Knitting Sutra

On Projects Less Finished

While I finished at least a handful of projects last season, I also started and set aside a couple more. Unless I have to finish a project (or just really, really, really want to), sometimes very small set-backs will send a project to the wayside. Case in point: the silk daisy scarf I started nearly three years ago.

Two such projects have been languishing. One dates back to sometime around September 07, and the other is not quite a year old, so I could still finish them with some dignity.

Behold! Unfinished socks!

First on deck: Secret Socks.

What you see is my first attempt at color work. I picked up the Lang Jawoll yarn on my trip to Berlin two summers ago. The color work pattern is a portion of a pattern from a German flier I picked up on the same trip.

I actually started and finished these in 2007, well almost anyway. I had been knitting them in secret because I so wanted to just show off the FO. I was looking for a big reveal, natch. This was going to be a big deal because not only did I knit two colors at once, but I knit both socks at once! You were going to be so impressed and proud of me.

The problem? I spaced out completely when I cast off. What I mean to say is that I spaced out and just cast off when I should have been doing Elizabeth Z's sewn cast off. One sock is still on the needles, while the other is off and won't fit over the ball of my foot.

Bugger! I don't know how to undo a cast-off. So, this project sits, but probably not for too much longer. I'm really itching for a new pair or socks, so I may drag these down to Knit Happens and get one of the fine ladies to help me out.

Next up: Mocha Socks

These have fallen victim to an even more pathetic excuse for setting aside a project: I'm not sure they look right.

The yarn is a lovely hand dye that Meghann sent me last year for completing a survey on her site. The pattern is the Uptown Boot Socks from Favorite Socks.

I followed the pattern exactly, and it just doesn't look right. Rather than knit a few more rounds to give the pattern more time to emerge, I just set them down much the way a deer freezes in your headlights on a lonely, West Virginia road. To continue would waste time, but I really didn't want to frog them just because I wasn't sure.

It has occurred to me more recently that I might actually be messing up the pattern because I'm knitting them toe up. As soon as I finish another big project this season, I might do some investigating and see if that's it. Or I might just suck it up and work a few more pattern repeats... you know to give the pattern as chance to emerge. sigh I exasperate myself!

Lost Hat

Funny (not funny haha) thing happened the day after I posted my last post. Nat, of Nat's Hat fame, rang me up to inform me that she lost the hat! Seriously! I dunno what that means, one day I show it off and the next day it's gone.

On the up side, I was poking around in my copy of Favorite Socks and found the notes I made for the hat. Nat knits, so I'm going to try to piece together the pattern so she can knit herself a new one. I'm afraid that even though she's offered to pay me - crazy lady - I really am on a big deadline for my current project, which I will reveal shortly.

The upshot for all of you who like the hat (Thanks, BTW!) is that I'll type it up and post it for yins to enjoy.

How do you like them apples?

In Memoriam: Gigi Silva

While I haven't been blogging much at all lately. I do peak at Ravelry every now and then. I was stunned to learn this evening that Gigi Silva of Socktopia fame passed away recently.

Of course I didn't know her personally, but I did exchange a few emails with her last year when I started learning to knit socks and I joined Socktopia. You'll recall that I knit her Bellatrix pattern last summer, ugly ole things that I love so much.

She was a prolific sock pattern designer, and late last year it looked as if she was going to make a go of starting a pattern design business. Imagine suffering from a terrible illness and still having the hope to start a new venture.

We should all have such strength and sense of purpose.

Many thanks to all of you who have checked in with me over the past couple of months. Me and B, Nigel and Guy are all fine. Nigel, who had eye surgery a few weeks ago, may not agree, but I assure you he's all better and you can't even see the scar.

I've been dragging a lot trying to manage my freelance jobs (all with deadlines that are hitting at the same time in spite of my best efforts to prioritize better) and yoga teaching schedule. Shortly after we returned to Alexandria last September, the studio owner asked if I would manage workshop and event scheduling. I like doing this kind of thing, but it sucks up a lot of time. More than I thought.

It's funny. I was practically a shut-in while living in Holland. I had little to do, no friends, and I couldn't even watch much TV. You all got me through it, and you don't even know me! So, I feel very touched by Gigi Silva's death. She was also part of my global support network of strangers who gave me a reason to get out of bed everyday for those eight long months that I waited to come home.

