Dreaming of Rhinebeck

Hi friends. I am so excited about my upcoming girls weekend to Rhinebeck. I'm looking foward mostly to spending time with my mom, sisters, cousins and all of my knitting family. These women are all amazing and talented and welcoming and generous and kind. The festival is just the backdrop to a weekend away with makers and creative people.

I have to be honest, I don't have much of a shopping list this year. I still have some yarn from my fibershare partner that is waiting to be knitted up as well as a few skeins from Maryland Sheep & Wool. I'm not much of a stash buyer. I buy for projects for the most part, so I don't like buying yarn just to have it in my house.

I usually go with a gameplan for a few projects so if I do see something that would work for them I might get it. I also love looking for notions and souveniers that I can enjoy all the time (like a new mug, framed artwork, stitch markers, needle cases...those kinds of things) Did you see Jenny the Potter's monarch butterfly plates????? OMG...that will be my first stop for sure. Hopefully I can get one in time.

I thought I would share with you a few projects that I have on my wish list.


First up: The Aito Shawl by Melody Hoffmann

I saw this shawl on A Wooden Nest podcast and as soon as Lindsay showed it I knew that I needed to make this. I'm hoping to find some soft merino worsted yarn in natural colors. You need 6 colors (ugh...that's a lot of skeins) but it will give me LOTS of leftover yarn I think so I can use it for another project like a yoked cardigan or some type of colorwork.

Love & Darkness Shawl by Sylvia McFadden
I saw this at Vogue Live NYC last year in the Green Mountain Spinnery Booth and it's been on my mind since. I won't buy for both shawls, but I'll have it on my list just in case I cave and want yarn for this one.

I'm going to get myself some things from Tuft Woolens at Needles Up and maybe a skein or two of yarn as gifts. We are doing a secret sister swap on Saturday night that I'm looking forward to. We will pick names on Friday night and then shop for something our partner will like at the festival Saturday. I already know what I'm going to look for but the color will depend on who I get! Fun!

That's really all I have on my list as of today. It might change, but I don't expect to buy much this year. I just want to have fun with my friends :)

Liz and I have recorded our "Tips to Rhinebeck" and we will release it this weekend. Lots of good tips and tricks!

Are you going??? What's on your list?

Farm Days Recap

Hi all! Well, it's Thursday and I'm just recovering from National Alpaca Farm Days weekend. Can't imagine how my mom, dad and sister Liz are feeling. They did all the prep work. I just helped out on the weekend. It was all worth it though! So many visitors (around 3,000 to be exact!) for the weekend. It was a wonderful event and we are thankful for the continued support and kindness from the folks in the community.

Liz and I talk about farm days in our most recent podcast episode. Here's the link to our Cocktail Hour at the Coop podcast:

https://youtu.be/Db_3_DLofWc



I was so busy talking to visitors that I only had a chance to take a few pictures.

Thank you to my knitters for hanging out on Saturday to knit and show the people what we do!!! From left to right: Robin (robinsroost), Seashore Sharon, Just Joan and Purple Debbie. My superhero knitters :)

Cocktail Hour at the Coop: Episode 17!

Hi friends! Episode 17 of our podcast is now live. We cheers to September! Last weekend we all headed out to the NJ Sheep & Wool Festival and we talk about our road trip, seeing friends, what we got and also all the fun stuff we have been working on. Take a look!

Hope you like it :)

Click here to watch:

https://youtu.be/COEEnX3l1mA

Yarn Along: Where's Wilbur Hat

Hi fiber friends! I'm working away on my Ramona Light cardigan and the embroidery. The sweater is complete and I have started one side of embroidery. It's my first time doing it so there's been some learning curves. I talk about it on the podcast this week if you are interested in learning more of the details. For now I have a few photos I can share of the progress. You'll see the "shiny" looking plastic stuff around the stitches. That is a water-soluable stabilizer that will be gone when everything is complete. I'll just soak it in water and it will go away...at least it's supposed to!!

My theme is based on "my apple tree" that blooms every year on my birthday. I've talked about it here. I have embroidered three apple blossoms on the one side to represent my three kids. A barn swallow on the back, using the brown yarn from the alpacas. Barn swallows come back to the farm every year it always marks the beginning of summer, vegetable gardens and warmer days.

I'm still working on the barn swallow. It needs more detail and then I'll start the work on the other side. My plan is to make some buttons from one of the apple tree branches. We'll see how that goes!!! But overall I am LOVING doing this kind of work. I want to work on it all day long but you know...that whole work and real life stuff gets in the way!!! I am using an embroidery hoop to stabilize the sweater and I was afraid it would stretch the fabric out too much but it's not.

The green yarn of the sweater is Quince chickadee in the marsh color.

I have a new project to talk about too. I bought a skein of yarn from Wing & A Prayer Farm last year in Rhinebeck. It was in the Battenkill Fibers booth. I had to buy it when I saw it because it's partly made of fiber from WILBUR the alpaca! If you follow Tammy and her instagram stories (you really should if you don't already) then you know Wilbur walks all around the farm and she'll often tag #whereswilbur. I've had the yarn almost a year and I wanted to make sure I used it for something special.

