Back from Vacation: Goodies Post

Whew, finally back!  I'm a little overwhelmed about where to start, so I'm starting the easy way by showing off the lovely yarn and fabric I got while in the States. ;)

We visited the Amana Colonies in Iowa and I got this pin-stripe Pendleton wool for $7 a yard.  Seriously!  Massive sale!  I should've bought more.  Anyhow, I'll be hoarding this until I feel more comfortable making pants.

And, also in the Amana Colonies (at the quilting supply shop) I got these cotton prints, which probably are destined to be shirts and dresses:

Also on sale - yippee! 

Still in the Amana Colonies, they were having a special craft fair and I got this gorgeous hand-dyed, hand spun yarn:

It's from Oldhaus Fibers and it's a mix of angora, mohair and wool.  They had the angora bunnies with them at the fair and were spinning with the hair.  I believe the company is run by a couple and I talked to the guy for quite a bit (while he was spinning) and he was explaining how they collect the flowers, etc. to dye the yarns and how often they have to cut the bunnies hair.  (About every three months!)  They trade with local people for other fibers, like wool and alpaca.  But they also have angora goats and that's where the mohair comes from.  Anyhow, the yarn is expensive, but not really when you factor in all the work that goes into it!!  And it's gorgeous. 

And finally, NOT from the Amanas, but from the Navajo sheep again via the Cameron Trading Post, I got some more wool.  This time I went for color.  It's brighter than in the picture, but you'll just have to believe me.  The seafoam color is for me (I got 3 skeins and would love to eek a vest out of it) and the amethyst is for a knitterly friend.

 After all this I really need to stick to a 'one-in-one-out' policy because my stash space is overflowing!  

I did finish one project while on vacation, but you'll have to wait a bit for me to photograph it.  And I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm almost done knitting a sweater.  Hopefully it'll turn out okay, my luck has been a bit rocky with that lately!