For the Love of Fiber

Great Weekend

My great weekend started Friday when I headed off to Wooster, OH. The purpose of my trip was to attend the 14th Annual Ohio Kentuckiana Soapmakers Gathering on Saturday. I used to attend lots of retreats when I lived in Virginia but the gathering was my first such event here in Ohio. Just haven't had the time or the funds to go.

Wooster is a great little college town and is also known in the fiber world for hosting the Great Lakes Fiber Show in May. 

Wooster also offers Calla Lily Yarn & Gifts on East Liberty Street.

I called ahead to Calla Lily's to double-check her store hours and told Donna I wanted to visit her on Friday afternoon. She asked me why I was coming to Wooster and I told her about the soapmakers' gathering. She asked me to bring soap for her to see. I did.

Now, you can purchase my soap at Calla Lily Yarn & Gifts!!!!

Calla Lily was such a cute shop from the window displays to the artful displays of calla lilies inside. There were several stained glass pieces and even a hooked piece of calla lilies. So pretty!

Donna was a most gracious hostess. She gave me the tour of the shop and pointed out various yarns. I really enjoyed my visit and can't wait to go again. Next time, I'll try to get there earlier in the day to have more time to look around. 

I found a beautiful colorway of Noro Silk Garden that I hadn't seen before so another Multidirectional Diagnonal Scarf is sure to be on my needles soon. Donna was knitting a pairof socks out of a skein of Pagewood Farms sock yarn that was so pretty. I dug and dug and located one skein of that exact color. I also left with several Mountain Colors patterns and a beautiful shawl pin.

Calla Lily is located just around the corner from several very neat arty shops/galleries. There are also eating places along the street and around the corner.

After leaving Calla Lily's, I headed to dinner at the Olde Jaol Restaurant and Tavern. Some of the soapmakers were meeting for dinner. There ended up being eight of us there and it was nice to meet them and put faces with names. 

The Olde Jaol, built in 1865, boasted being the finest sheriff faciility of its kind. It was a neat place and the food was delicious. I had pan-roasted walleye with sweet pea risotto and grilled asparagus.

We ate in the restaurant section which was downstairs. There were rock walls and bars on the windows. The service was top-notch and we all had plenty of time to visit and get to know each other.

After dinner, I drove around town a bit to see a little bit more of Wooster. Then, I headed to the Hampton Inn for the night. 

Stay tuned for my day at the Soapmakers Gathering!!!!

Stunning

We had an absolutely stunning sunset Monday evening. Breathtakingly beautiful!

Button, Button

I knit the Felted Bucket Bag by Two Old Bags for a class at Main Street Yarns. The handle turned out to be way too long. After much thought, I've decided to cut a part of it out and sew it to overlap on one side of the bag. I'll sew a button on top of the overlap so it looks like it is buttoned there on purpose. 

Polymer clay is such a great thing to know how to use when you knit. You can just about always make a button to match your knitted piece. There are tons of colors to choose from and you can also blend your own by mixing different colors together. You can make other things for your knitting, such as, shawl pins and buckles, too.

For my Bucket Bag, I needed two buttons - the main one for the front of the bag and the one for the overlapped handle. 

So here are my buttons - I made the main one a little larger than the one to go on the overlapped handle. I used two colors of clay - Raw Sienna and Gold.

Just have to cut the handle and sew my buttons in place. Then, I'll be done!

Hitching A Ride

I finished my Hitchhiker. It's nice and long and will be great for wrapping around the neck. This was an easy knit and I love all the points.

I used Prism Merino Mia sock yarn for this project in the color, Tahoe. I knit this on a #4 needle and used almost three skeins of yarn at 190 yards each. This yarn is 100% Merino Wool and feels so squishy! 

If you're in the area, I'm teaching this at Main Street Yarns in Mason April 17th. Come and join me! We'll hitch a ride together! 

28

Yesterday slipped by without me posting about a momentous event.

Saturday, April 14th, was our 28th wedding anniversary! 28 years. That's a long time!

We celebrated with a delicious steak dinner at The Paragon Supper Club in Dayton with Meg and Dennis. That was so much fun! Also, received a nice card from Mom and Daddy. Other than that, all was quiet. We embarked on another year without anyone noticing.

Here's to many more years together.

