Well Traveled Shawl

 Just a quick update on the progress pf the Well Traveled Shawl.
 For one thing, these yarn cakes are more the size of finger puppets.

The shawl is now off the needles and I am biting the bullet and, after working a yarn over bind off, trying to apply a crochet picot edging.  Have I mentioned I hate crocheting?  But I think the top will still be nice and stretchy and sturdy at the same time.  I saved enough of the merino for that.

And of course, I still have all those ends to face.  Once I am done though, Gertrude has consented to pose and pictures will be posted.

I hope to wear it this weekend.

The "New" Truck

Hubby has been dreaming of ditching his little Chevy S10, and the half ton Dodge Ram for one truck that can haul the cattle to market. Half the insurance, that will get him where he needs to go. So this is what he got:

No it isn't a 2010 new, just new for us. Actually it once belonged to my oldest son's best friend, then that friends brother-in-law, then....well I don't knew who all. But it never left the area.

And now its ours. The community truck.

Anyone recognize it?

Last Fiber Festival of the Year

Yeah, others may be headed to Rhinebeck in New York, and Ann Arbor,  but for me, that's it for this year.  No more fiber festivals in 2010.   

Sandy and I headed to the north country this past weekend for a taste of the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival in West Branch.  We shopped and browsed.  I helped her spend her money and I managed to not spend too much of my own.

The best part of going to these shows are the friends I now have as vendors--Pat, Theresa, Pam, Rachel, Allison, Mary, Rita....

I only got a couple skeins of yarn--some of Yarn Hollow's great colors. That was actually a yarn pack of about 6 skeins of merino fingering for a multicolored shawl.  And from the New Zealand wool booth I got some multi-colored lace weight just full of deep intense colors.  I can't wait to knit it up.  I picked up another spinners control card to have with my Traditional, and I got some felting supplies.  I finally decided to give it a try.

Oh yes, I managed to take a picture of the Cherry Leaf Shawl on display.  That wasn't the one that was sold.  It was the Pink Ball of Fluff!  I was so happy to get a final finished shot of the Cherry Leaf Shawl.

Red Rover, Red Rover

I don't think that I shared this on the blog yet.

This is the first of my skeins of Red Rover chunky yarn I am spinning for my Tappen Zee sweater, out of Lorna's Laces roving, in the Red Rover colorway. I tried to navajo ply it and it went fairly well. It is a fairly even chunky weight. I have a total of 30 ounces and I haven't weighted this, but each skein is one fairly full Ashford bobbin.

I hope that since this is a short sleeved cardi, and since I am short, the body will be fairly short, I hope this will be plenty.

If not-- well, I have some Lipstick red cormo silk that I can use double stranded to finish the body and maybe crochet (ugh!) the neck, sleeves and front edges. I think it will work great.

Spin In Public Day and More

For this past Saturday's World Wide Spin in Public Day, I had a commitment to an event at my church.

We were celebrating our gifts and talents. And so my spinning fit right in.

We had some quilting on display. We had one person who does beading, and showed us how to make Anglican Prayer Beads. I may have gotten a little bitten by the beading bug. (Must. Resist. Beads.)

Another brought an example of her prayer shawls, and some lovely watercolor note cards.

Margaret, my boss's wife does china painting. She did the rose on this little box while Lily and I watched. Wow!

Bonnie had showed the little ones how to make sand painting during Vacation Bible School, so she volunteered to do it again. She had Jan in the morning, and then after lunch, she had a whole crowd making sand painting.

And we even ate, very well--homemade soup and breads and salads. Yummy!

And I could not believe all the different yarn I had on display to give examples of what was possible: Merino tencel, merino silk, cormo, corridale, alpaca, angora and all.

I was rather impressed with the variety myself.

The Pocket has Been Fused

On the Green Wallaby I mean. I finally dug out of that black hole this past weekend, and got the body and pocket flap fused together. No updated pictures but it is progressing nicely. Before long, the body/pocket can rest while I wrangle the sleeves along. I already have dug out the 16 inch circ and the double points.
And I am continuing to work on the Well Travelled Shawl. I am getting near the end of the different balls. It is getting fairly long, but there still seems to be a surprising amount of yarn left. I hope to be able to use up the other, and end with the merino. It would be better, soft and durable next to the neck I think.