Thank you, Gigi for your beautiful and challenging sock patterns. Thank you all for being with me over the past year.

I promise I will post more knitting content soon.

FO: Little Miss Muffet Beret

And another one down. Another one down.

Pattern: Rollin' Beret from Wooly Wormhead
Yarn: Misti Baby Alpaca Chunky, Aquamarine
Needles: 5.5mm DPNs
Size: Large
Mods: None really. The pattern offers you the choice of two sizes, with or without an I-chord tail thingy. I didn't need an umbilical chord coming off of my head, so I knit a little nubbin'. The last hat I made kept coming undone at the center, so I think the I-chord nubbin' will keep it together.

I've been lusting for this yarn for awhile, and generally keeping my eye out for something to knit with it. I don't need a sweater or a wrap, so I'd been a little stumped. Then cute berets and beanies started appearing on the knit interwebs, and of course Real Simple did the spread 'o ridiculously expensive machine knit hats.

It was a no brainer to run down to Knit Happens immediately, and I cast-on right there in the store. Many thanks to Holly for helping me to come to terms with the fact that not only was a baby blue hat going to match my own baby blues*, but it matches my brown coat too. People, I'm not a pastel kinda girl. This is huge.

Naturally I found the pattern on Ravelry. There's nothing much to knitting a beret, but it was helpful to find someone who'd typed up the maths for a chunky weight yarn. My only regret is that I didn't knit the smaller size. If I were to do it all again, I'd knit the smaller size, and I'd work more than 5 inches before starting the decreases.

The final result is a bit more milk-maiden than swingin' hep cat. But it's cute and warm, and it works. Another satisfied customer.

Yet... yet... there's a small part of me that is already thinking I might need to do this one over. If it's smaller, it might actually fit more like a beret. Baaaaah I hate frogging and starting over! But... but... I wanted a beret. I'm also a bit lazy, and I'm a far cry from a perfectionist.

Should I stay or should I go? What would YOU do?

Mail Call

I got a wonderful little package in the mail this weekend. Meghann, the sweetheart behind Radiant Twist Yarns, sent me two skeins of her superwash merino sock yarn in the Iced Mocha colorway, just enough for a snuggly pair of socks. Definitely check out her Etsy Shop to pick up some for yourself.

Thank you, Meghann! You're a doll!

Sadly, the yarn doesn't smell like a cuppa, but the creamy color more than makes up for it. Iced Mocha is part of her semi-solid, monochromatic collection, and quite honestly I'm not sure what to knit with it. I think I can do something a bit lacy because the colors won't compete with an intricate pattern, but then again, the colorway might be manly enough for B.

I've got three sock pattern books burning a whole in my bookshelf. I think I've got too much to choose from, and I haven't even looked around Ravelry for this one. Ya'll got any ideas?

Already In The Frog Pond

A few weeks ago I may have mentioned a certain pair of secret socks that I had underway. Well, the whole thing is still all in my head and ready to be committed to stitches, but wouldn't you know I had to frog the toes? Even though I swatched, I ended up with hugemongous socks that might have fit feet twice my size.

I haven't yet mustered up the energy to start them over again. Meh, they're just socks right? But you see, I'm the crazy person whose doing color work on two socks at once. That's a four-stranded tangled mess at every turn.

I apparently cannot, under any circumstances, knit one sock at a time. I knit my first pair of socks two at once, and I'll knit all socks two at once. I'm a stubborn ole jenny, if you know what I mean.

* I've taken poetic license here. In the interest of full disclosure I must confess that my eyes are actually steely-gray-blue.

What is this Rhinebeck you speak of?

Confession time!

What's Rhinebeck? I mean in knitting terms. Seriously. I get that it's a Sheep and Wool thang, but what makes this one so special? Aren't these events going on all across 'Merica this time of year?

To me, Rhinebeck (the city in New York, not the event) is the home of the Omega Yoga Institute, where one day I will go on retreat. Hopefully next Summer. Rhinebeck is also close to the Gunks, a most excellent climbing area in New Palz, though don't expect there to be good parking or camping anywhere near the rocks.

In my dream world, I'd live at Omega. I'd spend my days climbing in the Gunks, and spend my evenings taking yoga classes. I'm not sure how smelly sheep would factor into this dream, as much as I like to knit.

