Taos Wool Festival October 2010

I have been trying to put together a blog post about my experience at the Taos Wool Festival for weeks.  This is why I end up not writing about my trips - I want to write about every moment & it's such an overwhelming task that I can't get past the first day.  So how about today I'll tell you about Taos in pictures?

Cool lodge where we stayed Taos Mountain Lodge

Food that we ate (I'm telling you - they put green chiles in everything! I loved them but seriously - I don't need every damn thing I eat to have chiles in it, and that includes you, Mr. Beer)

Welcome to the Taos Wool Festival 2010

When we got to the festival the very first thing we saw were critters!  This was a huge surprise to me - I wasn't expecting critters & I was very happy to see them there.
ALPACA!

SHEEP!

LLAMAS!

YAK & BABY YAK!

Scary llama video.  Keep watching & turn up the volume - you can hear him growling at me.

I had never been to New Mexico.  It is so gorgeous & I fell absolutely in love with it.  I'll go back tomorrow.  (apparently if you want to split gas & have a free place to stay, I'm your girl).

I was lucky enough to be traveling with Betty.  Betty is a firm believer in visiting local bars to get a feel for the place.

Yes, you are reading that right.  Abe's GROCERIES, Bar & Grill.  How could we not go check it out? 

Stray Dog Cantina (don't just call them Stray Dog - they don't like that much)- the only real bar open on the top of the mountain (in Ski Valley) out of season.

The Adobe Bar inside the historic Taos Inn

My personal favorite - there was a bar inside of the radio station. Yep - complete with a big dance hall, a swing band & lots of happy dancing people. It was a most unique experience.

Eske's Pub - this is where we drank the Green Chile beer - only because there weren't many options.  There were many BEER options since they brew their own, but if you don't like beer, don't go here. Having said that, I don't like beer but I did enjoy my beer.  How could I not taste it?

After we ate, and festivaled, and did sight seeing, and took in all  of the local flavor, we decided to....hit yarn shops.  What else, right?   Because surely we didn't buy enough dang yarn from all of the vendors  at Taos.  Geeze.
First we went to Weaving Southwest.  I've never seen anything like it & I've been to some pretty impressive yarn shops!

Red Willow Art and Fibers
This was a great shop that recently opened to showcase local artists. It is a great concept, Julie was positively charming, and the shop is so unique - you must go. (no web presence that I could find - but they are listed on this website)

This might be my favorite picture of the trip. We went to a shop that had a weaving demonstration. They let us sample Mexican hot chocolate & roam around. This was one of the many many many gorgeous rugs / wall hangings that were there.


And my very very favorite thing about the whole weekend? The vibe in this tent:

A Ravelry tent was set up & you could bring your chairs & hang out. It was such a fun & relaxing place to be that I swear, we spent nearly our whole time here. We would go look at some booths & pet yarn, come back to the Rav tent, hang out, knit, eat snacks, chat with new friends...it was just really cool. It was a place that you could leave your bag - a few times I even walked off without my wallet & never even worried about it for a minute. We met so many cool people & had great conversation, saw great knitted items, watched many talented knitters & spinner...we saw much show & tell, heard stories about what people bought & why, heard excitement from other people like ourselves that had never been & bought loads of stuff. It was just really neat. As a board member I'm helping to organize the DFW Fiber Fest & I wish I had a bottle of that atmosphere so that I could open it up at our event. Come join us in April 2011 & help us make that happen. (ok, shameless commercial, but if you are still reading you deserved a poke!)

What did I buy? I'll tell you as I knit it up because it's really embarrassing how much new stuff I got when I didn't even need one thing!

Peace.

Because I couldn't make this up if I tried....

I have loads to say because I've been a traveling fool & I want to share my adventures with you, but I had to show you this.  I couldn't make this up if I tried.  And don't I wish I had because people would be handing my money faster than I could count it.  There is a new Wii game called Kirby's Epic Yarn.  You heard me.



I resisted for several days even.  Yesterday afternoon I couldn't stand it anymore.  I had done responsible house work & grocery shopping & not fun stuff most of the day & I caved.  I started playing & I took some screen shot pictures because again, I couldn't make this up.


