Surprises for Christmas

I just found out my Step-Sister will be around for Christmas.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  She and I aren't close, but we get along reasonably well.  I didn't expect her, since she'd just moved down to the States for a new job.  But apparently, things are going well enough for her that she can fly back on Christmas Eve.

Ok, awesome. . . but everyone else in my immediate family has knitted christmas gifts.  And I don't necessarily mind knitting for her.

Well, the Purple Purl's Sale worked out in my favour this year -- I got a skein of Sweet Georgia Superwash Chunky, and a set of monstrous 12.75 mm needles (I usually use 4mm or smaller!).

I've already balled it up, and unfortunately the light isn't the best, but here:

 It's actually far more of a tan colour, the light makes it look more blue.

(I got other stuff at the sale, too, but I don't have good pictures since I'm currently taking pictures with my tablet. )

I also found a (free) 1-skein cowl pattern, which is the Marian Cowl.  It actually calls for super-bulky, but I thought that might be too stiff, and besides which, I was working with what I could a) easily get my hands on and b) was superwash. 

Also, it's supposed to be worked in the round, but the only bigger needles I could find were straight needles, but I've decided I can just seam it afterwards. Yes, I hate seaming, but I can put up with it in this case.

So, my step-sister is getting a cowl, a cowl that is actually kniting up really, really fast.  I'm already 1.5 inches along with just some work on it tonight.

 Man, for instant gratification, bulky yarn and big needles can't be beat!

Black Friday Sale Haul

I want to preface this:  I don't usually get involved in the Black Friday craziness, unless something just happens to be on sale that I actually need.  And even then, unless I'm desperate, it's not worth the craziness of even attempt to try the malls and shopping centres that weekend.

Online is a little different, but even then, my -only- Black Friday purchase was this stuff from EatSleepKnit.   I try to buy most of my yarn on sale in some form -- it helps me get really nice yarn for less then it would otherwise cost, and yarn (properly stored) doesn't go bad.


So, my package came in the mail today.   My apologies for the pictures, but it's dim and grey enough here I actually need the flash, so the colours aren't quite right.

I got 1 skein of Sweet Georgia Superwash Worsted, in "Violet Hill"

This will become A River Runs Through Mitt, for a friend`s Birthday next year

I got 9 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton, in "Indigo". 

This is for a Big Honkin' Bag, for me.  I've had my eye on this for quite some time.  My current purse is beginning to fall apart, and also isn't big enough to hold my water bottle.  So I was very glad to get the yarn on sale. :)


That was all I ordered, but that wasn't all I got.  EatSleepKnit does their wonderful Yarnathon, and this purchase got me to their 20 mile surprise mark.

What was the 20 mile surprise?  Well. . .

This was one of the additional things in my box.

It's a full skein of Shibui Knits Baby Alpaca DK, in "Fjord"!

This is why I really like ESK. They're one of the few buisnesses I know that will give away entire skeins of yarn like this!  There was other awesome stuff in the box too, like a needle case, and their usual Yarn Lotto ticket (didn't win anything this time, but that's ok.).

So now I have more new yarn.  This has decided that it will be a Penobscot Scarf.  It just seemed to suit the pattern really well.

So yeah, I just got a bunch of new yarn. :)

A Pre-Boxing Day Sale

Like a good number of my previous posts, this is also, pretty much what the title says.

The Purple Purl is holding their Pre-Boxing Day Sale on Sunday the 22nd.

All the details are in their Newsletter Post. But basically, everything's 20% off (with a few exceptions), and you can still earn loyalty points, you just can't redeam them during the sale.

I intend to go, money and time allowing.  I have a shopping list of yarns I can get at the Purple Purl, and so I might as well get them on sale.


Sadly, my purchases at the upcoming Purple Purl sale probably not be as much as I got at their Summer Sale, simply because there's less on my shopping list, and I'm trying to compact what stash I do have (it's creeping out of its cupboard and I'm not happy with that).  I am, however, thinking of picking up a couple of skeins of the Juniper Moon Findley laceweight (because laceweight takes up a lot less space, and I have several projects I'd like to do in it!)

Ravelry Re-organization and Purple Purl Purple Sale!

So I've embarked on an ambitious task:  I want to re-organize and clear out my Ravelry Queue. 

It's a challenge, considering that I basically stuck any pattern that caught my fancy into my queue.  Now it's gotten way too long and unwieldy, so it's getting chopped down to size and most of the stuff is going into the favorites.

. . . this is going to take a while, considering it's 64 pages long, and that's after chopping it down already.

But, it's an ongoing battle.

In other news, the Purple Purl is having a Purple Sale. (Try saying that three times fast!)  It's just at the bottom of the newsletter link, and it's this weekend (Saturday, November 16th).  There will also be food, and, if you donate non-perishable food to their food bank drive, there are prize draws. :)

I'm going to try and go.  I want some Classic Elite Yarns Solstice (which is being discontinued, which -sucks-), to make a Sakura Tee, so I'm going to see if I can pick some up in a shade of purple. Usually I wouldn't grab yarn for a pattern this early, but since this is being discontinued, I want to grab it while I can.

