Embrace the Weather!

From the studio window, 12-15-10

My "word of the year" has been Embrace, and as we approach this year's end I'm fondly reminding myself to continue to do this. This morning the temperature reached 3 BELOW, and it's not even technically winter yet! It is very rare for it to get this cold in central Kentucky, especially outside of January or February, and we've already had half of an average winter's total snowfall. To make matters worse, everyone is bracing for a winter storm tonight that may include up to 6 inches of snow and then a topping of.... that word we all dread around here.... ICE. (The last icestorm, in 2009, left us without power here for a week!)

Fortunately I had home schooling as my excuse to stay indoors this morning, and it was a glorious day to be along the Kentucky River as frost tinged the treetops.
It warmed quite a bit throughout the day, and the wildlife were actively out looking for food ahead of the storm. I saw a lot of birds on the feeders, wild turkeys scratching for acorns, and this adolescent deer (among others).We decided to take a walk, and Munchie, as always, was excited to come along! Mirian wanted to bring her lambs Shelby and Pepe (now almost fully mature), as we just moved them to a new paddock closer to the house and they've been baaaing for attention. It is so pretty by the river when there's snow on the trail.The horses followed along partway from inside of their field, begging for a sample of sweet feed.
It was pretty cute when Mirian's horse Gringo knocked her hat off! (I love this picture of a happy horse and his girl!)
And, another happy horse and his girl....Both of us were wearing Quarters Caps that I knitted from Kristin Nicholas' pattern. They are a really fun, addicting and easy knit, and I think I've made at least 6 of these. I was wearing the one that Mirian has on during a cold volunteer shift at the World Equestrian Games (knit from handspun alpaca/wool/and angora yarn), and a young fellow volunteer who was a college student went nuts over it! Through a series of coincidences, I recently met her mother and guess what she's asked me to knit her daughter for Christmas?!I have a feeling I'm going to be especially grateful for my warm alpaca knits this winter! Come back to see a studio shot of tomorrow's weather, and check back soon for a GIVEAWAY of some alpaca items from our farm! Everyone be safe out there.... Pin It Now!

Color to the Rescue

 Our Kentucky landscape gets a bit blah this time of year- above is a picture I took from the studio window on Monday....

And then yesterday....The snow always seems to brighten the hills and my mood, but it's easy to see why I want to work with bright colors at these times.  Here's some of the roving that I just had processed at Ohio Valley, already hand-dyed, and the resulting handspun yarn.

Valentine colors seem to be attracting me right now, I wonder why?

 

I've even nearly finished a new hat knit with handspun from last week's batch of roving.

 

The studio is absolutely bursting with brightness. And that doesn't even include the valentine fabric and felt surprises.... more on those to come.

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Finally finished a few

 I've been working on spinning up the yarn I need to finish a vest I started last year- the cold weather had me wishing it was done, so I tried to discipline myself into spinning more and more of the seemingly endless and boring rose grey yarn. 

My reward was to spin and knit with some really pretty and bright baby alpaca that I dyed last week.  I worked on it while at our annual Lexington Spinner's Retreat, rewarding myself with something super-soft and interesting which I spun fairly bulky.  I then knit it into an equally mindless-to-make scarflet- the Ribbed Mini-Scarf, (found on Ravelry,) and the pattern can be downloaded here for free (I didn't actually do the ribs, but rather did a simple K1P1).  Yes, I made it for myself- I've heard that January is Selfish Knitting Month!

Well, I wasn't entirely selfish- I'd been needing to knit a few projects for new babies.  The blanket I started for my niece's baby last fall just didn't get finished- it was another case of taking on a too-big project with fine yarn. I knit these Seed Stitch Shoes (pattern found in Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits for Beginners) from hand-dyed and hand-spun baby alpaca.  I love the colors for a baby boy, but they did come out pretty large- oh well, maybe he'll wear them when he's two!  I plan to spin more of the roving into a much finer yarn for my friend's newborn baby boy.

It's amazing how much cold, yucky weather gets me back into the spinning and knitting mood! Pin It Now!

Summertime routine... not!

After five jam-packed days in Cleveland of showing and selling alpacas, networking, learning new things, shopping, and camping in our RV on a parking lot, I had hoped to have at least one little quiet day.... not! We had our 3rd cria within a few days (male, but one of the best-looking fleeces I've seen on a cria), the kids have lots going on, and this morning our water well pump went out. It always takes a while to get into our summer groove, so I guess I need to be patient.

The AOBA National Show and World Alpaca Conference really was great, and I am SOOO glad I went! It was so fun reconnecting with people, and I think it's always good to learn new things. It's just very motivating! Fiber and all of the awesome things that people are doing with their fiber was probably the most exciting thing to realize. The Fashion Show was great as always, and featured both commercial and handmade items! (See guy in alpaca coat and scarf at top, be sure to look at coat, not just guy!)

