A Little Something

Just like some people search for small shawls, I like to look for patterns for simple little summer sweaters. My latest is Samantha Roshak's (KnitQuest) lovely sweater, A Little Something. It only takes about 400 - 600 yards of yarn, so was perfect for some of my special low-yardage acquisitions!



I happened to be sorting through my stash this past week, and came across 4 small skeins - 130 yards each - of Grafton Fibers (Now DyakCraft) limited edition Harmonics. They don't sell skeins online, though they do sell the beautiful fiber batts for those who spin. I originally bought these skeins at the annual Sheep and Wool Fair a few years ago. The incredible blending of deep and subtle colours is so striking:



The skeins that I have are a nice light blend of mohair and silk. You can see the shine of the silk in the skein and when the yarn is knit up:



I am almost finished with this sweater, just ready to start the yoke (it's a bottom up design with no seaming), and the pattern is looking a little scrunched-up and small. But when I pinned it out to photograph, it was about twice as long as it is before blocking. It went from 14 inches to 27 inches!



My next summer sweater is in crochet. It is is the O-Wool Herringbone Mesh Crochet sweater and I plan to use BMFA Gertrude Skein STR in medium weight for it. These small sweaters are total instant gratification - perfect for a crazy schedule like mine!

My Nostepinne makes Big Balls

I have so many WIPs and so many designs dancing around in my little brain! If only I could knit and draw all day long. But summer classes are starting soon, so I have to get my assignments ready for students and I have a grant to write and so many other things! Still... my needles and hooks are flashing every chance I get.

The exciting thing is that I got to use my Nostepinne for the first time this week. It's perfect for bringing to my bf's house when I want to start a new project - since for some inexplicable reason, he doesn't have a swift and ball-winder there. Really, you could use any tube or stick for a Nostepinne, but it is fun to have a pretty handmade one!



Simply put, you make a slip knot and attach it to one of the grooves of the Nostepinne, then wind the yarn side by side in about a two-inch wide swath. after two or three layers of this, you begin to turn the Nostepinne away from you as you wind the yarn diagonally from top to bottom of the swath. My first ball isn't very neat and is a big oval, but I love it. It unwinds from the center, just like a ball wound on a swift.

I knit on the Ocean

Every year, my boyfriend's parents visit Maine in May. This year, we went. A little too early for crowds of summer tourists, it's the perfect time to relax and feel a part of the community. We had a second floor room overlooking the rocky shore and spent time on the balcony, reading and knitting. We visited the Sea Wall - a long barrier of tumbled granite with innumerable life-filled tide pools - and I sat in the sun and knit, while my boyfriend told ripping yarns about his childhood vacations nearby.

This is the view that I saw when I first opened my eyes in the morning:



and soon after, I was on the balcony, watching the sun rise:



After a while, we would wander down to the breakfast room for the 'downeast' continental: hard boiled eggs, fruit salad, sliced fruit, and un-cut apples, pears, bananas, and grapes, bagels and English muffins, oatmeal and cold cereal, apple muffins, coffee cake and Danish, peanut butter, jellies, cream cheese, juices, teas, and coffees....



My favorite breakfast combination was a hard boiled egg, a toasted English muffin with peanut butter, a banana, orange juice and a cup of tea. Those going off on long hikes or bike rides might have been spotted slipping eggs and bananas into their clever jacket pockets...

One day, we took a Nature boat ride around the islands. Here you can see the place we stayed, from the ocean side, and a sail boat that gives evening tours...



We saw four huge Bald eagles, even a nesting pair, and innumerable bay porpoises and harbour seals with their pups. There were about 12 mother-newborn baby pairs. The pups ride on their mother's back - it was so cute! I took a lot of pictures of the seals, but they are so well camouflaged that in all my pictures, they are indistinguishable from the granite outcrops where they were sunning, swimming, and having their babies... Here you can see some bay porpoises in the water:



There is an old lighthouse out on the islands, but it is called the "ugliest lighthouse" on the coast, because it is a square house with a square light tower on top, instead of being the usual tall, round light tower. I didn't think it was ugly - it was beautiful to me. The fog bell is broken in the "on" position, so it is always ringing, but this is good because there is a jagged breakwater nearby that is invisible to ships at high tide:



The grounds of our Inn were beautiful, with lilac bushes and apple trees in full bloom:







Of course, no trip to this area is completely satisfying without a visit to the Lilac Lily Yarn Shop in Southwest Harbour. I wish I had asked if I could take a picture of this lovely shop - it's kind of like magic - it looks like a small white cottage on the outside but inside is room opening on room, every one full on every wall with exquisite yarns and accessories!

There were a couple of enticing displays of Tilli Thomas beaded yarns and I couldn't resist the Australian beaded merino called Flurries in pale green Stormy Haze and the playful blue and seaweed-green Mermaid:



It was hard to say goodbye to this beautiful area of the Maine coast, and of course we talked - as we always do - about finding a little waterside cottage somewhere as our summer haven... Ocean dreams, the very best kind of dreams...

Thanks!

