Testing 1 ... 2 ...

My computer is on the blink so it will be a little while before I can share some of my photos and stories from our incredible trip to the south of France and Barcelona. Let me just say that our time in Europe was restorative and blissful.

What I can share today are my knitting projects, one being knit with a new yarn (to me) that I bought at a LYS in the El born neighborhood of Barcelona which I stumbled upon one afternoon and was only a few blocks away from the apartment we were living in. All You Knit Is Love was such a nice surprise ~ filled with a great variety of yarns including gorgeous skeins hand-dyed in Barcelona.  I was in search of some linen and was happy to find Rosarios 4's Damasco, a perfect blend of cotton and linen that I knew would be just right for my project.

Before leaving on holiday, I signed up to test knit Otherside, a summery tank by Melanie Berg (aka Mairlynd) which she recently released.  I picked two neutrals, one with a slightly marled caramel tone, the other pure white.  The caramel is my contrast color which is knit as thin stripes while the white dominates the overall piece.  I've made a lot of progress and expect to finish it before the weekend is over.

My second test knit is by Jane Richmond, one of my favorite designers and her new design doesn't disappoint.  Knit with bulky wool, this sweater is going quickly, but I can't share any details or photos until the fall when she releases it. Trust me, it's a beauty ... and bright red! 

Part III: Yarn

On this very rainy, gray day in NY, I thought I'd share some pretty photos of the gorgeous yarn I bought at the Massachusetts Sheep & Wool Fair over Memorial Day weekend.

Glissade

My stash does not need any enhancement and, in fact, it would probably take me years to completely knit down my stash but one can't go to a Sheep & Wool Fair and walk away without one or two (okay, three) skeins of yumminess, right?

Sophia

I purposely brought cash with me and vowed to only spend what was in my pocket.  I went through the three vendor barns three times each so to make sure I looked at every indie dyer/spinner carefully.  There were many, many temptations from lofty angora to springy merino and, at first, my plan was to spread my wealth around and buy from more than one vendor.  But in the end, I was most impressed by the yarns at Ball and Skein.

Glissade

Not only was the booth beautifully arranged by weight types and colors but Judith had several sample knits on display that really helped me see how her yarns look in shawls and cardigans. I toyed with the idea of buying enough to make the Ravi KAL I'll be casting on later this month, but my heart is already set on using the yarn suggested in the pattern. Instead, I chose two Glissade skeins (wool/silk blend) in blue and purple tones and one skein of Sophia which is a blend of merino, cashmere, and nylon. I can't seem to stop casting on shawls and each of these skeins will be perfect for some of the shawl patterns that I've been adding to my Ravelry library.  With all these shawls on my needles (and more to come), I joined the 12 Shawls in 2012 group on Ravelry to stay inspired and on track.  I welcome cheerleading!

Part II: Angora Bunnies

One of the most adorable things about the Massachusetts Sheep & Wool Fair are the angora bunnies that can be found throughout the vendor barns. Yeah, they are pretty irresistible.

If you so desire, you can purchase one right then and there and all throughout the fair, you can hear little voices begging their parents to take one home. Even Miranda (not so little) found herself falling in love with a few cuties.

I got a quick lesson in angora and learned that the fur of angora bunnies is hollow which makes it much lighter and warmer than wool. I also learned that angora bunnies need only be picked at to loosen their fur and that these bunnies are completely docile having been bred for centuries for their fur -- biters and scratchers, they are not.

This little (okay, big) guy was getting all his nails clipped and lay completely still throughout his grooming session.  His fur was gorgeous -- lush, long, and oh, so soft!  Should I add an angora bunny to my bucket list, alongside my spinning entry?  Tempting... I hope you have a crafty weekend, everyone!


On a side note, I'm excited to let you know that I'm now a regular contributor to KnitLuck and will be writing regular yarn reviews for this terrific knitting blog.  My first review is here.

Part I: Sheep

Since there's so much I'd like to share with you all about my second Massachusetts Sheep & Wool Fair, I'll be posting four parts over the next several days, saving my stash enhancement for last (I know, what a tease!). The first part has to be about the sheep, but let me set the scene first.We combined the trip with a visit to Williamstown and stayed in a charming cottage on Main Street...

