News From The Nest

I Will Not Be DeFEETed

I will NOT be deFEETed by this toe-up sock! I am using Wendy's basic toe-up pattern from her book. First, I cast on and knit the toe not once but twice. Pulled it out each time because it was WAY too big. I switched back to my size 0 needles and case on again. Toe Success! Then, I knitted the foot. A breeze. The pattern told me to stop when the foot section was about 3 inches from my heel. I did and continued to knit the gusset, etc. Too short. Ripped back. Next, I knit the foot portion a good 1/2 inch more before starting the heel section. Better. Now, I've finished the heel and am ready to zip along on the leg part. I'm contemplating changing to size 1 needles for the leg part. I did the slip stitch heel because that's what I'm most familiar with in doing cuff-down socks.

I like the toe-up construction - no stitches to pick up, very smooth toe and heel, etc. I've placed markers at the start of each section so hopefully, sock #2 will fly off the needles with NO frogging!

Yesterday was yoga followed by knitting at Dorothy Lane Market. This view greeted shoppers as they walked through the front entrance. These looked like SO much fun to make. She had sprinkles, M&M's, and pecans. I haven't made caramel apples in years and watching her made me want to go home and melt some Kraft Caramels! Kraft Caramels have been around forever! I remember my great-grandmother used to always have them - the caramel and the chocolate ones.

The market was expecting little ghouls and goblins at 3:00 PM for a costume parade through the different departments where the staff would hand out candy. Then, there was going to be a magician upstairs for the kids. As I was leaving, I spotted a 2 foot Elvis entering the building!

After knitting, I rushed down to West Chester to meet Two Men & A Truck. We ended up with two guys and Andy served as the third. That was fine with me because it cost less. These guys were GREAT! They did a fabulous job and finished in 3 hours from leaving their headquarters to their estimated return. We got everything in the basement and the garage. Miracle #1. Miracle #2 will be straightening up the basement. We were in no way ready for all this stuff but I couldn't pass up such a wonderful deal and will so enjoy the shelves, counters/cabinets, etc. that I got. The basement studio will be GREAT! Now, we really need to get to work!

There was a gorgeous sunset last night. I love the reflection of the setting sun in the pond.

 

It's so pretty outside today - cool but sunny. Good day for a walk!

KNIT ON and Happy Halloween!

 

Gearing Up For The Weekend

End of the month reports --- DONE! I have the weekend before it starts all over again! UGH!

Love The Lavender is out of the soap pot and ready for sale! Smells sooo good! I usually divide a 100 oz. batch of soap into two molds - one fragrance per mold. So, I end up with about 17-19 full size bars of two fragrances. I have several people waiting for lavender so I scented the whole batch lavender. I cut some as full size bars and some as half.

Need to make more soap this weekend - Scented Geranium and Minty Fresh. Next up will be Dreamsicle, Plain Jane, and Buck Naked.

My usually timid shy little Gracie Cat was really showing off for the camera today! She was scooching around in the dirt like it was the most fun activity in the world! She was so funny!

Then, she turned all prim and proper again.

Gracie and Earl both lost their collars AGAIN which means their tags are gone, too. I need to check on-line to see if there's a place I can have like a dozen engraved for each of them to have on hand. They're getting a little expensive to do them at the pet stores in the tag machine. Seems like every time I turn around, I'm having to get a new tag and a new collar for each of them. They seem to go months and then all of a sudden, they'll lose 1-3 within just a few weeks. Wonder what they're getting hung on? Earl had the cutest fish collar on. He lost it once before but Andy found it in the yard. Now, he's lost it again.

Tomorrow is yoga followed by knitting. Then, I have a date with Three Men & A Truck!!!!! Moving mega studio furniture and stuff into our basement for my future studio space. It won't be as nice as my studio I left in Virginia. It will be different but still GREAT to once again have my creative space. More on that later!

Windy Sunday

It's VERY windy here today. Hope it blows in some precipitation. Everything is so dry and we could really use some rain.

This morning, I made a batch of Love That Lavender soap. The whole house smells wonderful! Lavender seems to be a favorite soap fragrance for lots of folks.

To add to the fragrance of my house, I have a roast in the crockpot for dinner tonight. Peyton will be stopping in for the night on her way back to Indiana from West Virginia. They had nice weather for their family get-together. 

We had a good group at knitting yesterday at Dorothy Lane Market. THIS happened last Saturday just before we arrived for knitting. Wish I had been able to see it in person but YouTube is the next best thing. This is such a cool place. Everyone seems to love their job at the market which makes it a very fun place to go.

