Black Dog

As mentioned here yesterday (and confirmed by the ever-popular Bonne Marie), I did well when it came to sample skeins at the recent TNNA trade show. A number of vendors are very good about sharing and getting samples into the hands of decision makers and for this I’m very thankful. Here’s a peek at some of what I managed to come home with

Those are five new shades of Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight, a deliciously soft yarn we carry and look forward to restocking in the coming weeks. They’re beautiful additions to an already stunning palette, for sure.

Briggs & Little is a Canadian mill that turns out some very nummy woolen-spun yarns. They’ve introduced a new one, Soft Spun, that’s very much truth-in-advertising stuff

They gifted us with two hanks of this worsted-weight yarn and I intend to play with them a little bit to see if it would make a nice addition to our stock. The two guys in the booth were very kind and very genuine (very Canadian traits!) and this yarn will get full consideration!

Sheep Shop is a relatively new vendor for us at the shop, as we’ve added their Sheep 3 earlier this year. Fonnie, owner of the distributorship, has been FANTASTIC to us with amazing service and more, and her assistant Jessica has been awesome, too! Before this turns into a love fest, here’s some of the sample skeins they provided

That’s Sheep 1, an aran/heavy worsted yarn that comes in amazing solids and (as you can see) some stunning multis. Yes, it’s been ordered for fall delivery–full palette. I also managed to score some Sheep 2

their bulky-weight yarn that knits up quickly and comes in stunning shades as well. I can’t wait to get some of this on my needles, but I have to right now. And yes, we ordered this for fall as well (we already have a few shades on hand, actually). New for them for fall is SheepFeet, a sock yarn (YUM!) and SheepSpin, a kettle-dyed roving for spinning, needlefelting, and more.

In my quest for a non-wool sock yarn, I picked up a skein of SR Kertzer’s “On Your Toes”

that I look forward to working with. The yarn is a blend of bamboo and nylon, so this might be a good one–another yarn shop owner recommended it to me. Speaking of socks……here’s the Duett sock, completely blocked

I love the look of a blocked sock, as it transforms from lumpy shape into a beautiful sock. YUM!

OK, I’m outta here for now, as I have TONS to do before we open for the day–it’s WWKIP Day, and we’ve got tons going on at the shop as well. Given the clear skies and beautiful sunshine I see outside, it’s going to be a GOLDEN day!

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