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.

new task

since returning from stella maris, i've been a spinning lunatic! i finished the fiber from sandy (already have a plan for it, so i know that i need more), and the fiber from liz -fuzzy bunny, and even some stash that got in my way. then i got a request from amythefibergoddess. she asked me to be a test spinner. yes, me..... a test spinner. i was delighted, even more so than when i'm asked to be a test knitter. so i waited anxiously for the fiber to arrive.

her newest creation. hand dyed, dark blue face leister roving that i'm calling is jewel. her request is simpler, she wants it spun to highlight the colors. sooooooo, i started by dividing it in half, then those halves in half. i spun these onto two separate bobbins to create a two-ply yarn with long stripes of color.

not to shabby! i was lucky that today the sun was shining and i could spin on the deck. the next challenge was navajo plying. i spun the singles into thread (or so it seemed) and then tried to keep those bands together.

with the remainder, i'm going to spin a chunky single and random two ply. unless i run out of fiber. we'll see.
the final piece, was cotswold roving dyed in orchids. she had it processed by acorn works and it was delightful to spin. very different from the bfl, but that's what keeps it fun!

so, now i've got to skein these up, get them washed and dried.