Most every year, my dear husband brings me to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival for Mother’s day and this year was no exception.  We have attended it when it has been hotter than hot, and cold and wet.  This year we were treated to the most picture perfect day you could ever want to have for a fiber festival.

Now you have heard me complain about my growing stash and how I am trying to weed it out a bit, so like my friend Laurie, I was trying hard to be "mindful" of what I purchased.  I almost thought that I was going to walk away completely empty handed…………but it WAS my mother’s day weekend, right?

I was relatively well behaved though.  Some lovely taupe colored polwarth silk/angora roving from Woolybuns started my downfall.  Very hard for a Woolen Rabbit to resist such lovely roving.  While I was visiting with Chris, I managed to guess the answer to her silly quiz and my prize……Angora…haha!  This is extra lovely angora, so something special will have to be planned for it.

My next purchase was some gorgeous roving from Friends Folly.  This was my mother’s day present :-).  A pound and a half of scrumptious wool that will become my new favorite vest :-). 

The last purchase of the day was this Golding Spindle.  I know, I know……I say I don’t like spindling, but yet, here is another beauty. 

Just to prove that I actually do spin on them, I took a picture of this one this morning…with fiber I actually spun on it…LOL.  I have to say, this spindle could convert me.  No matter how bad I am, this baby just keeps spinning and spinning.   I love it!

One of the best parts of any fiber event is the opportunity to visit with the fiber friends I have made along my journey…………….but did I get any pictures of my fiber friends?  Nope…..too busy yakking, as usual…….but……

How could I resist this picture of the ever patient Dale, holding his lovely wife’s bag….heehee!

To all the Mom’s out there……Happy Mother’s Day!

Sheesh…..it is really hard to get a picture of socks on your own feet early in the morning when the dew is still heavy on the grass.

I have to say that I have had more fun knitting these socks than any other sock I have knit to date.  I can not believe
that I waited so long to knit a pair of handspun socks!

I know I have said this before….but I love Cassie’s pattern.  The lace rib at the top is ultra feminine and the lace panel that goes down each side is just enough lace to keep you interested.  The 10 rows of lace really help to make the pattern go quick….I’ll just do 2 patterns…um…maybe one more….and before you know it you are done.

We are heading down to NH Sheep and Wool festival bright and early tomorrow morning…..I’m looking forward to seeing friends and buying fiber :-).  Yep….this is one of those fairs that I am a happy spender instead of a vendor.  I hope to see you there!

Cleo
Before I sign off today, I will leave you with a few pictures of Miss Cleo.  As she was lounging on her usual couch corner last night, she reminded me of a famous Landseer painting.  It’s hard to believe she is going to be a year old next week.  She and Maggie will have a joint birthday party 🙂

Do you not love this pattern??  Anne calls it man~lace, but I think it is pretty darn nice girly lace too.  Another Anne came up with the name for this sock….it is a term for  a type of corn plant.  Can you see the little ears of corn on little stalks?

This is the first time I have ever worked on a sock that is done from the toe up and the first time I have done short row toes and heels as well.  My heel came out much better than the toe, thanks to all the great tips you gave to me. 

I am going to have to rework the cast off as it is a bit tight.  This has always been a concern to me in the past whenever I had contemplated knitting from the toe up, as my calf muscle is not small.  Anne gave me a few tips, so I will rip it out and give it another try, as I would hate to break the cast off edge putting them on or taking them off.
~~  All in all, I LOVE this pattern!
Pattern:  Teosinte Socks
Needles:  2.25mm
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Superwash Rosemary & Thyme

I am going to do another pair when I finish this one’s mate, but this time I am going to work them from the top down, but still keep the short row heels and toes.  I will have to fool with the pattern to get the ears going in the right direction….or maybe I will just have upside down stalks…LOL.

Because I wanted to help Anne get her pattern proofed so that she could offer it for sale, I really pushed myself hard to get the sock done.  Too give my tired arm a rest (I am a tense knitter), I have spent the morning working on my CMF roving.  Have I mentioned how much I love spinning this stuff?  The funny thing is, one of my middle daughters who is a tomboy for sure, absolutely loves this roving and is begging for some socks…LOL!  I think that there will be enough for both she and me :-).

Pleasant Mountain Fiber Arts
Linda Whiting and some of her friends from Maine are offering a fiber arts workshop the weekend of June 22-24th.  Go take a peek at some of the fabulous classes that are being offered.  I know that there is one or 2 that I think I just may have to attend!

