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 !!

A Rose by any other name....

Saw this pattern on the

Knit Purl website and had to buy it. I used the yarn Irene brought which was dyed by Barbro. It's a lapel pin. I think it turned out well and I love the color.













I took these pictures of Hälsingland sweaters at the museum in Härnösand last summer. Someday it would be nice to do one in that style.
















The kids and I were working on the upstairs last weekend to look for garage sale items and Marc found this. He made me laugh " Hey Mom, don't I look ripped !". I am so blessed with my three children. They get along for the most part and have a great sense of humor.

Feels like Fall.....

It's been cool and rainy lately. So many patients today said it feels like Fall already.

I finished my Koigu shawl. It's very simple but as someone said the color speaks for itself. It is such a wonderfully soft yarn and this colorway I love. I joke I can only do the simplest of projects, that they are the "popsicle stick art" of knitting. I so want to do some lace knitting but that will have to wait until the storm is over.














Thanks BW and KC for listening.



From my stash-Claudia's Hand Painted "Blue Sky"




















Taken by Ryan, who has become a connoisseur of sunsets.



Noble Sunset


I’ve gazed upon the sunset
In all its glorious hues;
And understood its awesome power;
Its propensity to soothe.

The true measure of a person’s soul;
The legacy left behind;
Is akin to the masterful sunset,
And etched in spiritual shrine.

To be like that wondrous force;
To shine boldly with color and grace
In the last moments of one’s glory
Until nobly conceding the day.

James Holsey

Summer travels

Hard to believe it's mid August already. Haven't finished any projects lately and want to wait until I'm finished with my Koigu shawl before I take a picture. I have three shawls and one scarf going at once !

These are a few photos from Anna's trip to Sweden. We are made fun of when we go over there because we always have to make a pilgrimage to the ancestral cabin "Oxnedalen" that is no longer there. Last summer we couldn't find it as it was raining and we went too far into the woods. Cousin Leif found it and here he is with his two daughters Astrid and Agnes, Anna and her cousins, Jessa and Elisabeth, showing their mock glee for finding the pile of rocks (foundation).







A must for Jessa was a trip into Dalarna to see the Dala horse boutiques.














Elisabeth, Jessa, Tina, and cousin Per Ingemar






















Anna bought these stylin' pieces in Stockholm !

DC Appaloosa Hat

I know my kids think I'm quite odd, but they are good
natured about it, making me laugh with their teasing.
Marc is wondering why I would knit a "horse" hat named
after our mini DC. He was kind enough to model it for
me though. DC is thrilled as you can tell ! He used to
be a real rascal when a baby, so his former owners
named him DC for Devil Child, I've changed it to Darn
Cute ! He is very mild- mannered. Anyway, this was the first time
I've used duplicate stitches. Still have to finish the
back. The kit came from

Kids Knits with "Dale of Norway Yarn".




Ryan, Anna, and Marc



This is the yarn Irene gave me this summer which was hand dyed by Barbro. It is very soft and the color reminds me of blackberry/raspberry swirled sorbet.





Emotional stress still has it's tentacles firmly entwined in my brain, I can only do the simplest of patterns. This too shall pass I hope.........

God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence,
The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Hebrews 13

"För Gud har sagt: Jag kommer aldrig att överge dig eller svika dig.
Det är därför som vi utan minsta tvekan eller oro kan säga: Herren hjälper mig, och jag är inte rädd för något som människor kan göra mot mig."
Hebreerbrevet 13

Thank you LJ

We had a board meeting last weekend for the Nordic Knitting Conference. There are only eight class slots open out of three hundred plus. This is very exciting !

Lycklig Resa !

Daughter Anna, nieces Elisabeth and Jessa, and sister Tina ready to leave for the airport on their Scandinavian adventure ! Wish I was with them !
July 19th












Taken in Dalarna by Cousin Per Ingemar
July 24th






















Koigu KPPPM 105D
Reminds me of an antique Victorian Christmas - faded velvet, burnished gold, the tree,......



What Is to Come

WHAT is to come we know not. But we know
That what has been was good--was good to show,
Better to hide, and best of all to bear.
We are the masters of the days that were;
We have lived, we have loved, we have suffered...even so.

Shall we not take the ebb who had the flow?
Life was our friend? Now, if it be our foe--
Dear, though it spoil and break us! --need we care
What is to come?

Let the great winds their worst and wildest blow,
Or the gold weather round us mellow slow;
We have fulfilled ourselves, and we can dare
And we can conquer, though we may not share
In the rich quiet of the afterglow
What is to come.

William Ernest Henley

Lavender Festival

...To lift the spirit, cheer the heart and make all sweet.

Kind friend and coworker Debbie treated me to the Lavender Festival in Sequim this past weekend. It was so relaxing and alot of fun. Eight Lavender farms were on the tour, plus a street fair in town. Everything made with lavender-cheesecake, ice tea, ice cream, BBQ sauce, lotions, soaps, candles, plus much, much, more. The fields were beautiful and the fragrance wafting everywhere smelled lovely.
We stayed at a charming bed and breakfast on a farm which has been in this family since 1870. We sat in the evenings on the big wrap around porch with a view of the Straight in the distance, knitting and watching the cows meander about. The smell of salt air is so wonderful. Ran into Port Townsend for a few hours and checked out two yarn shops. I managed not to buy anymore thank goodness ! Debbie picked up some Misti Alpaca to make a hat for her daughter.

A little pink amongst the lavender.







Hanged up in houses,
it doth very well attemper the aire,
coole and make fresh the place to the delight
and comfort of such as are therein.
~~By John Gerard, 1597.~~

























My lavender products-linen water, honey, lavender citrus lotion, and candle.



Mother Alpaca and her nine day old son.






Debbie knitting while waiting for the ferry.







This came from Leena Riihivilla while I was gone. I couldn't resist ordering them ! They are beautiful.