Natural Yarn and Fiber Collection

Over the winter break I spent a lot of time getting my yarn stash organized and cataloged in Ravelry. I have a lot of yarn! This is mostly because I keep almost every color of Caron Simply Soft on hand at all times. Since I never know when I'll get a request for a custom pair of mittens or to add on a string to a kid's pair, it's just easier to have them all here.

In addition to these easy-care acrylics that are the staple for our mittens, I'm also starting to grow a collection of natural fibers. Some of these are commercial yarns and others are hand dyed.

Commercial Wools

Cleckheaton Superfine Merino is a 100% wool Australian yarn. It used to be sold at Joann's and I was so sad when they stopped carrying it. It's wonderful for baby hats.

I picked up a skein of Sonoma's Baah yarn in Bermuda. Haven't used it yet, but it's very pretty!

Fair Isle Nantucket is an 80% acrylic, 20% wool blend, but the wool definitely amps up the quality of this yarn. It's bulky but knits up smoothly without splitting. I love it for my Double Moss Stitch Cowl pattern.

Hand Spun or Dyed Wools

I can't remember where I picked this one up. It's very sheepy. :) 

This one came from a local county fair. It looks like it will be a lot of fun to knit! 

This was my lone purchase at the Adirondack Wool & Arts Festival last year. It's a beautiful Pandia's Jewels hand dyed Merino/Nylon/Stellina blend. It's her Dazzle yarn and the colorway is Yarn Magic. 

Alpaca

I purchased this September Morning Alpacas yarn right at their farm during the Washington County Fiber Tour one year. I also purchased it in purple, but can't find the photo of that. I made it into a pair of mittens. 

This undyed natural brown came from the same farm. You can see it's a bit fuzzier than the dyed one.

This yarn came from a local festival. I got to meet the alpaca it's from! He's black and white and these twisted fibers are both from him. I made this into a pair of mittens and have a tiny bit left.

I received two skeins of wool in my first KnitCrate, but rather than include them here, I'll do a KnitCrate review sometime soon.

See my full stash on Ravelry

Visiting The Black Purl in Hamilton, Bermuda

In September we cruised on the Anthem of the Seas from Cape Liberty, NJ to Bermuda. We spent a fun two days touring the island. Since it was super hot we spent quite a bit of time shopping in Hamilton to stay out of the sun.

I was surprised to see a sign for a yarn shop! It pointed down a little alleyway and of course I had to check it out based on the name alone. The Pirates of the Caribbean movie with its Black Pearl is one of my favorites. Also, one of my old cars was in the color "black pearl," so of course you can guess what we called it!

The Black Purl is an adorable yarn shop and the owner was very friendly. My husband chatted with her while I explored the shop. There's a little bit of everything, including locally dyed yarn and some fun notions.

I settled on a skein of Baah yarn. Although it wasn't as special as some of the local yarns, the color was exactly the same as the water where our ship was docked, so I chose it to remind me of our vacation.

If you're ever in Bermuda, be sure to visit The Black Purl! You won't be disappointed. There's some cute art in the alleyway as well.

View my yarn stash on Ravelry

Getting Organized in January

Organization in January? Groundbreaking. (Just like florals for spring in The Devil Wears Prada.) Still, when you're stuck inside due to a monster snowstorm, organizing provides a welcome break from binging on Netflix.

I spent a lot of time winding leftover skeins of yarn. My Loops and Threads yarn winder worked great for this project!

I also inventoried my full skeins of yarn and determined I definitely don't need to buy any more. This is only some of it!

Lastly, I weighed my smaller odds and ends with a postage scale. I sorted them into balls that are large enough to make a full mitten or smaller pieces to save for thumbs or strings. Hopefully this will help me save some time when I'm knitting from my stash!

This weekend I'm also working on my next blog post for the Hook Nook. I can't wait to share it with you. It'll be available in early February!

Shop Marion's Mittens

Visiting the Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, VT

When Basketville was located in the Arlington, VT area I used to make annual trips to see what they had in store. Then the place closed down. I was exciting to discover this year that they're still open, in Putney, VT.

We planned a day trip to the area for some scenic views, basket shopping, and antiquing. When I Googled to see what else Putney had to offer, I discovered Green Mountain Spinnery, a yarn shop. That was the perfect addition to our little road trip! 

Green Mountain Spinnery is located right off I-91. I looked around the corner at the end of the exit ramp and there it was! 

They make and dye their own yarn right at the facility. I peeked through the doorway from the shop to see what was in process that day. 

 

The shop is small but packed full of different types of fibers in a rainbow of colors. It was tough to choose, but I settled on two skeins of their Alpaca Elegance; one in a grayish purple and the other a dark green. This fiber is a 2-ply DK weight made of 50% alpaca from New England and 50% wool from Targhee (a cross between Rambouillet and Columbia sourced from herds along the Front Range of the Rockies).

I was so excited to get into the store that I didn't notice the beautiful display in the entrance. Look at all of those pompoms! This pompom make was definitely impressed. 

I can't wait to make something from this yarn! And I have a feeling I'll be heading back for more...