I did go to NH Sheep and Wool and it was even more fabulous than I could have anticipated. We got there mid-morning and didn't leave until the vendors were closing up! I'll post pictures of the haul soon. For now, here are some llamas, alpacas and goats to entertain you:







Besides gardening, family events, and Sheep and Wool, my time has been taken up by this little guy:




I adopted Ollie from a shelter a couple of months ago but I was too busy trying to keep him out of my yarn stash (my dad woke up one morning to find a trail of tangled yarn leading down the hallway) and trying to keep the peace between Ollie and our other cat to remember to post about him.


There is still lots of knitting going on; in fact I blame the spurts of knitting (along with the aforementioned cat adventures and other activities) for the lack of blogging, if that makes any sense. The gardening and beautiful weather in particular have pulled me away from the blog.


I do have one half of a pair of mittens to show you:




Next weekend I will be at the Granite State Knit-In at Loon Mountain, taking classes and hanging out knitting with some awesome peeps ;) Every year there is a contest and the entries (if the person chooses) are given to charity. This is my entry: Yankee Knitter Designs "Pattern Mittens" in the heart motif, size child's medium (6-8 years). I love Yankee Knitter Designs for their classic, vintage and homespun looks, and I've wanted to knit this pattern for awhile. This project has the added advantage of busting some of my stash; I just grabbed a couple of skeins of what I think is Lion Brand Wool-Ease, because I wanted them to be washable. Stash-busting for a good cause--nothing feels better!

Spring Things

It seems that spring has finally arrived here in New Hampshire. The yard sales and flea markets have opened (I scored some vintage patterns and a beautiful wooden needlework lap hoop yesterday) and when I'm not hunting down deals or working on my garden I'm working on spring garments.


This is the Madison Scarf from Blueprint Crochet. I love this book, and this is actually my second project from it. I have also made the earring and necklace motifs but I haven't sprayed them with stiffener or assembled them yet. It took a little bit for me to understand this pattern, but having the charted crochet designs are a huge help for a beginner like myself.



Madison Scarf by Robyn Chachula from Blueprint Crochet
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton, one skein lavender (color is truer in the photo above)
Source: The Elegant Ewe
Hook: US Size K
Modifications: I did one less repeat than instructed because I would have run out of yarn otherwise; however, my scarf looks just as long as the one in the book and is the perfect length for me.



Look! Some socks!



Classic Socks from The Yankee Knitter
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Custom Hand-Dyes for The Purl Bee, two skeins mint
Source: Purl
Needles: US Size 1, two 24" circular needles
Modifications: None. I just adjusted this plain sock pattern to the whim of the moment (well, only with the first sock. The second one I tried to match ;)





More socks! My sock-knitting mojo is back!



Pomatomus Socks by Cookie A., from Knitty Winter 2005
Yarn: Ball and Skein Hand-Dyed Sock Yarn, 1 skein "Sargasso Sea"
Source: Ball and Skein booth at the 2008 New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival
Needles: US Size 1 and 2 bamboo dpns
Modifications: I used US Size 1 dpns for the foot to make them last longer.

I love how the colors and the dye job work so well with this pattern! This was one skein of sock yarn that I had a plan for when I bought it (which is not the norm for me). I'm trying to use up yarn that I've bought at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival in previous years, since it is happening next weekend!!! I'm very excited, in case you couldn't tell. I will be wearing these socks next Saturday and enjoying all sorts of woolly goodness.





And a little bit of leftover winter...


I also finally finished my Bird in Hand Mittens. I bought the pattern last August at the Fiber Revival and although I started them in early January they weren't finished until a few weeks ago, and just the other day I sat down to finish the bird embroidery and weave in the ends. I'm still not thrilled with my embroidery so I might take another stab at it next winter.



