The stash is getting out of control

I have to confess to a fiber-buying binge recently... I don't know what happened, but last weekend I fell hard off the fiber diet wagon. It started at the store where Caitlin works. They had this brightly colored bump of BFL from Mountain Colors. And they were having spin-in that night... and I'd magically brought my spinning wheel without being asked. Man. It was just serendipitous all the way. So I bought it, finished the alpaca that I'd been fighting with, and started spinning the new bump of fiber, even though I had brought a different braid with me, just in case. Anyway, I finished that bump this week.

Pretty, right? It's gorgeous, and it's BFL, which I adore, and I'm trying really hard to think of something luscious to knit with this. Something that will really show off the colors. Otherwise, it might have to be some kind of yarn art for a while. The colorway is called Springtime, which I think is pretty perfect, since the weather is acting pretty spring-like lately...

Then, Caitlin and I spent Saturday on a button hunt. I required buttons for the February Lady sweater that I intended (and did!) finish last weekend. Well, we ended up going to the Fancy Tiger, in Denver, which has a great selection of fibers. I may have fallen down in there, and accidentally purchased 2 braids of fiber from them.

As I mentioned, the alpaca fiber is done. It was a labor of love. You know how much I love alpaca. It's one of my favorite fibers, and it feels so pretty, and this bump of fiber had been taunting me from the top of my yarn bureau (yes, I have a yarn bureau, you don't?) since November, when I lost the battle to not purchase it in the face of a massive sale.





Alas, I fear that I'm not quite ready for non-sheep fibers. I just haven't had enough practice. By the end of the bump, I think I was doing pretty well, but starting out was painful. Anyway, the finished yarn is luscious and wonderful, but I'm not ready to get back on the alpaca for a while. (See what I did there? Like getting back on a horse, but with a fiber animal. Hahaha, I'm hilarious, I know. You don't have to tell me.) I'm thinking of turning the alpaca handspun into a cowl or hat or something that I wear next to my skin, it's so soft and pretty. I love that it's kind of an oatmeal color, and looks a little rough. We'll see what it wants to be next winter. I can't knit alpaca in the summer.

Finally, this week I found myself tempted by several braids of fiber by various online sellers. I bought a braid of merino/silk from a destash on Ravelry, and some merino/bamboo from Etsy... well, it just got me in the mood to make an effort to restrain the spinning stash. So I've made a new resolution: when at home, I'm going to spin spin spin spin spin. I finished the sweater, and haven't really got any knitting that I want/need to do until the test yarn for Mariah's chuppah (did I tell you that I'm knitting a chuppah for a Jewish wedding next summer?) comes in. Since I'm feeling uninspired on the knitting front, I shall apply my efforts to spinning. Already I've made a pretty good start, I finished the Mountain colors bump, and have started a new braid of merino.

It's very pretty, very easy to spin, and I'm enjoying it. The colorway is Rue (from the Hunger Games), and it's from Storied Yarns. Pretty awesome.

Wish me luck in keeping the new resolution. I'm really hoping I can make a dent in the stash before I run out of oomph. We'll see. Next time I'll post a picture of the new sweater, and hopefully something newly spun.