Why yes, it IS sparkly!

Monday night, Veronica from Dream in Color brought a boatload of her dyeing seconds to share with (well, sell to, but at deeply discounted prices!) our Stitch n' Bitch. There were several different yarn weights, from lace to bulky, and some truly great colors. With all those skeins laid out on the table and people grabbing up favorite colors left and right, it was a very fun time. There was even a box full of $5 skeins, collected because of semi-splotchy dye jobs, under- or overtwist, or being a bit light on yardage. Well, what I managed to pull out of that box was magical.

It's at least 450 yards, and I'm guessing it's a bit more than that since I had to wind it into 2 yarn donuts. There is great depth of color in shades of wine, plum, and fig. I am torn between socks and some sort of shawl; if I choose socks, I'll have plenty leftover for a hat, which is a tempting option. On the other hand, a shawl in this colorway would be to die for. I'll have to do some more thinking.

Next there were some skeins that were in perfectly good shape but were basically part of test dyeing for the next season's line. I managed to get a small sweater's worth of Starry in chocolate brown. Something about the silver with this neutral makes me smile. I'm gathering pattern options over on Ravelry, and I'll share my thoughts with you soon.

And last but not least, a fellow knitter had brought along all her merchandise from an event where she had been selling things earlier. She very kindly let me dig through her giant bins and choose this sock yarn.

Deep navy-purple fingering weight with shots of goldenrod? Yes, please! This is another monster skein, which will be enough for really tall socks or socks plus a hat or socks plus armwarmers or really anything I can think of. I'm excited to get knitting. Here's a link to her Etsy shop, Carpool, where you can find her handspun, some hand-dyed yarns, and various finished products.

All in all, these are somewhat unusual color choices for me (you know how I usually stick with brights and things in the family of blue or pink), but it just means my spring projects will be a bit darker and a bit more purple!

Tonight I'm hosting friends for a St. Patrick's Day meal, complete with corned beef, cabbage, and plenty of beer. I hope you're wearing green today :)