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Homespun Yarn Party, 2012

Posted on March 25, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Today was the annual Homespun Yarn Party, in Savage, MD. I’d never been to this event before, but this year, my friend Lynne from Knit Group decided that I had to attend, and offered to drive my van there. It was a little like the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but in miniature, and it focused on small, local vendors with unique yarns and products. I went there not knowing what to expect, and I loved it!

Of course, I couldn’t have attended an event like that without having some yarn follow me home. I tried to focus only on yarns I had never seen or heard of before, and colors that pleased me, but WITHOUT focusing on purple for once, because that would have made things too easy. And I think I succeeded. Without further ado, here are my purchases:

This yarn is from Feederbook Farm. I like it because it has little bits that look like flowers in it. Not sure what I’ll do with it yet, but I love this.

Feederbrook Farm Yarn

Feederbrook Farm Yarn

This one is Biggie, by Dancing Leaf Farm. It’s mostly blues and greens, and it reminds me of looking up at a blue, blue sky at billowy clouds while lying on cushy green grass. I was also lucky enough to find a matching felted button in the button bin. I’m sure it was no accident that it was there, but I felt lucky to find it! I’m seeing myself in some kind of wrap with this:

Dancing Leaf Farms Biggie Yarn

Dancing Leaf Farms Biggie Yarn

This yarn is Chunky Bump by Mid Valley Fibers. I had never heard of this vendor before, and I just read their story when creating the link in this paragraph. You should check it out. I’m going to do something fun with this! (I also got a button pin kit, which I know will one day adorn one of my hats!)

Mid Valley Fibers Chunky Bump

Mid Valley Fibers Chunky Bump

This last one is Taffy, by Folktale Yarn. The vendor told me that the yarn in this one came from one of her own goats. And, looking at the tag on the yarn, there are all sorts of yummy bits mixed in, including sparkly sari silk threads. I just love it!!

Taffy, by Folktale Yarn

Taffy, by Folktale Yarn

I doubt I could have found such interesting and rich things at any other event. Plus, the best part? It was like being around old friends all day. It was crowded, but filled with local artisans and local spinners and knitters, so I was among friends. I saw lots of people in my knitting world who I know mostly online, but only see at these events, and friends that I see all the time at my own knit group. It was SO fun, and I’m glad I went.

Thanks, Lynne! It was great. Love you.

Filed Under: blog, Events, Knitting, Yarn · Tagged: ,
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Biggo

Posted on September 19, 2011 ·

You don’t have to tell me; I know I have enough yarn in the stash. But then last week, I saw Knit Picks’ new yarn, which is a new bulky yarn with a funny name. It’s called, Biggo, and I had to give it a try.

New "Biggo" yarn from Knit Picks

New "Biggo" yarn from Knit Picks

I’m nearly done with my charity scarf for work. And, there aren’t that many donations coming in, so I feel like I have to make more. Except that I am a slow knitter. So I’ve been looking for a bulky, washable yarn, and then this one just fell in my lap at just the right time.

Biggo is 50% merino and 50% nylon. I don’t know that much about fiber construction but it looks basically unspun and then wrapped in a thread. It’s BIG, hence the name, so it will knit up quickly. And it’s SO squishy and soft. I bought 4 hanks, and I’m actually hoping I’ll get two scarves out of it. Secretly, I want one for me. I think it’s going to be great for what I’m going to use it for but I have to wonder how it will hold up in something like a sweater. It’ll be interesting to see what others think of this yarn.

Hopefully I’ll have an FO report on the other scarf soon. Keep on knitting!

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Knitting Weekend and Catching Up

Posted on September 11, 2011 · 2 Comments

Scarf Progress

Scarf Progress

I never quite know how to show a scarf in progress on my blog. For the most part, they’re long and unwieldy, and since I do most of my photos indoors at night, it’s not like I can take them out and hang them from the fence post to shoot them outdoors. So today, I’m enlisting my pal Hedda, my trusty hat model, so you can see the pattern in my scarf. Problem is, doing it this way doesn’t really show how LONG the scarf is, which is of what I am most pleased at the moment. It’s about 4 feet long at this point, which means, dear people, that I am nearly DONE, or at least about four-fifths done, and yes, I’m thinking of other knitterly things.

At least one person has asked me if this scarf is of my own design. Well, yes, and… no. It’s a simple thing, really, in a basic seed stitch with a plaited cable in the center. So, nothing earth-shatteringly new there. But, someday soon I will write it all down for the curious and post in these pages. Perhaps when the thing is finished.