Weekend Stuff

Remember the dead Tree Swallow I found in Bluebird box #3 yesterday? Monica and Kim at Wild Bird Unlimited in Springboro told me that they are sure the responsible party was a Sparrow. Sparrows
are MEAN birds and will attack and kill other birds in nest boxes and also destroy their eggs. There were
no eggs in nest box #3. I'm so glad he didn't get in nest box #2 where the Bluebird is sitting on 5 eggs or nest box #1 where the Tree Swallow has laid 2 eggs. You have to be very vigilant to keep them away. Monica and Kim told me about a trick yesterday - hang fishing line with a weight on the end on either side of the nest box entrance. For some reason, it messes with Sparrows and they will not enter the box. I hung one set yesterday and need to get the other two sets up today. Hope they work. I don't like finding dead birds and /or destroyed eggs in my boxes.

I took a video this morning of the Killdeer going through its "injured bird" routine. The bird deserves an award for its performance! What a hoot! He/she is sitting on 4 large eggs right out in the open. It poured buckets of rain yesterday and through it all, that bird stayed on that nest. 

At knitting yesterday, Marsha really showed off! She has become the shawlette knitting queen! She had not one, not three, but FOUR finished shawlettes to display! They were all beautiful! Marsha has only been knitting for a little more than a year or so and her knitting needles are on fire!

Here she is modeling her Wingspan with a felted flower she purchased on our Indianapolis, IN Yarn Crawl at the Village Yarn Shop.

Next up is Marsha's Afternoon Tea. This is knit in a pretty gold Madeline Tosh sock yarn - Pecan colorway.

Then there is Summer Flies knit with Blue Heron rayon/metallic yarn. Just gorgeous!

Finally, Pettine knit out of Malabrigo sock yarn. Such a nice pattern. 

On top of Pettine is a scarf finished by Donna in a new funky yarn. The name of the yarn is Rozetti Spectra Ruffle Yarn.  

I have linked to the patterns on Ravelry. I believe all but one is free. Gotta love Ravelry!

Hope you all have a great week!

Fins, Fur, And Feathers

It's that time of year. The birds are super active.

We had this heron - I think he's a Great Blue Heron - visit the pond this week. The fish probably took off for the bottom of the pond at the sight of him checking things out. He stayed for a bit and then flew away.

The Killdeer is still sitting on that so-called nest - just an indentation in the gravel. I thought the bird was a goner the other night. I heard all this squawking. I grabbed the flashlight and went out the back. I shone the light on the nest and no bird but there was a cat leaving that area. Earl and Gracie were in the garage so this was a stray. I just knew the
cat had gotten the bird. I kept checking the nest every couple of hours but no bird. Finally, I checked and the bird was back. Whew! A BIG sigh of relief. Both the male and female tend the nest so I hope both of them are alive and well. The nest has four good-sized eggs in it. 

I checked the three Bluebird houses today.

The first of the three Bluebird houses had a tree swallow nest with one egg in it. Tree Swallow eggs are so white. I'm sure they will lay more eggs in the next few days. Their nests are so pretty. They find feathers from other birds and use them in their nests. They will usually pull the feathers over top of the eggs when they leave the nest to shield the eggs. 

The third of the three had a Bluebird nest in it. Sad when I opened the box - I found a dead Tree Swallow in it. Don't know what happened to it. I dumped the bird and the nest and placed the nesting cup back inside in hopes that the Bluebirds will build another nest.

The second of the three houses had the whole shabang! I opened the box which I knew had a Bluebird nest with five eggs. Today, the bird was in the nest, too. Bluebirds are so pretty! I took her picture and then quietly and gently closed the box.

The Red-Winged Blackbirds are very busy in the cattails of our pond and the one next door. I'm sure they're building their nests. I love finding them hidden in amongst the cattails. Very neat construction.

Our fish are active, too. They are big enough and plentiful enough that we should probably be planning a fish fry! We feed them and they come to the dock whenever we approach. We throw the food pellets in and they literally throw themselves at the food. The whole pond starts bubbling with fish! You really need to click on it to get a closer look. It's quite a funny sight. 

Well, now for the fur part of this post. Earl Gray has been in another fight with a stray cat that keeps visiting us. The stray is so bold as to come in our garage where the cats stay. I don't keep food out at all so I'm curious why he would come in another cat's territory so readily. Anyway, Earl lost another collar and tag and has multiple scratches to both ears and his face. I can feel a few other little places on his body and so hope they're not punctures that will abscess. I've had quite enough of those! He was so sore yesterday, he just slept. Anyway, I keep telling Earl to just walk away but he won't listen! It's a male thing, I think.

Easter Visit

I've mentioned before that the minute you enter my parents' house, you can tell the time of year. Mom has so many cute little holiday things to mark each holiday and/or season.

There were bunnies and eggs and more bunnies and more eggs.

The table was set festively and even the salt and pepper (maybe I should say peeper) shakers were a chick pushing an egg in a wheelbarrow. 