Bird in Hand Mittens by Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Locally spun wool, one skein cream; The Elegant Ewe Custom Spun, one skein scarlet
Source: Creative Natives in Colebrook for the local wool; The Elegant Ewe for their custom spun
Needles: US Size 3, two 24" circular needles, and US Size 3 dpns
Modifications: I used two circular needles for most of the mitten instead of the recommended dpns, and that made my colorwork more even on the back of the mitten, which has large spaces of all one color.



Overall I love them and I'm very pleased with how they came out. I am also very pleased that I can put them away for several months!

I hope to see some of you at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival next weekend! It's so much fun and a great way to support local farmers and artists, some of whom don't go to any other fiber festivals! I'll be there on Saturday--pm me on Ravelry for more specific information!

A Bit of Spring

I crocheted one of the "Bedfellows" from The Happy Hooker for my cousin's third birthday:



If you've seen the pattern before you may be thinking that the two animals were a bear and a bunny, not a mouse, and you're right. Once I had the head finished it looked much more like a mouse than anything else, so I just went with it. This was a great use of stash yarn (all machine-washable acrylic) and even though it took some time it wasn't all that difficult.





I knit a baby sweater for another one of my mom's friends, this time using the Offset Wraplan pattern by Sara Morris (free Ravelry download). This was cute and not a difficult knit, but it took some time (fingering/light DK weight yarn) and there are several buttons to sew on. I used just a little over one ball of Patons Grace.




Lastly, I knit the Spiral Cowl by Keri McKiernan (another free Ravelry download). I used one skein of delicious angora yarn that I bought two years ago at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival (I can't remember their name right now but I'm pretty sure they're there every year). I like that this pattern has a button and a loop so that you can close it to make it more snug, or leave it open. The angora is so warm that I don't usually need to button it up but it's nice to have that option--especially once winter rolls around again.

I'm trying to finish up projects with yarn from last year's Sheep and Wool Festival, and I've also been crocheting a bit too. I recently bought Ysolda's Whimisical Litte Knits book and I'm trying to decide what to knit first!

The Lucy Wrap

I finally finished the Lucy Wrap. I got the kit for Christmas from kpixie (I think it's still available) and knit it once, only to find out that it was too short. The pattern suggested 10.75 needles, which I don't have, so I had gone down to 10.5 needles. Since it was so short I thought my needle size was the problem and I reknit the entire thing on size 11 needles. It was still much too short, so at that point I broke down and ordered another skein of yarn.


This kind of annoyed me. Part of the reason I love kits is that they are (theoretically) self-contained. Just add needles and several hours of knitting, and shazam, you have a garment. It's supposed to take away some of the stress of gathering all the materials yourself. Oh well. It turned out really well and it is unbelievably soft.




Lucy Wrap kit by Tante Sophie
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Brushed Suri, three skeins #905 Earl Grey
Source: kpixie for the kit, Purl for the third skein of yarn
Needles: Random plastic ones my grandma picked up for me at a yard sale, U.S. Size 11
Modifications: Besides adding a third skein when the first two fell short, none.




I am currently obsessed with the book Boutique Knits, among other things. I think it will be very helpful for stash-busting. I'm in love with several items from the spring issue of Knitty and I'm looking forward to the Cookie A. sock book as well. The New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival is only about a month away though, so I'm trying to hold off on yarn buying.

NH Sheep and Wool Festival

I love the NH Sheep and Wool Festival. It was the first fiber event I went to after I learned to knit, and even though it was a little bittersweet because I only had $15 to spend, I loved it and have been going ever since. Last night was the last class of the semester, so now I can relax and get back to the important things, like blogging and knitting.

I met up with Katie, Erica, and Linda and we had a great time (how could we not?) Here's the goods:


1.75 lbs of washed Romney roving from a sheep named "Bavaria"

Start Spinning by Maggie Casey (which I have heard excellent things about and I hope it will improve my spinning skills) and a beautiful handmade Bosworth drop spindle. There was an interview with lace-shawl-designer-extraordinaire Evelyn Clark on The Panopticon's blog, and she said she loves her Bosworth drop spindles and prefers them to her wheel, and I want to be just like her when I grow up so I got one too.

