It's been a while since I have visited with you all.  Last week I had all kinds of posts I was going to share with you.  I was going to show you how beautiful my yard is in the Spring…..especially since you usually see pictures of these very same trees covered in snow.

For one week every Spring, this part of my yard looks like something in a fairytale……so beautiful.

I was going to tell you about my son pitching in a local wooden bat league and how I used to dread when he would pitch when he was a young boy.  Not because he was bad, but I remembered those long innings when a pitcher would not be able to get out of an inning……and they would be on the verge of tears.  Those were long rides home after a game……….just sayin'

I was going to tell you about our Robins and how 3 of them flew out of the nest when Ashley and I went to check on them one day….and how one little baby remained…..for days…..and how I worried about it.  Then the rains started and she was gone.  I was going to tell you how sad I am when my little ones fly off, but how happy I am that they are big enough to enjoy their freedom….and how I enjoy trying to figure out which ones they might be as I am sipping a glass of wine in the evening after dinner, knitting and watching the birds who live in our yard.

But then………………
I got sick…..
I.C.K….
Swine flu….I don't think so, but ugh some nasty stomach bug came to visit and I lost any ambition that I might have had to sit behind the computer.

So….instead I just slept on the couch and dabbled with a little spinning here and there…..and this is what I came up with.

A beautiful fingering weight blend of Icelandic lamb and alpaca from Frelsi Farm.  This was one of the very few things that I purchased as SPA this year…..and it was a joy to spin.  I have a little over 500 yards, so I'm thinking it will probably want to be a small shawl. 🙂

Now that I am feeling somewhat better, I will try to be a little more diligent in getting my posts up.  There are lots of new things going on.  Square foot gardening….working on studio space….bunnies…..and a few other things… ;).

Until then……have a wonderful weekend in your corner of the world!

 
As you can see I have been knitting and spinning in my down time.  There is good and bad in this picture.

I'll get the bad over with first.  The knitting is Anne's beautiful Ondue sweater pattern.  I love the pattern, the yarn and the color, so what is the problem? 

Well……….in my anxiousness to start, I made the wrong size…..aggh.  Usually I will highlight the size throughout the pattern, but I didn't this time and it has cost me.  I had contemplated making it for one of the girls, but I think I will enjoy it more than they will, so I will start again.  Thankfully I had started with the left front instead of the entire back.

Now onto the good… the yarn is a 2ply fingering weight spun with Chris's Corriedale/Angora blend called Cinnamon Shimmer.  Last time I checked she still had some available….it is scrummy stuff!  I have almost 600 yards, so I'm thinking either a longish scarf or a small shawl is what this will become.

Ondule and Cinnamon Shimmer will look nice together, don't you think?

There have been some good things going on in my yard too. :)  Can you see the little heads?  This is our new crop of baby robins.  Mom and Dad made the nest a little higher in the bush that they always build in, so it is hard for me to get a good picture.  Dad gets pretty stressed when I poke my head in to far, so I have not bothered them too much. 

It always amazes me how fast these babies grow.   From hatching to fleging takes no more than 10 days….amazing!  I am hoping to catch the fledging again this year….but I am not going to help any little fledglings that can not fly.  I don't need Daddy Robin dive bombing me this year…haha!

A few of you have asked why I have been so quiet.  Since posting Maplewing life had been crazy busy….starting with Stacey's graduation.  Stacey graduated this past weekend with her associates degree in liberal arts and will start Nursing School in the fall.

As a single Mom of 2, also working full time, she has worked very hard to get this far and we are so proud of her!  She is very excited to be entering the nursing program.  Way to go Stacey!

It was also Stacey's birthday this weekend which we celebrated with friends and family at her home on Sunday………then Monday we were off shopping for one of these………..

After trying on a dozen dresses she narrowed it down to three……lots to think about over the next few weeks and months for this young lady :).