There was a sweet hooked mat of a bunny with a fluffy cottontail and carrots.

Mom had filled the little blue vase I bought for her at Yellow Springs Pottery with Johnny Jump Ups and had my Cadbury Bunny sitting nearby. 

Even the wreath on the door was eggy!

It was GREAT to see the boys, Rachael, and the babies!!! I could hardly believe how much Landen, now ten months old, had grown and changed since October 2011. He was a boy-on-the-go the whole time he was there. Just tooooooooo cute! 

Landen spent most of his visit pulling himself up on things - the sofa, the table, etc. - and moving
around the room. It won't be long now before he's off and running!

Rachael was trying to wait until his first birthday in June to get his hair cut but she decided to get in cut just before Easter. It looked so cute! The place where she took him catered to children and they gave her a card with a picture and a lock of his hair inside as a momento. Landen got to sit in a fire truck chair to have his hair cut. I've seen children screaming like crazy and I always applauded the hairstylists who would dare approach a screaming wiggling child with sharp scissors. Landen looked like he was having a grand time driving that truck - no screaming for him!

Rachael and Taylor are doing great as new parents. I know it's hard on them - Taylor is in Richmond, VA busy as can be getting ready to open his restaurant and Rachael and Landen are in Columbia, SC where she's finishing college. She was to finish in May but couldn't get one of her clinicals so will now graduate in December. Between breaks and bus rides down and back, they manage to see each other fairly often. I'll be glad when they can all be in one place. 

My other son, Brian, was there with Little Miss B. But, per her parents' wishes, I'm not allowed to post pictures of her here. Again, you'll just have to take my word for it - she's adorable! She's only six months old so isn't quite as lively as Landen yet. I can't wait to watch them interact with each other. Landen made several trips over to his cousin and would put his face right up against hers. Too cute and it's only going to get cuter!

Here's Landen with his Uncle Brian working off some energy. That little boy was in constant motion. When we picked him up, his little legs would be just pumping like he was really going somewhere. 

This last picture shows Landen strapped in for the trip home. Neither baby napped on the way to Danville and they were pooped when they left. I hope they slept all the way back to Richmond. 

It was a super special Easter and I'm so glad I decided to go. Now, I can't wait to see them again - love seeing the many ways in which they change.

Flying

Flying to Virginia Friday was an experience. Tiny plane from Dayton to Detroit and then a whopper from Detroit to Raleigh. Here's a picture on approach to Detroit.

Andy and I arrived home tonight about 7:30 PM. We got a late start and stopped in Martinsville, VA to drop our tax stuff off for our accountant.

Next, we stopped at Lover's Leap to take a picture. The view was beautiful today.

Then, we stopped again at Lover's Leap Birdhouses. I've always wanted to stop and this time we did.

I got out of the car and spied a sign on the gate that said beware - wild bears. There were various signs around and I didn't take the bear one seriously. 

Andy and I went into the shop and looked around. All of a sudden, I saw a head pop up outside. I walked over to the window and there was a bear standing on her hind legs sniffing at the many birdfeeders that were hanging up above her.

The owner of the store told us that her name is Peaches. They named her Peaches because they first discovered her in a peach tree.   She's been coming around for the last four years. He said it won't be too long before she starts bringing her cubs up, too. She visits regularly and scratches in the grass for birdseed.

I could have stayed and watched her all day. She looked so gentle so soft -- easy to forget that you can't walk right up and pet her.

I took lots of pictures of the grandbabies yesterday. I'm going to save them for the next post.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

 

Sssh! I Snuck Away

Andy has been in Virginia working all week. I suggested he stay and drive back on Easter so he could visit with the boys, girls, and grandbabies when they all gathered at Mom and Daddy's house for Easter dinner.

Then, I started thinking ..... There's something wrong with this picture! Everyone will be there except ME!

So hard to get everyone together - this was my chance.

So, I bought a plane ticket and here I am in Virginia. Since I don't have any time off for Easter, it's a quick trip.

I flew down last night - went from Dayton to Detroit, Michigan and then finally to Raleigh, North Carolina. Andy picked me up at the airport and I'll ride back with him tomorrow.

A super quick trip. I felt guilty spending money for a plane ticket for such a short visit but got over it. The last time I saw Landen, he was only four months old. He's ten months old now. So hard to believe - time has flown. I did get to see Blakeney in January but still they change so quickly. Plus, I got to see Mom and Daddy.

It was wonderful seeing the babies! They are just adorable!!! Landen is one busy little boy! It was also fun seeing Brian, Taylor, and Rachael. Eryn wasn't feeling well, so we missed her.

Plane ticket - $175.00.

Time with family - PRICELESS!