Current projects

I started a cowl for myself with spring like colors to remind me that better days are coming. The yarn is from Cece’s Wool and More in Guilderland, NY, my second home away from home (although I haven’t been able to visit since the pandemic hit). The yarn on the left was a special dye from LolaBean to celebrate Cece’s first anniversary which was the day before all businesses deemed non-essential were closed. The color is “Happy Birthday to Ewe” in a fingering weight. The yarn on the right in that lovely chartreuse is also available at Cece’s Wool and More. It’s Sandnes Garn Silk Mohair and oh so very soft. I love the way it softens the colors of the fingering weight yarn. These together will become the Wheatland Bandana Cowl, a very easy pattern which starts out flat and then is joined to knit in the round. I almost forgot to change my needle size when I switched from flat knitting to circular.

 When knitting flat stockinette stitch, knit stitches are always tighter than purl stitches. It’s just the nature of the beast. So when you join to knit in the round you are now knitting every row for stockinette which creates a smaller stitch and sometimes leaves a line of demarcation at the transition. In order to keep the stockinette stitch uniform in size, you should go up one in your needle size. I switched from a size 6 to 7 for a uniform stitch size.

Then I was inspired to warp my loom after a few weeks away from weaving. I purchased this beautiful colored yarn on a weekend trip to Staten Island for a family gathering. It’s from Schachenmayr Fashion Tahiti. The cotton/poly blend is a light fingering weight yarn and I love the way the colors are blending.

Being married to an extrovert is a lesson in patience so, I’m hanging in there as I isolate myself from both the outside world and sometimes inside too. We introverts were designed for this! And I am fully prepared with enough yarn for a long time although for the sanity of the rest of the world, I pray for the return of good health worldwide. Stay well, stay inside, and keep those needles clicking!

A Visitor Today

Another of Kathleen's daughter's visited us today. That's her sitting beside her mom. Kathy is visiting from Massachusetts and we hope she visits again soon. And Kathleen brought in her shawl she made using a stitch she made up. It's reversible and has a thermal quality that will keep its wearer nice and warm.

Deeva finished two scarves for our women vets.

And Liz finished her first sock! It's beautiful. I think she said she used a Berroco sock yarn.

She found some perfect buttons for her cowl too.

Barbara showed us the sweater she is making for herself. I'm glad she is finding the time to treat herself to some fine knitting. The sleeves of this lovely sweater come to a point on the top of the hand. So pretty.

As is the detail of the stitching down the front and down the sleeves.

Kathleen is making woven squares using the Weavette Loom which she then sewed together to make the beginning of a coverlet. It's a great way to use up stash leftovers. And as she is saying here, it's so easy!

Tonight found the Chicks working on the same pair of Kimono slippers.

Beth is making both slippers on one needle at the same time.

And Maureen is on her second pair already.

I made these purple ones in one day, making both at once on one needle. I used both ends of a ball of yarn at the same time. I felt like it saved me some time.

I also finished a scarf and hat last week. The scarf is made using the Mistake Stitch. The hat is a basic four needle hat with 2x2 ribbed edge.

Well, I have to get back to my knitting.

Moose and Squirrel? No, Moose and Sheep!

Moose and his mommy, my daughter, are visiting this week and we thought Moose might like to see some animals at the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival. Well, yes, that was just a ploy to get him to join us on our trek for yet more fiber. We drove to Cummington, Massachusetts for this lovely little fiber festival on a glorious sun-shiny day.

Our first bribe, I mean stop, was to see the angora bunnies where Moose got to choose the one he wanted to hold.

He named this one "Toodles" after his pastor's bunny. The soft little guy sat with Moose just a few seconds before he decided it was time to scramble away.

The festival had drop-in spinning and knitting and we watched a customer taking a quick spinning lesson. I loved how intently the young man on the left was watching the proceedings. Another spinner in the future, perhaps?

We stopped at another booth to see the beautiful wheels and fiber and Moose struck up a conversation with this wonderful lady. I think they were discussing something pretty funny here, don't you?

We saw Miss Karin at the festival while she was taking a break from her vendor booth. She walked with us for a while and stopped to buy Moose some finger puppets which he loved!

Moose had to make sure he got all the way to the bottom of the basket to get the best selection. You'll see later what he chose.

I needed a large shawl pin for my heavier shawls and Leslie Wind was making some beauties on the spot. You'll see that later on too.

There was a little play area for the youngsters so they wouldn't get bored and Moose made good use of the facilities.

There's nothing like a good pile of hay to climb!

