Fiber wise... The NY Sheep and Wool festival

I'm still riding high from my trip to the NY Sheep and Wool festival yesterday. It hit the spot--big time. It put me in touch with so many things I love and enjoy: The beautiful autumn country side--colorful leaves and earthy smells. The serenity of sheep and alpacas, and the excitement of so much fiber, roving and yarn! Craftsmen and women. Not to mention wheels, spindles, cards and drums! Food, lovely company, and exquisite handiwork.

There are several ways to get to the festival from NYC without a car. For one, there are several knitting groups around town that organize buses. I took a bus the first year I went to Rhinebeck. It was fun. Very well organized and very well run by Brooklyn General. They haven't sponsored a bus these past few years, to my disappointment. There is also Metro North rail road which offers a package deal to Poughkeepsie where a special bus awaits to whisk one to the Rhinebeck fair grounds. I took Amtrak. I like it because it's more comfortable than either a bus or Metro North and it stops in Rhinecliff, which is not very far from the fair grounds. It means arranging for a taxi to get from the train station to the festival and I learned from last year to arrange this in advance. I called on Friday and was put in touch with someone who would be at the station waiting for me. A little preparation ahead of time contributes quite a bit to peace of mind and goes a long way to making the trip a relaxing and enjoyable one.

The weather was to my liking--cool but not cold. There were a couple of passing showers, each about 2-minutes long. One was the perfect excuse to stop for an ice cream break. The other was near a roof, as I was enjoying lunch with a high school classmate which I met up with.

Personally, I felt the festival was better this year than last. I don't know how that can be since it's hard to imagine surpassing it at all, one year to the next. Maybe it's that I was more relaxed this year--this being my 3rd trip? Whatever the reason, I had a perfect day. Beautiful and fulfilling in many ways and on many levels.

The sheep were so beautiful I wanted to cry. Several of them enjoyed my attention and head rubs. A couple were a bit too shy. Something about a sheep just makes me want to get down and hug them. Perhaps because they give us so much. They're a blessing.

The samples of knitting and weaving I saw left me in awe. Does not knitting and weaving (and ALL craft) bestow great dignity on the human race? When I set my eyes on a piece of masterful craftsmanship something stirs very deep inside and leaves me speechless. Tears well up, a smile breaks forth, and a deep breath heightens an ecstasy of joy. Sigh.

It goes without saying: there was yarn and there was fiber. More than one can imagine in one place! So much fiber and yarn. Every imaginable color and color combination. Every imaginable preparation. Every imaginable (and some not pre-imagined!) weights.

And the people. Beautiful people... The fiber art crowd is a comfortable and pleasant crowd to be around. That is it.

The day did not pass without a few surpises... I got myself to several spindle vendors and reflexively ooh'd and aah'd over their goods. Yet--to my surprise--I wasn't moved to make a purchase! I did not feel a strong need for another spindle. Funny, because just Friday I had quite decided I'd get a new one. But when the moment came I realized that the spindles I own are suiting me well and that I'd much rather spend on fiber. Surprise! :) And I made a last minute decision yesterday morning to wear a hat which I hand spun.

I purchased some Spinner's Hill. I think it makes a very useful yarn and it's really enjoyable to spin. I also picked up some merino in hand painted roving form. Some wool for a rug. Some chocolate dipped maple walnut fudge--to die for--from Mapleland Farms. I'm glad I got their web address because I'm going to have to get more of this! Some taffy (love the stuff). A few hand made soaps and some special wooden dishes for hand made soap.

Made good progress on the baby blanket on the trip to and fro.

I got home last evening around 10ish feeling elated and wholly satisfied.

Pictures in next post...

Fiber wise... NY Sheep & Wool Festival

I'm all set for tomorrow. I discovered that we have a Coinstar coin cash-in machine in my neighborhood not far from me. I walked over this afternoon with a little less than half of the dimes I've been saving and walked away with $45! That means I have about $100 in dimes sitting at home--not to mention all the nickels (and pennies!) I have. Looks like I'll be able to purchase that little something special at Rhinebeck after all. Happy.

The weather is not forecast to be very cool so the sweater will stay at home. Instead, I'll don one of my Anna Zilboorg fanciful hats. A beret I knit a few years ago...

I should have a full report of the festival when I return. See you then...

Knit wise... the herringbone raglan...

Maybe this picture will motivate me to lose a few pounds... I just ate dinner... oh well I'll have to wait till tomorrow to start dieting... darn. ;)

Knit wise... The herringbone raglan...

The NY Sheep and Wool festival is next weekend! Let joy be unconfined! :)

The knitting for this sweater was finished a while ago. It was interrupted several times. It was also almost entirely knit on the subway. I think I finished the sleeves a couple of weeks ago.

