Pretty, Pretty - lots of LYS support yesterday

I ordered some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock from at Yarn-Store.com. As always, it arrived faster than I could have thought possible, and the colors really are gorgeous. (When I order from Angelika I figure I am supporting a LYS, because she has a brick & mortar location, too. It just happens to be a few thousand miles away.)

I haven't worked with this yarn before, and I'm looking forward to it.

I picked up the mail on my way out of town. I was due for dinner with my Mom and a group of her old nursing school classmates. But on the way up to Madison I stopped off at The Sow's Ear in Verona. Wow! I hadn't been in since they opened up the back area, and what a difference. It looks like a hugely expanded selection of yarns, including an impressive "wall o' sock yarn" and more Brown Sheep, and some very tempting Fleece Artist stuff, and some sections I didn't have time to examine so closely...

I had gone in to buy only one ball of Dale Falk for swatching purposes (thanks for the recommendation, Laura!). I walked out with that, and a hank of Cascade Bulky Alpaca, just because it is the softest, yummiest stuff and I love it to death. But where I really fell off the wagon was a hank of Claudia handpaint lace weight silk, color: "Last Night's Wine".

I do not need more lace weight. I haven't touched the Gypsy Girl shawl in months, and I really truly wasn't going to buy more lace weight until I finished it. This was not in my budget. There is no excuse. But it is so beautiful. Nice subtle color variation, lovely sheen, and silk drapes to wonderfully......