Seriously, though. I'd love for someone to post the story about why Rhinebeck has all the cachet over other festivals. And do you really have to show up in a new sweater made especially for the event?

Yarn Diet

While I'm confessing... I've put myself on a yarn diet. I don't even have a hugenormous stash, but I think the last time it got wet, it multiplied like gremlins. I had to procure a new yarn storage solution the other day, and I'm more than a bit frustrated that the madras reed box from World Market (love that store!) doesn't contain it all.

So, don't go flashing all your pornographic stash at me, mkay. Not interested. Doesn't do it for me anymore.

Secret Socks

I cast on a new pair of socks last night. These are a secret because I think they'll be most interesting to look at when they're done. Also, if they turn out tacky or wonky, no one will know but me.

I may be into ugly socks, but not tacky, wonky ones, mkay.

FO: Cat Got Your Socks

... or Cat Scratch Fever

Pattern: Bellatrix from Socktopia
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug, Tapis colorway
Needles: 2.5mm Addi circular; magic loop
Mods: I knit the socks toe-up (of course), and ended up reducing the number of stitches from 60 to 48. I have only four stockinette stitches between the yarn over pattern bits.

Well, what can I say? There they are. I like to think of them as "so ugly they're cool" but I haven't decided if I'm kidding myself. I can say for sure that I think the colorway and pattern work well together in that the combination produced the crazy mess that I was expecting.

If it was 1989 I might feel more enthusiastic about these socks. These would have matched perfectly with my black tights and Doc Martin 8-hole boots. These days I'm not so dark and frowny, so who knows what I'll wear them with.

I'd like to note that the socks actually are the same length. I just bound my cuff off a bit too tightly. One of my calves is beefier (haha!) than the other, so the "longer" one is just on my wimpier leg.

Pattern Notes

The pattern was ridiculously easy and a cinch to tweak to fit my miniscule feet. The stitch pattern is produced by creating and then dropping yarn overs. The only tip I can provide is to pull the yarn-over bits all the way through when you go to knit the next stitch. This will save you the hassle of having to "fluff" up the stitches later.

The pattern also more-or-less kept the colorway from pooling, and the bruisy bits that appeared on the one sock still kind of work.

Speaking of bruisy bits... yes I am one of those girls that always has scrapes and scratches on her knees. This week, though, it happens that my shins are mangled. So those pink bits on my legs aren't there for effect. At least not intentionally. I did try to find a gnarly spot to take the photo though. Grrrrr! Don't mess with my socks in their bad neighborhood, yo!

The Yarn

In spite of my strong dislike for the colorway, the Colinette Jitterbug is nice to knit. It's a bit thicker than other sock yarn and very squishy. It is rumored to "bloom" when washed, so I actually made and washed a swatch before I settled on my needle-size. But once I got started, I still knit the pair to my foot size (I was running out of stitches to reduce) so it's possible that they'll be too big in the end.

Knit Happened

I cast these on in Holland so I could knit them on the flight back to D.C.. I actually managed to turn the heels on the plane, but then "all things knitting" ground to a halt once we arrived. I lied to you the other day. I didn't end up finishing them during "Heroes." I was too lazy to go upstairs and get my needle for the sewn bind-off. D'oh!

Instead, Tuesday I tossed them in my sock bag and trotted over to Knit Happens where I hung out with the lovely Wry Punster and KnitGirl. I even skipped a yoga class (one I was going to take, not teach!) to finish the job. Punster and Girl were so gracious to shower much praise and imaginary confetti on my fugly FOs.

It took everything I had to sit myself down and bind off, what with all the eye-popping yarn everywhere. I pet some fine, fine fiber and ogled many an oft-dreamed of sock yarn. The highlight was finally getting to see the Fleece Artist yarn in person. It's better than I ever imagined.

However, I have to admit that I'm a bit over-saturated with sock yarn at the moment. I have gobs of it in a wide array of colors already. As much as I enjoyed oohing and aaahing over their room-o-sock-yarn, there wasn't anything there that was significantly different enough to justify buying.

I'm not one to buy a sweater's worth of yarn when I don't have a pattern in mind, so lately I've been on a scarf and hat kick. A couple skeins of worsted/DK/chunky goodness go pretty far towards satiating my yarn-hoarding demons without busting the wallet. In a way, these little low-commitment projects are more satisfying that knitting socks. There's no issue with fit, and you can justify buying things like Alchemy Yarns Silken Straw.

