Retreat to the Fleece!

This past weekend I trekked to Pennsylvania for a Spring Fiber Retreat.  I found out I loves my fleeces!  Beth, the owner of the Spinning Loft, taught us all about different sheep and fleece prep and spinning at her mom's B&B in Linfield, PA.

We each had clean little fleece samples to try

 My faves to spin were Cormo and Lincoln. 

The coolest locks were on the Scottish Blackface - easiest to process too.  Just pull both ends!

I liked the Cormo so well that a pound(ish) of greasy fleece jumped in the car and followed me home.

But that's OK, because I learned a new way to wash locks!

We also shopped in the mini Spinning Loft.

These pictures of the shop were after the ravening hoards had plundered it for the piles that were adjusted (upward) each day.

We also spun on the patio in the sun, and tried everyone's wheels. Of course we also ate and drank exceedingly well.  Got to keep up one's strength for wrangling fleeces, and rolling on the floor laughing!

Kittens!

I work for the Chesapeake Humane Society, and have been loving up this cat for the last 3 weeks.  She came in pregnant and has been getting bigger and bigger.

Wednesday I noticed some things that indicated she might be close.  Sure enough, last night three kittens were born!

You can see how big they are compared to her (yikes)! The black one on the bottom in this pic  took over 3 hours of labor!  He wasn't born til the vet said c-section.

Happy Easter Mama Cat!

Perfect Day

It's spring in Tidewater, and yesterday was the perfect spring day!  Normally  my S&B meets at Barnes and Noble in Chesapeake on Thursday.  This week we all met at my house and knitted (and spun) on the front porch.  Lovely!

Wallisknits came with Fairbanks,  Macadoodle, and Betty E were all there.  Being the week before Easter we talked about those Easter bonnets that we wore as kids.  I don't know about you, but mine always poked me in the head and itched.  Not to mention the elastic that was specifically made to strangle little girls!  My favorite thing was always my new, shiny patent leather mary janes.  I knew they were as pretty as any ruby slippers!

Naturally I didn't take pictures when everyone was here, so this is a shot of my empty porch.

Next week I'll take one when everyone is here!

After that we went over to The Knitting Corner for the big birthday sale.  Sue, the owner, sold some of my handspun earlier in the week, so it was OK to spend a few bucks!

I also kept reminding myself I wasn't going to Maryland this year (but it looks like we may go to Sedalia)!

Off to complete the taxes - going to need some cash for the festivals!

OMG - I'm in LOVE!

Check out these socks!  Someday I will post something like them.  They are beauteous!

The Blog Builder was Sick

Not me - the computer.  The fan on the power supply died, so after 2 days of an external fan and frantically backing up, my computer went to the Computer Hospital.  All is well now, but it's absence did free up some time (ya think!?)

So what did the Artsy Fish do with this time? Spin? Nope - I went after the house projects I have been putting oiff.  I painted the excercise room and hung new curtains

(No room is free from fiber and fiber tools!)

and made new curtains for the fiber den

I did do some knitting - made a cowl from my handspun

finished up the Trevi Shawl I started at the Knitter's Review Retreat in November- again from my handspun

and started my Northern Lights Shawl from this Handmaiden Mini Maiden

As soon as this is done, and dinner is started in the crock-pot, I will be off to spin - finally!

Knitting Weather!!!!!

The weathermen (and women) were right this time! We had a lovely storm on Saturday.

After watching this as I knit away Saturday...

I went out to enjoy the sunshine on Sunday!

Unfortunately the roads are still the pits on Monday - I wish VDOT understood that plowing the roads before the snow stops actually does some good!

Bag O' Sheep

I'm going to try this again with some lessons learned.


Keep things short and sweet - no more long posts.


Yesterday I met Wallisknits' nieces, Katie and Becky.  It was really neat - I felt like I knew them a little, because of their blogs!


Beckie came to my house with Chocolate Pound Cake and cookies.  Katie came to my house with a big plastic bag - and there was a sheep inside!

I taught the girls to spin and tempted them with my spinning wheels, too.

