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This has been a week of organizing and re-organizing, packing and re-packing. And somewhere along the way I managed to do a bit of dyeing. I'm pulling it all together for Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend.
Who can resist Vermont in the fall? This event is held at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds in Tunbridge, Vermont. The Fairgrounds are nestled in the mountains - a very picturesque setting. While I don't expect the colors to be breathtaking after such a dry summer, I'm sure they will still be beautiful. If you're in New England, consider making a road trip. Last year we had an excellent turn out in spite of soggy conditions. I'm looking forward to another fun-filled, fiber weekend.
I finished les Abeilles.
Just in time to hit the road.
I made the smallest size, and already I'm plotting my next one only this time larger.
The pattern was straight forward and had a nice rhythm. Once I was in the groove this shawlette practically flew off the needles.
The yarn is Paula from Dirty Water DyeWorks; the colorway is Autumn Red. Paula is 100% Superwash Blue Faced Leicester. The yarn is durable, lustrous and blocks well.
If you're in western Massachusetts this Sunday, WEBS is sponsoring Knit and Crochet for the Cure. It sounds like a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and contribute to a worthy cause.
My color inspiration for the week is bright and cheery.
As the daylight gets shorter and shorter every day, it's nice to have an extra burst of sunshine.
It was a busy weekend with Dirty Water DyeWorks vending at Fiber Twist, an event that promotes local fiber artists. There was a little bit of everything - needle felting, rug hooking, plant dyed fiber, hand dyed yarn and wool fabric, ready made garments. It was impressive and inspiring.
I realized all too late that I didn't take many pictures. I do have this shot of the bag display in the Dirty Water DyeWorks booth.
These are project bags from Michele at Three Bags Full. Michele uses fun, colorful fabrics and coordinates them with clever linings. Each bag has a beaded zipper pull. The larger bags come with a small accessory bag. Stop by Michele's Etsy shop to see more.
Gail Callahan, aka The Kangaroo Dyer, was there with her beautiful hand dyed yarn and copies of her book, Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece.
Kristin Nicholas, the goddess of color knitting, had a booth with her books and more. Kristin is now offering patterns available in .pdf format. And she has some adorable sheep postcards. Be sure to check her website.
Woollies of Shirkshire Farm was on hand. Sorry, no website. They offer Coopworth wool both natural and plant dyed. If you ever get a chance, be sure to visit their booth. They have some beautiful colors. I fell for the pumpkin - probably because of the season - but could easily have selected any of others. The indigo is still on my mind.
On the needles . . . I'm picking up steam with les Abeilles.
I'm almost done with the hem and have made enough decreases that the rows seem to be zipping right along. Yes, that's another one of Michele's bags serving as prop.
Well, it's Monday and time to get organized. I'm on the road again this coming weekend.
Progress on my newest shawlette has been slow. I've moved on to les Abeilles. This pattern was recommended to me by more than one person, and I was anxious to get the project underway.
I had a couple of false starts. I started with one color that I love dearly but was sidetracked by another equally gorgeous one that I think will look stunning in this pattern. And then there was a slight gauge issue, but I'll spare you the details. So this is my third start with this pattern.
Third time is a charm, right?
My current run of shawlettes all started small and grew bigger. Les Abeilles is the other way around. I'm starting big and going small. I'm sure I'll appreciate that fact at some point, but right now I feel like I'm slogging through mud. Uphill.
The 6th annual Fiber Twist is this coming Saturday and is being held in Deerfield, Massachusetts at the Yankee Candle Company flagship store. Dirty Water DyeWorks will be vending at this event, and I'm really looking forward to it. While I worked many events for Dye Dreams, it's liberating and empowering when it's all your own.
The vendor line-up for Saturday is diverse and eclectic. I hope I can break away from my booth to see what others are offering. I'll report back next week.
Today marks the first full day of fall. It's no surprise that my color inspiration for the week is all about the season.
Green and red, the contrast between summer and fall.
Warm reds with depth and intensity. Is that the red les Abeilles yarn I see?
Happy fall!
Aestlight (Ravelry link) came off the needles and went right onto the blocking wires.
I love this part. This is when the magic begins.
You start with a limp, shapeless piece of knitted fabric that represents hours of work, sometimes mixed with a dose of frustration. You give it a bath.
Then you use wires and pins to shape and open it up.
It's like a bud blossoming to reveal its inner beauty.