There is MAGIC YARN.  We already knew that, but for it to go public is pretty big news as far as I'm concerned.


And yes, they are in Quilty Square.  Bwhahahahahaha.


See, yarn does fix everything.


And there is a fabric store!  Run by a guy named Loomis Woole.

There are buttons & zippers & felted fabric & you unravel the enemies & collect beads - it's such a knitters dream that I don't even know what to do with myself.  OH OH - and the bad guy has evil knitting needles, but I didn't have my camera out when they showed them.  On top of that, it's getting great reviews from the gaming community as a whole, so it's not just us. 

If you have a Wii, go get it right this second!!!!!

Commercial over.

LOOK! I DID WIN SOMETHING!

How excited was I when I went to the Texas State Fair yesterday & saw this:


As it turns out, I DO rock, it wasn't just in my head!  Although 3rd....hmmppphhhhh.  I won't even go there because it will just make me sound bitter.

YAY ME!  As my hubby told me tonight, I am clever, but I'm not modest. (Did I mention that I love that man?)

Next time I'm going to tell you all about my last minute surprise trip to the Taos Wool Festival.  It was fabulous!

Oh, and PS - get that damn stupid can off my shawl please!!!!!! Thank you. (no offense to Robert whatever your name is because I'm sure you are a lovely person).

Wine Scarf & Hat

Why oh why would a wine bottle need a scarf & hat?  Because it's freaking adorable!  Look.




My sister called me a few weeks ago & told me that she saw the cutest thing in a catalog - a scarf & hat set for a wine bottle.  And she wanted one but it was $17!!!  Did I think I could make that?  Now, I don't know about you, but I have stopped making random stuff for the people in my life because well, they don't like it as much as I think they should.  Or I guess I should say that I have stopped making unsolicited items of my choosing for people because if I'm going to make them something I want them to ZOMG-love-it.   So when my sister calls me up & asks me if I can make something....well, ding ding ding....I'm in! (I think she's figured this out, btw, and next my post will prove it).  So my husband told me to tell her that yes I can & I'd only charge her $10 (joke, of course).  I was going to wing it but a quick search for "wine hat" on Ravelry resulted in several patterns & I'm not one to reinvent the wheel.  I pulled out some scraps & whipped this up literally in a few hours.  It really is cute.  You can find the patterns here.

This is why I love hanging out with other knitters...

So I'm at knit night & had this conversation.

Candice (also a knitter): So, what are you making?
Me: A scarf for a wine bottle.
Candice: Oh, CUTE!

Not at all what I expected.  I can think of 17 appropriate ways to respond to that answer but only another knitter would respond with "oh, CUTE!" without even questioning why a wine bottle would need a scarf.

Full details to follow soon.

This is the kind of mail every knitter loves to get

Isn't that hilarious?  This box came from The Dizzy Sheep - it was full of my discount yarn that I bought over the Labor Day holiday.  It really made my day - it makes me want to be friends with whoever would write that on my yarn box.  I'm also pretty glad my mailman isn't as yarn crazy as me or it might have never made it to my house!

Casting on Like a Crazy Woman

I swear, I think Single Skein September 2010 (SSS10) has unleashed a beast. We are only 6 days in & I have already cast on for 5 new projects. As I talked about in my last post, I made this Mustard Scarf out of some yummy Lisa Souza cashmere

I still haven't picked a button - that is a whole different can of worms. I did weave the ends in & it's wearable, so I consider it DONE.

I also made this hat that I've been wanting to make forever

The pattern is Center Square & I mistakenly knit it out of Knitpicks Mainline, which is a 75% cotton / 25% wool yarn (also discontinued). Not a good combo for stranded work. It has no elasticity & frankly, it will fit a conehead. This is only my second stranded project and I tend to pull too tight - this really isn't good for stranded work & I'm really going to have to work on it. Either way, the yarn is used up & I got some practice holding one color in each hand. It is SOOOO awkward, but I find it really interesting knitting.

Other things I've cast on for:
The One Row Scarf in this awesome Malabrigo Seleccion Privada.

