new love affair

the Holden shawl finally made it's way to the shoulders of the birthday girl. i'm still sticking with the gift giving rules..... i'm in the birthday year ;)

it suits her perfectly and she seems to have fallen in love with it.

that leaves me with empty needles.... and that can mean trouble. i've been waiting for amythefibergoddess to dye the yarn for some sample knitting. it took a bit of time finding the right combination that spoke to us both. i am all about the bright, happy, in your face colors these days and she tempers my enthusiasm with the reality of what is the best combination.

these two made it from the dye pots to my hands! i've had a huge yearning to make "different lines" by the designer of color affection. i loved doing that wrap and this one has been screaming at me for several weeks.

it's perfect summer knitting..... light weight, mindless and fun. i keep waiting for the thrill to wear off and it's not happening!

it's yellow

i finally finished spinning 4 oz of mixed bfl in ombre colorway from amythefibergoddess that i started in april! seriously..... april. there is just no excuse for it taking that long. every time i hauled my wheel to guild, someone would comment on the color, wondering what it all looked like. since it had been on my wheel ( since april ) i could not remember.
it was yellow.

i cast on the overcrossing shawlette pattern that i have been itching to knit since november. it seems mind-numbingly simple, perfect for these hot days of summer. i have 660yds of lace weight yarn, so i should be able to make a generous sized wrap. it is beyond soft. i'm going to have to go crying to amy to get some more fiber.
i had a brief hiatus from the drudgery of knitting the holden shawl, and it seems that all that baby knitting perked me up. i have refused to be distracted from my stealth knitting project, but it's been hard. i started the holden as a gift for my sister's milestone birthday. well, i missed her birthday. not by a lot, but still. i am in the 'birthday year' and i think she'll like it. i have had a hate-hate relationship with the pattern. it was agonous to get to the lace part, then it seems that counting was beyond me and i kept ripping it out. last night, i cast off, wove in the ends and today it went on the blocker.

with this heat, it will be dry in no time, wrapped and ready to gift!

baby knitting

yes, i love a challenge.... and when it's combined with fiber, i get nutty! here's the story. joan is expecting her first grand baby and has been knitting sweet little things for miss molly. on our trip to maryland, joan was working on a knitted hat with yarn her daughter picked out. the color was lovely and in a soft superwash merino, seemed perfect for a new babe. joan was knitting away and i noticed that the yarn and pattern didn't seem to be happy together. i offered my observation to joan and she smartly put me in my place! ( that's why i love her ;)
so at our guild meeting, she was still knitting away on this hat anxious to finish it and pop it in the mail for the upcoming baby shower. at some point she noticed that she had neglected to include a decrease and she wasn't sure where. she turned to me and asked me if i would find it and fix it. now, i was thrilled to finally be getting my hands on this project. i cautioned her that i when i found the spot it would have to rip it back. she looked at the hat and discovered that the error was near the beginning, so there was a good chance this was going to be all pulled out. there was discussion among the fiber folks, and soon we were searching for a different pattern. now, here's the part that makes this crazy. there was only 154 yds of yarn. for any non-knitters reading alone..... it's like needing a cup of flour and only having 2/3 cups in the canister. we searched ravelry, discussed strategy and at the end of the meeting, the re-skeined yarn was in my bag and we had a plan.

luckily it was a rainy father's day, so as we were visiting wineries i had car knitting to do. i also had a deadline. in order to make it to the shower, it had to be in the mail on monday.

success! this was the cutest thing ever. i may make more just to have in my stash. i took me less than 24 hours to knit.
so...... i had a bit of time left and was feeling angst that the hat project failed. i went browsing through my stash and found some cascade 220 in all the colors i would need...... for this

just the thing for a july baby in georgia! can't wait to see the photo's of miss molly in this.

baby samples

i finally got serious and finished the second baby blanket. miss samples can arrive when she is ready! i had the best time knitting this beauty. i think that i found the right colors ( bright, peacock shades ) that the mom requested.

and i love the size. it's big enough to throw on the floor, over a car seat or for a snuggle. i'm sure that even in the heat of summer in georgia, you need a snuggle blanket in the middle of the night. in my mind i see mommy and babe in the rocker in those wee-early hours, nursing and snuggling together. it gets a bit chilly, so mom can reach over, grab the blanket and toss it over them both. sigh.

i've knit lots of love, and happiness into this blanket. it's gotten me through some trying times, so all that good energy is infused in the fiber. i'll be sending it off as soon as it gets a bath and dry in the sunshine!