I want to post a big heartfelt Thank You to the very first buyer in my new Etsy Shop! It was so exciting to get the notification of the sale last night. Ripping Yarns will be flying your way through the post very soon!

UNRAVELING

a Fair day

Mother's Day weekend is always the time for the local Sheep and Wool Fair. I've been going to this fair for many years, never missing. So when I heard that this weekend was going to have occasional thunderstorms, I didn't think twice, but put on my mosquito repellent and got ready to go. I did pack a retractable umbrella and stepped out onto the porch to test the weather, but since the sky was grey but dry, I just threw on a long light sweater and jumped in the car. Halfway to the fairgrounds, the downpour started. I didn't have a hat or a jacket and I found on first opening, that the umbrella I'd brought was broken in two spokes, so.... not the most effective rain protection. Did that deter me? Did I turn back? No, no, no, no, no. After all, I did have boots on my feet! My back might get soaked (it did), but my face and my feet would be dry enough!

The first couple of hours were very quiet - I had a great time wandering around my favorite fiber booths. I'd come with a mission - I wanted a Golding's Lucet and - if possible - a beautiful Nostepinne. I also needed to supplement some gorgeous Ancient Colours handdyed silk boucle that I hadn't gotten quite enough of last year.

The storm, predicted to be brief and passing, continued all morning and turned the woodland paths into ankle deep muddy lanes. The food booths were hard-pressed as rain lashed in under their tents and people tried to find dry corners and eaves to stand under while they ate (the picnic tables are uncovered). Some people stood in the rain, others ducked into the animal barns with their lamb and buffalo and apple crisp and fried dough dredged in sugar.



By 11:30 am, the covered barns were getting overwhelmingly crowded. My LYS, The Elegant Ewe, was the busiest of all! I only had the chance to stick my head in to say hello because both Marcie and Hal were moving at the speed of light to assist all the customers. They had some great specials going on, though.

The Green Mountain Spinnery always sets up a lovely colourful display and they gave me permission to take a picture of all the pretty:



My stash already has a big representation of their yarns, so I limited myself to getting a couple of patterns, the Hooded Scarf and the Elfin Hood, in preparation for next winter:



I was lucky - in the first uncrowded hours I'd been able to find the booths I was particularly looking for. The first was Ancient Colours from Long Ridge Farm, a local natural dyer. From this artist, I bought the 100% silk boucle, so that now I have enough for a summer sweater. I also couldn't resist some colourful skeins with two different silk yarns twined together - these are for scarves. And finally, I was excited to find some gorgeous naturally-dyed, very soft wool in a colour called Toad. I got enough to design a long-sleeved sweater, and a matching skein in lace-weight for trimming the collar and cuffs.



I told myself that I wouldn't buy any more yarn from Decadent Fibers, because I still have beautiful skeins form previous years. But.... they had a special Sale Bin and I just couldn't resist! I found three matching skeins of Marshmallow - an Alpaca and Merino sport-weight yarn in the colour Delicious Apple. I plan to use this for a summer sweater - the pepper-y red goes so well with summer sun!



The last on my list of favorite hand-dyers was Ball and Skein, a Vermont artist. Last year I got her gorgeously delicate Seaglass shawl and the cashmere to make it (started, but hibernating temporarily), so I didn't think I needed anything else. But, as usual, her artistic eye for colour and fiber drew me in. I never regret it. I was captured by her new "Elise" yarn - a blend of silk and merino in "Haze", which is a subtle blend of moss green, olive, and misty blue-grey. This yarn is enough for a sweater with 3/4 length sleeves and I'll probably use it for something from Kim Hargreaves new book, Misty. The bright green skeins are a very silky blend of silk and merino that she had especially spun for her - single plies - and they are to supplement some of the same that I bought last year. I probably have enough now for the Herbivore shawl.



As the rain moved more and more people inside the barns, my phobia of large crowds kicked in and I got more and more uncomfortable. I was trapped between a big group of chatting woman, a single file line of shoppers pushing me from behind, and a very grouchy elder woman who wouldn't go around me, but seemed intent on actually pushing through me. I had to turn into the group of woman to create a little space for her to pass. As the Elder shoved me from behind, she shouted an insult at me for all to hear. I think the unrelenting dark dampness and the crowded barns might have tried people's patience a bit. But that was it for me. I longed for my cosy house and a cup of tea. I wandered around for just a little more, and left at about 1 pm.

Before I went, though, I found what I'd been searching for. Here is my new perfect Lucet - it's in Walnut - from Goldings, and - my most gorgeous Nostepinne in Cherry wood from Ball and Skein!



I was sick all the next day, so didn't go back, and missed seeing all my friends there. But all in all it was a good fair day and I'm so grateful that so many regionally local artists braved the rain to bring us their beautiful fiber goodness!

Unraveling

I'm in the process of setting up a new Etsy shop for my knitting zine and other vintage and vintage-inspired things. It should be open sometime in the next week or so. My Etsy name is Unraveling.

The shop is Open!! click here --> UNRAVELING

Obviously, it's just in the beginning stages with only a few things posted, but there will be more and more as we go along. The zine is there, of course. :)

Thanks so much for the interest in my zine, here and on Ravelry!