Machines Can Knit Too!

Today thanks to Iris I had a grand lesson on a Knittrax knitting machine.With Iris's help I was able to knit a sock blank of 450 yards of sock yarn I purchased from RI Handspun.
She is seated at the machine demonstrating how to recover some stitches

Can't wait to dye it!

Time is on the run

How did it become January 30th? It is so true that time flies more quickly as the decades advance.
This means carpe diem without fail, folks. I've been reassessing what's important each day. Lately it's been painting, knitting spinning and writing. There's also photo shots at the local botanical gardens. We need the yellow in January!!

Spindle Adoration

Ahhhhhh...... The joy of alpaca and silk moves through my fingers as I observe the whirling wooden tool that links me to the textile past of our ancestors.

Connections

Today I'm trying to link my blog to Facebook...............let's see if this works!

Changes

I've finally hunkered down to start another round of blog entries. It's about time, I think, to resume writing and picture taking. Problem is I got an iphone and I've being taking pics with it instead of my digital camera, and I need to establish a new upload routine. I downloaded Flickit to the phone and have been uploading pics to Flickr. This should clear the way to promoting more blogging. Well..................will see.

I've been in a quandry this new year with dealing with the loss of a dear friend and other issues. What has made it all possible for me to preserve my equanimity is family, friends and creative pursuits. Where would we be without them. EZ said to knit on through all crises, and she knew what she was talking about. Except I'm doing more..........creative writing, painting and dabbling in other fiber arts pursuits. Because in the words of Rose Tremain (b. 1943), British author: Life is not a dress rehearsal.

It's time for the fiber content, folks. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of listening to a presentation by Laurie Carlson at the RI Weavers Guild meeting who weaves using fiber optics. It's remarkable how she creates installations that utilize woven light. Take a look here.
After the presentation I was off to the our spinning guild meeting to spin some fiber yet to be photographed. I did manage to also spin some chocolate caramel fiber on my Ledbetter. I've got a sock in the making as well.

Happily I finished SIL's plain jane vest, but after the holiday.I also managed to use some autumn Navajo plyed fiber donated by a generous friend for a Fake Fair Ilse hat for DH.He said he likes it . When I mentioned using it for snow shoveling, he said I don't want to ruin the hat. "What!" I said. " Wool will keep you dry!" The uninitiated wool wearers of the world are all around us. Notice the Lindt 85% dark chocolate box upside down at the top left. I believe that baby is empty.

Back in the Saddle Again

Yes, this has special meaning for me. Christmas Day I mounted DD's horse after over 40 years of shying away from riding. Don't get excited.... I only rode for a minute. It was a first lesson and no photographic evidence!

Believe what you will. Here is something to believe in......knitting:

This is Fake Fair Isle hat knit in some handspun autumn colored yarn and some Paton's Classic Merino in black.

Botanical Gardens

What a joy to visit gardens in December! The holiday display was delightful.I never knew there were so many varieties of
pointsettas.

Phone Blogging

I finally realized I need to post. So I thought I would try to post using my phone.Here's what DH has been up to.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Whirlwind Weeks

The last few weeks have been busy; hence my not being able to post. I was able to visit Rhinebeck for the weekend and partake of the fiber-filled atmosphere with friends and enjoy the much longed for goodies. I particularly enjoyed the Eveready Diner between visits to the fairgrounds!
The end of last week I enjoyed visiting the Botanical Gardens at Roger Williams Park. I was captivated by the Koi pond and of course the lush vegetation that has happily helped to soothe the loss of spring and summer flora.Today I was able to celebrate Halloween at a local Spin In hosted by Sue D at RI Handspun. We had a good time spinning, knitting and gabbing. Paula was spinning some Halloween Fiber that was delightful. Judy spun some lovely blue singles and plyed them. Carol R spun some bouncy fiber on her wheel. DebbieR spun her Witches Brew. Carol M worked on a lovely lap robe using Starmore's Maidenhair pattern. Sue began a sweet pink baby hat. I spun some Pumpkin Cappuccino from CJ Kopec fiber that fit the autumn Halloween theme. The lighting is poor and does not show the truly warm autumn hues to best advantage. I'll have to think about what to make with the four ounces I am spinning.

Rainy Day Blues

Ugh! It's cold and dreary this am. Luckily I had enough light in the Florida room to take pics of my latest finished projects. I tried without success to upload the pics and projects to Ravelry just before this post, but it appears to be a bit cranky this am.

The shawl is a lovely deep red. I used the Simple Yet Effective shawl pattern and made a few mods to the pattern.


The scarf is a drop wrap stitch pattern knitted in handpainted Ella Rae Merino............a delightful knit. Blocking it made a big difference.

I Know It's Fall

I know it's fall and all, but the summer got past me so quickly this year. It was a different summer, but delightful as well. I thoroughly enjoyed feasting on my heirloom Nebraska Wedding tomatoes. I actually grew peppers for the first time, and I had enough to stuff for a great supper addition! I planted some seeds from last year's Datura and I finally was rewarded today with one of its lovely trumpets.

On the weaving front I finished weaving 3 dishcloths on my Beka RHL. I really like the absorbancy of the fabric. On the knitting front, I've been working on a hodge podge of projects such as three cowls , a shawl and the scarf you see below not to mention trying to finish knitting my Ply by Night scarf made out of handspun alpaca, wool and angelina.


Last night I attended the Slater Mill Knit Guild meeting. Twist Collective presented their trunk show. As always seeing knitted garments sells patterns. Check out their website and archived patterns. You won't be disappointed.

The Spinning Room

I came across this interesting article about the spinning rooms in 18th century Germany. It was there that people shared local news as well as news from travelers. They were even denounced: " as dens of iniquity because young, unmarried men and women would drink together, sing songs together, and perhaps even worse..."

Times have changed .............

Blossoms on Boston Neck Road

This summer I drove down to Casey Farm with my Ashford Joy spinning wheel to demonstrate at their Farmer's Market. As I drove down Boston Neck Road I noticed a small low pond. Gathered around its circumference were several photographers with cameras and tripods. I almost came to a grinding halt when I discovered what had drawn them there. Keep in mind that the flowers are the size of large grapefruit which is huge when compared to what one finds on local ponds.

With the photographers permission I was able to stand in front of their cameras so I could take these shots with my humble Panasonic Lumex:

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 :)))