One of the new things I learned about was these giant needles, at the booth of BagSmith. I bought a pair of Size 50's (plus 35's for i-cord), as well as a very cool pattern book for making rugs, shawls, bags, etc. It looks like I could be going through a lot of my giant yarn stash very soon!

I've been wanting to "relearn" how to crochet- they make giant crochet hooks, too!

The definite highlight of the conference was winning our first National banner- Brown Female Color Champion with XXXtremely Sweet! We purchased her dam at the Snowmass Auction last year, and it was a very affirming selection! Her dam just gave us the mentioned cria on Monday, and he looks to have the same potential.

Out other alpacas did really well in the show, and we sold our auction girl! Check out this little movie to see Man of Steel (co-owned with Catalpa Creek)being shorn after showing. His color change from before to after is really cool. Pin It Now!

Maine Mitts for Me!

Last weekend before heading off to my spinning retreat, I went through some of my fiber stash and discovered some lovely Bluefaced Leicester hand-dyed roving and some yarn I had already spun from it. I purchased the fiber at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival the only year I had the good fortune of attending, perhaps in 2005? The yarn was sold by Firesong, and I remember all of their colors being stunning.

I enjoy working with alpaca most of all, but it is nice to work with other fibers from time to time. BFL wool is relatively soft, hard-wearing, and has really pretty luster. The yarn that I had already spun was fairly bulky and uneven, but I felt that it would be good for that pattern I love, Maine Morning Mitts! I spun a skein last weekend that will perhaps become a hat or scarf, my spinning was so much better the second time around.

These mitts will be nice to wear tomorrow morning when we finish up on the alpaca's routine herd health (worming injections and trimming toenails)! It's nice to have warm wrists and hands but to have my fingers free for fine motor tasks.

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Making Time....

This morning I was looking at my to-do list and wondering if I have time to go to my Wednesday afternoon knitting group. I have made attending this little get-together a priority (for my own sanity), but sometimes a bit of guilt creeps in.... I've been swamped here at the farm and have found that a certain daughter is pushing my buttons again. In addition, I certainly haven't made time to exercise regularly as I hoped.

But, I was just perusing the blogs I enjoy and caught up with Martha Stewart. I nearly took her blog off my list as it is of course more commercial than most, however I am finding that I enjoy a few minutes here and there of living vicariously through her! In the past month, she has posted about going to a wilderness spa retreat with her daughter in the Southwest, an island vacation in the Bahamas with friends, adopting some Himalayan cats from her local shelter, and riding her Fresian horses on a snowy afternoon (see that one here, MB and Marti Mu, hint, hint!). She posts tons of photos with each entry, many her own, so it doesn't have too much of a magazine feel.
Of course, Martha looks wonderful in all! It's easy to see why, since she has such an active life and does the things that she enjoys. I have read that she has a type-A personality and has worked for years and years obsessively on her career, but it doesn't appear that she is a total workaholic! Yes, she has tons of staff and no longer has children (or a husband) at home, but few could keep her schedule AND find time to do the things they love (and I would bet that like me she watches little to no television). On that note, I am feeling inspired to take a 20 minute walk in the cold with Munchie! (Photos here are from that walk...)
I had planned to write some reflections on the inauguration and have read many beautiful summaries, but I am unable to find many words..... WOW, that music, and the poem, and the benediction, and the SPEECH (oh yeah, and Michele's dress at the ball!) Let me just say simply that my heart is lightened and my mind is completely filled with optimism and pride when I consider the inauguration of Barack Obama.... God Bless America! Pin It Now!

New Knitting for a New Year

I haven't been without my knitting on this trip! Before we left, I picked up some yarn that I had processed at a new mill in our area, Flaggy Meadow Fiber Works. Sean and Lori are new suri alpaca breeders that recently moved their farm and mill from Maine to Kentucky, and I wanted to give them a try.I have to say I am VERY pleased with the quality of their work, and I enjoyed a tour they gave me of their mill as well. I will definitely be sending them much more fiber very soon, and you can watch for more details of my visit on my other blog.Above is some of the yarn I had spun that I couldn't wait to put in the dye pot. It is amazing how much the quality of the fiber translates into how well it takes dye- this yarn just glows and is as silky and lofty as any I have worked with! Although of course I have umpteen other projects going, I wanted to make something that combines the bright colors I dyed, and thumbing through one of my favorite knitting books, Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters' Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures, I remembered this project, the Nina Shawl, that I have been wanting to knit! I love the color combination shown in the book, but here and here and here are some others! The bright colors I'm working with reflect my optimism for a positive 2009. Happy New Year, friends, family, and fellow knitters! Pin It Now!

One of my favorite days!

Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official first day of winter. Although we certainly have more daylight than many places, it is typically a gloomy time. The past few days have brought extremely variable weather (it hit nearly 70 on Friday, and is in the low 20's right now and headed for the teens!) Why is it one of my favorite days? Because the days start getting longer again.

