Who's got the button?

My gray tweed cardigan is finally blocked and dry and I have to decide on just the right button.  As this is a one-button closure the right button choice can really make the sweater.

I had in mind pewter metallic or solid black, so I dug through my stash to see what I have. 

Turns out, not much that will work.  What I have on hand are some fussy, vintage black glass (totally not right for this simple style), and some carved bone brown/ black ones (a little better, but maybe too organic).   I'm totally open to ideas, so any suggestions or links appreciated. 

I'll have FO photos and a full run-down on this project once I find a great button!

 

It's always fun when a new Knitty comes out, and this Winter issue includes an interesting variety of designs with a pretty fair balance of sweaters and accessories (photos from Knitty.com).

I especially love Heather Desserud's Chrysanthemums, a Norwegian stranded mitten design, and all the other nice color work projects in this issue. 

 

 

Sock lovers will be intrigued with the architectural Maeva, by Stefanie Bold, with it's Art Deco-ish cables and ribs.  An appealing design for both men and women I think.

Winter 2011 has lots of sweaters to love including Teva Durham's lacy  Lady Lovelace cardigan and capelet set, Kathleen Dames' Turn of the Glass fitted cardigan and Karina Liu's Jacqueline collared jacket. 

Knittyspin's  simple, trendy earflap hat Southern Lights, by Christine McCormick, might be good for my husband who stands at a cold bus stop every morning.  

Speaking of spinning, so far I am making good on my goals for 2011 by spinning a little bit every week.

This 4 pound batch of natural beige Louet Coopworth roving will take me forever!  

Although beautiful, this fiber may not be completely spun and ready to knit until winter 2012...  I might have to intersperse some more lively rovings in between now and then to keep me motivated.   Goodness knows I have plenty in my stash.

Have a fun, safe weekend and as always, peace, blessings and happy knitting to you!

FO - Fall Shawl

My Fall Shawl is finished just in time to wear for our Thanksgiving festivities!  I love how a colorful scarf dresses up the simplest of outfits.

This project was inspired by a photo of colorful autumn leaves and berries I took out in the woods this month,

using this Noro Kureyon Sock yarn,

 

as well as a skein of Isager Spinni (Wool 1) in a deep charcoal heather for an edging to ground the multi-color striping effect a bit.

The colors are rich, autumnal and more subtle than usual for many Noro yarns.

I used every scrap of the Noro and only had about 5 yards of the Isager left over.

The rustic, slightly rough feeling of both of these yarns has great appeal for me, although a few spots in the Noro yarn were a bit too slubby for my taste so I cut those out.  

These are not yarns for someone in love with soft, soft, soft, rather they are alive with texture and color in a way a smooth yarn cannot be.  However, I still cannot imagine wearing socks knit with the Kureyon Sock - too rough even for me!

Last week we attended another spin-in at Temptations in Dublin.  It was a small group but it made for interesting conversations.

One gal in the group owns Himalayan cats and is in the process of spinning up their fur into yarn to knit mittens.  For the kittens. Seriously.

ACHOO!!!!!!!!!

 

I am still slogging away on some boring Louet Coopworth roving that came with my wheel.  I'm planning a 3-ply and since I have 2 pounds of the stuff, probably something like a chunky cable sweater.  That's going to be a ways down the road though.

 

As I reflected on the many blessings I have to be thankful for - love, freedom, knitting! - it occurred to me that there are also some things that can go unappreciated.

These things can sometimes even be annoying or difficult to deal with, but viewed through a different lens, they can sometimes also represent good things.  I bring you my new Thanksgiving list of things I am grateful for:

1. A tangled mess of yarn - because this means I have the physical ability to knit and the yarn to do it with.

2. A mountain of laundry to wash - because this represents the fact that I have not only enough clothing to wear, but enough multiples of things like socks and shirts that I'm able to let them stay dirty (a few days at least) until I find time to wash them.

