Fiber festivals are really good because they have things like…

Mountains of wool:

Adorable baby lambs:

Sheep butts, sheep butts, wooly, wooly sheep butts:

Anticipation:

Friends and with arms overflowing with fibery love:

And finally you come home with projects!

{From your left to your right as you look at the screen (I think): 2 ounces tussah silk roving from Sliver Moon Farm (this is Dara’s I just get to spin it  for her! It really wanted to be in the picture too!),  4 ounces superwash merino from Spunky Eclectic in the nuclear colorway, and 2 skeins Banana Silk Yarn in vine(which I’m confused about because the label says 100% rayon so I wonder why it is called banana silk???)to make a purse. Also at the top you can see a bit of a plain vanilla ball of wool roving for dyeing.}

It was a great day spent with friends, sheep, fiber, and fun!

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may remember that a few months ago, my husband, IHA, was frantically preparing to take a huge test. A huge test. A whomping 3 day test huge test. A 3 day test located on the opposite side of the country even! He went to California at the end of February to take the California Bar exam . After his test, the junior agents and I flew out for his graduation from Concord Law School and for a brief family vacation. Well, ever since that time, we have been waiting (and waiting and waiting) to see if he actually passed the test or if we would have to have 8 more intensive weeks of studying for him to retake it at the end of July. And guess what? He passed! He really really did. No more studying! None. Zippo. Nada. After 4 years of Law School and then this Bar exam prep stuff, it is finally over! (Btw, did you know that law school semesters run basically the whole year with only 3 weeks off in between????) Of course, besides being so happy to have him back and not studying 24/7, we are very very proud of him. He worked very hard. My mom said he passed because he had “his nose to the the grindstone.” I said, “Yes and he ground his nose right off!”

OK, that is the important news. Just a few side notes and random stuff to add…

Scrapbooking:

This is a photo of a scrapbooking layout I am working on about Agent K. It shows how I pull out different papers and embellishments that go together and then play around with how things can look. The final page may turn out similar to this or completely different.

This is a photo frame I decorated for Agent J to hang on her wall. The photo was taken by the Pinegrove Dude Ranch photographer that is why it is so crisp, clear, and well centered! Agent J liked the frame that I decorated and it is already hanging on her wall:)

Reading:

I finally, after 2 months of reading, I finished Outlander. I miss Jamie and Claire already. I believe that there are 6 books in this series. Should I look up the next book?

The Great Park Pursuit:

We are in week 3! We are having fun too. (Btw, IHA picked up a new hobby along the way. It is called Geocaching and as he tends to do with things, he is really getting into it.) Here is a photo from the first week. We went to Beardsley Park and Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT. This shows the agents in the Prairie Dog exhibit. It is also a good example of the saying “the more things change, the more they stay the same” because Agent K had the same excitement on her face in the pop up tubes in the middle of the prairie dogs as she did when we went there when she was 2.

Last week we climbed to the top of Haystack Mountain and then took a side trip to Campbell Falls. This week only a subgroup of The Electric Pink Lemons will be going to Huntington State Park as I’m off to the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair and Agent K is off with a girlfriend for the day. The clues are very tricky because for the second week in a row we thought we were going someplace different until the final clue was revealed.

Knitting and other stuff:

Not much to report. Spring is a very busy time of year with all the things that go on with the girls and the yardwork, and gardening, and cleaning and all that. I haven’t started any new knitting this week. Just plugging away on Cece and a pair of Jaywalkers. I am getting ready to start some natural solar dyeing. I do hope that the abundant sunshine holds out for me!

Due to this rare occurrence in Connecticut called abundant sunshine, I have started some solar dying! I plan on doing some natural solar dyeing throughout the summer (more on that later), but there is sunshine this week and I didn’t have the yarn for the solar dyeing project ready yet. So to make use of the sun, I thought that since I had some One Shot dyes already prepared I would do a little experiment. I threw some yarn and dyes in a jar to see what I could get….

