Whirlwind

Where did all the time go? At the end of September I did win a few ribbons at the Genesee Country Village Agricultral Fair. http://www.gcv.org/ The blue vest I knit for my husband won a blue ribbon. I also had some handspun skeins take home prizes.

In October we travelled to beautiful Rhinebeck, NY to attend the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.

http://www.sheepandwool.com/ If knitters and spinners have world's fair, this is it. We saw everything from sheep and goats to yarn and fleeces, and many interesting things in between. We attend a picnic for fans of knitwear designer Ann Hanson. knitspot.com. My husband and I even appeared in her blog after the festival. Since returning from Rhinbeck I have managed to knit a new lace scarf with some of the yarn I purchased.

Fiber Fest Season

Fall is finally here, and it's time to visit the many fiber festivals around here. I finished weaving the blue warp/blue green weft shawl. I decided to use a herringbone pattern and let the verigated yarn work its magic. I was so pelased with the result! I entered the shawl in the Hemlock fiber fest and to my surprise and delight, I won! I even won a cash prize from the weavers guild of Rochester.

My family took a mini-break to Minerva, NY . We had a great weekend viewing the beautiful fall foliage, and drinking our morning coffee on the screened porch every morning. We traveled an hour in the car to the Adirondack Museum. As luck would have it, they were having a fiber fest weekend. We saw demonstrations and looked at vendors. I even attended a lecture on knitting traditions in the North Country.

This weekend is the Agricultural Fair at the GCVM. I have entered a few things in the knitting and spinning contest, so tomorrow I'll have to drive over there and see if I won any ribbons.

Dye Job

Yesterday was a big success at the village dye pot. I was successful in creating some blue green yarn. I knotted the yarn in several places and dyed it yellow with tin and tansey flowers. Then I unknotted the yarn and put the whole thing into the indigo pot. I am very happy with the result, and I can't wait to see what it looks like in combination with my navy blue warp.

I had some Lincoln Wool (gray sheep) that I spun this winter and finished dying this weekend. First I dyed it red with cochinneal over tin, then I put it in the indigo pot. The final result is great, I think it looks like concord grapes.

August Already?

It has been a busy summer, and it is hard to believe August has already arrived. Soon we will go back to school and back to our usual routines.

This summer I have been weaving, working on my "Landis Valley Linen" Shawl. I finished weaving the first one today, and I am planning to weave a second shawl with a different color weft (horizontal yarn). Tomorrow I will put the white merino wool into the dye pot at the museum, with hopes of it turning into blue and green variegated. If it works it will make a spectacular shawl for a dear artist friend who lives in Massachusetts.

I have also spent a lot of the summer knitting. I am working on a sweater called "Highlander" by Anne Hanson. I dyed the yarn at the museum, and have been knitting feverishly since June 1st. Finally this weekend I finished the body of the sweater. Now I am working on the sleeves, collar and button band. I hope I finish in time to enter it in the Hemlock Fiber Festival. There is a special prize for "Best Blue" garment and I am hoping to win!

Fleece Train

The past few days I have been washing alpaca fleeces to prepare them to send to the mill. After the fiber returns from the mill it will be "roving" which is wonderful for spinning. Last year I wash all the fleece by hand, but this year I did a trail wash in the washing machine. The fiber came out perfect (not felted!), so I am washing the rest of the fleeces in the maching.

After the fleeces are washed I lay them on large screens in my back porch to dry. It takes between 24-48 hours for the fiber to dry. My dog is always suspicious when there is alpaca fiber laying around the house!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Now that the warm weather is really here, everything is popping in the garden. I planted my beans and carrots late, but they seem to be doing fine.


I am participating in the tour de fleece, which means I am supposed to be spinning everyday. My progress hasn't been too great so far, but I am having fun attempting. Today I brought my spinning wheel to the pool and hid in the shade in between dips in the pool.

Preparing for Summer

Tomorrow is the first official day of summer, and as I look forward to the last few days of school I am thinking about summer vacation.

Yesterday morning I woke up early and cleaned & cut 8 quarts of strawberries. My hand looked like a stained mess, but it will be worth it this winter when I am able to go to the freezer and open a box of summer!

I decided on a new weaving project, a blue and white scarf with a twill pattern called "Landis Valley Linen". I am using some wonderful Merino/Tencel from Webs. Warping the loom is a bit of a chore. I slowly wound the yarn around the back beam, using paper to keep the threads orderly. Now I only have to thread it...usually the longest part of the whole weaving process.

The plants in the garden are moving right along, soon will will have tomatoes and maybe even broccoli!

On Saturday I attended the Genesee Valley Handspinner's Guild and got some spinning done. I love all the ladies in the guild, they are so quirky and inventive with their projects and yarn. When I came home from guild I finished plying the yarn, washed it and hung it out to dry. The purple is a blend of Alpaca, Merino and silk in the colorway "blueberry patch". The pink is falkland in "butterfly bush". I purchased both from the Spinning Bunny in Ithaca, NY. We are attending her open house next weekend, and a class where we will get to dye our own yarn.

Today we are heading to a father's day picnic. I have made a Triple Berry Pie, and I must say I am really looking forward to eating it!

Nice Weekend!

I finished the woven scarf for my colleague this weekend! I came out great and I will be so happy to give it to her at the end of the week. We also enjoyed a trip to the public market, where we bought produce and ate some empanadas.

Saturday afternoon my husband and I also went to a dog agility trial in East Amherst, NY. The dogs are so cute! Most of the dogs are herding dogs (Shelties and Boarder Collies) but a few others were there too. We saw a beagle run the course with his nose to the ground in between jumps (hunting rabbits?).

My husband was kind enough to drive, allowing me to knit in the car. I managed to finish one repeat of the tartan pattern on my blue sweater.

I also did a little spinning on Sunday. What a nice weekend!

This weekend we are watching my parent's dog. He is best friends with our dog and the two of them are quiet the picture. They both enjoy keeping watch on our back yard from the sliding glass doors.

Like all teachers, I am really looking forward to summer vacation, only 2 more weeks of school. Tomorrow is field day, a favorite for everyone.

I am already dreaming of all the projects I will finish during my time off. There should be enough yarn in the house to make something great....

I have started a sweater called Highlander by Anne Hanson. I dyed the yarn using natural indigo at the GCVM and it is already coming out great. I am hoping to finish it by September so I can wear it to the fiber festival in Hemlock, NY.

Completion!

I finished the purple socks, just in the nick of time!

Hand knit socks make the perfect gift.

Happy Friday

It's finally Friday, and I am looking forward to the weekend. We have plans to get together with friends and we should have fun, even if it rains.

I have also made some progress on a scarf I am weaving on the big loom. A wonderful teacher is retiring from my school and I wanted to make her a special present. It should be able to finish it in 1-2 hours, maybe I'll even finish it this weekend.

Speaking of finishing this weekend, I have been frantically knitting some purple socks all week and I am in the home stretch (This works out well for me - they are a gift for Saturday!) The yarn is stroll sock yarn from knitpicks, the pattern is Tessarae by Anne Hanson.
What post would be complete without a gratuitous doggie pic. Here's my dog "helping" with the laundry.

Amelia's Garden

Work is progressing on our memory garden. So far we have planted a hydrangea tree, a pink rose, a white lilac and a few other little plants. It will be to nice to see the flowers grow and bloom this summer.

Proud Projects

I have recently finished two projects that I am very proud of. The first is an Irish Fisherman vest for my husband. I can't wait for him to wear it to fiber fest this fall!

The second project is a honey bee wedding stole for a great friend.

Here she is looking fantastic on her wedding day.