Blog Archives

Speshul Snowflakes

Posted on 7 November 2010
by

Since the club cycle had completed for the year, I figured I ought to update on all the socks I’ve knit from the club yarn. The club is Sheepy Time Knits Speshul Snowflakes Yarn Club.  I really love how the club is set up, that there are two colorway choices and a wide variety of yarn choices every shipment.  You pick the yarn/colorway one month and then it’s shipped the next month making for 6 total shipments.  Back at the beginning of the club, I decided that I’d kit each shipment as it came in so that I’d still be knitting socks and the yarn wouldn’t go into the stash and be forgotten.  I’m really glad I kept up with it, and here are the results from a year’s worth of shipments.  Looking forward to next year’s club again and knitting more socks!

DSC_8490 Pattern: Hanging Vines Socks
Designer: Kelly Porpiglia
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits, Sheepy Feet in, “Green Eyed Monster”
-Ravelry Project Link-

They are GREEN green for sure.  These have already gotten a ton of wear and I think I love them a little more every time I wear them.  The base yarn feels strong yet still soft and has incredible stitch definition.  Also, not even one little bit of pooling in that variegated colorway.  Not a single bit.
DSC_0519 Pattern: Komet
Designer: Stephanie van der Linden
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5mm)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits, Yarn That Shall Not Be Named in, “Teel Deer”
-Ravelry Project Link-

I’ve already blogged about these, but I still LOVE that colorway.  It’s funny how a knitted item can remind you of where/when you were knitting it and for me, these will always remind me of our trip to New Hampshire, knitting and cozy in the lodge while the husband was skiing.  And the epic adventure of showshoeing down Mount Washington.
DSC_1705 Pattern: Jabberwocky Socks
Designer: Mandie Harrington
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits, All Your Base in “Blackberry Martini”
-Ravelry Project Link-

The dyer designed these socks and I just couldn’t wait to get the yarn and cast on.  The construction of the sock is not typical and I really LOVE how she got the pattern on the side to go straight down to the foot.  And again, THAT COLOR.
DSC_3020 Pattern: Angler’s Loop Socks
Designer: Andrea Mules
Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits, Panda Feet in “Creamsicle”
-Ravelry Project Link-

I probably could’ve knit the larger size on these for a little more ease around the cable, but they still fit fine.  The base is super squishy and comfortable and the cable was just enough knitting interest to keep me engaged but not overwhelmed.  Do you see what’s happening here?  Variegates, no pooling, tons of different patterns, but no pooling.  I’m still in awe.
DSC_4507 Pattern: Passerine Socks
Designer: Cookie A.
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits, All Your Base in “Foggy Dew”
-Ravelry Project Link-

So these were a challenge.  I just wasn’t feeling the pattern (it’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong) and they took FOREVER to knit.  Totally worth it in the end, and the pops of green in the grey are just perfect.  See, again?  No color pooling.
DSC_5091 Pattern: Lichen and Moss Socks
Designer: Joanna Ryan
Needles: US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
Yarn: Sheepy Time Knits, Yarn That Shall Not Be Named in “Lichen”
-Ravelry Project Link-

Well when I found the colorway and did a search for “Lichen” in Ravelry, I just had to knit the pattern named Lichen and Moss.  Seemed perfect.  The simple yet elegant pattern was SO fast to knit (under a week!) and the color worked out perfectly.  This base is a big favorite of mine (Oh that stitch definition) and feels super strong yet completely enjoyable to wear.  And of course, no color pooling again here.
Share
[ 4 Replies ]

Komet

Posted on 29 March 2010
by
DSC_0519 Komet tl;dr
Pattern: Komet
Designer: Stephanie van der Linden
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm)
Yarn:  Sheepy Time Yarns Yarn That Shall Not be Named in, “Teal Deer,” from the Sheepy Time Knits December 2009 Club
-Ravelry Project Link-
This is the second installation of the Sheepy Time Knits club for February 2010. I picked a different base this time, and managed to pick a pattern that worked perfectly with the yarn. These were knit over the span of a week-long vacation in New Hampshire at Attitash Mountain.  We, the husband and I, went up for our somewhat annual ski trip, but what ended up happening was him skiing three days of the week, and me spending a lot of time getting to know all the inner workings of the lodge.  I did one run down the mountain and decided that I was really out of shape and just not cut out for skiing this season.  The pattern was a touch tricky – there’s a 4×5 cable cross in there and I actually needed to break out the cable needle for that one.  This is the cable needle that I used only one before since I do all my cabling without a needle – so much faster that way.  The result is worth it though – the design is super cute and I just love the brilliant teal color of the yarn.  The base is similar to another yarn that shall not be named, but starts with a “W” in case you were wondering.  Another fun club knit!