It looks and feels a bit like raffia, but the super saturated colors jump off the shelf and shake you down. I'm told it softens up a lot when knit, but I'm not sure I even care. Taking a page from the Knit Happens sample book, I'm going to make Knit & Tonic Wendy's Dream Swatch Headband tie thingie. I actually need a headband, and I don't like the hard plastic ones from stores. A'ight. Purchase justified.

Now, all I need you guys to do is tell me what I could make with some softer-than-kittens Misti Alpaca Chunky so I can go back and get me some of that. Remember how soft I said the Malabrigo Worsted is? This is softer. By an order of magnitude.

FO: Liebchen Socks

The Summer gift knits are complete. I present to you my step-mother-in-law, J's, Liebchen* Socks.

Pattern: Baby Cable Rib from "Sensational Knitted Socks"
Yarn: Wollmeise Superwash Sockwool, Granataphel colorway
Needles: 2.5mm Addi circ, magic loop
Heel: Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock
Size: Women's Large, 80 stitiches

I'm really pleased with how these turned out, and my only wish is that I had sock blockers and sunshine to really show them off.

The Construction

Most of the stitch patterns in "Sensational Knitted Socks", particularly the 4-stitch ones, are super easy to memorize. The Baby Cable Rib is only a very slight variation on 2x2 ribbing, so as long as you remember to do something a little bit different every four rows, you're golden. The problem for me is that I'm really slow at ribbing, so these felt like they took forever. Or it might have been the 80 stitch circumference. Yow!

But the real highlight is the heel. I mentioned before that I was going to go easy on myself and do a short-row heel. Of course that didn't mean that I was happy with the heels I'd used so far. On a whim, I took a look at the heel Wendy uses.

And joy of joys, Wendy's heel does not create holes in the short rows! Look!!!

You still wrap and turn, but you slip the first stitch after the turn. Somehow this plugs up the holes. I love it. I wish I'd gotten around to checking out her pattern before.

The Yarn

I've done my fair share of drooling over the Wollmeise yarn, so I'm going to refrain from gushing. However, I really can't say enough good things about it. The base yarn is 100% wool, but it's not fuzzy. So the stitch definition is incredible. And while the skein isn't snuggly, the knitted fabric is very smooth and squishy. It's not at all itchy, but it feels sturdy. I think these will wear very well.

Then there's the color. The yarn is so well dyed, no little spots of white poking out. I'm also ecstatic at how even the colorway knit up. It's definitely a variegated yarn, but there's zero pooling anywhere on either sock. The hue is rich and saturated, definitely eye catching. Hopefully J really meant red when she said she wanted red socks.

I need to give these puppies a wash and pick out all the dog and cat hairs that found their way into the fabric. If the sun pokes through the clouds before I mail them off this week, I'll try to get some better photos. I feel like I'm just not doing them justice. You might have to order some Wollmeise to see the magic for yourself.

* By they way, I do not call my step-mother-in-law "liebchen." It'd be like calling her "darling," and I don't have to tell you how weird that would be. The socks, in Baby Cable Rib, are my little darlings. I'm a bit sad to send them on their way, but I'm sure they'll have a happy home in Australia. Besides, they're way too big for me.

German P0rn

I owe ya'll a bunch of things. My promises aren't empty, just running on fumes at the moment. There's so much to do. We're getting it done, but it feels like we're moving through water.

I'm *this* close to finishing my step-mother-in-law's socks. If I'd pay attention, I'd have finished them already instead of unknitting a few rows. B is going to London for work for a couple of days, and in that time I hope to crank out Ogee. The movers come Thursday, so I need to block it before then.

Anyway, I thought ya'll wouldn't mind if I just showed you obscene photos of the Wollmeise that arrived the other day. These skeins are more stunning than the last. The package took my breath away.

From left to right you see: Frosch (frog), Campari Orange, and Gewitterhimmel (thunderstorm sky).

I will of course make socks with these, but I'm also thinking that I might make a pair of mittens with one skein, probably the blue. And don't you know that some color work in the orange and green would really pop against the blue! I swoon just thinking about it.

Here's another shot to wet your palette.

I also picked up a skein of Merino Lambswool in Kräuterbeet. This will be a hat or scarf of something. This might also be my airplane knitting since I'm leery of taking metal needles on the plane.

