Fiber Festival Finds

What now feels like ages ago, I finally made it to my first fiber festival. It’s really only been a few weeks, but with the way that this summer (now fall, ugh!) is going, it could have been a different year for all I know.

I took an embarrassingly small number of pictures, and completely missed the sheep I almost put to sleep – turns out sheep really like getting their chins scratched! Who knew?

However, I did capture these a super cute dragon

and the awesome wizard hats of this booth (The name of which I also forgot to write down. “I’ll take: Distracted by All the Pretty Fibers for $800, Alex.”)

The rabbits were amazing puffs of fluff (and this was by no means the fluffiest):

except for this poor guy.

There is absolutely no dignity in being a rabbit sometimes – although I’m sure he was a lot cooler after his haircut.

For being my first fiber festival experience, I held to a very strict buying budget. I had to get some Socks That Rock, though narrowing down to one colorway was very difficult (which I think is Princess Plummy, from the Watercolor Wave grouping; lightweight sock yarn. Lenore was a close second.)

Also, since I was gifted with a spindle from a wonderful friend, I wanted to pick up some beginner fiber. From the woman who gave me a quick demonstration on her spindle and then handed said spindle over to me to keep going for a few more inches, 4oz of Shetland/Angora mix:


From a few stalls over, in another building, 4oz of this lovely merino:

I’ve finished and/or made great progress on a few things from my last post, most notably the lace shawl. I may actually get it done for the last of this month’s weddings! (It’s been a beautiful but busy time – weddings on 9/18, 10/1, and 10/9.) A few cute and quick projects also leaped into my lap and got made, and I’ll tell more about those in the next entry.

For now, though, I leave you with a very dangerous new website to peruse. The Fiber Cooperative is exactly what they say – an indie, online fiber festival. I’m especially in love with a Knits in Class sock yarn called Eat Your Veggies. That might have to be a post-wedding-traveling gift to myself. For such a long time I resisted wearing a lot of green, and thus avoiding (what I thought was a stereotype) of a redhead wearing green. Shoot, I wasn’t just resisting, I was refusing. Blue was always my first choice, and still tends to be in my top 3 go-to colors. With mostly blue eyes, that made sense. But now I can’t get enough green, and this sock yarn hits a bull’s-eye in my need for green.

It’s raining yarn!

Well, that’s what it feels like lately in what has been a massive bit of productivity. So without further ado, the beginning of the FOs:

Slip Stitch Heel Basic Socks by Wendy Johnson, aka the Rainbow Socks. (NB - it is really not easy to take pictures of your own feet!)

Yarn: Regia Hand-dye Effect, in what I think is the Sodalith colorway (ball band has vanished on me)

Needles: US 1 – 2.25mm; 40” fixed circular from Knit Picks. Socks were done two at a time, and this length needle is really pushing that with my big feet. I’d recommend the 47”, and think I’ll switch to that for my next socks.

Bind off: Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind off (which is delightfully true to its name).

Alterations to the pattern: None really. Wendy's book, Socks from the Toe Up, taught me how to properly measure my feet and then pick the right size pattern/pattern adjustments to make socks fit. A wonderful book that I'll definitely be using again.

Although these socks took me almost 8 months to do, they were so worth the wait. I love the finished product.

I hadn’t intended to reverse the color pattern on these socks – I had tried my best to make twins, but started from the wrong end of one ball of yarn. However, it’s a happy accident because I really like how the color patterning turned out. The best part of these socks? They fit perfectly. For my size 11 feet, that is amazing and one reason why I wanted to start making socks, and really clothing in general.

Yoda hat!

Yarn: Galway

Needles: US 11 Susan Bates 36” circular (I love me some magic loop)

This was my first experience purposely felting something. We shall not speak of the lovely Irish merino wool sweater that is in the back of my closet (darn Irish combo washer/dryers!). I’m happy that more of my friends are starting to have children, because it gives me the perfect excuse to play around making fun things for them. This hat was a breeze to knit, and I finished the basic three parts on about the first day of a short vacation. I also got to do i cord for the first time, and that was a lot more fun and easy than I had expected.

The felting process was a bit more nerve-wracking, and I enlisted my mom’s support (and washing machine). The hat ended up going through a regular wash and dry cycle (while inside a zipped-up pillowcase), and then an additional gentle wash cycle. Then after a bit of air-drying, it was done!

Next, although it’s not a FO, it’s a decision about a project. I decided on a pattern for my fall weddings shawl: Halsduk med estniska spetsmönster (Ravelry link), aka Estonian Lace Scarf. Although the pattern doesn’t call for beads, I’m adding them anyway. During my lunch break one day I sat down with a printout of the pattern block near the edge of the shawl, and I laid out beads in what I hope is going to be a manageable pattern.