When my sister, Andee released this hat pattern (Odie Hat) and my son and I modeled it for her I knew I had to knit it. It's sooooo soft and comfortable to wear. The double brim is so nice and I have just enough yarn so I'm starting it today.

Here's a picture of my son and I wearing her sample hats.

Happy Yarn Along Day. Hope you're enjoying what you are working on.

Just a reminder to join in the fun and win prizes by participating in our podcast make-along by using #arrowacresrhinebeckkal on instagram or Ravelry. We also have a group thread running. You can find that by clicking here.

Cocktail Hour at the Coop: Episode 16 is LIVE!

Hi friends!!! Well....Episode 16 of our podcast is LIVE!!! We're a hot mess, lots of farm distractions, kids, farm equipment, dad looses his phone, dogs knocking over tripods, bad lighting.....oh yeah, and some knitting, crochet, spinning and the peanut gallery is back.

Hope you enjoy!!!!

Cocktail Hour at the Coop: Episode 16 • We're a Hot Mess!

Eye Candy: Thank You Ravelry!

If you are a Ravelry user (who isn't???)...and you've been on in the past two weeks, you may have seen a gorgeous knitting pattern on a gorgeous girl surrounded by gorgeous alpacas. Yup! That's right!!! My sister, Andee's photo of her knitting pattern, More Pi Poncho was featured as the Eye Candy for High Yardage projects. The alpacas are Arrow Acres cuties!

Andee took this photo. The beautiful model is our friend, Ryan. How pretty is she??!! And she's normally BEHIND the camera as a photographer. So it's nice to see her in photos not just the taker of the photos! 

Andee modified her More Pi to make it a ponch. I grabbed this info off of Andee's  blanket pattern page. Or you can see all of her notes by clicking here.

ABOUT
“More Pi” is a Pi Shawl Blanket. It is made out of DK weight yarn. It is intended to be used as a lap blanket or worn around your shoulders to keep you warm and cozy while sitting in your favorite chair. The entire blanket is worked in the round except for the knitted on edging. It starts on DPNs and then is worked on circular needles. The outer edging is worked as a knitted on edge. The pattern is worked mostly by charts, but there are a few written sections.

MATERIALS
Amano Yarns Puna 100% baby alpaca DK (1 skein = 250 M/273 yards)
3- skeins Color “A” sample shown in color #4000 (maras white)
3- skeins Color “B” sample shown in color #4010 (inca ruins)
3- skeins Color “C” sample shown in color #4005 (alpamayo)

NEEDLES
US 5 / 3.75 mm DPNs (for cast on and knitted on edging)
US 7 / 4.5 mm 16” circular (for color work sections)
US 7 / 4.5 mm 24” circular (for color work sections)
US 7 / 4.5 mm 32” circular (for color work sections)

I have listed three needle sizes for the circular options. You can knit the main portion of this with a 24” circular, but you may find it more comfortable to use a 32” circular. Please feel free to use whatever size circular needles work best for you.

SIZE
55” diameter

GAUGE
5 stitches = 1” in stockinette after blocking
7 rows = 1”

TOOLS
Crochet Hook (for cast on)
Tapestry needle
BOR- beginning of round marker
SM- stitch markers 24 (one unique color to indicate beginning of round)
T-pins & blocking wires for blocking (not necessary but recommended)

SKILL LEVEL
You must be able to read a chart, knit in a round and do color work. The cast on method is “Emily Ocker’s Circular Beginning”. If you are not familiar with this cast on method there are many great tutorials already published on YouTube. The edging is a knitted on edge, which is worked in garter stitch.

It's so cool to see her work on Ravelry front and center. She's in what's hot right now too. Thank you Ravelry for supporting and providing so many creative people a place to share their talents and earn income doing what they love. I'm so happy I learned to knit during the time of Ravelry. 

Baby Sweater!

My cousin Matt and his wife Molly are expecting a baby boy, their first baby in October. Molly's sister held a beautiful and fun baby shower for her last weekend. I was excited to knit up a quick little sweater for the new little guy.

I used Cascade Eco Cloud (an alpaca/merino wool blend) in a nice oatmeal color for the Baby Sophisticate baby sweater. The yarn is really nice to work with! It's a braided cord yarn that makes a really nice stitch. It's awesome!!

The pattern is free on Ravelry and is easy to follow. I did a few things different (mainly the way I did the raglan increases) but for the most part followed it exactly.

The shower was so nice. The house was beautiful, decorations were perfect and the food was outstanding!!! I had a really nice time. I wish I had taken more photos. The plates were all different antique china plates. All of the little touches were so thoughtful and pretty. I felt like I was in a pinterest page!

This baby boy will be named John (he's the fifth generation of John on his mommy's side)! He will also be the 11th great-grandchild for my grandparents. Out of the 11, there is only ONE girl!!!!! We're good at making boys in this family!