Knittinggarden

I'm back from the second annual Loopy Ewe Spring Fling and it was great. I can't say enough about how well organized it was. Sheri and her family, friends, and employees did a super job of making sure everything ran smoothly and everyone had a great time. I took only one class this year, Advance Lace Knitting with the inimitable Anne Hanson . She was lovely to meet and full of tips and inspiration. I just may have to try one of her big projects soon. A couple of fun things: I organized a swap of small sock yarn scraps for people making (or thinking about making) a sock yarn blankie . You can find all the details of how to make this beautiful blanket right there on Shelly Kang's blog. Several people brought bags of yarn, and a few of us sat right down on the floor to swap. It was loads of fun. Now I have to get going on this project! I have tons of tiny balls of yarn just patiently waiting to join the party. Of course, a highlight of the trip is always the trip to...

A girl and her dog enjoying a bit of Seattle's elusive sunshine.

So the rain finally stopped for a couple of days and I decided to work in the yard. Lately, it's hard for me to drag myself away from knitting/spinning/rolling little balls of yarn to trade and go outside, but it's also hard for me to drive into my driveway and see a garden filled with dead ornamental grass that should have been cut down weeks ago. I took care of that, then moved on to start to tidy up the long garden that runs beside the driveway. This will take longer, but I contented myself today with cutting more dead grass and stalks from last summer. Here's something I saw while I was out there. Pretty, huh? The tulip and the rhody blossom I photographed last week are opening nicely in the slightly warmer weather we have today. While I was out there chopping away, a man came down the driveway with a big box. This was a BIG box. Here it is in relation to Buddy. Yes, Buddy did wonder why I was trying to make him sit or stay next to a big cardboard box that didn...

I know a lot of the country is having it much worse than we are (special regards to my good friend, Goatlady, in Tennessee who was hit by a tornado the other day. They and their animals are okay, but their house sustained some damage, so all good thoughts and prayers are sent their way.) Anyway, I went out for my afternoon walk with Buddy today dressed like this: That's my winter jacket, and around my neck is my new Darkside cowl that I recently finished. I made it out of handspun (not by me) wool and it's soft and handy to have around the neck when it's cold and windy (even in April.) I've never made or worn a cowl before, but I liked the way it blocked the wind from the neck and didn't add the bulk that a scarf does. Now I see why they're so popular! It looks like this when it's lying flat. I really liked working with this yarn. It's handspun, hand-dyed merino that I bought from an etsy vendor and it's really soft. I made the Amanda hat wi...

I hate to say it out loud.....We've had a month of bad weather (snow a couple of days ago...in Seattle!) and a month of illness. Today was in the 60s, mild and just a perfect day all around. My goal was to spend a little time in the garden. I got my roses pruned, finally, and a little weeding done. Luckily I did a good job of putting my dahlia/vegetable garden to bed for the winter, and it's not looking too shabby. I weeded around the garlic that's starting to sprout, then mulched with some of the straw from under the rabbit cage. Good organic fertilizer, that. Growing garlic is really easy and we love having all that fresh garlic to enjoy from midsummer on. The raspberries got a little weeding and mulch, too. They're just starting to sprout some new leaves. So are the roses. You'll never guess what's doing the best already. Good thing our little rabbit likes dandelions. In keeping with the spring theme, I sat outside for awhile and worked on my Asparagu...

I haven't felt well for the last week or so, so I've taken the opportunity to finish up some knitting that's been waiting. Two projects seemed to be falling into a theme, one I don't think I like too much. What is it, you ask? Ending the project with the tiniest bit of yarn left. I finished my Hemlock Ring Blanket the other day and I'm really happy with it. I like the color and the Cascade Eco wool was easy to work with and very economical. Based on the amount of yarn I had left when I got to where Jared finished, I thought I could make the blanket larger. I kept an eye on my diminishing ball, but thought I could make it through row 116, which meant that there were 568 stitches on the needles. The bind off takes a lot of yarn and I knew that, but I still thought my supply would be sufficient. Here's what I had left. There was 101". That's 2.8 yards left of the 956 that I had begun with. Not much. I was lucky. I figured I was due a break, thoug...

Since it's been almost a month since I posted anything, I'll just provide a general idea of what's been going on and hope to do better in the future. When last we visited our intrepid knitter, she had just returned from a wonderful day at the Madrona Fiber Arts retreat. On President's Day, she and the Princess took off for the wilds of Las Vegas for a mid-winter break trip. I learned not to fly to Las Vegas on a holiday if you don't like standing in lines at the airport! Be that as it may, we were in the rental car and on our way a mere two (!) hours after we arrived. The Princess' graduation gift was a trip to a spa, and she and I drove through the very scenic mountains from Las Vegas to St. George, Utah. I love how the road is cut right through the rocks. At this time of year there's still snow on the top of the mountains there. The contrast of colors is spectacular. We had a lovely four days of being pampered, eating healthy food and taking exercise ...

Yesterday was the day I attended the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. So far I have only managed to go for one day and next year I may have to stay longer. I took Nancy Bush's 6-hour class, Estonian Kolmnurk Ratik Shawl (triangular shawl). The time flew by as we listened to Nancy's stories of her research and visits to Estonia. She had samples of shawls she had purchased there as well as shawls she had made for inclusion in her new book, Knitted Lace of Estonia. They were breathtaking. I managed to get about 1/3 finished on my sampler shawl. One over-achiever finished her small shawl, then went to the marketplace to buy some lace yarn to start a pattern in the book. That's all I'll say about her! I met my virtual twin, Cathy-Cate and my Spring Fling travelling companion, Sam , for lunch and enjoyed it very much. Sam inspired us with her purchases from the Rainy Days & Wooly Dogs booth, and Cathy and I had to visit there later in the day and buy something....

I thought January was going to end before I got my first FO off the needles in 2009 and it almost did. Yesterday I finished the scarf I made from my first handspun yarn and I think it came out pretty well. It's not very long, but it's very soft! I'm going to give it away and I hope the recipient likes it. Here's the progression of this scarf: I took a spinning lesson in November. Here's the first bit of yarn I made: My friend, Goatlady, sent me a box full of fiber for me to practice spinning. The merino/silk blend (top right corner) was soft and beautiful, so I got a couple of spindles and started to practice with that and some of the others. It progressed pretty well, and soon I was humming along. As I documented recently, I made about 185 yards of yarn out of this fiber, and it looked like this when it was done: I decided to make the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf . I used size 8 needles, and it came out like this: I'm happy. Lots of WIPs to ...