The Cottage @ The Willows Motel

and  spent our first afternoon visiting one of my favorite contemporary art museums. On Saturday morning, before heading to the Sheep & Wool Fair, I got a bunch of texts from my dear friend Erin, with tips on which indie dyer and spinner booths to visit. She was spot on, but I'll save those notes for part IV (more teasing, I know). Driving out of town, we stopped at the Water Street Book Store where we were all like children in a candy store. I try to use my public library as often as possible, but I did indulge and bought a terrific stitch pattern encyclopedia which I'll review another time.


Okay, now to the sheep! The Massachusetts Sheep & Wool Fair is held on the Cummington Fairgrounds in western Massachusetts.  Held annually on these fairgrounds (except for one) for the past 38 years, this fair was founded first as a potluck dinner at the home of Henry and Virginia Easterbrooks. It began as a spinoff of a youth sheep judging contest, and what I think makes this fair extra special is the generous number of demonstrations of sheep showing, sheep shearing, and sheepdog trials. From what I've been told, this fair is on the small side but you wouldn't know it in terms of the large numbers of 4H teen participants. Watching them show and shear their sheep is quite a sight. I love how confident they are, and it's clear that they love and respect their animals.

I love the variety of colors in this photo

I've never sheared a sheep although that's now going on my bucket list so watching the many demos of shearing that day was impressive.  Everyone has a slightly different technique and touch but each treated her or his sheep with complete gentleness and authority.
 

Seeing all the fleece and fiber that was sheared made me wish I was a spinner. You got it, another thing for my bucket list!

Boston State of Mind

I haven't missed a weekday post in quite some time, but I have a good reason. Over the weekend, we went on an adventure to Boston, a city that we've never visited, and stayed an extra day. Mark and I spent a quick night in Boston many years ago as a pitstop from Maine to New York, but as we basically saw the inside of a hotel room and was back on the road again within 12 hours, I can't say that it counts.


In wanting to take advantage of the holiday weekend, we decided to check out Boston for a little getaway, and we had a fantastic time. For me, a highlight of the weekend was meeting up with Erin, a blogger friend, in the flesh! Erin and I got to know one another almost a year ago when we participated in a yarn swap through Ravelry. We became instant friends but haven't had the chance to spend time together in person ... until this weekend.

Erin in her Tea Leaves Cardigan

She and I met up at her LYS -- we both were so excited to meet that we were mere steps behind each other once the shop opened at 10 on Saturday morning! We had a great time talking about our favorite yarns, which patterns we were thinking about casting on, and what were on our needles now. Windsor Buttons is a fabulous store, filled with a wide selection of yarns, a huge array of needles and hooks, and, of course, mounds of buttons.


I wore my Sakina Shawl to show Erin, and I'm so glad she wore her gorgeous Tea Leaves cardigan, the details of which are stunning, to show me. After drooling over all those beautiful skeins, we sat in a cafe for another hour, gabbing away. I feel as if I've know Erin for years, and I know this was just the first of many get-togethers we'll have.

I know you're wondering if I bought anything so, yes, I did (vacation yarn, as Erin called my new stash) including two skeins Berocco Ultra Alpaca and a new pair of Addi Turbo needles. C'mon, I haven't seen this beautiful blue-gray colorway before, and I just had to have it, right? Let's just say that I'm still celebrating my birthday!

Woods Hike ... and a Burger

My hometown is Manhattan where I grew up and where my heart still is, but I don't want to ignore where I live now and where I've spent the last 20 years raising my family, creating friendships, and supporting the local businesses that do their best to thrive even in a tough economy.


Over the weekend, I nudged my family out the door to enjoy some fresh air (much needed) and to explore one of our state parks.  I often lament that the good woods hikes are elsewhere, in other counties, other states.  It's shameful how much I complain about this -- just ask my husband -- and I knew that I needed to get out and correct my sad impression of the places near where we live. 

