Sneak Preview

Pssssst! There might be some knitting!! A sleeve has been sighted on the left side of the shrug.


Close-up of the stitch pattern. Unfortunately the cables are not visible in this shot...


And we went to visit the "girls" last weekend. We are looking forward to welcoming them home in a few weeks.




Work on the barn is almost finished. Fencing is in progress and should be complete at the end of this week or next.



Grass is seeded and now we are hoping for just the right amount of moisture so there is no rotting and no seed swimming away in a torrential wash.


With more news soon, Happy Knitting!

A Week in Wool

Last week was very crazy, hectic, exciting, and full of many experiences. (Barn-raising, middle school festival concert, playing the viola in my symphony gig, teaching school and commuting all the while...) It was therefore lovely to get several shipments of woolly yarn throughout the week to infuse some calm moments into all the activity.

First up on Monday was the arrival of the new sock club yarn and patterns.

The photo intentionally does not show the full glory of the dyed yarn, as this color way and its accompanying patterns won't be released to the general public until January. The yarn is beautiful and so soft! The patterns look wonderful too!

Second, I finally decided to finish the Adult Tomten sweater that I started a few years ago. The yarn that arrived in record time on Wednesday from Beaverslide and was an absolutely perfect match! That means I don't need to do any fancy knitting to incorporate old and new colors. It still means that I have to frog the original knitting. Just not happy with what is going on with the sizing and front closure options. This jacket needs to look perfect when finished.

Oh, and don't forget to order honey next time you order from Beaverslide. The honey is DIVINE: light, fruity, and you can almost taste a little bit of the dusty mountains from the environment it was collected in. Delicious!

Third and last, I did make an impulse purchase over the previous weekend.

Jared Flood has come out with his own specially designed yarn called "Shelter"on the first of this month. You can read about this amazing yarn on his blog here: brooklyntweed.net/blog. I should have waited to order the yarn, because he published the pattern I want to make (Wayfarer Scarf) the day after I ordered the yarn. So I am one skein of yarn short. Never mind, the yarn has a wonderful texture and color (Soot colorway) and will make a lovely product.

Now, I hear what you are saying: Will we ever see any more knitting from you this year? I do hope so... though I do confess that the output has been extremely limited this year. Maybe the next time I will show you something??? Till then, Happy Knitting!

Barn Raising

The Shady Grove Alpacas need a home, so here is a little photo journal of their barn raising...

Day 1: 10/4 - Posts are drilled and framing begun.


Day 2: 10/5 - More framing


Day 2: 10/5 - Animal entrance framed


Day 3: 10/6 - 48 TONS of fill dirt delivered and distributed


Day 3: 10/6 - Dirt fill raising barn to flood-free level, sub roof installed


Day 4: 10/7 - Front framing continued + window in the back


Day 4: 10/7 - Animal entrance framing continued


Day 5: 10/8 - Three walls of siding installed and agricultural lime delivered


Day 6: 10/9 - Metal roof installed


Day 7: 10/10 - Trim work is starting to make the barn look classy and finished


Day 7: 10/10 - Trim work installed overhang near animal paddock


Day 8: 10/11 - Ag lime spread on barn floor


Day 8: 10/11 - Sliding doors installed on animal entrance, paddock


Day 8: 10/11 - The farmer gesticulating at the paddock and animal entrance side of barn


Day 8: 10/11 - The farmer looking out of the human entrance


Day 8: 10/11 - Awaiting inspection, garage door, water and electricity


And fencing, and pasture, and rain, and guard dog, and alpacas... There's still a long list of things to do around here. Until then:
Happy Knitting!!!

Good-bye Summer!

Even though it is sooooo HOT right now, summer is officially over. Let's just review some of the goals...

1. Blog every week. I did manage to blog 7 times, though only two and a half were truly on task about knitting.

2. Finished knitting included a hat and a scarf. Progress was made on the shrug, though there is still some left to go. Many projects left in the queue...

3. Viola d'amore goals were met! I finished learning and performing 4 pieces for the Congress in Evanston, IL, in June! And I have begun work on additional pieces and am experimenting with A=415 tuning.