Here is what I did to dye with Pro Chem One Shot dyes in a jar:

Materials:

1 skein Knit Picks Bare Bulky, 137 yards, 100 grams, 10% Peruvian Wool

Premixed Prochemical One Shot Acid Dyes in Raspberry, Spring Violet, Sugar Plum, and Blue Bonnet

Mild soap

Water

A glug of vinegar

Glass jars

Sunshine

Method: I presoaked the yarn in warm soapy water (I used Synthrapol in this case but you can also use mild dish soap or Soak or other wool wash) for 20 minutes. Then I gently squeezed out the excess water and placed the skein in the large glass jar. I added a glug of white vinegar to some warm water and gently poured it into the jar until the wool was covered. I then poured in the dyes. I poured each color into a “quadrant.” They didn’t mix too much at first but by the end of the day the whole jar just looked rather purple. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get distinct colors or just a solid purple. I chose colors that mix well so if that was the case I wouldn’t end up with a muddy-colored mess.

The colors were were distinct to start. I let the yarn “cook” in the sun for 2 days.

This is what they looked like when I brought them in to rinse this morning:

Actually, this photo still shows that the colors didn’t completely intermingle. I’m not going to post a photo, but from the side of the jar — it all just looked dark purple. The dye did not exhaust, by the way.

I pulled the skein out and rinse it a few times, ran it threw my spin cycle and hung it to dry. I think it worked very well! The colors are a bit muted and not brilliant, but it was quick and easy!

And that is it! Solar dyed yarn!

Now, you may have noticed some other things brewing in the jars above. The top jar is daffodil tops and the middle jar is baby Jewel Weed plants. I bought some Harmony 8-ply at my LYS the other day and I just need to mordant it and I’m going to start dyeing some up for a potential sock, hat, or mitten project. Stay tuned for updates!

On a totally unrelated note, I just received an e-mail from a friend with this link about Gardasil related deaths. I haven’t even had time to read it yet, but I’m posting it anyway because it looks important! Please read!

Edited to add:

For information on dyeing safety click here. 

For more information on solar dyeing click here. 

I picked up Cece last night after our year long hiatus and she felt like butter in my hands.   If hands can actually feel joy and exultation, mine did when the Cotton Fleece hit the needles to cast on for the sleeves.

I had, for so long, yearned to knit with something Rowan and particularly the Summer Tweed.  I had never had the experience of that luxury yarn and I could not wait to try it!  I love the look of the Summer Tweed, I really do, but the knitting is labored. The yarn is very bumpy and you have to knit very carefully with big wraps and with each stitch you must ensure consistency or the fabric looks strained and incohesive.   The other thing about Summer Tweed, that the little agents were very quick to point out, is that is doesn’t smell so great.  Well, it smells like silk, and you have to like the way silk smells to enjoy this yarn.  The little agents do not like the way silk smells and they did not miss an opportunity to tell me so. (Even after an afternoon of airing on the deck in the wind there was still some faux gagging going on by the girlies.)

I do have a finished project to report though!   Ginger is done!  I have some photos although you may want to avert your eyes or don some sunglasses before viewing my painfully white complexion!

Front:

Back:

Project Stats:

Pattern:  Ginger by Kim Hargreaves from The Summer Tweed Collection

Yarn:  Rowan Summer Tweed 70% Silk, 30% Cotton, color 544, just over 3 skeins

Needles:  Size 8 Addi Turbos (I didn’t use the smaller needles at all)

Started:  I don’t really remember and um, I’m too lazy to look it up right now

Finished: About May 19ish, 2007

Thoughts:  This is a great fitting design!  I actually alternated back and forth between sizes but the fit turned out quite nice I think.  The sweater completely covers all bra straps!  It really isn’t as deep of a V in the back as you would think from the photo in the pattern book.  This yarn, while quite beautiful, is very cumbersome to work with and I think I have fulfilled my curiosity with it with this project.   The pattern is labeled as an easy knit, but I think that the straps in the back were quite difficult. She has you doing so many things at once like purl 2 through the back loop while standing on your head and eating a chocolate bar while flagging down a cab that I would not recommend this to a beginner.