The yarn is Bertha from Dirty Water DyeWorks. Bertha is a blend of 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon. The colorway is Pixie, shades of green with occasional flecks of blue.
The blocking wires I use are HandWorks Dressing Wires. I can't recommend this company enough. Lisa, the owner, provides prompt delivery with great customer service. And part of the profits are given to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
I usually putter around for a day or so after finishing a project, searching out my next pattern. Not so this time around. Before Aestlight was even dry I had already cast on for my next shawlette. Next up - les Abeilles.
The cooler weather has me thinking of scarves, mittens and hats. No matter how many I churn out it seems that these items are always in short supply. My plan was to knit a bunch over the summer, but somehow that never happened.
I do have one scarf under construction, almost finished. This is the One Row Handspun Scarf. The yarn is a mystery yarn, the ballband long gone.
This will be a donation for The Red Scarf Project. If you have time for charity knitting, you might want to consider this cause. The Orphan Foundation of America, the sponsoring organization, sends Valentine's Day care packages to foster kids who are in college. A scarf is included in each package. OFA is accepting scarves now. See the link for more details.
Another scarf project I'm planning is a scarf knit by everyone in the household. I've done this before, and it's a good group project. I'll cast on for a scarf, start knitting and leave it out for others to pick up and knit a few (or many) rows. In an effort to get everyone to participate plain garter is best. And it helps if the yarn is colorful and fun. Yes, there are variations in gauge making for a thick and thin scarf, but that's half the charm.
I really need some mitts but have put this project on the back burner. I have my old standby pattern, tried and true. I should cast on and get started, but I got distracted looking at other patterns. I stopped by SpillyJane (Ravelry link) to browse. I made her Owlmittens not too long ago, and I love her designs. As luck would have it, she's having a sale on patterns. Buy 3, get 1 free. Buy 4, get 2 free. Buy 5, get 3 free. I'm sold. That was the easy part. The hard part is deciding which patterns to get.
My color inspiration for the week comes from the farmers' market.
Heirloom tomatoes . . .
. . . with stripes.
I'm at the beginning of the end, the end of Aestlight Shawl (Ravelry link). The last couple of days I found myself with more knitting time than I had anticipated. I can handle that.
I finished the lace section in spite of some backtracking. There are times when counting to 4 can be challenging.
I admit that right now this section doesn't look like much. After a bath and a good blocking I'm sure it will look stunning.
I've moved on to the border. This is either the home stretch or the halfway point - depends on how you look at it. This design uses a knit-on border.
The stitches on the right are the border stitches that are joined to the body stitches on the left. Every other row a border stitch is knit together with a body stitch.
I have no delusions that this will be a quick and easy section. I've been here before. Sometimes knitting and attaching the border can seem to take longer than knitting the body. I have almost 250 body stitches. Remember there are 2 border rows for every body stitch. With a few extra rows to accommodate the point of the triangle that makes for over 500 border rows. Granted they are short rows. But I know that the back and forth, back and forth can be monotonous and tedious. This is where I plug into a good movie or audio book. It helps to have company crossing the border.
With the change in seasons comes a change in our menu, a change to warmer foods. I cooked up this mixture of peppers, onions, carrots, garlic and spices for a batch of black bean soup. The peppers are so colorful this time of year.
M'm! M'm! Good!
It's Monday morning, and I have a case of "where did the weekend go?". So many projects unfinished, so many loose ends dangling. That can mean only one thing . . .
THIS AND THAT
~ I attended the Common Cod Fiber Guild meeting on Friday and heard Daina Taimini speak about Hyperbolic Crochet. What is that? Daina is a mathematician who wanted to create a visual representation of spherical planes. She started fooling around with crochet and some numbers and was able to do just that.
In the process she created some unique, colorful pieces. The icing on the cake is that she was approached by art museums and galleries and has been displaying her math-inspired, crocheted pieces of work all over the world. A fascinating story. You can find out more in her book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes.
~ Since I'm on the topic of crochet, I have to mention Kingyo. This is the crocheted version of the Japanese goldfish. While I haven't had time to try them out, there are detailed instructions with pictures. Have fun!
~ Finally, I have to point you in the direction of maya*made, a site for clever ideas and inspiration. I could spend hours and hours browsing this site. Wool blankets instead of insulated lunch bags . . . who knew?
The other day we made a quick trip to the beach, probably our last for the season. It was a bit chilly, and only one of the kids went into the water.
A dragonfly stopped by to visit.
Wings thinner than paper, delicate and fragile.