Anne asked if I would like to give her newest sock pattern a test drive and I was very happy to do so, as I LOVE the pattern.  This is a new challenge for me in a few ways.  Even though I have been knitting socks for a very long time, I have never attempted to do one from the toe up. 

Last night I sat quielty while the girls were watching tv…knitting and ripping….knitting and ripping….knitting and ripping…sigh.  I was determined I was going to figure this out.

By about the third time around, I got up and started looking on the internet for some photo or video instructions, as I am much more of a visual learner than a book learner.  I found a few sites, but the tutorial that Wendy has here on knitty.com helped immensely.

When I finished, I noticed that one side came out nicely and I was happy with it, however the one pictured above to the left looks different.  It’s a bit bumpy and not as clean looking as the one to the right.  Any ideas as to what I may have done wrong?  I think I have a few ideas where I may have erred, but I am not really sure.  I was going to rip it back again, but it really isn’t that bad and I can practice on the mate. 🙂

Anyoo………….in spite of my sloppy toes, this pattern rocks!  It’s very easy to follow and the lacy texture is very pretty.  My next challenge is going to be the short row heels.  Nope….I’ve never done those before either, so wish me luck!

I love knitting a pattern that forces me to learn new techniques 🙂

We’ve got flowers!!!  Woohoo!!  Now I can truly believe that winter is gone for good this time :-).  Can you notice anything different about this sock?  Go on…..look a little closer….I’ll wait.
It’s missing the black stripes!

I don’t typically think of myself as an anal person, in fact, my husband probably wishes that I were just a little bit more so at times, but I find myself stressing a little about the fact that these socks are not going to match at.all.  How silly is that for me to stress?  Now, I know that I could pull from a different part of the ball and create the same striping and I was sorely tempted to do that….but knowing that I would have to weave those ends in when I am finished, has helped me to decide just to go with it and just see what happens. 

Other fibery things……garden rovings…

Given the warm spring like weather we are enjoying, the garden colors of pink and green were calling to me this week, so I spent a few hours the other night predrafting the CMF roving that Marisol gifted to me.  Now knowing that one end of the roving is a bit darker than the other, I will be more careful to mix it all up when I am spinning it.

Have I mentioned how much I love spinning this stuff?  I think I may have, but I will say it again…..Love.it!

…And pots of yarn…….
The other thing I have been very busy working at is getting ready for the Fiber Frolic next month.   What perfect weather we have had for dyeing.  The days have been warm with a wonderful warm breeze that has made for perfect drying yarn weather. 

The girls and I are on our own this week as Ken is off visiting family.  I’m thinking it’s going to  be a weekend of gardening and spinning ……hmmm…maybe I will watch the girls rake while I spin. 
Nah….they will never go for it….LOL!

As you can see, I finally found my knitting mojo with this sock yarn.  I took a few much needed days off for some R&R after a stressful few work weeks.  With a little extra time and a clearer mind, the knitting seemed to find it’s way back. 

The pattern that seemed to work out the best for me this time was my friend Cassie’s Fool Rush Sock Pattern.  I love the subtleties in the color changes with this yarn and thought that a simple pattern would work best showing off how fun this yarn is.

While the pattern is mostly stockinette, there is just enough of a pattern that helps to keep your interest as you are knitting.  If you look close, you can see the little diamond pattern that runs up both sides of the leg. 

Instead of the usual knit/purl ribbing, Cassie created this eyelet lace cuff, which really works up nicely.  Very feminine :-).

I did change the sizing of the sock a little as I knew that 60 stitches would not be enough for my leg and this finerweight yarn.  I used 65 stitches for the cuff and 64 for the leg….I was very happy with the fit this time around.

Garden hopping

This is the year that I am going to do some gardening.  I had so wanted to get back to it last year, but if you remember, I was so buried in work that there was just no way a garden was going to happen.  I did however stake out a spot last autumn and have contacted someone to till the soil for me this week.

In addition to the vegetable garden, I really want to have a flower/herb garden.  Lacking in ideas on how to go about setting up a special area, Ken and I ambled around town a bit for some ideas.  The garden on the left belongs to the owners of one of my favorite stores in Tuftonboro, NH and the one to the right is one I found online.  Somehow I want to incorporate a little from each into a special sitting area in one corner of my yard.

This picture says it all…….

I picked it up at the little shop in Tuftonboro and I love it.  If Spring ever stays for more than just a fleeting visit, I just may get these gardens in…LOL

Fog…..

Chill morning, stone steps.
The path to the temple is steep.
We may stumble at times,
But we must always get up again.
Deng Ming~Dao

This quote from my Tao book kind of sums up my week.  Stumbling …….

