A Few Sheep Shy of a Farm

So I’m a little behind on posting this . . . . partly because the Retreat was so overwhelming that I needed to digest it for a bit . . . and partly because lifes craziness returned full swing when I got home. . .

Friday morning I actually managed to leave on time . . . the toddler took my leaving remarkably well though I don’t think he really understood that I’d be away all weekend either.   I stopped at our favorite bakery and got 40 mini cannoli (YUM!) and can proudly say they actually all made it to the Retreat

Next stop was at South Station to pick up Lynn who was riding along with me.  Its a bit of a long ride and Lynn was great company and so we chatted away the whole ride out.  We did stop once along the way, partly because the trim on the edge of my windshield was loose (from the car wash).  Our first destination was Webs!

What can I say, the place really is as overwhelming as everyone says it will be.   We stayed pretty much in the front “shop” area and saved the full warehouse for next time . . .  didn’t want to burn out on yarn too early in the weekend!   Actually, I think I was fairly restrained all things considered . . . I picked up some more pink yarn, 8 skeins of Misti Alpaca

 

 . . . and 2 of the Dale of Norway baby books that had loads of cute patterns for both kids.  And the sizes on most of it go to 48 months so that was perfect. 

 

I also got cones of Harrisville Shetland, some of which I’m using for my New Beginning project from the Retreat and these are for the stash:

 

Back on the road for the rest of the drive to the Retreat. . .  We arrived at the Inn at about 3:30 or so and got checked in with both the Inn folks and Martha.  The goodie bags this year were amazing and further proof that Clara and KR have arrived since major companies are now offering stuff.  These bags are the knitters equivilant of the bags given to celebraties at award shows. 

 

Here are a few shots of the (in)famous Stash Lounge:

 

Dinner was fabulous and we spent the evening knitting and chatting and doing introductions.  My roommate is the one with the 2 Kauni Sweaters! which Clara showed in the KR report . . . Aren’t they beautiful! I may just have to try one after seeing hers!

Friday night after thing wound down in the ballroom we headed back to our room .  .  .  I mentioned that I got Harrisville Shetland for my New Beginnings project . . . well, its wonderful yarn and I’m loving it but the catch was that its unscoured and on cones! So out came the Niddy Noddy (yup, I actually brought it with me!) and I wound off the entire cone of yarn while chatting with Meg.   Then it need to be scoured . . .

 

Luckily for me the hotel bathroom had nice hot tapwater!  After its bath we (me and the yarn) went outside for a little fresh air . . . at 11 at night I was swinging a skein of yarn overhead to get the water out.  Fortunately, the other guests were knitters so if anyone did see me at least they didn’t call the desk to report a crazy person acting suspicious on the lawn!

Saturday morning we had our class after breakfast.  I took Pam Allen’s Lace class and found it really interesting.

 

She gave us charts and had us work up a series of swatches that showed the effects of decreases in lace patterning depending on angle and placement . . .  it really gave me something to think about from a design perspective.  We also had a lovely chat about lace in particular and knitting & the yarn industry in general.  All in all, a very nice class.

After lunch (again, really good food and such a treat to not cook or clean up)  we had a little break before the Market opened.  I managed to be one of the first in the door and got a couple of photos before it got picked over. . . .

 

 

 

That’s my roommate Meg in her rainbow Kauni!  There wasn’t nearly this much left by the time it was over but there were a lot of satisfied knitters  

I was again, remarkably restrained.  I got a copy of Clara’s book, a t-shirt, a few note cards and bookplates from Clara.  I also got some yarn and fiber from Sugar Maple Merinos (in the first photo above).   I got 2 skeins of bulky Merino, but by the time I wrote this they’d been knit into hats . . .

 

This photo shows the cables pretty well but not the color, which is more like this:

 

and 2 skeins of Mohair/Merino blend in Fingering weight which will be either small shawls or large scarves.  

 

And I got a lovely bag of silvery grey merino roving that is going to be a sweater at some point (really, it is!) and that was pretty much it for me and shopping.

Actually, what I worked on most was spinning some handpainted roving that I’m spinning up into yarn that will be for a baby surprise jacket for the little one . . . I got the second 2 oz packet of fiber spun and most of the 4 oz that are spun plied . . .  I’ve got another 4 oz that I’m going to spin before I knit the sweater.   I hadn’t done much spinning in a while (spinning wheels and 2 yo boys are a bad combo!) so it was nice to get so much done.  I’ve been interested in trying a BSJ for a while now and what better time than for my own little peanut!

Saturday evening Barbara from Foxfire Farm came and spoke to us about her experiences with raising sheep.  It was an interesting peek into what it takes to be a shepardess.

