Pattern:  Wood Hollow Mittens by Kirsten Kapur
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Worsted Weight Kashmir
(soon to be released)
Colorway:  Pussy-willow
Needles:  US 5 double points

These mittens were fun to make!  Such a fast knit as well, which is good given that I knit the pair twice…

The first mitten had a big, glaring boo boo.  I twisted right when I should have twisted left…or was that left when I should have gone right?  Aggh!  It was also a tetch big for me, so I reduced the number of stitches by 2 and it fits much better.

So Hannah and I went outside today to shoot a few pictures.  It was the first sunny day we have had in what feels like a very long time and we were feeling a bit silly.

Hannah was trying to explain and show me how to smile with my eyes ala Tara Banks .
(can you believe she copy righted the phrase??  Sheesh!)

In between giggles and laughs, we got a few good pictures. 

I think I did ok with those smiling eyes, but then I AM Irish and you know the song….

"When Irish eye are smiling"….
It was fun to be out in the sun today.  It's a good thing because it's going to be awhile before we see the sun again.

  Earlier this fall I was contacted by Patti Waters who wanted to know if I would be interested in collaborating with her on a pattern.  Having seen Patti's work, I was in! 

Patti sent me a picture of an idea that she was working on and asked to do up the sample in Pearl.  I was thrilled as Pearl really is my favorite sock yarn so far of the blends that I have.  This gave me a good excuse to knit another pair of socks using it.

I love the simple yet detailed look of the cables and done in Mystic Mountain Pine….it reminds me a little of black-watch plaid.

Patti was kind enough to send me her pair of socks to bring to The Gathering as a sample.  I was just too darn busy at the time to knit a sample of my own up.  Hannah was gracious enough as well to sit on the wet bail of straw for pictures..haha!

Yesterday I finally had the time to sit down and get started on my Rosalyn sock and I am really enjoying the knit.  It has enough cabling to keep it interesting, but not so much that you start to feel like you might want to poke your eye out with the cable needle. 

I have been dabbling again not using the cable needle, but I keep dropping stitches, so I think this time I will just use the cable needle.

If you get a chance click on Patti's link and look at her work….she is a very talented young woman. 🙂

I guess it's no secret that I am Ashley's biggest fan because that's what mother's do…right? This was a lovely Thanksgiving gift…thank you Ashley!

I am so incredibly thankful to have 5 amazing kids!  This weekend we were fortunate to be surrounded with friends and family, which made our holiday extra special. I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was as nice as ours was here!

It was 16 years ago today that my youngest, Hannah, made her way into the world.  This tiny little girl with blond ringlets and her cupid bow lips looked like a little angel as a toddler.  Today, she has grown into a very determined, beautiful and bright young lady who will go far in life.

Happy Birthday Hannah!!

What's up with that??  I think this is the very first time that I can remember not having a number of projects hanging out in bags all around my knitting chair.  Such a strange feeling!

Over the last month I have really concentrated finishing things.  So far I have finished a vest, my Wing of Moth shawl, Hawthorne, Keukenhof socks and some woven towels…whew!  I will share pictures of these things soon. 🙂

There were a few other projects that I freed myself from.  If I don't enjoy the knit, why bother, so those few projects were frogged…yay.

I do have one pair of socks that needs it's mate, but I wasn't up to all the cable work, so that one will have to wait a little bit, but other than that…I have nothing. 

  So yesterday I went digging around my studio and decided to try and find a pattern for a heavier weight version of my Kashmir yarn that I brought in recently.

This is a 4 ply worsted weight yarn that has a nice plump, round feel to it.

After searching ravelry for a pattern I came up with Kirsten's "Wood Hollow Mittens".  After losing my red mittens last winter and the cold weather settling in, this gave me a good excuse to knit a new pair.

Kirsten's pattern is very well written and enjoyable!  Just enough going on to make it interesting, but still easy enough to be relaxing.  I think these will be finished in no time. 🙂   

Pattern:  Hawthorne by Susanna IC
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Mara
Colorway:  Cape Cod Blues
Needles:  US size 9

I caught Hannah on a good day where she would let me snap a few pictures…..this doesn't happen very often I can tell you for sure.

