4th of July Festivities

ES and I spent the day on the Mall in DC. It was a fun day of attending the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, eating, watching people, fireworks, then more people watching, and shopping.

In the Wales section of the Folklife Festival, I got to watch a gentleman spin on a walking wheel and listen to a woman talk about dying wool with natural dyes. What a fun fiber related day and I learned something more about natural dyes. I haven't used many natural dyes, so talking with her was really interesting. I also ran into Laura from the Wednesday night knitting group and we spent some time in the Marketplace together.

ES and I were going to watch the fireworks from the top of the Cap Gallery, but ended up going and sitting down by the Washington Memorial when it came right down to it. The fireworks were really pretty and I think I got some good shots of them in all their glory.

My favorite picture of the fireworks has to be this green one. There were many more which didn't turn out, but that is to be expected.

I think one of the best parts of the night was standing ontop of the Cap Gallery, once again, watching the people head onto the metro and watching the thirty or more fireworks displays going on around the horizon. There were fireworks going off all over and they kept going and going. You could tell when each of them came the their conclusion as the grand finales were quite spectacular. We watched until about 11:15 pm by which time the metro line was managable and we felt like we could get on without too much problems. Glad we were on the orange line, as there weren't as many delays on that line.

The last picture of this loooong post is the fiber related goodies that I picked up at the Folklife Marketplace. Those are "Darn Pretty Needles" in a size 8, perfect for the scarf I'm knitting for the Red Scarf Project, and a new drop spindle. I haven't spun on it yet, but am looking forward to the spinning. I think I now have about a dozen drop spindles.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Catching Up

So, there has been a lot going on around here. C left yesterday to spend a month in Idaho with his brothers, sisters, and friends. Before he left, he wanted a new hat. His old one was lost in a puddle on a rainy day about a month ago. He reminded me he wanted to take it with him to Idaho on Sunday. I finished this hat by Monday morning and had him modeling it. He chose the colors and yarn from the stash. Now I just have to make some hats for all his friends that have requested them.

The first hat which I knit about a month ago, right after C lost his other one, ended up being too small for C and has since found a home with his friend Nate. I haven't seen it in use, but C says it has been worn. C also picked the yarn and colors from the "stash". What a great stash buster.




I have been watching the blossoms on the pumpkins growing in my planters on the balcony. There are quite a few blossoms and I am hoping to get a couple of pumpkins out of the deal. I also have some blossoms on my cucumbers and some green tomatoes on the vine. I just have to remember to water daily, as the planters dry out really quickly.

These are the skeins of yarn I picked up while in Chicago. The green is Dream in Color Smooshy (Happy Forest). I really like this color and there is 450 yards. The other skein is Alpaca Sox in colorway # 1858 with another 450 yards. They are both "my" colors, but will probably be knit and given as gifts.
Don't know yet to whom they will be given, but I'm sure someone will pop into the mind.


The last picture is of the clouds last night. They were really spectacular to watch as I sat on the balcony spinning. The colors of the sunset and the depth of the clouds were quite a combination and kept me entertained for an hour or so. That's what happens when I get home from work while it is still daylight, I get to watch the sky, people going by, and spin on the current wheel.

Last Week - Chicago

ES and I were in Chicago last week. ES was presenting at the NFPA conference which was held at McCormick Place. I was able to spend the time wandering around, sightseeing, knitting, and doing whatever I wanted to do. I also listened to ES's presentation which went very well.

One of the fun things we did, along with ES's co-worker Mark, was attend the Chicago White Sox game on Tuesday night. It was c-o-l-d, 51 degrees at the start of the game, and I was glad that I had brought my knitting with me. It kept my knees and hands warm when the wind got blowing. Mark laughed when I brought the knitting out, ES just took it in stride. He told Mark, "she takes it everywhere."

On Tuesday afternoon, I went looking for a yarn store within walking distance of the hotel. There was one listed in the phone book, but when I got there it wasn't there anymore. So Wednesday morning I went looking for another store which was close to McCormick Place. I took the shuttle to the convention center and then spent some time walking around, Knitwerks didn't open until noon and I was down there at 10:30. Knitwerks was a fun little shop and I might have come home with some pretty yarn.

While walking around and waiting for Knitwerks to open, I happened upon a little park. I had a throughly good time looking at the gardens around an old house, watching a couple of men clean out the fountain and then watching the fountain, but the best thing was watching this dragonfly.
He was really well hidden in the foilage, but caught and kept my attention once I spotted him. I loved his black and blue wings. I think I ended up watching him and the surrounding area for about 15 minutes. I almost took out my knitting right there, but decided I was more interested in finding something to eat.

Wednesday night was spent at the outdoor concert at Millenium Park with ES and his mom. We took a picnic, got some popcorn, listened to the music, then wandered around Buckingham Fountain. After that, it was back to the hotel to pack and get ready to head home the next day.

Chicago was a fun interlude, now it's back to work and everyday life. I'm glad I got the break though, the stress has been getting to me and I needed the get away.

Happy knitting and spinning.

