It's like the Sear's Toy Catalog....

Remember when you were little and the Sear's big toy catalog came in the mail at Christmas time? Oh man, I would go through that book, circle, dog ear pages, look through it over and over again, making a wish list that probably went on and on.

Well, getting ready for a fiber festival is that same feeling for me. Looking at the vendor list, combing through patterns on Ravelry, looking at instagram feeds for project inspirations, scoping out places to eat, gifts to buy and dreaming of what will be next on my needles.

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is only a week and a half away. EEK!!! It's one of my favorite weekends of the year. I have been going to the festival for the past 12?? years. I think. Not sure. But I think 12. Anyway....it's been a while and I love it. Here's a link to our trip in 2018.

I usually buy the yarn for my planned Rhinebeck sweater and then a few odds and ends or something that I just HAVE to have. Last year I finally treated myself to a Buffalo Wool hat. It was a 40th birthday present to myself and I love it. This year, I have to go in with a different game plan because I have already knitted one sweater for Rhinebeck and am halfway through my second. So I've been having fun looking at patterns and vendors. I like to go into the festival with a shopping list of patterns that I may want to make. I'm not good at just buying a skein of yarn and then figuring out what to do with it. To be honest it stresses me out! And knitting is my stress-reliever. So I go in with a plan.

Here's what I'm thinking of for this year:

This is my Leaves of Grass shawl I knitted in 2013. I loved it. It was my first big lace project and it accidentally went through the washer and dryer and came out looking like a fiber dinner plate. I completely ruined it and to be honest it has taken me years to get over it. My mom reminded me that I have been wanting to knit another one so I think I'll be heading to Green Mountain Spinnery booth to get yarn to make another one.

Another project I'm thinking of takes 2 skeins of fingering yarn.
Right Around the Corner shawl

I'm also looking forward to Needles Up. Hoping get a new oil roller from Tufts Woolens and a new project bag from Amy Beth (The Fat Squirrel).

Hope you all have a great time if you are going! Just a reminder that there will be a podcast meetup on Saturday at 1:30 in front of the 4-H building. Come say hi!!!

Adventures in Sewing

I am new to sewing garments and not very good at it yet, but I'm learning.

This is the third time making an Esme tunic from the Lotta Jansdotter book, Everyday Style. I really like wearing tunics and I also love how quick sewing is!

I am used to knitting which takes a long time (I don't mind that) but it is nice to sit down at the sewing machine and have new garment to wear within an hour or two.

I love this fabric soooo much. It was a gift from my friend, Allison.

I have a bunch leftover so I'm going to make more things with it.

Maybe a jacket from the book....We'll see!

A Pile of Yarn Scraps

A knitter will understand why that pile of yarn is exciting.

It means all the ends are woven in and you have a finished object!!!!

My Wiola sweater is complete. My mom is making dorset buttons for me and once they are sewn on I'll take finished pictures. But for now, I will revel in the joy that comes after finishing a huge sweater. This one was the hardest sweater I have ever made. Most of the knitting was three color at a time colorwork and very vague directions. But I did it. And I love it. And I can't wait to wear it to Rhinebeck 2019!

Happy knitting friends!

All that and the kitchen sink

This is one of the those posts that my friend Debbie will laugh at. She'll say, "I would have made this post into 10 different posts!" Yup. That's what I do here on the blog these days. I go through my phone and dump it here all at once :)

So here we go....pictures from the past two weeks.

Alpacas, knitting, sweaters, college tours, baseball opening day, school dances, steeking, new projects, NJ Wool Walk at Chelsea Yarns, NJ Wool Walk after-hours party at Frame & Fiber, laughing, podcast recording and life. 

So there ya have it folks. The last two weeks in a nutshell. Cheers!