Tuesday, May 29, 2012

long weekend

the summer season greeted us with a wicked heat wave! i sounded like an old woman commenting over and over that " i remember memorial day's when it snowed!" note to self..... stop it. now.

the yard is mowed, shrubs are trimmed, flowers planted, closets switched, it was a productive time. i even had a fiber day! joan and katherine spent the day sunday here with me playing with fiber.
when we were at maryland, joan and i suffered from 'fiber exposure' a common malady that involves the purchasing of fiber in all forms. our strain was limited to fleece. we had each purchased fleeces from mendenhall wool ranch ,yet still thought we needed more. so, together we hit the fleece sale and purchased a beautiful coopworth fleece to share. sunday was our sharing day.
it is a beauty. we also split a morrit fleece (actually it's the fleece from miles' mom judy) and then played with natalie, my black fleece...
there was still plenty of time for spinning
a fantastic way to spend the day!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

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.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

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!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

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???