Friday, March 29, 2013

knitting safely

i'm moving right along on the radiance shawl, following all the directions for proper needle use.

so far, no mishaps!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

are you a skilled professional?

i've been in a happy fiber bubble for several weeks. i'm spinning and knitting to my hearts content( just need more hours in the day). i finished a spinning project for amythefibergoddess and reached for my new needles from WEBS to cast on the project. i turned the package over and read this:

i started laughing and kept laughing until my eyes were damp with tears. i couldn't decide which was funnier, that this really needed to put on a pack of knitting needles or that i considered myself a properly trained person.

Monday, March 25, 2013

GW 2013

Last weekend was our annual 'girls weekend' adventure. it started 19 years ago with my sweet cousin linda, herding us all together in ithaca for a weekend of chatting, shopping, eating, laughing and being together. there were originally ten of us: my mom, four sisters, three cousins and my niece, and we have remained committed to keeping this tradition intact. we've met pregnant, nursing babies in tow, injured, we just make it happen. some years we all come, some years it's only part of the gang. this year we had five gals, and picked a destination midway to most..... the berhshires. linda was again our point person, finding us a cabin in the woods.
now, if i'm going to the berkshires of massachusetts, i'm squeezing in a visit to webs! that was our first stop on friday. i had my list in hand and a set time limit ( which completely went out the window when my sister came along ) and a plan.
i needed straight needles ( found them ) and i wanted to touch some madelintosh yarn ( two hanks jumped into my basket ) then i was off to the freia handpaints. i have made that radiance shawl twice, and really wanted to find the exact yarn that was called for. before i knew it, two of those were in the basket. finally i was off to the warehouse.
it has changed over the years, but still holds a world of possibilities. my sister was tagging along, asking questions, fondling yarns and knocking the heck out of the time limit. as we left, she looked at me and told me that she gets it. she gets the addiction to color, texture, creatively planning the project then making it happen. it was cool!
we found the cabin in the woods and enjoyed doing those requirements for gw. i set my wheel up and was soon spinning away ( yes, i took it with me)
i had a spinning project to complete for amythefibergoddess, and it was beyond wonderful to spin with all the snow and trees just outside the windows. i not only completed the project, but got alot of spinning done just for fun.
i'm not sure what adventure next year will bring, but it will be fabulous!

Sunday, March 10, 2013

longmeadow open house

for the fourth year, sandy has invited us to her home, farm and shop for an open house. the first year we took the scenic route (translated to mean we were sooooo lost) and last year we traveled in frigid temps and snow. this year was a pleasure, sunny skies and mild temperature and fabulous fiber friends. i had a car full of wheels and spinners and we spent the drive catching up and talking wool!

when we arrived, sandy was in the barn showing folks the lambs., so out we went...
my first stop was to see miles. i knew he had been busy (18 babies- what a dude!)
beautiful. his fleece is gorgeous and he was not bothered with all the attention the babies were leaping and clambering about.
sandy certainly has a full barn with lambs more expected in april. after the barn visit we piled into sandy's wee house, filling up every room and spent the day eating, spinning and chatting.

her shop was scavenged and left looking pretty empty by the time we departed. i had to have something fun to play with, and i purposely took my wheel empty. i'm still not over the radiance shawl thing, so i started spinning this romney/bamboo batt...

i have another smaller batt that is very similar, so i may combine them and get two wraps. we left late in the day, making our way homeward. a wonderful time, but next year????? i'm shopping early!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

next project

i wrapping up (heeheehee) the radiance shawl.  i had been spending most of my knitting time with baby blanket#2, it's so easy to take with me and mindless to work on. so i devoted time to radiance.

soon, it was time to work on those leaves......
these are such fun to do, quick and easy. they are also just like chips, you have to do more than one. before i knew it i could see the end of this project.....
so what do i jump into next? there's a new pattern that a friend sent me ( she's doing it right now, so i'd have built in help) or another radiance ( so not sick of this yet ) or another pattern that i got at new england fest, or ??????
yikes! i  know in the big scheme of life it's not earth shattering, but i like to have that travel project (babyblanket#2) and another bit more complicated. i've also got traveling in my future, so i want to choose well.

or.....that baby blanket may just get finished sooner than later!