Not to fear even with all of the craziness I have managed to squeeze in a few fibery moments here and there.  Over the weekend I turned more towards my spinning wheel as I frequently do when life gets busy and finished 2 big 4 ounce skeins of yarn…yay!  Here is a peek at one of them….

The roving was from my Splish Splash superwash merino line in the Twist and Shout colorway.   The second skein I will share with you later in the week.  It's made with one of Chris's lovely angora blends.

How was your weekend?

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

Pattern:  Maplewing
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Whisper lace
Colorway:  Mama Mia
Needles:  US size 5

Every now and then you knit something where you thoroughly enjoy each and every stitch.  Maplewing was just such a project for me.

 While it looks to be a fairly complex pattern, it really is not.  I found it very easy to keep my place without stitch markers and found it equally as easy to find and correct errors without having to tink back rows.  I enjoyed watching the whirly wig swirls building row by row…….

This will be the perfect lightweight summer shawl on those cool evenings, don't you think?

Can you tell how much I love it….because I do!  Anne's pattern truly is brilliant!

I guess I will start right from the beginning………the car ride. 

Every year Ken has taken me to the NH Sheep and Wool festival for Mother's day.  It's really not that far away from us, but it is far enough away that I can usually get a bit of knitting in.  This year Anne's  Ondule sweater was my knitting companion.  Don't you just love the texture in those purled diamonds?

As a rule of thumb Ken and I stay at the festival until around 2ish.  While I shop and visit with friends, Ken likes to wander off and watch the dog herding.  It's the one thing that I always regret not taking the time to watch.

This year because we were spending the night in Concord, I was able to catch the afternoon session.  These dogs are absolutely fascinating!  I wish I could tell you that a Cavalier could do this…..but I can assure you that most of them could not…LOL.  Border collies are brilliant dogs!!  If you get a chance to watch them at work…do it.  You won't be disappointed!

As you visit the various New England blogs you will see many pictures of the wonderful people I get to call "friend", but because I tend to spend too much time chatting and not enough time with the camera that is what you will not see here…LOL.

You do get to see this precocious alpaca though.  Truly this gentle animal was absolutely posing for pictures.  Don't you just love his smile?  I keep telling Ken……when the kids leave for good, expect to see one or two of these sweet babies in our yard 😉

As a rule of thumb I don't usually post many pictures of my fiber purchases.  I will be honest with you…over the last few years I have not really made that many "for me" fiber purchases, but this year I fell into the rabbit hole in a big way and I wanted to share my excitement :).  The new spinning wheels have been a bad influence I tell ya…baaaad…;).

Above is some stunning wool/mohair blend from Pogo of Friend's Folly Farm.  The black blend will be a sweater and the purplish one will become a vest. 

A woolenrabbit needs a little angora fix every now and then and this year was no exception.  This is a beautiful blend of polwarth and angora from Woolybuns.

Last but not least are these 2 scrumptious llama, mohair, silk blends from Tucker Woods Farm.  I had petted these fibers earlier in the day, but told myself I really had enough, so I woefully left them behind.

Later in the afternoon as I was showing Carole how beautiful these fibers were, I became weak in the knees.  Yep….I buckled and gave in….and that was that…….into my basket these 2 beautiful bags of fiber went. 

Go take a peek at their website.  Are those babies not the cutest things ever??  Hmmm…..maybe 2 of them should accompany the future alpacas in the yard…..Just sayin'

After the fair, Ken and I were able to spend some time dining and chatting with Dale and Carole, along with Dan and Jean.  What a perfect ending to a fun day!

Back home again on Sunday was time spent with my children.  I am so fortunate to have some of the nicest kids ever!

Rain comes, and birds–
Silhouettes against the pearlescent sky–
Respond excitedly in song.
They open their throats to heaven's nectar,
And rhyme with the drops.
Deng Ming Dao

This little verse about how so much of nature is song is so appropriate at this time of year…..and the rain…..oh…the rain we have had plenty of this week. 