Also, if money allows, I'll get a skein of Silver Label. Last time I was there, they still had some in the "Grape" colourway, which is both purple, and very pretty.

Eat.Sleep.Knit's Yarn Sale

My apologies for not blogging about this sooner, but EatSleepKnit is having an overstock sale.  They've still got some colours left, if you'd like to check them out.

The reason I remember this today is that my order came today with Shibui Knits Heichi, in "column".

It's not something I would have usually bought, but it was a Power Boost yarn at 20% off.  I can find a use for it, I'm quite sure. (And I got 5 dollars of store credit on the Yarn Lotto that came with it too, so that makes it even better.)

I still have on order from their overstock sale a skein of Claudia Silk Lace in "Argyle",  6 skeins of Manos del Uruguay Maxima in "Fire" for a next year's Christmas Present (see, I -do- plan ahead sometimes, I swear!) and a skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes in "Mullberry", also for a next years Birthday. 

It's only some colours that are on sale, but their sale list is here, if you want to check it out.  A lot of their yarns on sale are also power boost yarns, and that does stack, if there's something you want.

My other current knitting challenge is revising my Ravelry Queue, tagging it all, and moving most of it into my Favorites, so that it's all sorted for next year.  My queue's just gotten too unwieldy. 

Yarn Haul!

So, I went to the Purple Purl's sale, and came back with quite a nice haul of yarn and pattern books.

I got 5 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Sock for an Entrelac Scarf,   I meant to grab the heavyier-weight Silk Garden, but this should work just fine.

(I swear, this pattern is cursed, this is the second time I've grabbed the wrong weight of yarn for it!)

Anywyay, I also got 8 skeins of Classic Elite Yarns Solstice, for a t-shirt,

 

A bunch of different colours of Spud & Chloë Fine, for another pair of Woman's Fair-Isle Gloves. It's the same pattern I'm using for the Birthday Gloves, but this pair is going to be for me! 

 

And some Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label for a pair of basic mittens that will be a Christmas Gift.

 

Finally, I got some Dye-Version Bamboo Fingering, in the custom colourway dyed up for the Purple Purl.   This is the only yarn I don't have plans for, but it's been calling my name for a while.  It will become something awesome, I'm sure, especially with the two new lace pattern books I got on sale, as well.

(Edit:  I've found a pattern for this -- it's the June Bunnies Shawl.  I think it will work nicely with the yardage I've got.)

And, along with all that, like I mentioned, I got two lace pattern books I've had my eye on on Ravelry for quite some time.  The first is 'A Gathering of Lace' and the second is 'Arctic Lace' 

I've already got plans for several patterns in there. 

All in all, it was a pretty good day.  I got a lot of good stuff for cheap, and I won't need to buy yarn again for a -long- while (though I do have some plans that require some Briggs and Little Regal -- might be time for a call to the Briggs and Little mill soon. . . .)

Yarn Sale at The Purple Purl!

So, I found out this morning that the Purple Purl is having a sale.  Specifically, they're having their "We don't want to count the Inventory Blowout!"

Details are here, as well, but in summary:

25% off most of their regular stuff.  One day only (Sat, August 10th).  Some stuff will be more then 25%, but you'll have to go in-store to find out.  They also comment that their seating won't be available during this time (I'm now imagining armchairs full of yarn!)

Oh, and if you collect their reward points, you can't redeem them during the sale, but you'll still collect them.


I'm intending to go.  I don't have oodles of money right now, (new job, yes, but no pay until August 31st just due to how their payroll works) but I still want to see if I can get a couple of skeins of Tanis for some more Christmas knitting.  If I'm very lucky with my yarn budget, I might even get a couple of skeins of Spud and Chloe Fine for a pair of gloves I've been planning for myself.  

Since I usually do try to buy yarn on sale, this is perfect.

Hope to see some familiar faces there!

P.S. If you are in the Toronto area and haven't been to the Purple Purl before, you really should. It's actually quite a nice place, and their yarn selection is awesome.   They're right on the Queen streetcar, too, (or you can take a bus down from Donlands Subway) so they're not too hard to get to.  I don't drive, so I can't speak to the street parking, sorry!

Sale Timing and my Bad Luck

So I went to The Knit Cafe tonight for their Knit Night.

I often go there, Knit Night is a great motivation and a chance to hang out and be social while knitting. (That and their tea is awesome, plus they stock these organic fizzy lemonades that I love!) 

When I went tonight, they had a sale on.  There were 5, 10 and 15 dollar remnant bins, and most of their regular stock was 15% off.  It runs until this Sunday, so if you get the chance, go in and take a look!

Unfortunately, it came at a bad time for me, since I get money at the end of the month, and the sale will be over by then.   The even more sucky thing is that I actually have several projects planned using the Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton, which the Knit Cafe does sell. (They sell both the Worsted Cotton and the Skinny Cotton).  I would have loved the chance to pick some up on sale.   That's how I try and buy a lot of my yarn -- wait until it goes on sale, and this time I completely missed my chance.

Oh well.  I still have lots of other things to knit, and there will be other sales.