Creativ Festival haul

Two posts a tad close together, I know, but I had to share the fruits of my second day at the Creativ Festival. Pics of my adventures as a model for the Fashion Knits show to hopefully come soon.

Voilà my haul of goodies, comprising both days:

Breaking it down, we have the two awesome books I got, more detail in my other post. Both are entirely worth the investment, but I love that I got them at a huge discount from Grantham Books. They’re at the festival every year, and I always come home with something. On their site they list other shows they go to as well as permanent locations.

In the foreground you can see some navy blue DK possum merino. That’s right, possum. It is made in New Zealand, and available in Canada here, the UK here, and the USA here or here. Apparently, “the possum fur is hollow and, when spun with merino wool, produces a hardwearing yarn with superior heat retaining qualities.” Either way, it feels awesome and I am excited to try it. Here’s a close-up.

I also picked up some good ol’ Berroco Vintage Chunky in white from Creative Yarns. It shall one day (soon) become the shrug for my wedding dress. I’ll be using the same pattern as for the one I talk about here.

I think it will be gorgeous. Actually, I know it will be because someone has already done it:

I also got some neats beads, pendants, and a pair of cool glass earrings at this store’s booth.

After much hunting, I was finally able to find a booth that sold Brother equipment for my Brother sewing machine. I got some thread, extra bobbins, a blind presser foot for fancy hems on dresses and dress pants (I have a backlog of stuff to fix…), and a teflon foot and twin needle for sewing onto knitting, so that maybe I can finally get the lining onto my cabled belt from way back.

One thing I did not buy, purely because I have a large enough stash already, is the HPKY I fell in love with. Their website isn’t the greatest, but I believe the yarn is called Lamé. It’s a bulkier weight and has strands of glitter running through it. The booth selling it (called Yarn Deals, LLC) I could not find a website for anywhere, but they had these wicked knitted samples that only need 1 skein:

I especially like the one with the tapered and braided ends. It makes it really easy to wear as a scarf or snood/hood type thing. Gotta remember this design idea for later.

And finally, you may remember Ozzy the Alpaca from yesterday’s post. Today, I leave you with a fortune.

mmmmpumpkin

Well, the mitts are coming along slowly, and a little painfully. This is the first time I’ve used size 1 needles – look at how tiny the stitches are! I worry this may mark my descent into knitting insanity… I’ve put them aside for the evening as I frantically attempt to finish my scarf for the Creativ Festival tomorrow. SO EXCITED!

My lack of mitt progress can likely partially be attributed to my recent baking fixation. This week was pumpkin cake with apple cider glaze. So tasty, yet so easy = delightful. Thanks to canadianchia for the recipe 🙂 Please excuse the horrible picture of the half-eaten slice I took for lunch…

And here’s a library-related random discovery of the day:

This is the picturesque teeny library of the community on the island of Flatey, Iceland (bókasafnið í Flatey). (via @Librarianista)

Knitting in Vegas

It’s been a couple of weeks, I know. I have a good excuse! I was in Las Vegas. The strip was all that it’s chalked-up to be, but the highlight for me was definitely the Grand Canyon.

Didn’t get much knitting in, besides some on the plane (you can bring needles now! though I erred on the side of caution and stayed away from metal) and on the 4 hours bus ride to the canyon. At least I got a start on the scarf though.

I need to have it done by the time the Creativ Festival rolls around at the end of October. I want my free gift! (of course, giving to charity is a great added bonus too 🙂

Aaaannnd I have yet another book I am hankering to buy: Amigurumi Two!: Crocheted Toys for Me and You and Baby Too by Ana Rimoli.

So. much. cute! Just look at this little guy. He fits INTO the pear! And this is by far the cutest mobile I have ever seen.