le Tour deFleece

i decided to do the tour this year. for me, it's how i really got started producing fiber, concentrating on spinning and starting my blog. that's how the original tour ran. you posted on your blog daily and kept up with all the other spinners by checking their posts. it started me on a path of journaling my fiber with all the mis-haps, adventures, friends and fun.
for this year's challenge, i'm keeping it simple. i will spin every day. i can see some of you laughing at that.... you always see me spinning. while i usually do, i'm committed to doing it every day of the tour. my second challenge is to spin on each of my wheels.

my hansen has been getting the majority of my time. it travels on this tray everywhere. seriously. i had it at the lake on the 4th, poolside, kitchen counter and last night at starbucks. my friend invited me to meet her and knit. since it's all about the tour, i took the wheel. she was laughing at me when i showed up with this, but it's really perfect. i can chat, stay focused on the conversation and still get that bobbin filled. notice that i'm spinning yellow in honor of the tour. i plan to wear that jersey every day!
i've got some interesting projects that i've been bouncing around in my brain that i'm going to accomplish in the next three weeks. i'll keep up with the blogging, maybe even posting daily. now wouldn't that be an accomplishment!

it's all about the berries

last spring, my freezer was accidentally left unplugged during electrical work on the house. we found it about three weeks later, when contents was mush. everything was discarded including the few strawberries that i had left. the patch that i've picked in for years, ceases to exist two years ago and we were enjoying the remaining berries.... until they melted into mush. i didn't get a chance last year to find a new patch, so we've been berry-less. it was sad, but i think my family got it.... no jam, no shortcakes..... it was sad.
this year, i started my search early.i've been asking my fiber friends were they went, did anyone know of a good place, i was relentless. last week my sister texted me an address of a sign she saw on her travels. i gave it a quick google search and off i went.

Chase farm in macedon, does berries..... in a big way! you board a wagon from the parking lot, and off you go to the fields. they have four varieties of berries for u-pick, and are knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and fun!

i picked 8 quarts (13 lbs) on friday. we ate like kings... fresh berries and cream, shortcake, oh my! i made jam and put some in the freezer for a cold winter's day and realized that i needed more....

lots more! another 11 quarts on monday. the kitchen smelled wonderful as i put all these up. i may go out one more time, just for fun!

fiber optic yarns

when amy and i first saw the sample of this wrap in the fiber optic booth at maryland, i knew i would do one. there was just something about it..... colors, fabric, yarn-fumes..... could have been anything. with amythefibergoddess along to push nudge me, i was a goner. it was the first time that kimber baldwin had the gradient yarns. in the clear packages, these just called out to be purchased. we each bought one and amy knit hers up right away. i'm not sure why, but mine sat for a year. when i was organizing after this years trip, i found the yarn and set it out to knit. this was the perfect project to take in the car and on the trip. it stayed small, and the color changes kept me interested.

the pattern was altered only by adding in more rows to use all the yarn. i did get a tad nervous near the end, wanting to have enough vs. knitting it all. i had 4 feet of yarn left (and i even did a fancy-pants cast off)

i thought there was just a bit of color pooling in the berry and purple areas with the transitional yarn. if you look close you can see it.... i'm going with the idea that it adds dimension. this is one large kerchief. thank goodness the yarn is super soft, so it will drap nicely. as an added bonus, with those colors, i will be easy to spot in a crowd.

this is the first yarn from the hansen spinner. it was a 4 ounce bag of 'odds & ends' from Into the Whirled that i purchased ages ago. i loved the idea of wee little bits of different fibers and colors spun up and plyed together. my only frustration was trying to identify the fiber base. there were some i loved, some i liked less and it would have been great to know what they were. it is a lot of yarn. i have another bag that is very similar that i may just need to spin.
so, i'm knitting away on the windward wrap, and planning what i need to spin next!

i had to eat my words.....

after all my dire predictions of cold, damp, nasty weather for our beach wedding..... this was the scene. the perfect, absolutely perfect day for a wedding. it was sunny, about 80 degrees with a light breeze drifting from the ocean. in my defense, two days before on this beach it was 60 and raining, but the fates were shining on this couple. my medusa was really more of a sun-blocker than anything else....

the evening was lovely, great food, a live band that played super dance music, sweet speeches and lots of love.
i did cast on the windward..... how could i not?

it was just the project to take to the beach. my age of brass and steam is finished and blocking, so it seems that i just needed a little break to keep myself going. this scene was gloucester harbor. i was amazed that so much of the waterfront was devoted to parks and easily accessible. well, maybe not that easy. we hiked like goats up the rocks and discovered park benches that looked out to sea. it was the perfect spot to sit and knit.

this was the opposite side of the harbor, just outside the door of our house. when the tide was out, you could walk way out in the wetlands. the week exceeded all our expectations for a vacation. we had such a great time.... definately going back!

