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Rhinebeck 2009

By Sheetar 20 October 2009 20 October 2009

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!

2009 Knitting, Socks, Spinning

June and July Knitting Wrap-up

By Sheetar 13 August 2009 7 February 2012

I guess this is becoming a bi-monthly thing instead of a monthly update. We’ll re-visit the Knitting Resolutions.

3. Knit one pair of socks per month
Did it again. Seven pairs so far (well Eight if you count the ones I’ve already finished for August), and I can’t wait to get to December and post all twelve of them in one big post.


Rare Monkey Gems	Jupiter Lava Socks
Pattern: Monkey	Pattern: Hey Jupiter
Designer: Cookie A.	Designer: Liz Abinante
Needles: US 1 1/2 (2.5mm)	Needles: US 1 (2.25mm)
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight – Rare Gems	Yarn: dkKnits Technicolor Smoosh Toes
-Ravelry Project Link-	-Ravelry Project Link-
These knitted up in FOUR DAYS. Four days. I had the pattern memorized after one repeat and it was so simple yet beautiful, I’m positive these won’t be my last monkey socks. The rare gems came from Rhinebeck last year and I just LOVE how the colors pooled up.	This was the sock of the month from Yarn4Socks. After a false start (too tight to fit over my heel), I added four stitches in and they worked out perfectly. I did an extra repeat on the leg since there was plenty of yarn. The color is FANTASTIC and the pattern was super fun to knit.

4. Spin four ounces of roving per month.
Well I got eight ounces in one month? Does that count? I decided to go ahead and put away the knitting for a month and spin along with Tour de Fleece, a yearly spinning event that takes place during the Tour de France. Well I spun my little feet off and ended up with two finished skeins and one half-spun chunk of roving.

	This merino/tussah roving was from dkKnits and is spun up to laceweight, 789 yards. I think maybe this is why I only completed two skeins during Tour de Fleece! It spun up delightfully soft and squishy and I just love how the colors came out.
	This is a roving from Twisted Fiber Art and is the Brilliant Roving (superwash BFL) in the colorway, Blaze. It spun up to fingering weight and came out to 420 yards. I’ve already knitted up a pair of socks with this and they are AWESOME if I do say so myself. An absolute delight to spin and knit, definitely a roving I’ll be working with again.

And I think that’s about it. I haven’t really made any more progress on the other goals, and should probably get started on that considering the year is well over half done. 🙂

2009 Knitting, Socks, Spinning

April and May wrap-up

By Sheetar 4 June 2009 7 February 2012

Hah, I knew at one point during the year, I’d miss a month or get lazy or even give up completely on the resolutions. So far, though, doing okay, and still chugging along.

Going back in time to January again for the knitting resolutions..

2. Knit two sweaters this year
Started one. It’s tough knitting a sweater in the summer. I had a big rush of excitement when I started, gushing over the gorgeous color, dyed by Becky of dkKnits and then set it aside about 30% of the way down the body to do socks and lace and other fun summer type projects.

3. Knit one pair of socks per month
Got both of those!


April – Blue Angee Socks	May – Twisted Devon Socks
Pattern: Angee	Pattern: Devon
Designer: Cookie A.	Designer: Cookie A.
Needles: US 1 ½ / 2.5 mm	Needles: US 1 ½ / 2.5 mm
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Sock, colorway, “Impressionist Sky”	Yarn: Twisted Fiber Art Kabam! in colorway, “Terrain”
-Ravelry Project Link-	-Ravelry Project Link-
These were finished just in time to go to Stitch n’ Pitch with the Phillies. Sadly, we were soundly beaten by the Nationals, but the socks told me that they didn’t mind. The pattern is from Cookie A’s new book, Sock Innovation, and I’m absolutely in love with all of the patterns. This one was pretty simple, but with a great effect. And the yarn! There’s a reason why we call it MMMmmmmmmalabrigo. Squishy, Yum.	Another entry from Cookie A’s Book. Both the yarn and the pattern came together to produce an absolute delight to knit and wear, even if one sock somehow tricked me into knitting an extra repeat on the leg. I’d go back and rip the longer top down to match the shorter one, but there’s a cuff-to-leg transition set of stitches that I wouldn’t be able to do if I knitted back up the cuff. So, we’re going to call them unique and leave them as they are, unmatched and beautiful.

4. Spin four ounces of roving per month.
My poor wheel has been feeling woefully neglected. I did get my 4oz for May though.

Corriedale from Maisy Day Handspun in colorway, “Water Lily.” I never really liked corriedale, until now. I got my hands on the raw roving in the past and did a little nose wrinkle – scratchy. It’s not merino. But, after it’s spun up and plied? Not so bad. I probably still wouldn’t make a scarf out of it, but it’s pretty and squishy and I rather enjoyed spinning it. It clocks in at 285 yards and is about sport weight.

And that’s the wrap-up for the last two months of acheiving resolutions. There has been more knitting, of course, that I haven’t detailed here, but with the garden growing, the lawn needing mowed, and a whole host of fun outdoors stuff to do in the lovely weather we’ve been having, knitting has mostly taken a back seat to a lot of seasonal things to do.