In my spare time this week, I worked on the Serendipity roving that I had dyed last week.  Each night I sat down and enjoyed watching the colors wind up onto the bobbin, but as I was spinning, I was struggling a bit. 

I quickly discovered that this blend really should be spun from the fold, but because I had predrafted the entire amount, I continued on, hoping for the best.  Unfortunately when it was all spun up and plyed, I was disappointed.

Disappointed in not only the finished product, but with my spinning in general.  It was sloppy.

Last week, I read on Sara Lamb’s blog that spinning silk from the fold helps immensely in obtaining consistency, so  I will give this a try on my next go around with silk 🙂

I was going to use this for my morning glory shawl, but once spun, I think that the shades of yellow are a bit too overwhelming, so it’s back to the drawing board.  I will instead make a scarf from this yarn once I find the right pattern for it.

More Stumbling…

Ms Woolen Rabbit looks a bit dismayed, doesn’t she?  Just look at them ears…..she is not a happy bunny!  If you look down at her feet, you will see  what has her in a tizzy…it’s a disheveled Yellow Taxi…LOL.

Yep, that is my sock wrapped up in that ball.  I completed the sock up to the toe, but was just not happy  with the fit.  The sock was so loose on my foot and I knew that I probably would not wear it much the way it was. Washing this superwash would not tighten it up either, so you guessed it………rippppppppppp.  Back to the drawing board again, looking for a pattern that is going to suit this great yarn a bit better 🙂

  It has just been that kind of week……I think that I am not too sad to see this week come to an end.  Thank goodness there’s always next week 🙂

Last week I saw a new shawl that Anne created on her blog.  The name of the shawl is Morning Glory and oh my…….I fell hard for it.  It is stunning!  I went digging thru my stash to see if I had something that would compliment the pattern, but nothing jumped out at me, so I turned to the dyepots.

I had been dyeing up various merino/silk rovings for the sheepfest, so I played with some colors and this is what I came up with……Serendipity!  I love it in the roving……I can’t wait to see how the yarn turns out.

Finally….Spring in the Mountains!

Yesterday the temperatures were in the 70’s here.  The day was glorious, so Ken and I went for a ride.

Even though almost all of the snow in my yard has melted, there is still quite a bit on the mountain.

Looking down at the river from where I was snapping pictures however, I noticed just how much errosion the last bunch of storms did to the river banks.  Many of the roads that we traveled on in Jackson had bright orange cones warning motorists of the deep ruts on the sides of the roads.  Some of those ruts were close to 6 feet deep….YIKES!  Hopefully Mother Nature has calmed down a bit and we have seen the worst of the spring rains (and snows).

Today was the annual Sheepfest and it was as it always is, a supportive community endeavor, put on by the tireless Linda Whiting.

Every year I look forward to this event as it kicks off the spring sheep and wool festivals.  Tucked away in the tiny down of Denmark Maine, this little event has grown considerably over the last 9 years that I have been involved with it.

Today, even Bill Green from Bill Green’s Maine and his crew came to visit with us…..and life was good.

Given that this was
the first warm, dry weekend that we have seen in God only knows when,  everyone was smiling from venders, to the shearer…… from sheep to Alpaca.  Life in the sun today was good….as good as it gets!

We have been very busy here at the Woolen Rabbit getting ready for this show and for the upcoming Fiber Festival

in June.  I apologize for not responding to comments, but this was one of those weeks that was plum full right to the brim with work.

The days have been spent dyeing and winding wool in the thankfully warm and breezy days…..labeling yarns, soaps and handcream.  For me, this is an indication that Spring HAS Sprung and I have been smiling big.  I bet it has been that way for you as well.

I think it was Thursday when I pulled the shade up, being blinded by the sunlight that I said……ah….Winter is over!  Life is indeed good!

Every day this week, I have wanted to sit down and chat with you all, but time just got away from me.  I find that I really miss my cyber friends on those weeks that I find myself too busy to chat.  I love this wonderful community that we all share and I miss it when I am away.

So in closing, I will leave you with a picture of the knitting that I have managed to squeeze in every night.  I am LOVING every moment of knitting this handspun sock!  Last week I mentioned that I was afraid I had spun the yarn too fine, but Teyani reassured me it was probably the right weight.  With all of the handling in knitting it, the yarn blossomed just like she said it would :-).  I have turned the heel and finished the gussets.  Next week I am going to share what I have learned with the pattern that I am using…. but for now I will say a very tired good night :-)!