The Mystery Worsted

Okay, so I was in Florence last May, and went to a lovely little yarn store called Campolmi Roberto Filati, which I found via Nicky Epstein. It's a lovely store, large and chock full of fibery goodness. The language barrier was noticeable until an English-speaking employee stepped in to help translate.

I should've bought some cashmere- we picked up a sweater quantity of cashmere yarn for my mother-in-law, who celebrated her birthday just before our trip. When the yarn lady quoted me a price for the cashmere, I started laughing. I couldn't help it! It was about 50% of the cost of similar-quality cashmere in the US. So inexpensive. It was about the same as a regular skein of superwash.

I picked up only two things, but I made them count. Both are GIANT skeins of worsted yarn, dyed in the shop.

These skeins are LITERALLY as big as my head. They're huge. 400g (14oz) of worsted yarn. It's probably close to 1,000 or so yards each.

I love the colors, which have some abrupt changes. The grey skein goes from light to dark smoothly on one side, but has a dark line on the other. It's super odd, in a cool way. I tried casting on for a "huge shawl of indeterminate size", but ended up ripping it out when I decided that I was wasting a great opportunity for a gargantuan sweater.

Yep, a worsted sweater, even though it's currently 103°F (39.4°C) here.

Yep, a worsted sweater, even though I just finished a sweater project and determined I needed a break from major garments.

Yep, a worsted sweater, instead of cracking into any of the various other yarns I have in my stash, doing a lovely little hat or a pair of super-bulky-fun-fur-electric-house-stomper socks.

What is wrong with me? Seriously?!

- YX

Italia!

Where in the world have I been? I realized that I haven't updated since the 22nd, right before my parents came into town, my semester grades were due, and I had a whole trip to Italy to prepare for!

I feel like the past month has been a blur... I'm surprised I even ended up with the right amount of clothes in my bag, and I haven't been on Ravelry in ages. I DID stop by my LYS to pick up three skeins of Madelinetosh sock in Antique Lace for a pullover (?), but alas, no photos.

I also don't have photos or an ad up for my May giveaway, which really stinks because it's awesome!

I can at least tease you with a link to the shop... :)

This sponsor is VERY near and dear to my heart, as she's a good Ravelry friend and a personal hero of mine- a lung transplant recipient and Cystic Fibrosis butt kicker, Daydee (Talana) does incredible-quality work on her project bags. I was quite blown away when I opened her package in April. I have a gorgeous project bag to give away, and I'm so tempted to ferret it away for ME ME ME!

Luckily for my grabby hands (and wallet), Daydee's Doodads is offering up the goods for everyone. Check out this announcement from her store page:

"May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. CF is a fatal genetic illness that affects the lungs and digestive system, and I am one of thousands of Americans that live with CF. I am offering no specials this month, but instead will be donating 20% of gross sales to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for all sales made in the month of May. I am alive today because of research that has been funded by the CFF.

Also, the item of the month is the rose fabric bags seen below. I'm donating an even greater piece of sales from these to the CFF.

To learn more about CF, please visit http://www.cff.org"

I'll get pictures and an ad AND a contest entry post up as soon as I return from my Italy trip. In the meantime, why not peruse her project bags now? They're one-of-a-kind and have fabrics that will tickle many fancies!

-YX