February 28, 2006
Stash Sale!!!
The Rules:
All prices listed are in US dollars. Prices are non-negotiable. All sales are final. Shipping is included. U.S. and Canada only, please. I adore all of you overseas, but the shipping costs are just too high and I don't have the time to schlep to the post office to weigh and price out shipping for each quantity of yarn, so... Yeah. There you go. (Unfair, maybe, but please recall this destashing is intended to SIMPLIFY my life.)
Each item will be sold to the first person who emails for it. You will have 48 hours to pay for it, via Paypal. After 48 hours, it goes to the next person on the list (should there be more than one interested buyer) or goes back up for sale on the blog.
Email me at cari [dot] luna [at] earthlink [dot] net to commit to buy. Please do not make any arrangements to pay me via Paypal until I send you an email, confirming that you are the successful buyer. As always, feel free to leave a comment, but please note that yarn orders will not be taken from the comments. You must make your request via email, so I can be sure to keep things fair. (The timestamp on my comments and how quickly I receive email notification is somewhat unreliable.)
These items come from a smoke-free home, though not pet-free. (But you know this, yes?) I can honestly say that the dogs have never, at any point, stolen any of this yarn. If you prefer yarn that HAS been stolen by the dogs, well...maybe we can work something out. For the most part, the yarn is absolutely unused. If any yarn has been knit, frogged, and rewound, I've indicated that in the post.
And in case you're curious, proceeds of the sale will go toward the cost of our labor doula.
Enough with the rule-making. On to the stuff for sale!
Yarn!
Noro Big Kureyon -- SOLD!
100% Wool. Color #5. 176 yds. US#5 = 3st/in.
Quantity available: 1 skein
Retail price: $15.95
My price: $10.00
Noro Kureyon -- SOLD!
100% Wool. Color #116. 110 yds. US#7 = 5st/in.
Quantity available: 9 balls. 7 unused. 2 knit, frogged, and rewound.
Retail price: $8.50 per ball
My price: $54 for all 9
Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk -- SOLD!
80% Baby alpaca, 20% silk. Color #25007. 50g. US#8 = 18/24 to 4 in.
Quantity available: 12 balls, sold in two lots of 6 balls each
Retail price: $9.25 per ball
My price: $40 per lot of 6 balls
Knit Picks Wool of the Andes -- SOLD!
100% Peruvian wool. Natural white. 220 yds. US# 7-8 = 5sts/in.
Quantity available: 8 skeins
Retail price: $3.49 per skein
My price: $16 for all 8
Hand-dyed brushed kid mohair -- SOLD!
Brand and yardage unknown, but it's a large cake.
(Enough for a lace shawl, I'm sure.)
Laceweight
Quantity available: 1 large cake
My price: $15
Plymouth Yarn Fantasy Naturale -- SOLD!
100% mercerized cotton. Color #8003. 140 yds. US#8 = 4.5 sts/in.
Quantity available: 3 skeins
Retail price: $4.99 per skein
My price: $8 for all three
Bisque
Green
Gold
Classic Elite Waterspun
Felted 100% Merino. 138 yds. US# 7 = 5sts/in.
Retail price: Discontinued. Was $6.50 per skein.
Three colors available, each sold as a separate lot:
Bisque: 8 skeins (one unused but wound into a ball). $34 for all 8 -- SOLD!
Green: 5 skeins. $22 for all 5 -- SOLD!
Gold: 2 skeins. $10 for both -- SOLD!
Fiesta Yarns La Boheme Biased Stole Kit -- SOLD!
Complete kit, including two skeins Fiesta Yarns La Boheme and pattern.
Abalone colorway.
(One skein has been wound into a ball.)
La Boheme is a 2-strand yarn: 100% brushed kid mohair and 100% rayon boucle. Hand-dyed. 165 yds per skein.
Quantity available: one complete kit
Retail price: $60
My price: $40
Wild Apple Hill Farm Wool -- SOLD!
100% wool. Bronze. No gauge or yardage info on ball band, but feels like a heavy worsted and I'd guess there's about 175-200 yds. Nice rustic hand, smells deliciously of spinning oil.
Quantity available: 7 skeins
Retail price: unknown
My price: $30 for all 7
Lang Yarns Lara -- SOLD!
55% Viscose, 45% acrylic. 20st/30 rows = 4in.
Quantity available: 12 balls, sold in two lots of 6 balls each
Retail price: Unknown. Possibly discontinued
My price: $24 per lot of 6 balls
Alchemy Bamboo -- SOLD!
