Introducing Tip of the Tam

The holidays nothwithstanding I have managed to get my act together and post some pictures of a finished piece. "Tip of the Tam" is a quick knit made with less than one skein of Ball and Skein's, Kashmir, a lovely blend of 80 % merino and 20% Mongolian cashmere and iridescent beads. It can also be knitted in Ball and Skein's Serena, Weatherfield and Arbori.The pattern will soon be available.

It's Dizzy Time

I wanted to post something for the last week and a half. Time is flying by and still I haven't finished all the have to's.

I've been up to much as of late with work and knitting and spinning. One of these days I will take pics of some of my fiber work and show you that I have something to show for my absence from the blogosphere.

I've got a couple of neck wear items I've been working on in the pattern design area. Naturally, holiday gifts are being knitted, and I'm sworn to secrecy about those. After the holiday celebration I can post about those. I've also begun a new vest in some of my handspun yarn about which I'm really happy.

Tonight I'm headed off to a holiday get together with some of my high school buds. We got together last October to celebrate our 40th high school reunion and thought we would get together more often to celebrate. What a great idea!!! None of us has to prepare for the get together since we are meeting at a local restaurant to celebrate the holiday season. My kind of "do."

It Never Fails to Please

I always enjoy The Gathering workshops and fiber enthusiasts that congregate once every two years in New England. It was fun to catch up with bloggers from the area as well.

The first workshop I attended was a full day session with Myrna Stahman. It was very worthwhile to learn about Faroese Shawl knitting. Myrna takes the time to make her participants understand the basics of lace knitting. She also takes the time to explain the difference between " lace knitting" and" knitted lace."

Lace knitting provides the knitter with the much loved " rest row" while knitted lace affords the knitter no rest from chart reading. I was able to start my Faroese shawl in a DK weight blue yarn. Ever since my return from The Gathering I find myself picking up the started shawl and knitting more rows.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of taking a workshop on spindle spinning with Abby Franquemont. It is also worth your time and travel to learn about production spindle spinning from Abby. Abby's childhood experiences in Peru as a child were illuminating and instructive. Add to this Abby's wit and you have a wonderful Sunday morning with a new low whorl spindle.



In the project department I have many tales to tell. I have started a scarf with my spindlespun Hale Bop. I continue to spindle spin some merino/mohair. I'm on sock number two in an easy 3x1 rib. On the wheel I need to continue spinning Rebel, Rebel.........a luscious batt from CopperPot Woolies. Some merino/ silk I bought from RI Handspun is calling me................

The Gathering

Every two years I look forward to going to The Gathering which is sponsored by the Northeast Hanspinners Association of which I am a member. I very much look forward to a day long lace workshop with Myrna Stahman.Here is one of her free patterns in memory of Matthew Shepard.

The next day I'll be participating in a workshop with Abby Franquemont. My greatest joy is seeing other fiber enthusiasts and their work.

Back to packing..............................

TADA!!!!

I think this is a record. I knit this sweater in about a month maybe even less. I'm loving its warmth on these chilly mornings. Pity I never made it to Rhinebeck to wear it there!
I was very happy to make this sweater out of stash yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery as well as stash buttons I bought from Spa a couple of years ago. I LOVE these dragonfly buttons!
The pictures are pretty lousy when it comes to seeing the true color, but the button shot is passable.

Not Much I like Here

Knitting on Top of the World

The Russian Sage and Sweater Progress

You know that eventually we have to weed and trim the garden. We can wait until next spring or we can do the work in the fall. Today I spent some time weeding and trimming plants in my driveway garden that gave me so much joy last spring....the Siberian Iris, the Mountain Mint, the False Indigo,the many lovely lilies and more. But I could not trim the Russian Sage...call me sentimental...I could not rob some bees of the chance to still feast on its lovely purple flowers. I'm so happy I took the time to work on the garden and spend some time enjoying this beautiful day.

On the knitting front I've been happily working on my Rhinebeck sweater....you know from the book A Fine Fleece which I very much love. I'm using some Green Mountain Spinnery worsted wool which appears to be a singles. I'm finished with the patterned part of the back and fronts which are knit together on a circular needle. I also have been spinning some merino and mohair on my KL spindle.




Last weekend I did some spinning at the Hearthside.

