Wednesday, September 29, 2010

New Dining Room!

While I was busy at the fiber festival, Daryl was busy painting our new dining room.  He put in the light fixture, finished the wood work on the windows and put the electric covers on.  Now I'm just waiting for the new dining room table and chairs to be delivered!  I can't wait!

I still need to pick out a rug for under the table, a clock for the wall and put up some pictures. But I'm just too excited that it is clean and finished!





Monday, September 27, 2010

Wow.... all I can say is Wow!


Fiber, fiber everywhere at the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival this past weekend. This was the second year and the vendors more than doubled and went from 3 barns to 5. Roving, yarns, fleece, spinners, weavers, knitters, felters.......... Wow!

I had a grand time and truth be told, I spent more money than I made but who can resist all the fiberific goods?

My booth was next to two wonderful spinners who kept great company with us all weekend. Ann and Diane gave us spinning tips as well as kept the day fun. Sara spun an entire ball of super cool yarn with a drop spindle from wool that Ann had died and carded. I'll make a something from the yarn in the next few weeks and I just think it is incredibly cool that I personally knew the people who made the product from beginning to end!



I couldn't resist this fall colored  hand painted wool:


And I fell in love with this fiber painting and matching pillow:




Here are some photos from my booth area:


Sara's Angora Bunny Roving:


I met up with my BFF that I haven't seen in over 25 years~! 


And men knit too!!! 


It was just a fantastic, wonderful, fiberific weekend!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival 2010

I'm getting ready for the second annually Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival this Saturday and Sunday. 

While working hard on details for my displays and trying to finish a couple outstanding projects, the excitement is building.

I can't wait to get there and see all the fabulous fiberific work by spinners, weavers, felters, knitters and absoulutely fantastic fiber artists.


If your are in the area, please stop in!  It is such a good time and all the displays are inside so no need to worry about the weather! 
 
Hope to see you there ~~

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Sunday Morning Knit Wit ~ Winter Hats

Good Moring ~ 

Sometimes we need to break out of our routine and try something new.  I have spent the last couple years knitting neckwarmers, cowls and scarves (which I just love), but recently I've tried my hand at hats (thanks to a little encouragement from my friend Kris).  As with anything else that is new, it takes awhile to figure out where to start, what patterns to try and what type of yarn to select.

I started with a few simple patterns worked in the round.  I searched the web for free knitting patterns and found several basic styles to get the gauges and mechanics down pat. After trying a few following the patterns, I broke out and designed some of my own.

Although I'm not a hat person, they seem to be very popular.  I've sold more hats than neckwarmers at my last two shows and people have asked for more.  So today, I am going to sit down and create a new hat using the trinity stitch.  I think I even dreamed of how the pattern will work out last night - or if I didn't, it certainly was the first thing I thought of this morning. 

So, it's off to to knitting a new hat today and hoping that it turns out as planned.

Here are a few photos of some hats that I've made so far -

Sold to a woman taking a trip to Alaska ~~










Sold to a motorcycle chick that needs to keep the wind out of her ears ~~










Currently for sale on etsy











Next weekend I will be at the Lowville Cream Cheese Festival in Lowville NY.  It's a great time for young and old with many activities and of course.... Cream Cheese!

Keep your needles clicking!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Sunday Morning Knit Wit ~ Socks

My current project is making my very first pair of socks. 

I don't know how this ever happened, but although I have been knitting for over 30 years, I have been avoiding knitting socks.  I think it was the 'turning a heel' area that scared me enough to avoid even thinking about socks. Oh, I made baby booties before and actually did a modified heel, but they really don't count.

And my mother-in-law was the Sock Queen.  She could whip up the most perfect pair of socks from the basic to the most complex, including color work.  So, perhaps there was an underlying fear that I knew anything I made just couldn't compare to her work.

Up until last Thursday I would just smile and stay silent when knitters talked about their sock projects.  But during my knitting group, I announced that I was a sock virgin.  Gasps could be heard all the way to Alaska - "You've never knit a pair of socks!?!?!?!!?" was said in unision.  As I turned completely red and acknowledge that this was true, I knew that I had to make at least one pair.  And as our knitting group meets at one of the most well stocked yarn shop, I came home with a book, size 1 double pointed needles and a skein of sock yarn.

The book: Sensational Knitted Socks - by Charlene Schurch

I like this book  because she has charted out sizes and walks you through different methods - toe up, top down and even has a short-row heel method. 

The needles: Clover Double Pointed Size 1 in bamboo

The yarn: Trekking Brand - 75% wool 25% Nylon

I selected a simple top down pattern and worked through my first sock with the bamboo needles. I was mainly focused on the mechanics and although the sock came out a bit "wobbly", I did knit all the important parts correctly, but the tension was just not consistant.  Once on my foot, the imperfections don't show, but I wasn't happy.




I am lucky enough to have gotten my mother-in-laws knitting needle collection when she passed away and while I was kntting this wobbly sock, I kept thinking how perfect her socks turned out.  So for the second sock I switched to her aluminum needles and I believe the tension is much better so far.



Today is a cold rainy day - perfect for a knit-a-thon.  I plan to finish the second sock and I already have ideas for my second pair of socks.  I have learned that although I love bamboo needles for the most part, aluminum needles seem to work the best for me with socks... or is it just that Mary Claire's needles have a bit of magic?  I will never know for sure, but I will keep those needles safe and use them for all my future sock projects.  (thank you MC, I love and miss you)

Until next week - keep your needles clicking!