Happy Fiber Arts Friday! I've got lots of fibery goodness to share with you today, so let's get started...
The NH Sheep & Wool festival was last weekend and the cute furry critters did not disappoint. This is my absolute favorite shot. I've titled it "Hey Lady, Come Here Often?"
I met a lot of sheep...
Saw some adorable babies...
Pet some uber soft alpaca...
And saw some amazing yarn and fiber, although I only managed to snap these two shots of my friend Heather's Mad Color Fiber Arts booth. (If you haven't checked out Mad Color yet, be sure to click through to her site and have a looksie for yourself)
Now for the haul... the itty, bitty haul. Seriously, who goes to a sheep and wool festival and walks away with one hank of yarn? That would be me... on a budget.
I was hoping to have a skein of yarn jump out at me, just screaming to become my vacation knitting socks in July. It really wasn't hard to find several colorways talking to me at the Mad Color booth, and with the help of my ever so patient honey, I chose this hank of Wicked (100% SW Blue Faced Leicester Wool) in the colorway Canyon. What do you think - does this look like Alaska to you?
Now, being on a budget means I have zero right to step inside a yarn shop, correct? Did you answer no? I hope you said no, because you see, I had to drive over to Nashua and sign some paperwork for the graphic / web design training program I will be starting next week and there's a new yarn shop over there I've been wanting to check out... and I needed size 6, 36" circulars, so...
I stopped at Twill Fabric & Yarn and not only did I find lots of pretty fabrics (sometimes I wish I sewed), prettier yarns, and tuns of coziness, I also met the two wonderful owners.
The owners are very welcoming and the shop is quite lovely. There are several inviting places to sit and knit, lots of sewing machines set up for classes (someday I just might), and their displays are just delightful. I think that was one of my favorite things about the shop - the displays using unexpected pieces of furniture and shabby chic-ish looking shelves. Even the plain 'ole bamboo needles looked cool, displayed in glass jars instead of on a rack.
I found the circular Cubics I needed, and while still keeping my extreme budget in mind, I also took home this cute little project bag and a skein of Madelinetosh DK in the sweet Teddy Bear colorway. I wasn't going to buy any yarn, but I kept returning to this skein. Normally I go for the purples and blues, but something about this simple brown/taupe colorway kept calling to me. Now to find the perfect one-skein cowl for it - any ideas? As for the project bag, it was a steal at just $5! The construction is very simple, but I love the fabric and the drawstring handle allows it to hang from my wrist while working on socks.
Now, guess what? I even have a finished object to share this week! It's just a simple rolled brim hat, but it is something off the needles!
I hope to get some baby blanket knitting time in this weekend. How about you - weekend knitting plans?
Well hey, would you look at that... somehow Friday managed to sneak up on us. Does anyone know where the week flew away too? Regardless, Spring sure has sprung with authority around here! We had a couple of days over 80 this week and people flocked to the beaches. Looks like we'll be back down in the 50's over the weekend and 40's by mid week however. Personally, I'd be happy with comfy low 70's, thank you very much. If you're a Facebook friend of mine, you know I posed this question earlier this week, but I'll ask again... if April showers bring May flowers, just what do March flowers bring?
This reminds me... what do my fellow Blogger using friends think of this new posting format thingy-ma-bob? I find it annoying... my picture sizes from Flickr no longer fit correctly and the font size tool is all wrong. Why must things that aren't broken always be tinkered with (ahem... I'm also talking to you Facebook Timeline, which I've still yet to switch over to)? Sigh...
Anywho, happy Fiber Arts Friday! Last Friday I ventured up to the Island (aka my hometown) to meet Mom and take part in the North Shore Yarn Crawl. Due to budget constraints we only crawled to Coveted Yarn, but we had fun just the same! My fabulous friend Heather of Mad Color Fiber Arts (formerly Sereknity Yarn & Fiber) was on hand, as was the wonderful Leslie Wind (if you're in need of shawl pins, check her out).
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| Mad Color Fiber Arts |
yarn diet budget over here), but the sales were wonderful! I grabbed a few skeins of Cascade Pacific for the Faux Entrelac Blanket, some Cubics circulars to try and uber cheap Ella Rae Classic Heathers in a pretty will-look-fab-with-jeans grey for this cute little shawl that I feel in love with. Apparently Sake liked the yarn as well...
I guess I set the bag down a little too close to Sake's crate and while I was out the next day, she tried (really hard!) to get that yarn inside her crate. We've since had a little talk about how yarn is not a doggy toy and if she wants me to knit for her, she just has to woof! The Lapdogs all agreed... just in case she happens to get adopted by a knitter, we needed to teach her this cardinal rule.
Of course, both Sake and the yarn are just fine... I actually can't believe she is still with us. What is wrong with people... why has no one scooped up my beautiful little girl? She has the most amazing personality! I'd selfishly love to see her go to someone we know, but whomever gives her the perfect forever home is fine by me.
For all you knitters who love to get your geek on and only stop by on Fiber Arts Friday, hop back and check out my Knits For Nerds review. Enjoy your weekend...