Today the sun is shining brightly, which definitely makes me feel better! I have talked to so many people lately that are feeling down, and I know that I struggle sometimes when I don't get enough sunlight. I hope that wherever you are (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere), that you remember that after today, we can put the shortest day behind us.I'm now writing the rest of this on Monday morning, and it's only 5 degrees outside-crazy! I am so grateful for my warm alpaca garments as we continue to make very frequent trips to the barn for cria checks and bottle feeding.
With all that I have on my plate the next few days, I have to concede that my Christmas knitting is completed! (At least all that is going to get done!) Above is a pair of Maine Morning Mitts that I made from a worsted-weight alpaca/wool blend that I overdyed over rose grey- I liked the way the colors turned out. I hope the recipients enjoy their handknits! Pin It Now!

Maine Morning Mitts

A tiny bit of knitting therapy and some good rest are making me feel human again as I've recovered from our long weekend but ended up with a cold. I had hoped to finish these Maine Morning Mitts/fingerless gloves (more Christmas knitting) while on our trip, but there was hardly a down minute and when things did slow down each night, I crashed!

I recently saw these in Magpie Yarn, and learned that the pattern is available on Ravelry and here for free. Many of the Ravelry projects show it using Noro Kuryon (as is shown here), but I am realizing that many recipients may not like the fact that the two mitts don't match. I honestly think that I'll do the next pair (and I do feel sure I'll knit many more) in some handspun/hand-dyed yarn of my own.

I do think they make the perfect hand-made Christmas gift- little to no sizing involved, quick but unique, and something that anyone can use!

Don't forget to comment on yesterday's post to be eligible to win a pair of alpaca socks, shipping included. (I'll even ship to someone else, if you want to send them as a gift!)
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Sweater Weather

I wonder how long I can keep up knitting a sweater a day? Okay, they are pretty small, small enough to use as an ornament, gift embellishment, or even for Barbie! (Guess who's going to be getting one?) You should have seen me sneaking into someone's room to try this on her!After listening to Susan Anderson's podcast with Christmas gift suggestions, I decided to knit a mini sweater from a book that I have and love, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. Then I just had to do another, and I was pleased with the way the variegated sock yarn (Trekking XXL) looked on the sweaters.
These were really fun to knit, and I enjoyed the construction which entailed knitting two fronts, two backs, two sleeves, and then joining together at the yoke. I wish that all sweaters were this easy! Pin It Now!

Color for a Dreary Day

I was going to write about serious stuff like the topsy-turvy economy, how screwed up our priorities have become, how we've forgotten what Christmas is for, stuff like that. But, I decided instead to concentrate on something that makes me smile a little... handknit socks.
I found the pattern for these here, and originally intended to make a mismatched pair as shown on Faith's blog. I loved the way the first one I made turned out and really didn't think that the colors in the rest of the Noro Kuryon skeins would look very good, so I decided to try to match the second sock instead- I think it came out pretty well! I have a feeling that a certain 13-year-old girl for which they're made (ssshhh, they're for Christmas!) will love the bright colors and warmth of soft wool on her perpetually-cold feet. I should have enough from the two skeins to make myself a pair, though they will be completely different colors! The pile of yarn at the top is what I cut off after I cleaned up the ends. I did weave in the important ones at the beginning and end, and along the heel, but at color changes for the stripes I carried both colors for about 6 stitches and I felt that was likely enough to hold the new and old colors in place- anyone have any thoughts on that? Do you think the sock may be uncomfortable that way?

I have been knitting a ton, and we cocooned a lot this weekend and watched the Anne of Green Gables DVD's that my sister-in-law loaned us. Mirian and I cried in so many places, and of course I was ogling the gorgeous handknits throughout. What a great series! I can hardly wait to start on my next project!

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Loving a Rainy Day and Monday!

Back in the summer I was having some down times and wrote about one particular yucky Monday. Well, it's really rainy outside now, but I am content to have some quiet time to nest, knit, blog, cook, and plan out the week. With Mirian home several consecutive days with a cough and the kid's break coming up, I am coveting the little bit of quiet time that I have this morning.

Above is another Noro stripe scarf that I'm finishing up for a Christmas present, this one with Seldom Scene Farm rose grey alpaca and Noro color 2023. I love the combination of natural alpaca with the Noro, and it is incredibly soft after washing and blocking. If you're a regular knitting blog reader, you may be getting sick of seeing pictures of this scarf, but like the Yarn Harlot, I'm not tired of knitting them yet! The easy pattern allows lots of time for my own thoughts, or listening to music or podcasts- I love mindless knitting this time of year when so much of my time is filled with multi-tasking! We're excited to have lots of family and a few friends coming in for Thanksgiving! I spent a lot of time yesterday chopping vegetables for various dishes and making a breakfast casserole for the morning after. Hopefully, my last grocery stop is behind me and I'm completely stocked up for the week. Now that our house is under control, I feel like I can better enjoy cooking and not stress so much about my dirty house. That is a huge accomplishment for me!

If I don't get to write again, I wish you all a safe and healthy Thanksgiving!

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