The perks of my job

I have to admit it, I have a great job. I get no health insurance, no sick days, no retirement, no nothing...but I get YARN. And in the long run, that's all that really matters, right?

I was in Columbus teaching at Knitter's Connection, where there was a lovely market. I was walking through looking for potential yarns for my new book on shawls. Buffalo Gold!! There it was, the yarn that everyone has been talking about. Expensive, soft, beautiful shades of colors as well as natural colors and blends. I introduced myself, and the gracious owners offered me any yarn in the booth. Since I did not want to take yarn that might be a potential sale right then and there, I had them send me the skeins I requested. It came today. Here is a picture of it. It is called "Lux" and is a blend of 45% American bison down/20% cashmere/ 20% silk, and 15% Tencel, all in a sofly shaded color called Mountain Berry. You can see other beautiful yarns at their website

http://www.buffalogold.net/

Another beautiful yarn I received was from Kimber Baldwin of Fiber Optic Yarns. She said to me, "Take anything you would like from the booth." Now isn't this just the height of generosity? I chose a very bright, citrus colored skein, and even started knitting the shawl.

You can see the other beautiful yarns at her website kimberba@kimberbaldwindesigns.com

She is a chemist, and really knows how to dye!!

One more thing...I met a woman who makes incredible knitting bags, and her name is Barb Parsons. I asked her if she could make a bag specifically for sock knitters who use double pointed needles. Now this is SPECIFIC! I always am loosing my point protectors, and if I don't use them, the next time I pull the sock out of the bag, parts of the stitches are always off the needles. She came up with an brilliant velcro tab system inside the bag. You insert your needle ends into the space, press the tabs down, and your needles stay put. Here is a picture of the beautiful bag she sent me. These bags are only $40, and the workmanship is incredible. You can contact her at bg@parsonsEtc.com

I know I said before "one more thing", but there is one more thing. I have 1/2 ton of yarn (literally) in my basement, which is for my business Merging Colors. This does not stop me from buying yarn. At Columbus I scored 3 skeins of 100% cashmere for a mere $18 per skein. I love yarn; I love to buy it, I love to touch it, I love to knit with it!!

Let me know if you are interested in other unique yarns that I come across in my travels. I really do like to promote the small, sole owner companies, using their yarn in my books and patterns. They work so hard to make all this gorgeous yarn for us.