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or scoring big at Rhinebeck!
The Ledbetters, aren't they beautiful with the antique button inlay? They spin as beautifully as the look. And from sweet Carole, my first Greensleeves, in the most amazing spaulted maple I have ever seen.
While I stood at the Carolina Homespun booth, test spinning spindle after spindle, Marcy handed out this advice: Buy both, spindles cost less than a wheel. True. She's good, and I'm easy.
Getting back up and running after a fiber festival as stimulating as Rhinebeck is hard work. Really. Just read all the entries or rather posts on re-entry out there. It's Wednesday already and I am still exhausted, still playing catch up and still thinking about the Rhinebeck experience.
There are two finished objects. The sweater was seamed Saturday night during a great pizza and beer gathering in Carole's suite. I have only steamed it. Comments on the pattern: I like the sweater, it will be great to wear and was a fun knit. It wasn't written particularly well. You sort of had to follow your nose and hope for the best. It is a bit full at the underarm. I won't change it, at least not until I've wet blocked it and worn it to break it in. I did add a bit of shaping to the waist area. Here's the shot in the bathroom mirror. Maybe I need another cup of coffee...
Pattern: Taconic V-Neck
Needles: Knit Picks circs: 5,6,7 ( the metal tips)
Yarn: Shetland handspun, 2 ply, approx. 1000 yds. Spun on my Dixon wheel.
The other finished project, again in the bathroom mirror is the Crest of the Wave Scarf.
Pattern: my own
Yarn: Tashi, from Ball and Skein, 2 skeins, "Atlantic" colorway
Beads: had them around
Needles: Knitpicks #8 (again the wood)
A quick note:
When I left last week for Rhinebeck, Ball and Skein was unable to take PayPal. It was working when I went to bed last Wednesday, and not working when I went to my computer first thing Thursday morning. I am still trying to find the problem. I've spent the last couple days speaking (and trying to be pleasant, upbeat and not the sobbing mess I'm starting to become) to the tech support at my webhost, PayPal and the forum for Zencart. TANGLED MESS! Please be patient, if you want to place an order, email it to me. I will then send you a PayPal invoice and you can pay it directly from your account. It works fine, just not the way it is supposed to.
When I heard the sound, I knew to run. Not for cover, but for the clothes line. The last of the five loads of laundry I had washed were still hanging on the line. This woodlot on a hill where I am, was once named Crow Hill. For good reason. The oak forest that hides this place is home to legions of crows. In the fall, thousands of birds pass through, hour by hour, making their way through the tall thick canopy of oaks. I wonder if they are drawn here to feed, or if it is chance that the route passes this way. The trees are full of acorns. While here, we strategically park our cars in open spots, away from the falling missiles that C is sure can dent the cars. For now, I'll stick to the indoors until they pass by.
Today there is another migration, of knitters and spinners on their way to Rhinebeck. Do you suppose the residents there say, "lock your doors and windows, stay inside, they're coming, again."
Dreams of a Rhinebeck sweater are still floating around here. With a couple dozen rows to go on both sleeves, it would be within the realm of possibility if today was open for knitting. It isn't. We'll see. The forecast is for warm and wet weather, not really optimum for wool wearing.
Rhinebeck Blogger's Bingo. I am a Square again this year. Both days. I'll have an orange slicker and a black knitting bag with the "I'm a Square" tag hanging from one of the straps. Don't forget to say "hi". Just in case I'm on your card, I look a lot like this..
And a plea to any of you die hard Dr. Who fans: IF you have a copy of the Season Finale: Episode 13, PLEASE BRING IT. I missed it.
The leaves keep falling along with the temperature and amount of daylight. Winter is coming. I can feel the difference in the air. Projects are wrapping up, the guys want to get in the woods. It is really exciting to see dreams become tangible.
I think it blends in rather well. With all the rain we have had, I'll be happy to have the roof closed in. Monday, the connection between the two roofs was established and the tin cut, exposing the existing barn to the elements. Luck held. No rain Monday night.
No joke... it's changing.
What with all that has been going on, and the problematic phone lines, these weren't posted onto the website when I'd hoped. Finally, they are up.
Thanks for all your good thoughts on the clear cut issue. Talks continue. Skidder arrives next week. Time will tell.
How do you read this?
