yarn buying in favor of something project-specific.

Note to self: I should make a list of possible projects I want to make and the yarn I would need for it BEFORE I go to a yarn or fiber festival. For YarnCon, I had no plan, and the only reason I thought to do another So Faded sweater is because I was picking out 3 coordinating skeins of sock yarn, figuring that it would be easy to find a pattern for them after the fact. Then I realized that if I added 1 more skein, that was basically a sweater quantity...and all of the colors were so pretty that I couldn't choose just one, hence another Fade sweater is now in the works!

Randomly: For anyone who is wondering/interested, I am working on some blog posts based on the reader survey from earlier this year (remember that?), and also some new designs for spring! I'm looking forward to sharing all of that with you soon;  most of my free time has been dedicated to my destashing efforts on Ravelry and Etsy, but I do want to shift focus back to the blog this spring. Thanks for hanging with me!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my  taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b...

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends,  so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with  this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks).  The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a...

A Finished Sweater, With Cat Hair

After losing Tilly and Robin within a year of each other, I sure didn't think I'd be finding cat hair in my knitting any time soon. But the universe had other ideas. Over the winter, a white feral cat adopted us. I'd noticed her when we moved into our apartment last summer - I would see her hiding in the bushes or sunning herself in the grass when she thought no one was looking. I assumed she was someone's cat until I realized how skittish she was around humans, plus she had a tipped ear, which is a universal sign that a feral/stray cat has been spayed. Neighbors confirmed that she was a feral kitty (descended from several generations of feral cats, in fact), and that she has survived on her wits and whatever food various residents put out for her.  We had some bitterly cold days over the winter, and I just felt so sorry for this poor kitty! I started offering her treats and slowly gained her trust. She didn't even want to come inside our apartment at first, much le...