I am hoping to wear it to Rhinebeck next Saturday so this weekend is construction time. This evening I attached the front and back to each other and got one sleeve attached. Tomorrow I will attach the other sleeve, close the sleeves' undersides, and then knit the collar.

I'm very excited about the festival. Reserved an Amtrak ticket for next Saturday. My focus this year will be on 1) obtaining some wool for the harvest rug I started this summer, 2) obtaining some roving from Spinner's Hill, 3) visiting, hugging and enjoying the company of sheep, 4) fresh air and colorful leaves, 5) Ooohing and Aaahing over everything, 6) maybe picking up something a little special--maybe a spindle, don't know yet. Looking forward to it! :)

Knit wise... taking a break from the blanket

Last week I took a 2-day break from the blanket to knit another of Anna Zilboorg's fabulous hats. The pattern is called Egyptian and appears in her book, "45 Fine & Fanciful Hats to Knit" (1997, Lark Books). Great book.

I used my own colors. The yarn is Harrisville Designs' New England Highland. I seldom see Harrisville mentioned and personally I feel they might be under appreciated. It's a wonderfully woolen yarn in a wide range of gorgeous colors. It makes fantastic hats and any other winter outerwear garmets. I've used it for all my hats.

I just blocked the hat this afternoon after I got back from a quick trip to the local sewing supply store to pick up a length of boning which is used to open up the hat's plateau.

It certainly is quite fanciful and I'm not sure which occasions I will want to don it for, but I'm sure it will make a debut at some point... it's quite dramatic! :)

Knit wise... the baby blanket

Well good golly! Had trouble getting back into my account this evening. Finally figured out that I had to re-enable a bunch of cookies that I blocked last week. I don't let just any old web site store cookies on my computer and I do an occasional wipe-out of all cookies. I also reviewed my list of 'acceptable' sites last week and blocked many of them. Didn't realize a few of those sites were blogspot's and google's. As a developer I'm not keen on cookies. They violate the concept of stateless applications.

Anyhooooooo....

I've been keeping lots of company with knit and purl. Aren't they a lovely couple? I made up my mind to line the back of the baby blanket and decided to knit the backing. I picked up a soft merino wool for it. Softer than the Noro which makes up the front. It will be a toasty warm blanket... just what Vermont winters call for. The color is a deep burgandy, almost maroon. There is a lot of grey in the blanket and that was my first choice for the back, but for a baby blanket? I couldn't do grey. The sweet baby girl has entered this world--isn't it awesome? The miracle of birth. I would have liked to use magenta but it would have been too bright and would have fought with many of the other colors in the blanket. I think this maroon is a good marriage of grey and red. Can't show much more than this blob of blanket since it's on circulars while I knit the backing.

I picked up stitches along the four sides, picking up and knitting the groups of 7 stitches perpendicular to the edge -- and -- picking up and knitting plus also knitting into the back of the stiches parallel to the edge because they needed a little extra depth to create an even edge around the blanket. I think I knit 2 rounds before doing a round of knit followed by a round of purl to create the turn. Now I'm doing 4 mitered squares on each corner. Hoping I will end up in the center, but will keep my focus on the rate of decrease and make adjustments as necessary.

After I block it I will tie the back and front together at several points to help keep it a coherent whole.


The blob:

The Latest Spin... luxury fever...

Such a luxurious fiber as the Wellington Fibers "mystery roving" (I wrote about here: The latest spin... gourmet) requires a luxury spindle to spin with. So I've taken out my only Golding (a visit their website just about makes me faint), which I purchased a few years ago at Rhinebeck (shorthand for the NY Sheep and Wool Festival--coming up in October. Yippee!).

This fiber is a joy in every sense. It's been a feast for the eyes and now it's a feast for the fingers and heart. I love everything about it and it's turning into a fine beautiful yarn.

I'm spinning thin and Navajo plying it. It's coming out about fingering weight and will make lovely, soft, hand warmers that I will use while knitting on the "J" train platform this winter waiting for the train's arrival. In the picture, the spindle is wound with plied yarn, a length of which is unwound for illustration:

This is a very pleasant experience. Once again I must thank John Kerr for the gift of this fiber.

Perhaps this close-up will do a better job of highlighting the yarn:

The Golding spindles, of course, are works of art. It was very hard to choose just one from the several gorgeous spindles on display but I did manage to hone in on this one. What a delight...

One feature of the Golding that I absolutely love is the ribbed shaft. It creates traction for the fingers, allowing them to set forth a revved up spin that I find I cannot get on a smooth shafted spindle. (But I do love my Kunderts. Love them!!) That, and the metal rim around the whirl really sets this spindle in motion. It spins and spins! I'm hoping the ribbing will show up in this picture:

Needless to say, I'm in heaven! :)