I found it at a yarn shop in Houston & I fell madly in love with it. They only had one skein & I had no idea what I could make with one, but I couldn't leave it there. Perfect candidate for SSS10. This pattern is pretty brilliant - it makes great texture but is dead simple & goes really fast. It's going to be adorable, if I may say so my self!

Another pattern I have been dying to make is this Rainbow Moebius. Mine won't be so "rainbow" since I'm not using a yarn with long color repeats like that. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK .

I got this yarn in my Loopy Groupie package. It's like they looked at all of my orders & sent me something they knew that I would love, because I do love this yarn! It does give my moebius a different look from the original, but I think it will be really pretty.

#5 thing that I cast on for is the Eden Scarf. I've been told that it isn't very practical, which is so very true! But I think it's adorable & I want to knit it, so there you have it. I bought this Mini Mochi specifically for this pattern after seeing some knit in this yarn on Ravelry. I think it will be cute & impractical - my favorite kind of accessory! 


So that's what I've been doing since last Wednesday. You know what else? I think the fact that we have officially been under 100 degrees here in Dallas for the last week has really helped. It even got down to 66 the other night! Suddenly it seems possible that one day it will be cool enough to actually need a knitted item. Hooray for fall (ish) weather!

What are you working on?  Any ideas for single skein projects?  I have a lot of month left.  

Every Yarn Tells A Story

Doesn't it? For me, it does. Today I'm going to tell you the story of this gorgeous skein of Lisa Souza handspun Cashmere Merino in Jungle. Sigh.


mmmm....cashmere. You don't really care about the story anymore do you? Last October when I went to Stitches East, I made a vow to myself that the yarn I would buy at the market would be different, original, nothing that I could buy at my LYS or readily get my hands on. It was a good plan, it really was. The night of the market preview I was totally overwhelmed. I was walking around in a bit of a daze surrounded by gorgeous stuff when the pen of yarn appeared. Yes, PEN of yarn. One of the vendors puts up some fencing & it is chock full of bags of yarn at discounted prices - it's INSANE. I got a little caught up in it & found 2 colors of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool that I really love & was hoarding them. Sweater quantities of a yarn I've been wanting at discounted prices. Heaven, right? It's exactly what I wasn't supposed to be doing but I couldn't help it, I was caught up in the frenzy. As I was trying to decide which color to get (or just get both), I turned around & hanging in Lisa Souza's booth was this single skein of yarn. A perfect combination of greens, handspun, plied like I like it, and a 50/50 cashmere wool blend. It was soft & squishy & beautiful & exactly what I envisioned buying at my first Stitches experience. I threw the bags of yarn back in the pen & immediately bought this skein of yarn. My first Stitches purchase which set the tone for my additional purchases & my whole trip. It's what I think about every time I see it in my yarn cabinet. This morning.....I wound it into this:



Today begins Single Skein September, which is a month long Knit-A-Long hosted through the Stash and Burn podcast group on Ravelry. The intention of the KAL is to burn through the oddballs of yarn that you have stashed - you know all of those hats & scarves & small stuff that you buy yarn for but never get to? For me, I like to buy a ball or two of something to "try out" or sometimes (as is the case with this skein), the yarn is fairly high priced & one ball is all I can justify. What in the world do you do with all of those single skeins? That is the question I've been answering for the past few days, planning what yarn to use for this challenge. My first thoughts fell to various hats & the odd skeins of different Knitpicks yarn that I often throw into an order to get to free shipping. Or the yarns that are on the clearance rack at my LYS because there is only one or two of a color left & I buy them because "they will be perfect for chemo caps". Or the countless one skeins that I've bought to swatch to see if I like it enough to make a sweater (PS...I NEVER follow through with this!) Then my thoughts went to this yarn. This lovely squishy, gorgeous yarn that I've been sitting on waiting for the "perfect" project & the "perfect" time to knit it up. I'm here to tell you, today is that day. No time like the present! I'm going to make a Mustard Scarf. I love the look of it, I have a soft spot for scarves, and it is knit on size 15 needles so it should go fairly quick.