I’ve been away from the blog for a long while. No good reason, really… but I will say that this summer I have been in a kind of a slump. It was just the scarf and me, all summer long, day in and day out… and I thought certainly it would be too boring to hear of this same project over and over, so, instead I’ve been quiet. While knitting this scarf I have been pondering my next one, which is a commitment I’ve made to do a Special Olympics scarf. In the meantime I’ve developed a strong love-hate relationship with knitting scarves at all, so I’m starting to lose hope a bit that the next project will ever get off the ground. What is it with scarves, anyway, and why does something that seems so simple take forever to do?

A couple of other things to catch up on:

A few weeks back I bought some new yarn that I had never heard of before:

mink and cashmere yarn

mink and cashmere yarn

This is the Mink and Cashmere Yarn from the Great Northern Yarns company. The fiber content is 70% mink (sheared) and 30% cashmere. It sounded on the surface, like it should feel like the most amazingly luxurious yarn ever made. Well, let’s say that I was somewhat under-impressed for what I was thinking it should feel like. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly soft, but I’ve had my hands on a mink coat or two in my lifetime and well? I guess I was expecting it to feel like that. And it doesn’t. Not really… but it did sort of remind me of this silk that I have, at least in the feel of it. I haven’t knit with it yet so I don’t know what it’s like to knit with. But I’m thinking maybe someday DH will get a scarf out of this to go with his dress coat. He can’t stand the feel of wool (“itchy”) so I think this will fill the bill for him, someday.

I have something else to share:

Jackie's Tam

Jackie's Tam

This is my friend Jackie, from knit group. She is a relatively new knitter, and she made THAT hat, from the book, Colorwork Creations: 30+ Patterns to Knit Gorgeous Hats, Mittens and Gloves. I’m very proud of Jackie. She came to us I think less than a year ago, learning to knit her first scarf, and now, she is fearless. She saw this book somewhere and I liked it and got one and loaned it to her, and off she went. Her very first hat looked as if it would fit a giant. If that had happened to me, I might have thrown the book across the room and stomped away in disgust, but not Jackie. She was undaunted, and tried again. I think, but I’m not certain, that this was her third attempt. And it was a huge success! Not only does the hat look great, but it looks great on her, a wonderful match to her coloring and hair. She says this hat is a gift for someone, but personally? I hope she gifts it to herself. I think Jackie deserves such a lovely thing.

As for me, it’s back to the scarf. I must keep knitting, must keep knitting, must keep knitting… ciao for now.

Filed Under: blog, Books, Knitting, Project Progress, Yarn · Tagged: , ,
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Amazing Knitting Day

Posted on November 15, 2010 · 2 Comments

If I merely said today was an amazing day, I would be making the understatement of the year.

Today, at long last, was my knitting class with Lucy Neatby. Of course, we had to get a photo together with our wild and wonderful hair!

Lucy Neatby and Trish are kindred spirits of the hair

Lucy Neatby and Trish are kindred spirits of the hair

I have never taken a knitting class before. And last night, I was telling my husband that taking a first knitting class with the likes of Lucy Neatby might be like saying, “I’d like to learn to cook. Maybe I’ll go take a class from Julia Child.” Well, except that Julia’s no longer with us, but you know what I mean.

Lucy signed my copy her sock knitting DVD

Lucy signed my copy her sock knitting DVD

The subject of the class? Cool Socks. And you’ve heard me say it many times on this blog–I am a confirmed Not-Sock-Knitter. I like to know HOW to knit socks, though, because I teach Magic Loop and most people who want to learn Magic Loop do so because they want to do socks. So, it is a good knitting skillset to know. But you know what I learned today?? SOCKS are COOL! And there are so many things that can be done to make them easier to do, or more interesting to knit, and unique and beautiful.

I learned Channel Island cast on, ME! A decorative cast on! And the amazing short row, garter stitch heel, in which you wrap the stitches to close the gaps but don’t need to pick up and knit the wraps because the garter stitch envelops them. I did a provisional cast on with a crochet hook around a knitting needle, and learned the mechanics of an afterthought heel. And then?? She showed us a really easy way to do grafting. Not that I am one of the people who thinks kitchener stitch is hard. I actually think it’s cool! But lots of people don’t like traditional kitchener stitch, and I had no idea that there was more than one way to do it. WHO KNEW?

I’ve never learned so much about knitting and the mechanics of stitches all at once, in one day. I never knew that knitting could be exhausting. I usually only knit for short spurts so this was a challenge for me. But, I’m so glad I did it! I attended class with Tammy from Knit Group and being there with a friend made it so much fun! I’m so glad Tammy was there and it seemed like she really enjoyed the class as well.

