Stash Enrichment: Jimmy Beans

Once again, I managed to build in a trip to Jimmy Beans during our recent holiday in the States. I had planned to go on my birthday but it seemed I preferred to spend that day at the beach, attempting paddle boarding and getting bumped on the head.

So, we went the day after my birthday. We began with pancakes at Coffee &... in Truckee, as is tradition; then we drove an 80 minute round trip back to the campsite to pick up my purse which I had stupidly left in the bear box. Then we drove to Reno, to Mr Z's impossible golf course from last time. It was full of hares and reeds and weeds. A quick Google revealed that it had closed in June. Oh. Luckily there was another nearby, so after I had dropped him there, bought some sportswear at a nearby shop (I was looking for a new ski jacket but, unsurprisingly, there were none available in August) and eaten lunch at Whole Foods, I toddled off to the promised land.

It had changed a little since my last trip. Now there is just a little yellow square of warehouse available for rummaging; but when I asked in the shop I was escorted to the Lorna's Laces aisle and, from there, pretty much allowed to get on with my rummaging. Amazingly, the SA, Teri, remember me from my first visit way back in 2009 - how cool is that!

I tried very hard to be restrained. I did pick up another jumper's worth of Madelintosh, in Betty Draper's Blues, but I made myself put it back, mainly because I have a ridiculously busy 6 months ahead of me (the chances of me making 127 posts this year are exceptionally slim) and a lot of yarn I want to knit up immediately.

So, I ended up with two jumpers' worth of 4-ply yarn, both in blue:
 

At the top, Madelinetosh Dandelion in Blue Nile...that colour! Mwaahahhhhhh! And it has 10% linen in it. It's like, the perfect yarn.
At the bottom, La Jolla 4-ply by Baah! I had not come across this brand before. The colour is London Blue. Perfect.

Then I bought three skeins of Lorna's Laces Honor in Bold Red. It's a solid but for some reason it doesn't look that way in this picture. I have three skeins of this is Red State from my last visit, plus one of Stitch Red from my winnings; I had it in mind to tackle a Stripes Gone Crazy but then discovered this is a 4-ply cardigan. Doh. I see some people have knitted it in DK but I'm not sure if I can face the maths. I have been browsing patterns and think the Maxfield Cardigan might work, possibly...not sure. The red of Red State might blend too well with the background Bold Red. Hmm. I don't know. I need to rummage around with that some more.

Multicoloured reflective yarn! I couldn't resist, and I couldn't choose between the two colours, so I bought both. I still have about three skeins of this sitting around waiting to be turned into hats. I need to save them for an evening when I want to finish something quickly.

Finally, I bought a skein of Madelinetosh DK in Lapis. This is to blend with the remaining skein from my v-neck jumper, to make a Zephyr Cove shawl, as suggested by the imaginative Kat at Knatterers.

I also got a new project bag, of course. Well, you'll see why....