Fiber Pursuits

This weekend I had a great time on a Tactile Travel tour to Shelburne, MA to visit Barbara Parry's farm. The trip was arranged as part of our Slater Mill Knitting Guild activities for this year. Not only did we play with the sheep, but we also saw Barbara's studio where we could buy some fiber , yarn or spindles. Some of us spun with our new Kundert spindles while others took part in a spindle spinning class. Still others knitted in her barn to the tune of her sheep songs.


I slipped over to her beautiful garden for a few shots.

Barbara captured the visit at her blog.After a mostly rain free visit,we headed for the Northampton Brewery then Webs. What a way to end the day!

Provisional Cast Ons
If you're like me I'm always on the hunt for a provisional cast on method that's easy. I've tried many, but I've settled in on a crocheted method. What's so wonderful about it is that it always works properly. No trying to figure out which crochet chain side from which to pick up the stitches to begin a project. Also unzipping is a breeze! It basically allows you to crochet stitches onto the needle you will use for your project.

The best directions are always visual. Check out this Knitting Daily's video featuring Eunny Jang
where she shows several methods. What method do you favor?

Summer Horseshow and Local Fair

DD participated in a dressage show this summer and was rewarded for her hard work with Wyatt:

I love his ribbon. DD placed 4th out of 13.

I've been working on several projects as of late that have kept me away from posting. I finished a lovely little shrug for a 2 year old. I've finished another baby gift project. I'm still wanting to get back to some of my other projects, but they are warm on the lap while knitting so perhaps they'll be left for the cooler weather.

Now that I have a bit more time I'm working on tweaking a another bag pattern design that uses my own hand spun. Pattern writing is all consuming. The devil is in the details as they say. I'm also thinking about an idea for a shawl for the autumn. I'll be trolling through some stitch treasuries to get some fresh ideas.

A few weeks ago I attended one of our local fairs and submitted some hand spun.

Summer Flora

I have been busy as they say with work and fairs and family and friends. Here are some flowers in my driveway garden............................

No Time For Posting

June has been a whirlwind month for me. I've been busy with work, workshops and fiber pursuits. Mother nature's bird parade has intrigued me as well.If you look closely in the picture above you can see Mama protecting the nest of baby birds below.



I took a super handpainting dye workshop with Kris Gonzales of the Painted Sheep. Rhodamine Red,Spiced Pumpkin, National Blue and Mallard were just a few of the Prochem dyes we used to handpaint roving and yarn.


Today I finished spinning some fingering weight Icelandic fiber for a special project. I want to knit a light and dark shawl in natural colors. Here is the handspun ready for the project.

Close Encounter of a Fiber Enthusiast

Where do I begin describing the fiber adventures that I have encountered?

Let's go back to New Hampshire Sheep and Wool.........I got to visit many vendors including Mad Angel Creations and Ball and Skein. I purchased some Strawberry Chiffon fiber from Mad Angel and I'm enjoying spindle spinning this wonderful fiber :



Here's Judy at her booth at NHSW:



Next stop is the 3rd Annual RI Sheep and Wool Festival. I had a wonderful day. I participated in our annual RI Spinning Guild Sheep to Shawl Demonstration. Here are some pictures from the day.

Carol and Beth are putting some finishing touches on the shawl


Here's a better view of the overall pattern:


Next post I'll continue the tale................

It was a great day for photos!

Last week I finally got around to taking pictures that some of you asked for of the shawl and scarf I finished. Judy graciously took some of the pictures. I am happy to report that these two projects are off the needles and ready to roll.

Lately I've been sidetracked in my knitting. I wanted to finish up a new cowl pattern so I double dropped or is it tripled dropped some other projects. My basket overfloweth with several projects screaming for attention like socks, a lace scarf and some zzzzzzz UFO's.

Well.....rest easy.... I'm straightening my knitting basket and also plan to pullout some spinning projects before I head out to New Hampshire Sheep and Wool this Saturday. My goal is not to do too much damage at the festival....mmmm maybe a bit of roving or a some nameless wooden object :)))

Stretched to the Limit

What a difference a hard block makes on a piece of lace knitting. This pattern called Old Shale Shawl by Evelyn Clark from Piecework Jan/Feb 2005 is a easy knitting experience. The yarn is Ball and Skein's hand dyed merino/silk Zephyr.
Purple hyacinths wow me with their color every spring.......................

