Shawl and Swag

My Wish shawl is finished.  I feel rather clever when I wear it. The grey is handspun (not mine, I got it in a local yarn swap) and I am guessing it is wool. The teal is 100% yak yarn from Bijou Bason Ranch.  It has excellent stitch definition.



Below is my haul from SVFF:


From left to right: Furnace Mountian Suri Alpaca Lace Weight (grey yarn in mug); Mug is handmade by Liz and Wendy; black folder is full of info from my class with Mary Gildersleeve; The bulky yellow cotton is 4 skeins of Queensland Pima Fresca; Bulky Blue cotton is 5 skeins of Araucania Nature Cotton; Soap is Sheep's Milk Soap from Row House Farm;
the last couple of Rav buttons from a wonderful meet up; SVFF mug (says "Fiber for Ewe" on the back); two shawl patterns. Not pictured is a calender from Sheep Incognito (I really wanted to take home a $3,000+ painting but settled for the calender) and  a deluxe set of stitch markers from Lizard Toes.

What did you get?

As a side note, I have heard from people who have had problems commenting on the blog.  I have allowed anonymous comments for now.  I am going to check with blogger to see what is going on. Thanks y'all.

We can spot our own

The 4-Bs (Bear, Bell, Bugs and Boo) went out apple picking.  There is a large orchard that has PYO apples plus hay rides and a playground.

Marker-Miller Orchards in Winchester VA

   While picking some Empire apples (my favorite), I spotted her.  She was arguing with her friends about who was the best at picking perfect apples.  She had the cutest pig hat with little pig ears and the hat had a cast on jog (or it could have been a bind off jog.)  It is that last stitch when you join in the round and it can be very difficult to get that stitch to meld in with the others. It was definitely a handknit hat.

   I kept my cool but when my husband started pointing out the 'perfect' apples to help her friend, I mentioned that I like her hat.  She smiled and said she knit it.  I grinned and showed her my handknit socks.  I asked her if she was going to Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival next weekend.  She lit up like I had told her Disney World was coming to town.  She said she didn't know about the fiber festival so I gave her the website info.  She got all excited and said she had a whole bunch of friends who were impressed with her knitting and wanted to learn.  I told her to bring them along.  Converts are good for the knitting world.

It keeps us on our toes in the vendor markets.

Catch me if you can

So here is my Fall Fiber Festival Plan:

September 24-25 Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival

We are doing a Ravelry meet up on Saturday at noon.  I am volunteering at the T-shirt booth Saturday morning and I am taking a class on Sunday afternoon.



October 15-16 New York Sheep and Wool Festival (AKA Rhinebeck)

The only plan so far is a class Saturday morning and I plan to go to the lunch time Ravelry Meet ups. I plan to go both days but since I have a drive home on Sunday, I will likely leave after lunch.

Let me know if you are planning to go to either of these events.  Walk up and say hi if you spot me.  I love to talk to other fiber enthusiasts. 

Never forget

I remember what I was doing. I remember what I was wearing. I remember what I was thinking. I remember crying till the tears flowed in streams down my face.  I remember calling everyone I knew to check on them.  I remember finally turning off the TV because I just couldn't watch anymore.


Pentagon Memorial

Where is my sunny day?

I love a rainy night but this week long rain storm has got me down.  Time for hot tea and warm wool.  What are you doing to chase away the rainy blues?

Brain is on vacation

On this last three day weekend of "summer," we took a drive up to the family farm. We had a great time playing baseball, throwing the frisbee, chasing a toad, looking at deer scat, running around, eating lots of yummy food and climbing on everything. (Yes, I am a mother of two boys, how did you guess?)



At the end of the day, our uncle, the farmer, told us that there were some new baby chicks down in the chicken house.  Would the boys like to see them?  The boys were so excited that I didn't give it a thought.  Sure, we can go down and see the chicks.  We had a great time petting their downy feathers and giggling at their little wings.  We drove home and I got two inches done on my knee socks.  Then we all fell into bed. Great day.

But here is the hitch, I am allergic to chicken feathers.  I have known this since my grandmother had old chicken feather pillows on her guest bed when I was a child.  I have bad reactions to the flu shots because of my chicken allergy.  So, this morning I was all clogged up.  I feel like I have been hit with a two by four in the nose.  I have taken enough allergy and decongestant meds to stop an elephant just so I can breathe.

To see their faces as they talk about being around the chicks makes it all worth it though.

In knitting news, I have three projects and three deadlines.  My Wish shawl needs to be done by Sept 24th for SVFF.  Knee Socks have to be done by Oct 22nd for Maryland Ren Fest. My Oak Cardigan has to be done by the end of the Knitty KAL on Nov 30th.  Then I have a couple of Christmas/ Birthday small items to be done by mid Dec.  I do better with knitting deadlines. Wish me luck!!