Like a Pig in Mud

Yesterday several packages of stuff came in all at once. I got yarn, books, and needles! The first thing I ripped open was Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. More about that later. I also got the Backstrap Weaving book I ordered. It's an old library book, but it's in excellent condition. As I hoped, it includes instructions on making your own loom. Yay!

The order of yarns and needles from Discontinued Brand Name Yarn came in, too. Oh my goodness! The pictures on their web site don't do justice at all to these beautiful yarns. I am so in love with the bamboo! It's silky, shiny, and strong. Now I am dead to make my next pair of socks out of bamboo. This will surely be the most decadent pair of socks I've ever owned. I'm much happier with the color than I thought I might be, too. There are more shades in the actual yarn than you can tell from their picture. The same goes for the Amerah silk. I'm tempted to get another bag of the silk, but it isn't as soft and scrumptious as the bamboo. I'm afraid I am going to have to get another bag of the bamboo - in purple!

The needles I got are addi Naturas. I have been hearing about addis on different knitting groups, but I had never seen any in real life. They're circulars. They compare to my Clover bamboo circulars the way a Hersey's chocolate bar compares to a Lindt bar. I may never be able to buy the cheap ones ever again.

Where the Clovers are connected by a plastic line that's very similar to stiff weed-whacker line, the addis are connected by something like a gold plastic cable. They're unbelievably flexible, and also thinner than the Clover lines. Instead of just being glued to the bamboo needles like the Clovers are, the addis have gold caps that secure the cable to the ends of the needles.

Now I just wish I'd gotten two pairs of each instead of one. They're no longer available on the web site in those sizes. Oh well, I probably won't be doing many more Turkish Cast-ons in size 7 or 8 needles, anyway. I might get them in 9 and 10, though!