And you know who is back!  I picked up Cece from  Chic Knits again!  It has been a whole year since I set her aside.  Knitting with the Cotton Fleece is so heavenly!   It is one of those things like when sometimes you have a cold, but you don’t even realize how sick you felt until you feel better.  I didn’t even realize how much I was disliking knitting with the Rowan Summer Tweed until I picked up the Cotton Fleece.  Like Butter!  And speaking of Cece and Cotton Fleece, I really would like to get some knitting time in tonight before bed, so I better sign out for the night!   Have a great evening and I’ll try to post again soon to update you on my sewing, dyeing, scrapbooking, gardening, and nature activities (although you can take a quick peek at my new Wildflower set on flicker…).  Have a great evening!

Over the (extended) weekend I was tagged for 2 memes! The first is a Thinking Blogger Award. Crazy, I know! Sara nominated me and wrote very becoming things about me on her blog! Made my weekend too. Of course the last post I wrote before I read that was very “fluffy” and not so thinkery at all. I think I used the word “nice” about 23 times. Of course, you know, when I write about how “nice” some things are, what I’m really saying is that there are other things which aren’t so “nice” and I’m just trying to remain positive and not comment on the other things. Anyway, that said, I think my next task is to tag 5 more blogs for a Thinking Award. Lately, what I have been looking for in blogs is inspiration for creativity so my choices are going to reflect that.

1.) Creative Mom Podcast and companion blog, Threaded Thoughts. This podcast/blog is very inspiring in multimedia crafting/artsy way. I’ve only listened to a few episodes so far and already I’ve started to expand my material and desires to learn new arts/crafts. I even mentioned to IHA that I had an urge to try some sketching and guess what? Yesterday, he brought me home a new sketch book!

2.) Knitpicks Podcast. I’ve listened to 2 so far and this podcast has potential. I just read that she is going to highlight different staff members in each episode which I think is an awesome idea (and just so darned “nice!”).

3.) Knitting on Impulse. This is a new one for me. I don’t remember how I came upon it but it has great colors, great lines, and great knitting!

4.) Funky Carolina. Carrie is always up to something new! I don’t know where she find the time! If you have the time though, click through to her Etsy shop – she has a fabulous way with color!

5.) Craft Lover. Lillian’s blog is rife with striking photos and her knitting is divine! This fifth entry  brings me to my next meme as it was Lillian who tagged me for the 8 Things Meme!!!

The rules:
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

So, here are my 8 things:
1. I have a secret talent of being a very fast strawberry picker. My great uncle owned a farm and I picked strawberries for many many years. My mom actually holds the record of picking the most quarts in one day. I think it was 312? I’ll have to check with her later to verify that number. During the 70’s and 80’s when I picked we earned 10 cents per quart which really amazes the little agents; “How did you ever make enough money to BUY anything!”

2. When I dream about snakes I usually wake up screaming. You can ask IHA:)

3. I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking worrying about deer ticks and Lyme Disease. When I’m not awake in the middle of the night because I have woken up screaming after dreaming about snakes, I’m awake worrying about if all the agents double and triple checked for ticks before going to bed. I’m trying to adopt a universal precautions here about ticks; always assume that they are there even if you can’t see them.

4. I’m not a really big fan of conflict. I tend to avoid it at all costs and sometimes I miss out on doing things that I would have really liked to do. I’m constantly working on this, though avoiding the conflict usually wins over standing up to it.

5. I’m starting to look forward to summer vacation this year which is rather odd because typically, I’m just not a big fan.

6. I was never really a babysitter when I was growing up mostly because I already had a job at my uncle’s farm and therefore I did not have the time nor need the extra income from babysitting. I think that was probably a big mistake as there are just so many things about having children that I never knew and maybe babysitting would have prepared me better!

7. You have probably already picked up on this from reading my blog, but my husband sort of spoils me a little. Just a bit and I don’t mind really. Well, actually, not only don’t I really mind, but I really enjoy it and it makes me happy.  I love being spoiled and I love him immensely!

8. I am terribly proud of all my girls. They are each unique and have their own talents and interests. Even though they tend to bicker a bit they also love each other and I hope that they stay friends for their entire lives because there is nothing better than a sister.

 And here are the 8 people I chose to tag : IHA, Crops-a-lot, Kristy, Knitcole, Dara, Sarah, Sara, and Carrie.

