Fiber « Stoneview

SPA part II

We usually bring plenty of knitting and spinning to do over SPA weekend. This year I worked on some BFL roving from Spunky Eclectic in the Aquarius colorway. I’m halfway through that roving now and hope to get enough yardage for a pair of socks. These ladies also really know how to shop and although I got off to a slow start on Friday I did manage to find some great bargains and lovely fiber by the end of our trip. There’s a full set of pictures on Flickr here.

NETA SPA Knit and Spin

I spent the weekend in Freeport, Maine with some of my local knitting buds. We started our trip with visits to Purl Diva and Halcyon as is our tradition. We always at the Harraseeket and we always do a potluck dinner Saturday night. This is our third year making the trip and I have been saving for this one for months. You couldn’t have a more hilarious wonderful group of ladies to spend the weekend with. We laughed and we shopped and we ate and had a generally lovely weekend.

Twisted

I didn’t get very far with the plying on Wednesday after having bad news at the vet but I did finish it up yesterday. I ended up with about 500 yards of a heavy laceweight. Some of the green color bled out when I washed it to set the twist so I added a bit of vinegar to help set the color. I’m not sure I’d buy Foxfire roving again. It’s awfully expensive to have nepps, felty spots and so much vegetable matter in the roving. Perhaps I’ve just been spoiled by purchasing super clean fleeces and then having them so wonderfully processed by Spinderella’s? Next I’m going to start on the silk/cormo blend we had her make for us last spring so I’ll soon have a direct comparison.

Getting around to it

Somewhere I have an old Mardi Gras throw that’s a round wooden disk with “round tuit” printed on one side and some company logo on the other. Yesterday I finished spinning the Foxfire silk/cormo roving. I may try to ply it today before I take Gabby to the vet and embark on the rest of my errands or I may have to let them sit awhile.

For dinner we had another lovely dish from Stir. Mine looks nothing like the picture but it really tastes wonderful. There’s celery root puree on the bottom, then seared scallops topped with celery puree, apples and chives.

Sashiko

Last summer when I took my niece and a friend's daughter to the Lowell Quilt Museum I picked up a sashiko potholder kit. I'd been interested in learning sashiko for awhile and had even gone so far as to purchase a few instructive books but I hadn't gotten around to buying materials for making anything. When I saw the kit I thought it would make the perfect introduction to the technique. The kit comes with the design preprinted in water soluble ink and seems simple enough to execute. Last week when I was looking for non-knitting things to occupy my time I remember this kit and pulled it out. I don't think it's going to keep me busy for very long but that's okay since there's currently no knitting moratorium.

SPA weekend

Despite the enormous pile of things I had to pack Friday morning it didn't take me long to have it all organized and ready to go. We arrived in plenty of time for round one of the fiber shopping Friday evening followed by a terrific Thai dinner. It was so lovely and warm on Friday that I'd forgotten my coat, easily remedied with an amazing bargain at the LLBean outlet. On Saturday I worked on my spinning off and on and filled up two bobbins full of singles from Doe's fleece with a bit more shopping mixed in. We had a delicious potluck dinner. I only wish my gums were feeling better so I could have done it justice. There may be a quick visit to the dentist this week when Daniel goes in for his cleaning. Sunday we had our traditional trip to Halcyon and Purl Diva both of which were fabulous as always. Our room at the Harraseeket was every bit as fabulous as last year as was the company. Lynne, Debbi, Mary and Kathy (blogless) were excellent company and the weekend was filled with laughter and joy. Thanks ladies! (More pictures on Flickr here.)

New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Day 2

Sunday morning we slid into class just as it was beginning and I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself sitting next to Danielle. Debbi was there,
on time, patiently waiting for us to get there (we might have had to sneak into the fleece sale for a last look to see if anything new was available). I learned all sorts of useful tips for tweaking my wheel to get the most out of it, definitely another great class.

In between classes there was another mad dash to peek in at the tail end of the fleece to shawl competition and peruse the vendors again in case we missed anything important. I’m thinking seriously about these hackles but my budget was spent so they’ll have to wait a bit.

Our third and final class of the weekend was a flat felting class with Romantha Burow. I think folks were a little startled with my pop art version of a pansy. Rose’s gorgeous creation got quite a lot of attention. We learned some great techniques and went home with enough supplies to do a second project.

As always I have far more pictures over on Flickr for those who are so inclined and I’ve attempted to include a pictobrowser at the bottom of this post as well. Hope it works!

New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Day 1

Did I mention that Rose is quite the enabler? I came home with three lovely fleeces and doubled my fleece stash in one fell swoop. One of the main goals of our visit was a trip to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool festival over the weekend. We planned three classes which left us with only Saturday morning for a mad dash through the grounds shopping and fleece purchases were top of the list.

Our afternoon class was a 3-D needle felting project with Lorna McMaster. She was an excellent instructor with very clear presentation and quite easy to hear. We picked up some great tips. The class kits had enough materials to make two bunnies, one of each color.

What came home

I’d gone to CT S&W with a very specific shopping list and then a small amount of splurge money as well. Last year I’d admired the lovely alpaca yarn at Time’s Remembered but didn’t buy any. I kept thinking how sorry I was that I hadn’t bought any so I picked up a skein at NH S&W the following month. Over the course of the year I’ve been wondering what to make with it and I just keep thinking it really wants to be a sweater. With that in mind I planned to pick up a few more skeins this year in CT. In addition I splurged on some lovely cashmere and silk tussah roving as well as a cute little (very inexpensive) diz.

Fibertastic Fun

Yesterday Lucia, Debbi and I ventured down to the CT Sheep and Wool fest for the day. I really enjoy the small laid-back festivals the most. There’s no mad rush and very little crowding in the booths. This year it was as lovely as ever with some great new additions. I especially enjoyed the lace making demo and the sheepdog trials (the lace was new this year, I think).

The morning started out quite cool and overcast but around lunchtime the sun popped out and things warmed up beautifully. We admired all the pretty fleeces but none of them came home with us. I loved the bead vendor and hope he’ll be back again next year when I’ll be sure and save some budget for purchases there.

Afterwards there was a visit with Indigo Di. She made the most gorgeous tarts and delicious treats that were most welcome at the end of the day. Several spinners and knitters were present (gosh, I hope I got everyone somewhere in this post!) and there was even a Turkish drop spindle demo, thanks Judy! That’s gone on my wishlist now. It was lovely to chat with everyone in a smaller more intimate setting, I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is a full set of photos here if you are so inclined.