Knitters - Get Your Knitting Ready...

Well it's officially August...we don't really want to think about back-to-school clothes, lunches, lunch boxes, do you need new shoes again, who's driving the first week, and on and on about all those stupid reminders that summer is ending. What?! You haven't canned the tomatoes and peaches yet?

OK everyone - let's get our priorities straight. Even if you don't have kids going BTS, the feeling is in the air and at CVS, Walmart, you name it.

My number one priority: Put down that stupid cotton sweater I thought I'd have done by now and pick up something that makes sense...i.e. The Braids Cardigan. Using one of Autumn House Farms hand dyed yarn. DK weight, number 6 needle.
Oh what fun. Real wool in my hands again. (Not that I didn't have five other wool projects going but you know what I mean - A new project!)Started this last Sat. and struggled, I mean struggled with getting the first row knit. Setting up the pattern was, I thought for a while, beyond my mental capability to count that many stitches.

I know my attention span is limited but really-when you're counting 292 stitches with pattern and stitch markers, some of us are just a little slower...Stay tuned: I'm on row 3!

More WIP! Market Bags

Harriet at Autumn House (sorry I keep bringing up the same yarn company but their stuff is heavenly), asked me to knit a model for her to kit up for Rhinebeck. Here's a photo of mine and hers which both their handles put on and then Voila' I can start putting cheese and fruit in mine at the farmer's market at Lock 3 Saturday!

This is the one for Autumn House:

Cost of yarn $64.00 3 skeins each of two different colors.

Hand dyed silk, linen and cotton. When I asked Harriet if she realized how expensive the yarn she gave me would be for a market bag she pretty much said that at Rhinebeck they buy anything that isn't under the truck, having come from Manhattan for day, they like to grab fast things...


My bag is made out of cotton from Plymouth and is wonderful to knit with and about $18.00 for 3 skeins. I love this multicolored color combo. It makes me happy to knit. I love the other bag too.

My problem: which is your problem too I bet:whenever someone gives me a knitting deadline, I squirm and try to do everything, (I washed my bedroom curtains the other day...)but the commissioned knitting. Not a bad problem, those curtains needed a wash but now I have to leave the house to get this bag done.

Entrelac shawl is almost done... just finishing up the edging.

I fell in love with entrelac and can't wait to do more. This is after I said that the CIA could use learning this form as a means of torture to replace water boarding.

Red Sock that's been going on for ages - finally to the toe decrease and done! My friend Debbie from CF Knitters and Hookers (we meet Mon. nights at Panera- check Rav or ask me for more info)who knits beautiful socks (she's knitting through Cookie A.'s book) can whip up a pair in no time on size 0 needles. I love her socks. My red are done in a lace rib pattern from Box of Socks that I'm knitting through, in Soft Sea Wool, number 2 needles. I love the yarn. Almost as good as Koigu for socks. BTW sock lovers -- Koigu is coming to S,P&P this month. Keep your eyes open. I'll post as soon as I see it. The little red sock.

Debbie's socks!

Gorgeous!

It Up To Us...

So it's up to all of us now to let those sheep know that we will use some of the skillion skeins of wool we have stashed and start seriously knitting for, dare I say it, an Ohio winter! Or worse yet, Christmas gifts... Good luck knitters. To your needles.

Autumn House Farms - a knitter's heaven, that's for sure.

Hi everyone - wow what a week, can't believe it's zipped by - but last weekend was nearly perfect! My knitting/spinning friend Julie and I got to Autumn House Farm on Fri. afternoon and checked into the 'extra' original farm house that has been refurbished by Harriet and her husband Ken, a third generation self-sustaining farmer on 180 acres plus. They raise about 60 sheep, different kinds, for the quality of their fleece: wool. The farm's handle is: Where Yarn is Born.

Harriet, shepherdess, is the in charge of all dying. If I looked at a yarn in her shop that was in worsted and longed for it in sock weight, her answer, "OK I'll have it ready for you when you come over tomorrow morning." And she would...is that heaven or what. Julie spent hours spinning the most amazing chocolate and bright speckeled (?) roving. We were up at 5.30 A.M. Sat. morning knitting and spinning. I cooked farm breakfasts with the farm's fresh eggs, local slab bacon, juice, coffee, toast -mmm good.

Meet some of the great sheep - I met some of their wool and yarns too. Actually I brought home some (OK a lot) of their yarn. Ken tried to make me a deal: If I bought 3 sheep, he'd throw in a

chicken. I always thought a couple of chickens would do well in my back yard. Hmmm - sheep...