Happy Friday! It's been quite a busy week here. Sake arrived on Saturday and has been keeping us on our toes! We had a tiny bit of snow the morning she arrived and boy did she love it... but it melted just a couple hours later.
Sake is an almost 14 pound, 13 week old fluff-ball of energy! She is black lab-something mix (we figure the "something" will start to show as she ages) who was dumped with her siblings in a cat carrier by a river in Alabama. Amazingly, nothing can get her spirit down... she's extremely outgoing and a bundle of love! She loved walking around the yard on a "big girl" leash and tried to help Matt work on the Legends car on Sunday...
I'll get some more photos downloaded off of the camera next week to share, but isn't she adorable? She's looking for her perfect forever home if you know anyone interested!
In other pooch news, we're asking that everyone please send good vibes for Zeus. When we discovered his liver levels were elevated during his annual check up in early February, our vet put him on an antibiotic (for 2 weeks) and a liver supplement (twice daily). He had follow up blood work this week and the liver levels are still rising, so the next step will be testing for Cushing's Disease. I'm hoping that's where we'll get our results (especially since some of you have already said Cushing's is very treat/manageable) and we won't have to continue to take a stab in the dark about what's going on.
In the meantime, Sake is keeping Zeus and the rest the kids on their toes, but they're just trying to sneak in some afternoon naps...
Happy Fiber Art's Friday! I haven't had a chance to cast on either project I mentioned last week, but do plan to do so soon (plan being the key word). I'm still searching for the right project for the Irish purple yarn however. Today I'm heading up to my hometown to meet my Mom and will finally get to check out another LYS that I've been meaning to visit since they opened. There's actually a big Yarn Crawl going on, but Mom & I will only be crawling to Coveted Yarn (after all, I'm on a strict yarn diet budget).
I've received a few new knitting books for review this week, so stay tuned! If you missed Knit Your Own Cat earlier this week, be sure to check it out! Of course, I'm partial to Knit Your Own Dog, but this is one cute book as well!
Happy Friday! It's all blue skies and wagging tails in Lapdog country today. Although it's supposed to be quite a bit cooler than it was the past couple of days. We're preparing for the arrival of our next houseguest, Sake. She's part of the "beverage litter" and we were actually schedule to foster her sister Sky, however she and brother Whiskey were adopted this week.
Speaking of foster babies, I'm slowly getting through photos and wanted to share some more of sweet little baby Addison, or Addie as we started calling her. It worked out well, especially when I found out her forever Mom was already planning on using the name Addie.
If you recall, the little girl was already adopted when she came to crash at our house for 5 days until her family could pick her up. That was probably a good thing, because she sure was a cuddlebug! And look at those little feet.... squeeeeeeee
Addie was not shy at all and made friends with all of the Lapdogs. I adore this first shot of her and Tut...
Addie always seemed to have to keep a paw on Sophie when they napped. I don't know if it was a security thing or not, but it sure was cute!
Little Addie was constantly trying to get big foster brother Zeus to play with her.
Lazy Mama Lola was caught snoozing with little Addie alot, but my favorite moment was when I caught all 3 girls in a pig-pile snooze fest!
It was a pleasure to have Addie here with us for a short time until her forever Mom could pick her up. Here's a few more cute shots that I just have to share...
Here's a shot of Addie in the car on the way to meet her forever Mom. I always send our fosters home with something from their stay with us (she took her favorite chew bone), but boy was I surprised when Addie's Mom showed up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me! It was so touching and very special...
Addie's Mom has kept us up to date on her progress and has been sending photos (I'll share some in an upcoming foster update). The little tyke is doing very well and has already grown a bunch! She has 2 human siblings at home that she loves to entertain as well.
Now that you've all got your puppy fix for today, guess what? I actually have something for Fiber Arts Friday two weeks in a row! No, not another FO (not yet anyway), but a little LYS visit. While I had purchased goodies from the wonderful ladies at The Elegant Ewe several times before at various fiber festivals and events, I had yet to actually visit the store... until Monday. You see, I had a job interview and was pleasantly surprised when I realized the company was was just down the road from a yarn shop! If I were to land that job, I'd definitely have a lunch time perk, don't ya think?
fondling all the yarn perusing the shop for awhile, I kept going back to the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf pattern and picked up some Malabrigo Rios to treat myself. Shhh... don't tell Matt! Although, I'm sure you all will stand up for me and remind him how much self control I had to walk away with a single pattern and two hanks of yarn... right?
While I was winding up the yarn earlier today, I also wound up this gorgeous handspun, hand dyed pale faced Leicester. Tut thought it was pretty irresistible too.
This little pit of purple heaven was a gift from the inlaws when they traveled to Ireland last fall (it's from Spin A Yarn and is marked from sheep of Johnstown co. Dublin). They brought back a Guinness bottle opener for Matt and I got yarn (Mom-Sue is good like that!). I've been eyeing it for months now, looking for just the right project... but so far I'm stumped. It's thick and thin, so I'm thinking either a scarf or cowl, but there's no yardage on the label. Any pattern or project ideas out there?
Enjoy your weekend... and don't forget to enter my contest to win a $25 gift certificate from Calico Dragon Bags if you haven't already! I know you sure could use a new bag for spring after all...
