melancholy

i finished the traveling lady wrap yesterday. as i was binding off i realized that i would soon be losing my daily knitting time. i knit while i wait at lessons.... all kinds of lessons: riding, swimming, gymnastics, skating, piano.... i  can look at a finished project and remember what event i was knitting at. i did my kauni sweater swim lessons. the lopi fair-isle sweater? gymnastics. felted slippers? skating.
as i listened to the laughter and splashing, i got misty thinking that this was the end of the road. swim skills have progressed and we will be moving on. i loved the pool... it was warm, bright and happy. so, as time rolls onward my green wrap will be my reminder.

Shepherd's Market

the fifth annual shepherd's market was saturday. i have been fortunate to attend every year, and for the last four years to be the vendor assistant for amythefibergoddess. the day was perfect.... lots and lots of fiber stuff!

the colors were amazing! the market consists of nine farmers, and every one has a unique way to work with their product.

there were lots of fiber friends.......

and cc got back her prize winning novice skein.....

i acquired a bit more wool (who could resist) and now i'm anxious to get spinning it!

maryland sheep and wool

for thirty-nine years, the first full weekend in may has meant the maryland sheep and wool festival. this was my fourth visit and it just keeps getting better. i worry that the extreme anticipation will lead to disappointment, and yet i'm already excited to go again next year!
sandy, joan and i have travelled together lots, this trip amythefibergoddess joined us. we had a leisurely drive to maryland, checking into the hotel by four. best choice ever in lodging! on the recommendation of a fiber friend we chose to stay at the marriott residence inn. it was clean, comfortable and really made the trip more enjoyable. we were up and to the fairgrounds by 8:30 saturday morning.

the weather was perfect for me, but my travel companions were very warm. while the crowd was large, i thought that it seemed less crowded than in past years. yes, there were times when you could not possibly fit another person in a vendor booth, but i had no problem returning later in the day when i could have room to see everything.

our first stop was a booth that has all sorts of vintage/antique items. the draw is their type set letters that we have been using to spell all sorts of wool related words.... wool, yarn, sheep.... i added skein to my collection. then sandy was off to the sheep barns while amy, joan and i hit the fleece sale. with sandy's help, joan and i had pre-ordered several fleeces to keep and share, so the fact that we were even shopping at the sale was crazy. yet shop we did! we found a coopworth fleece to split from a farm that my coop came from last year.

that mission accomplished, joan wandered off at her own pace while amy and i decided to see it all. luckily i found the fiber friend who is teaching me to drop spindle. it is the one spinning direction i felt that i needed to accomplish but had no clue how to go about it. sandy m. gave me a quick lesson at stella maris and offered to help me choose a spindle and give me a 'how-to'. she took me into the golding fiber tools booth, showed me the one i wanted, i purchased and on we rolled. we bumped into lots of fiber friends and we wandered through the barns and buildings. sandy sent us back to ozark carding mill to check out the merino roving. we have all spun merino top, but never seen merino roving. so this was the fiber we all purchased to have fun with.

at dinner, sandy shared with us that she had found a wonderful fleece that she was considering. she wanted to know if we would mind her getting it. how could any of us deny her a fleece purchase? then she told us that it was still attached to the lamb. a live lamb. a lamb that would be riding home with us.
we claimed naming rights as we all laughed ourselves silly about the adventure we were on. after some brainstorming we came up with miles. having traveled to maryland from california and would now be heading to new york it seemed perfect! meet miles!

he was tucked into the back of the car where he accompanied us back.

he took the adventure in stride, although having the complete attention of four doting woman was not much of a hardship. we soothed him, kept him fresh and clean with lots of pats and snuggles at each rest stop.

at last word, he has settled into his new home just fine and will be the daddy of next years flock of lambs! as for me, here is my festival haul....

not nearly as impressive as a new lamb, but i'm thrilled just the same!

wonder what we'll bring home on our next adventure???

girls weekend 2012

there will be a hint of fiber in this post, but more about my weekend adventure. the gals in my family started an annual tradition in 1994 of meeting each year. it started with my mom, sisters, three close cousins and my niece. we have been a variety of places, done lots of things, but the main idea is to: chat, eat, chat, shop, chat, drink wine..... you get the idea. we go without kids, husbands, or firm agendas to have time to start and finish conversations and catch up with each other.
this year our weekend was in allentown, pa at cousin kathie's home. with all the car chatter we missed our exit and ended up here.....

after we all arrived Friday afternoon, we ordered dinner and on our way, kathie had found me this:

a charming yarn shop in emmaus. the walls and bins were filled with natural fibers (it's the only yarn she carries). i did not have time to linger, but i will definitely return.
the next morning we were off to Philadelphia for food and fun. we visited the Reading Terminal Market for lunch, then to Independence Hall. i saw the liberty bell... 

and what better way to see the historic sites than by carriage...

we did it all and then some! there was lots of shopping and eating and chatting and wine sampling. i was able to knit the same row of my 'traveling woman' shawl five times! considering i'm at 159 stitches in the row, it was a bit disappointing. i think i've straightened myself out, so hope to get further along this week.
so after an estrogen packed adventure, we are all looking forward to next year when we play again.

the things we do for love

after stella maris, i was beside myself to get another '198yds of heaven' wrap cast on. i vacillated about the yarn, needles, recipient, and finally got going. i've said before, i'm a sequential project gal. i can never just knit one, i've got to do several! i chose denim blue cottswold from robin nistock's farm that i had spun last year on the tour-de-fleece. i've had the best time with this! i was close to finishing last week at the fiber frolic, so next my mind raced as to how i was going to block this beast.

i had an idea and my honey made it a reality. here's how it went. i started with a casual question about finding wood at loew's ( i think that being forced to spend time is loew's is equivalent to torture). it then progressed to what type i wanted, what was it for, could he do that, ..... you get the drift. before i knew it, my frame was together and i was screwing in the hooks. dimensions are 8 ft x 4 ft. it will live in the garage when not in use and i couldn't be happier.

the wrap is lovelier than i anticipated. 

and i have more yarn.

fiber frolic

amythefibergoddess asked me ages ago if i would like to go to the central new york fiber frolic with her. she was one of thirteen vendors who filled the beaver lake nature center with their offerings.

of course i was free and eager to spend the day with fiber folks. the nature center is located near syracuse, new york. we arrived early with the sun shining and birds chirping. the center is a lovely facility loaded with amenities. with fiber as our focus, i wasn't able to check out the trails, but it is reasonably close to home (about an hours drive) so i'd like to return.
we spent the day talking fiber, selling fiber, fondling fiber..... all those fantastic things. i was able to keep working on my wrap.

and hopefully the end is in sight! it was such a talking point while i sat on a stool, knitting away. we left with a lighter load than she arrived with, and a desire to go back again!

fun on the farm

i was fortunate to have the day free, so decided to check in with my fiber friends. since joan works the school calendar i thought we could play. it turned out that she was headed to longmeadow farm to visit sandy. what to do except invite myself along! everyone needs those kind of friends :)
it's a bit of a trek to get there, and i encountered all kinds of road work and detours. thankfully my garmin (carter) helped me find my way.

the yearlings were in the pasture waiting to greet visitors. these are the friendliest sheep you'd ever meet. joan started rubbing their heads, and patting their faces as they butted each other out of the way for some lovin!
then we went in to visit the babies. wendy is six weeks old and a handful....

she was not happy when we put her down and left the barn. i don't think that she will be a hold and cuddle girl much longer.
got some spinning done and a few more rows knit on my wrap, then headed home.