On the road....

My cousin is getting married in Glouster, Massachusetts, and as we were making lodging arrangements (in January ) it made sense to stay longer and rent a house.
The internet is an amazing thing, and we found a lovely house on the harbor. It's in a great location, just a short drive to all the wedding events, plus there are lots of beaches, seaside villages and shops.
I've been knitting almost nonstop, the Age of brass and steam is a mindless knit, but the color changes have made it addicting. I keep going just to see what transition is next. I finished the written instructions and still have six balls of yarn, so onward I go. I've dragged this to very sunset, through the streets of Boston on the freedom trail and up the coast to New Hampshire ( don't ask, it was a crazy 'let's see where this road leads' moment).

Yesterday as I sat with my tea, watching the fog and rain roll in, there was that moment when I decided I may just finish this wrap. Seriously. So, as we went on our adventures, I kept the address of the local yarn shop tucked in my iPad, just in case. Late in the afternoon, when everyone's defenses were low, I suggested we stop...... Just for a look around. You all know what happened, it was a great store! I can't say how long I spent, but I walked every aisle, touched lots of yarn, and had a big chat with Heidi... The gal who was minding the shop. We compared projects, she supported my yarn choices and even gave me the idea for my next project. She had just finished windward and gave me her remaining yarn. Gave it to me. Fiber folk......there's nothing like them! I got on ravelry and bought the pattern. As fate would have it, I brought my ball winder along. I may just get everything ready..... Who am I kidding..... I'll probably cast this on today!

where've you been?

I've been meaning to put something new on the blog since maryland. i don't know what happened, but it is the end of may and i'm just getting around to it.
the shepard's market was the second saturday of the month and it was wonderful.....lots of beautiful fiber and fiber folks. having just been to a ginormous festival, with everything available to see, touch and buy, i was struck by the quality and variety we have right here at home. beautiful yarns, rovings, fleeces that come from fiber folks that work hard to have a lovely product. and of course, there was fiber that needed to come home with me and hop right on my wheel!
so what else? my little fiber friend earned three ribbons at the skein & garment competition and purchased  her own wheel. an ashford traditional with lots of extra's that she will need. i had a great time 'showing and telling' about her progress.
the second medusa is done, and just in the nick of time. i had dyed this yarn (BFL) with amythefibergoddess hoping that it would complement an outfit for a wedding that i'll be attending. my cousin is getting married next weekend on 'good harbor beach' in gloucester, massachusetts. the beach. in the evening. i keep joking (not really) that i'll be wearing polar-fleece to brace against those ocean breezes. at any rate, i'll have a stunning wrap around my shoulders....

the colors are vivid! the wrap coordinates perfectly with the dress and jacket. i'll take lots of pics next week of it in action.
which left my needles bare. as i get to the end of projects, the anxiety builds until i know for certain what is being cast on next.

amy and i got these paint-box gradients from fiber optic in maryland last year. she even talked me into buying the kashmir yarn nad i've been forgetting waiting to cast it on. i knew i would need mindless car knitting for the 7 hour drive, but something that would be fun , so it went on the needles today. because i'm me, i can't seem to put it down, so i've already started pondering my next knit to have it at the ready.

mary~land

i can safely say that is has become a tradition to travel to the maryland sheep and wool festival each may. it is truly my favorite trip of the year. my travel companions remain consistent, and we work very well together. we are a group of pretty interesting personalities, and everyone rolls along...laughing at ourselves. in fact we had one incident, where we were laughing so hard, we finally told the instigator that we were laughing at them, not with them. so, the festival.

we traveled down on friday, staying in our usual hotel a marriott residence in. having two bedrooms and baths is perfect for a group, and the shared living room is comfortable for chatting, knitting and spinning. this year the hotel was full of fiber friends, so we wandered down to the lobby that evening, letting the excitement build. the weather was perfect, warm and sunny. everyone heads there own way, sometimes together depending on what we must see. i had two things on my list to purchase and found the first right away. a lovely hand of merino/silk for a hitch hiker scarf. my sister had requested a knitted item to give as a gift, in very specific colors, so i was thrilled to find that right off. of course, several items fell into by bag as the weekend wore on. the best was a hand-turned nostepine (for balling yarn). i watched this being made and i'm thrilled that it was put into my hands!

i had never seen the parade of sheep before, so this was an unexpected delight. it was awesome to see so many different breeds next to each other. the best was the border Leicester  siblings in matching wool scarves...

i brought home three skeins of yarn, three hanks of roving, a fleece and a basket. a pretty good haul.