  

The rest of the evening was spent knitting and spinning and visiting . . . with a few glasses of wine (I had my 1 for the week with dinner, Dr approved thank you) and lots of cookies and treats as well.  It was a wonderful and relaxing evening.  Many of us stayed up for a while longer than we otherwise might have to enjoy a little knitting drama . . . One knitter was working hard to bind off a Mobius that she had been knitting.  Its made from her own handspun yarn . . . from the hair of her pet Samoyed Dog!  The drama was that she was running out of yarn and lacking more yarn or available fiber . . . she might have had to wait until spring (and the dog shed again) to have enough yarn to finish it!  She made it with mere inches to spare:

 

Talk about a knitting clif hanger!

Sunday morning I woke up with a bit of a migraine (theory is that perhaps it was because we were headed back to reality) and after we had a lovely breakfast together we headed back to the ballroom for some wrap-up and the New Beginnings projects.   Clara spoke about the Retreat and how its grown and evolved over the years and thanked us for coming.  We then gave her a “Standing O” for throwing such a fabulous party . . . . and we made her cry!

 

She had us write letters to ourselves and handed out letters to those who attended last year . . . and then we began our projects.  The idea is basically to start something for yourself (that you finish before the next retreat) and then to have others that you have connected with over the weekend knit a stitch or a few stitches on your project.  The project I chose is to knit a Shetland Hap Shawl based on the patterns in Sharon Miller’s book and using the Harrisville Shetland I picked up at Webs. 

 

 

I’ve got 5 different colors in shades of brown and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out. 

After lunch we packed our things and managed to stuff everything back into the car and headed out.  Lynn and I stopped off at Webs again on the way home to exchange a cone of yarn I got with the wrong dyelot.  The impressive thing was that neither of us actually purchased anything else!

MIL called me on the cellphone when I was about 20 minutes out and said she was making dinner, bless her!  When I did get home the little guy seemed happy to see me and then was up to his usual tricks within minutes.  By all reports he was something of an angel all weekend and saved up the trouble until I got home.  Figures.

Monday and Tuesday I did battle with my old friend migraine.  And I manged to realize that I’ve gone from morning sickness to this weird thing where I can’t eat if I’m the one doing the cooking . . . and after being gone for 3 days and sick for 2 thing kinda piled up around here so I haven’t been online much while I try to catch up again.

I have done a little knitting; I made Father & Son cabled hats from the Sugar Maple Merino for the guys. I’m planning to add the pattern as a Free Pattern on my site.  I’m also done with the Irish Hiking scarf and have worked on the Hap shawl.

Knitting, knitting and more knitting . . . .

Let’s check in on some of the on going knitting projects, shall we?

First up is Fern.  I’ve been knitting the front and back at the same time so that I only have to work through all the charts once.  I’ve only done about rows since I picked it up again but I’m hoping to work on it for about an hour each night now. At least that is the goal.

Baby Sweaters – nothing to report really. I did a couple of rows on one but I’m still way behind on the baby sweater gifts.

 

Lacey Prairie Shawl – Its a little squashed since its on a shortish needle but I have been working on this one lately and hope to finish it off in the next couple of weeks. Ideally, it will be done and blocked before the weather gets chilly.

 

Prairie Blanket has stalled out at 24 inches.  Since I wound up giving a different gift to the child I started this for I’m considering making it longer than the recommended size and using it for Mimmo for his bed. He’s going to need a new bigger blanket this fall when the weather gets cold as he’s gotten too long for most of the ones he had.  Here is a detail shot of the eding:

 

 

Megan’s Sweater – I’ve actually sewn the bottom but I need to put some sort of an edging and work an I-cord tie for it but other than that its finished.  I’m going to write up the pattern for IY and work a smaller one for her little sister . . . though I may do her’s just a little different so they won’t be entirely identical. We’ll see.

Knitting for Greensboro

  

 These are the squares the ladies from the Monday night knitting group made to send to Laurie for the Greensboro KS blankets she’s putting together.  As a group we managed to come up with 13 squares and I dropped them in the mail earlier today. She mentions on her blog that she doesn’t get a chance to confirm that packages have arrived so I’ve included a SASE postcard and a note asking her to drop it in the mail.  That way we’ll know when they have arrived. 

Oh, and in case your wondering, I made the 3 red ones . . .

Swaps

I want to say “Hi” to my two swap buddies, [Kena] from the Hand Dyed Yarn Swap and “Victoria” from the Hogwarts Sock Swap 2.  I’m currently working on both of your packages . . . and might even post a peak in a few days. . .  I love swaps, they are so much fun!

Stash enhancement and craft projects

I know I don’t need any more yarn . . . but look what I got the other day:

 

More sock yarn . . . everyone’s been talking about the Tofutsies so I wanted to give it a try . . . I’m going to come up with another pattern for IY using this but I haven’t actually started it yet . . . and the Louisa Harding Kimono Angora is pricier than most of what I tend to buy but I was having a very stressful day and really needed deserved a treat so this is going to become my new fall scarf . . .

I’ve also gone through the entire shop and personal stash and reorganized it recently.  I’d take a picture, but its just too frightening.  Though not as bad as some I’ve seen lately.

