I did finish the hat before my mom left for Scotland. Yarn chicken was a factor but (as you see in the picture) I did have enough to finish off the hat and weave in ends. She’s already texted that it’s been warm and useful on her trip so it feels like a worthwhile knit.

I also finished my balloon doggy! He was also a satisfyingly quick knit. Now he lives on my desk at work.

Finally, the Carolina Fiber Festival was this past weekend. I had signed up for a “socks that fit” class and really enjoyed it. It was very informative on how to make socks that meet your needs. It turns out my ankle size to foot diameter is hugely different so that’s why I was having so much trouble getting my socks to fit correctly. I’m looking forward to knitting some socks and modifying the pattern she gave us. I will say, the instructor (Amie Palmer of the local yarn store Freeman’s Creative), remembered me from the time I attended a troubleshooting session with her. She even mentioned the project I’d been working on (which I did not finish) as her way of remembering me. It was two color brioche and I was struggling. I wrote about it here and here.

As for shopping, I did stay in budget but I may have toed the line a little bit. I was lucky that my parents paid for watching their cat and I had the extra money to add into the budget this year.

I got yarn for three different projects, a bag, some art/postcards, and a wool blanket/pad for the cat to sleep on.

When I got home I started on a new project with the McMullin Fiber Co Suri Silk right away. I want to make the Wispy Shawl by Joji Locatelli with it. However, I discovered that this yarn bleeds like no other I’ve worked with. Even winding it up left me with deeply green fingers.

I’ve been emailing with the dyer and I have to say that I’ve been very impressed with the response. As unfortunate as it is to have such leakage, the dyer has been responsive and helpful. Very much a positive customer service experience. She’s working now to check the other greens and see if they bleed as well but I’ve had an idea and I emailed earlier today to ask about other color options. We’ll see what she says.