And what's a festival without a good hot dog? Moose was flirting with the waitress in between bites.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to the sheep and head for home.

But we were able to buy some goodies to remind us of the good time we had.

Miss Karin was selling her hand dyed yarns and I made sure I got a skein of "Tree Frog" to make myself a pair of socks.

Amanda wanted to give me my birthday gift early since she won't be making another trip up to my house until after her baby is born. Since she knows I love shawls this was a perfect gift for me.

And while at the festival I found the perfect yarn to make this shawl. And here is the shawl pin that Leslie made for me to wear on the new shawl. I have a few projects on needles at the moment which need to be finished before I can undertake a new one though.

Amanda found some bargains which she will use to make baby hats to sell.

And here is Moose with his finger puppets that Miss Karin bought for him. He now has Kung Fu Panda, Elmo, and we're not sure who the last one is but Moose is calling him "Monkey".

We finished off the day with a quick ride around the block to work off the delicious dinner that Poppop had waiting for us when we returned home.

As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing!"

New York State Sheep and Wool Festival 2010 in Rhinebeck, New York

Yesterday I took Amanda for her first visit to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.

It is held the second weekend of October every year in Rhinebeck, New York, along the Hudson River.
We arrived bright and early, as did hundreds of other fiber fanatics. It was only about a 20 minute wait standing in line.
And that meant that there weren't crazy crowds at the exhibits either.
The weather was beautiful and Mother Nature was really showing off.
The fall colors were plentiful and beautiful.
The air was crisp and windy which helped to send wonderful aromas through the air. We knew our meal plan would include some of those delicious scents we could smell so early in the day.
But first we had to dive right into the fiber!
As usual, the colors were exciting.
And patriotic, to say the least.
And if I were so inclined, I could find any color fiber to spin. I just prefer to get right to the knitting though.
There were many pattern books for selection...
and I think Amanda was a bit overwhelmed by the yarn offerings.
I looked all over for one of my favorite booths, the little elf villages! They are so cute!

The person who made these is a real artist!

We ran into Stephanie who was working the Sliver Moon booth. I stole a quick hug as did Amanda.

And Karin got a hug too. She was working beside Stephanie.

Around the corner we ran into Elaine. She was taking a break waiting for her friends to meet her at "The Tree". You'd know that was funny if you could see how many trees there are at this location. It turns out Diane was standing there the whole time and none of us saw her! LOL! I guess we were looking at the wrong tree!

Back inside we checked out the spinning wheels, of which they had a great variety. This character would make spinning inviting...

As would these spinning wheels sporting sheep, goats and dogs.

The drop spindles were beautiful and decorative.

And so pretty!

I had to stop to watch the weavers make magic out of string. This weaver was making an evening bag with the prettiest sparkle yarn.

And even the men got in on the demonstrations.

And any age can learn.

This woman was using a one of a kind spinning wheel. She said this hand painted horse wheel was the only one of its kind in the world.

Here a first timer tries her hand at spinning with the help of a more experienced expert.
We had to stop and see the bunnies. This little guy thought he could make a quick escape but he didn't get far.
These Australian puppies make great sheep herding dogs. They were so cute and active. And they were for sale. Sorry Andrew! I'm allergic. Besides, they weren't Bulldogs.
I didn't want to miss the animals who give us all this wonderful fiber so we stopped by to pay our respects. This alpaca was very vocal, making the cutest little sounds as though he was trying to say something to me.

These two fellows couldn't care any less that I wanted their picture.

But Llama Boy was ready for his portrait.

As was this cuddly guy. He even smiled for the camera!

I had to make sure to thank them for their contributions to my knitting addiction.

Amanda and I met with other "Ravelers" on "The Hill". That's sort of the same as "The Tree". Apparently, everyone but us knew the location of the hill. Then as we were walking around we noticed this large crowd and as we made our way over we could see everyone wearing "Ravelry" buttons. We found the hill!

The day was getting late and we had eaten our delicious lunches and the obligatory fried dough so it was time to call it a day and head back home.

It was time to bite the bullet and brave the parking lot and the curse of the exit line.

To put it in perspective for you, Amanda started this hat when we got in the car. Two hours later when we reached the exit (yes! I said two hours later!) she had almost finished the hat. All it needed was the ribbing band.

Moose was willing to model it long enough for a photo.

Well, we had planned to spend the day at the festival and we did have a wonderful time. To be honest with you, we stood for such a long time that a three hour ride home (that includes the two spent in the parking lot) seemed like a reward well earned.