Hanky Panky

Spanky likes to hunt birds.  He has several blinds near the house that work well for him - one under a bench on the deck and one under the table on the deck, both near a feeder.  Fortunately he does not actually get more than a tail feather or two most of the time.  He also likes to chase squirrels from those blinds.  In my experience he has not yet gotten even one squirrel tail hair.

We also have a feeder outside the dining room window that is on the second floor from the rear of the house and on the first from the front.

He is ever the optimist.

Underestimated big time

 Last Valentines's Day (or was it Xmas?) Jim presented me with such a sweet gift of wheel spun merino plied with spindled silk. As I have said it was just waiting for the perfect project.  I thought this shruggy shawl I am knitting and designing would take maybe 6 ounces of yarn in fingering weight.  The skein Jim presented me with was about 8 oz and 660 yards.

I thought that a great plenty and felt good about it as the ball did not seem to be disappearing quickly at all.

Then all of a sudden at about 22 inches the ball looked very light.  Big space in the center.

I weighed the ball - 3.2oz.  I weighed the knitted piece - 5.1 oz after taking out 0.1 for the needle.

Halfway is about 28 inches.  You do the math. I have several times and just cannot seem to make the ounces stretch.  More than half of 5.1 + 3.2 does not make less than 3.2.  

Shoot - Do I frog the whole thing, thereby relegating the last week of knitting to zero?  I put the project down and proceeded to work on something simpler - T's baby sweater to be precise.  Easy easy and I know I have plenty of yarn for that.  

But the shruggy was sitting there and I love the yarn and I love how it was turning out.

Soooooooooo

A Star is Worn is now to be known as Estrella

When Knit Picks said yes to this pattern they also wanted a new name.  I can understand that "A Star is Worn" may just be too close to the 1976 motion picture 'A Star is Born' starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.  When I looked this up I found that 2 earlier movies were also filmed; the 1937 version was a drama starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, and the 1954 version was a musical film starring Judy Garland and James Mason.


  I wanted to keep the word star in the name as the main pattern on the wings of this faroese shawl forms small star shapes, so I came up with Estrella which means star in Spanish.  Knit Picks approved the new name and so it shall be.

Yesterday the shawl was blocked.  Well not that simple really since I had to find a place to block it first.  My bed was out as the cat and the dog sleep there way too much to take a chance on leaving a shawl on it. My worktable is currently covered with old jeans and such in preparation for cleaning out my closet (well its a good intention anyway).  So I finally took the skein winder and odd hanks of hand spun and the big swift off the worktable, cleaned it up (actually I had been meaning to do that for quite a while) and set out the blocking blocks.  I also got to use the nice blocking wires Jim got for me for Xmas last year.  They were perfect for this shawl.

Today I tucked in all the loose ends (Imagination [alpaca/wool] and Gloss [merino/silk]) and finally finally finalized the pattern.  It all goes out to Knit Picks tomorrow.  Most likely they will want to use their own model for the shawl so I'll let you know when it's available on their site.

Where am I?

Truly. I have been right here but so inundated with knitting projects I have barely had time to sleep, let alone blog.

Preparing for 2 Fiber Festivals left me little time to knit so several items were left to gather fuzz for several weeks. The festivals were fun and it was great to meet and greet so many repeat and new fiberholics.  Jim and I look forward to seeing some of you again at the Lake Country Fiber Fair in Fairport, NY on Nov 13.

The major item left to gather dust bunnies is the Estrella Shawl that some of you know as A Star is Worn.

Knit Picks sent me the yarn (Imagination and Gloss) for this shawl in the summer.  All I needed do was follow my own pattern and knit it up in their yarn.  HA.  Those of you who know me also know that I just can't leave simple alone.  I have rewritten the pattern so that is is waaaaay easier to follow and added some neck shaping to the final edging.

Anyone who has the original pattern and would like a copy of the new one, please let me know.  It will be pdf'd to you as soon as it is ready.  I will also announce on here once the pattern is available on Knit Picks' website.

I am also in the midst of writing a shruggy pattern.  Jim gave me some wonderful fingering/sport weight yarn that he spun up out of tropical sea cutivated silk and black merino.  I adore the yarn.  I left it within reach and sight just waiting for the right pattern.  I almost knit it into a shawl several times but something stopped me each time.  Now it is being knit into a shawl with sleeves and cuffs.  Kind of a very loose shrug I call a Shruggy.  I just may do a shruggy series.

And then T, whom many of you have met at fiber fairs, is expecting her first little one next month so it dawned on me I had better get on the needles.  However it seems that with writing, rewriting, knitting into the wee hours and other mundane things like dyeing and laundry and eating I just cannot keep even a 4 row simple pattern going.

This one has been tinked and frogged too many time. It is now back into a ball.  A new start on another pattern and with a different yarn is forthcoming.

Availability of CPR Equipment

So here we are right in between Schuylerville and Greenwich, NY, near Saratoga, near Vermont. Very picturesque with old buildings, dams, streams and a well kept feel. 

The weather on Friday was hot and humid but we found the fairgrounds, set up without any mishaps,  located our motel and just about fell right asleep once we got into our rooms.

This morning all we could find for breakfast was Dunkin Donuts - not bad in a pinch since we needed to be back at the fairgrounds by 8.

When I taught school we always had to have several people trained in CPR plus a special machine available for emergencies.

So there I was by the counter in DD adding half and half to my tea when I read this prominently posted sign.

We're going to find somewhere else to eat tomorrow.

Our New Set Up

After a lot of thinking, head scratching, drawings and erasures we now have a much newer and easier to set up design.  Jim was instrumental in making this dream of mine a reality.

We debuted the set up last weekend at the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival to lots of applause.  Other vendors came by to look and inspect the structure and fiberholics loved the ease of seeing the colors and comparing the fibers one to another.  I loved that our set up took 1.5 hours less and take down took about an hour less.  We have always been one of the last vendors out on Sunday but last week we were in the middle of the pack and not exhausted either.

Jim also debuted a lazy Susan prototype for his spindles.  You can turn it and choose from many now.

Another new thing is that we can process credit cards right at the check out table.  This makes the line go faster as we can form two, one for cash and the other for cc's. It also eliminates my sitting at the computer all evening typing in the cards. Win/win all around.

Evening Star has been turned into a cardi. Nice huh?

And now we are off to the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival at the Washington County Fairgrounds just east of Saratoga, NY.

Spanky inspecting and giving the ready to go approval.

                                                                 Hope to see you there.

Berry Pie Socks

I am proud to present the latest addition to my Knit Picks patterns online.

This is a cuff down pattern using double wrapped and dropped stitches.  It is aimed at the intermediate knitter but an advanced beginner with some hutzpah would have lots of fun with this pattern.

So basically, you are knitting a lattice crust and pie filling cuff.

The foot is all simple striping with a diagonal start that mostly appears on the sole.

The toes and heel are knit in a reinforced stitch for longer wear.

Berry Pie Sox originated with Sock Hop but has been updated and rewritten for 2 circs.  

Give Berry Pie Socks a try.  They are a delicious no calorie dessert.

Upon rereading this I realize I sound like a commercial.  My brain is so fried from getting ready for the next 2 shows that this is the best I can do today. I hope you will excuse me.