Hoard Enhancement!

Of the very best kind because it was all gifts. Yippee!

On the Friday before our move I went to Westport Yarns to say good-bye one last time before we skipped town.

They surprised me with a gift certificate to the store so I could treat myself before starting my yarn diet. How awesome is that?

Special Edition
Also in the gift bag was a special Traveling Ann edition project bag from my friend Laura. The fabric is a cartoon map, complete with predatory animals, which goes nicely with my habit of saying “I know enough to be dangerous.” And the red liner is, of course, one of my favorite colors.

You already know that I love these project bags. So to have one made specially for me is just the icing on the cake. I’ve already put it to good use transporting my new yarn.

Decisions, Decisions
Since I hadn’t been to the store since sometime in July there were lots of new yarns to tempt me.

I debated trying to get yarn to make a sweater. And I debated books. But in the end I decided to splurge and buy the most expensive, luxurious yarns I could that I wouldn’t normally buy for myself.

Cashmere
This led me to Lobster Pot Cashmere in the East Sandwich Beach color. Now I have a little scarf out of Lobster Pot already. My first year working at Knitting Central at our annual holiday dinner Cynthia gave everyone a cream skein and a set of US 8 Colonia Rosewood needles to make ourselves a one-skein scarf. I traded mine in for ice blue.

Since it’s absolutely delicious yarn I’ve always eyed the colors, but a second scarf seemed extravagant. Well, now I’ve got two skeins so I can make myself a longer version.

I know this raspberry pink color is a little unusual for me, but for some reason it grabbed my attention the day it came in.

Silk & Camel
I still had money left and tons of sock yarn seemed overkills even for me, so I made another pass of the store. The second yarn I decided to get was this Camelspin from Hand Maiden. This is new to Westport Yarns for the fall. It is 70% Silk and 30% Camel and all kinds of soft. I kept petting it as I roamed the store and decided it should come home with me. The one skein is 300 meters. I’m going to make Danni’s beginner lace scarf which calls for 400 meters. Mine will just be a little shorter.

Sock yarn, of course
Surprisingly, despite splashing out in style, I still had money left on my gift certificate. This time I went for the sock yarn selecting the OnLine Supersocke 100 in the Canadian-Color # 1290. It’s a standard 75% superwash, 25% nylon blend. It’s a self-patterning yarn. I went with this black/grey/tan/white color because I haven’t knit myself many pairs of dark socks. We must balance the wardrobe.

I topped my purchase off with a new set of US1 Brittany Birch DPNs and a pack of stitch markers.

Thank You!
As you can see my friends sent me off in high style. Of course we’ll all keep in touch online, but now I’ll be able to knit myself snuggly scarves and think of them as I stitch and when I wear them this winter. (hahaha. Did I really just imply I’d finish these in time to wear this winter? Boy howdy, I crack myself up.)

Speaking of thinking of them…I finally unpacked my stationary the other day; I really should send a card already.