For some reason I fell in love with a bunch of autumn colored things on etsy last night…
Harvest Festival Merino/Silk by the lovely dyer, Freckle Face Fibers
This adorable carpet bag by Mary Kaiser – isn’t it just a beauty?
This amazing necklace – by Lolavonroe Design - now, that one is a stunner.
What’s got you green (or amber) with envy these days?
Note: I resisted the temptation to buy these lovely things – they are still available for your shopping pleasure!
One of the greatest experiences of the TNNA is the people you meet there. Saturday afternoon, weary from all the walking, exhausted from sensory overload, but still excited, Lin and I happened were drawn into a booth with luscious yarn hanging up in every color of the rainbow and big beautiful pictures of sheep. It was the booth of Jeanne Carver, owner and rancher of Imperial Stock Ranch.
As we listened to Jeanne tell us about life on the Ranch, rattlesnakes etc, we fingered the wonderful yarn spun out of their Columbia sheep. Oh…. let me tell you, their DK Tracie line, (named after the woman that helps Jeanne on the ranch) is butterlicious! Oh, my! I already have this yarn knitted up into several different garments in my head and we haven’t even received any in the shop.
This is yarn to keep your eye on – it’s wonderful stuff.
Oh, and by the way, I noticed on their website they host tours and groups of their ranch. I’m totally dreaming because there is no way I could go in the near future, but flip through their gallery – don’t you want to go for a knitting retreat?
Seriously, I do feel like I need a therapist to make it through this situation. But then I realized I have you all and my knitting. And if I have you all and my knitting, I’ve got it all.
So, I’m sitting down with a cuppa. Little John is sleeping after having disrupted sleep (the mold remediation crew doing the estimate inspection woke him up and he’s getting his first tooth) this morning. And my head is spinning because I forgot to take my migraine medicine last night — to much on my mind.
Well, one mold remediation estimate down, two more to go. Looks like we’re going to loose all of our bedroom furniture, with the exception of our dressers, which can be wiped down and our bed, which, again, can be wiped down. Oh, my. Well, let’s not get into that.
One funny thing. The crew walks into the bedroom, and sure, it smells a little funny, especially now that it has been shut up (we’re no longer sleeping in there but camping out in the tiny little guest bedroom). But after 3 minutes of surveying the “damage,” the guy gives a little cough, “Oh, yeah, there’s mold, I can feel it in my lungs, can you feel it Eric? Do you mind if we talk somewhere else?” Duh, we know there is mold in there, you don’t need to remind us.
This is after the mold inspector who said he is highly allergic to mold and instantly reacts when there is mold said that he wasn’t reacting in our bedroom. I didn’t know what to make of the mold remediation crewman – was he pretending or was he just sensitive to that particular kind of mold. Or do that do that just to make you hire them on the spot and get it fixed right away.
On a knitting note: Finally my patterns from here on out will have schematics! Hooray, you all have been so patient with me as I have “professionalized” my patterns. Thank you!
Now for some yarn:
Catskill Saxon Merino
Ah, yes. Aren’t you feeling better already?
Last night my husband came home and walked in the house with the mail. I was sitting on the back porch trying to gather up enough strength to make dinner. All he had to do was plop a little hand scrawled package in my lap and I was revived. I tell you, he should keep a stash of fiber in his car for moments like that.
It was the fiber I had ordered from Catskill Saxon Merino Fiber Farm after reading Clara Parkes’ raving review of their fiber.
This is all part of my quest to explore and design with breed specific yarn, hopefully American grown breed specific yarn. This lovely yarn is headed toward a piece for the fall ‘10 collection!
If you read Clara Parkes review then you know that the Saxon Merino breed is the most luxurious breed of merinos. And oh my, you can tell it when you feel this yarn. It is soft and pillowy and feels like butter beneath your fingers.
There is quite a bit of vegetable matter in it that will scare most people away. But I like that because I know I can easily pick it out and because it tells me that the fiber has not be treated with heavy chemicals thus destroying the character and integrity of the fiber.
The worsted weight is a single ply and because the saxon merino is a short, crimpy staple, thus soft, it is a highly energized ply and most people with say, “ah, it’s over spun.” No, it’s perfect. The energized ply will help it not pill so much, although, this will pill, but it will be lovely.
What I absolutely adored was the little note tucked inside and this I just have to keep — “The sheep thank you.” Now, isn’t that the sweetest? That just stole my heart. Dear little sheep, thank you.