Easter Pie Aka Pizza Gaina

It 's that time of year again when baking celebrates the humble egg. I say this because I make Pizza Gaina and Easter Rice pie for my family. Today I made the egg dough for the Pizza Gaina from scratch and added the fillings. The turnovers are cooling as I write.

Tomorrow I will make the Easter Rice pie aka Pastiera...............

Sachuest Visit

It's always a joy to visit Sachuest no matter what time of year.

Spring Tidings

Today, my small office window was cracked to air out the room. Not only did the welcome air enter, but the sound of birds chirping in my yard perked me up. April is in the air:

Eliot reminds us from The Waste Land:

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.

As we all know April's cruelty turns the frozen earth eventually to a warmer time. Given our cooler temperatures in RI , my spring hat may still be worn:

Show and Tell

The hat is knitted from hand spun Cooperworth ( the fiber is wonderful to spin) from Sandi at Wintechog Hill Farm. The green/blue/yellow yarn I hand dyed at Barbara Parry's dye workshop ( a very worthwhile workshop) at Web's and handspun by me. I'm knitting a hat from the top down with it presently.

I overdyed some merino and tencel that came out a lovely red/purple using koolaid dye.The last project is the Swiss Cheese Scarf I knitted out of merino/ tencel I spun years ago......part of my 10 year old Rhinebeck stash.

Men's Fashion Intersects Knit Designs

Here's men's fashion with a knit sense....................Thom Browne's Menswear collection for Fall 2009....Be sure to check out the sideshow.

Opinions.............................

Tip of the Tam Pattern is Complete !

Finally after much delay on my part, I've completed the tip of the tam pattern. Many thanks to Ball and Skein for her yarn and BySarah for her test knitting.

I'm also working on a hand spun hand knitted hat for charity which I've enjoyed making throughout the process. I began with 3 0z of lovely Coopworth from Wintechog Hill Farm in CT. that Sandi provided to our guild. The locks barely needed a flick and they were open and ready for a quick spin. What a joy to spin. Next the knitting process fostered my delight. Spinning from the lock from butt to tip produced a wonderful worsted yarn with striations of natural color in the yarn.........grays and browns.I'll post some pics of the finished hat soon.

Are you a process oriented spinner or knitter?

Nature aims to please....................

My orchid readies to bloom.......................
So does my fiber................................

Wuthering Heights

If you haven't seen PBS's Wuthering Heights ,view it online until Sunday, February 1, 2009. The online viewing is of good quality with a large viewing window. I read WH when a teen;this televised version doesn't disappoint unless you'd rather cling to the written word and not spoil your imagination.

I'll understand...................

On another Masterpiece Theater note .......Tess of the D'Urbervilles aired on PBS before WH. I fell in love with Tess's shawl.You know I had to find a pattern for this shawl. This shawl looks a lot like it.

In case you haven't heard there's a discussion on Ravelry about Tess's shawl .

More Knitting and Spinning.....................

I've been wanting to post more of my knitting and spinning projects..............the skein is mohair and merino: spun and plyed on a Ledbetter spindle. The cowl is knitted with hand spun- hand dyed merino.The hat will soon be felted.

Yes! Pete Seeger Has Arrived!

Inauguration 2009: Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen
Originally uploaded by USA TODAY

Pete Seeger is wearing a Solmate Socks hat while singing with Bruce Springsteen at the 2009 Inaugural Concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC yesterday.

There's a web site to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ravelry is abuzz discussing what the concert means to our nation as well as how to knit this hat.

Field of Dreams

If you build it they will come........................truer words were never spoken! Last night I had the distinct pleasure of being in the company of many like minded fiber enthusiasts at Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI.

Slater Mill is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution; it seems fitting that those of us who cherish the handmade as well as the machine made can now gather in its halls to share our craft and expand our knowledge. The directors of the mill have welcomed guilds and individuals from the northeast to join their community guild studios. They also plan to create a pan guild with the hope of co mingling the members of distinct guilds to inspire joint projects. Add to this their willingness to sponsor workshops in any fiber related topic, and we've got the care and feeding of the imagination.This excites me to no end.


Join the conversation at Ravelry........................