Today I sat on the front porch and started to process the fleece into locks - I had to wash my hands 2-3 times to get the grease off.  It's going to be lovely!

 

Thanks Katie and Becky!

Yes, She Does

Spin, that is. I've done posts about a lot of things (mostly opportunities to buy stuff), but I actually USE the stuff I buy too.

I wrote about a trip to the mountains and a sale by Kid Hollow Farm (KHF ). This is the first I've spun from that. I carded in some gold firestar to add a little spark. I got 3 skeins of about 150 yds each which is becoming a shawl.


Very soft and smooshy!

This is another batch from KHF - fuschia, teal and purple. I happened to have some silk in those colors too, so I'm carding the two into fluffy rovings of the individual colors!


I like the sheen the single has.


To relax from all this carding I'm spinning this lovely Butterfly Girl batt from this summer.


I want to use it with that cashmere/silk blend for a shawl or wrap. If anybody reads this, I could use suggestions.


Back in October we went to the Virginia Fall Fiber Festival and I got an Alpaca/Merino blend.

Half became a Christmas scarf, and half went off for sale in a LYS.


And I really have been knitting with my handspun. This is the shrug I have been making from my first usable stuff (Sea cell and wool).


Check Ravelry for details!


Well that's about it for now. I'm off to work on my February Lady's Sweater, because I WILL finish it in February!

My Podcasts are Back!

My year started out right with episodes of both Cast On and Craftlit after what seemed like a long hiatus. Since I got high speed internet and my first MP3 player I have reveled in the wealth of audio entertainment – both crafting and non-crafting related.

When I first started out I would listen to anything. That changed REAL fast. The first podcasts were long established ones with wonderful production values. Well scripted, not rambling (except for Lime n Violet – and I suspect the rambling there is more intentional than it appears). Sound quality that is clear and consistent – not whispers and ear blasts. Sometimes I wonder whether the people making the podcasts ever listen to them on a player.

I listen to a variety of shows. Those that educate me - Craftlit, Yarn Spinners Tales and Stitch It. Those that make me think with well written essays like Sticks and String and Cast On. Some purely for their entertainment value – Lime n Violet, and Y KNIT.

Then there are those that expose my geeky side. Escape Pod, Pseudopod, and Pod Castle. Each one with a well-read story every week. Sci-Fi, Horror and Fantasy.

These aren't all the podcasts I listen to while I mow the lawn, clean the house, and knit or spin. With over 43,000 podcasts to choose from I check out new ones all the time. I also listen to multiple episodes before I delete the feed. New people getting started need time to learn and develop their style and content. I can wait!

FYI – I haven’t done all this listening on an Apple iProduct. I use less expensive options to catch and play my shows.


The library’s eBooks doesn’t work with iProducts, and there is more money for FIBER!

The Artsyfish is Hung Again

For many years I have been taking art classes through the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia (CACV). My favorite and most persistent has been Landscape on Location with Suzanne Stevens. Over this time I have evolved from a very tight pastel artist to a rather loose watercolorist. Suzanne called yesterday to invite me to put one of my favorite pictures into the Student Gallery in December. Last night I finally decided to name it "Cypress Spirit".


I was thinking of having it framed just because I like it, but now I have an excuse to spend the money!

Back to the Mountains

This past weekend three of us trekked back to the mountains of Virginia. Yes, I do know that these are hills compared to the real mountains out West! But to those of us that live at or below sea level, these are very nice, easy to get to mountains.

The reason was KnitXperience put on by Carodan Farms. For us it was a major yarn crawl with food thrown in! First stop was the Knitting Sisters in Williamsburg.


We all managed to purchase yarn, then retired to the deli nearby for lunch.

Next we drove across the state to Carodan Farm with the help of Kathy's TommiTom, arriving before the bus from Graves Mountain.

We scoped out the little shop, got Noro and Fiesta yarns,


a basket and patterns.


Then it was time for a tour of the farm. They raise sheep and keep lamas as guards for the sheep. It reminded me of home with the baaing and smell (a neighbor keeps some sheep).


