Knitting Has Been Happening

Knitting Has Been Happening

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I have just been busy going back to school working on my Bachelor's degree (one class each semester so far), full time work, part time work, lots of knitting, and some traveling.

Color Affection

 I finished this Color Affection shawl for a friend who moved from our area. This is the second time I made this pattern and this time I really liked it. It turned out nicer than the first one and it is so soft. I am hoping that it will keep this friend warm as winter will set in out in Utah before very long.

I used Woolike yarn from Michael's for this shawl. I was surprised at how soft and wonderful it felt as it is an acrylic and nylon blend. In fact, I liked the yarn so much, I went back and bought enough to make a lightweight sweater or two for myself.

Ashton

 I knit this Ashton shawl by Dee O'Keefe for another friend who moved to California. This was a fun knit. The pattern didn't have beads on it, but I thought some little purple beads would look so pretty on this shawl. I really like how it turned out and I would like to make myself one, probably without the bead though. The beading slowed the knitting down quite a bit.

This shawl was knit with a Zauberball lace which is a single ply. I don't really like to work with single plies, but this one wasn't bad at all. I might even succumb and purchase another ball one day soon to make a really large shawl for someone else. The beads were some that I had in my stash from a project many years ago. I only used one tube of beads, so I still have another full tube left in the stash.

H's Modig

 This little vest, the Modig, was made for our twelfth grandchild. It is made with Paton's Encore yarn which I picked up at Second Story Knits in Bethesda during the Metro Yarn Crawl in April. In fact, I started this little vest the night I bought the yarn. I only had a week to make it before flying out to meet this new little baby. I love how the blue and green car buttons just fit the vest. Perfect for a little boy.

Truth be told, this is the second Modig I made. I also made one out of stashed Luna yarn for my niece's baby who is about the same age as "H" but much smaller. My niece says her little one can probably wear this when she is five.

Maryland Sheep and Wool 2016

May brought the Maryland Sheep and Wool show. I loved going this year. I probably spent more money than I should have, but I found some wonderful things. I found that the jumbo flyer for an Ashford Kiwi will fit my Ashford Scholor, so I bought the jumbo flyer and can now get a larger skein when plying.

I found I really like Turkish spindles and I found a couple of really nice ones. I also replaced my Trindle. My first Trindle's arm don't stay in very well, they keep flying off when spinning which is very annoying. I like the new Tridle, it spins very nicely. I also bought some yarn: Ella Rae worsted in a pine green and Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a pumpkiny color. I also bought one hank of fingering weight yarn from Dragonfly Fibers in their show colorway.

I have lots of new projects, lots of UFOs, and projects in the planning stages. I am hoping that getting back into blogging will help keep me accountable and give me a goal to get some things finished as I would like to share my progress on all these yarny pursuits.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Since attending the Montpelier Fiber Festival on Saturday, my desire to sit at the spinning wheel and get some spinning done has increased. On Monday I was able to go to a new friend's house and spin for a couple of hours. She is a new spinner and is doing a wonderful job with her spinning.

I remember what it was like when I first learned to spin. There is a fiber guild in Pocatello and I was invited to attend. For the first couple of meetings, I would go in and watch everything that was going on. I would watch how Edie, Phyllis and Anna Lucy spun and then I would go home, take my wheel out of the car, and sit down and practice what I had seen that day. That's right, I wouldn't even take my wheel into the guild meeting. It just stayed in the car until about the third meeting I attended when something was said and I said my wheel was out in the car and Edie had me bring it in so I could spin there. That was twenty years ago and since then there have been many enjoyable hours spent at my wheels.

I am so glad I made the comment to R & C's father saying I would like to learn how to spin and then he and Tim got me a wheel for Christmas that year. I don't know what I would do without my spinning now.

This is the last bump of fiber I purchased at the fiber festival last Saturday. As you can tell, there is a little bit of green, but it is very muted. I really like all the fiber that I've added to my stash. On Monday I started spinning the second to the last batch of fiber I picked up at last year's fiber festival. So this bump will probably sit in the stash for about a year before I get to spinning it. But then again, the anticipation of wanting to see how it will be as yarn may take over and it will be spun quickly.

What was your first spinning experience?

Happy knitting and spinning.

There is Something Drawing Me to Those Greens

Yesterday I was able to attend the Montpelier Fiber Festival, my first and only festival this year. I got there early, by 10:35 am and stayed until 4 pm. I probably went through the booths about six times both by myself and with the rest of the gang.

It seems like just about everything I was drawn to this year had some green in it. I had a strict budget this year and I stuck to it! My first stop was at the Creatively Dyed booth. I know how crowded her booth can get. I thought if I went there first I would avoid most of the crowd. I picked up the fiber the first picture there, the one with the shawl pin. I then wandered and looked to see what else would jump out and grab me.

The Finn locks I picked up at the Misty Mountain booth. I remember buying some Finn roving from them the first time I attended the SOAR vender event. I made a pair of felted mittens and a cowl from that fiber and have absolutely loved them. It's time for some new felted mittens.