Oh, Teal Deer or, tl;dr for short, is internet speak for, “Too Long; Didn’t Read” (or Too Long; Don’t Read) for posts on message boards that ramble on and on and on.  ie:
tl;dr – socks are awesome, yarn is lovely, vacation was great, but I’m not built for skiing.
More on that vacation though, because I really did spend a few days outside the lodge.  Tuesday, we went up to Great Glen Trails to take the Snow Coach halfway up Mount Washington.  The road up the mountain isn’t plowed through the winter and cars are only allowed to drive up in the warmer months.  During the winter, a specially built van (van + tractor treads = Snow Coach) takes visitors to a halfway point up the mountain, weather permitting.  We were having some really fantastic weather which was maybe not the best for skiing, but great for playing tourist.  It was about 45 and sunny at the base, and about -20, sunny, but the winds were blowing at around 40mph.  We decided to go for the snowshoe rental at the base and bring them with us in the coach.  Nixxed the idea of getting out at the midway point (4300 ft approximately), but jumped out somewhere around the 4 mile mark on the auto road (3500ft elevation).  We strapped in for our first time snowshoeing and headed off.  The Snow Coach driver mentioned a trail that would take us up to Lowe’s Bald Spot.  We took the trail only to find that it went nearly straight up and was pretty battered from some knucklehead who tried to hike it in plain boots (and sunk in a good foot with each step).  We managed it anyway and came up to a bald spot with some spectacular views.  Hiked back down, and made it back to base after nearly 6 miles of snowshoeing.  It was exhausting, but well worth it for the experience!  We did end up coming home with snowshoes since we loved it so much – here’s hoping we get snow again in Philadelphia (maybe not *quite* as much) next winter too.
We also took a side trip up to the LL Bean flagship store in Maine. On the way back, we stopped off at Cold River Vodka to have some samples.  Their vodka is made from potatoes and is sweeter than most other vodkas I’ve had.  The Blueberry vodka is really something special – the aftertaste is as if you’ve just squished a big, juicy blueberry in your mouth.  Perfect.  Needless to say, we took some home.
On the way home, we stopped at a winery we love – Flag Hill.  Last time we were in New Hampshire, I didn’t knit, and clearly didn’t notice the farm selling yarn and roving right down the road.  So, we stopped at Riverslea Farm too.   :)  Found some great roving and yarn.
Overall, a really great trip!  It was nice to get away from our snow and see someone else’s snow.

For more photos, click on to this Flickr photo set.

 Picture 029
Midway up Mount Washington

Picture 026
The Snow Coach

Picture 037
Husband in his snowshoes

DSC_0509_edit
Cold River Vodka
Share
[ 2 Replies ]

Bliss

Posted on 21 November 2009
by

I had a Saturday off with no obligations and planned to stop by the SAFONA Fiber Festival.  It was being held about a 45 minute drive from home through some Amish farmland and pretty historic parts of Pennsylvania.  The whole drive out had me making a mental checklist of all the places I wanted to see on the way home – wineries, shops, etc.  Met some wonderful people and made purchases from Rock Creek Yarn, Wolle’s Yarn Creations, and Black Diamond Alpacas.  All are wonderful vendors and I had a blast taking time to chat with each of them and oogle their display items.  Practiced my knitter’s handshake a few times (grab knitted item, squeeze, ask wearer if he/she made it).  After having my fill of fiber, I turned the car around for the adventure back home.

First stop was the Goodville Fabric Outlet which is basically a HUGE warehouse filled to the top with fabric.  All kinds of fabric.  Cheap fabric!  It was really overwhelming and while I wasn’t looking for anything specific, it was really neat to stop there and find the deals for future reference.

Then I came across the Poole Forge which had been turned into a beautiful park with a classic red covered bridge, winding stream, and lovely old stone buildings.  I stopped for a while with the camera, smiled at an Amish man passing by with his buggy, and took in what had become a gorgeous afternoon.