Stay tuned for more updates on fast one skein projects during September - I plan to burn some single skeins! We'll see how that goes.

And the FAIR Winner Is.....

So.....today Liz calls me to see if I got my fair results. Well, naturally Patrick has my mailbox key & is eating with his friend at Buffalo Wild Wings. Enter panic & anticipation. As it turns out, Liz got Honorable Mention on her photo & man, that is HUGE because I saw how many entries the photography department had & it was...overwhelming. Loads & loads of people entered photos. I have no idea how many people entered knitting.

So Patrick got home & got the mail. And OPENED my results (cardinal sin, me thinks).

3rd. I got 3rd. My friends tell me the shawl category is pretty competitive & that is ridiculously awesome....I don't know how to feel. I hope it has some notes & feedback because I'd like to see what they say. And what beat me. Dude, I'm so competitive. This is a side of me I wasn't really aware of!

But I'm happy - really I am. I can't wait to see it displayed at the fair. That's a big deal, Y'all!

What am I knitting?

Wow - I feel like I haven't talked about what I'm actually knitting in forever! Here are a few things I just finished:

Louise Cardigan in Ella Rae Lace Merino

This pattern is from the Vintage Baby Knits. When I was knitting it I was a little irritated at the fussiness of parts of it, but it turned out really great. I also remember why I love a baby sweater knit all in one piece! It's for one of Patrick's co-workers - I sure hope they like it!

Next up is this adorable lamb from Itty Bitty Toys

I always find toys fiddly to knit, and this one was no exception. For once in my life we didn't have 14 different kind of fast food drink straws in my house so I had to cut a fat straw for the legs. That didn't work out so well, so he won't stand up. He sure is cute though! He went to live with my swap partner but I think I'm going to have to make another one for my yarn room (hello, I COLLECT sheep).

Right now I have so many different things going on that I will be lucky to ever finish one. I'm working on a new sweater, Peasy, in some Rowan Felted Tweed that I got at the Woolie Ewe 2 or 3 years ago! Yay me for using stash yarn (and making room for another sweater's worth that I just bought last week, but whatever). It's really hard to get excited about sweaters when we have had 19ish days of over 100 degree temps here in Dallas, but soon enough it will be fall & I'll be happy that I pushed through the heat.

I also cast on for some socks! Same weather feelings as the sweater - it's hard to believe that I'll want to wear wool socks, but last winter I really enjoyed pulling out my handknit socks when it was chilly. To top it off, I am using some Knit Clinic yarn that was dyed by my friend Liz when she had an etsy shop of her very own. I've been saving it but I figured I might as well be enjoying it & I'm so glad I did. It makes me wish she'd start dyeing again right this minute - look how great it's coming out!

I actually finished the first one Thursday night & cast on for #2 last night. To me that is half of the battle - getting #2 on the needles! It's my first venture into short row heels & toes, toe up from Wendy Johnson's book Socks From the Toe Up. These are the Dead Simple Lace socks & they really are.

I'm also clicking along on my crazy striped shawl (it's about 2/3 done) and another baby sweater, so I have plenty to keep me busy. Then why oh why do I want to cast on another 8 projects this weekend? Dear knitting gods - please give me the strength to work on my existing projects & not be seduced by the thrill of new projects. Amen.

PS - I dropped my shawl off at the fair last weekend. We have to wait 2 weeks! TWO WEEKS. I thought they'd be all "OMG - this is so beautiful. You are da bomb" but they were pretty stoic about the whole thing. I'll let you know what happens.

Jumping In

This year I have decided to put a project into the Texas State Fair. Best that can happen is that I win a ribbon, worst thing that can happen is that I get some feedback on my work. So...what did I enter? My Mother-in-law's Autumn Leaf Pi Shawl designed by Kay Meadors.





This is one of my favorite items that I've ever made & the one that has caused the most gasps from other knitters. I hope it's worthy & I can't wait to see what happens. I got my entry so I bring it the weekend of August 13-15. I'm sure that will be cause for many stories here.