Pack 'em Up, Move 'em On Out

Also before Thursday I need to decide what yarn and needles I'm going to take with me in my check luggage and what will be relegated to the slow boat. Our household goods will arrive at the end of October. My plan is take as much as I can, but I know I can't take it all.

Do yarn cakes take up less space?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

Progress. Progress.

My step-mother-in-law's socks are well on their way to donedom. They'd be done already if I hadn't poked a teeny hole in my right index finger. I took one for the team, yo!

I've also spent a few hours here and there slogging through the Ogee Skirt. It's about 70 percent-ish done. Ta da!

I'll go on record saying that I don't like all this lacey knitting on floppy circular needles stuff. If I didn't want the final object so badly, I'd have ditched this long ago. And what a mess it is! With the provisional cast-on, the lifeline, all those ends... ugh.

Anyway, it's getting there. Slowly, but surely.

The Bad

Addi needle makers, I dunno how you did it. You sly devils, geniuses of marketing, you.

There I was lamenting the splittyness of a certain Panda Cotton, when it dawned on me, "The new Addi lace needles are supposed to be pointier. I'll get me some of those."

I ordered. They came. I went to cast on, and uhm...

The one on top is my regular 2.5mm circular. The one on the bottom is the new 2.5mm lace needle. Do you see a difference? Aside from the color, I mean.

I don't either. The lace needles are no pointier than the regular ones. That is, unless you consider that the lace one tapers just a hair more than the regular one. But the tippy-tips, they are not sharper.

I they aren't any pointier, then do their other claims (suppler chord, lighter weight) ring true? I decided that I needed to conduct some more experiments.

Supple chord test: I squeezed, squished and flippy-flopped both chords. Conclusion: I don't find the lace chord to be any suppler than the regular one.

Weightlessness test: I also held one needle in each hand and made a scale-balancing gesture. Conclusion: The lace needles are not noticeably lighter than the regular ones. They might actually be, but then the difference would be so slight as to be not worth mentioning.

Shame on you, Addi. Shame.

The Ugly

I couldn't help myself. I cast on another pair of socks. No I haven't finished anything else. You gotta problem with that? You wanna take it outside?

This is that old pooling Colinette Jitterbug. You'll see that the pattern, Belatrix, isn't doing much to combat the pooling. And let's face it, this is ugly yarn. However, the overall affect seems to be working so far. I'm going for a heroine chiq/cat fight in the alley behind CBGB's kinda look.

Don't ask me where I'll wear this pair of socks. My punk rawk days are long gone. I'm making them anyway because, all together, I knit what I want! And for some reason, I really want these ugly socks.

FO: Lemon-Lime Socks

Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Catania Color, #0076
Pattern: Swirl Socks by sulafaye
Size: Women's Medium, 64 stitches
Needles: Addi 3 mm
Mods: I used sport-weight yarn, a gusset heel, and worked ribbing at the cuff.

You'll see that I'm not really showing you what these look like, though any of you in Ravelry can have a gander. I want Mom (who reads the ole blog now) to be a bit surprised (or at least not dread having to tell me she likes them when she doesn't).

I'm not super happy with how these turned out mainly because I have deep anxiety that they're too big. My feet are so small that even normal-sized feet seem like giant paws. I have no frame of reference as to whether these are the right size or not. They measure OK, but are they too loose because there doesn't appear to be any negative ease??

Also, I added ribbing instead of the picot cuff b/c I was worried that the lack of negative ease would mean that they won't stay up. But, I also know that mom likes to turn her cuffs down, which makes more sense with ribbing. However, the cotton doesn't draw in like wool does, so I'm not sure if the ribbing is going to help anyway. I might have gone down a needle size, but since she can't try them on I hesitated on that.

*inhale*

In retrospect, I should have gone with a short-row heel to keep the swirls lined up. I was so obsessed with my heel that I didn't factor whether it would look nice. I didn't really have a look until I was just about to bind off.

All in all, this project illustrates my new-found anxiety of knitting fitted objects for people who can't try them on. I can't see myself ever joining a sock swap. Too stressful. I'd feel differently if I had normal-sized feet, but I don't so oh well.

Rather than frog them, I've decided to send them to Mom anyway. I trust she'll love them even if they're just house socks. But mainly, I just need to learn something useful from this experience. Even if she never wears them again, I want her to try them on and then give me some feedback on the fit.

