Dandelions are growing... and not just in my yard! But this is a GOOD dandelion. As in the lovely little yarn from Madelinetosh. YUMMY! 

A sweet little fingering weight yarn, Dandelion mixes soft merino with 10% fine linen to make a super spring/summer yarn. Working with it for the first time, I am loving the light and airy quality to the yarn. Definitely feels like something I would like to wear when it is warm and spring-y outside! The drape is already really nice and nothing has been blocked yet! I'm super excited to see how it goes with the blocking process and how the final garment fits/drapes. It's always an experiment to me! 

I have a vision for the straps/top portion. Buuuuut have never done anything like it before. So I'm flying blind here people. Which is why I'm not telling you what it is. Let's just wait and see if I can make it work first! :) 

So here's the Dandelion label for you all to check out:

Like I said... I love it. As far as reviewing it goes... many thumbs up! But I am reserving final thoughts until after it is blocked! Which I am betting will just make it better and better!

While on my road trip, I had the chance to stop into a little yarn shop in Abilene, TX called Yarnies. SO CUTE!!! The shop is great... but I am a little miffed... since I used to live there and there was NO local yarn shop THEN! Boo! :( But it's super great that she's opened up shop for all the wonderful knitters/crocheters in the area. 

As I walked in, the owner, Linda Nygaard, was at a table in the back teaching knitting to two lovely ladies. She was very sweet and from what I heard - a great instructor. I got to visit with her for a bit and she is as sweet and welcoming as her shop. Linda also let me know about all the special events that she has for her customers. Including trips to the wineries - to taste, knit and chat! - reopening late in the evening for wine and knitting - and opportunities at any time to come and join in the instruction around the table! I'm sure there was much more that I am forgetting! She is building a really nice yarn community there in Abilene! I wish I stilled lived there so I could join in! :)

Linda has a great selection of yarns and it's a fun store to browse through. Open, airy and light. You should stop by if you are in town or even close to the area! And if you live there?? YOU should definitely go join in the activities! 

Of course I couldn't resist buying some yarn while there. That I totally didn't need. But yarn calls to me and I especially like supporting the LYS while I am there. I bought a skein of Blue Heron Yarns Bamboo Lace. I haven't worked with any Blue Heron Yarns... so thought this would be a fun one to play with. I couldn't resist it's soft bamboo-ness. Yep... that's a word! haha.

I also LOVED the colorway - it's so subtle. I typically don't work with laceweight yarns because it takes FOREVER for make anything. I know... I'm horrible...but I like the instant gratification of larger yarns! But this one was special and so I made an exception. I am envisioning something drapey and light for summer. Tank? Probably. 

I have no idea when I'll get to this little beauty... but wanted to show it off while telling you about Yarnies. So you'll be seeing it again SOMETIME in the future...

Interested in stopping by Yarnies?? Here's all the info that you need:

Website: www.yarniestexas.com
Address: 2506 S. 7th Street Abilene, Texas 79602
Phone: 325-455-5463
Owners: Linda and Rick Nygaard

If you stop by, let Linda know I sent you! 

Do you have a LYS that you just love? Share in the comments section - Anaid readers live everywhere and maybe we'll learn of a new fabulous place! Let us know where you shop, knit, and chat! :)

I have strayed again. Gone right off the tracks and headed in a whole new direction. Which, lets face it, is sometimes the absolute best thing. Especially for an artist. When an idea hits you... sometimes now is better than later. 

My new design was like that. I had a thought. And then realized that a yarn that I had stashed was PERFECT for it. And then I got that itch. The one where you can't keep your hands from reaching for that new skein of yarn. Even though you have six unfinished projects staring you in the face. Yep, that itch.

So I have been knitting like a possessed woman. I can't put the needles down - I so want to bring this design into the world. And possibly wear it before it gets too hot here! We are already in the 60's this week. 

Enough build up! Let me introduce the yarn to you. Which really needs no introduction probably.... Madelinetosh! OH OH Madtosh. How we love you! And I had the pleasure of working with Tosh Vintage for this project. I LOVE IT. Truly. Of course I have yet to run into a Madelinetosh yarn that I don't adore. Annnnddd I think everyone else in the knitting world is right there with me on that one! Let's just say if you haven't tried one of the Madelinetosh yarns yet... you MUST do so. Immediately. Stop reading this and go get you some. Any kind will do. They are all fab! 

Back to Tosh Vintage. It's so fun. Here are some photos. My yarn is in color Chicory. I was expecting a darker color based on the photos online... but it's actually a really cool mix of denim-y colors. Very awesome.

I know! SO many photos - it's really hard to get the color to show accurately! Boo. But between the three of them - I think you can get the idea! 

Tosh Vintage is a worsted weight yarn. I'm working it up on US Size 8 needles and it is beautiful. Here is a swatch for you:

And actually that swatch shows the color really accurately! I should've just shown you that one! Isn't it great... I think that it will look so amazing with any color of jeans. I'm excited! 

Here's the label for you to see all the particulars: 

And of course, this is Madelinetosh we are talking about so the color choices are beyond yummy. They currently have a whopping 115 color choices for their Tosh Vintage... so I can't really show them ALL to you here. But you can check them all out on their website at www.madelinetosh.com

As always... stay tuned for the project. To come SOON. I have the body of the work done now. And just have the sleeves to do. Uh oh... sleeves. BUT I am bound and determined to finish this quickly. NO getting sidetracked from the sidetrack project! HA! 