Time at the Farm

I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I grew up on about 40 acres and we had cows & horses. My Dad had chickens. I come from a line of people who know stuff about farming & gardens - both of my grandfathers were farmers. As much as I love living in the city, I really do miss fresh veggies & having some domestic animals around that aren't cats or yard bunnies. (although this guy was in my yard this morning & he wasn't scared of me at all).

Bonus points that he is really cute & my cats were in the yard & never even noticed him. Apparently they are also city animals.

I honestly can't remember when I first met Cindy, but she was perhaps one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She lives out 30 minutes or so from me & she has a fiber farm in Parker, TX. My favorite Christmas present from Patrick this past year was a share in Cindy's farm, Jacob's Reward Farm. Here is a little info about the CSA program. Since December I have been wanting to go out & visit Cindy & the animals & meet the new sheep & alpacas that I hadn't seen yet. Cindy has a spin in type day once a month. People pile in her little red barn & spin, or for non-spinners like myself, knit. We went a few weekends ago - her recap is way better than mine. And I made the video AND blog photos.

Did I mention that I got a new camera? And I've been playing with all of the settings? How does that tie in to the farm talk? Because I took some pictures & had my camera set to "night" because I was busy taking pictures at the Grease Sing-A-Long a few weeks ago. The first 3/4 of my pictures at the farm look like they were taken in a dream state. Interesting though. I never claimed to be a great photographer!

The Little Red Barn (in dream state)


Alpacas! (in dream state)


Chicken (in a dream state)


Gizmo! (in a dream state)


Patrick & Kenny trying to pet Gizmo (in a dream state)


Jethro (who we named, poor Cindy) & other Jacob Sheep


Alpacas! And I finally figured out that I was on the wrong setting. See, it was a really gorgeous (and hot) day.


Gizmo - after petting. I think he is saying "back off right now, seriously"


The other sheep


I want to go back right now & often! It's a really fun place to visit.

Putting my great knitting skills to use

You know, I don't like to brag. No, really, I don't. But I'm a damn good knitter. I don't ever back down from a challenging project. I never look at a pattern & shy away because I think I can't do that. I have taken more classes than I can count. I have a ridiculously good knitting teacher that I know that I can go to when I get stuck & pay for a very reasonably priced private lesson. {Shameless plug for Alissa Barton aka Knitting Fairy who just opened a yarn shop/studio in Arlington, TX - go visit her}. So what I am I knitting with the years of knowledge & practice that I've accumulated over the past 5 years?



Yep-garter stitch washcloths. Not even a washcloth with any type of pattern. Just cast on 42 & knit knit knit. Turn & knit knit knit. I cast on the first one because my knit group was going to see Sex & the City 2 & I didn't have any idiot knitting that I could work on in the dark. So I finished the first one. Then the next night was Patrick's birthday & he wanted to go see The A Team - cast on for #2. I couldn't stop knitting them. I have a big pile of kitchen cotton in my stash because goodness knows I can't pass up yarn on sale & it goes on sale often. I think I parred it down to about 15 skeins of my favorite colors. When one was finished, I'd grab another & get to knitting. I think my last count of finished cloths was 10? I left a pile with my Mom. She will use hers for dishes; mine are for straight up washcloths.

The sad true confession? I've had to text & call friends to talk me down from hitting Walmart to buy MORE kitchen cotton. We are going to ignore the fact that I still have plenty in my stash. But those 3 balls that I secretly bought made me feel much better. (What do you want from me? I didn't have THOSE colors!)

I have no idea why I can't seem to do anything remotely complicated right now. I have two baby sweaters I need to be working on. I need to make a little critter for a swap by the end of July. I have 10ish active WIP & countless items in my queue that I want to make, but can't seem to start. I tried to cast on for a sweater & can't seem to cast on 110 stitches. No, seriously, I've had to rip out my cast on 3 times because apparently I have forgotten how to count.

I'm slowly pulling myself away from this new addiction & am working on my other mindless project - the nameless shawl. While not AS easy & mindless, it is really pretty & interesting because I keep getting to change colors. Please support me as I go through withdrawals of washcloth knitting. It will be a challenge, but I don't know anyone else that needs 17 washcloths.