Summer

     Summer rages on. I always just want to hold it fast, but it eludes me every year.  With only a month left until school starts, I'm not even sure I've entirely settled into summer. June welcomed Tour de Fleece, which I always look forward to. This year was intense as I spindled most of my yarns in order to keep up with the demands of my big, active family. I spun yarn every day and celebrated with two wins!  The first was a very generous gift certificate to my new fave, Gourmet Stash! I have been very spoiled by the decadence of this company, that's for sure!

The second prize was a gift certificate to Reckless Knitting on Etsy.  I'm so excited! Both shop owners are lovely and talented. Win win! Literally, ha!
     So, during the three weeks of the tour, I spun 6,434 yards and 1.3 feet! I accomplished that with just 12.2 ounces of wool, so that's some skinny yarn happening! I was happy to wrap up the intense spinning  on July 21.

     In knitting, I've been working on the Albers Shawl.  I'm using Dragonfly Fibers Squishy lace in Dragonberry, a special request shade of blue, and two shades of gray/charcoal.

This is a lot of lace, friends!  I was hoping to have it completed for Michigan Fiber Fest in mid August, but that's not looking too realistic. I'll love it when it's done.
     In other news, we have a puppy! This is Kira, a Rhodesian Ridgeback.
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How sweet is she? We just love her!


Now that she has turned 4 months, she has become a handful. We had to hire an ex-marine to train us in handling her. She is quite the stubborn pooch!
     I'm off to knit a few more rows. Happy knitting, friends!
   

   

That Was Fun!

Look who came to town! On a recent beautiful spring day, Stephen West and Ragga Eiriksdotter visited the D.C. area. I had just met Ragga at Vogue Knitting Live and Stephen West had me at Clockwork! Lol. So, I just couldn't miss the opportunity to learn from such amazing designers. It was super fun sharing the day with Kate of Gourmet Stash. We learned new techniques as well as improving on old ones. We also translated inspiration into design. So fun. Lots of one on one, too, which makes for a good class. These two are a lot of fun! Not sure why Blogger cut Stephen off in the posting of this picture...just click on it or head on over to Flickr for all the cuteness! Translating all I learned into real life has been a little trickier. 'Cuz you know, my real life is oh so full. I've been fiddling with my design that I took away from that class in between knitting thousands of yards of lace on my Albers Shawl and poking along on my Central Park Hoodie. Even knitting has taken a back seat to what is front and center right now... this little guy and his baseball obsession. Here he is on Opening Day. Look at that ball go right into the square on the net!!! Here they are lining up for the parade- This one makes me smile (hey, batter batter!). Look at him all baseball ready! I will never, ever tire of seeing life through the eyes of a 5 year old. Everything is so new and magical. Life is beautiful! Ok, friends, see you on the other side of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Can you believe it's next week?

March

What a wonderful month this has been, this month of March! I spent the first Sunday of the month at the Dragonfly Fibers studio acquiring yarn and learning new techniques. I picked up the last of the Blue Face Worsted in Dragonberry and cast on for a Central Park Hoodie. I'm questioning the sizing I selected. I've been studying up and trying to translate these mad skilz into customizing the fit of this sweater. I'm usually a bit more of a rule follower, so this is some uncharted territory for me! Wish me luck! I adore the color and feel of this yarn. I have also cast on The Albers Shawl for my grab and go mindless knitting. This WILL take forever, this more than 3,000 yards of lace weight. Garter stitch, no less. The good news is that somewhere along the way I have become a process person. This is huge for me, as I have always been so very goal oriented. I guess I've just surrendered to the inevitable -this mama o'seven doesn't have too many real claims on her time. Also at the studio that day, I practiced making punis with the talented Kate of Gourmet Stash. Those I bought from Gourmet Stash. These I made: I was even lucky enough to win a set from the Gourmet Stash Blog giveaway. I won the green punis and nail polish. That is some ahhmazing polish. Gonna have to look into that for some more. Very decadent. You know you want those bright little fibery tribbles. Fun, right? I couldn't resist buying them and you can get some right here! This month I've also designed and knit a handspun laceweight shawl, worked on some hexipuffs, did some swatching, and spindled to my heart's content. Ok, friends... I'll leave you with some images of other things that have brought me joy this month. Have you ever tried an Earl Grey latte? Do eeet. Seriously. Oh, and this little corner of my home... The mirror is a Christmas gift that one of my little guys made a few years ago. The curly willow I just couldn't resist. It's from the Terminal Market in Philly. Ahh, Spring!

