Estes Park Wool Market

It is Sunday and I am recovering in woolly bliss from the Estes Park Wool Market. It's an explosion of color and fiber surrounding by an estrogen-raving environment of knitters, crocheters, spinners, and just basic lovers of all things wool, cotton, silk, bamboo, cashmere, etc.

A felted helicopter -- ingenious! 

Yes, I bought stuff even though my finances shouldn't really allow it, but it's only once a year, right? I prefer to look at it at what I didn't purchase, okay? I resisted the ultra-soft vicuna skein in cream which was $99.00, lace-weight brown buffalo yarn at $60.00, not to mention the small tiny cake-like ball of tan qiviut which is like holding a pre-heated cloud about the size of a golf ball. I read once the qiviut yarn is 8 times warmer than wool, and all you have to do is hold onto it to realize that might be true. I think that golf ball was $55.00.  It didn't buy any of those, so I 'done good.'

100% Baby Alpaca from Bliss Ranch Wool
in red, navy blue and pink

I find that I have color moods, which is usually purple, but this year, I found myself drawn to pinks and reds. Maybe that's because every time I picked up a skein of purple yarn, I thought "I have this already at home." I used to think "I better buy this now because I'll never see it again." I guess I have hit the tipping point that I have more in my stash than I need to purchase. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Lace weight yarn 50% wool, 50% silk
from Skaska Design in coral

It also gave me chance to visit one of my favorite vendors, Skaska Designs. They have the most wonderful lace yarn and I always seem to buy something from them and talk to Galina Khmeleva (author of Gossamer Webs) who makes these wonderful lace shawls and scarves. I told her that instead of buying more lace yarn, I should just knit the lace I purchased from them five years ago ...  or four years ago ... three year, ... well, you get the picture. She said "I am so thankful that knitters don't think way!" I purchased the coral lace yarn.

52% cotton / 48% rayon from
Textiles a Manos in either
light blue or lavender,
depending on the light.

So I purchased yarn for three projects. The coral lace from Skaska will be used to make either a shawl or lace scarf, depending on what I feel at the time I finally wind it. The blue/lavender cotton rayon will be used to make a sweater. I have the pattern picked out and it will probably be on of the first projects I start with once I finished some UFOs (unfinished projects), hopefully this week. I think I purchased enough of the baby alpaca to mix and match to make five or six hats.

My Wool Market Buddies:
Amber and Zane Beach

I designed and re-designed several hats, scarves, and sweaters in my head while walking through all those aisles of fibers being bumped and jostled by bulging bags, overweight backpacks, strollers of sleeping children and full-hipped women, all with that glossy look on their faces of total bliss and anticipation. Yarn shoppers are wonderful people because as our bags knock each other slightly off balance as we pass, we laugh at each other, and then open the bags to show total strangers our newly purchased treasures as well as the detailed plans for their final endeavor.

Back to the needles.

Angora Bunny

Paco Vicuna - the softest wool ever!