It's Fiber Season!

Finally, an update on Stitches, and because I procrastinated, some other info, too.

Above is a summarial photo of the Stitches haul. Clockwise, from the top:

1. Pajolo Alpacas, two-ply, 100% alpaca, about 500 yards. Probably will be the Shetland Triangle from the Lace Style book.

2. Another Pajolo Alpacas two-ply, about 90 yards, no current plans. It was just pretty.

3. Malabrigo sock in Velvet Grapes. Socks, maybe? Who knows?

4. Miss Babs Wild Silk laceweight, 100% silk, about 1100 yards. No specific plans yet. Very pretty. If you see Miss Babs in the wild, stop by and take a closer look. At the yarn, not Miss Babs herself. That would be rude.

5. Two shawl pins, one silver, and one wood. Very nice.

6. HiyaHiya interchangable needles. I do so love my HiyaHiya double points that I was very interested to see the interchangeable set. I haven't used them for anything yet, so the jury is out. I'm not picky, so I'm sure to enjoy using them, but I'll let you know if I have any pertinent observations. One attractive fact: the smallest size is a two.

7. Three skeins Rio by Takhi-Stacey Charles. This is meant to become a hat: Gretel by Ysolda Teague. I kept hoping to make this from stash only to not have enough yardage or the wrong gauge, so I gave in and bought yarn specifically for it.

8. Brooks Farm Solana. I plan to make the Fickle Fingers scarf with it.

It doesn't look like a lot of yarn, but it represents a lot of work, and my track record with Stitches yarn isn't good, so don't go holding your breath.

This weekend I attended The Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs, OH. It's not a huge festival, but it is a worthwhile day trip, and I always try to support a local farmer or two. This year I supported a Llama farmer:

This is 400 yards of Llama and silk, two ply. I couldn't capture its beauty with my camera, but trust that it was irresistible.

And on the trip I was a passenger, so I made a lot of progress on the Traffic Socks:

Ta Da! They are done.

For some reason the second sock is a bit bigger than the first, but I don't care enough to do anything about it. Hopefully it will come out in the wash. I used the Yarn Harlot's pattern for a plain sock, and while it was a fine pattern, it didn't work so great for me. Making the heel flap truly square meant it was way too big, so I had to adjust that part. I probably wouldn't recommend the pattern as is to anyone with large calves, and a large sock circumference.