Next stop was Olde Peddler Wools.  Great shop with a good variety of classic, workhorse yarns – the stuff that is cost efficient and quality fiber.  It’s a shame that they’re not closer to home!

The next detour was the Kog Hill Winery.  When I walked in, the gal behind the counter who was running wine tastings was KNITTING!  She had just learned and was working on a garter stitch scarf.  We chatted about knitting as she fed me wine samples, and it was one of many random-acts-of-randomness that really made the day.  Bought some wine, wished her luck with the knitting, and headed back out.

Wineries?  Pennsylvania has a lot of them, and it’s almost hard to drive more than 10 miles without running across at least one and the next detour brought me to another winery.  Most of them produce decent wine – stuff that’s delightful to drink, but nothing really world-class incredible.  The J Maki Winery is not that kind of winery.  Their wines BLEW ME AWAY, specifically the Gewurztraminer which is a really unique interpretation of that grape.  The reds were dry – just how I like them – and the ice wine, particularly the Cabernet Franc ice wine, was phenomenal.  Really quite the gem of a vineyard, and I will definitely visit again to pick up some more wine.

My final stop before home was the Glasslight Studio.  I took a detour for a historic sign that didn’t pan out the way I thought it would and ended up passing this place on the way.  After being greeted by a large, black Bouvier mutt (who later nudged my arm for more head-scritches and buttrubs), one of the glass artists talked to me for at least a half hour about the glass blowing classes they offer.  He let me look in on the class that was in progress and took my email address for future classes.

I know this post has gotten long, but honestly, the whole day was filled with such wonderful people and I really needed this kind of a day after a sort of rotten week.  Now, a photo!
DSC_6821_edit

Share
[ 2 Replies ]

Rachel Schain

Posted on 19 November 2009
by
DSC_6031_bw This is Rachel Schain, a local musician and friend who asked for some new photos for promotions, websites, etc.  The two hour shoot went very well and she came away with a TON of really great shots.  Musicians seem to make great models and are seldom shy of the camera lens.  This photo here is really my favorite shot out of the bunch, but I’ve added another color one below so that you can see her gorgeous red hair.  If you’d like to check out her music, you can go to her myspace page or her facebook page.

DSC_5871_color

Share
[ 1 Reply ]

October Knitting Wrap-up

Posted on 2 November 2009
by

It’s that time once again.  This month absolutely FLEW by, so it’s time once again to update progress on my knitting resolutions.

3. Knit one pair of socks per month

DSC_6369 Thrilling Jaywalkers
Pattern: Jaywalker
Designer: Grumperina
Needles: US 1 (2.25mm)
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle 100% superwash in colorway, “Thriller”
-Ravelry Project Link-
This project is part of Socktoberfest, a celebration of knitting socks in October.  I managed to knit up four whole pairs of socks for Socktoberfest, but these are definitely my favorites.  Squishy and BRIGHT, plus the colors are just perfect for Halloween.  These are modeled by Abbie at the Fonthill Castle.

4. Spin four ounces of roving per month.
This just didn’t happen.  I maybe got in about an ounce, but I spent the whole month knitting socks and really doing nothing much else.

That’s really it for the knitting resolutions this month.  I’ll put together a post later this week going over all the Socktoberfest knitting!

Share
Leave a Reply ?

Rhinebeck 2009

Posted on 20 October 2009
by

Wow, what a weekend.  I’ve definitely got a bad case of the post-fiber-festival-shock in that I have to be back in the real world instead of oogling knitwear, squishing yarn, and snorgling sheep.  The fiber festival world is SO much more fun than this everyday kind of crap.

The haul?  I did well.  Fell off the budget wagon a touch, but I think it was well worth it and I can see all of what I bought being knitted before MDSW.  (Disclaimer: Just because I can see it happening doesn’t mean that another pattern won’t queue jump and ruin that plan)
3 skeins – Socks That Rock Lightweight, Mill Ends
2 skeins – Socks That Rock Lightweight, Rare Gems
1 skein – Holiday Yarns Sock Yarn
1 skein – Silver Moon Farms sock yarn (770 yards)
1 skein – Silver Moon Farms Laceweight (1375 yards)
2 skeins – Bijou Basin 100% Yak Laceweight (400 yards)
1 skein – Briar Rose, Charity (900 yds worsted)
Firebird Sock Kit from the Tsock Tsarina
4 oz – Targee Top from Mountain Colors
4 oz – Clover Leaf Farms Merino Roving
4 oz – Holiday Yarns Merino Roving
4 oz – Little Barn Linsi-Woolsie Roving
4 oz – Little Barn Alpaca Roving
Book – Vintage Baby Knits by Kristen Rengren (signed!)

