New Yarn in Stock!

I’ve become an Artyarns dealer!  (Some of you may have known that.)  I really love their yarns and wish to support them.  You can see the new arrivals in my Etsy shop.  Stop by and check out the bling!

Color #904 in various yarn bases.

Today’s Visitors

When we let Max out this afternoon we didn’t realize these guys were wandering around the back yard.  He chased them across the yard, at which point Alex ran out to distract him.  The mama duck flew over the neighbor fence, but the little ones are too small to fly, so they ran up into the rose garden (on top of the lower wall) and watched as their mama flew back towards Max, angry and in attack mode.  By then I was outside and I just grabbed him to bring him into the house.

The mama couldn’t find some of the ducklings, so she stood around quacking for a little while, and then all the ducklings that were on the short wall jumped off like fluffy little paratroopers to meet her.  That was just before this picture was taken.  Then they wandered carefully out of the back yard and into the front.

Max is confined to quarters until further notice.

Not such a pleasant stroll.  Not with Max on their tails.

Recanting

Some updates about those blingy yarns:

1. I used some of Artyarns’ “Beaded Silk Light” (without the sequins) and the beads-to-yarn ratio is almost the same as the Tilli Beaded Lace.  The beads are smaller, but the ratio is the same.
2. The bead strand of this yarn also makes little loops on the right side of the fabric.
3. I washed some green hand-dyed yarn in “Soak” (allegedly, and I do mean allegedly, a superior no-rinse wash for handknits) and it bled maroon all over the place just like that brown shawl did (which I also washed with Soak).  Conclusion:  Soak is garbage.  I threw out the rest of it.  Folks on Ravelry report the same problem. 

So, having gone through all this, Tilli Tomas really only has one strike against them, and that is the frays in the silk strand.  I still haven’t found any in my Artyarns. 

To sum up, when comparing beaded to beaded:

Tilli’s pros:  cheaper, wider range of bead colors, more yardage per skein.

Artyarns pros: better yarn construction, much wider range of yarn colors.

I have just signed up to become an Artyarns retailer in my Etsy shop.  (I won’t actually have any stock for a few weeks, though.)  I wouldn’t consider dealing in Tilli because of the yarn breaks in the bead strand.

Stay away from Soak!