Sorry they're not the best present, Mom. I'm sending along some other items to sweeten the deal a bit. :)

Summer of Socks Prize and Idiocy

My Summer of Socks 2007 stitch markers arrived! They're handmade by Jessica from Alabama Fiber Dreams. They're just so cute. I love them. As soon as I ever have the time to concentrate on the Ogee Skirt, I'll swap them in for the homely Clover markers.

In addition to just winning something, I'm thrilled about these because I've been reading Jessica's blog this summer, and I just love her easy-going, Southern nature. And she's really funny. I feel certain we'd get along famously, especially since it sounds like she lives near where I grew up.

So these are like a present from two friends. Many thanks to Zarzuela for organizing Summer of Socks 2007! Many thanks to Alabama Fiber Dreams for donating prizes!

And in other, completely remedial, Summer of Socks 2007 news, I have a shamefully stupid and embarrassing thing to tell you. For all my hoarding of traveling socks photos, I missed the deadline to submit photos for the contest!

Baaaaah! I knew that the deadline was before the end of the event, but I didn't realize it was in August. Bugger!!

I'll post a retrospective of my socks' European jaunts next week or so. Maybe I'll have you vote on which photo you like, and then give myself a prize anyway. heh

New on the Needles

Just before heading to Bavaria, I cast on some Wollmeise for my step-mother-in-law's socks. She selected the Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. So far it's going well, if I'm to trust Charlene's formula for figuring out stitch count. My SMIL has big feet, so much so that I think B might be able to try them on for me. At least I have that.

I'll post about Bavaria soon. I've got an OCD thing going on where I must put the photos in Flickr first, annotate them, and only then can I post them on the blog. Don't ask. Just go with it. There is yarn and knitting content in there, so I promise it won't just be a boring slide show.

Oh and one other thing. B got his Green Card yesterday! Sing it, Neil, baby! "We're coming to America!." I used to be such a europhile, and now I'm pretty sure I've become the worst kind of jingoist. I might need one of those Ralph Lauren flag afghans or something. Smack me.

Going Local

Do you ever feel like some things just aren't meant to be?

Nigel got into my Mom's socks. Thankfully, he doesn't chew things up. He just carries our stuff around, and in the case of the Panda Cotton he got it nice and tangled for me. Awe gee, Nige.

As I was sitting there carefully untangling all those splitty strands, I finally made the decision to scrap the socks. I know. I know. You thought I did that already, but in fact I gave them one more chance. Try as I might, I was never able to get the stitches neatly back on the needles after I frogged the heels. I was unknitting more than I was knitting, and then this. The Panda Cotton is on time out until it learns to behave. Bad, Panda!

The decision was made easier by a yarn I recently discovered on the Knitty Kitty blog, Katia Mississippi 3. Katia Mississippi 3 is a fingering weight cotton/acrylic blend - perfect for Mom. Even better, Katia is owned by a Dutch parent company, so it's widely available here.

So, Saturday I biked to the unnamed shop up the street to see if they have any. They specialize in Schachenmayr nomotta, so no Katia there. However, they did have a little somethin' somethin' called Catania. Catania is 100% cotton fingering weight that comes in a ton of colors, including variegated prints. Mom's pretty light on her feet, so I think she can take care of cotton socks. You better believe I swatched AND washed.

I think she'll like these.

BTW, the other no-name shop nearby had the Mississippi 3. I've got my bases covered.

Talking 'Bout the New Woool

Forgive me knitting gods, for I have sinned. I know I promised not to read Ravelry forums, but I could not control my devilish impulses. Yet, my fall from grace was not in vain. In the Dutch Knitters Forum, I discovered a brand new yarn shop right here in my town!

Not only is Woool's sleek interior a welcome change to the old-fashioned, musty shops around here, but she also sells treats you don't often find in Holland. In addition to Debbie Bliss and Trekking XXL, they have Himalayan yarn made with recycled silk and uhm, hello, HipKnits silk. I managed to control myself, but I did grab a skein of Trekking XXL 100 (you know the color), and this:

It's local Dutch yarn, made in Delft! It looks like it could be hand spun, and it's certainly hand dyed. I love the colors; they remind me of the blue and white Delft pottery. Definitely a nice souvenir from Holland. I might need more.