So, to recap:
Catskill Saxon Merino (New York based)
Service Time: 10 days from date of order
Product: Just like Clara described – Excellent
Price: Mid-range – for a breed specific yarn I thought it was good
Almost 1 year ago, at the TNNA, I received a draft copy of Clara Parkes soon to be released book, “The Knitter’s Book of Wool,” and I was fascinated – no, I was awestruck, by the different breeds of sheep and their characteristics.
It was then that I realized we American knitters were being fed a steady diet of, “soup of the day” (generic wool) with a little steak (lovely merino) and chocolate soufflé (cashmere) thrown in. Oh, yeah, and with a ton of Alpaca… a ton, a ton, a ton. But, I love Alpaca, so no problem there.
Now, the above paragraph is a gross over generalization (something my husband will tell you I’m prone to do. Since he’s a journalist, he’s always right!).
However, with the exception of Fleece Artist, when is the last time you saw a skein of Blue Face Leicester for sale in a yarn shop? Or a skein of Corriedale? Or a skein of Jacob or a skein of Suffolk? You get my point.
For some reason, over in the UK you can readily get bread specific yarn. It’s a bit harder here in the US, the demand just isn’t there. I’ve been hunting and researching and hopefully I’ll be able to talk about a few places here in the US soon. But the first purchase I made was at:
R.E.Dickie big time merchant of British Breed Yarn
You name it, they’ve got it! It’s amazing! First I sent them an email to ask them about US shipping, etc. No response. I was disappointed and thought, “That’s it. They’re phonies.” But I was desperate to try the yarn. So I limited myself to $20 plus shipping, $5, and went shopping.
And then I waited. And waited. I expected at least to see “shipped” updated on my paypal receipt. Nothing.
Then, yesterday, 12 days after I made the purchase this appeared in my mailbox and I realized! Wow! That was fast for being sent from overseas! (See how fickle I am.
and in this package I received:
two beautiful skeins of Blue Face Leicester
One skein of Dales Wool and one skein of Dales Wool Oiled — the oiled is softer because it still has some oil in it.
Now, because they were so prompt and the wool turned out to be so lovely, I wish I had purchased more.
R.E. Dickie
Promptness: Shipping international – 12 days (pretty good in my book)
Customer Service/Communication: Nil (pretty bad in my book)
Product: Fantastic – I feel like I received what was advertised — a good yarn.
Selection: Excellent – they have a lot to choose from
Have you seen this new book? Oh, my goodness, it is a wonderful new spindle spinning book by Abby – THE spinning Abby and is one of the best spindle spinning books I have seen in a long time.
Sunday afternoon I sat in a big comfy chair in our sunroom and read and read. However, soon I was getting the itch to spin.
So out came my little Spindolyn (a supported spindle, soon to be available at Stitches & Scones) and I started spinning. I had sooooo much fun! I think my two wheels are going to feel neglected soon – the Spindolyn is so much fun!
The book ended! How could it? It was ssooo good!
There are some books that you just don’t want to end. You want them to go on and on, much like a blog. A new chapter every day. But alas, Sweater Quest came to an end, because, well, Adrienne Martini finished the sweater.
If you are at all interested in the knitting world this is a book you have to read. Adrienne interviews people like Kay Gardiner & Ann Shayne of Mazon-Dixon Knititng, Stephanie Pearl-Mcphee (The Yarn Harlot) and Amy Singer (Editor of Knitty.com).
Adrienne also does some great research about the “Alice Starmore” controversy and scandal and who doesn’t love juicy bits of scandal?
Adrienne, you have to write another book and interview some more “knitting god and goddesses” like Ysolda & Jared Flood. Now wouldn’t that make for a fun read?
And, if you all are wondering, I think the Mary Tudor sweater or the Henry VIII sweater is going on my list for knitting next year. I’ve been bitten by the Alice Starmore bug — I have to knit one of her sweaters.
I’m sure you’ve all heard about this book by now. After reading interviews with Adrienne Martini and summaries of the book I’ve been dying to read it. Last week I put it on order at the Library and joined the long que. But yesterday I just couldn’t wait and ordered my own copy.