A sink full of plums:


4. The vegetable garden was a complete failure. A handful of tomatoes and three tiny peppers from over a dozen tomato plants and 5 pepper plants was pretty anti-climatic. I did notice that there are a few watermelons still trying to make it. They are the size of tennis balls right now! However, several flower areas did well and looked great. Finding fruit trees on the property just as fruit was ripening was fun as well. I did not get to can as much as I would have liked, but it is comforting to know that we have some established trees ready for next year.

Little deer love apples and choke cherries!


5. Bike-riding was also a disappointment. After just two rides, my right knee no longer wanted to cooperate. I rested it and had a successful 10-mile ride a few weeks ago. Taking it easy is the key here!

Of course additional items such as alpaca fever and the start of school in early August put a partial stop to some of the activity. In all, it was a lovely summer and I have no regrets about slacking too much. And the good news is that with Autumn here, we will presumably get cooler temperatures soon which will inspire the KNITTING! Bring on the wooly yarn!

Happy Fall Knitting!

Farm Update

Summer is definitely bringing forth the beauty of the earth this year! Here are a few reprises of flowers that I showed you a little over a month ago.







There were also happy surprises that involved finding a PLETHORA of fruit trees on the property. At least 3 crab apple (nice size fruit), three regular apples that are yellow and red, and a mini plum tree that features very sour fruit. There is plenty of applesauce up in this tree! The pie I already made was delicious!



There are also several wild spots on the property that need addressing. Very pretty, but not very functional.





So we went to the Small Engine Warehouse to rent this tough guy: Billy Goat (Gruff)!



At times, we were hoping the Billy Goat would be tougher... That brush was super high after a rainy summer.



The Result:





And now why would we be clearing all this land? Someone has a new hobby desire: raising a few alpacas. As as fiber enthusiast, I could not be more thrilled with my husband's choice! Here are a few pictures of the Suri breed at an alpaca farm we visited last Saturday.



How can you resist something so CUTE!!!



Happy Knitting, alpaca style! (Hummmmmm!)

State Fair 2010

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit the 2010 Indiana State Fair, where I entered several items for judging. I am pleased to report that the peacock shawl that I knit for my sister-in-law's wedding last September won a blue ribbon! She is a wonderful person to let me borrow this from her.



My sister-in-law makes the most exquisite quilted wall hangings from prize ribbons. If you have a lot of ribbons that you have won in competition and wish to have them made into a quilt, make sure to visit her website: www.showthrow.com. She would be happy to take your order! It's going to take me a long time to amass enough for a showpiece like she makes!

The shawl amidst its competitors.


Here is a proper picture of the shawl over a wedding dress.


I also entered two antiques which won some ribbons, while some strawberry jam and a photo did not win anything. All in all, a Very successful year at the fair for me! Thanks to my good friend P.O. for inspiring me to enter some items.

Till next time, Happy Knitting! (Maybe I'll have something finished for a change!)

Alpaca Farm Visit

It's true vacation time: road trip, family time, a rented house on a lake, kayaking, and best of all, a field trip to a working alpaca farm. This morning we visited the Blue Bell Farm Alpacas in Grantville, MD. (www.bluebellfarmalpacas.com)

We got to feed the female alpacas grain out of our hand. They let us go into the barn and onto the pasture with the animals.





The gentlemen alpacas were a little more rowdy.





Look at those teeth. Perfect for fighting.



The poor little 7 month old black alpaca at the bottom of this heap was recently introduced to the male pen and is being dominated. If he were to fight back and spit a little, the others would start leaving him alone. Hopefully he will figure that one out soon.



Of course we had to take advantage of the gift shop to purchase prepared fleece for spinning. This is the most high quality fleece off of an alpaca named April Snow.



And then some finished yarn for some hand warmers or mitts. This yarn was made with fleece from an alpaca named Smokey.



You can see Smokey, the only gray alpaca on this 45 animal farm, in the middle of this picture, chewing some hay. His exquisite gray coloring did not come out well on this photo, but he has won awards for the quality of his fleece. Unfortunately, he had a heart murmur and was gelded as to not pass on his line of genes. However, he would have been a champion breeder for fleece animals had he been more healthy. I can't wait to knit up some wrist warmers with the yarn from his fleece!



Happy Knitting!