And just because I haven’t had enough to do lately, I’ve been making these:

 

I finally sent another note to the KnitUFO Group.  I hadn’t been in touch with them for a while, partly because I’ve been busy and partly because I just haven’t been working on the UFOs!

Farm and Home updates

Bathroom report – not much to say, currently without any fixtures as Dom has put some sort of bonding agent on the floor in preparation for putting the “Self-leveling” concrete down to finish the foundation of the floor.  And the nephew is coming by tomorrow to look at the pipes that need to be temporarily moved to fix the floor joists that the previous contractors cut. 

Chickens

They are growing fast now. The smallest is about 3 oz and the largest is 7.5 oz. Here are a few photos:

 

This is the smallest one. We aren’t entirely sure what it is but think it might be Dom’s Sicilian Buttercup Rooster . . . looks like we’ll have to wait and see.

 

The black and white one with the yellow head is the one we thought was the Buttercup but now I think it might be the extra one they throw in and I think it may be a Dominique . . .maybe.

 

This is the big one.  I think its an Aracauna (Easter Egger).

 

This is one of the Speckled Sussex hens

 

This is “Buddy”. Yes, she has a name.  She has figured out how to work the system and has buddied up to the little guy and earned herself permanent resident status.  Smart little girl.  We believe her to be a Black Australope. 

 

This is one of the white rocks.  A few of these are staying but some of the 10 are only here temporarily.

 

This is one of the two I believe to be the Barred Rocks.  If it is then its one of my laying hens. 

Okay, thats all for now. 

One of the best stashers I know is opening the fiber room and having a Destash sale!

Tall Gal Knits is making room to go shopping here: http://tallgalknits.typepad.com/tall_gal_knits_and_spins/destash.html

If I didn’t have sooooo much of my own stuff already I’d stop by for some of the boucle . . . I really need a boucle scarf this year, don’t you?

Is Temporary Insanity still used as a legal defense?

’cause if it is, that is what I plead, really.

I’m really not certain just what came over me. I don’t even like knitting with cotton or acryllic. I certainly don’t need more yarn. And I definately don’t need to start another project right now. I’ve got too many going as is!

Yet somehow, when I went to Michaels yesterday for a few more bead for some stitch markers I was making . . . . these 8 skeins of cotton ease followed me home.

In my defense, I spent a good part of yesterday doing the semi-annual closet clean out/flip over, pulling out all the winter stuff and trying to stock in all the summer stuff. Turns out I don’t have much for summer stuff these days. A few pairs of shorts a couple of tops but only 2 summer sweaters, both store bought.

So somehow, when I saw that the cotton ease was on sale I started getting visions of knitting up a quick summer cardigan. Something light and lacey with a few small buttons and perhaps a 3/4 sleeve . . . or perhaps I’ll even turn it into a twin set? Hmm, that would require more yarn I think. I guess we’re going back to Michaels for a few more skeins later today.

I very briefly entertained the idea of just knitting up something someone else had already designed. Afterall, I could probably knit a single sweater fairly quickly these days, even between the other projects, if I don’t have to do the math and all the design . . . right? So I considered doing a Sitcom Chic. Yeah, I know I’m a few years behind the trend on that one . . . but hey, better late than never right? But after reading through the pattern and studying the photo I decided it isn’t quite what I’m looking for. I’d like something lacier, a bit lighter so that the sweater isn’t too heavy.

And since I’m going to do the design myself I figure might as well make it something that I can use for Inspirations, right? And that is how I wind up with yet another pattern idea running loose in my head, just knocking around trying to find a way out into the yarn. Some days that is what it feels like . . . all these ideas trapped in there just waiting for me to let them out onto the paper and into the yarn . . . perhaps that is part of why I have a migraine today?

Un-named sock progress . . .

The as-yet-to-be-named sock is moving along nicely. I’ve turned the heel on the first one. I’m doing the first in Magic Loop so that I can work out that set of instructions and I’ll be doing the second one on DPN so that I can work out the “other” set of instructions. I really like the texture of the stitch I’m using on this pattern. Nice and springy feeling. I really believe texture is important, especially in sock knitting. And the stitch is relatively simple, making it easier to memorize and the knitting is going fairly quickly. Not only that, but I like the way the stitch and the color changes in the yarn are coming together. Overall, I’m pretty happy with this one.

Sweater design project

I haven’t knit on the current sweater design for a few days now. I’m hoping to pick it up again later today. I’m about 1/2 through the back of it and think if I can keep myself from starting anything new for just a few more days I can finish this and get it sewn together. That will leave me a few days to get a good day for photos and a little time to actually write up the pattern. Gosh I hope this submission sticks, I really like this design a lot and I think others will too if I can just get it out there!

And once I clear this sweater from my head I can let the next one that I need to get written up come to the surface. I’ve got a great idea for . . . sorry, can’t tell ya . . . and I’ve got a test knitter all lined up to work on it . . . I just have to get the pattern written so we can get moving on it!

Okay, time for more headache meds . . . wish me luck getting rid of this thing so I can get some knitting done today!

And Happy Mother’s Day!