I've Been Waiting All Year For This

My favorite thing to do when the weather finally warms up here in New England is to sit out on my deck with my coffee and do some knitting. The sun doesn't hit my back deck until noon, so I can sit out there and stay cool.



Have a great Holiday Weekend!!

Not sure what's up???

Looking for an answer as to what is up with the lots'o lanolin at the ends of this fleece???

Plying Time

When I came to the realization that I didn't have as much of the blue roving spun as I thought I said "What the heck - let's start plying now." I know, immediate gratification is my middle name. So when plied, this is what I got. Correction: this is what I got when I plied then knitted the yarn

I used a size 13 needle and I like the drape. At first I wasn't jumping for joy about the combination of the blue with the orange and the yellow. I immediately thought that I needed to knit a swatch to see what it would look like. It's hard to get real results by just looking at a little skein of yarn, right? When I knit it I really liked it. It is unique. And, after all, isn't that why we spin our own yarn anyway????

I've Been Tagged

I got tagged by Anna! OK, here goes:

The rules: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog.

1. When I was pregnant I would fall asleep each night with my right hand on my stomach to make sure the baby was moving enough. 13 years later I still fall asleep the same way.

2. I don't need coffee in the morning to wake up. If I do have it though, it needs to have Cinnamon Vanilla Creamer in it or I don't want it.

3. I wish I could sing. God was kind though and gave me a daughter who can. She amazes me.

4. One of the first concerts I saw as a teenager was Adam Ant. And yes, he is still cute with or without makeup!

5. The two foods I could not live without are pizza and ice cream. I could eat them every day and never get sick of them.

6. I hate people who say they are bored - except kids - they haven't figured it out yet. There is so much to do and see in the world. Nobody should ever be bored.

7. I wish I didn't have to sleep. If there was a way for my body to survive without it, I would never sleep. Imagine how much more knitting and spinning I could do with those 6-7 hours each day!

OK - so if you actually read this, you have been tagged. Please leave me a comment and write your own 7 random items in your blog. At this point, most knitblogs have done this, so I may not tag anybody :-) It was fun though!!

Colors in My Sleep

After being inspired when I read Stephanie's blog where she wrote about "Tuesdays are for Spinning", I started to feel the same as she did. Time to get back to spinning! I do have some knitting projects that need to be finished (OK - make that QUITE a few) but I have not really been spinning as much as I would like. And heaven knows I have enough fiber to keep me going for the next three years. So I got down to business last night.

After I finished dyeing the roving for the show and shop I kept two for myself.

The batch on the right has more green and deeper blue in it. I am almost done with the batch on the right (pictured on the bobbin). And when those two batches are done I plan to ply them with this.

I'm anxious to see how it will look plyed together. Final destination for the yarn will be Amy's Show Your Colors Shawl.

So I got tired around 11:30 last night and went to bed. And what do you think I dreamed about? I saw about ten variations of those colors! Everytime I woke up I thought immediately about what it is going to look like.

I have to go now and spin so I can ply this by tonight and get some sleep.........

Meet My Neighbor

Well, just my neighbor for the RI Wool Fair. They are baby Pygora Goats from Harmony Homestead! I got quite an education on them. They were so playful! A definite must for my someday farm.

Despite the rainy weather the people came from all over! It was great to see so many friends. Some blogging friends came too (hi Carole!). As a vendor I was grateful that so many people wanted to buy my hand-dyed goodies. Half my stuff is gone!

The bad part of vending is that you don't really get to see much else in the fair. I stayed busy at a constant rate (only got time to spin for a little bit) so I didn't get to see what was going on outside the tent.

Well, that's what Mass Sheep and Wool is for. Yes, I am going. This will only be my second fair this year though - I missed CT and didn't buy anything at RI!

NH Sheep and Wool

The highlight of the fiberworld this weekend was the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool. The weather was perfect and it was heaven!!! And what do you ask, did I buy?

Cute isn't he?? But no, sadly I did not buy that sheep. I did get a fleece though.

I started washing it yesterday and it is so soft. It is cormo, which I have never spun before. It will be used for a sweater for hubby. I also got an Alpaca fleece. I think what I got was called a blanket - it is just the belly and back. It's a nice color grey that I will card with some of the cormo. Both were had for a great price.

I also got some merino tencil

The colors are hard to see. Sorry for the poor quality cell phone photos!

I also got a chance to meet Carole. It's so nice to meet the people you talk to online. I had to cut my time short - I lost my daughter and had to catch up with some other friends. I look forward to meeting more bloggers at the next event!

Dyeing, knitting, spinning, dyeing, dyeing

More than anything there has been lots of dyeing in our house. I have had fun playing with different dye techniques. I still have more to go! My goal is to finish tomorrow and the rest of this week I can focus on setting my display up, etc. for the RI Sheep and Wool Festival.


I have been spinning a bit

Just the same blue I have had since last year from Sheep Shed. I am thinking of plying it with something I dyed. More details later.

I got a chance to knit with my hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn.

Just a hat, but I love the color combo.

I got some of Lisa Souza's yarn. It feels so nice and smushy! I am working on another pair of Jaywalkers

Nice spring colors!

On a sad note, I have one too many wheels now and need to look for a good home for one of them. The one I use the least is my Hitch Hiker. I bought it last year for when I go camping but we have not gone as much as we used to. My total investment with the extra bobbins (I have a total of 5) was $260. I am willing to give her to a good new home for $230. Her only blemish is that one of the rubber grommets on the base fell off and I replaced it with some felt padding. She works wonderful! The most portable wheel ever!