Following that was a terrifying ride to Graves Mountain Lodge following their bus driver. We arrived safely and after an overwhelming dinner were treated to some Celtic singing by our instructor of the weekend, Melissa Weaver Dunning. I ended up spinning with my Golding during the performance. Two nurses from Winston-Salem saw me and wanted to learn to spin (later in the weekend they did!). We knitted in Wallis' room until about 11:30, then were off to bed.

In the morning it was another monster meal and Cable Class. It was raining hard so we sat through it. Late in the morning I was distracted by the report there were bags of fiber sitting on the porch. I snuck out and sure enough Pat and Steve Harder from Kid Hollow Farm had shown up with bags and bags of fiber along with their yarns.


After lunch we shopped again and had chair massages.


I was restrained and only bought 1 1/2 ponds of the Mohair/Border Leicester roving. Class was interrupted that afternoon buy the appearance of a gorgeous double rainbow when the sun came out.


After dinner was a visit from Linda and Emily Krag of Denise Interchangeable Needles. It was fun hearing the story of a product I had purchased years ago.

I also taught the two nurses to spin with some of the fiber they bought, and my Golding Tsunami. I may have broken them by teaching on a 1/2 ounce spindle! They did great, though, and I really enjoyed it!

Sunday we learned new cast ons (after MORE food) and headed back to the ocean side of VA. On the way we picked up some appley goodness to take back from the mountains!


P.S. My handspun in the LYS SOLD. It's a good thing after this weekend - I over spent a little!

Monogamy - What's that?

When it comes to knitting and spinning variety is the spice of life. At least for me. Since this blog is Artsyfish Knits I guess I should post about my projects on the needles. At least active projects. We will not disturb the hibernating bears lurking in the yarn room.

My oldest active project is from last spring. What makes such an old project active? It's intention. I do not intend to go near the hibernating and never to be spoken of again bits. This garment - the Notting Hill Vest in Donegal Tweed will be completed.

I just need to put it together, and finish. Finishing to be started tonight!

The next oldest knitting project is my Palette of Colors shrug using a combination of commercial (Lacy Lamb) and my handspun yarn.


I HAD to start it as soon as my yarn was finished! It was crying to jump on some needles. This was my first completed, usable handspun and was instrumental in the purchase of my spinning wheel.

Then there is Mystery Stole 4. I was going to just copy the clues as they came out and stash the pattern on my computer until I saw some finished Clues 1 and 2. Alas I am weak - I had to start it! I had yarn and beads in the stash that would work, so I dove into it.


The best intentions...

Finally, all the projects (except the Donegal Vest) were too complicated to take to S&B. So of course I had to start another. The Elizabeth Zimmerman Rib Warmer was my answer to that - but once started I found it would be way too small as written. So that was frogged for future pattern modifications, and I started the February Lady's Sweater again from the stash.

So far it's working out OK. I don't know how good it will be now that I am into the lace. Only time will tell!

Click on the pictures to find details in Ravelry. Not a member? Sign up here - so much fibery goodness (and enabling)!

One Knitter's Review

This weekend our knitting guild brought in Clara Parkes, author of The Knitter's Book of Yarn


and the Knitter's Review web site and newsletter. The weekly newsletter provides reviews of needles, yarns and other tools, as well as keeping its readers informed of Fiber Events throughout the country. The Knitter's Review forum is available for discussions of over 7000 topics related to knitting.

Clara's sense of humor came through as she led us down the path of yarn construction and what it does for the knitter.


She passed out samples of a wide variety of yarns as she reviewed singles, 2 ply, three ply, multi-ply and brushed yarns. We saw swatches (that WE did not have to knit) of the various yarns with cables and stockinette stitch.


We also saw a very sad swatch of brushed yarn that has not held up at all over the last 3 years.

In addition to Clara's talk we had a Berroco trunk show and got to try out some very interesting square knitting needles. I was especially interested in the circulars, since I knit my socks using the magic loop method, and these cables are very soft and supple.

On Sunday a book signing, more trunk shows, and sweets at Ewe Knit Kits and Yarn followed Saturday's activities. A great way to avoid yard work and housework for the weekend. After all, the work will be there after the fun is done!