10.09.2014

yarndale scores

Yarndale haul After my last post about Yarndale a few of you asked to see what I bought, so here goes! I got quite the bagful of yarn and goodies but I can't post it all here because half of it is gifts for a few of my fellow yarn lovers. This is just what I picked up for myself. It looks like my willpower took a bit of a day off, but I assure you this is the result of much self restraint. I wish I could have gotten more, there was so much great stuff!

First thing's first - the yarn!
Yarndale haul As soon as I laid eyes on this Rainbow Heirloom color Killer Flamingo it was basically game over. I knew if I bought one thing in the whole place it would be this yarn. All of their yarns are super saturated, definitely follow that link if you like color. So this is a weird reference, but remember in the late 80s early 90s when that transparent pink vinyl was everywhere; barrettes and costume jewelry, Barbie clothes, etc? Well it looks like that if you looked at it edgewise, how it glowed a pink orange that didn't make sense. This yarn glows. It's a pinky peach and you can see very subtle variations within the skeins because it is hand dyed. It's a DK/Worsted weight 100% superwash merino hand dyed in Edinburgh, Scotland. Super cush, I'm thinking this might be one of those precious yarns I take forever to decide what to use it for. If only they'd had another skein or two, I'd have made an absolutely epic sweater with it!

The yellow is Jillybean Yarns heavy worsted weight mixed British fleece in Greengage. It's "British wool, British spun, Hand painted". The wool feels rough and tough and I imagine it would be perfect for a gnarly cowl or some sort of hard wearing warm outer layer, kind of like what you need to wear here in England pretty much always. I got to feel a finished garment knit with it and it seems to soften up a decent amount after blocking which is always good. I'm excited to turn it into something I can wear while riding around Philly in the winter. Plus the color. You guys know me, I have a weakness that goes to the bones for this color.

*I realize the pictures look insane and really edited, the colors are so bright they kind of fouled out my picture taking devices. The colors are right on though, crazy but true.

Now for the tools!
Yarndale haul I like buying second hand and I like nice things that will last. What says "I will last" better than second hand? Nothing. When I ever saw there was a whole booth full of vintage tools I just about died. It was like your Grandma's absolutely rad tool arsenal many times over. Everything was beautiful. While wandering around being dazzled by the things in there, Db found a cache of row counters and picked out the best ones for me! I'd been on the hunt for a particularly cool row counter for a while and these were it, thanks Db! They're Milward "Ro-Tally" row counters produced in the 1950s and were made in England. Apparently they were the first ever barrel style row counters and were made in response to the baby boom requiring more hand knitting. How neat is that? Now if we had a baby boom it would just require more iPads, our generation is disappointing. Here's the original packaging for the Ro-Tally, so so cool. Hell yeah for getting excited about the little things!

Next up, ever since I was a little girl I thought my Great great Aunt Famie's antique yard stick was the coolest thing ever, and I'd been looking for a vintage collapsible one for years. This was made by Rabone Chesterman in Sheffield, England which just happens to be where we live right now. Freakier still is the actual address of the business is the same building I have studio space in. I wondered what the complex was used for, apparently making sick rulers! It's Boxwood and brass and was made in 1967. This one isn't a yard stick, it's actually 24" which is perfect for sweater knitting. It also folds up totally different than any I've seen, making it easier to lay flat if not completely open than a typical collapsible yardstick. Isn't the font of the numbers beautiful? And lastly, a good old-fashioned wooden mushroom darner! I learned how to darn socks a while back but until now (in my sock knitting frenzy) I haven't really needed to do it. I'm positive Db is going to run through his pair this winter and now I'm ready to fix them! I so wish she had an online shop, she has some legit gear for sale.

So there is my Yarndale haul, not bad right? I'll just keep telling myself that was self restraint at work.

2 comments:

  1. Such cool stuff, the yarn looks wonderful.
    That ruler is rad,
    What a coincidence that it comes from not only the same town but same building your studio space is in!

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  2. Great finds!

    1. I can absolutely appreciate the amount of self-restraint involved here.
    2. That Rainbow Heirlooms site is trouble!!
    3. I know precisely the pink/orange crazy-bright plastic-y color you've described.
    4. The ruler is fantastic and I'm glad you pointed out the font, which I might not have noticed but which is so great. (It reminds me of when you see old letters and people had intricate handwriting that we just seem not to have anymore.) I can absolutely imagine that your Aunt Famie would've had something like it. I have only vague memories of her, but she was cool!

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