3. My husband's dirty underthings - (ugh!!) but really, it means I have someone this close enough to me in my life and still love him, and him me.

4. A dirty bathtub and toilet - because this means I have a home with clean, hot, running water with which to bathe and with which I am able to clean these things - something so many people in this world do not have. 

5. A sink full of dirty dishes - because they are evidence that I have had not just enough to eat to keep me alive, but abundant choices as well.

Wishing you a peaceful week of great cooking and knitting, safe journeys and lots of Thanksgiving goodies!

The Wool Festival at Taos

Yarnie heaven. That's what my visit to The Wool Festival at Taos (WFT), the coolest fiber fest in the west, felt like.  

Presented by the Mountain and Valley Wool Association since 1984, and always held the first full weekend in October, this festival delights in many ways.  

WFT is large enough to offer a dazzling array of fiber and related goodies, and small enough to allow you to enjoy thoroughly checking out each and every booth before exhaustion sets in.  This is truly a knitting and spinning paradise.

The set up in festival venue Kit Carson Park, in the heart of historic Taos, New Mexico, is ideal with vendors' tents ringing the tree-shaded park, and information, meet-up and refreshment tents grouped in the center.  

 

Although crowds were thick later in the day, shopping was a breeze when we arrived at opening time of 9 AM.  The full-fever pitch of a true fiber frenzy had not yet been reached, but you could feel it brewing in the atmosphere as shoppers dashed from booth to booth to get the best choice of merchandise. 

Vendors, many of whom are from New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and California, were relaxed and friendly, even the staff working the crowded tents at Brooks Farm, Elsawool and other popular sellers.  

 

Sixty-eight vendors exhibited wool and exotic spinning fibers, handspun, millspun and hand-dyed yarn, woven, knitted and felted finished garments, rugs, hats, sheepskin shoes and accessories, hand-made wood fiber tools, buttons, jewelry, body products, and so many other wonderful things I can't begin to list them all here. 

 

 

An entertainment and competition stage, fiber animal pens, workshops, silent auction, fashion show and technique demonstrations rounded out the offerings.  

You know I can't resist the animals, including this mama alpaca and her cria.

These sheep, in a large pen, swirled and flocked together in a tight clump.

I loved the hand-dyed yarn at Royal Fibers Spinnery.

I would've bought cartloads of wool if I could have!  But in the end my pocketbook dictated that I be choosy, so I selected some things I haven't tried before including: Brooks Farm Mas Acero in a grey-brown mix;

 

cushy Elsawool worsted weight, woolen spun Cormo in soft grey;

and some cool natural stone buttons.

A favorite part of this year's festival was getting to meet many fellow Ravelry members, including founder Mary-Heather Cogar (seen taking a photo in the Ravelry meet-up tent below).

Mary-Heather (Rainydaygoods on Ravelry) is such a nice person, and she did a super job of conversing with complete strangers for hours, always with a friendly smile.

The festival's site in the heart of Taos is surrounded by streets lined with intriguing galleries, shops and restaurants, making it easy to walk to a small cafe for lunch and check out a few of the local shops.  

Across the street from the cafe was La Lana Wools, renowned for their gorgeous, naturally-dyed fibers.  

I loved Common Thread (big Indian dude notwithstanding, LOL), a specialty shop offering silks and exotic fabrics by the yard.

Displays were pure eye candy.

In the same block as the fabric store is Weaving Southwest, a large, airy space in this area of tiny boutiques.  

Filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves bursting with yarn, hand-woven rugs, giant looms, knitting tools, and racks of finished knitted and crocheted items, this well-laid-out store delights fiber artists of all sorts.  

 

 

The front of the shop held large boxes of wool, silk, mohair and alpaca yarns at amazing clearance prices of $5 and $8 per 100 gr. skein.

 

The Taos area is, of course, famous for many other things not limited to spectacular scenery, charming southwest atmosphere, outdoor pursuits like cycling, hiking, river rafting and rock climbing, and the Taos Pueblo.  