I haven’t decided what is the greater pull — an interesting knitting book to read or finding out more about the elusive Alice Starmore…okay, I admit it – my nosey, prying self REALLY wants to hear about the ins and outs of Alice Starmore. BTW have you seen Starmore’s latest book, Road Movies Volume 1? Has anyone read it? Has anyone read Sweater Quest? Do tell…
It’s that time of year – the time of year when you’re asking all of your knitting friends, “are you going?” Of course they know what you are talking about… it’s a big deal around here. The Greencastle Fiber Event.
Now, it is not as big as Rhinebeck …. not at all. This is a speck compared to that event. However, it is fun to get out and rummage through the barns, chat with other knitters/spinners and generally see all the wonderful fibery goodness.
Those of you who have recently purchased a copy of the Whispers of Spring Collection know I wrote briefly about it for the Collection. Here is a brief taste of it. To read all of it, you’ll just have to purchase a copy of the Collection!
The Fiber Event… doesn’t it sound like a brand name for laxatives? Something that if you absolutely had to buy it at your local pharmacy you would try to hide at the bottom of your shopping cart, lest you saw anyone you knew before it was safely stowed in a bag?
In reality the Fiber Event is the biggest spring outing for all of us Indiana knitters. It is the time when shepherds from Indiana and the surrounding states bring their fleeces to be sold. Indie dyers and small yarn companies join the fray and add color to the fair. Rain or shine, snow or sleet, Easter or not The Fiber Event is always held on the second weekend of April. The Fiber Event couldn’t come at a more perfect time, the beginning of spring, just when we are sick of staying inside and starved for some inspiration. But this particular year The Fiber Event’s inspiration was trumped by it’s comedy.
It was nearing the end of the morning. I had been in the car for an hour and a half now. My coffee misto sat empty in the cup holder on my dash and I really needed to find a bathroom. The trip had taken a little longer than I expected – are MapQuest’s estimates ever correct? – and I was cutting it close to my 11:30 reservation at The Almost Home Tea Room, one of the only decent lunch places in Greencastle…
It’s done! The collection is finally complete! It’s available through Ravelry right now. I will be selling the pieces as separate patterns and will up load them in the next few days.
In the collection I talk about each individual piece and the inspiration behind the pattern. I’ll share a little of that as I show case each pattern throughout the week. However, today I wanted to review a yarn that I used in the collection.
For the Leaves of Spring Cowl I knew I wanted a springy merino – something soft and warm. I read Susan’s blog about Juniper Moon Farm constantly and knew of her lovely yarn but had never tried any. So I took the plunge. I was not disappointed at all.
Promptness: The yarn came so quickly I couldn’t believe it came through the post. It was as if she “beamed” it to me.
Softness: Juniper Moon’s Sport Weight merino is lovely, soft and squishy. I will say it soften mostly after a bath in Euculan.
Stitch Definition: Excellent
Yardage and Price: Amazing — 400 yds for $14! Love that!
Notes: Juniper Moon’s retail yarn is not wool from their flock. That is only reserved for their shareholders. One of my goals is to become a shareholder — just love what they do. However, it is all hand dyed at the farm. You can purchase it online or if you are lucky enough to live close to Juniper Moon, at the farm or some of the local farmer’s markets.
The Leaves of Spring Cowl is up on Ravelry as a stand alone pattern or you can purchase the whole collection.
PS: Blackberry Rambles is holding a giveaway for the whole collection – hop on over and see if you win it!
Just in time for Baby John’s 6 month milestone, I finished the lovely Pebble vest by The Thrifty Knitter. The vest mimics the simplicity of Brooklyn Tweed’s Cobblestone Sweater and gathers two great stitches together – garter and stockinette – for a very pleasing look.
I love the fact that this vest buttons at one side and one shoulder. It is fantastically easy to put on a baby. And let me tell you, usually by the time we’ve put on a onesie and a shirt, he does not want anything else over his head.
Modifications: The pattern only has one size and calls for #4 and DK weight yarn, I used a #5 and light worsted (Berroco Ultra Alpaca) to make the vest a little bigger. The vest fit Baby John (6 months) with a little room to grow. Bear in mind that Baby John is a little smaller than most babies – probably more in the 5 month range.
Review:
The pattern is fairly easy to read and straight forward. It is a terribly easy knit and great for an inexperienced knitter. The down side is that there is only one size. However, this can be overcome slightly by adjusting the yarn and needle size. Of course, there is a limit to this adjustment. Overall, it’s a great knit and a very wearable garment for baby!
Happy Knitting!