100% bamboo. Ball band lost, so I'm not sure which colorway this is. Maybe Night Air? 138 yds. US# 5 = 6st/in.
Quantity available: 1 skein, wound into a center-pull ball
Retail price: $25.50
My price: $15
Fiesta Yarns Heaven -- SOLD!
(Note that there's a bit more purple in this colorway than shown in the photo. I once brought this yarn to my hairdresser so she could match it when she did my color. This is official yarn hair yarn, folks.)
100% brushed kid mohair. Poppies. 260 yds. US# 7 = 5sts/in.
Quantity available: 2 skeins
Retail price: $18 per skein
My price: $28 for the two
Kaalund Yarns Expressions -- SOLD!
100% kid mohair (hand dyed). Wombat (that's the colorway, not the fiber content). 506 yds. Laceweight.
Quantity available: 2 skeins
Retail price: $23 per skein
My price: $16 per skein or $30 for both
Heartstrings Spider Web Sockies Kit -- SOLD!
Complete kit for beaded socks, including yarn, beads, and pattern
Quantity available: 1 kit
My price: $12
Gedifra Cicco -- SOLD!
56% wool, 35% nylon, 9% acrylic. 50g. 11st/18r = 4"
Quantity available: 1 ball
Retail price: $8.95
My price: $3
Schachenmayr Nomotta Goa -- SOLD!
60% viscose, 40% polyamide. Color #26. 50g. 75 m. 16 sts/24r = 4in.
Quantity available: 10 balls
Retail price: Unknown. Discontinued
My price: $30 for all ten
Interlacements Toasty Toes Sock Yarn -- SOLD!
Superwash Merino. Poppy Fields. 250 yds. US# 6 = 6sts/in.
Quantity available: 1 skein, wound into a center-pull ball. No ball band.
Retail price: $25
My price: $18
King Tut -- SOLD!
100% cotton. Color #1142. 182 yds. US# 7 = 4.5 sts/in.
Quantity available: 1 skein
Retail price: $10
My price: $4
Katia Portofino -- SOLD!
100% cotton ribbon. Color #4. 55yds. 10sts/12r = 4in.
Quantity available: 1 ball
Retail price: Unknown
My price: $3
Filatura di Crosa Brilla -- SOLD!
42% cotton, 58% viscose. Color #328. 120 yds. 28sts/34r = 4in.
Quantity available: 7 balls (6 unused. 1 partially knit, frogged, and rewound)
Retail price: $7 per ball
My price: $32 for all 7
Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sportweight -- SOLD!
100% wool (mothproofed!). 184 yds. US# 5 = 6sts/in.
Quantity available: 6 balls of these colors: 3 balls Sunburst Gold, 1 ball Red, 1 ball Pepper, 1 ball Orange You Glad
Retail price: $3.50 per ball
My price: $16 for all 6
Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (seconds) -- SOLD!
80% cotton, 20% Merino. Cavern. 215 yds. US# 6 = 5sts/in.
Quantity available: 5 full skeins (plus 1 partial thrown in free)
Retail price: Unknown
My price: $23 for the lot
Brown Sheep Wildefoote Luxury Sock Yarn -- SOLD!
Colorway: Mums. 215 yds.
Quantity available: 2 skeins (enough for one pair adult male socks)
Retail price: $5.50 per skein
My price: $8 for both
Twilleys Freedom Cotton DK -- SOLD!
100% cotton. 85m. 21sts/30r = 4in.
Quantity available: 2 balls: one tan, one red
Retail price: $6.99
My price: $5 for both
Gedifra Clou -- SOLD!
100% polyamide. 45m. 7sts/8r 4in.
Quantity available: 5 skeins
Retail price: discontinued?
My price: $20 for all 5
Mystery Chenille-ish Suede-ish Yarn -- SOLD!
No ball band. No idea what this is. Swap-acquired. Approx. DK weight.
Nice sueded hand. HUGE skeins. Yardage unknown.
Quantity available: two large skeins: 1 tan, 1 black
My price: $15 for both
Patricia Roberts Woollybear Yarn -- SOLD!
100% Shetland. 1 oz. per skein
Quantity available: 10 full unused skeins in asst. colors. 1 partial yellow skein, 1 partial blue skein.
Retail price: Unknown
My price: $25
Spinning Fiber!
Beautiful silver locks -- SOLD!
I wish I could recall exactly what this is. I'm 96% sure it's Angora Mohair Goat. In person, the locks are silky and shiny and truly silver.
