there i go again . . .

ach, my poor knitting hovel chair has been practically abandoned this week, waiting patiently for me to make use of it, but alas, i have little time to spend there.

the store is now restocked with stone soup fingering yarn, for those who missed out on getting any yet—it went like wildfire when we released it to the club but good things come to those that wait

we now have it in two colors—granite (right) and pumice (left). i love this yarn in so many ways, i can’t even list them all. i made a starter list for the store page of patterns that will work well for this yarn, but watch our BNW ravelry group for more inspiration (and if you’re not a member yet, please join us!).

i know a lot of you are anxious to see more breakfast blend DK as well; we are working like crazy to get that back in stock, believe me. i do not have a projected ETA yet, but as soon as we know, we’ll let you know.

the house is all abuzz right now with preparations for back to back teaching dates this coming weekend and next. naturally, there is the usual rush to meet a couple of deadlines before i go and maybe get ahead on a other things so i won’t be SO far behind when i get back, haha. whose fault is this anyway?

this weekend, i’m heading for the solomons down in the tip of maryland, where it juts out into chesapeake bay; there i will reunite with the reston stitch n bitch for their annual spring retreat (looks like there are still a few spots available; click for more info). i’m teaching different classes this year—and that’s my list for the trunk show i’m bringing to kick off the weekend, along with a selection of patterns and our bare naked wools (including some “specials” that won’t appear in our online shop; more on that later).

i’m excited to be going back to this lovely retreat; it stands in my memory as one of my all-time favorite group knitting experiences. i mean, who in their right mind wouldn’t want to wake up to this

knowing that knitting and a cuppa coffee are the only distractions we need to care about? sigh, lovely isn’t it?  you should join us!

oh what—are you still stuck on that slip i made about the special yarn offerings? well, ok then, maybe you need to have a peek.

these are samples from two test batches we had spun up a couple of months back. in the foreground is a 60/40 mohair/merino 2-ply with a gorgeous sheen. i love the chocolate browns that comes through in this gray mix; when i look close i can see speckles of it popping through, like mini chips, haha—delicious.

we’re not sure if we’ll go forward with the chévre, so for now we just have the test batch of about 55 skeins (although, the initial response to it has been great, so maybe . . . ). we’re calling it “chévre” because it comes from a goat but has that creamy merino to give it some softness and bounce. it will make a lovely fall/winter wrap; read on to find out what we’re pairing it with.

behind that, we have a deLISHmerino/romney DK;  we had two test batches of this blend spun—one is a more wheaty brown (above) and the other is lighter and more gray (below)

because of its higher white merino content. it has the luminosity of beach glass which i find enchanting. the yarn is so crazy soft you’ll think of babies when you touch it, but also sturdy for good sweater knitting and with a nice patina for showing off stitch patterns.

i want to have an inky dinky sample knit up to show it off; here it is swatched for the bloch ness sweater (for which it is also spot on); that pattern BTW, is with the test knitters now—it won’t be long before it’s ready for release.

as for the chévre, anne c is knitting a stonewall sample in it for us (thank you anne!). haha, she walked into class yesterday and seized on the skein i had sitting on the table—she said it was “glowing at her”. and well, see for yourself . . .

she didn’t even see the cream puffs janet had on offer, just went straight for the yarn.

the merino/romney is on order and hopefully we’ll have that in stock by june; the romney is being purchased from the spring clip and as soon as it’s all gathered, it will go into production.

so those are going with me in the car tomorrow—whatever is left at the end of the weekend will go into the online store. hope to see you at the retreat; come join us if you can!

another thing that arrived this week were two beautiful samples from our good friend kari

she knit a gorgeous isadora sample in the earl grey breakfast blend fingering yarn (little did we know at the time it would run out so fast). it’s so feminine; i love that.

every time i look at it, the edging on this design makes me think of seahorses—which i love!

with the leftovers from this project, kari knit a pair of fine cabled mitts (an oldie, but goodie), which we borrowed for photography. i tried them on yesterday for a few quick snaps

kari, i promise you’ll get these back when the photo shoot is over.

ok now, it’s time for me to move on—i’ve still got a few more things to take care of tonight before i can relax. next time i check in it will be from that view i showed you earlier, mmmm.