Sarah was all decked out in her hand-knitted finery. Don't you LOVE her hat!!!?! It's Robin Hood by Grace Akhrem. Her Central Park Hoodie is gorgeous, as well. She knit her sweater out of Briar Rose Fibers yarn and it is scrumptious!

Mary made this wonderful sheepy and yarny bracelet with beads she purchased online.  

Jeanette, Mary, and Carol were working on fingerless mitts.

Donna was knitting another Dandy Neckerchief (free pattern).

Dinah was knitting Jared Flood's Tweed Baby Blanket.  

Karen and Jan were working on socks.

I finished the seed stitch border and started on the pattern section of a new baby blanket. The pattern is Lace Coverlet by Plymouth Yarn Company and I'm knitting it out of Dreambaby Shine in a aqua color. The yarn is so soft and what a pretty pattern.

Andy finished painting our bedroom last night. LOVE the color! Rustic City by Sherwin-Williams. It's a green-gold. I'll take and post a better picture later.

I also went down in the basement and got a couple of my hooked pieces out to use. I put the pumpkin piece on a chest in the hall and the primitive flower mat on a table in the den. The colors of the flower mat go perfectly with the upholstered chairs in that room.

Well, it's back to work for me. The end of the month will be here FAST this week and I have tons of reports to do before Thursday!! UGH!

A Guest

We had an overnight guest Thursday night. 

My mother has two very best friends. These two friends go back to her college years. The three of them married and had children. One friend had two daughters, the other friend had three daughters, and my mother had one - me! Well, the six girls of the two friends are all about evenly spaced and the same ages. I fall in between the oldest and the middle ones.

My guest Thursday night was Peyton - the youngest of one of the friends. I was about six years old when she was born and have known her all her life. Even though we don't see each other much, I guess I can count all six of these girls as my oldest friends. The three families used to do lots together. Now, the mothers still live in VA but the girls are widespread. NC, TX, OH, MD, and IN.

Peyton arrived Thursday afternoon and I toured her around Waynesville, Caesar Creek Gorge, Pioneer Village, and we ended up at Meg's studio. I love taking folks to see Meg's studio and her explosion of color. It's such a happy place. She spent the night and was off to West Virginia to meet her two sisters and parents for the weekend.  She'll be back here tomorrow to spend the night on her way back to Indiana. 

I love cutting fresh flowers for guests.  This little arrangement in the guest room is the lone daisy from my garden with some lantana, lavender, cat mint, and scented geranium. The scented geranium smells so good!

I was in Columbus yesterday for a work appointment. When I finished up and was ready to head home, I checked my Favorites on my GPS and saw that Knitter's Mercantile was less than 4 miles away. Off I went. This was only my second trip to Knitter's Mercantile. They were very busy! There were people visiting and knitting in groups at the front and back of the shop. I got enough yarn to knit two baby blankets, variegated sock yarn to knit a square baby hat, and a few patterns. I couldn't wait to start one of the baby blankets so cast on last night. More info on all of this stuff later with pictures.

I've been busy knitting washcloths to go with my soap this week. They're great projects to tuck in my work bag and knit on while I sit waiting in my appointments. I finished four and am knitting a fifth. 

I finally found my large container of Bulgarian Lavender in the basement and a batch of Love That Lavender will be in the pot tomorrow. Can't wait for that fragrance to fill my house!

We have a full basement in our house. A full unfinished basement. It is supposed to be my studio. A place for my rug hooking, knitting, spinning, and soap making. A place to have knit-ins, hook-ins, rug hooking classes and workshops, etc. It's been over a year and I'm tired of waiting for my space. Tired of looking for stuff still packed in boxes in the basement. 

So, Sherwin-Williams has a sale this weekend - 30% off all paint and 20% off all supplies.  We decided to go ahead and buy the paint. I don't want to go to the expense of paneling, etc. on the concrete walls and Sherwin-Williams has paint that will seal the concrete and also serve as the top coat, too. And, they can tint it any color you want. To the left are the colors I LOVE. I really wanted Sassy Green but decided to go with Golden Fleece. If you look closely and count from the lower right-hand corner, it's four rows up and five columns over. It's kind of green-gold and I think it will be a great color for the basement with no windows. Light and neutral and I'll just have to add lots of green accents!