I'm probably one of the strange few that enjoys the spring rains.  I love listening to the rain early in the morning as it hits the barn's metal roof…and the birds, they surely do twitter a lot in the morning when it is raining.  It's all strangely comforting and certainly invites one to snuggle in a bit further under the down comforter for a few extra moments.

Last weekend Ken and Hannah traveled down to visit his family, so I spent the weekend cleaning and decluttering.  The payment for all the work that I did has been a good amount of free time that I could spend on fibery things.

In the picture at the top, you can see that I have been spinning.  Of course it has been a treat to spin on the newest grrl in the house, but I have been making sure to spend time with the other wheels as well.  The fiber on the bobbin is some absolutely scrumptious corriedale/angora/silk blend that I purchased from Chris last year at the NH Sheep and Wool festival.  Do I need angora?  Why no, I do not, but every year I usually come home with something from Chris.  She has some yummy fibers for sure!

The knitting next to the bobbin is one of Anne's new sweater patterns, Ondule.  I would like to say that I am test knitting it for her, but given how slow I am the mistakes are always found by the other test knitters long before I find them, so I'm basically just along for the ride….LOL.

The yarn I am using is the same one that I used for Hannah's shrug.  It is a blend of merino and bamboo that I plan to put in the shop, as I really like the fabric that it produces.  This batch was dyed in the Victorian Hydrangea colorway.

I also finished up the first Cable twist sock and am nearing the heel on the second one.  Adrian's pattern is a fun and easy one for sure!  The only modification I did was to use 64 stitches with an eight stitch repeat (k6,2). This and Ondule are fairly easy knitting patterns, so they will accompany me this weekend to NH's S&W festival. 

Ken and I are going to make a Mother's day weekend out of it this year instead of our usual Saturday only trip.  This year we are going to spend Saturday night in Concord with Carole and Dale..and Jean and Dan.  It will be fun!  I am looking forward to seeing my fiber friends this weekend…..yay!!

Last but not least………Maplewing is finished!!  As much as I enjoyed knitting my bee stole, I think I enjoyed this one even more.  It is such a fluid pattern.  It appears to be complicated when you first see it, but knitting it is easy peasy. 

Maplewing is boxed up and on it's way to Ohio.  Anne graciously offered to block it for me and I graciously accepted because I suck at blocking lace ;).  Anne is a good friend for sure and we know she rocks at blocking lace!

Thanks Anne!

Ok folks……..you have GOT to see this play if you get the chance!

Last weekend Ken and I traveled to New York to visit Dan and Jean. It was our 15th wedding anniversary and given that I had never been to NYC we decided that going to a play on Broadway would be a fun experience.  Was it ever!

Getting off the train in Grand Central Station was mind boggling and then leaving the station and heading towards Times Square.  The only thing I can say is "Holy Crap!"  Seeing all of the jumbo-trons and the sheer volume of people was mind boggling, overwhelming and fun all wrapped up in one.  I LOVED it!

Thankfully Jean knew her way around the theater district pretty well and found a neat pizza place for dinner.  After dinner, Jean wanted to show us Rockerfeller Center, but couldn't seem to find it….so we asked one of the city policemen if he could point us in the right direction.  Ummmm……….4 blocks later, we were right back where we started.  Hmmmm….so this time Dan asks a city policeman while Jean and I watched.  First the officer points south, then west…..then Dan tells him that he is also an officer.

Oh…why in that case……. it is just one block north.  Can you believe it?  I think that they like to mess with us tourists…haha!

After taking in the sights it was back to Broadway and the play. Let me tell you, this play was HILARIOUS! If you were a child of the 80's and enjoyed those big hair rock songs, you will LOVE this play!!

I hope to catch up with you all next week.  I have some nice things to share with you. 🙂

Have a Super Weekend in your corner of the world!