Lately I have really been knitting diligently trying to finish up a bunch of UFO's that have been collecting dust here, and I am making some good progress. 🙂

Hawthorne wasn't one of the items collecting dust though.  I started this on Oct. 29th to have a sample to bring with me to The Gathering and completed it in 5 days.  Julia finished hers in 2 days!  Yikes!!  That is simply amazing to me!  For me to do it in 5 days felt like I must have broken some world record….I guess not…LOL.

This was an extremely enjoyable knit.  It's been quite a while since I have used size 9 needles and forgot just how much you can knit in such a short period of time.

If you are looking for a warm winter scarf that works up quickly and is simply stunning….this is the scarf for you!

After completion
Come new beginnings.
To gain strength,
Renew the root.
Deng Ming~Dao

Last week I was crazy busy dyeing new yarns so that I could be ready for the Northeast Handspinner's Gathering which was held in Vermont this year.

NHA sponsors a gathering every other year in New England.  Each time it is hosted in a different New England state and then rotated to a new one.  This year it was held at the Grand Summit Hotel and Conference Center at Mount Snow.  Such a beautiful background for this fibery event.

The most wonderful experience of my weekend was having the opportunity to meet Deb Menz.  Her book, Color In Spinning, was the book that set me on the path exploring color and dye work and I will always be thankful for that. 

Every now and then we get these wonderful little happenings in our lives which makes the journey a bit more enjoyable….this was one of them. 🙂

I have been finishing up a number of things that I will have to share with you soon….stay tuned. 🙂

If the boulders are moved,
even a river will change it's flow…
Deng Ming Dao

I love doing fiber fair/gatherings as a vendor.  It's a chance to spend time with good friends enjoying themselves.  It's even more meaningful when they are enjoying your very own creations, which is still amazing to me!  Seeing friends and their happy shiny faces is why I am looking forward to doing The Gathering, in Vermont this weekend. 🙂

Having said that there is a certain amount of pressure and juggling that goes on behind the scenes to keep everything moving in a smooth flow.  In addition to the Woolen Rabbit shop, I also have a pretty full time job working for a dog club as their Registrar.

Ken and I went out to dinner last Friday night and I told him that the song Under Pressure was stuck in my brain this week…..he looked at me like I had 2 heads.  He had never heard this song before…can you believe it??  How much better can a song get….Bowie? Mercury?  LOVE it!  He must have been living in a bubble during the 80's.

Having said this……….as Ken likes to say…no one puts more pressure on me than I do myself and of course he is right. The little Deng Ming Dao quote is very meaning for me right now for many reasons…..

As I am thinking about setting up for a show, I try to think about which yarns I will highlight and what is the best way to show them off and how many skeins can I physically get dyed, wound and packed before I head out the door.

A sample of the yarn done up in a pattern is always a nice way to show people what the yarn looks like knit up…..so……3 days ago I set upon doing another sample in Mara using this pattern from twist collective, trying to keep it to 2 skeins. (yes you read that right….3 days ago..eek!) 

Not having enough stitch markers I started using big paperclips. (new to me pattern /designer = stitch markers) Ok, well that worked for about um….one night before I bit the bullet and bought some cheap simple marker….lots of them!

…..aahhh….much better!

3 days into it and I have finished the lace portion and have moved onto the short row garter stich portion.  I am thinking (hoping) that this part will move along quickly now……especially since I only have 3 more days to get it finished…eek!

PS……….do you not just LOVE that little yarn bowl.  I was so very fortunate that my friend Norma was willing to pick one up for me from Yellow Dog Farm.  It's made of applewood from I believe their property.  I absolutely LOVE it!  Thank you Norma for sending this beautiful little treasure my way….I can definitely see one or two more down the road…. 

And with that I am off to stir the dye pot a bit more and knit, knit, knit…..