Then I transferred that info to the actual pattern and I’m seeing how it goes. So far, about 5 rows in, I think it’s going okay. The yarn is a little thinner than I had imagined, but that’s mostly because this is my first laceweight project.

In the queue of being almost done:

Mystery project, by Jane Doe.

Yarn: Tatamy Tweed, worsted weight

Needles: US 4 Boye DPNs

I’m having a lot of fun with this one, and I wish I could post a picture of the various odd looking parts.

Viking Hat

For the same youngin’ who will be getting the yoda hat. I’m having annoying ladder problems with this hat, and it’s made me set the project aside until I figure out what’s going on. If I hate anything about knitting, it’s ladders. They are why I avoided using DPNs for so long.

In the queue of waiting to be started:

DNA scarf, for my scientist friend. Hopefully it’ll keep her warm in lab.

Vinnland socks.

This is already getting a bit long, so I’ll save the fun of the Fiber Festival - and the things that followed me home - for later.

I want!

It's dangerous to be on WEBS's mailing list, because now I want all of this (Madelinetosh Prairie) yarn. Actually, anything in the Madelinetosh line, and any of the colors. I would knit happily for the rest of my life.

Experimentation

How often is crafting an experiment? Often you don’t know quite how a project will turn out, because it’s always a new combination of variables. If it’s something you’re knitting/crocheting, there’s always a unique combination of needle/hook, yarn, and pattern. Even if those three are constants from another project, there’s always the intangible amount of tension – how is the humidity affecting the movement of yarn through your fingers? How is the rough day at work making you knit tighter than before? Or the really good day making the yarn loose and quick around the needles? It’s always an adventure, and hopefully a fun one.

Then you get into the completely new projects, and it all becomes an experiment. My task this time, if I chose to accept it, was to turn these perfectly lovely but very purple sandals (worn for the wedding in Texas, and quite spotted by the rain we had) into perfectly lovely black sandals.

Anyone who’s had to get dyeable shoes knows they’re crazy expensive for what you’re getting - often oddly stiff, uncomfortable, one-time wear shoes. In order to beat the system I wanted to make these a bit more color friendly, so I could use them again for another wedding and possibly more regularly after that. So the next challenge – how to make them black.

Helpful fact – fabric covers all parts of these sandals but the soles. Any kind of fabric dye, or something that permanently stains fabric should work. I contemplated using Rit dye and some sort of applicator – a small brush, cotton ball, something like that. Problems? Messy, and no great way to set the dye. Next thought, at the suggestion of my mom, was shoe polish. She had some liquid shoe polish, in a bottle with a dauber-like applicator, which just might do the trick. And did it ever.

The dauber helped control the mess, although I still wish I had a glove for the hand holding the shoe. Wrapping my hand in a plastic bag just wasn’t quite as easy.

I still had to keep paper towels handy to wipe off the inner soles of the sandals, and the inside of the straps. A couple of q-tips helped get the inside of the bows, and around the fiddly bits of the straps. I can still tell where there are purple spots peeking through the black (which, pre-second coat still looks a bit on the navy side).

Overall, though, a success! Even my supervisor approves . . .

Yarn yearning

Yarn yearning – I’ve got a bad case of it. I ended up taking a bit of a break with knitting, right around the time it started getting hot. Yet now that we’ve been in the 90s for what seems like way too long, all of a sudden I just want to do nothing more than play with yarn.

Projects on the needles right now:
Rainbow socks – about 85% done. I pretty much just need to figure out how tall they need to be, do the cuff, and these puppies are done. I cannot wait to wear them.
Wrap sweater – about 25% done (I think). This is almost to the armpits, and I got stalled out. Too hot, the concept of an adult-sized sweater is still a bit daunting, and other projects distracted me.Like this finished project! Turkish bed socks (Sorry, this post is Ravelry-link heavy, and picture light). Yarn: Mini Solid from Crystal Palace Yarns in a brilliant, bright purple. Needle size: 3. Alterations to pattern: Added an extra 5 rows on the foot (so had 29 instead of 24, and in the end I think I could have added at least 3 more) to account for my big, size 11 feet.

Other than a big problem with this yarn laddering (I had problems adjusting my tension properly to avoid that), I love these and think they will come in very handy this fall. I think I’ve even got a solution to the laddering, but it needs a bit of testing – I’m going to try and weave through a contrasting color of yarn to add a bit of a stripe. We’ll see how it goes. Plus, I have quite a bit of yarn left, which I know just what to do with . . . that’ll be some future post.

