Spinning lessons

Karen C. was kind enough to set up a spinning lesson at the

The Artful Ewe
in Port Gamble. It is a charming shop and Heidi, the owner, is very knowledge and friendly. Started with drop spindles and moved onto Kromski wheels. I love the old world look of them. I am coveting the Minstrel !







I brought my great grandmother's flax wheel to see if it was use able. Unfortunately it wouldn't draw in the yarn. I have been wanting to learn to spin for a long time so it was fantastic to finally get the chance.


This shop offers hand dyed roving, yarns, and much more.



Karen made me really laugh when she told me what her husband calls Alpacas-
Space Poodles !










Voted "Favorite pet from the planet Endor"


Coming soon- pictures of Karen's charming studio.

Couldn't resist

Took Ryan down to Snohomish for his art class and discovered I'd FORGOTTEN my knitting ! Do I drive ten miles roundtrip to pick it up or pop into the local yarn shop ? Stopped at Country Yarns and had to buy a skein of Wool in the Woods Cameo (Rayon) "Rainforest" and the needles Theresa recommended - High Polish Clover Bamboo.
They feel so much nicer than the regular needles. Since my brain capacity has greatly diminished I asked for a simple scarf pattern. She suggested this K2tog and YO.
Svenska färger !! Not sure why they call this "Rainforest" as there is very little green, at least in this skein. Still, it feels nice and the color is great.

Dewy morning

The mist hangs heavy this morning. Tis spider season and I almost walked into this web on the way to feed Sherman and DC. Spiders on dewy webs are pretty but not crawling on me ! Was curious to see how well it photographed with the digital camera.



Listening to "Celtic Women" with Luciano, the canary, singing in the background. It's quite peaceful.














My favorite tree, a crabapple called "Everest" It has big beautiful blossoms in the Spring and lovely salmon colored fruit in the Fall.



There is music in the meadows, in the air–
Autumn is here;
Skies are gray, but hearts are mellow,

—William Stanley Braithwaite, "A Lyric of Autumn,"


Went to "B&B" knitters last night which was fun. It's good to get out again even if I have to "fake it to make it"


Tried to create a link for this pattern like Barbro does on her blog but couldn't figure it out ! This comes from " Scandinavian Snow Sets" by Kajsa Lindquist, published in 1949 by Nomis Yarn Company. I'd like to try it some day with Bohus yarn and change to a flared cuff.

Just another day....

Finished the Knitty.com "Askew" top for Anna but haven't blocked it yet. Perhaps I'm afraid when I do, I'll find it doesn't fit her ! This is odd but the colorway of this SWTC "Karaoke" yarn reminds me of tropical saltwater fish.















Went to Sweden for the first time in 1976 to visit my sister Melissa, who was studying in Uppsala. We went to Medelpad to visit relatives where I bought this cross-stitch kit in a Sundsvall hemsljöd. Wish I still had the directions so I could see where the pattern originated.

I'm going to try and start going back to the "B & B" knitters. I need to start getting out of my pity party and start really enjoying life again ! Easier said than done but it has to be so. Life goes on irregardless.
They are going to do some Kool Aid dyeing at the end of this month.
Charisa sent me some great links. I had never seen Kool Aid dyed gray yarn before. Very cool.
www.thepiper.com/fiberart/koolaid/images/colorchart-max.jpg/




Some of her handiwork.

http://charisa.smugmug.com/photos/140051029-M.jpg
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1289/1241449665_98d7e29007_b.jpg
I really want to try birch leaf dye also ! Too much fun stuff in the world and not enough time to do it in !

Tack och lov !

Thank goodness the garage sale is OVER ! It was alot of work for the money but it was great to do to start dejunking the place. It really helps to have a set date to minimize the procastination. The rest of the stuff our neighbor is kindly taking to the Goodwill.Tomorrow I am going to relax !

Here is the cover design for the Nordic Knitting Conference booklet.


Patterns by
Pat Brunner
Evelyn Clark
Jody Grage
Vivian Høxbro
Elsebeth Lavold
Carol Rhoades
Terri Shea
Annemor Sundbø
Marilyn Van Keppel
Barbro Wilhelmsson

Another beautiful painting

Ryan finished this lovely painting for his friend Emily. I was sorry to see it go out the door this evening. Would love to keep them all !

Went to wake him up one weekend and had to laugh. He put this t-shirt over his face to block the light out. What a sensitive boy !




I'm getting very excited for the Nordic Knitting Conference which is one month away. The booklet with the ten donated patterns is on it's way to the printer and last minute details are being worked on. I'm taking "Magic Knitting" with Annemor Sundbö, "Faroese Footlets" from Marilyn Van Keppel, and "Danish Nightshirt from Falster" from Vivian Höxbro.

Here's the Conference logo. We all wanted the "dancing grannies" and I asked for a heart to be incorporated. YAY !!