Mass Sheep and Wool Festival May 23, 2009

The day started bright and early.  Miss E woke us up at 4:45 and I never got back to sleep even though she did.  After a 6 am CVS run (why is it the Motrin always runs out when you need it the most?), I had a lovely hour to myself before Mr. G woke up.

My early morning sweetie.

He and I hung out for a bit and then I headed down to meet my knitters for our trek west to the Massachusetts Sheep & Wool Festival.  Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry…or in this case perhaps it should be the plans of cats and knitters.  One lost kitty, one sad mama, and 2 hours later*, the halved posse was on the way to the festival.   MAS&W is a nice little festival, much smaller than Rhinebeck and perfect for a few hours of browsing and fiber petting.   Say hello to some of the wooly friends we met:

Llama llama llama

For Melody...white bunny, RED eyes!!

Gray Angora Bunny

Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool? NO, you took it all!

The one thing I was not leaving without today was a spindle.   I purchased a 0.68 oz Mini from Bosworth.  The whorl is purpleheart.

Purple...pretttttty

Some fiber also came home with me.  I found some things I hadn’t spun before so I can work on filling out my spinner’s bingo card!

Spunky Eclectic 4 oz. Alpaca in "Forecast"

Abi's Web 8 oz. Merino/Silk in "McKenzie"

Acker's Acres Angoras 4 oz. Angora/Merino in "Raspberry"

So all in all, a fabulous fibery day.   I would also like to introduce you to the newest inductee over to “the dark side”.

Jen and I, proud owners of new spindles!

One other fun note from today:  While perusing the Abi’s Web Stall, the owner told me I would be spinning like a spider with the merino and silk.  Jen commented, “Just like Charlotte!”  And now my wheel has it’s name!

*Don’t worry, the kitty was eventually found hiding in a pile of leaves a couple hours later.  Silly kitty.

From Fiber to FO: Part 1 April 10, 2009

I’ve become absolutely enthralled by spinning.  It’s relaxing and just oh so fun to watch yarn take shape before my eyes.  So being the overachiever that I am, I’m going to attempt a fairly large project.  It’s the first time I’m spinning with a purpose: making yarn for a specific pattern.  I will be keeping track of my progress here.

The end goal of this endeavor is a Hemlock Ring Blanket.   It’s a beautiful pattern that originated as a lace doily.  I’m a semi-bridge jumper as several of my friends have knitted this very pretty blanket.

I decided that an undyed fiber would be the perfect showcase for the pattern.  I’ve been enjoying trying new fibers (so far I’ve spun Romney, BFL, and a wool/mohair blend).  Upon the recommendation of two fiber loving friends (paperclips and the Roving Gnome), I bought some Finn fiber from Hello Yarn.  Finn is a breed of sheep originally from Finland and first brought to North America in 1966.  For more about the breed and some cute pictures visit the American Finn Breeders Association.

My fiber arrived this past Tuesday:

Bag o'fiber

That’s 2 pounds of wool there.  The phrase,  “Every elephant gets eaten one steak at a time”, seems appropriate here.  I’m a bit unsure of where to begin.  I know I’m looking to end up with a worsted-aran weight 2-ply yarn.  I will just have to sit down and give it a spin (har, har, har).