Projects I want to do:
Yoda hat
Viking baby hat
Mug jacket
and one (or more) of these stoles:
Tudor stole
Autumn Arbor
Juno Regina
Tibetan Clouds

Whichever stole wins out – and each has parts that I like and other parts that I don’t – I’d like to try to mix in a bit of beading. Coming up this fall I’ll have three weddings to attend in four weeks, and I’ll be a bridesmaid in one of those. So I’m looking for something that can be a bit dressier, but can also go with a variety of dresses/outfits. Color will probably be something in the cream/oatmeal/brown range, with maybe a bit of metallic, depending on what yarn grabs my attention.

I see a happy, fibery future in store!

Books Make a Difference

If you're like me, books are your friends. The sight of a familiar spine sends an entire storyline straight to your brain. You can flip through a few pages and remember everything in a rush. This year I'm challenging myself to keep track of what I read, and to read what's ready and waiting for me on my giant to-be-read pile (now approaching its own bookcase). So far I'm at 42 books, or 12,095 pages. The last two months have been slow, if you can believe it - I can only imagine what the summer will bring.

Growing up, I was blessed with books. My parents started reading to us immediately, and every night before bed, we were read to or snuck a book under the covers and read to ourselves. I learned to read fairly young and never looked back. Summer reading programs and Book-It lead to thousands of books, and an English degree (and more) later I cannot imagine what my life would have been without libraries and that exposure to books early in life.

Yet many do not have that world available. Cities are shutting down libraries due to budget cuts (Philadelphia, I'm looking at you, and you won't be the last); and families need to buy food and secure housing before such luxuries as books can come into play. So I'm supporting the Books Make a Difference campaign, and by spreading the word I'm donating a book.

Happy reading everyone, and enjoy all of the wonderful worlds available.

Odd reactions to stress

Have you ever been waiting for news about something, and then when you finally hear – hopefully good results – the sense of relief is just exhausting? What usually gets me is that I didn’t realize I was so worried. It’s just boom, the elephant is gone, and I feel like I fizzle out for a bit.

In various points in my life I’ve been tested for skin cancer. Even with pretty much every major risk factor (light hair, eyes, and skin; freckles; a history of bad, i.e., 2nd degree sunburns; and then the whopper – family history), I don’t have a sense of doom. I don’t have a feeling that at some point in my life I’m going to be screwed. It’s just another step I have to take in caring for myself and I’m okay with talking about it, especially in a venue like this, because I think everyone should have that level of self-awareness. You should be comfortable with the health history that you know about, if you’re lucky enough to know the health issues in your family, and then take steps to keep yourself healthy.

So, sunscreen is my best friend, and I use it liberally – even my chapstick and foundation have some level of SPF in them (actually, that’s pretty easy to find now). I take my vitamins, I try to eat right and also exercise regularly, and I just keep an eye on what my body is trying to tell me. Questionable spots get taken out and tested, and I may get to sport stitches for a time. Friday morning I got some stitches taken out and the latest results – clear, again. And then the sense of exhaustion hit – more intense relief than I’ve had for awhile, and I’m not quite sure why it hit me so hard this time.

I’m guessing it’s just the crazy round of things that have been happening lately with my car, the trip to Texas, my tooth (a crazy sequence of redoing a root canal and getting a new crown – I’m at the temp crown stage right now, yippy skippy). For whatever reason, I’m just extra relieved and now very tired. And very happy to have those stitches out! Now I’ve got nifty steri-strips, but I think I’ll be far less likely to bump those on every surface I pass, and they don’t catch on or get tweaked by jeans.

Oh, and fun fact for any other redheads out there – it’s not in your head that your reaction (in pain levels) to some medical/dental procedures is stronger than the rest of the population. We’re genetic mutants :) No, no Wolverines or Jean Greys here (but how cool would that be!), but instead there is a shift in our MC1R receptor. Things affected? When you need to be numbed at the dentist, going under general anesthesia as well as local anesthetics at the doctor’s or a hospital, and everyone’s favorite – pap smears (neither one of these articles mentions that, but the NP who took out my stitches Friday morning did).

At least with all of the crazy stuff going on lately, I really am knitting! With soft, squishy, happy yarn, which will eventually turn into a sweater for me. It's the Emerald pattern (I think) I linked last time. The picture doesn’t give a great sense of the color, unfortunately. It’s a soft, heathery sort of green, with some silver and a bit of brown mixed in. Working with a bulky yarn is great, because it knits up so quickly. This project is taking me a bit longer because I’m tackling an adult sized sweater for the first time, and figuring out how to do the waist and neckline shaping at the same time (even though the pattern lays it out very nicely) is mentally throwing me for a loop right now. Plus, getting to work on it in spurts during lunch is cutting down the productivity. But I'm finally knitting more at home now (got some cleaning and rearranging done) I can’t wait to finish the sweater!

To wrap up, another beautiful view of Spring, which I am absolutely loving!