Continuing on with my recent yarn shipment, now I am working with a skein of Baah Aspen yarn. This is a 75% merino, 15% silk, and 10% cashmere yarn blend. 

Risking sounding like I just LOVE every yarn that comes my way... this yarn is pretty spectacular! I am actually thrilled that I love two new yarns in the same shipment. Honestly that doesn't happen often for me. I am very very particular about what my yarns feel like. Any roughness at all is simply not tolerated by my skin. So I have hit the jackpot with another fabulous yarn! 

Here it is: (yes, already half gone...)

Faced with this ONE skein of great yarn... I didn't know what to do! I really didn't want another cowl. They are great... but I feel like those and hats are all I do with these one-skein-wonders. So I decided to pair it up with another yarn I had waiting in my stash.  

Enter Quince & Co. Finch (in color Carrie's Yellow - seen the background of the above photo). I had a very generous supply of this (14 skeins!) and so decided to do a sweater with the Baah Aspen yarn as an accent. I just love the color combo of blue and yellow --- so vintage!

Now that I am about 3/4 of the way through this sweater... I am loving it! And the Aspen yarn is really making me want to order a whole lot more... enough for a sweater all on its own! And look at all these colors to choose from:

Aspen is a great sport weight yarn - just right for lighter weight sweaters. And honestly one of my favorite weights to work with for sweaters! Not too thin, not too thick, juuuuust right! 

The silk in the blend gives the yarn a nice drape and smoothness in the hand. While the cashmere lends the extra softness that you would expect. All in all a great yarn for just about any wearable project. 

Between the Aspen and the Classy with Cashmere - the Classy takes the cake for softness. But is going to give you more bulky squooshiness (yeah that's a word! haha) whereas the Aspen will give you the nice drape for a more elegant sweater. 

Here's a shot of it worked up in the pattern that I am using in the sweater - nice stitch definition and very silky when blocked. This was worked on US size 6 needles (as the yarn label suggests). It's very drapey at this size needle - you would definitely need to size down your needles if you wanted the garment to have more structure. 

And here is the label for you:

So far, I am giving this yarn an A - for feel, wearability, and stitch definition. 

I will post more on the sweater that is in the works - but will tell you that the Aspen is doing a marvelous job on the cowl neck and the pocket inserts. So pretty and soft! 

Let me know if you have worked with it before and your thoughts on it. Especially how it wears over time. I am always interested to see how the yarns do after many wears! 

There's something about this color combo that makes me think of Apple picking. So why not name it the Apple Picking Shawl? Makes sense to me! And it's the perfect fall weight! 

I am in love with this combo of yarns. The Dream Classy with Cashmere is so lofty and squishy soft while the Knit Picks Palette is thin and smooth. They play off of each other beautifully and lend a perfect weight to the shawl. Not too heavy but still soft and snuggly! 

I choose to work up just a basic triangular shawl with alternating stripes of garter stitch and stockinette stitch. And with the alternating yarns as well. Well. I love it. It's very simple but just so wearable! Add a couple of tassels at the ends for a little 'ta-da' finish and this is a piece that I know I will grab-on-the-go over and over this fall. 

And I've got to say.... the Dream Classy with Cashmere is one of my new favorites. Trying new yarns doesn't always work out so well. You know what I mean. I find that there really are precious few (so far) that I keep going back to. I am thrilled to be expanding my resources! And you will definitely get to hear about the rest of the Dream line in the future. Can't wait to try them all! 

Have you worked with any of the Dream yarns? What are your thoughts? Leave your experiences in the comments section! I'd love to hear from you! 

Keep an eye out for the Apple Picking Shawl pattern! I'll be writing it and taking photos asap. I will let you know as soon as it is ready to publish! 

A few days ago, I received my newest shipment of yarn - which I shared here. And I chose this one to be my first victim. Um, inspiration. 

This is Dream Yarn's Classy with Cashmere in color Chinatown Apple. I've never worked with any of the Dream yarns in the past so this was all new to me. And I have to say... I will DEFINITELY be a repeat customer for this yarn! And am now pretty excited to try their other lines as well.  Here's their yarn lineup (captured from their website):

You can see they have a nice comprehensive selection of weights... and all those drop dead hand dyed colors. YUM. I'm pretty sure I need every. single. one. of them! 

I have only one skein of the yarn so my options for design are limited. But when ordering a new yarn online I always just get one skein to 'test'. Good to know I like it before spending oodles of moola on enough yarn for a sweater or what have you. 

Here is the label from the yarn - so you can see yardage, gauge, etc. for yourself. It's a standard worsted weight. 

Yes, there is a pretty famous song that says it's about the bass... but in my world it is ALL about that YARN! 

OH look at the loveliness! I've got TWO kinds of sweet, sweet Madelinetosh - tosh vintage and pashmina. A skein of Swans Island, a skein of Dream Classy with cashmere and a skein of Baah Aspen. Besides the Madelinetosh pashmina, these are all new yarns for me to work with. And I am excited!!!! 

I will be doing a show and tell on each of the yarns and my own personal review too. Plus you'll get to see what new designs I'm working on with each! 

Stay tuned! :) 

Yes, I dumped the bag of yarn in my lap to snuggle and fondle! And Yes, I do have green hair in this picture. It happens. :)