stealth knitting

i've had a hard time staying on task with my knitting projects this month. one that absolutely had to be completed was my exchange in the guild's 'bag-it' exchange.
i was a bit intimidated by the recipient that i got. she is fabulously creative, every piece is a work of art... truly. i knew that a standard 'bag' would not work, but i was stumped on what to do. i love a pattern, so much so that i'll do that same item three ( of four) times. usually i can tweak that pattern a bit and make it my own by about the third time. but to start out? not really my skill set.
the fiber was a unique shade of green, dyed by the owner, and i knew that i was going with something felted. i love the way a felted bag is such a sturdy piece when it's done.
the green made me think of spring, but not much else. i did get it spun quickly in a lofty, bulky yarn that would be suitable. but no pattern.
then on my girls weekend trip in march, i found this.....

i loved it! whimsical, creative, fun.... just what i wanted. the challenge was finding a pattern, or coming up with one in my head. i knew that it needed the flower pot shape, so i started knitting. because i had a limited amount of yarn, i decided to use commercial handles from brown wood to represent the dirt. ( i was really working the flower pot theme) the felted flowers in fun colors? amythefibergoddess to the rescue. she dyed up a bunch of felted sweaters in bold colors for me. i begged, then pleaded  asked my sister to help with the flower pattern and she got carried away enough to help me cut them out.
the final result....

i think that it turned out well. the recipient wasn't there to see it. it will be part of the display at the fiber festival. i hope she'll like it.

may

as i look back on this month..... it is a blur! family life and responsibilities took over my time in a ginormous way. intermingled with that were all my favorite fiber events. i'm still not sure what end is up, but i do remember that the fiber stuff was amazing!
maryland sheep and wool really ushers in the beginning of the festival season. sandy's car was full this year as five of us went on the adventure. with a full vehicle, the chances of bringing home a sheep were pretty slim!

friday evening the gals needed ice cream and what should we happen to find? it didn't take us long to start filling our carts with those 'must have' snacks that only trader joe's has.
saturday morning dawned cool and bright, perfect way to open the weekend.

we had several must see's and with the crush of people last year, i knew that i had to get into those spots early. i found fiber optics three years ago ( the first year that they were at maryland) and  made that my first must see. kimberly was gracious and with only a few of us in her booth, able to chat and discuss fiber and yarns. i fell hard and left with a bag full of goodies. i wandered on, revisiting old favorites and finding some new treats too.

many of us find each other on the hill around mid-day for a lunch break and more importantly a show & tell. that gives us time to hit those vendors that we may have missed. by the end of the day, food and beverages become the necessities and we show & tell again at the hotel......

what you don't see in this photo, diane getting a lesson in ombre spinning. we overtook the largest table in the room and sorted her fiber into an ombre pattern. she brought her wheel and got started! next step will be casting on the radiance wrap.

sunday morning i sat and spend a fair amount of time with the hansen e-spinner folks. mrs. hansen walked me through each model and feature. i've been saying forever that this is on my wish list and now i have absolutely no reason not to make it happen.

joan found a wood turner who crafted lovely spinning tools. she had us all go back to get the lesson from lea on the correct pronunciation and use of the nostepinne. she was amazing and as you can see...... we all got one!

fiber friends...... priceless!

spring cleaning

i was on such a spinning-fiber-knitting spree that it's been hard not keeping up. i've been busy all weekend sorting, hauling, purging the garage and shed. i still have the basement to go, but i'm wearing out! we've been doing some major projects in our yard, so it migrated to the garage and shed. the village has an annual event where you can put almost anything to the curb, and what isn't taken by 'the picker's' by gets hauled away. so far, only one item has made it to the curb and it didn't last the day. i've been through baby clothes and toys and games, old furniture from my parent's farm and of course all the holiday trim. three trips so far to the VOA and a car full for tomorrow. i did save my wedding dress, all those baby clothes and a bunch of toys. i know that i should take a more minimalist approach, but hey, i've got the space. i remember what a thrill it was to have 'hand-me-downs' from family when i had wee ones, so i'm going to try to keep the tradition going. i plan on staying here until the end, so i've made sure to label it and leave notes for whoever gets the job of sorting through it.

i found two things that just tickled my heart. the first, two fleeces that i washed and stored and my sweet honey moved to a 'safe place' sadly they lost their tags, but hey...... they're nice fleeces!

the second was a book that recorded my grandparents fiftieth wedding anniversary. it is written in grandma's distinctive handwriting with all the information filled in...... when they met, when they married, friends, attendants, guests, gifts, it is all there. she even included newspaper clippings! they began their married life in 1913. just how cool is that!
i have absolutely no idea how i came to be in possession of this treasure, but treasure it i will.