In fact, because there were so many wonderful sights, smells, sounds and other treats for the senses that I cannot possibly relate them all here, I highly  recommend any knitter, spinner or weaver consider the Wool Festival at Taos for a fiber holiday some year soon, and discover the wonders of Taos for themselves.  

And just one teensy, non-Taos-related note before I close this long post, I am absolutely thrilled to bits that my new free pattern, Greyhaven, has been nominated in the Ravelry Cowls Group for their November knitalong!

Voting closes this weekend, so if you are interested in participating in the KAL, please pop into the group and vote for your favorite pattern in the November KAL thread.  

That's it for now, new knitting projects and recipes coming up soon.  Until then, peace, blessings and happy stitching!

Gathering Wool

This week has been a very fiber-y one for me. I recently finished knitting some projects that are being written into patterns for release soon, took a few days to finish spinning and plying some yarn projects, and attended a fiber festival.  

I've only been spinning for a couple of years now, and don't spend nearly enough time at it as I'd like, but I can see progress.  

The 4 oz. skein of yarn shown above was spun with an attempt at a woolen-style, slightly thick-thin 2-ply, which is mostly what I ended up with. A few areas are somewhat overspun, and a few are underspun, but overall it's fairly balanced. It knits up at about 17 stitches per four inches in stockinette.

The wool was from a ball of .79 cents-per-ounce generic breed roving I purchased in natural white, and dyed with Wilton's cake icing dyes.  

I found this handy icing guide on the Wilton website, but I have to warn you - the color of the icing dye before setting it with heat is frequently different from how the yarn color turns out!  

This batch was dyed using pale sky blues, green and purple.  Using this way to dye your yarn requires a relaxed attitude and enjoyment of serendipity! 

Ravelry groups are helpful in finding information on this technique which is essentially acid dyeing using vinegar as the mordant, in the same manner as dyeing with a drink mix such as Kool Aid.  Check out this group, and this group for ideas and helpful links.  Knitty.com also has a helpful page on using drink mixes to dye yarn here.

Last weekend was the Wool Gathering fiber festival in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  

Held every year at Young's Jersey Dairy, this annual event has grown and improved over the years to become an exceptionally nice, excellent quality small show with a true heartland 'country' feel.  I think this giant cow sign is so retro-Americana cool.

For city-dwelling fiber lovers like me, it makes for a fun drive through scenic farmland to an attractive dairy ranch compound boasting several restaurants on-site, a sports pavilion, picnic areas, tractor rides and games for children, animals of all sorts, spinning, knitting,  and weaving demonstrations, and duck-herding border collies. 

And Young's serves wonderful ice cream, gelato, and cheese made fresh in their dairies.

This year's event was even larger than last  year's with another large tent full of vendors added and many more individual vendors in the areas between the tents. 

My only complaint about the show is that the tents are striped yellow and white, which makes it difficult to discern colors in fiber. Shoppers end up taking skeins of yarn over to tent openings to try to evaluate the color. Vendors in their own small tents outside were much better off in terms of ability to show off their merchandise.  

Of course the gorgeous fiber and yarn was everywhere, like this from Knitting Notions.

But there were also spinning wheels, looms, ceramics, glass, mosaics, framed art, jewelry, shawl pins, body products and other fun things to peruse. 

This vendor made the most exquisite jewelry in petit point wool worked in bargello and quilt designs set in tiny sterling silver frames.  

 

We enjoyed the peaceful drive, the gorgeous September weather (sunny and dry in the high 70's). Of course we enjoyed the animals too - sheep, goats, alpacas, and bunnies galore. 

I am in love with this darling little Angora baby bunny.  I wonder how my dog would feel about a new friend to play with....

This will be a crazy week for me as I prepare to head to New Mexico and to attend some really cool festivals and more.  I will definitely take many photos and notes to post so you can 'go-along' with me on the trip, but between now and then I have a ton of stuff to get ready.  I'll try to post at least one more time before I am off.