Hello Chevoit ~

When I was at Madrona this year, searching for Finn, I met another sheep that I knew would be in my spinning future. The name of the sheep breed is Chevoit, which I connected with Chevrolet being a Detroit girl. This sheep breed is tough like Detroit, and also lovely and soft.  What struck me when I first saw the Chevoit at the Woolgatherings booth was the color. Clear and pure white, like the froth on a latte, almost glowing white, like a seashell's iridescence.

Yes, I did get the Chevoit fiber, and started to spin today. The fibers seem to be longer than I am used to spinning, and I found little pokey fibers here and there, I believe they are called kemp fibers. I do not recall seeing them before in my spinning, but perhaps the white luminous quality of the Chevoit makes the kemp appear more easily. I love this continuing education about new breeds to spin. So far, this is a lovely wool fiber to add to my education!

Bear Sweater ~

The Seattle Knitter's Guild charity project this year is Erin's Bears, so I thought I'd better cast on to see if I could figure out the easy sweater pattern for these bears. The pattern is designed by one of our very creative Guild members, and it was very easy.  Thank you Anu!

Here is my sweater, cast on and cast off in one day of knitting.  I do wish I had more of the yarn for the sleeves, but these short sleeves will be perfect for warmer weather! :)

Orange and Lime ~

Another adventure in favorite colors, this cowl has been such fun to knit with my lovely yellow glass needles!  The pattern has a great rhythm and has worked well with the needles and very soft yarn.

 

Not sure how it will block out, as the sides are curling and the slipped stitches also pull the edges. I will ask for help from our Amazing Blocking Wizard, Patti, as she makes all of our wrinkled and crinkled projects look like professionally knit samples!  Hurrah!

Orange you glad ~

A wonderous color, orange. Such connection with all things bright and citrus and happy. Yet orange is so misunderstood, really, not many people appreciate the beauty, grace and whimsey of orange.

Imagine my thrill when oldest daughter picked out this yarn for her socks. She typically picks out the muted colors, yet this time she is taking a chance on orange. They are turning out great, and almost to the heel turn! Youngest daughter is already wanting them, and to be honest, so am I!

Track Begins Fast ~

Track season officially started today, and my Champion ran fast and strong in her 1600 race, which is the one mile race for those that have trouble with the numbers (I'm one of those people sometimes!) and is also defined by, "4 times around the track" for those needing a visual....of which I am one of those people too.

Her time was 6:04 minutes for her mile, just shy of her Personal Record (PR) of 6:03, so we are hoping for a very fast season! She's actually pictured here doing the 4 by 4 relay, but I love these cool pictures of the baton hand off!

13 Shades of Grey ~

Not quite 50 Shades of Grey, but still so lovely, soft and delicious. I haven't read that book series, yet I thought of the title when I saw how beautiful this merino/alpaca/angora yarn turned out.

Over 500 yards of amazing softness and shadows, just waiting for the perfect pattern to present itself. Any ideas?

New Generation of Chicks ~

This is the year to get another generation of wee chickens to add to our egg laying flock. We picked out eight this year, all cute and fuzzy and peeping. They are adorable at this age, and we have such fun holding them and getting them used to their little home on wheels where they will live until they are big enough to fend for themselves with the adult hens.

Since oldest daughter is home from college on spring break, we thought this was a perfect time to get a new generation, since she will be home to get acquainted with them. We haven't named them yet.....

Spring Break Boot Camp ~

Oldest daughter is home for spring break - Hurrah! On her first morning home she could have slept in, but she woke up early so she could be at our 6:00 AM boot camp!

Of course everyone loves to have the alumni come back, and there was even a photo shoot at the end, just like a celebrity with the paparazzi! Bonus!  The sun has finally risen by the end of our boot camp!!

Plying Angora Blend ~

I have not been spinning very long, yet I can say in my limited practice that this merino/alpaca/angora blend has been the softest so far. I found the first bump during my first Fort Worden weekend, while shopping at Bazaar Girls. The fiber was from Taylored Fibers, a local farm and business nearby.

When we were able to visit the Taylored Fibers farm this past November, during the Fort Worden weekend, I took this angora blend with me to see if they had any more of this lovely blend. They had the blend in a different shade of grey, but still oh-so-soft....so I mixed them when I spun the singles, and I can't wait to see how the final skein turns out!

Vogue Knitting ~

Just when we are having a blast at Vogue Knitting in Seattle, which is really in Bellevue, working at the Eastside Knitter's Guild booth, next to the Seattle Knitter's Guild booth, I am thinking that it can't get much better than this. We all won door prizes, yarn and pattern books and a big project bag! Yarn everywhere, from Indy dyers and Local Yarn Shops, plus a special spot where we could swatch many yarns with lovely needles. How could this get any better?

Brioche class, with Nancy Marchant. No kidding. Less than an hour before the class starts and Jitteryknitter says, "You have to take my place in this class, I just can't go." First thoughts, excitement and terror.

As Nancy walked around as the students were coming into class, I admitted to her that I was terrified, and she said that was a good thing. Well, ok then...... and we started class.  She said we would hate the cast on that she taught us first, and we all did. Then the set up rows and then two color Brioche. Then my head started exploding....it really did..... She only ripped out my swatch once, yes, just once, I know, I was lucky, and then I started to get the rhythm of two color Brioche. Not sure if I could keep going with this stitch without YouTube, or Nancy standing there to help. Fabulous class, fabulous teacher, and once my head stopped exploding it was super enjoyable!

Ready for Baby Mac ~

I finished this ginormous baby blanket for our first grand baby (in which I will be the great auntie), due in May. I cast on as many stitches as the pattern called for, yet I could never knit enough to make the blanket a square. As it turned out, the blanket is very very long....and wide enough.

Since the daddy of Baby Mac is very very tall, this baby may need all the length in this blanket. Certainly there is enough love knitting into this blanket for many many growing years.

Knitting Royalty ~

There are people in our knitting and fiber world that are considered celebrities. Given all of them that I am aware of, my favorite is still the Yarn Harlot. She continues to delight me and thousands of other fiber enthusiasts through her adventures shared by blog and book. We have been lucky to see her several times during book tours, and at both Sock Summits.

We saw her on this book tour and were delighted by her stories, of course. So talented in so many ways, and oh so funny..... There is still a mystery about what she is doing with all the little wash cloths that are knit for her - she mentioned she was doing something with them in a blog post before the tour, but I've not heard any update on that project....

Debi's Choice ~

When we were in Fort Worden this past November, we went on an amazing field trip to Taylored Fibers farm. There were so many lovely fibers that I could not choose, so I took the next best option. I had each of my friends choose a fiber that that they liked, and I purchased them to spin. Debi picked an amazing blend of greens, as we knew she would. Debi loves all plants and trees and can grow anything, any time, in any condition. At work, she was our tree preservation person, and in charge of the project to calculate our city's Tree Canopy, meaning the coverage of trees over the entire city limits.

As I plyed this, with all the colors of green that nature can create, I knew what the final yarn would be named...

Debi's Canopy.... as she should have her very own.....