The class was held at an Italian restaurant in the same strip mall as the sponsoring yarn shop, and it was a great place to have a class! Lunch was included, and it was a simple grilled chicken garden salad but it was so flavorful! And the bread? It was fresh and piping hot from the oven. After class the yarn shop owner opened the shop for class participants, and gave us a yarn discount, too! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. When I went in there I felt instantly as if it was the sort of yarn shop that local yarn shops are supposed to be. It was crowded and hard for me to get around, but that’s usual for most yarn shops. But the selection? I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pretty all in one place. At least not in this area, other than the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, of course. And there were so many samples hanging in the shop! So much to see. I wish I lived closer!

Of course, some yarn followed me home. (How does this happen?)

Koigu, in five shades of purple for a shawl

Koigu, in five shades of purple for a shawl

Some Noro, for a sparkly scarf

Some Noro, for a sparkly scarf

Today would not have been possible without the help of my loving husband. As fate would have it, this once-in-a-lifetime knitting opportunity fell upon the occasion of our 18th wedding anniversary. And he got up with me, before dawn, on a Sunday, and drove me an hour each way (that was a total of four hours in the car for him!) so I could spend the day knitting with one of my knitting heroes. Folks, THAT’s love, I am sure of it, and I celebrate this day with all my heart has to offer.

After the knitting and the shopping were done, My husband and I actually went back to the Italian restaurant where I had just spent my day and had a heavenly, delicious dinner. The waitress asked us where we were from and I mentioned that it was our anniversary. We decided to order dessert (a delectable flourless chocolate cake and a scoop of cinnamon gelato) and when it arrived we were informed that another couple across from us had purchased our dessert! They said that they themselves are getting married later in the week and so they wanted to hope for themselves 18 happy years. How sweet was that? So thank you, Howard and Sheila… your kindness on our special day will not be forgotten.

And so I have written this post until such time that it is no longer really our anniversary. Even so, the memories of this wonderful day will last a long time. I had such a great time, and can’t wait to be a sock knitter for real. I think I’ve been pushed over the edge.

Filed Under: Events, Knitting, Yarn · Tagged: , ,
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Book Review: Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders

Posted on October 24, 2010 · 4 Comments

Tonight I decided to try something new before blogging. We’ll see if it helps me get back on track. I realized today that one of my stumbling blocks (and there are many) is that there is now shared demand for my computer, what with the now-high-school-aged daughter having hours of homework and an appetite for Facebook. So I decided that I would sit down with an old-fashioned pen and a blank journal book, where I will begin to record and collect “blog notes” that can then be turned into posts when I’m ready. For tonight, anyway, while the daughter was struggling with what seemed like hours of history homework, this blog post got sketched out, after me trying and failing for nearly a week to write it.

So, with thanks to the old-school approach, here is my review of “Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders: 101 Patterns That Go Way Beyond Socks!,” edited by Judith Durant. I admit I waited for this book for a long time. I am a professed Not-Sock-Knitter, and yet, I have bins of beautiful sock yarns with nowhere to go. I like a beautiful yarn as much as the next knitter, and so many of them these days are sock yarns. I have amassed many skeins, and have a total of ONE pair of socks in my Finished Object collection.

(Why, then am I taking an all-day sock workshop with Lucy Neatby in just three weeks? Ok, I know HOW to make socks, but have never been excited by them. I am, however, very excited by the prospect of learning from Lucy Neatby, and who knows? Maybe after spending a day in her company I WILL get excited about socks, and then… well…)

So. In the meantime, there’s this fabulous little book. I have the other books in the series, and by far, a thousand times over, this one is my favorite. There are so many patterns to choose from, as with the other books, but for some reason, the quality of the patterns seems such that I would be apt to make many more of these than many of the designs in the other books. I can’t say why. Just a gut feeling.

The book opens with a chapter on hats, mitts and socks. Several of the hat designs are ones I would make, and the mitts, mittens and gloves are almost all interesting. I do have to admit that I wasn’t expecting sock patterns in this book at all, given that there are so many sock pattern books, but there aren’t many, and well, I guess I should expect at least a few sock patterns from a book all about sock yarns. So I’m not complaining.

The scarves, wraps and shawls chapter has so many lovely patterns that if I only ever knit from this book it would probably take me three years or more to get through the ones I want to make.

The chapter on baby, toddler and doll clothes has so many adorable options including dresses, hat and bootie sets and adorable little sweaters.

Then there’s a chapter called, “Bag It and More,” for which I found the “more” part to be quite interesting. everything from a lampshade to a netbook cozy, to beautiful Christmas ornaments, to a filet crochet window curtain. I loved them all.

This book is definitely worth the Amazon price of $10.99. In my opinion, it’s a steal at that price. Get together with all of your knitting friends and order a bunch of copies among you to get free shipping. I believe this is the must-have book of the season.

Filed Under: blog, Books, Knitting · Tagged: , ,
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