Happy Halloween!

Can't believe we are at the end of October already but then I am constantly surprised how fast time seems to be moving. I have been spinning for my FiddleHead mittens - fiber photo (all Southern Cross Fibre) in last post. So far the off white and the dark orange are finished. Today I will start on the dark green. I did get this picture of the off white in progress - I think it may be the colorway "Frosted Almond". I am not sure if it shows well in this picture but spun the yarn looks so much creamier than in fiber form. Some time ago I finished these 2 weaving projects - both from Spunky Eclectic Weaving Club. I have been slow to take pictures. The washcloths are just the size I like - not much bigger than my hand and I have really been enjoying using them. The towels washed up so nice I plan on weaving more soon. So many projects I want to do and never enough time!

Rhinebeck - it's wooly season!

Sunday was a wonderful day at Rhinebeck (Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck NY) – I enjoyed myself so much! It was fun to have my cousin Elaine along for her first Rhinebeck trip. I go stay with her for MDS&W. It was lovely that she could join me this year for Rhinebeck. I took no pictures there, was sorry since it was such a spectacular day – sunny with a breeze that made the beautiful fall leaves float down but I enjoyed being there so much. The bus trip run by Gosh Yarn It! was fun, so nice to leave the driving to someone else. I did pretty well sticking to my no fiber or yarn rule as you can see by the picture above. Actually only bought the briar rose fiber in the basket. The lovely little bumps of semi solid fiber were given to me by David of Southern Cross Fiber! What a lovely surprise that was. I needed the basket to house my growing spindle collection. The latest was the lovely little .5 oz Golding that spins like a dream. Haven’t tried the Lucet yet but isn’t that bird’s eye maple lovely. A hat form and a 20 needle - needle felting thinger rounds off the grouping that came home with me. The Golding and the Lucet wanted close ups! I even have a plan for my beautiful semi solids – Fiddlehead Mittens. Here they are with the SCF Batt Club from July 2012 “Banksia” that I will use for the background – now to just spin them all! I loved chatting with people, seeing the beautiful knitted or crocheted items that people wore, meeting in person people I chat with on line. It was so much fun!

Baby Hats

I am so behind on taking pictures of my finished work never mind the fiber and yarn that is coming in every month I thought I would just jump in with 2 current projects. Baby hats are so satisfying to knit - they are quick even for a slow knitter like me. The project pictured at the start of my post is the hat from a free pattern by Rebecca Bright "Acorn Swaddle Sac and Cap". It luckily knit up fast in the worsted and bulky wt yarns I purchased at Gosh Yarn It! . I had started out making a "Leafy Newborn Beanie" for our niece Lauren's Baby shower. It is an adorable free pattern from Justyna Lorkowska. Well, something was off for me. I had some lovely green Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool purchased at Gosh Yarn It! There were issues with laddering so I changed from my favorite double points to a cable needle which took care of the ladders (maybe it was because the hat was mostly pearl?) but ended up too big so was given to the 18 month old daughter of a co-worker. I will give this hat a go again, it is a sweet pattern. So happy the Acorn Cap came through for me!

Felting on a Ball!

Fall is always the beginning of the year for me, time to turn over a new leaf, to make resolutions! After falling off the blogging wagon I am climbing back on starting with felting on a ball. At this years Endless Mountain Fiber Festival I saw a demonstration, Making a Felt Hat on a Ball with Emily Rancier. I had seen Emily's creative hats before and I was inspired to give this felting method a try. It was so much fun! As I usually do, I like my results. Not quite finished yet - I need to find some finishing info but on the whole a very doable process.

I was lucky enough to get Kathy, a friend from my weekly Stitch & Spin group at Gosh Yarn It to model it for me. Thanks Kathy! Also thanks to Emily who not only provided a great demonstrated but patiently answered all my emails. I really need to take notes at demonstrations. Last weekend was Fiber Fallout where I took my first every spinning classes. It was so exciting to learn from my spinning heroes! I was lucky enough to have classes with both Judith MacKenzie and Robin Russo. I also got to see some stunning work Daryl Lancaster and chat with her. The weekend has me stuffed with enough information to work with until it occurs again in 2 years. It was a wonderful experience.