Accomplish your visions.
Persevere in your ambitions.
Only then can you negate
Visions and ambitions.
Deng Ming~Dao

Whew….I finally feel as though I am caught up. I love doing fiber fairs, but they truly do take a lot of work…..especially getting caught up after the fact, but I do so enjoy getting to visit with both new and old fiber friends. 🙂

While I was making purchases in Rhinebeck I made a promise to myself to clean up some of my UFO's.  Yep…those bags piled around my chair (or throne as Ken likes to call it.)

I had mentioned a while back that the handspun vest that I practically live in was falling apart.  Anticipating that I will have to toss it pretty soon, I started another one.

I had hoped to have it ready to wear in Rhinebeck but alas that darn button band took longer than I anticipated.  PIcking up from the bottom, going around the neck and then back down the other side translates into a lot of stitches….just sayin'

Then there was the button dilemma.

The buttons in the first picture were actually rescued from the first vest and amazingly they match perfectly.  Then I found these sweet buttons at a vendor in Rhinebeck. (I wish I could remember her name.)

I went back and forth and back and forth, but finally settled on the old buttons.  It's like a little piece of the old vest is still with me and the new buttons would look really nice on something that had perhaps some navy and rust together.  Hmmmm…..I'm sensing a new colorway. 🙂

Pattern:  Side Slit Vest by Sarah James
Yarn:  Hand spun wool/mohair blend from Spinner's Hill
Needles:  Size 6 and 8

I added a few inches to the length of this vest.  I don't think I would do that next time.  Other than that, I love it!  I'm thinking I could use another one. 😉

I am betting that almost any fiber person on the east coast can guess where I was this weekend just by looking at those lovely trees.  These colorful trees always welcome we Autumn fiber enthusiasts into the beautiful town of Rhinebeck…never changing and always beautiful in October.

This was my 11th trip to Rhinebeck and as a rule of thumb I am usually pretty good about hanging on to my pocketbook, but this year I fell deep into the Rabbit Hole…eek~

I have to admit though….it was all good.  This year has been a year of hard work with little time for much else, so it was such a treat to be with much loved friends and incredible fiber.
(yep….long post, lots of pics….just sayin')

I started out the weekend with a trip to the Culinary Institute on Thursday evening with my Yarnmonger friends, Vanessa, Hope and Jaya.  What a treat!

  I followed that with another trip to the Institute on Friday with my dear friends, Anne, Kim(kim, kim) and Beckie, Natalie and Mary.  Natalie and her husband both work at the Institute, so we were treated to a behind the scene tour of the inner workings of the Institute….thank you Natalie!

Saturday brought chilly temperatures and gusty winds, but this did not deter the crowds…..and let me tell you what a crowd it was!

My first stop was to visit Chris in the Briar Rose Booth.  Last year I purchased a pattern from Chris and this year I decided to purchase the yarn to make it. :-)  This is Glory days…beautiful blues and greens.

As I was wandering around the various booths I came across the Fiber Optics booth….oh my!  These girls have a wonderful sense of color.  I rarely buy fiber these days as I have a houseful of it, but I couldn't resist these beautiful rovings.  Could you?

What can I say?  Anne had this fabulous sweater and the yarn from Spirit trails was one that I didn't have here, so that's a good excuse…right?
(are you sensing an unusal attraction to blue??  yikes!)

…and the big purchase….
I'll share more about this later, but until then I will tell you I am smitten with this little block of wood. 😉

…but the most precious items of all were the ones gifted to me by friends.  I love how my friends really understand how much I love those little bee girls!

The beeutiful Abeille soap is from Kim, kim, kim and the beeswax is a useful gift from another lover of fine spinning wheels, Vanessa.  The wine was a gift from the girls who love and follow Anne thru the knitspot ravelry group.

It was a wonderful vacation.  I am so thankful that Ken encouraged me to take a few extra days so that I could rest and recooperate after the busy fair season.

I am rested and looking forward to what is ahead.  The upcoming year promises to be an exciting and interesting one. 🙂