Fibre East Goodies

Back for the next instalment of Fibre East 2014, today I'm sharing with you some of my purchases. It's probably just as well that I don't go to that many yarny events, or I'd be broke!! But when you're surrounded by such delectable delights, it's very hard to resist! Some of the yarn I bought specifically for swaps, or to knit into gifts, so I'm not going to share those with you yet. But fear not, there's plenty for you to feast your eyes on!!!

Where to start? Well, how about an old favourite - The Natural Dye Studio?! They used to be my most local indie dyers until relocating to Devon. I love the beautiful colours that Amanda and her daughter Daisy dye using all natural dyes. Snoopydog and I both treated ourselves to a kit to crochet a scarf! Now neither of us has what I would call great crocheting skills, so this is going to be a bit of a challenge for us! Something to get our teeth into this winter perhaps?

While browsing the stands of yarn, I couldn't resist this pretty skein of Godiva 4ply yarn - it's a single spun merino and I've heard very good things about it on Ravelry.

I bought some fibre from Easy Knits when I was at Woolfest, but this time I was seduced by a lovely new yarn - a deliciously soft marled yarn, made up of a mix of 50% light grey alpaca and 50% extra fine merino.I ended up with two skeins - one purple and the other grey. I think they will make perfect cosy cowls or infinity scarves. Whimzy also had a stand at the show - it took me back to the heady days of Knit Nation when Alice was selling her Sokkusu yarns. Ling has taken over the business and now trades under the new name, although the yarn base is still the same. A skein of sock yarn demanded to come home with me, so how could I say no?! Lastly in this batch, a new dyer to me - Fleabubs by Lala. I just loved the colours and the sparkle in this skein, perfect for a pair of pick-me-up socks when it's all grey and cold this winter.

Another new find was Fivemoons and I could have spent a small fortune here - lots of luxury blends as well as the more hard wearing merino/nylon mix, and just utterly beautiful colours. I bought a skein of Diana 4 ply which is a mix of 50/50 merino and silk in the colourway called Flump in a Tutu! I love that name!! I also bought two sets of mini skeins gradient dyed to knit some socks. 

My last yarn purchase is some Drops Alpaca yarn which I hope is going to work alongside my handspun yarn from the Tour de Fleece to knit a stripy cardigan. It's the recommended yarn for the pattern and was surprisingly cheap at around £3 a ball. Once I've finished plying up the yarn, I'll be able to swatch them together and see how they look together.

I first saw Freyalyn's fibre at last year's Fibre East and as soon as I saw the colours glinting and gleaming, I knew I wouldn't come home empty handed! I bought two packs of BFL (one black and the other oatmeal) and silk. One colourway is Iris and the other is Silver Sky. I am itching to spin them.......

Last, but by no means least, some beads and buttons. Some metallic brown beads for my Purple Passion cotton yarn, some cute pink kitten buttons and three beautiful ceramic buttons.

So, all I have to do now is make sure I've knitted/crocheted everything before going to Fibre East next year! Yeah, right!! I'll be back soon to tell you about my spinning class. xxx