Homespun Yarn Party!!!!

Wow! What a fabulous event! Yesterday, I went to the "Second Annual Homespun Yarn Party" at the Historic Savage Mill in Savage, MD. The Mill has a large variety of very eclectic shops with everything from homemade French Pastries to Antiques and Home Furnishings. All of the shops looked extremely interesting, but I stayed away from most of them and concentrated on the "Yarn Party".

I started my day by arriving early...intending to have a leisurely lunch at one of the restaurants in the Mill. I was delighted to find that there was a pub there serving brunch - Rams Head Tavern. I joined three other ladies that I met in line - Leah, Rachel, and Margie. We had a fabulous time and the food was delicious! I had "Annapolis Benedict" - basically "Eggs Benedict" served on crab cakes instead of Canadian bacon. The presentation was just fabulous!

Next stop....the "Yarn Party"! Wahoo!

As you can see, it was quite crowded, and stayed that way for several hours until it finally wound down to a dull roar. I was thoroughly amazed at the fabulous variety of goods that were being offered - raw wool, roving, yarn, kits, stitchmarkers, drop spindles....and of course, Crazy Lanea's Project bags (I bought 3 of them - 2 small ones and one larger one.)










I met some wonderful new friends while I was there as well as enjoying the company of old friends. I even ran into some folks from the various Secret Pal exchanges I've participate in...like my friend Jody (the designer of the Vineland Mittens). Pamela and Claire (left) stayed busy most of the afternoon at the "Charity Table" coordinating the charity knitting. However, Pamela did find some very unique yarns from "Loop" during one of her quick circuits around the booths (you can see the yarns on the table in front of Pamela). I was there with several other folks too - Janet, Lynn, Sue, and a few other new friends...I just don't have the group picture yet - I'll post it later when I get a copy of it.



In the line waiting to enter the party, I met Pam. She was wearing an absolutely gorgeous shawl. It's the "Charlotte's Web Shawl" from Noro. She wanted to make it a bit larger and so she used "Socks that Rock" yarn instead of Koigu. I love the vibrant colors! I just love it - and need to add it to my queue of "must do's"!



I even got to meet Shelby - the fabulous girl that organized ALL of the Secret Pal exchanges that I've partipated in - Secret Pal 8 through 13! She started with Secret Pal 7! Whew! It's a ton of work organizing and maintaining the Secret Pal exchange. I don't know how she's managed to keep dyeing yarn and doing all her crafty things in addition to making these exchanges extra special for everyone involved! (Of course, while I was there, I had to purchase some of her fabulous yarns and sparkling stitchmarkers!)

I managed to buy a few "non-fiber" items while I was there too. I couldn't resist the leather barrette for my hair - it was just too cute! And there was a special deal on some handmade soap that smelled wonderful! Oh...and I did stop into the Antique area and picked up a button hook to go with my grandmother's celluloid dresser set.

I did do quite a bit of damage to my checkbook during the party - I found some rovings and yarns that I just "had to have"! LOL! You all know how that goes, right? Anyhow, I did "discover" a new dyer that I absolutely love - "The Sanguine Gryphon" Her eye for color is phenomenal! I had a hard time limiting myself to just a few yarns! I also picked up some yarn with sterling silver through it at another booth - that will enable me to get the "glitz and gleam" associated with beads without taking the time to bead! I'm planning to make a "Hanami Shawl" with the silver embellished yarn.


Knitting Progress

I finished my turquoise socks with the silver threads through it...I'm calling them "Ice Kissed Turqoise Socks"! I did notice that the Fortissima Socka Color is much rougher than the Lorna's Laces that I used for my last socks. Of course, nothing beats pure Merino, so I shouldn't be surprised by that. Normally, I'm not doing socks "back-to-back" so I don't usually notice the difference between the yarns, but this time, the difference was evident.

I've also got another sock project underway. This time I'm using "On-line" yarn in the Sierra colorway. The colors look like dark chocolate and raspberry to me, so I'm going to call them my "Raspberry Dark Chocolate" socks. I will still be using the "Hellen's Favorite" sock pattern, but this time, I'll to a 2x2 rib so I can fold down the socks if I want to.

I have yet to start my "Stricken" socks. They'll be made in a teal colorway out of "Socks That Rock". I've been putting off starting them as they're being done as part of a KAL, but don't have to be complete until May 1. I definitely have to pay attention to my knitting while I work on these...whereas the "Raspberry Dark Chocolate" socks are more of a mindless knit that I can do on the Metro.