Quantity available: approx 1 lb.
Price: $15
Brown Sheep Mill End Fibers -- SOLD!
(from the now-deceased machine known as The Beast)
Superwash wool roving. I like to think of this colorway as Melted Clown.
1 lb.
Retail price: $9.95
My price: $6
Books!
Rowan Classic Cafe -- SOLD!
Retail Price: $14.50
My price: $10
The Best of Rowan -- SOLD!
Retail price: $35
My price: $10
The Urban Knitter -- SOLD!
Retail Price: $14
My price: $5
Needles!
Clover Bamboo Circular Needles
29" US#5 -- SOLD!
16" US#7 -- SOLD!
29" US#8 -- SOLD!
24" US#8 (without package) -- SOLD!
Retail price: $7.75 each
My price: $4 each
Stash Sale Update
Okay...
The yarn is inventoried. The retail prices are researched, and my prices set. The photos have been taken. It's almost time to post the sale yarn.
I've decided to do it in a blog post, rather than build a separate page. Watch this space. I'll post the sale yarns tonight at 8pm EST. I'll be including shipping in the price. For this reason I'm shipping to the US and Canada only (so no worries that the Aussies are going to have unfair overnight shopping advantages).
It's going to be first come, first served, via email. I'll post the email and the rules of play along with the yarn.
You DID make some room on your yarn shelves, yes?
February 24, 2006
The flashbulb pixies also enjoy a good pair of handknit socks
I suppose you'd like to actually be able to see the socks, though, yes? Here you go:
These are done in Lorna's Laces Vera, using Cassie's old standby feather and fan pattern. I like 'em. They're going to be damn cute with my red clogs come springtime.
In other news, the stash sale preparations continue. Please bear with me, as I use plain ole Movable Type, not Typepad, so I have to code the pages myself. I have decent html and css skills, but they are slow and unimpressive. Oh--and add to that the fact that I still have to research retail prices and then photograph all the stuff. So bear with me, please.
And in other other news, my friend Michael Deibert's book has been reviewed here. Please do go check out the review, and if it interests you, please check out the book itself.
Even yet still more other news: Halfway through the second sock in a pair of stockinette Trekking socks, though I forgot to snap a photo for you. They're my subway and I'd-rather-look-at-the-Olympics-than-at-my-knitting knitting, so they'll probably be done soon. Photo then. I know how you all love to look at my feet in handknit socks. What can I say. Let's all chart the progress of my steadily falling arches thanks to Kiddo-in-Progress, shall we? Fun.
But wait! More news! (My, aren't I a bundle of excitement and information today?!) I've been all about the gift and baby and sock knitting for ages now, and I started craving a sweater for me. It has to be a cardi, because it's going to be quite a while before I'm back to my pullover size, and I refuse to commit to a larger pregnancy and postpartum size to the extent that I'll knit a bigger sweater to accomodate it...so... Cardi. And thanks to Juno, that tempty tempty beast of a temptress, I've been lured back to Rogue. I abandoned Rogue...could it have been two years ago already? When did that pattern come out? Anyway, I abandoned my first Rogue attempt due to a poor yarn choice. (Cascade 220. Love the stuff, but not nearly enough body for the way I envision this sweater.) So yesterday I swatched some Peace Fleece, and after three needle-size attempts, got gauge. On #5's. (When I say I'm a loose knitter, baby, I mean it.) I cast on for a sleeve this morning, using Claudia's fantastic non-bulky hem modification. I've long coveted both of Claudia's Rogues, so I'll be following all of her modifications, including cardiganizing it and adding a two-way zip (um...yes, Cari. You said cardi at the beginning, so we already figured that.) I have to work on a freelance job this afternoon, and then I'm working on novel numbah two in the evening, but tonight is set aside for me and that sleeve chart. I love Peace Fleece... Sigh...
February 21, 2006
The Great Stash Reduction
I did some serious stash inspection this weekend. I opened all the cardboard boxes. I looked in all the project bags. I pulled it all off the shelves and sorted it by type. And I found that there's a good bit of yarn here that I no longer love or need to knit. I also found that I have a lot of really fantastic yarn that I do love--enough that there's no need to buy more for quite a while. The plan is to buy no yarn in 2006. Looking at my newly trimmed stash, I think I can do that pretty painlessly.