Vogue Knitting Live

We know each other by our hand knits; we, the citizens of this yarniverse. There is a really special feeling being among the yarnies of the world. From the moment we arrived in New York, we were greeted with smiles and waves and cheers when people saw the yarns being unloaded. It's a happy place, this yarniverse. We are all on a mission to create beautiful things. From the vendors, to the teachers, to the knitters and crocheters and weavers present, there is an energy of positivity. So very special. We loaded. We unloaded. We wined. We dined. We sold yarn. We made friends... ...and celebrated friendships. We even enjoyed a visit from a celebrity or two. The pull of Kate's yarn is irresistible. I must say, my favorite part of shows is the wonderful people I meet and connect with. We met so many warm and wonderful souls this weekend. It was truly an honor.

Celebrations

I thought that might grab your attention! It is what you think it is. Yes, it is. A Moosie! I can scarcely believe it myself. There it was at Maryland Sheep and Wool all innocent-like. I mean, really...how could I not give this beauty a home when there is a 2 ish year waiting list on these one of a kind spindles made from moose antlers? Of course, no animals are harmed in the harvesting of the materials. It spins wonderfully with its elegant Cochin Rosewood shaft. It's 34 grams of pure heaven. One of the highlights of my festival purchases. Yup, I bought lots of practical things like a 5 dent reed for my Cricket and a nostepinne to wind little minis for hexipuff knitting. Knitter's pride square dpn needles joined my hexipuff supplies. Nice and sharp! Pretty, too. Such a joy to knit with that I've added a few puffs to this long term project. My goal was just to make a wee pillow with the ones I was sent from my Bohoknitterchic group swap on Ravelry, but as any hexipuffer will tell ya, these babies are addictive!

Of course I couldn't leave Maryland Sheep and Wool without fleece. I put my request in the trusty hands of my friend Kate, who selected this beauty.

It's indescribably lovely Corriedale fleece. I wish you could feel it.
MDSW weekend is always a blast, reconnecting with fiber friends from around the globe. We did have fun.
There was another celebration in the works kicking off the month of May. This little guy made his First Communion.

Then, to keep the party rolling, these four graduated:

Preschool

Graduate School

High School

Grade School

So, there were parties! Big ones!
And there were birthdays...

My babylove, I mean BIG boy, turned 5!!! Five!

#5 turned 11!

Lucky girl got her ears pierced!

Even I had a birthday.

But who's counting!?

Whoa! I needed a vacation after all that.

So we crashed my husband's business trip to Hilton Head. This is an actual photograph from our balcony. Looks like a postcard, doesn't it? Then we took a sidetrip to Savannah. Sweet little town full of southern charm.

Despite all the busy, I'm never far from the yarn. Here are some gratuitous yarn pics.

Here's what's on the needles:

Hand dyed with Kate and Ann for a triangle shawl

Dragonfly Fibers yarn for an Albers Cowl

A combo of Dragonfly yarn in the Ode to Sock Summit colorway and the product that came out of my dyepot when the three of us set out to create a deviant yellow. This is the start of a square shawl.

All the influence of this designer

Ann Weaver

who has officially joined our pack and unofficially made her second home in MD/DC/VA because we keep recruiting her to teach! We've all been having some fun times. Check her out. You'll love her designs and fabulous workshops.

Speaking of workshops, here's where you can find me this summer:

*Studio E June 25-June29 Boredom Buster Get Hooked Crochet Camp for Kids *Dragonfly Fibers Studio June 30 Spin Lab Beginner Art Yarn workshop *Spin U July 28 Liberation Spin Art Yarn Workshop *Michigan Fiber Festival August 18-19 in the Dragonfly Fibers booth. Stop by and say hi! We'll make it a celebration!