Off and Running; Things are looking up...

OK I think we are now going to have pictures that makes sense with the entries: Had the 20 something manager of AT&T store show me how to send pics from phone camera to computer! Gone are the days of poor quality phone cameras - this here one has more pixels then my digital. That's my KAL summer sweater to the left here...After July 31 it goes to the bottom of WIP and Taos winter sweater comes out!

But here's the knitting news: Had a good knit group last night. Debbie and Colleen visited to knit and Bev finally made it after the care and feeding of dear Arnold! (Who by the way checked up on her last night-did a drive by- they've been married for 40yrs? How cute is that?)

Picture of us last night, except me of course, but I've changed my feet picture for one of me knitting so you know I exist.

Next, Colleen's reversible cable scarf that she's doing in Heavenly bought at Stitch, Piece and Purl our LYS where we meet. The scarf is wonderful!

Here's Bev's amazing technicolor shawl that she's doing in Rhythm by JoJoLand. Amazing yarn - this is all one dye lot! Sitting to the right of Bev is Debbie knitting socks from Cookie A.'s book, "Sock Innovations." She was able to take the workshop with Cookie last month that I missed... Also in bottom right corner is my KAL sweater! Ribbing is Berrocco Pima (don't like-splits to hell and back) and the transition yarn is Ty-Dye which is pricier but oh what a difference. Good yarn in pima cotton! Did I tell you I hate knitting sweaters in cotton? Smile Bev, it's only knitting! (Ah well maybe way advanced knitting...)

Here's another what I call DebbieSock:

This is also from Cookies's book. The red one is fab and I think both of these are done now.

There's a lot more to talk about but this has taking longer then I expected and I have to get ready for the weekend at Autumn House Farm. Spinning, dying, knitting, meeting a beekeeper...Iz goin' ta heaven!

PS Julie made stitch markers the other night: gold rose bead with red beads and gold holder. You can imagine how nice. She wants to attach 2 with every skein she sells of her homespun. She'll be ready to sell her amazing homespun in a few months from now...stay tuned.

Next: Julie's homespun, The Heartland Shawl, Beading.

Things are not what they seem...

Ugh, sorry everyone - yes technology won. Almost. Can not for the life of me upload pics from phone to computer even though I should be able to, can not find pics on digital from chip that I loaded months ago, can not get adapter chip to be recognized by the digital from the phone and finally can not transfer what is internal in the digital right now. Don't ask - I've tried everything for the entire week. Then yesterday I updated this post and lost it when editing (my fault.) So I think that for now the techno elves on nipping my ankles and laughing...
Later I'll send photos and news of Julie's spinning. Amazing.

Snafu - Technology Almost Wins

After a wonderful 4th (and I would post photos if I could, and that's what this story is about) I went back on my mission to get what I needed to upload photos. Here's Friday's tale of woe: I could not find the chip adapter for the chip in my phone to upload pics onto my dear little computer. I looked in all the knitting bags because I was positive it was in one - even took things out and dumped project bags looking - four or five of them. Bit the bullet, went to CVS and bought another for 17.98. Then got home only to find my digital camera deader then a door nail - battery drained because it looked as if battery door was not closed completely. No big deal - just get a new battery right? Went back to CVS bought what I thought was the battery (OK I even had the battery with me but couldn't bother to look at it - I know you've been there so take that smirk off), got home, battery way too big. This was yesterday when I was on the battery hunt on the 4TH after a late knitting session at Border's. Just got home from BestBuy. Guess what? Even though my camera is very nice it's 4 years old. A 23yr old informed me that one year is considered the generation of a camera and that they probably A. don't make the camera anymore, (fur shur) and B. they don't make the battery either. ha, ha.
She started showing me more cameras that started at $109.00 and went up. I need a new battery you know, not a new camera...
I have a feeling this will continue. I'm about to search on the web...I'm going in, wish me luck. What if I put up an old picture of an apple pie or something?

Ok - apple pie on top; scene from Cooks' Forrest (one of my favorite woods in the world!) to the right -

Good news is that I spent 2 hours knitting with Crazy Becky -
She was doing cross-stitch using a beautiful wooden frame to hold her work and she also has the biggest kick ass floor loom I've ever been up close and personal to...I knitted, we drank coffee and we had a very nice time: that was BBB (before Best Buy).