This has been one of those weeks where I have felt like the Jack of all Trades and the master of none.

 I bet you know exactly what I am talking about…that feeling that you are diligently working on things, but not really accomplishing much.  I know that the stress from last week has a lot to do with this, but now that things are somewhat back to normal it will get better. 🙂

As you can see Maplewing is growing.  It's been a slow process because I am a slow knitter, but it has been a most enjoyable process.  I am moving onto the last section where the decreases are going to come fast and furious now, so I anticipate that this shawl will be finished and blocked next week.

I do find when life is a wee bit stressful, I tend to find solace with my spinning wheels, so there has been more spinning than knitting happening here this week.  There is something so comforting in the mindlessness of sitting behind a big wheel and slowly treadling along.  As that wheel goes round and round it gives your mind a chance to relax and heal……..

On the big wheel I am working on some beautiful Icelandic/Alpaca that I purchased as Spa from Frelsi Farm.  Beautiful, beautiful roving!

On the smaller Van Eaton wheel I finished this batch of merino/tussah roving that I had dyed up for Spa.  While my spinning could have been a bit more consistent, I was pleased as punch when I took this yarn off the bobbin and it was completely balanced.  No twist one way or the other which is good….. now I need to just pay a bit more attention to getting my singles more consistent.

An Early Fitness Friday….
Ken and I are heading out early tomorrow to spend the weekend with Dan
and Jean.  It's our 15th anniversary and it will be my first trip ever
to NYC.  Can you believe it?  We are going to visit a few sights, get
dinner and then head to Broadway….wheee!  We are also going to visit Susan and her new babies on Sunday before we head back home to New Hampshire.  Ken and I are both looking forward to this weekend.  It's been a long time since we have been able to get away alone, without kids or dogs. 😉

Sooooo……I will do an early and short Fitness Friday

How are you guys doing?  Any successes that you want to share?  Any struggles that you need some support with?

I can tell you that I have had both…success and struggle.  Two weeks ago I was soooo good about exercising, then this week, not so good.  This week however I was pretty good about paying attention to my diet and was able to move the weight ticker down a little bit.

I have found that carbs and sugar are my enemies.  As much as I love bread and sweets, I am finding more and more that my body has a hard time with them.  The scale really starts to move in a downward direction if I stay away from them and moves right back up again when I eat them.  I will admit that it is hard at times though because who doesn't love bread or wine?

Another thing that really helps to get one motivated…………shopping!  EEeekkk!  With the warmer weather arriving I went shopping for a few short sleeved shirts and quickly realized that yes, I have lost weight….and yes……I have lots more to go, so lets hang in there and help each other along!

Website of the week: Kalyn's Kitchen 
If you find like me that staying away from carbs is a good thing, then you will LOVE this website!  It's full of some great low carb recipes.

Have a fun and fit weekend!

Whew….it fit perfectly!

Pattern:  Posh Wedding Shrug
Needles:  US 6 and 7
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Merino/Bamboo DK weight yarn
          (Blue Moon colorway)

This was a VERY easy pattern to knit.  The lace was incredibly easy to memorize and it moves right along. 

It has you knit the first side, then the second side with a graft in the middle.  It's so easy to Kitchener stitch when you are working with a heavier weight yarn. 😉

The only changes that I made were to knit the pattern on straight needles instead of starting the sleeve on circulars.  My knit in the round gauge is usually different than my back and forth gauge.

I was told ahead of time that this pattern runs very big, so even though I had the correct gauge, I went down 2 full needle sizes and you can see that was the right decision as Hannah is pretty small.

Hannah had a blast on her trip to DC and wants to thank everyone who helped her by purchasing candy at spa.  It gave her a little extra spending money. 😉

I want to thank each and every one of you who left such kind comments about Miss Shelley.  It has been a hard few days for all of us including the dogs, but knowing Shelley led a good and carefree life helps ease the sadness.

Enjoy this beeutiful day! ~