Then, we'll need to do some wiring, lighting, some type of floor over the concrete, and put in a drop ceiling. I have been lucky in getting used bookshelves and counter/cabinet units from Yarns & Fabrications when they closed and a wonderful coffee table from Yarn & Needle when they moved. Eventually, I'll get a comfortable sofa and chairs. I saw a set that I loved at a second-hand store that also sells factory seconds. I hope when I'm ready, they'll have that set or another that I like when I'm ready. All this added to what I already have and I'm sure it will be a cozy nest! I'll miss seeing the outside - I'll have to think of something to bring the outside in. Too dark for most plants --- will have to put my thinking cap on.

Off to knitting!!!  Hope you have a great weekend!!

 

 

A Good Fall Day

Today, I went to Caesar Creek's Pioneer Village and demonstrated spinning. I set up in their gazebo and got a lot done. Almost filled the bobbin I've been working on. People
were very interested and asked some good questions about spinning, fibers used, etc.

I demonstrated on my Lendrum and on a drop spindle. On the Lendrum, I'm spinning a luscious fiber! It's a blend of 80% Coopworth and 20% Silk. Feels delicious! This fiber is such a pretty shade of purple and it just shimmers in the light. I LOVE it and hope I get enough to knit a good size shawl. 

On the drop spindle, I spun some wool that I won at one of the fiber festivals I attended back in the spring. The drop spindle just fascinates everyone.  The children stare with the mouths hanging open. I love that reaction. Gets their minds moving!

I also took my soap to sell. I set up a little table with five different soaps - Pineapple Cilantro, Rise & Shine, Herbal Essence, Lemon Drop, and Almond Biscotti - my wooden soap decks, my business cards, and even a little vase of flowers picked from the garden this morning. The soap was a big hit and I sold a good amount. I really enjoy when people like my soap - I'm not sure why but it really tickles me pink! I guess because I enjoy using it so much and I'm glad that others like it, too. And, I feel soap is such a personal item. 

The Pioneer Village is run by volunteers and they do most of the work on the buildings themselves. They have improved the village in the year we've been here and are continuing to work hard on it. I believe there are several roofs in bad need of repair and that will be their next project.

They are also trying to incorporate more demonstrators at their events. There's a forge there but I've only seen it open and the blacksmith there once. They said they would love to have a second blacksmith and I'm working on Andy. It would be such great stress relief for him to go bang on some iron. There was a woodworking shop open today. On Friday, they finished a shed just in the nick of time and a woman was busy there dipping beeswax candles. The church, general store, and houses were open to the public, also. People were playing music on one side of the village green and the Indians were drumming and dancing on the other side. Very lively! The village also offers food - hamburgers, hotdogs, BBQ, French fries, drinks, etc. You can come and tour, get lunch, listen to music, and get your nose full of wood smoke. Love that smell!

The weather was perfect! It was a wonderful day!!!

************************************************

Saturday, I stopped by Grandma's Gardens & Landscape Center on my way home from knitting. They are all decked out for Halloween. I wonder if the staff does all the decorating or they have someone come in and do it? Either way - very creative and so cute! It's a great Garden Center and the staff is very knowledgeable about gardening. They have pots, fountains, plants, trees, supplies, and gifts. I   enjoy wandering through the place and saw several different cone flowers that I would like to purchase for planting in the spring.

Well, the work week begins again tomorrow in earnest. Hope you all have a great week and thanks much for reading For The Love Of Fiber!

Saturday! It's Here Again!

Saturday!Yeah!

The yoga class I've been attending on Saturday mornings has been canceled for today. The Dalai Lama is in Cincinnati today and I think some of the teachers have tickets to see him. That would be so interesting to attend.

So, no yoga just leaves knitting today. Well, knitting and housecleaning. UGH! 

There is something else to do today. The Pioneer Village at Caesar Creek State Park, across the road from us, is having their Harvest Festival this weekend. It's always fun to visit and see what's going on over there. I was thinking about going  over with my spinning wheel and having a "sit and spin".  I'm going to check to see if I would be welcome. It's just such a beautiful weekend to be outside knitting and/or spinning.  

My cousin's son got married last weekend at Emerald Isle, NC. Neil and Kristine chose to have their wedding on the beach. Emerald Isle is special to our family as Neil's grandfather (my uncle) owns a house there and all of us have spent time there through the years. I have so many wonderful memories of beach trips with my boys. 

