I’ve been working on some Google maps of yarn stores in several states.  I’ve recently added the Illinois and Wisconsin store maps to the links in the sidebar.  Since I started the maps for me, the red/pink pins are for stores that I have visited, purple pins are for stores I have not visited.  I have one additional map in the works and will post it soon.

If you have updates for the maps, contact me via comments or at blog@twistedloops.com.

This is the first post in a new series.  On Wednesdays, I’ll be featuring items from the web that I enjoy.  The items could be blogs, websites, podcasts, videos, or anything else I stumble upon.  My Web Wednesday series may not always be knitting related.

NPR Sunday Puzzle with Will Shortz

What can I say?  I love puzzles - crosswords, sudoku, word games - the type doesn’t really matter, I love them all.  Will Shortz produces some of the best puzzles created today.  He’s the crossword editor for the New York Times and the author of many puzzle books.  He does a short puzzle show, about 10 minutes or less, on NPR on Sunday mornings.  The entire puzzle is available as a podcast.  If you love puzzles and don’t know the Sunday Puzzle, go check it out.

Here it is, finished and ready to be shipped to Denver.

Pattern: Own - (cables from Interweave Knits Winter 2006, A Cardigan for Arwen)
Yarn: Cascade Bollicine Holiday (70% Superwash Merino / 30% Acrylic), 136yards / 125m
Quantity: 10 balls, 1360 yards / 1250m
Color: 22 (Red)
Needles: US 6 from Denise Kit
Size: 30 inches wide by 36 inches long

Started: March 2007
Completed: May 23, 2007

The blanket is finally finished, and I can’t stop smiling.  It’s getting a quick run through the laundry before I pack it up and send it off.  Pictures will be posted soon.

The new baby has been here for 3 weeks, and her blanket is not done yet.  I’ve woven in the ends.  I’m on the final ball of yarn.  I’m on the final portion of the border.  Yet, this blanket feels like it will never end.  Perhaps this is why I usually don’t knit for gifts, the impending deadlines make knitting feel more like work and less like fun.

I’m usually a fairly faithful knitter.  Usually, I have only a primary project and a pair of socks being knitted at any one time.  Many times, it’s just the pair of socks.  Since I started this blanket back in March, it is the only project I’ve worked on.  I did not even start a pair of socks because I knew the deadline would approach too quickly… and then there was the incident with the mandolin.  That incident sidetracked me for a few weeks. 

I’m not trying to make excuses for my project, but I now find myself thinking continuously about the next project to start.  I’m thinking that I may finally cast on for a significant lace project.  Perhaps casting on for the Diamond Triangular Shawl from Orenburg Lace Design Collection?  I’ve wanted to try lace on this scale (thin yarn/tiny needles) for some time, and I think the time is now.  There aren’t many of them out there in blogland, but knackfulknitter seems to have finished one just yesterday.  Lace for the summer would be fun.  I’ve volunteer to show/teach other members of KTog about lace knitting.  The two projects would coincide nicely.  Hopefully, I’ll have to decide soon, because I’ll finally finish the blanket.

Last Saturday, Kelly, Melissa and I headed out for some yarn adventures.  Our first stop was at The Fold, in Marengo, IL.   While we were there, I picked up this lovely gray ball of Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb.  It’s only about 825 yards of a very fine laceweight, and it has no associated project yet.  I’ll have to go diving into the pattern library to see how far I can stretch it.  I also purchased two skeins of sock yarn.  The first is Socks that Rock mediumweight in the Pebble Beach colorway.  The other skein is Trekking XXL in color 180.  I’ve not used the Trekking before, so I’m excited to try it out.

Here are photos of the two skeins I purchased last month while in Denver.  The first is the Merino-Tencel blend that I purchased from Skaska Designs.  The color is hard to capture in a photo.  It’s a beautiful brown/black color, with a lot of shine and highlights. 

When I returned from Denver last month, a local yarn store was having a 50% store closing sale.  When I got there, it turns out she’s decided not to close the shop after all, but was still honoring the sale.  I picked up this lovely Lane Borgosesia Merinos Sei in an olive color.  I also purchased two skeins of Lang JaWoll in a Gray Marl/Tweed.

A few weeks back from Denver and I still haven’t posted my thoughts.  Overall, I’d rate the conference as OK – Not fabulous, not horrible, just OK. 

I really enjoyed the Overture to Orenburg-style Knitted Lace class with Galina Khmeleva.  There were only four of us in class.  We discussed Galina’s history with Orenburg lace, importing it to the United States, and her business.  We discussed the history of lace in the Orenburg region, and the techniques and equipment used in the creation of that lace.  We even got to hear stories of “Galina the Terrible”.

Galina brought a large selection of knitting for us to look at.  We compared hand knit shawls from hand spun yarn to machine knit shawls from machine spun yarn.  She brought a large bag full of shawls for us to look at, touch and admire.  My favorite was the cashmere warm shawl she brought – knit from a pound of handspun cashmere.  I so wanted to take that one with me; it was so warm and soft.

I was a disappointed in my class with Nancy Bush, Overture to Estonian Lace.  I think the primary reason that I enjoyed Galina’s class more than Nancy’s has to do with my own personal approach to knitting.  I’ve never really been afraid of learning/trying knitting techniques.  Every time that I have taken a class, I felt like I’ve wasted money – that I could have learned the technique on my own.  In Nancy’s class, we spent most of the time working on our small sampler, and I felt like I spent 6 hours in class learning something I could have easily taught myself. 

In my class with Nancy Bush, I was bit surprised by the attendees.  I spent a good part of the first hour listening to Nancy talk to and about Ann, who sat in front of me.  While the class knit the first part of the class project, Ann and Nancy chatted about the types of complaints they get from knitters.  They were discussing complaints they receive about their books regarding socks and sizing – and it dawned on me who Ann was – Ann Budd.  Yes, I was sitting in class behind the former editor of Interweave Knits, editor of a whole slew of knitting books.   On the other side of the room sat Margaret Stove, who was the keynote speaker at the conference.  We never introduced ourselves to the class, so who knows what other knitters lurked among us.  Needless to say, I felt a bit underqualified for class.

Nancy also brought a large bag full of shawls for the class to look at.  I really liked both the Silvia and Crownprince lace patterns.  There isn’t much I can find online about these patterns, so I really hope Nancy includes them in the Estonian Lace book that she is working on.

As for the vendor market, I did a good job of keeping my spending in check.  I bought a beautiful skein of merino/tencel laceweight from Galina.  What am I thinking buying yarn that is 3100 yards per 100 grams?  That’s 1.76 miles of yarn in a skein that is normally the size I equate with a pair of socks.  Plus, I purchased yarn from her at Stitches Midwest last year that I still haven’t used.  I did splurge on a very tiny skein of laceweight qivit.  It is the 75/15 QMS from Caryll Designs.  Any ideas for what to do with 300 yards of laceweight?