Linen Stitch and Hydrangeas

I'm in the finishing mood lately. I rounded up a pullover called Jolie by Jamieson in Annabel Fox bulky yarn I had begun several years ago and finished the second sleeve. The fact that this sweater was done in linen stitch with some sleeve and design element increases are my excuses for not finishing the dang sweater.....yeah, yeah, yeah....you know that excuse by heart.

I am very pleased with the outcome especially after I blocked the sweater after a Eucalan bath. I must admit you need to think about whether or not to use Eucalan with some sweaters. There are times when I'm making a sweater when I'd like to avoid making the fabric softer.....consider a sweater/jacket made with Bartlett, Candide or Green Mountain Spinnery yarn. I find that I'd like the stiffness of this yarn and its resulting fabric so much in a design that a bath in another wool wash is best for my purposes.
Click on the picture below to see the lovely flecks in the linen stitch pattern. I love this yarn.
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting DD and SIL's newly adopted cat, Lizzie. She is delightful and resembles my own Ruth.................


I also enjoyed her wonderful hydrangeas...................they are so special when they are blooming and approaching the end of their season.

It's My 5th Blogiversary!!!

You know I've never mentioned my blogiversary. This was due to the fact that I couldn't quite remember the exact date, but after a bit if searching I discovered that the earliest entry I have is August 27th 2003. It's not recorded in my Blogger archives because I was blogging using a website uploaded to my ISP. So..........I've picked this date to celebrate the event.

What a wonderful journey it has been. Thanks to Mr. Etherknitter I have learned how to save my blog. Thanks to the knit/spin blogger community I have been able to share and learn about knitting and spinning. This blog has provided me with an audience that loves fiber as I do. We all need an audience for our work to have meaning.

One thing I would love to know is who my audience is? I've looked at bloglines and know who some of you are , but I'm curious to know who else is out there. I'm sure readers visit and don't have time to leave a comment. If you've got a moment leave a comment, I'd love to know who my nameless readers are.

The hat that wanted to be a purse........

All who know me know my love for all things Jacob. I even managed to get some wonderful handspun Jacob in a fiber giveaway. I thought about what I wanted to make with it, and I started to make a beret. It told me it wanted to be a drawstring purse.

Here you see my favorite bday present from DD and DSIL............Eeva Haavisto's mitten book!!! Yes..........it was reprinted and is sold at Nordic Fiber Arts!!My DD wasn't sure she bought me the right book since it is written in Finnish. It contains charts for a hundred mittens.
Yesterday DD and I had our summer bday celebration. She made me a lovely arrangement of lovely hrdrangeas and zinnias from her garden. I also received some funds to buy some other spinning delights!!!

Before, During and After

The fiber is called Hale Bop after the comet that streaked across the sky in 1997.

Today is a glorious day!What could be better that blue skies, sunshine, comfortable temperatures and spinning!! I know a visit for our bday celebrations from DD and DSIL................

Walk with me Wednesday Bday Fun

Today DH and I celebrated my bday with a trip to the shore...Point Judith that is. We took off after the morning traffic and visited the celebrated lighthouse built in 1888. After knitting a few rows and spinning on my spindle, we took a long walk to get in our dose of exercise. Next we had the best clamcakes, chowder and doughboys at Iggy's!

Breaking the Silence

It's been a busy time with workshops and other work related musts. But I'm back. I'm having fun with Wordle. Take a look at my wordle.

EssentiallyI took my last blog post and created a word cloud with it in Wordle. Go and play. It simple fun to see what art your language can produce.

Yawn..................I'm tired....think I'll try to knit and or spin before I fall asleep.

Petticoats and Moon Flowers

Can't beat this combination.....petticoats and Moon Flowers. I've been knitting right down to the wire. Last night I finished Emma's Unmentionables for my dear grand niece's first birthday. Today we will celebrate with a cookout at her home. I have to say that Web's cotton yarn is a winner as it is a mixture of cotton and microfiber. Did I tell you I bought more red yarn?Some red sprinkles woolease for a dollar a skein for a child's sweater down the road. I just can't stay away from this color.

I found a white t- shirt to complete the outfit. I added a bow to the t-shirt to match the tie on the petticoat.......It will be too large for this year, but she'll be able to wear it next season.




My lovely Moon flower keeps blooming every evening!

Knitting and Spinning Update with Wild Animals

Yes.....................I've been remiss in posting as of late. Work has kept me busy as well as work on my new sock pattern which I plan to release for the fall.

