Asheville, thy name is heaven

Today Cristi and I met up and headed to Asheville, NC. We headed out after picking up beverages at Panera and after an uneventful, if not a bit longer than it should have been due to the other slower drivers, we arrived at Earthguild which was the reason for the 2+ hour drive to the beautiful NC mountains. No we didn't take pictures of the mountains, Stacey. What we did do was raid Earthguild with passion. You see, they have spinning stuff. And dyeing stuff. And knitting stuff. And yarn. And wax if you are into candle making. And paper stuffs if you are into making paper. And word worky stuff if you are into wood working. And more stuff that I can't begin to mention because after that my brain turned off.

I left with a lanaset starter kit in order dye some yarny bits, a set of Ashford Handcards and a 1/2 lbs. of domestic wool top for dyeing. Also, 2 new bobbins for the Lendrum (so now I have 6, yes 6, precious).

Then we headed over to Purls Yarn Emporium. Wow. What a great shop. So very nice in there. The service and the shop. After a significant amount of time in there I left with Knit Fix: Problem Solving for Knitters and a line magnifier for my magnetic board. Perfect for lace charts. The guy that was working there (and yes I said GUY) was super nice and we chatted for a bit about Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting which I reviewed in my last podcast. They didn't have it in the shop, but he was very interested in looking at it as he teaches a cable class in the winter at the shop. He was awesome and def made our day.

Do you see a pattern here...no yarn. I am sticking to my yarn diet.

Lunch was had at The Bier Garden in downtown Asheville. To say I was overwhelmed by the beer selection there would probably be an understatement. I had the Hurricane Hefeweizen to start and let me tell you this is a nice beer. It is a thicker beer than you would think with a citrus taste to it. I really enjoyed it. Food was good and an Ace Apple Cider later (it was ok, but a bit bitter, which I don't really like in my ciders) we finally got our check (service wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either). And then we discovered that although we managed to feed the meter before lunch (for another HOUR) we were 15 minutes over our time and had gotten a ticket. *sigh* I should have mentioned that it ate one of my quarters and didn't give me time for that last 15. Whatever. Day was good, we aren't going to let this tarnish is.

Then we hit Yarn Paradise. Word from the wise...Asheville's streets are not well marked as you move into Hendersonville so you will probably miss the road. When you get to I-40 coming from Earthguild you have gone too far - Turn around and take a right at the next light (I am pretty sure it is the next one). The shop is on the right. And it is worth it.

Let me sum up this shop in one word. And that word is what you see when you first walk in the door. KOIGU! And I have 3 more words that make it even better - MILL ENDS KOIGU! OHMYGOD!!! (I didn't have my camera, but Cristi took pics - she will post them to her blog, I am sure of it). So, Several Koigu skeins of mill ends later - I found the Colinette Jitterbug. And then I bought some of that too. I made it all day. ALL DAY!!! Now, the ladies at this shop were great too. They wanted to know what we are into. They wanted to hear our squees and whatnot. It was an awesome experience.

I just cast on the Knit and Tonic Dream Swatch from one of the mill ends of Koigu I picked up. Yeah, I know I don't need another project, but but but...its KOIGU!!! And I did work really hard on Pinwheel today. Sleeve one is DONE and the stitches for sleeve 2 are now ready to go.

another one on the needles...

I have had the project itch. So last night I CO the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket in Wendy Velvet Touch. It is a fun pink, yellow, green and white mix. I am now a 1/4 of the way through it. I like it, though it is a bit mindless. Which is probably what I like about it right now.

Christi and I bought the pattern at the same time with the intention of knitting them at the same time, but she is done now I think and I am just starting. I am behind. It happens.

Oh - and I joined the Mystery Stole 3 KAL on yahoo. yep. I need a mental evaluation. I ordered the Lane Borgesia Cashwool in black from The Loopy Ewe for this. I am really looking forward to this. Yes, I know I claimed I was going on a yarn diet, but I am a liar when it comes to yarn, so you should all get used to that. I would rather be honest than sneak yarn in. Plus, the boy doesn't care if I buy more yarn. Hell, he encourages my yarn habit.

Episode 6: I have a concussion from falling off the yarn diet wagon

Yeah. I bought a lot of stuff. Not much of it was yarn, but that isn't the point. It makes for a fun time of talking about all the stuff I am working on.

Yarn bought:
LimenViolet - The Cloak Maker (more this week, but I will talk about it next time
OnLine Yarns - Tondo in Mulberry ( I didn't buy it here, but it was the only place I found it with the colorway listed - woohoo)
Brown Sheep Wildefoote - Soft Jazz, Forget Me Not, Columbine
Opal Rainforest - Doktorfisch

Etsy Finds:
Poppy Flower Fibers - 20% off for all fairieknits listeners now through June 15. I got Superfreak 3 and Royal Flush
Cherry Blossom Fibers - Purple, Violet lilac, pink
macekdesigns - You have angered cthulhu, Cthulhu's Wrath
Purple Flower Designs - I have a Pink Diamond Tote

Books:
Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks
Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting (Review to come in future episode)
Sensational Knitted Socks (a short review of this in this episode)
No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo & Other Delights (Review to come in future episode)
The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches
Domiknitrix: Whip Your Knitting into Shape (Reviewed in this episode - YAY!!!)
Simply Knitting Magazine
Ashford Learn to Spin booklet

Interesting other stuff:
Lantern Moon Basket - mine is in the pink and green fabric - I LOVE IT!!!
Addi Turbos in 32" size 3

Spinning Update -
I bought a Lendrum!!! (the folding wheel)
Spinning class at The Yarn Shop by Rainy Day Creations was GREAT. They have a couple more this summer.

WIP
Candleflame Shawl - Elsebeth Levold Silky Wool
Lacey Lamb Shawl - Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb
Pinwheel Sweater in elann.com highland peruvian wool
Jaywalkers in LnV sock yarn

FOs
Carie Cardigan in OnLine Tondo from Fitted Knits: 25 Designs for the Fashionable Knitter
Women's Lace Edge Hat from headhuggers.org
Preemie Jester Hat in Debbie Bliss merino DK from Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time (it looks like this is $3.99 at amazon.com right now!!!)
3 more eyelash scarves for the Mary Read Memorial KAL


DIYs Knitting Gritty - I learn something new even when I don't like the projects. Its worth watching.

Yarn Shop Review
TheNeedleTree - Greenville, SC

Crafting for a Cause Update
End of May - shooting for 500 - we are at 520!!!!!! I am continually impressed by the crafting community and its kindness! Thank you all for your generous donations to so many charities!
Hit the LJ Spotlight!!!
Mention on missmalaprop.com
Steve from Webs suggests The Leader for your charity projects! Its $2.29 for 220 yards - 100% SOFT acrylic (he promises)

I might do a mini-epi on Monday with Olivia, but otherwise, no new episode for 2 weeks - the boy will be here next weekend!!!

more stuff...

I bought yarn. I am weak. But it is PRETTY and I can't wait until it gets here. Today I also picked up the newest Simply Knitting magazine. Yeah, I hope to have a lot to say in the next podcast because I also bought a couple new books this time around.

The yarn diet is only because of the move. The Boy, however, told me to buy whatever I want. He doesn't care if we have to move it. YAY!!!