Kristine and Neil decided they wanted to give my soap as wedding reception favors. So, I got busy. I used a beautiful fresh scent named Herbal Essence for their soap. I sliced it thinner than my normal 4 oz. bars and shipped them 120+ bars. Due to work and the travel distance, Andy and I were unable to attend the wedding but my parents went. Mom mailed me these two bars of soap to show me how they decorated them for the reception.  So pretty!!!  They wrapped each bar with a piece of white paper and then with an aqua piece of ribbon matching the color of the bridesmaids' dresses. Then, they hot glued a tiny sand dollar or starfish to the ribbon. Aren't they just perfect for a beach-themed wedding!?!?!! I hope they'll have many years of happiness together. 

Happy weekend to everyone!

Exhausting!

This Ohio festival season is exhausting! The host folks have been blessed with weather in the 70's and 80's this weekend with not a cloud in the sky. And, festival-goers have turned out in droves!

Saturday, I went to yoga and was about 20 minutes late due to trying to get through the Waynesville Sauerkraut Festival traffic. I came home a different way and still ran into traffic - not quite as bad, though. Every driveway or parking lot I passed had a sign up "PARKING $5.00". What a great way to make a buck! 

Andy got off work early and we headed to the Yellow Springs Street Fair. From our house, we took Highway 73 to 380. This route took us past the entrance to the Renaissance Festival in Harveysburg. The traffic was backed up from the entrance all the way back over Interstate 71! Miles!!! Some of this traffic was turning into the Renaissance Festival (held every weekend September 4th - October 17th) and some of it was continuing on to Waynesville to the Sauerkraut Festival. Even the ramps from the interstate were backed up. A headache for drivers but money in the bank for these local areas. 

Yellow Springs was packed, as well. I LOVE this town! So creative, artsy, and eclectic. The street fair was no exception. The streets were closed for the vendors' tents. It also looked like if you had a table, you could set up on the sidewalk and sell your wares! You could buy everything from chair massages, tie-dyed clothing (even for babies), jewelry, metal yard art, etc.

If you play an instrument, this was your day to be in Yellow Springs. Get your instrument out of the case, leave the case open, and play with all your might while people throw a little cash in your case. There were so many different instruments - usual and unusual - from bongo drums to an accordion, to small groups playing. The absolute coolest was a musical bicycle equipped with a keyboard and speakers. This was the coolest!!! When we took the musician's picture, he was playing Mr. Sandman. What a hoot!!!!

There was a whole street full of food vendor carts. Lebanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, American, gyros, pork chops, seafood, funnel cakes, Italian ice, cheesecake on a stick, tempura veggies, etc. etc. SO much food!!!!!!

If you live in the area and have never been to Yellow Springs, you must go!!! You'll find neat shops and several really good places to eat. It's a great place to spend the day - relax - take your time and see all there is to see. Of course, other places of interest in the area - Brandeberry Winery, Young's Jersey Dairy, and John Bryan State Park.

We came home via Highway 42 and stopped in at Apple Country Farm Market. Pumpkins were everywhere! We bought two apple cider slushes and they were delicious!

Last night, there was a sliver of a new moon peeping up over the trees. So pretty!

This morning, Andy and I headed to the Sauerkraut Festival (41st year) in Waynesville. Our plan was to get there early like last year - the weather was cool last year and there was hardly anyone at the festival when we went early on Sunday morning. Today was WAY different. The place was already mobbed! I know the promoters of this show are tickled smack to death with this year's attendance. 

At this show, the food is more local - community / school / church clubs and groups. They were selling food and drinks to raise money for everything under the sun. There was sauerkraut balls, pizza, and sundaes, Reuben sandwiches and polish sausages on buns. They also had mini sugared donuts made right there on the spot. YMMMM! 

I think I'm about festivaled out now. Well, maybe. At least for this weekend. 

Next weekend is the Harvest Festival across the way from us at Pioneer Village and then the next weekend is the The Circleville Pumpkin Show in Circleville, OH. Their web site (check for pumpkin recipes!) states that about 400,000 people attended the even in 2009!!! WOW! I better rest up! 

**************************************************

For the past several days, we've had a pair of White-Breasted Nuthatches visit. They were very busy at the feeders. I'm so used to the smaller Red-Breasted ones in Virginia. I love how they go down the feeder poles upside down.

**************************************************

I've been working on my Wallaby. It's a great pattern and I'm knitting it out of Encore. So smooth how knitting and attaching the pouch works. I can understand why so many people have knit this pattern. I'm at the point where I need to place stitches on holders and start the sleeves. (I stuck my cell phone in the pouch so you can see where the opening is.)

Here's a picture of my toe-up sock. The yarn is Opal and I'm knitting on size 0 Addi Lace Needles. LOVE them! 