I'm still working on Emma's Unmentionables and a pair of languishing Regia socks in Ringwood pattern. I still need to finish Mystery Stole 3.....................I'm on the wing segment.

Spinning is ongoing. I'm working on a full bobbin of a 5 oz. lovely dark red batt I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm almost finished spindle spinning the blue lambswool you saw earlier as well.

Earlier this week DD sent me some wildlife pics. A deer and some wild turkeys appeared on her land as well as a cat who likes to peek in her window.

Siamese Sleeves

Today I was reading my back digests of KBTH and read with interest Lucy Neatby's method for knitting two fair isle sleeves in the round using steeks. Quite an ingenious method I must say. Anne
shows how she did it with her lovely fair isle.Perhaps I'll give it whirl whenever I get back to the unfinished Rona.I'm sure Carol M would like to see it finished!

Lucy Neatby - Tradewind Knitwear Designs - Steeks

Technorati Tags: Fair Isle

Hoping to Beat the Coming Rain......

We made it! There is nothing like picking a June bounty of strawberries on a Sunday morning. My DM and I headed out for the Strawberry fields to eat our fill and fill our basket with those red jewels of summer.

"Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields forever.

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.
It doesn't matter much to me.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields forever.

No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low.
That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right.
That is I think it's not too bad.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields forever.

Always no sometimes think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream.
I think I know I mean "Yes," but it's all wrong.
That is I think I disagree.

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Strawberry Fields forever.
Strawberry Fields forever.
Strawberry Fields forever."
The Beatles

Blogger's Overload

I know sometimes I don't post as often as I would like but there is a good reason. Aside from being busy with work or other responsibilities sometimes I'm plain in overload mode (hey... that rhymes).I have too much to blog about.....Lol.................here's a sampling of what I could write about :

1. I attended our RI Spinning Guild meeting last Saturday and learned more about tapestry weaving from Janet Austin, a local weaver whose enthusiastic presentation of tapestry weaving made me more willing to bring out my school loom or make a loom for that matter. Thanks, Sharon for making this happen!

2. At the same meeting I received a free CVM fleece from our board members who through the last heatwave skirted, bagged and lugged these fleeces for us. Yes...............I added this fleece to many others for processing. Thanks, Beth,Marva and Debbie!

3. I'm still making headway with a new sock pattern soon to be released through yarn4socks sock club offer in August. The test knitting phase has begun thanks to Sarah.

4.I'm working on Emma's Unmentionables, a sweet petticoat-like pair of pants for a toddler. I bought some Valley Yarns Longmeadow, a 60% cotton/40% microfiber yarn in a dark red. Love this cotton yarn......................

5. I've been spinning a medium blue lambswool on my new Ledbetter spindle that I purchased from Judy last weekend. This spindle spins like a dream....I know I'm preaching to the choir. But if you are uninitiated you must give this spindle a whorl (npi); I haven't felt this way about a spindle since purchasing my Forester Safari. I've procrastinated long enough......back to work!

The Iris is the Giraffe of Flowers

Notice her height and her wonderful veined patterns! She's a delight!

It's Too Hot! I'm seeing red!

Yeah........this weather is too extreme. It interferes with my wool work as you can guess. Not that I stopped completely. I've been working on a new sock design soon to be released as a kit that contains ball and skein's sock yarn. The kit is part of a sock club offering at yarn4socks in August. I'm working on the lovely red sock model as I write. At least sock knitting can be done in the heat.

I've also started spinning some red fiber that Debbie R rustled up for me from Copperpot Woolies. I began spinning while watching the Red Sox .......keeps with the red theme heh :)
The fiber is luscious and it's eye candy unspun or spun.

On the cooler side check out my blooming orchid..........

Cardinal Song and More

This little fellow made my morning by penetrating the grayness with his sweet songs.
The spring garden delights me with an Iris and some baby's breath.
This is the end of three pounds of Border Leicester fiber that I purchased from RI Handspun a couple of weeks ago. I'm happy with the spinning.

DD wants to make a cabled jacket with it. Thanks,Sue,for selling me this wonderful chocolate fiber, which she purchased from Barbara T at Seldom Seen Farm.