I should mention that we live near the Hudson River with local walks along its banks.  I know, you're shaking your heads and wondering how I could possibly complain, and you're right -- we have walks that are high above in the mountains, that are as strenuous or easy as one can find. But I have since grown a bit tired of the same walks, and I also love walking in the woods. So on Saturday, we bundled ourselves up and headed off to one of our local state parks with a plan in mind.  First, I knew that we needed burgers ... yes, burgers.  Don't you need burgers before a long woods hike?  

For years, there was a dilapidated gas station off a main road near our state park.  An ingenious woman bought it and turned one portion of it into a general store and the other into a burger joint.  Oh, but not just any old burger joint -- this place sells burgers made from a mixture of ground beef, short ribs, and brisket and this is their regular burger (top photo).  I love trying new things so I ordered their special burger that day:  two smashed short rib patties with cheese and their house barbeque sauce.  Oh yeah! After, we popped into the general store for coffee, a treasure trove of pastries and prepared foods.

From there, our woods hike began -- 3.5 miles of bliss as far as I'm concerned -- and we all had a chance to catch up with each other and have uninterrupted time to talk.  I'm looking forward to doing this again sometime soon.

Coveting...

I'm a native New Yorker so when I first heard about Brooklyn Tweed, I was excited to learn more about this indie dyer.  I've been following Jared Flood's blog and work for a while now and really appreciate his aesthetic and what he's accomplished since starting BT in 2005.  BT yarns are spun in New England, a part of the country that I feel at home in, and I've been longing to try some of his wools.

Loft in Thistle

This past weekend, we took a brief getaway to celebrate Miranda's birthday and to visit a city that we all love -- Philadelphia.  Whenever I'm there, I can never resist going to Loop. The store is light and airy, the folks who work there are friendly and knowledgeable, and they carry a wonderful selection of natural fibers -- what's not to love?

Knowing that this LYS carries BT Shelter, I made a stop there just before heading home with the full intent of buying a skein or two to try.  While I liked what they had in stock of Shelter, I wasn't crazy about the colors -- some were a bit too bright for my mood at the time and my eyes wandered over to the next cubicle of Loft.  It's a fingering weight versus a worsted so I had to rethink what I wanted to knit with BT.  But I just couldn't resist this color (Thistle) and so bought three skeins.


I have been coveting Brooklyn Tweed's wool for so long now that just having these beauties in my stash makes me giddy.  I haven't decided what I'll knit with these yet but there is no doubt I'll be casting on very, very soon.

Glitter Love

I live near one of the most amazing cities in the world (NYC) and even though I grew up there, I still find myself in awe of what the city has to offer and how vibrant life can be in my hometown.  I go in regularly on Saturdays to take Miranda to dance class, and I treasure those few hours when I can enjoy the urban girl in me.  

This past Saturday was NYC's third annual yarn crawl and while I didn't have the time to fully participate, it got me to go to one of the yarn stores that I've been anxiously wanting to visit! The Yarn Company which recently re-opened with new owners on the upper west side is a gem.  I met the owner, Tavy Ronen, along with her young daughter and enjoyed the hustle and bustle that was going on in the midst of the yarn crawl.  In all honesty, I have way too much in my stash and really couldn't justify buying anything new b-u-t how could I stop into a new yarn store and walk out empty-handed? You wouldn't or couldn't, would you?  Could you?

I was hoping to find some Quince & Co to cast on the Castle Pullover (yes, I think this might be the sweater I knit next) but alas, they don't carry this brand.  So, I thought I'd chat with the friendly folks there for a few minutes and then move on to my next errand of the day.  But then this yarn caught my eye, and after seeing all its little chains and shiny bits, I just had to get one ball.

I'm not sure what I'll knit with it yet -- I think I may just design a little cowl that will highlight the glitter of this yarn.  It doesn't have a huge yardage so I can't make anything too big but it is bulky so it should knit up to something fairly weighty.


If any of you have knitted with this already, please let me know what you made. Or if you have a favorite pattern that uses bulky yarn, I'm open to all suggestions!

Winter Knitting in the Sun

Our summer holiday was enjoyed in two consecutive parts. The first was at the beach in Rhode Island; the second was lakeside in Vermont. 