It is finally the end of a very long week. Very. Long. Did I say that it was a long week yet? It just seemed like IHA worked a bajillion and a half hours this week and the agents had a bajillion and a half hours of homework and that they were up late every night and that the week was never going to end. But is is Friday now (Whoo Hooo!) and IHA is reading to the girls to calm them down so perhaps they get to sleep before 9 tonight… The only problem with getting him to read to the girls, is that I then have to get him to STOP reading to them too! Sometimes he just forgets to check the time!

I had a very lovely trip to the quilt store today. It is called Gone Quilting and it is in Canton. It is actually about 3.2 minutes up the street from New England Scrapbook Company; I think we must move to Canton! They have the Amy Butler fabric and patterns that you see everyone using/making all over the internet and they are quite lovely and also from Westminster Fibers (and I thought they only did yarn!) they have Kaffee Fassett fabric and did you know there are also Rowan fabrics (though I can’t find them on their website or perhaps it is the designers like Amy Butler who design for Rowan and are then distributed by Westminster)?

So you can probably see where I am going with this. I bought a bit more than I intended to. Here is a photo of *some* of my treasures:

I bought a kit called Screen Play I and I think I’m going to use the red fabric and the flowered fabric in the upper right corner of the photo for that one. I think it will make a lovely knitting bag! They had a lot of store samples of that bag in different fabrics and I think it is really going to be nice for a take-along knitting bag as the screen really hold its shape. With some of the other fat quarters I’m going to make these project bags from Yarnmonster (thank you to Sarah for knowing what I was talking about!) and there was also a free pattern leaflet at the store for a little bag/tissue paper cover that used just one fat quarter!

I can’t believe that I am saying I’m going to make all these things because all I’ve sewn in the last couple of years are basic curtains… I hope I remember how or I’m going to have to find some remedial sewing classes! I actually did sign up for a class too! The had an absolutely stunning apron on display (I know, can you believe that an apron can be stunning???). Well, I signed up for that class (anyone what to take it with me?)! I wanted to take a class, but I’m not really ready to get back into quilting right now. I can’t wait to go back to choose my fabric. It could take a VERY long time to decide!

Anyway, the lady at the quilt store was so nice and then I went to the scrapbook store to get ribbons to match the fabrics and the lady working there was so nice (and they have so much new stuff in!). After that I went to Shaw’s in Canton for some groceries and the ladies in the deli were super nice as was the lady in the fish department. Everyone was all so easy going and chatty today. It must be spring in the air!

I can’t wait to get started with all this stuff! I’m better get all these fat quarters washed so that they are ready in case a sewing opportunity arises! I don’t think it will be tomorrow though as Agent B wants to try out Junior Audubon which meets at White Memorial in the morning and then we have The Great Park Pursuit in the afternoon. Maybe I’ll have a little spare time on Mother’s day? Hmmm?

The weather this day is just too beautiful for words. Astonishingly gorgeous! I took a tour around my yard after doing some yard work to see what was growing. After listening to the Creative Mom podcast this weekend – I was inspired to see what I could find out there. Now the only problem is that the weather is too grand to be inside playing with the flickr toys to work on a perfect mosaic. I just can’t see to get one that I love. I have the one from above and then this one:

I think I like the composition of the top one better. What do you think?

Anyway – I better get back to my basking (with yarn, of course). I have to admit that although the day is gorgeous, I’ve felt a bit unsettled. Agent J was off to Sturbridge today and I just can’t wait til she gets home to see if she had a good day or not. She was so psyched for it and I just don’t want her to be disappointed. IHA is off to New Jersey today and that is just a lot of driving for one day. Agent K has a track meet and her knee has been bothering her. This is the hard part about being a Stay at Home Mom – everyone goes out and does their stuff and you are left at home just wondering how everyone is doing and as much as you want them to do these things, you just want them to be safe.