Memed

Sharon recently tagged me for a meme:

The rules: Posted here at the beginning. The player answers all questions. The player then chooses six people you want to know more about and tags those people by listing their names at the end of the post and going to their blog and leaving a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Also, you let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was teaching English full time and training teachers how to use technology to enhance classroom instruction. It was a special year....DH,DD and I traveled to San Francisco for a week and enjoyed the trip so much. It was a rather exciting trip since I felt my first earthquake on the 21st floor of our hotel. A dear friend who lives in SF called me to assure me that the quake was just an SF hello. I did not agree; I'd rather deal with hurricanes for sure.

2. What were five things on my to-do list today (not in any particular order)?

The first item was finishing a training manual on How to Create a Web Site for the Classroom. I then went on to enjoy a bit of gardening; I planted some begonias, lobelia, rust colored hen and chicks and more. I'm working on a secret sock and spinning some chocolate Border Leicester fiber for DD that I bought at RI Handspun.
3. What snacks do I enjoy?

My all time favorite snack is very dark chocolate (85%). I also love almonds and ranch flavored peanuts.

4. Where are some places I've lived?

Can't thrill anyone in this department. I've always lived in Little Rhody.

5. What things would I do if I were a billionaire?

I would like to fund the Greg Mortenson's quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan to fight terrorism one school at a time.

Then I would like to develop a think tank of individuals whose sole purpose would be to find ways to renew the world's resources as listed on the Seven Revolutions site and then share them globally.

Finally,I would like to pay off the usual bills that accumulate over a lifetime.

I'm tagging Judy, Laurie, Kathy, Jenny,Sarah, and Carol.
I'm curious about their answers....................

Commencement 2008

It never fails to impress me that time flies! I haven't posted in a month. I can tell you it's been a tad busy what with work and this and that. DD trod the boards as they say................although she received her doctoral degree in chemistry last August, we all had to wait until last weekend to see her clad in her doctoral robes and celebrate this very special occasion. Here's the moment:

Here's DD and her grandmother. We are all so very proud of her.

I'm such a cowl!

Yes.........you heard right I 'm such a cowl!!! Lol.........I can't get enough of them. Perhaps it's the age; you know cowl's hide a multitude of sins. They are so versatile.....a cover for the ears, the neck, jewelry really..................and such a small doable project when you are in the midst of three lace projects. I found the project on Ravelry....the Beech Wood. Check it out!

This cowl feels so soft as it is made out of my handspun cormo and alpaca bought years ago at Rhinebeck.

Spinning Along

It's a great feeling when you spin up some yarn that's been languishing in your stash. The purple 2 ply rambouillet and silk was a purchase at Rhinebeck several years ago. It's quite garish so I'll have to decide if it needs a a dip in the dye pot. The Navajo plyed merino is a delight I must say. I have at least another skein's worth to spin.

I started spinning the merino this weekend and finished it while watching the Red Socks last night. I didn't get to bed until after twelve. I went from knitting to wheel spinning to spindle spinning for four hours.

This morning I couldn't resist taking a picture of my favorites Hen and Chicks from the garden. Well................off to exercise. I've been procrastinating long enough :).

Stork's Nest

This Estonian lace pattern by Nancy Bush from Piecework seems right for spring knitting. It's a lightweight scarf made with Plymouth's Alpaca and Silk that I purchased from Sue at RI Handspun a couple of weeks ago. The color is a very muted purple; the picture is not an accurate portrayal of the color.

I now have three lace projects on the needles....MS3, a feather and fan shawl from and older Piecework Magazine and The Stork.

On another front........I had a short piece of knitting related writing published at Yarn Market E-Update. Be sure to scroll down to The View from the Blogosphere.

Sargasso Sea Sock Kit and More

"In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where two powerful currents come together like partners joining hands to dance and whirl round and around, there is a place shrouded in mystery. It is a sea within a sea. This place of calm, clear water and floating seaweed islands has been said to becalm ships forever and to harbor mermaids. It is the Sargasso Sea." My friend,Judy of Ball and Skein aptly describes the Sargasso Sea which is the theme of our sock kit.

After much revision and test knitting by Sarah, the Sargasso Sea Sock pattern kit is now available.The kit includes the cutest sea shell stitch marker.

Now I'm free to finish up the wing portion of Swan Lake Stole (MS3) and other WIP's.

I'm happy to report that I've spun up a considerable amount of rambouillet and silk at RI Handspun's Spin In........................