I spent the first week working on this and quickly cast on another project once we got settled on Lake Champlain. This time I picked a design from the winter season section of my list -- I guess I was in the mood to knit something cozy in the sunshine! I fell in love with this pattern instantly!  It's a versatile hat/neck warmer which I finished it in just two sittings while watching guilty pleasure television.  But not only do I love knitting this, working with Mission Falls 136 superwash merino is such a pleasure (sadly, I just learned that this yarn has been discontinued). As a LYS owner commiserated with me, it's hard when you find a yarn that knits up exactly how you want only to see it disappear.  (Yes, I'll be stockpiling this yummy yarn in every color!) 

Mission Falls 136 in two hues of pink 

This hat is made with two related but contrasting hues which worked beautifully together.  I'm a big fan of stripes, and I purposely kept the bands uneven.  What's great about this hat is how you can wear it in three different ways:  as a hat, as a headband, and a cowl.

Accessories can add dimension to any type of outfit and this design does exactly that. And I think it's great for a gal or a guy  -- I'll have to get my son to model this design when I knit it again in green to bring out his hazel eyes.

Summer Holiday (Part II)

Our stay in Newport, Rhode Island, was exactly what we had hoped for -- sun-filled beach days, lots of cooking (and eating), and time together as a family.


We had seven straight days of gorgeous weather and took advantage of being outdoors on every single one!  




We all got a lot of reading done, and while I was teased for knitting in the sunshine, I got to continue working through my list of year of projects, including the completion of this beauty.  At least I restrained myself from knitting on the beach!

Me and Miranda at The Conservatory, Vanderbilt Mansion

"The Dream"  --A favorite spot at our holiday rental 

Here's a sneak preview of what I cast on during the second part of our summer holiday.  I'll be blogging about this soon!

 

Summer Holiday (Part I)

I've just returned from a two-week family holiday that required nothing more than reading, knitting, daily rounds of UNO, and marathon episodes of Friday Night Lights.  For the past few years, we've chosen a series to watch on our family holidays (year one:  Lost; year two:  Alias; year three FNL).  Week one was spent in Newport, Rhode Island, where we spent hours at the beach.

We spent everyday lounging by the boulder near the water

To start off our Newport week, we began with the Newport Folk Festival which was blisteringly hot and immensely crowded but the music was so great that none of that mattered.  There was a great line up this year (The Decemberists, Amos Lee, Wanda Jackson, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris) and the site couldn't have been more stunning.

Determined to work on my year of projects, I took along several patterns and a box full of yarns and needles to be inspired as each day passed.  I'm happy to say that I got a few projects started and finished including the casting on again of the Make Up Your Mind tank!  I'll post about this very special project in a couple of days.  For now, I'm enjoying the glow I still feel from our sun-filled holiday.

Road Trip: Part II (Detour)

On the way back down to DC at the close of M's leadership conference, hubby and I took a side-trip to Philadelphia to help break up our journey. I love Philly -- it's a wonderful city with great neighborhoods, art, food, and people. And with another five (plus) hour drive to and back, I cast on a project that I couldn't resist -- the Missoni-inspired afghan.

This detour from my YOP was first inspired by knitter extraordinaire Jadeblade who recently posted about her gorgeous blanket.  If you go on Ravelry, you'll find several other mouth-dropping Missoni-inspired FOs including the pattern originator's version (Kelly Kingston) which is stunning. This is probably one of the best car/travel WIPs that I've come across.  The pattern is simple enough to memorize and with all the color changes and chevron stitches, the knitting stays interesting.

I'm trying to de-stash but this blanket is crying out for some oranges and yellows which I don't have in my overflowing stash so I think I'll be visiting my LYS very soon!
Now, back to Philly.  Lunch at the White Dog Cafe was delicious and only a two-block walk to the Institute of Contemporary Art where I saw the Sheila Hicks retrospective (a must for all you fiber artists out there!).

White Dog Cafe

Sheila Hicks among her work

Popped into Loop where I resisted buying anything but really enjoyed talking to the staff and ogling the yarns.

Drove by the Magic Garden vowing to go in the next time I'm in town!

Went to see the enigmatic film, Tree of Life, and ended a fabulous day with a fabulous meal at Amada (now one of my all-time favorite restaurants).  

Life should always be made up of days like the one we had in Philadelphia!