The softest fiber ever
Okay, maybe it is not the softest alpaca ever, but it sure is nice. A whole hunk of soft grey alpaca from North Star Alpacas.

One of my favorite things about this fiber is that I get to know exactly who it came from.. Oh, not just the seller, the actual animal. Thanks Chewbaca!

The best stitch markers for tiny needles
I was admiring the complete adorableness of Jeremy’s Monkey post when a little set of stitch markers caught my eye. So tiny, so simple, so cute. So I ran over to Hide and Sheep and hooked myself up with some. Here they are on US #1 DPN’s.

See how they are totally not in the way? And they are virtually snag-proof. Genius. They are available for a pretty large range of needle sizes, and arrived packaged in a handy little tin.

Oh and they are such a deal. RUN over there and get some.

The gift set that no sock knitter can live without
In an act of shameless self-promotion (hey, it is my webpage) I bring you the Sock Knitter’s Gift set. It is one of my Sock Knitter’s needle cases (Where DPN’s, and circular needles live in perfect harmony) paired with a set of Kitchener Stich Markers for a wicked good price.

You can have your choice of needle case. Speaking of my shop… I am having a SALE!! Free US shipping, and 10% off of everything until Midnight Pacific Tuesday July 10. I am too lazy to re-price everything, so you will need to wait for an invoice before sending your payment.

I have had this nagging in the bag of my head telling me that I want a drum carder. I have looked into it a few times but never bought one. I want one primarily for blending merino wools with fine fibers. It should be able to handle the slightly coarser wools that I like – Romney and wensleydale for instance. And it should be able to handle the occasional fleece. Ultimately I would like to be able to make blends with soy silk and camel down and other finer fibers. I think the one that might be right for me is a Strauch Petite. I like the petite-ness (studio apartment) and the fine cloth. The only complaints that I was that when processing fleeces on the fine cloth, the second cuts didn’t get separated but that seems preferable to not being able to card fine fibers. And I shouldn’t forget to mention that the comparatively low price is a major factor.

Here’s where you come in… What do you think? Do you know anything about carders or own one that you have an opinion about? Leave me a comment and let me know! You will be eligible to win a prize from me if you do.

Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about drum carders, you can still be eligible to win a prize. Just leave me a comment and tell me about your favorite knitting/ crafting material or tool. For instance, you might tell me that you you couldn’t survive without medium-weight Socks that Rock. Or that your Bernina is your most dear possession. Or that you cannot resist alpaca yarn. I want to hear about what you like!

The contest will be open until next Saturday, June 9th when the winner will be selected at random. I’ll send you some sock yarn, and a sock knitter’s needle case. If a non-knitter ends up as the winner, and doesn’t want the prize we’ll figure something out.

Want to see the prizes?

The red yarn was dyed by me, but never made it into my etsy shop. I dubbed it “unphotographable red” and had to screw with the photo in photoshop to get it to look kinda normal. The colors go from a red-orange to a medium red and it si a superwash wool nylon blend. The Needle case was hand sewn by me in the style of the ones in my shop. Perfect for circulars, DPN’s and crochet hooks. I threw in a little crochet hook that I got at Daiso – you’ll get that too. Finally I added two skeins of Brown Sheep Handpainted yarn. Nice traditional wooly sock yarn. So get commenting!

I designed the cases to hold skinny crochet hooks (for provisional cast-ons and dropped stitches), double pointed needles and circular needles. You can even toss in a tape measure, stitch markers and a little ball of scrap yarn for casting on. They are small enough that you can take the whole case with you and your portable sock project.

See the notes in this photo for details on where to keep everything…

I listed a few in my shop, along with some newly dyed merino rovings.

Okay, I am of to scrounge for contest prizes… I am trying to think up something good….