I realize that means nothing to you non-knitters, but suffice to say, I got what I wanted, and then a little more.   :)   Abbie and I did very well in terms of getting in early the first day, getting what we desperately wanted, and generally had incredible luck on our side when it came to just being in the right place at the right time.  For example, the Chicken Pot Pie line is known for being epic.  People usually wait a good half hour for this incredible chicken pot pie.  Us?  We got in line right when there were only a few people waiting.  Granted, had there been a half-hour-long line, we probably would’ve found something else to eat, but it was nice to finally get a forkfull of that yummy pot pie.  Then there was the Ravelry party, Saturday night, which was awesome.  The vanilla mead went over well, but I still managed to come home with a good amount left in the keg.  Sunday was rainy, but we managed to go through all the barns/buildings, grab a few things that we missed on Saturday because we had enough of the crowds really early on.  Sunday though, the grounds were rather empty, there were no lines, and much more room to browse around without getting bumped.  Finally got home to Pennsylvania around 8pm to my two little snugglebutt dogs who were thrilled to meet me.  The husband had left for a class in Texas, but had baked this incredible chocolate ganache/praline cake and left me a bouquet of flowers on the table.  Perfect end to a really spectacular weekend.

I will leave you with a photo from Rhinebeck and link you to my whole set from Rhinebeck on Flickr.  To all of you tweasels who I met?  It was really, honestly great, and I hope to see you all again next year!
DSC_6186

Share
Leave a Reply ?

Ciara

Posted on 6 October 2009
by

DSC_4740_edit

This is Ciara.  She was a blast to shoot with and I’m really glad I had the chance to work with such a wonderful model.  Even beyond that, she’s a singer with some awesome music – click her name up there to go to her myspace page.

I’m still available to schedule a shoot with you, your family, friends, significant other, etc.  Just let me know, and we’ll get something together!

Share
Leave a Reply ?

Brittany

Posted on 20 July 2009
by

DSC_3468_bw_small

I had a shoot with Brittany last Friday and needless to say, we got some great images and had a blast working together.

If this isn’t a good enough incentive to schedule a shoot with me, I’m not sure what is!      ;)

Share
Leave a Reply ?

Congrats to Amber and Seth!

Posted on 8 July 2009
by

amberseth_1120_bw_SMamberseth_1134_color_SM

Congratulations to Amber and Seth!  They invited me to be their photographer at their destination wedding in the Dominican Republic and I happily accepted.  They’re an adorable couple and it was hard to pick just two photos to post here! The small group at the reception felt like they had all been family for decades, it was a ton of fun to be there, and I’m really honored that I was invited to be part of the week. Congrats again, you two!

Share
[ 1 Reply ]

OLS: Week 3

Posted on 22 June 2009
by

I’m a little late on this one, but we spent all of week 3 in Scotland.  So, I think that’s okay, right?

DSC_1846

For the record, this was a lunch meal and I tend to go heavier on the green things and lighter on the meat for lunches, hence the big blob of green on the plate and little bitty blob of chicken.  In the back is red lettuce from Kimberton Whole Foods, marked as grown locally, unknown farm.  On top of the salad are little turnip chips – dehydrated turnip slices from turnips found at the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market during Week 1.  In the very front is that delicious back-porch dill and goat’s milk yogurt from Week 2 (frozen while we were away, and then thawed to enjoy again).  The chicken roulade is made with chicken again from Eberly Poultry – pounded out thin.  Inside the chicken is dill and basil from the deck, bacon from Country Time Farm, sundried tomatoes from last year’s garden, and ‘Dillicious’ cheese from Clover Creek Cheese Cellar.

Not Local: Olive oil for cooking the roulade and the salad dressing.

This meal gave me a whole lot of leftovers since I used the whole pound of chicken for the roulade and will likely keep me well fed for the week.  I still have the leftovers from last week’s meal in the freezer too!  I think I’ll make a trip to the Anselma Market on Wednesday to find ingredients for Week four.  If anyone knows of a source of local flour, I’d love to hear about it!  I might be up to try my hand at home made pasta for something different.

Share
[ 4 Replies ]