***************************************************

This is old news but I forgot to tell you! Last Thursday, a group of us met at Chapters, a new bookstore in Lebanon. The store sells pre-owned books, coffee, and tea. So, you can sit, sip, and read! They also have a "reading room" where a group of us met to spin. Abby Franquemont, author of Respect the Spindle (here and here), reserved it, announced the time on Ravelry, and the rest is history! There were six of of there last Thursday night and I hope there'll be more next Thursday. It would be terrific to have a spinning group so close. If anyone is interested - see you at Chapters at 6:00 PM next Thursday!

Update

Seems that Wednesdays are getting to be update time! Time to post and update you all on what I did over the weekend and so far this week. 

Saturday was my father's 82nd birthday!!! I wish I could have been there to celebrate with him in person. Instead, he had to settle with a priority box of goodies. Today, is their pup's, Lily, birthday. To celebrate, they scheduled her for a grooming and a vet visit. Doesn't sound like a good way to party!

Sunday, I headed to the Hyde Park Art Show. There was a farmer's market going on, too. Meg's booth was great! So colorful. This picture shows her mannequin covered in felted flower pins and flowers that people can buy and use as embellishments. 

On my way home, I had to watch out for cyclists. Morgan Canoe had another triathlon and bikers were everywhere on my drive home. This picture is of the road in front of our house. In fact, my driveway is right up ahead. 

Grandma's Garden Center is all decked out for Fall / Halloween. These folks are so clever. I loved walking through their grounds last year. The decorations are great fun. The staff is also very knowledgeable about plants and gardening. A very good place to shop for gifts, too. (Please click on this picture. So cute!)

Next up, the soap pot has been hot! Pictured here - Pineapple Cilantro with crushed organic cilantro and Rise & Shine with calendula petals. Tonight, Lemon Drop and Almond Biscotti! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fragrances. My house smells delicious!!

Here's a picture of my sweet Gracie. Very rare to catch her available for a photo shoot. Earl Gray has usually run her off into the woods so he can have me all to himself. 

In my knitty world ----- the baby blanket (knit with Encore) that I'm ready to be finished with, a Wallaby (see the pouch pocket) (also knit with Encore) which is worked from the bottom up, and last but not least my toe-up sock (knit with Opal on size 0 needles). Yes, I have tons of other stuff on needles but these are my three CURRENT projects.

As usual, I can't wait to be done with these projects so I can move on to the next ones. There are SO many I want to do!

A Colorful Weekend

The trees are gradually getting more color in their leaves. It's been so dry here that I'm afraid a lot of them are just going to lose their leaves. Some have started falling already and it's so early. I just love the colors or Fall. Earthtones.

A got my color fix yesterday. On my home from a work appointment, I picked up lunch and took it to Meg's. She's in show mode and I know how that feels. You don't stop to eat, you eat junk - anything you can get your
hands on fast - or not at all. 

She is showing at Hyde Park Art Show tomorrow. Located in the Hyde Park area of Cincinnati, this is a terrific, high-quality show. There's a Farmer's Market going on, also. Andy and I went last year but this year he has to work this year. Last year was right before his company started this seven days a week mess. I took care of a little Christmas shopping last year and hope to do so again this year.

Meg was busy with her finishing work yesterday on her purses. She does such a fabulous job.  The fabric she uses for her linings are so nice and she pays such attention to detail. For example, the lining inside the brown and blue purse above is brown with blue polka dots. Perfect! She also uses a variety of handles - leather, 

suede, beaded, leopard print, felted, etc. - to coordinate with her bags.   

In addition to her purses, she had finished one bowl and a multitude of felted and non-felted flowers. She pins these all over her mannequin and people can buy them to embellish their own stuff, use as pins, etc.

When you walk into her studio, it's a color explosion! So, I definitely got my color fix yesterday!

This weekend is the Spring Valley Potato Festival. We went last night to check it out. Vendors were setting up on both sides of the street. There were a couple of food vendors already selling food. So, we had dinner - cheeseburgers and then we shared a cup of potato soup and a potato cake.

This weekend is also the Kentucky Wool Festival in Falmouth. It's only an hour, 41 minutes away per MapQuest. I would LOVE to go but not sure it's in the cards this year. 

Here's another picture of our percolating pond! We haven't fed the fish for the past two days so I bet they're really popping when I go out there this morning. They start jumping before the food even hits the water! Too funny!

Today for me --- yoga followed by knitting. Then, housecleaning (yuck!) and soapmaking.

Hope your weekend is colorful!