Sock Yarn Unclub – Installment 2

You might recall that Ragged and I started our very own little Sock Yarn Unclub back in April at Greencastle.  At that time, I had picked Knitting Notions (I had planned them as a pick at some point, and we being smart decided any money saved on shipping could be spent on yarn, so they were the April choice)

Now it’s June, and time for Miss Ragged to make her pick – Black Bunny Fibers.  We both ordered our selections last week, and I got mine today.

Black Bunny Fibers Merino in Patchwork

It’s a tough color to capture, but I tried.

Hello Gorgeous

You just don't have a bad side, do you?

Out of the wrapper

Love this.  Love it.  It’s more beautiful than the picture was, and more beautiful than my pictures are.  My own goal for the SYU was to try to get colors that I’m not going to dye myself, to really experience that dyer’s sense of color.  And I hit that mark with this one.

Since the whole goal of this unclub was to try different yarns we had been coveting, we’re trying to come up with patterns so we will use them soon.  I haven’t entirely settled on a pattern for the KN, and of course the excitement of new yarn clouds one’s judgment.  Stay tuned to see which one finds a calling first.

Greencastle 2009 – get ready for pictures

Because ya gotta know who your peeps are.

Greencastle was cold, once again.  Greencastle was also awesome, once again.

There were critters.

There were goodies.

The Unforgettable Yummy Nuts

Strawberry pie from Almost Home

(It should be noted that while the above pie is from Almost Home, sadly we forgot they require reservations, and only got dessert to go.)

And then there was yarn.

Briar Rose Fibers Wistful yarn

Knitting Notions Sock Yarn in Dark Rose, Thyme, and Dusk

What’s important to note about this is that Knitting Notions is the inaugural selection in Ragged and Needlefingers Sock Yarn Un-Club.  The club came about from the two of us really wanting to be in a sock club to try new yarns, but not willing to commit to the possibility of yarn we might not be thrilled with.  How does the club work?  About every other month (or whenever we feel like it), we’ll take turns picking different yarn dyers we want to try, and each of us will purchase the color of our choice.  That’s it.  Want to join our Un-Club?  Just go buy stuff from Catherine.  We don’t get any kind of benefit from it, we’re just looking for neat new yarns to try.  (Interesting coincidence – when I told her my zip code, she commented that I was from southern Illinois.  Her husband is from a town 15 miles from where I grew up.  Small world!)

The middle skein is actually part of another of our schemes, a not-so-secret pal swap.  And since I picked out the yarn (which Ragged confirmed she would have totally picked for me), the yarn was not-so-secret either.

And finally, there was fiber.

Exquisitely Angora merino-angora

Exquisitely Angora silk brick

The above fibers are from the woman I credit for inspiring me to spin.  I met Rosalie at an art and craft fair, and she had the most beautiful handspun fibers.  I bought two bags of fiber that day, even though it would be two years before I found a group to learn from.  It had been years since I had been to her studio, so it was wonderful to see her again.

And finally, an arrival on Saturday was icing on the cake for my fiber acquisition. (okay, so maybe it’s big enough to be the whole cake on its own)

fibers from River's Edge Weaving Studio

From left to right are two braids of merino-seacell, three braids of merino-silk, and a braid of BFL.  Loverly.  I want to spin it all.  Now.

And last, but certainly not least, my traveling companions – Jenny from the Blog and Ragged, thanks for making the trip so much fun.  With good company, the wind wasn’t quite so cold (okay, it was still really cold, but we persevered), the road wasn’t quite so long, and the Wisdom of Ellen was ever so apparent.