RI Sheep and Wool Recap

I was still working off the allergy aggravation from Saturday on Monday, but it was completely worth it.  Being able to get outside and enjoy the weather, some amazing yarn and friends was blissful. The RI Sheep and Wool festival was about the same size as last year, which is small.  However, I found a new favorite and finally gave into something I've been swooning over, so I didn't really need more vendors to ogle.

Play at Life fiber arts has these really cool "maki" yarn sets.  It's two 50 g balls that start at one color and then gradually change to a different color.  Since there are two 50 g balls you can make matching socks.  I got the colorway "Jest Maki."  I'm not sure if I'm going to start with the dark blue/green color or the bright blue but I'm definitely going to do toe up socks so I can get the most out of these.   I think the concept is really cool and I've seen this dyer at a bunch of festivals, so I made sure to hit her early so I could get the best choice of colors.


My second purchase was from a dyer I hadn't seen before, Quaere Fibre.  She had a ton of cool colors (with fun Dr. Who and Harry Potter inspired names) but I saw this one knit up in a sample.  I really loved how the strips knit up and the combination of yellow/lime/blue/pink with grey and cream (Tokyo Underground). It's a merino/nylon blend that is soft with a nice not too loose, not too tight twist that will be perfect for socks.  I may have to find a new afterthought or short row heel to do with these.  The stripes look a little wider and more defined then Into the Whirled.








When we started getting hungry the picnic stuff came out.  Colt State park is a great place to knit and picnic or pic-knit as my dad suggested.  The sun stayed out long enough for us to enjoy lunch.  So when it started to get cloudy, we moved on to more retail adventures.  First we hit Bella Yarns in Bristol, RI.  It's a nice shop with a great selection.  They have a ton of Cascade, Berroco, Malabrigo (most of the big names) with a bunch of other things throw in.  I noticed they had a great selection of colors of Hempathy.  I have a few balls from last spring that I got at In the Loop that I should dig out of the stash and do something fun with.  We couldn't help stopping at another yarn shop at our way home, Perfectly Twisted.  Another wonderful shop with an interesting selection.  She has some possum yarn (from Australia) that is super soft.  But my eye was caught by Stiletto from Plymouth Yarns.  It's glittery sock yarn! Fabulous! I even bought some ChiaGoo needles so I could cast on right there.  I'll post a picture when I finish.  I knit on them almost all weekend and my shoulder has been killing me since. So I'm going to go for a massage tomorrow night and see if that helps. I didn't think I could knit too much! But I think it was a combination of a lot of knitting plus using a monitor that is mounted higher then normal at work for a few days.

I just realized when painting my nails, I have a nice tan on my lower arms.  Since I was wearing 3/4 sleeves I may need to try some self tanner this year to even out.  I used to spend my whole summer out by pool or lake lifeguarding but alas no more.  In the hopes of not biting my nails, I'm having fun painting my nails them regularly   I'll end with my latest attempt at nail art.  I didn't even attempt the stripes on my right hand.  Spring/summer makes me want to paint my nails really happy colors, these types of blue/green pastels are at the top of my list.  This one is called "Breakfast at Tiffany's."