new stuff at the shop - yarn & wheels

Greetings and defenestrations!  In the last week at the shop I have gotten in a new yarn from Feza - Festival.  Festival is a fingering to sport weight yarn with a lovely haze and a twist of glitz.  It would be perfect for a slightly dressy scarf, but the white would be especially nice for a bridal shawl or elbow-length mitts.  At $6.50 and 280 yards per ball, this is an inexpensive way to get some dressy yarn into your life.

Also new - two Schacht Sidekicks have arrived.  It is absolutely amazing how cleverly engineered this wheel is - everything serves a dual purpose for the wheel's folded position and working position.  And it spins like a dream, almost as well as the Matchless.  The bobbins for the Sidekick are interchangeable with all other Schacht wheels, so you can spin on your Matchless at home and then take the same project on the road with your Sidekick.

New from Circular solution - Port-a-Pockets and Knitters' Nest.  The Port-a-Pockets are small pouches with an elastic strap that can be hung over your arm, or detached (velcro is wonderful stuff) and put through a belt loop.  Then you can wander around and knit on a small project, such as socks.  It has three outer pockets, too, so you can carry a few extra tools.

The Knitters' Nest is a bag with four compartments so you can place a ball or skein of yarn in each.  For instance, if you are making a school colors anything, you can have multiple balls of each color in the Nest.  Let's say you are demented enough to be knitting with four colors at once - this would be an excellent aid to that end.  Even if you are only knitting with one color, this bag will keep your yarn in one neat, clean spot.

Another new thing at the shop - the newest Interweave Knits has arrived.

Photos at right are of a woven color study my friend Karlyn did for me years ago.  I had seen one at her home and was so enamored of it that she made one for me that Christmas.  The warp is done in the color spectrum, and the weft is done identically.  The photos do not do the colors justice (cheap camera) but this is not only lovely to look at, it is also a great tool for weavers who wonder what two colors will look like woven together - with either as warp or weft.  (Alas, the website won't let me turn this photo 90 degrees to upright....)

Purls of wisdom: illegitimati non carborundum (come to the shop for a translation)