The Loot

Yes, I finally have pictures of the goods I so liberally bought on the cruise. Hang on, it's a looong and fibery ride. See?


First you should know the one overriding rule I set before heading out. No buying anything available at home. Nothing I can walk into one of the many fiber stores dotting the cities may come home with me no matter how gorgeous it be. All purchases shall preferably be of local origin, with one exception given for Handmaiden, though that's not really much of an exception since only very rarely do I see some rogue Fleece Artist about these parts. We all clear? Good, let's go.

Starting in Seattle:

OK, so this is from California. But it's gorgeous bamboo blend. And the 2 hanks of camo on top are perfect for the long awaited clapotis of my dreams.

Once on board (which is a story unto itself....and for another day) there were several freebies nestled in the swag bags:
Next stop Ketchican:

The Raven Frog Fiber Arts is a silk blend and frabulous. Sheen, sheen, sheen and very subtly shaded in silvery goldish tones. In front we have some great tweedyness by Purple Carrot Creations that was a blast of sunshine in a veeeery rainy day. Both dyed by Alaskan dyers.

On our roundabout way to Juneau we hit Disenchantment Bay for a bit o' glacier viewing which made me determined to find a yarn to capture even a bit of that surreal setting.

This is my favorite pic of the bay itself, though it comes nowhere near to capturing the varied colors I'm talking about...and is frankly in the exact opposite of the glaciers, but hey, I'll get you some of that later. It does give you some idea though of what I was looking for...

...and happily unearthed at Skeins in Juneau!

There are bits of startling turquoise in there amidst the deeper blues and greys. Raven Frog Fiber again. The color is Stormy Seas, which is so appropriate given the weather we powered through.

Then we come to Victoria, and the Churchmouse. Really, I thought I had prepared myself. With reportedly the biggest inventory of Handmaiden and Fleece Artist I was prepared to be fairly liberal with myself. I will go into this saying that I put back at least half of what I was at one time hoarding. Easiest decision first, the yarn with which to work up the wonderful comp sock pattern by Chrissy Gardiner we all received. What better than working seaweed in cashmere?

And then it got sticky. Deep breath. Here goes, full disclosure:

Really, how could I be expected to not by Camelspun??? It's part SILK.

...and again with the SILK. This I am imagining some sort of complex, perhaps freeform beaded stole. Uh, a really big one because the ever enabling Heather Ordover said she would feel horribly if I went home and did not have enough to do what I wanted. Mmhmm. So I of course readily bought 2. Baaaaa.

...and yet again with the SILK content. This time with the linen thrown in. I blame Amy Singer and her no-sheepy ways fully for opening my eyes to how very lovely linen is and how horrid it is that I had none with which to craft. I wish I had smello-blog-o-vision. This is the epitome of earthy silky warmness.

So. Seven hanks of Handmaiden in one fell swoop. Deep breath. That's not even all...there was fiber too:

Those 4 braids at the bottom? Yep, ya guessed it, Handmaiden. The pinky tanish is a merino/silk blend, the sea tones are straight up merino. The autumnal wad is more from Raven Frog Fibers, split with the frabulous Jenniethepotter, as was the other blueish blob I believe from the Purple Carrot peeps. And why was there so much fiber? Uh, because I learned how to spin too. It's a disease, I fully admit it. My name is Dawn and I am a full-fledged follower. Baaaa.