It’s relatively pricey ($18/yd) but it’s bespoke fabric!

Make your own yarn! No, this is not spinning…it’s plying.

You pick your base singles and they ply and wind it for you. Rad idea!

I think 2 days a reasonable expectation and anything over 5 is really bad service – so you can see where I’m going about the 12 days it took to ship this order. And it’s not even free shipping.

Probably won’t be ordering with them again.

Accent on Knits is on Speedwell Ave, a block off the green. The owners were very nice and you get 10% off if you are a new customer. I went there to buy some Berocco Peruvia so I can make the sweater that’s on the cover of Intraweave Knits Fall 07. I had called ahead to make sure they had it. They have the store organized by color. I find this very annoying. I knew what yarn I wanted but I had to wander around trying to find which colors they had. I guess to business owners this may seem like a way to get customers to buy more, but personally it makes me want to shop elsewhere. The store itself seems a little messy and rundown, especially compared to some of the newer posh places. I walked out with 8 skeins of peruvia in chipotle for my sweater.

I’ve decided I wanted to knit the Hemlock Ring Blanket for a wedding gift.  I don’t have anything stashed that’s appropriate so I decided to look for some Eco Wool. There are 3 yarn shops nearby that stock Cascade. Knitting Lab (cute logo!) is closed mondays.  Angelfire Studios is on the other side of town and their website says they don’t carry Eco-Wool.

So I went to Down Cellar which is on the main street in Basking Ridge. Jean was very nice and helpful and after I perused the store, she gave me some suggestions on yarns to use. They did have Eco Wool but it wasn’t that soft and while everyone online sells it for $15 they were charging $24.  For that amount  I could get something nicer. I ended up picking Cascade 128 Tweed in a taupe color. That was $12/skein and I got 4 so it was $48 – the same price that a similar amount of EcoWool would cost. I also bought a skein of Malabrigo Chunky in variegated greens and browns.

Down Cellar had some really unique yarns and some brands I’d never heard of. Sheep Shop has some lovely soft yarns that are hand painted. The colors remind me of some Manos yarns, but spun in a more refined way and with softer materials. I’d definitely go back there. One thing does bug me, I got back to work and looked online and the list price for 128 Tweed is $9.50. That’s a $2.50 markup and more than I really care to stomach. I’m generally ok with 50cents or a dollar but over 25% is pretty ridiculous to me. I guess that’s why I end up buying online so much. I would like to support local shops but I can’t see why I should be paying a premium to do so.

On a side note I went to AC Moore last night for my pastie making supplies and for some reason all of the takumi bamboo crochet hooks were on clearance. They were about $2.65 which I believe is 50% off. I have one bamboo hook and I love it so I bought one of each. When I went to pay they rang up full price, so someone had to go check and they overrode the price.

Then I realized I did have an alternative – albeit a choice I didn’t want to make. Yesterday I broke down and went to the Land of Evil (aka walmart)  to buy my zipper. I hate Walmart. I guess they won this battle.

I’m going to make some Jaywalker socks with this yarn, after I finish up Rusted Root. I’m about halfway done with the sweater.

My first stop was Knit Purl. It’s a relatively large shop with lots of different stuff. They carry ShiBui yarns – I later learned the shop’s owner started ShiBui. They had a ton of Koigu. I bought a skein of Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn and ShiBui Kid Merino in honey. Right around the corner is Josephine’s Dry Goods – a yarn store. It’s awesome, they have the most luscious fabrics. I bought a yard and a half of two Amy Butler cottons to make skirts. Then I went to a bead store and picked up some peridot tear drops for earrings I’m making.

Later that day I took the bus across the river and went to Yarn Garden in the Hawthorne district. I think this store must be knitting nirvana. There are 3 rooms at least the size of my bedroom that were floor-to-ceiling yarn. Then there’s another room that was full of books, patterns, and needles. They also have a connected cafe. The people there were very nice. I asked about bamboo yarn and was shown a whole “section” of it. Crazy! I ended up buying a ball of Crystal Palace Merino Frappe, 3 skeins of Louet Kidlin (for a wrap), and 3 balls of Classic Elite Bam Boo for a beret for my sister.
On the flight over and during my hotel downtime I’ve been working on Rusted Root. I’m glad I took the time to laminate the instructions. It’s going pretty well. I’m over 25% finished. The pattern is pretty straightforward and the way the sleeves are made is rather nifty.

I received an invite for Ravelry.com today. It’s a crochet/knitting community where you can track your stash, projects, needles, etc. It’s incredibly well done. I think I need to learn Ruby. I spent several hours this morning playing around with the site. It’s in beta so you need an invite to join.

I am thinking about getting a Kromski wheel. I definitely want a castle wheel, and I like the way they look…but how do they spin? I read enough good feedback on the darpnet to want to try one out. I probably haven’t mentioned this yet but I’ve temporarily moved to Salt Lake City for the winter! So I looked up a spinning stores in the area and found Warm Threads. They don’t have a retail store but you can make appointments to come to their studio to try wheels. I called several times and left a message but I never heard back, so I decided to try another local dealer. On the Kromski website I found Three Wishes Fiber.

I called up and spoke to the owner to see if she had any to try out. She said she had a Mazurka and was in the middle of staining a Minstrel. They were open until 6:30 and it was only 3 so I decided to head down there. It’s a large and very nice looking shop. I tried out the Mazurka and I liked the way it spun, but it felt a little tipsy to me and it was single treadle. I also tried out the Sonata as well and I really liked it but it rather large and since I don’t need a portable wheel the extra cost isn’t justified.

Kristine showed me the Minstrel she’s in the process of staining and we got a brochure to check out ratios. She was very nice and helpful and was the second person to warn me that weaving is the next step. I don’t know about that..it’s never really interested me.

Her shop is very nice. She’s got lots of fiber including painted roving and specialty stuff. There’s a whole wall of yarn on cones that I assume is for weaving, plus tons of nice  yarns. I bought a couple of skeins to make hats to keep me entertained until the rest of crafty stuff arrives from NJ.

I’m seriously contemplating a Minstrel. She said it’s a little more stable than a Mazurka and it’s double treadle.

Its $60 for
NICKEL PLATED US Sizes: 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,10.5 and 11             
CABLES 2 each of 24″ and 32″ lengths
ACCESSORIES 1 Needle Case with 6 Needle Pockets, 8 End Caps and 2 Cable Keys