More hand-dyed sock yarn from Ball and Skein. I plan to use it for the Summer of Socks, which I signed up for last week. You might remember that I purchased another ball of hand-dyed sock yarn from Ball and Skein last year, and that I have not posted about it since. It will also be part of the Summer of Socks.

The biggest score of all came when I had been at the festival for ten minutes. I got five balls of one of my favorite yarns, Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted (the sport weight is great too) for only $15!!! It's a discontinued color, and the label is different from the one they have now, and I could not be more thrilled to have 1200 yards (a sweater's worth!) for $15. I'm thinking something from Fitted Knits or Knitting Nature.

Next up: all the knitting I have been doing in between final projects and stressing out about the end of the semester.

A Public Service Announcement

I do have lots to show you, but unfortunately I could not find my camera this morning (don't worry, I think I know where it is). In the meantime, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that next weekend is the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. Yippee! More information can be found here.


This is not an event you want to miss. It may not be the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival (the largest in the country), and it's certainly no Rhinebeck, but it is a rocking good time. There is a lot to see but it's not overwhelming and there is a lot of great wool to be bought. Plus there are sheepdog and shearing demonstrations, great carnival food, and angora rabbits for sale. I am very excited.



I think the best part is that it falls on the weekend that marks the end of my semester (except for one more class on Monday), so I can shop as a reward for making it through and actually have time to spin and knit and crochet.


And now for something completely different: my first meme. I wasn't tagged for it, but I've been reading through Eunny's archives (although I am thrilled with her work at Interweave Knits, I really miss her blog--seeing what she's working on and learning new techniques from her, and even just reading about what's new with her) and I stumbled across this meme, so here goes.

Ten years ago: I was in eighth grade. I spent lots of time making things but I didn't know how to knit yet.


Five years ago: I was just about to graduate from high school and head off to college, to study sustainable agriculture. I learned to knit freshman year of college and whenever I was in class I would think about knitting and be anxious to get back to my project.


One year ago: I was just about to graduate from college and head off to graduate school to be a librarian. I had discovered Eunny's blog (among others) and spent most of my time looking for knitting inspiration and information on the Internet, when I wasn't finishing up my senior research project or working (at a yarn store and the library) or actually knitting. It was this time last year that I started this blog--in the midst of graduate school and work craziness, I missed my blogiversary.


Five snacks: Kettle corn, Goldfish crackers, homemade cookies, homemade bread, pumpkin seeds.


Five songs I know all the words to: "Start Wearing Purple" by Gogol Bordello, "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Moondance" by Van Morrison, "London Calling" by The Clash, "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac.


Five things I would do with $100 million: 1.) Pay off my student loans 2.) Take care of my family and friends 3.) Buy a farm and animals 4.) Buy my school and straighten out their library program (or turn it into a rock club) 5.) Donate lots of money to local libraries and charities


Five places to run away to: 1.) Ireland, especially the Aran Islands 2.) Montreal 3.) the White Mountains of New Hampshire 4.) New Zealand 5.) the beach (anywhere really, but preferably a New England beach)


Five things I would never wear: 1.) a muumuu 2.) clothing with logos 3.) anything that reveals my stomach 4.) anything too baggy 5.) something unflattering just because it's stylish


Five favorite TV shows: Gilmore Girls, Northern Exposure, Bill Moyers Journal, Saturday Night Live, Grey's Anatomy


Five biggest joys: 1.) Making things 2.) Spending time with friends and family 3.) finding information I've been looking for 4.) finding inspiration 5.) completing a project


Favorite toys: Malcolm, my mp3 player; Philbert, my trusty (if old and slow) laptop; my swift and ball winder; my car, Betty



Was that fun or what? I bet you learned a little something about me you didn't know ;)