Next row (RS): Knit and continue working in Stst. On 3rd and every following 4th row, increase one stitch each end of sleeve 18 times in all.
A well written pattern is a joy. This one has some confusing bits. It is a simple V-neck, so no matter, anything can be sort of guessed. Like the short rows at the shoulders. I know what has to be done, but it stumped me when I read it, over and over and over.. until I just went ahead and did them. For the record, I'm increasing each side, every 4th row. I skipped the part about the 3rd row. I knit both sleeves at once. They'll match.
The animals are on the move. It is noisy business. From the sound of the radio dogs, the bear are sticking mainly to the wooded areas. The corn field has been cut so they no longer go there to hide and feast. Birds, small rodents and by the look of the vomit in my yard, the raccoons, are enjoying what was left behind. Turkeys, too. So many of them. They get around, covering rather large areas quickly. Geese, oh my.. the geese! They are everywhere, barking and honking. LOUD. C calls them the "sky dogs". Rightly so.
I'm still gathering bits and pieces. This morning I cut two quarts of broccoli and brought what will certainly be the last two trays of green tomatoes into the shop. I filled one last bag with green peppers. It was 28F last night. How they escaped the frost, wonderful and weird. I think it must have been all the rain that we had immediately before the temperature fell.
My neighbor stunned us this week announcing that he will clear cut (strip all the trees from) the hillside on the far side of my pond. MY VIEW! I am so sad. So depressed. I can't imagine the mess it will become, my beautiful view. The noise of chain saws, falling trees and the skidder. The smell of diesel. I have lots of land, just not enough. Maybe there is never enough.
Those overly bright, scorch your cornea days of last week have given way to more seasonal temps and drizzle. The grey days of fall are pushing their way in. The wetness accentuates color, in ways I prefer. Not good for drying yarn but for dyeing.... yes!
Tomatoes have ripened on the window sills in the shop. They do double duty, warming the house while roasting and scenting it with their sweet aroma.
C is back and at work again in the shop. I've had it to myself so much lately it's hard to share the space. He's in production mode. We want to get enough skein winders boxed and ready to ship so we won't have too much lag time over the coming holiday season.
More space is on the way. Not shop space, but... lots of storage. This is the shot from yesterday's early morning check it out with Sammy walk.
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, remember?
Saturday morning I got up, had a pot of coffee and hit the road. It's peak and beyond in the north country. The highest hills are falling fast. Some are showing the bare bones of the coming season. It was the first day of bow season. The hunters would be out in t-shirts and maybe shorts. Unheard of weather, unseasonably warm. Who'd eat meat gotten in these temps? Color showed high all the way south into Massachusetts. The intensity of color is dependent on the time of day, the angle of the sun. Late afternoon, when the shadows darken, the sun showers a golden light turning the landscape into a carnival of color, a sci fi, day glo world. Inspiration... of course. What artist would use such brash color..
The gable:
Cyndy is to be thanked for the title to today’s post. Very clever. In answer to the question, ‘what is it’, IT is a bump out, storage for the tractors and maybe a car. Above there will be more storage. It is really a royal pain and much added work in the winter, to have to dig the tractor out before you can plug in it in to preheat the engine, and eventually start it up and dig or blow yourself out. The plan is that now we can slide open the barn door (don’t laugh yourself silly on that naïve thought, Anne) and drive out blowing the path open in front… um.. behind.. (well, the snowblower is located on the rear PTO which means you back up to blow) as you go. That is the plan. It would be nice to have a car in there for the same reason, don’t you think.
The cable:
As is often the case, when I went to look for the yarn needed to finish a sweater I have on the needles, I found I had left it stored elsewhere. What I did find as I went through my stash bins was about 1200 or so yards of handspun Shetland in a nearly worsted weight. It is rather roughly spun. No excuse, I did it a couple years back and I don’t know why chose to spin it that way. I went through all my magazines, some books and spent some time online. I came up with this pattern, the Taconic V-neck. It wasn’t anything on my list but swatched perfectly so I went ahead and I downloaded the pattern. C has been out of town for the past week. That gave me the quiet evening time needed to get the cabled front down. I’ve got less than 6” to go. The back and sleeves are mindless stockinette. I have enjoyed this knit so far. I did have to run down to the shop early the other morning and make myself a little cable needle. Luckily, I could.