I have a lot of knitting to do before the stash gets reduced to my goal levels. Here is the stash as it now stands, after the weekend's trimming. My initial goal was to have no more yarn than would fit on these two bookcases. I pulled that off. Yeah, it's still a hell of a lot of yarn, but now it's all yarn I love and definitely want to knit.
The basket on the right is full of extra warm stuff like Lopi and Lamb's Pride Bulky to use for Dulaan knitting.
And here's the stuff I'll be selling:
Amazing what you'll find tucked into project bags. I thought some of these needles etc were gone for good. And I'd been blaming the animals, of course:
The fleece stash turned out to be more manageable than I expected--it all fits into one large-ish basket. I will be selling some roving, though. I found two bags that I no longer feel the need to spin. The fact that I forgot I had them was the first clue that they could go to a more loving home.
So now I've got to do some research to figure out how much the sale yarn is going for out in the world, and how much I'm going to charge for it. Then I've got to photograph it, make a stash sale page, etc... I'm hoping to have the sale yarn posted early next week. Go make some room on your yarn shelves!
February 17, 2006
The flashbulb pixies admire my new neckwarmer
Pattern: Slubby Neck Warmer by Marta Cantos
Yarn: Marta's Yarns Multi-coloured Slubby yarn
Time in the stash: Maybe a year? Alison gifted me this yarn and the pattern, but I don't remember when
Time it took to knit, after sitting around so long: one hour
Stash reduced by: one skein
I've reached that point. It's official. The stash (the sock yarn is barely the beginning of it, folks) is big enough to overwhelm me. It has to be whittled down. In the coming week or so it will be sorted through and organized. Loved yarn will be grouped with loved yarns of similiar types so I'll actually know what I have. Kits and yarn already designated for specific projects will be inventoried and decisions will be made as to whether I still want to knit the projects. Unloved WIPs will be frogged. Unloved yarn will be sold.
I want to thin the stash down to this and keep it steady at this level:
Enough sock yarn for six pairs, not counting projects on the needles.
Yarn for six Cari-sized sweaters, no specific project designated.
Kits or designated yarn for three on-deck projects.
Yarn for six baby projects.
I have way more than this. I have too much. Destashing will happen.
February 16, 2006
By the way...
Just for fun, I opened a Cafe Press store with that autumn camouflage photo I took while I was at Ragdale. Truth be told, I just really thought the image would look great on a magnet or a coffee mug...
Click the photo to check out the store. There's also a link in the sidebar.
February 13, 2006
I'm halfway through the second feather and fan sock, so of course it's time to start thinking about the next pair.* (Yes, technically the next pair is already on the needles, but it's a standby rolltop stockinette, and those don't count toward the WIP total. I can't explain it--they just don't.) After dinner tonight I went to paw through the stash in search of the right yarn for the next pair. I'm going to be making the Child's First Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks and I want to use a solid or near-solid color for them.
(Added later: For those of you unfamiliar with this pattern or this book, it's called the Child's First Sock, but it's sized for adults. I'm making the socks for myself. Baby gets stockinette socks, not lace. I mean, he'll fit into each pair for a week, right?)
I started pulling potential skeins from the shelf, and found four good candidates in the first thirty or so seconds. And then found a fifth. And then some of the variegateds looked good and I started eyeing some Koigu. And then I realized...I have so much sock yarn that I don't actually know what I have. I've been really strict with my yarn buying for the past four months or so, allowing myself to buy only yarn for baby sweaters, and even for those mostly relying on stash yarn. (Yeah, that Dale sea lion sweater is on the needles. I haven't worked on it much and need to get back to it...) Somehow, though, the occasional sock yarn sneaks through my best yarn diet intentions. The plan was to buy no yarn this year, but only halfway through February and I've bought yarn for two pairs of socks. (The latest is a delicious skein from Brooklyn Handspun in the Flickering Flame colorway that I received today. Mmmmmm.)
I've been on an organization kick lately--blame it on the kid, because that's not normal for me--and it bothered me that I had so many skeins of sock yarn that I'd forgotten I had. I schlepped it all down to the dining room table to have a proper look. This is what it looked like:
I think I have a wee sock yarn problem. I think I really, really, really shouldn't be allowed to buy any more sock yarn until at least half of this stuff is knitted. Which means 14 pairs of socks, not including the three pairs in various stages on the needles already. Sure, there are plenty of you out there with larger sock yarn stashes. Thing is, this feels like more sock yarn than I need to have on hand at once. (We won't even begin to talk about the yarn stash as a whole. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by it and may need to take some destashing action soon.)