Fiber Festivals

Maryland Sheep and Wool

By Sheetar 10 May 2009 10 May 2009

(Center and then top left to right)
1. Koigu Mill Ends. Yum., 2. 4oz Rambouillet/Bamboo roving, 3. Merino/Sillk roving from Cloverleaf Farms, 4. Alpaca Lace from A Touch of Twist, 5. Cashmere/Merino Blend, 6. Merino Lace by the Drafting Zone, 7. Sweet Sheep light Fingering, 8. Wensleydale Roving by Flying Fibers, 9. Wullenstudio sock, 10. BMFA STR, “Koi Koi”, 11. BMFA STR, “Scum Bubble”, 12. BMFA STR, Unidentified Mill End, 13. Aisha Celia Designs sock

The Haul from Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2009. Three of us gals (myself, Abbie, and Debbie) piled into a car and drove the 2.5 hours down to a rather soggy MDSW. Luckily for us, going on a rainy Sunday meant less crowds, less being bumped, and a relaxing time, even if the rain never really let up and we missed a few things that sold out on Saturday. There was even no elbowing involved while getting into the booth with Koigu Mill Ends and no line at The Fold. Incredible. While I’m sure the vendors were thoroughly disappointed by the lack of business on Sunday, I was completely thrilled by the lack of human traffic. Last year, I went as a non-knitter and then promptly decided that Abbie had to teach me how to knit when we got home after being thoroughly exhausted by the amount of bumping and shoving and human claustrophobia that those packed little barns can inspire. So, this year was officially my first knitaversary and I really can’t believe how much I’ve done in a year. Managed to set a budget and pretty much stick with it, finding a variety of fibers that I haven’t spun before and stocking up on more Socks That Rock. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t already begun thinking about next year. 🙂

Baby, Finished Objects

Pea Pod Sweater

By Sheetar 7 May 2009 7 May 2009

I suppose it comes with the age group – a few years ago, everyone was getting married. Now? Everyone is having babies. That means a lot of pint-sized knitting projects that fly off the needles and make me all happy with the instant gratification. The latest project, which I can now reveal now that I know it has been received.

Pattern: Pea Pod Baby Sweater
Designer: Kate Gilbert
Needles: US 5 (3.75mm)
Yarn: Cascade Cotton Rich DK
–Ravelry Project Link–
This was a pretty quick knit! The yarn is a great cotton/nylon blend which is, IMHO, a great summer/baby yarn since it’s easy to wash and maintain. Blue for the baby boy who was born a few weeks ago, and naturally, I didn’t want a girly sort of lace and figured that the leaves provided just enough interest without going overboard. Buttons were acquired from Philadelphia’s Fabric Row, specifically the Pennsylvania Fabric Outlet. It really looks fabulous in person, and I can’t wait to get photos of the little guy wearing it!

There was a trip to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend and I still have yet to photograph my precious acquisitions since it’s been raining for what, nine days straight?! So, I’ll hold off on the update for that and you’ll hear about it when there’s sun again. 🙂

Socks

Leafy Socks

By Sheetar 8 April 2009 8 April 2009

Finally! These were an intense knit. I had to sit in front of the chart and keep careful watch over my knitting. Granted, it paid off BIG TIME since they’re really pretty. The pattern is toe up and reinforces my dislike of knitting toe up socks – I can do it, but I really prefer the cuff down method. These do have a heel flap and gusset and all the trimmings of a cuff-down sock which I’m much happier with than the typical short row heel and toe. Kelly Porpiglia wrote an awesome pattern and it was super easy to follow. The only hold up here was me and my toe up bias. The yarn is Wollmeise 100% superwash and was part of the September 2008 sock club delivery.

Pattern: Interlocking Leaves
Designer: Kelly Porpiglia
Needles: US 1 (2.5 mm)
Yarn: Wollmeise Sockenwolle 100% superwash in colorway, “Buxkranzl”
–Ravelry Project Link–

Sewing, Spinning

Today’s scores

By Sheetar 1 April 2009 1 April 2009

Today was a *busy* day. I had to go into Philadelphia to drop off the husband’s entry for a homebrew competition so I figured I would take the train and walk around the city for the afternoon. After dropping off the homebrew, I went down to Spool. They have a bunch of super cute fabrics, but they’re pricier than I’m used to spending for a yard. So, I headed out to Fabric Row and found myself at the Pennsylvania Fabric Outlet. For less than $20, I picked up 6 buttons for a baby sweater, 12 zippers, and a little over 4 yards of fabric. The fabrics are reproductions of prints from the 1800s. TOO COOL.

There is also handspun. This is spun from superwash merino roving from dkknits and was my March fiber club delivery. It clocks in as a sport weight, 384 yards, and is destined to become legwarmers. The colorway is called, “Big Black Horse and a Cherry Tree,” after the song, and I think Becky 100% did it justice. It’s soft and squishy and super lofty and I’m just in love.

Scarves, Spinning

Sunshine Surf Scarf

By Sheetar 13 March 2009 13 March 2009

This is another one of those great spun-to-finished projects that I love doing.

Roving

The yarn is fingering weight and a three ply. I just divided the roving into three parts that weighed about the same. This is my first three ply since I got the SpinOlution lazy kate and put her to the test. It worked out great and the resulting yarn was so squishy and soft.

The Scarf! It’s longer than I am tall (5’4″) and is soft and puffy and squishy. Orange probably isn’t my favorite of all the colors, but I LOVE how this knitted up and how incredibly soft it is. I decided not to block the scarf since I loved the bubbly and rippled texture that the dropped yarn overs give the fabric. It’s been worn a bunch of times and has gathered a number of compliments.

Pattern: Morning Surf Scarf
Designer: Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm)
Yarn: Handpun from Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino roving, colorway “Sunshine of your Love”
–Ravelry Project Link–