New to Me LYS

There are a lot of LYS's around here. There's the one in my neighborhood. The one off the trolley line. The snobby one. A bunch I haven't been to yet.

But yesterday, I went to what is probably going to be my favorite: Northwest Wools.

I'm not sure what it is about this place... I know it's not price. With so many LYSes in the area, price is pretty competitive (AKA The Same) across the board. But they also have a room in the back dedicated to spinning! No, I'm not even thinking about spinning yet (though the hand spindley thingies were awfully cute and very affordable... ) But you can get needle felting friendly roving for cheap here. We're talking probably four times cheaper than anywhere else.

It probably boils down to fate. One of the ladies at the store recognized the yarn I had used for my everyday scarf: ArtFiber's Kyoto (silk and mohair, need I say more?). She had also bought exactly the same color and was working on a lace scarf to show off the gorgeousness of the yarn. We both got appropriately gah-gah reminiscing on the Total Yarn P0rn that is the ArtFibers store.

Also, there's a candy store just a block down from it that carries all kinds of nostalgia candy (Nekko wafers, Skybars, Idaho Spuds, Cow Tails!). That's always a bonus.

To finish off my shopping streak, I stepped in to a card/gift/etc. shop and bought myself a Nunzilla. I couldn't help it.

Necessity's Child

I was going to title this post "What will they think of next" but some copy editor part of me was really bothered with two back to back posts with the same lead word in the title. What the heck?

Anyways. My point. Someone on my perfume forum pointed out an enterprising eBay seller playing to a very niche audience: Knitters Who Like it With the Lights Off. Oh. My. Gawd. If I weren't at work right now I'd be rolling in the aisles. If my apartment had aisles.

Have a good weekend, y'all! Mine is gonna be a l-o-n-g one. Maybe I'll finish up Cute Fuzzy Animal™ #3. Maybe even, I dunno, knit a little? Maybe? It's a mystery!

What Olympics?

So OK. I didn't join the Knitting Olympics. I just figured we wouldn't be watching it as much as we have. Also, the Knitting Love, she can be fleeting.

So what am I in to now? As per my completely-not-followed-up post from (gah!) over three weeks ago... needle felting! I found an adorable and mostly-understandable booklet in the local Japanese SuperAmazing Bookstore that Mariko of Super Eggplant fame frequents (not a stalker.... yet). I'll have to scan some pictures to post later (I promise... might be in March, but I promise!).

So here's what I've done so far (sorry for the blurry pics):


Faceless Kitty


Faceless Kitty Face -- Am I weird that I kind of like her this way?


Ack! My eye! Crafty Swap Bunny in Progress


... and finished. Almost... Disneyesque with The Cuteness.


Profile. She had a bit of a lean and a smirk at first. I got most of it worked out.


Full Body Shot

What I've learned so far: stabbing small cute fluffy blobs into small cute fluffy animals with barbed needles is very theraputic. Also, a thick foam base upon which to do said stabbing is not optional for me, it is mandatory... a fact to which my perforated left hand will attest. Yeouch. I got my two extra plush foamy stabbing surfaces and a really generous amount of off-white roving from Gnome Sweet Gnome. Excellent customer service, and very speedy shipping. I'm definitely going to be ordering more roving to fill up my stash.

I've got one more Cute Fuzzy Animal ™ in the works, and then I want to try something bizarre like a funky sculpted hat. All of the other LYS's have told me to go here for all my felty needs. What I can't get from Gnome Sweet Gnome (namely the multi needle felting tool that makes creating large swatches of felted fabric easier and less RSIer), I hope to find here. Two buses stop right in front of it! Kismet!