This brings us to the next pair, the pair that started this whole revelation of the bloated stash. The Child's First Sock socks. Here are the yarns I'm considering using. Which do you think I should go with?
That's, from left to right: Lorna's Laces in Cranberry, Gems Opal in Pewter, KPPPM # P315L, and ArtYarns Ultramerino # 222. Obviously there will be gauge decisions made based on the yarn choice. I think the pattern would look good at any of these weights.
Oh--and apparently we named Oscar Madison after the wrong TV Oscar. This is where he hung out the whole time I was crashed out sick on the couch. I couldn't get him to stay out of there and eventually just gave up and threw the tissues right on top of him. Any ideas on how to disinfect a kitten?
*Melanie, your socks are done and going into the mail tomorrow. Alicia, I keep forgetting to ask you to try on your finished first sock.
February 10, 2006
It's gonna take more than a common cold to thwart the pregnancy cravings
I may be sick, but that doesn't mean I don't need my tostones. When I first blogged about how one of my strongest pregnancy food cravings has been tostones, I heard from a number of you who didn't know what they were. I wanted some today so much that I roused myself from the couch to cook up a batch, and I thought I'd share them with you. They're really easy to make. Don't let the number of steps fool you--it's a fairly quick process. I'm not participating in the Knitting Olympics myself, but I'd venture to say that tostones are just the sort of food a Knitting Olympian needs to sustain herself during the rigors of the competition ahead.
You'll need green plantains. No, you can't substitute with regular bananas. Well, theoretically you could follow these steps with bananas, but you'd end up with fried bananas. You would not have tostones. And the goal here, people, is a plate of yummy delicious tostones. So... Right... Start with green plantains. (They must be green. The yellow ones, already ripened, are used to make maduros. Also delicious, but a topic for another day.)
You'll need canola oil. And sea salt. And paper towels. Ready?
I use this spatula tool to flatten my tostones. You can also use a small plate, saucer, or bottom of a large mug...any flat rigid surface will do.
They're really great for breakfast or brunch served with eggs and rice with oil, salt, and onions. Also great for lunch or dinner with rice and beans. But I like them best on their own as a snack, with a big mug of tea and some sock knitting.
February 08, 2006
A new old standby
I'm sick. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. The cold that's been knocking seemingly the entire city on its ass has found a home in my lungs. Somehow a coughing fit becomes a whole new experience when you're nearly five months pregnant.
I'm comforting myself with sock knitting. My usual default sock is a roll-top stockinette sock on two circular needles, a slight modification from my former default sock, which was the same but with a wee bit of a ribbed cuff. I don't really like ribbed cuffs, and so a while back gave myself permission to just let the sock tops roll the way they wanted to. Those teeny little rolls make me very happy.
Last night I decided to try someone else's default sock pattern for a change, so I cast on for Cassie's feather and fan sock. And because it's Cassie's default sock, I'm using dpns in her honor. That's Lorna's Laces Vera colorway. Pretty, yes?
I can see this pattern becoming a back-up default sock for me. It's fast and the lace repeat is very easy to memorize, and it produces such a sweet little sock. If I really want to be like Cassie, I'll knit the next pair in a solid color. In fact, I think I will. I've got some Lorna's in Cranberry burning a hole in the stash.
Never fear, however, plain sock enthusiasts. This morning I also cast on for a pair of roll-top stockinette socks in Trekking. The ball band is long gone, so I have no idea what colorway it is. Pictures of that one when it's more than two rows on two circs.
February 05, 2006
Just another Sunday in Brooklyn
The dogs were surprised and disappointed to learn that:
A) The Superbowl is not, in fact, a large bowl of really super food
B) We don't celebrate Superbowl in this family. That's someone else's religion, you see.
Alas, sweet Diego and Sadie, today is just Sunday in our house. Don't get too caught up in what those TV commercials tell you. (And the dad guy wasn't supposed to let you guys watch so much TV anyway.) And seeing as you are, in fact, Italian Greyhounds, and have been invited to live here, you really shouldn't be all that surprised that this is not a football house. But I hear the family of the Golden Retreiver up the street throws a hell of a Superbowl party. Maybe when you're older you can go.
And take heart. Rumor has it that the mom is probably going to make tostones later, and you know she'll let you guys share one.
February 01, 2006
I've learned something VERY important tonight
Skim milk, nonfat French Vanilla yogurt, frozen strawberries, and a big heaping spoonful of Nutella combine to create a damn good smoothie.
I love it when a refrigerator raid ends well.