Photos from Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

The busload of knitters from Central PA -- and a few guests from afar -- had a great time at the MDSW earlier this month. I can't believe it was 3 weeks ago...how time flies! Here are a few photos from the day...I didn't get too many this year and not nearly what I planned...oh well, there is always next year.

This was at the Noni booth. It was a sweltering day and I don't know how she handled it in a full-length knitted wool coat. It is gorgeous and got a lot of attention.

Her gorgeous dreadlocks were wrapped in roving.

The show was predictably crowded. I don't think there were as many strollers this year...at least for the first time I was not run over or into by one of them!

Lots and lots of gorgeous hand-dyed fibers were for sale. This was at the Creatively Dyed booth.

I saved the best photo for last! I asked the bus trip passengers if they would knit an item for the annual charity knitting project of the Penns Valley Area Knitters. These fiber folks are beyond -- WAY beyond -- belief. 117 items -- hats, scarves, a vest, laprobes, shawls, mittens, neckwarmers, neckwarmers and slippers to help keep the residents warm. Thank you so much for your generosity!! You are way beyond my wildest dreams. What a fabulous group of fiber friends on this bus trip.



One week to Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival!

I just can't wait to  get to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival next Saturday. I do hope the weatherman is only joking with the prediction of THUNDERSTORMS for that day. Really? Again I have coordinated a group of 55 fiber-holic women to make the trek on a Cole Transportation bus. They give us the best service and have for years! If the rain holds off I will take photos and will post upon return.

I DO NOT NEED YARN!!! OK, I have it in writing. It is official. But I do want to head to the vendor with the yarn bowls and get one...more for decorative purposes. I plan to take along bubble wrap and tape to securely wrap it before putting it into my quilted bag. I will have to carry it all day so it needs to be secure.

Oh I bet I will buy a skein (or two) of yarn. I do need intervention...

UFO Finished!

My summer fun socks are finally finished! Cross one UFO off my list for 2012 knitting...

Someone is going to say that the feet look small. They are small. I only wear a size 5 1/2 shoe. And this pair of socks is somewhat is a sizing experiment. I have been knitting socks for years, primarily because store bought ones are way too big. Sometimes though some of my knitted socks are a bit too big. I recently read that to make the feet snugger and hence tighten up the fabric around the ankle, to knit the feet 1/2 to 1 inch shorter. So, these feet are 7 1/2 inches long instead of the usual 8 inches. I might have to make another adjustment, but I think these will work well. Hope so, I am tired of baggy socks at the ankles.

I had another skein of this yarn -- which was only made for one summer -- in shades of lavender so it is barely on the needles. Summer sock yarn with stretch to keep the socks up is hard to find.

I must tuck these away and get back to my shawlette so I have it done in time for Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I want to wear a hand-knitted item. Of course if this year's doesn't get done, there is always the one I made for last year that didn't get blocked in time. All I would need to do it block it. But I really want to finish the current one.

Stay tuned.....

Hitchiker

I have been wanting to knit Hitchhiker for a while but didn't think I had the right yarn for it. Well, after looking through the stash boxes (which takes quite a while...) I came up with Schaeffer Anne yarn in the "Stadium Blanket" colorway. I bought it a couple of years ago for a shawl and have two skeins of it.

The pattern calls for Wollmeisse which has 575 yards of yarn. I have three skeins of Wollmeisse but none suited me for this project. I am very pleased with my combination of yarn and pattern. It is moving along quickly. A fun garter stitch knit.

Nope, neither January or February UFOs have been completed. Hopefully soon. I get distracted easily it appears.

Fail...Fail...Fail...I think

I don't think the January UFO is going to be finished on time. I haven't picked it up yet this month. With almost a week at the PA Farm Show and then being sick for over a week with a cold and then the stye in my eye making it hurt too much to knit...ugh! Not much has been completed.

I am making a project for a swap gift that must be mailed by COB Tuesday. I have to finish it first. That is only fair.

So February will be a catch-up month with the sock and the next project.

Stay tuned....

There is a plan in the works....

I am following the lead of another blogger whose knitting, writing and talent I admire. Pink Lemon Twist pulls stash yarn for 12 projects to complete each year. This was her first and now she is planning for 2012. Her knitted items are gorgeous and her blog is fun to read. Tune in at http://pinklemontwist.blogspot.com/

However, I have so many UFOs, that instead of starting something NEW each month in 2012, I'm going to turn a UFO into an FO. I came home from work with the full intention of finding 12 skeins of yarn -- that part wasn't difficult -- and lining them up for 12 new projects. When I looked at my UFO pile I decided I needed to start completing items. I will knit new items too but it will feel so good to pull one out of the UFO drawer each month and finish it. Some months maybe I will do several and get this project completed before the end of 2021. My game...my rules!

Some only need a part of a sock finished and I will have a pair, one shawlette is barely started and I want to finish it to wear to Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival in May (you know if I do the temps will hit 100 that day!), one is a cabled buttoned cowl,  there is another cowl, more socks, etc. Just look at the photos. I am putting them in order of the months I have chosen to knit them.

Oh no, they won't be all I knit because some won't take long to finish. I will do other things in-between. This is a good way to line up what needs to be completed, and do it in a timely manner. Knitting should be fun and I think this is a fun plan! Thank you Pink Lemon Twist for giving me the inspiration.

