Computer and a Credit Card

I love the modern age, you could be the best of hermits, never leave your house and still fulfill all your fiber needs. Several weeks ago I bit the bullet and just went ahead and ordered the WoolLee Winder. I didn't realize that it would take almost a month to get it, it would have been nice to use it during my freedom from work, but alas, I join the work stiffs on Monday. Well it's here and I can't wait to play with it, I hope it works as well as I think it will. When it comes to spinning, I can get on quite a roll but have to stop so often to move the hook down the bobbin, at takes up time and messes up my evenness (sp?), but the new winder will take care of that. Plus, I like the idea of it winding even, no lumps, no bumps, nice and smooth. I bought cashmere at The Fold that I look forward to playing with.

I finally got my cashmere from the UK! 150 grams of laceweight, 2250 yards approximately for 20 plus 5 for shipping, what a deal! I actually paid 29, but a couple of days after I bought mine, it was put on summer sale for 20, so I wrote the company and they offered me a free cone of something else component, so I picked a cone of 4-ply camel, I haven't gotten it yet, but I expect it within the week and will post. I've never worked with camel, I look forward to it. So the cashmere is this pretty chocolate brown 2-ply with a single thread of silvery lurex, it adds a nice subtle sparkle. I've never bought brown yarn before, all my coats, shoes and accessories are black, so this a change for me, I also thought it would look nice with my hair color. I picked the laceweight to do the Sarcelle shawl pattern that has yet to be published, a friend of a friend designed it and it is the coolest looking knit pattern, I can't explain it, but it was love at first sight. I did a sample of the cashmere, 4x4, co 40 sts, on 1US bamboo dpn's, washed it and threw it in the dryer with some towels, it bloomed nicely, not as much as I was hoping, but I think that's because of the lurex. So very soft!
Saw at a friends house this really cool vintage stitch dictionary which is where I found the pebble stitch for the socks I'm working on. I liked it so much that I found one on eBay and won it for $11 with shipping. It's in great shape, has a nifty section on stitch terms in five languages, it's very inspiring. My friend Valerie has been designing some great scarves by combing several stitch patterns which I liked and I realized that I didn't really have any great stitch pattern books to work from, it is a great addition to my library. Since I've been playing around with crochet I've been looking at the books at the crafts and have not been to happy. It seems that all the really good stuff can only be found in vintage pattern books, it's like the publishers have dumbed down the patterns, made them simple and fugly. I don't see my house covered with doilies by any means, I just thought a nice border around a pillow might add a touch a femininity to things. Oh, that's Bella modeling next to the cashmere, such a good dog.