ES Goes to Latvia and Brings Me Back Fiber Related Gifts

I thought I would share some recent events with pictures. First off is the indigo plant that I bought at MS&W. Liz bought one also and shows a picture at the bottom of this post. My plant is doing very well out on the balcony and even has some little red buds forming. I've never grown indigo before, so I am enjoying this plant as I watch it grow. It amazed me at how fast it adjusted to the pot I put it in and the sun it is getting. It has grown quite a bit since I brought it home.

In other news and pictures: ES went to Latvia for a conference last week and he brought me presents. He brought me the nesting dolls. "C" got quite a smile on his face when he saw them and had a fun time pulling them all apart and setting them up. Yes, he is still a child at heart, even if he is almost 18 yrs old. The stacking doll is now sitting at a place of honor on the mantle waiting for little fingers to come play with it, or big fingers for that matter.


The second gift ES brought was this skein of single ply yarn. There are 340 grams in this skein which is pretty close to the color in my monitor. It is a grey/light brown color. I haven't figured out how many yards are in there yet, but know there is at least 600. This will make a really pretty shawl, maybe something from Victorian Lace Today. ES told the story, when he gave me the yarn, of buying the yarn. He said that the lady he bought it from was very definite about it being wool, a very good yarn and at a very good price. She did not want to sell him anything else but wool which worked well because ES wanted the wool. The little white spot in the center is actually the sticker that has the price and the weight. ES says he couldn't get across to the lady that he did know a little about yarn, because his wife was a spinner and a knitter and he has picked up some knowledge from that fact.

The last gift he brought me was this pair of hand knit lace socks in the large size. He says there were only two sizes there at the street market, small and large. I think ES did a very fine job of bringing back surprises from his trip to Latvia. He even brought back chocolate, but gave that to "C" which I don't think he has eaten yet, by the way.

ES's next trip is to Chicago and I get to go with him. Maybe I can find some suvienor yarn when we go there next month.

Until next time, Happy knitting and spinning.

Buzzards in Virginia?

This was the weirdest sight today. I was taking "C" to young mens, a church organization, and saw this bird. It looked like a buzzard of some kind and it was eating road kill! After dropping "C" and a friend off, I drove back the same way to see if it was still there and it was. I got this picture with my cellphone then, I didn't think I had my digital camera with me, so the picture isn't too good. "C" wouldn't take the picture when we were heading down the road together, so I HAD to go back. When I first saw the bird it was in the middle of the road stopping traffic. When I went back, it had moved the road kill to where you see the bird now. I sat a watched for about five minutes and then had to head home.

I have to wish ES a Happy Birthday. He turns 50 years old today! I asked if he felt old and he said he didn't yet, but he's sure that will come in about 20 years or so.

Pictures of MS&W

Seeing as how I can get the pictures to download today, I thought I would share pictures of what I purchased at MS&W (finally). I only bought one skein of yarn that was from Tess Designer Yarns, where Liz bought her microfiber ribbon yarn. This pretty aqua color will end up being something for ES's step-mother, I think.

The second purchase was 8 ounces of merino fiber dyed purples, pinks blue and some green. I passed this by on the first walk through the vendors and hoped it would be there when we went back. I am not sure it was the same batt, but it is pretty and spinning up nicely. It's on the Hitchiker right now.

The most "have to have" purchase was from Creatively Dyed. I love her fiber and colors and couldn't pass up getting some more of her fiber. I love the colors and feel of this fiber and can't wait to get it onto the Lendrum on it's next rotation into spinning time.

The only animal picture taken was by Liz of the alpaca we saw as we started wandering around Saturday morning. They were so cute!


The final picture today is of the one bloom on the newer Christmas cactus. The bloom is now gone, but the older cactus has two blooms getting ready to open. I love it when flowers bloom when they aren't supposed to.

Next up, I have some finished yarn to show and a couple of baby sweaters almost ready to go. So much going on. Happy knitting and spinning.

MS&W and Other Ramblings

I was going to put pictures of the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival up, but for some reason I can't get the computer to download the pictures!!

It has been a long time since posting and the time just seems to get faster and faster with no reprieve in sight.

MS&W was fun. It was good to be among the fiber festivals again. Liz and her husband picked me up early and we headed up I495. It was a really pretty drive and we didn't get lost. Although at one time we wondered if we were on the right road, but we came around a corner and there was a line of cars miles long. We were in the right spot! For my Idaho friends, the fairground is similar to the Eastern Idaho fairgrounds at the animal section. The big white building at East Idaho is the same size as the animal buildings, plural, here. The rain held off for most of the day, we did have a little early on. I'll post the pictures from there, when I get ES to figure out what I've done to the picture reader.

MS&W wasn't the only thing happening this past weekend. ES ran a half marathon in Frederick MD on Sunday. We left the house about 5 am to get him there in time! He ran his personal best at 2:33. He came in about four minutes before the first marathon runner and I thought that was really, really good. I'll have pictures of that also, if you want.

I have spent the week, for my spinning time, with the Lendrum doing a lot of plying. So far I have plied six bobbins worth of stuff. I am ready to be spinning other fiber on a couple of wheels now, the Lendrum and the Hitchiker. By the way, at MS&W I was able to see and test Merlin Tree's new wheel, the Roadbug. I am seriously thinking about that as a double treadle! I'll have to save my pennies until next year though.

Well, until next time--with pictures-- Happy knitting and spinning.