I have been shopping with abandon in the past month or so. This is funded by a bonus at work and birthday cash. And so I have added some new equipment, yarn and fibre to my stash.
First off, I adopted a new eSpinner. I purchased an Ashford Super Jumbo from Susan Allen in the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild. Susan is an Ashford dealer and made the transaction really easy for me. I got the espinner in early April and I’m still getting to know her. I also ordered a 3D printed bobbin from MJFYIndiraDesign. The bobbin arrived really quickly and was really well made. I’m very happy with it.
On the same day I picked up the espinner I visited a number of stops on the Maple Run Tour. I had a fun time visiting the various stops and at one of them I stumbled across Stitch Noir‘s booth and adopted this awesome yarn.
Another tool that I have been considering investing in is a Rail Reed. The Rail Reed is a reed for a loom that lets you adjust your warp density on the fly as you are weaving. They are manufactured in Estonia and I have been thinking of getting one for months. Just after I decided to invest my money in the espinner instead of the reed, a used reed popped up on Ravelry and I was able to adopt it. I have not tried it yet but am looking forward to doing so after my current project is completed.
I also decided to invest some of my bonus from work on a bulk yarn order from Evergreen Export (aka S Silk on Facebook). I have to say that doing an international money transfer was a bit of a stressful adventure for me. But it was worth the
Next up came an email from Les Belles Bouclettes, a local Mohair farmer offering me a discount coupon for my birthday. I had purchased some washed mohair from this farm last fall and spun it up with some Gotland roving to make a delicious yarn. So I was happy to get some more fibre to play with (though I haven’t had time to wash it yet).
I received some birthday money and invested some of it in yet more fiber, this time from Adele’s Locks of Love (aka Adele Forward). There is 1 pound of Superwash Merino tencel, 1 pound of Superwash Merino and 3 pounds of Superwash Merino Nylon blend roving. (Each bag is 1 pound of dyed fiber. ) And I purchased some yarn from another Indie Dyer Fiber Pusher Fairy.
Then in early May it was time for the first fiber festival of the season The Forecast Calls for Yarn and Fiber. Early entrants to the show received a gift bag with some freebies. I saw Jan and Ann at the show and Ann was nice enough to gift me the knitting needles she received in her gift bag since she does not knit.
I got some awesome fibres. It was fun to shop from some favourite vendors including Karberry Farm, Mapi Creations and Sassy Yarns. I was especially taken with the Merino Cashmere Silk roving from Sassy Yarns. Once I felt it with my hand I could not resist it as it was amazingly soft. The rich colours are wonderful as well.
So… as you can see my stash is bulging and my wallet is empty. I am content and looking forward to using my new tools and transforming these delicious yarns and fibres into projects. Thanks for reading this long post about my various shopping exploits.