I have the rest of the weekend to play with fiber and get some knitting done. I am currently working on lots of Christmas knitting and it is coming along quickly.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Montpelier and Family

I thought I would share pictures of some of the fiber I purchased at Montpelier this year. I had a very good time wandering around the fiber fair looking at everything and not having to worry about keeping family members entertained. ES went with me, but spent most of the time watching the sheep/dog trials. I got to spend about three hours just looking, eating, purchasing, and enjoying.

The first and second pictures are showing the fiber I purchased from River's Edge Weaving Studio. I really liked the Fall colors in their booth. The first one is the Maple Leaf color and the second is the Indian Paintbrush color. They are a blend of merino and seacell and they are very soft. They are 4 oz each.

I think she has some really pretty colors in their dying. I realized when I got home that I have purchased fiber from them and spun it. I picked up a couple of ounces of their fiber when Sheryl and I got to go to Stitches East last year. I really liked how it turned out, so I am excited to try these two colors.

The River's Edge booth was about the last one I bought any fiber from, so I am working backwards in purchases for the next couple of posts.

The last photo is some superwash Merino that I got from the Wild Hare fiber studio. It is a 4 oz top in the Grateful Dyed color with two full color repeats in the roving. C saw this and claimed it for himself. He wants me to make him something from it. I told him I already had plans for it and he said, "Well, I get it first. You can use what's left for what you want to make."

In other news, our family has increased by one more. K and J-b had their baby yesterday morning at 2 am. We now have three grandsons. And in other news: Au and E's preemie came home from the hospital on Tuesday. Both babies are doing well and the parents are excited to have them to hold in their arms. I can't wait to see them when we fly home in November. ES says he likes the way they are named. The boys initials are A, B, and C. ES says the rest of the kids will have to name their kids in order on the alphabet so he can keep track of them. Yeah right!!

ES is planning on running a marathon on Saturday. I will have plenty of time to do some knitting while watching for him. I don't know my way around Baltimore, where the race is being run, but am going to try and find a place half-way through to watch for him and cheer him on and then get back to meet him at the finish line. I hope he does well, he woke up yesterday not feeling well and isn't any better this morning.

Happy knitting and spinning.

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.

Shearing Demo

Saturday while attending the Fiber Fair at Montpelier Station, we watched a gentleman shear a sheep. It was interesting. I don't remember if I have ever watched a shearing before, I don't think so. I know I have heard about it and talked with Ora about how Irv would shear. But I enjoyed watching someone actually shearing. It was a good interlude to shopping and keeping track of everyone.

I spent a bit of time spinning yesterday and continued working on socks. "A-b" and I also went to a couple of museums: the Udvar-Hazy and the National Firearms museum. "A-b" was ready to leave both museums way before I was. We started taking the free tour at the Udvar-Hazy and "A-b" only lasted about 15 minutes before he was complaining that he was hungry and he couldn't stand there any longer. I think I need to go back without children and take the tour again. Today is slated for the National Zoo, but then "A-b" and ES stayed up way too late and I don't know when we will get into the Zoo.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Snake River Fiber Fair - Pre-Fair

Yesterday morning I received this e-mail:

Laura-
I have received your fiber fair registration and have you signed up for the Beginning Spindling and Spin to Knit.
See you at the Fair!
Sheryl

I am looking forward to attending this year, as it will probably be the last one I attend for a few years. I am so looking forward to taking the class taught by Shannon Okey. I also am looking forward to taking the class taught by Elizabeth Dailey. I enjoy spinning with their spindles and am looking forward to learning more about spindle spinning. In spinning related news, I finished the indigo dyed fiber that I started last week. It looks much better after the carding, not at all felted. C has already put dibs in on getting something made from it, but there isn't very much there. There is only about half a bobbin of singles.


I also haven't finished knitting anything yet this week either. I am almost done with sewing the edges together for the baby sweater. I really could have this done today, if I would get myself in gear.

Let me leave you with a picture of the Christmas cactus' which are still blooming. I have liked having their pretty blooms for the past six months.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Not enough time

This weekend went very fast! I did get to go to the Great Basin Fiber Fair, although I didn't get to stay for very long. Aren't the Alpaca cute. They were sure inquisitive and cute to watch. They wanted to know everything about where they were and any strange noises close to them.


This gentleman was fun to watch also and did a good job with the girl scout troop that was there. It was interesting to listen to him answer their questions and talk about the craft.



I'm ready to go back, but without any other commitments for that day! I am interested in seeing if any others from the fiber guild went and what they were able to come up with there. I guess I will see this weekend when the guild comes to my house, hopefully!

I've been busy knitting on some socks. They will be gifted! They are coming along really nicely, but are taking me quite awhile to get done. I am going to be taking a monthly sock class on the first Saturday of each month. Maybe that will motivate me to get some socks done!

Happy knitting and spinning!