Keeping Busy on the Farm

Lots of knitting, but nothing that really shows up well for pictures. I seem to be in the black hole stage of both the Wallaby and the Well Traveled Shawl--lots of knitting, but no growing.
I just discovered today that my sister in law--4 years younger than I am, is retired. I am so jealous. I haven't been able to keep a full time job in Michigan long enough to be able to retire, and now all I can find are part time jobs.
How depressing.
On a lighter note though, I will be bringing my spinning wheel to church Saturday for World Wide Spin in Public Day. We are having an Assembly for the Daughters of the King and other women of the area. Our theme is just showing the various talents. I have a huge tub of handspun, and wool, and am thinking I may take the Traditional. It is not my usual traveling wheel, but it does look the most like people imagine a spinning wheel should look like. I may grab a few spindles as well.
Hubby has been keeping busy as well. He is quite pleased with the sweet potato crop he experimented with this year. He just dug another hill. There seem to always be at least one huge potato and then several smaller, almost fingerling sized ones. They are yummy baked.
Then this past week, he came home from the livestock auction (his weekly ritual) with not one but two calves. He had been threatening to buy a Jersey calf for the freezer, as well as a Holstein or beef type to finish out. But, he had two good size Holsteins in the trailer. So every morning when I go out for bunny chores, the red one in the barn is calling for his bucket of milk replacer. He is definitely kept busy with his chores, with these two calves plus one bought previously all on buckets.
Keeps his out of trouble.

Knitting Progress

I have been making progress on the green Wallaby. The pocket flap is finished and waiting for the body to grow another couple inches. I love the color.

Then there is this. I bought the yarn pack from Yarn Hollow last May at the Fiber Fiesta in Greenville. I love the soft colors. The colorway is called Dove Gray.
There is an alpaca wool blend, a wool silk blend, merino, mohair boucle and a brushed mohair. The pattern is easy, just a few rows of each color, and adding an eyelet row whenever I feel like it. It is going really fast.
This is after just a couple days of knitting.

And here is a closeup, showing the different yarns and the texture they bring to the shawl.

Of course, all that changing of yarns does have its drawbacks.

(sigh!)

Thoughts On 9-11

I remember thinking, "Well that was dumb, now they got us really mad." (Where has the anger gone?)
I remember when I first heard. I felt mad, stressed,bewildered, nervous.
I remember I had a doctor appointment, and the highest blood pressure I've ever had.
I remember the disbelief as the first tower fell.
I remember feeling punched in the belly while watching a replay, and seeing the second plane hit.
I remember getting tears in my eyes as I heard (and sang) the national anthem, Amazing Grace (on bagpipes), God Bless America.
I still do.
And I still remember.

Fiber Festival Season

The Fiber Festival Season is winding down. This past weekend, it was chilly enough that I could wear my new sweater. Comfy and stylish. I loved the zipper, and may be using more in the future. Maybe I can finish something else before Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool.
I mostly worked in the store, freeing Evelyn to keep all in order. Luckily she popped in a few times when we were swamped. I managed to do pretty well I think.
Working in the store helped the wallet too. A couple of my favorite vendors had to leave early, so I never got to see them--Mohair in Motion and Counting Sheep Farm. I heard the cherry leaf shoulder shawl I made as floor model for Betty Todd's Mohair in Motion, and posted numerous pictures of here, actually was sold. Apparently a customer kept begging to buy it until she relented. Didn't know I was such a sought after knitter.
Or, more likely it was the beautiful rayon blend yarn.
Anyway, once I did get out and about I found a couple of great patterns, one is a hoodie vest, with zipper, and the other is a cap sleeve cardigan, with a cabled yoke. And both come in real people sizes. (In other words, big enough for me.)
Time for some stash diving.

Pics of the Finished Marl Yoke

Ta Dah!

The finished Marl Yoke sweater. Made with Bartletts worsted weight 2 ply, and marl plied homespun. Warm and comfy. And...even better, cold weather is right around the corner. The forecasted high temp for Saturday is 62! I may just be able to wear this to the Fiber Festival at the Old Farm Girl. At least when I venture outside.

I especially like the zipper. It isn't quite so obvious as it shows in the picture, I chose an off white one that blends a bit better. And the pocket is just big enough for tissues or keys. And doing it in the purple, down the back and up the front, with a 3 needle bind off in front make them quite subtle.
Oh, yeah, we had a visitor glued to the back door the other day. Second time in a week. At least this one didn't leave a "deposit". Cute.

Fiber Festival Mania

Another fiber festival this weekend, Friday and Saturday.
The Old Farm Girl, my local yarn store, who has a lovely location with lots of parking, will be again hosting a fiber festival this weekend. I love these events.
I stopped by the store to pickup some yarn she had skeined off for me--a black/gray merino laceweight with silk slubs. It is wonderful and I have to find a shawl worthy of it.
Then I picked up this great Bartletts yarn. (Shown here in the fabulous basket that I got at the Michigan Fiber Festival last weekend.) It is going to be a Wonderful Wallaby for a friend. This picture make it look lighter than the yarn actually is.
S0 of course I cast on immediately.

The featherweight may be in the background for a while.