Knitting for Golden Retriever Rescue

Golden Retriever Rescue of Central PA, Inc. ... which I have has the pleasure of being affiliated with for 12+ years since we opened ... is doing two holiday craft bazaars in December. We will be at the inaugural Millheim Holiday Show on Friday, Dec. 2 from 4 to 8 p.m. and on Saturday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also you will be able to find us on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the ...Old Gregg School in Spring Mills. We really need to raise money right now as we have 13 Goldens in rescue...9 of them are puppies. In addition to our usual Golden Retriever related items we will have homemade dog treats, project bags for knitters and crocheters (thanks Donna!) and hand knitted items. If anyone wants to knit or crochet something for us to sell, we would be so happy to accept it. Donations can be mailed to Golden Retriever Rescue of Central PA, Inc., PO Box 397, Centre Hall, PA 16828. Thank you in advance.

 

Here are photos of two pair of mitts I have completed thus far. I think a hatlike scarf is next to match the purple/black/raspberry/teal mitts. Not enough yarn for one to match the others.

 

Next mitts on the needles will be plain red and will sport a cable on the back. Off to knit!

This Is Very Cute

A friend sent this to me. I think it is from Vogue. I felt the need to share.

Cabled Cowl Stalled

The lovely cabled cowl from the last post has been stalled because of a knitting mistake. I can live with the mistake for myself but not for something that was to be a gift. I will finish it for myself later this year after holiday knitting is completed. I like the pattern and wanted one so this will work nicely.

Off to Ravelry I went. I found a free pattern and started it from other yarn. I have 3 to make and complicated cables just were not working at this time. The new one is very different but nice. I think it will work well in the worsted weight yarn. First one is on the needles. This one has to work because I don't have enough spare time for fiddling around changing patterns.

Photos soon. Not enough to show yet.

It's Cowl Time

I have been furiously knitting cowls since the Camp Loopy Challenge ended. The blue and gray one was just completed this week. It is a wrap around (twice around the neck) design and could be pulledover the face a bit as protection from harsh weather. This one is knitting in Lorna's Laces DK and is soft and will be so warm.

The pattern is "Purl Ridge Scarf" by Stephen West who is one of my favorite designers. I was going to knit more this season but this one took what seemed like forever, and I need to get these done.

So, I switched to Rainier Cabled Cowl by Nona Davenport. It is a lovely pattern. I still find cables a bit fiddly, but much easier when using worsted weight yarn instead of fingering weight. I have two more of these to knit. Also have a stealth project under way and can't reveal until after Christmas gift giving with a friend. This is knitting in yarn from Universal Yarn Company. I have really come to like their selection, quality and great price points.

I have a shawl in worsted weight to finish for myself and I might work on it a bit tonight instead of the cowl. Will see what I have time for after dinner. These cool nights and somewhat chilly days make me glad I have hand knitted wool socks to wear.

Camp Loopy Project Three

Camp is over for this year!

Project Three was completed tonight with about two hours to spare...and 10 yards of yarn remaining. This is Boneyard Shawlette in the Mineshaft colorway from Lorna's Laces. Content is 75% alpaca and 25% silk -- absolutely lucious. I am thrilled with the results although my nerves are shot from trying to knit 800 yards of yarn (actually this is about 815 yards) in a month. Most months would be OK...not this past one. Lots of work and other commitments. But I'm done and have completed the  task.  I kept my eye on the prize from The Loopy Ewe...a skein of the coveted Wollmeise yarn.

This is a shawl pattern that doesn't need to be blocked. I actually would like it a tad bigger so might gently block just to stretch it a bit. Jury out on that plan right now.

I promise to blog more frequently since this huge project is done. I have some smaller projects planned so will post in progress photos, etc. Just didn't have time with this shawl. Enjoy...I know I will!

Camp Loopy Project Two

My Single Cabled Socks (as I named them) are done and the photo uploaded to The Loopy Ewe site. Just under the wire. Knitting time has been sparse because of the intense heat and humidity and some volunteer activities that are keeping me really busy. All good though.

I used a new cast-on (to me) that I found on another pattern. Cast on more stitches than I use for the socks and then do a k2tog to give them more stretch. I quickly tried these on and think the cuff will fit better than others. The sock itself is the basic sock pattern with a simple heel flap and turned heel. I knit with Claudia's Handpaints in colorway "Secrets" and am pleased with the results. Very nice yarn that I would highly recomment. My socks are knitted on 56 stitches and the cable is a pattern repeat of 8 stitches that I found in a stitch guide.

Knitting a cable was the basic rule for this project, and since I don't care for cables or cable knitting (it isn't hard but I find it too fiddly) I followed the rules while making the project as simple as possible for myself.

The third and final camp project begins tomorrow and must be finished by September 15. I am using Lorna's Laces "Honor" in the colorway Mineshaft. The requirement for this project is to use 800 yards of yarn knitted singlely to put everyone on the same page. I love Stephen West's "Boneyard" shawl so am making myself one from this lovely DK weight yarn. Will be nice to knit on size 8s again. Hope I get a bit more time because 800 yards is a lot for me to knit in one month.

If participants finish all three projects -- I have two done -- and have purchased their yarn from The Loopy Ewe during a specific timeframe prior to the project start they get rewarded. A discount for the project yarn, frequent buyer double credits, and this fall will get a gift of a skein of the hard-to-purchase Wollmeise yarn and a special pattern. I am determined to finish and am keeping my eye on the prize.