She spins and knits

The first yarn is unknown pencil roving, probably about 4 oz, that I spun and then plied on my drop spindle (was that ever tedious). The second is the first 2 oz of Corriedale that you might recognize from the previous post from The Sheep Shed that I got at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival in the "Summer Fields" colorway. I still have two more ounces to spin. I was going to ply it, but I'm kind of in love with the single and it's pretty thick (in some places; it's spun thick-and-thin, not purposely. oh, the joys of beginning spinning ;)

Then we have the re-knit Manos del Uruguay hat. I re-knit it because I used different needles than the pattern suggested, and of course it didn't turn out the way I wanted. I am thoroughly impressed with my two color pompom (no one tells you how to do that; it took me three or four tries).

Pattern: Kim's Hats, from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (on the third page of the pattern, the last hat on the right is my hat, in the same two colors even. I had a skein of the blue on hand and I loved the contrast with the tomato-y red)

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay, one skein light blue and maybe 25 yards of the tomato-y red

Source: Patternworks Yarn Shop (the blue was snagged at the giant summer sale a few years ago)

Needles: Addi Turbo Size 9 16" circular, Clover Bamboo Size 9 dpns

Modifications: None

On a humbler note, remember how excited I was that my Manos stashing finally paid off in the form of the Treeline Striped Cardigan? Well, I have been smited for my hubris. I only had three skeins of the light brown, not four (although I could swear that I had a fourth--however, in my Manos stash there is a charcoal grey that sometimes gets confused for the brown--since they're hand-dyed). I have finished both sleeves and the body, and I just knit the body and sleeves together (I've learned some new techniques and the construction is very clever) and I have run out of the brown. I went to the small but fabulous Pearl's Yarn Shop in downtown Manchester today to get more, but my particular brown was nowhere in sight. I'll check the Elegant Ewe and there's always the Internet, but I swear this is the last time I gloat about having enough yarn or about my stashing actually being productive. It's a bad habit and I'm going to quit.

For a happy ending, the trip to Pearl's was very productive. I picked up Fiber Trends' Estonian Lullabies baby blanket pattern and some Dreambaby DK in a lovely light green. I'm making it for my mom's friend's daughter, who used to babysit me. The shower is June 30th, so I'm getting started on it tonight.

Oh, the sheep-y goodness...

The first picture is the sum total of my purchases at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival (and Alpaca Fest!). The second picture is a close up of the roving: 2 2 oz. hanks of hand-dyed Corriedale in the colorway "Summer Fields" (I couldn't resist) from The Sheep Shed at Mountain View Farm; 2 4 oz. balls of hand-dyed Romney from "Maggie" (that's the sheep's name!) at Brimstone Hollow Farm (those are the green and yellow balls; Brimstone Hollow has the best colorways); and one 4 oz. ball of white Romney roving (I forget where I got that one). The last picture is a closeup of the amazing yarn I bought (and the roving kind of snuck in): from the bottom, one skein of hand-dyed sock yarn from Balland Skein; one skein of sock yarn from Spirit Trail Fiberworks, and one skein of the "Bunny Blend" merino and angora yarn.
It might look like a lot, but I was very smart this year. The past three years I've gone kind of crazy and just bought whatever I loved, but this year I planned it out. The roving was Romney and Corriedale because that's easy to spin (and my spinning skills are still developing). The sock yarn was kind of expensive, but not too much more expensive than commercial sock yarn (considering you usually need two skeins) and socks take a long time to knit (I do, anyway) so it's a good investment. The angora skein was also kind of a splurge, but for a long time I've had this angora scarf planned in my head, like the one Rory wears in the fourth and fifth seasons of Gilmore Girls (it's white and lacy with a little bit of fluff). I've been searching for the perfect yarn for awhile and I hadn't found it...till now.

I've finally finished my senior thesis, and after I get through with packing and moving and graduation and about a million other things, I will finally be able to seriously knit again. I have been sewing, and my practice dress came out great (pics soon to come) but I miss knitting.