Also, I have a bit of a request. One day while surfing around the knitting blogs, I came across a blog that had step by step instructions for sewing little project bags out of fat quarters. I didn’t bookmark it and I can’t find it now. I think that one of the blogs that I regularly read had a link to it. If anyone remembers seeing this, could you please send me the link??? I really want to make a couple of these as I’m always carrying around my knitting projects in brown bags and I want something prettier. I also think Agent K might like making them too. Thank you!

Announcing the…

Second Annual International Dandelion Conference

May 11 -13, 2007

Sponsored by the International Society of Dandelion Welfare

Backyard of Spincerely yours and IHA

Please join us for our reception Friday evening as we enjoy our presentation by our Key Note speaker, none other than the world renown dandelion welfare advocate:

Dan D. Lion

Dan will be presenting his most recent paper:

The Dandelion Digger: Friend or Foe

Conference fees include 2 nights of sandy/loamy accommodations, all you can eat organic fertilizer bar, and dancing to the stylings of Totally Tubular Tap Roots who are taking a break from their World Wide Tour for this special weekend.

Workshops are all day Saturday and Sunday, they are open enrollment, please sign up upon arrival.

Workshops include:

How to be a Happy Hermaphrodite

Literary Appeal: It Can Save Your Life

Tap Roots: Dig into your History

Maximize your Seed Dispersal Radius by Calculating Optimal Air Current

Bitter or Sweet: Improving your Flavor to Improve your Reputation

Home Invasion, a Matter of Persistence: How to Really dig your Roots in

Some highlights from last year’s event:

Dandelions from near and far gather to enjoy the optimal sun and soil conditions in Spincerely’s yard. You will not be disappointed, she has all that a dandelion can ask for in a relaxing weekend.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to meet fellow Dandelions from around the globe. Register now!

There are so many things about knitting that are just magic! There is that Moebius Scarf and Koigu yarn and Malabrigo and the Yarn Harlot.  But why it took me so long to find the magic of Elizabeth Zimmermann, I don’t  know!

I finished the knitting part of the Baby Surprise Jacket and it certainly did surprise me!

I really thought that the 90 stitches that you knit back and forth on in the middle were just going to end up being on the back and not show on the front, but when I preform the intricate sweater origami to get the correct baby shape, those rows show up on the front too!

So it did sort of throw off my striping plans, but I’m sure the baby will never know that the bottom purple stripe was never meant to be that fat.  I think next time I make this I will use some self striping yarn and then not even worry about trying to plan out the stripes!   (Maybe the next time I make this it will even be handspun yarn!)

Next step is to weave in the ends, seam the shoulders, and pick out buttons.  Almost done!  I have enough yarn left to make a baby hat or booties or both.

In other knitting news, my summer Interweave Knits came today!  As Agent K would say “Woot!”  My favorite pattern so far is Deborah Newton’s Josephine Top, with Angela Hahn’s Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell coming in a close second.  I’ll have to keep my eyes out for any knit a longs!

In regular-life news, Jenny at Crops-a-lot is back to blogging!  If you get a chance please visit and welcome her back!  She posted about the Monetary Value of the SAHM these days and I think she needs a raise as I “hung-out” with her 2-year-old for a bit this afternoon and he plumb tuckered me out!  I really have no idea how she does a 2 year old all day!  I mean I know my girls were once 2 year olds, but I think I have repressed those memories or something because it is so hard to remember.  Do you think that we, as mothers, block all those long toddler years out of our minds as we do childbirth?  It must be some sort of species survival technique.   Oh, now I’m making it sound really bad!  It wasn’t really – just tiring!  We were out and about so I had a couple of things to do with him and they are just regular things to do like stop to write a check and go to the bathroom and talk on the cell phone – things we typically take for granted as “easy.” Well, they were all rather challenging.  And I was watching him for less than an hour!  How does she do it? All. Day. Long.  Amazing!   But he is cute and soft and sweet and funny too.  He sings a mean “working at the car wash”  that makes one laugh.  We also played “Pooh Sticks” which is actually one of my favorite games (vastly preferred to the likes of games like Monopoly).

Oh goodness, look what happened!  I wrote more than I intended to here tonight – I just wanted to post my sweater photos! So I better get going, but if anyone wants to join me in knitting one of the new sweaters or in a good game of Pooh Sticks, let me know!