Friday, September 27, 2013

New Patterns, New Yarn, Shenandoah Valley Fiber fest

 I finally finished writing my patterns for the Cossack Hat (last post) and a redesigned Felted cloche. Both are available free at the Shenandoah Show this weekend with the purchase of enough yarn to make them.
 New season means new colors and new yarns.
 With my intern, Angela's help, I redesigned my booth so it will be more open. I will not be able to use it at the Waterford show next weekend, because this design does not leave me any room to spin.
There are a lot more fiber mills on the east coast within easy driving distance. My favorite is now Gurdy Run Mill in PA. She does a lovely job of blending both colors and fibers. She will also be at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber festival, so I have another truckload to deliver. I cannot wait to see what she does with it.

Hope some of you will have time to come visit.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Busy Month

 This is my booth shot for the Stitches Midwest. I sold some of everything, so I had to come home and start spinning, washing and dyeing.
 Spinquest in Front Royal, Virginia, was a much smaller show, but more exciting because these ladies are my peers. They are interested in art yarns, luxurious fibers and mohair!
 I have been spinning a lot of solids and dyeing some. This coiled yarn has a matching single. Lots of yardage in Kid Mohair/Merino lamb. I am currently spinning kid mohair with alpaca, Maryland's first fleece.
 When at Stitches Midwest. I got hooked on making knitted and then felted hats. This is a long hat out of older mohair and wool. It fuzzed up beautifully and is definitely a guy's kind of hat. Every fiber felts differently. I have made two other hats and all of their patterns will be published before the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival at the end of this month.
 At Spinquest, we were given photos and challenged to spin a yarn reflecting something in the photo. Can't publish the photo since I don't know where it came from, but it had a lovely head of a comic book child with flowing blonde, orange and coral shades. I did not have my usual beads, etc. to add to it, but it turned out really well. I was curious to see what it would look like knit up, since I spun part of it with an elastic thread to show someone how to core spin over elastic. I lock spun over it. The very center of the scarf in the photo above shows that it looks like normal yarn but it will stretch.
 Another view of the scarf. The beauty of the changing colors is that it looks like a totally different scarf when another section is in front.
The kid goats wearing the onsies have been shorn this past week. They are so cute. A shearer came today and it did not work out. A kid doe lost a teat, so she will not be good for breeding and it just took way too long. So, looking for a good shearer - while Marc, my intern and I are shearing kids. Need someone to do adult does and Merinos.