Hi, Strangers!

When I mentally gave myself permission to not have to blog every single day, I didn't anticipate that it would take me this long to post a new one.

But a lot of things conspired to make problems for me.

Blogger changed their whole dashboard, etc, and it suddenly didn't work on my desktop computer. I should note that my DT computer is an iMac that's probably at least 15 years old. It has all my workhorse programs on it, but the internet seems to have all upgraded in the space of a week, and that meant that suddenly the whole internet was speaking Greek as far as it was concerned. I can't access the internet at all on it.

I have upgraded to a newer laptop, but it doesn't have all the programs I like and use on it. I still have to get around to loading them up, and I have things that I really have to do that have been distracting me from it, along with my allergies making me to sick to want to do anything all the time.

I want to put up photos in my posts so that it's more interesting, but PhotoShop is on the other computer. I think I'm going to have to investigate iPhoto so I can put up photos here.

But the most important thing is to just write something, so here goes.

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Last weekend was the Fall Fiber Fest!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to go.

I don't have a car anymore, and Holly was having a problem with her brakes, so, to make up for not going and buying a special treat, I bought a treat over the internet, in the form of two pair of Signature straight needles.

I had gotten a pair of size nines in seven inch length with a bell cap and stiletto points in the past, and I love them! I did a potato chip scarf with them out of Mary Maxim Mohair Glitter yarn. Don't turn up your nose because it says Mary Maxim. It's very nice yarn! It has some mohair in with the acrylic and it does have some very sparkly fiber in it, too.

The nines are purple, like these, but mine have the bell cap.

The colorway I bought is Seaspray, which has an assortment of pastel colors in it including green, pink, lavender, blue and turquoise.

I enlarged the photo a lot, so it's a little pixilated (OK, a lot), but you can see the colors better. It seems I can put photos up when I swipe them from the internet. I don't think I'll get in trouble for this because it's really free advertising for the yarn.

This is a very fine yarn that you can knit with a larger needle because of the mohair filling in the spaces. It says to use size nine needles, which is what I did, but the result is very open and airy. I would use a smaller needle if I was making a sweater that I wanted either to actually cover, as opposed to display me, or actually wanted it to provide some warmth. But for the scarf, it's perfect!

I started off using the potato chip scarf pattern that's been bouncing around the internet that uses 20 stitches. I found it awfully narrow, and not ruffly enough to suit me, so I changed it to 24 stitches and an extra short row, which made it wider and gave it a lot more ruffle. Pictures to come when I get off my lazy rear end.

Anyway, I wound up with a scarf that looks like it's made of fairy dust!

Now that it's done, I bought some lavender Lion Brand Fun Fur and am making a scarf with it on the same size 9 needles. Unfortunately, I only bought two balls of it, and the length scarf I want will need another ball. I have to get back to the store to get more. It's currently my traveling project. If I'm working on a large project that I don't want to carry around, I usually also work on a smaller, more portable project like a scarf or socks.

So (back to the original point of this before I strayed off into Signature needle rhapsodies), I ordered two more pair of Signature straight needles in 7 inch length, with stiletto points and bell caps in sizes 5 and 2-1/2. Both of them happen to be blue. Here's a photo of blue Signatures, but keep in mind that mine have bell caps.

I also ordered more yarn from Mary Maxim to make a baby blanket for my soon to appear (January) new great grandson. The yarn is called Prism, and it's multicolored (important for the project) and machine wash and dry. I've raised a baby, and I can guarantee that she doesn't want anything that isn't wash and wear.

This is also really enlarged so you can see the color better. They show this made up in a capelet in their catalog, and the blue gets so light in that sample that it's almost an off white, so this sample may or may not be an accurate color sample. Either way, I think it'll be a nice blanket for a baby/little boy,

For the blanket, I'm planning on using my new size 5 needles to work it in domino knitting.

I also bought a book from Amazon that arrived on Tuesday (actually, it arrived on Monday, but the people at the apartment building I live in wouldn't give it to me until Tuesday), called Domino Knitting. I was a little unsure about spending money on it, but now that it's here, I love it!

The blanket will look a lot like the cover of the book, but be knitted in small blocks that, since the yarn is variegated, will look a lot like the cover, but blue. I love the Signature needles! They're like knitting with jewelry!

And we're having a craft class downstairs in less than a half hour, so I'm going to get off the internet and go down there. I'm not really interested in craft lessons, but there are a bunch of nice people and it's fun.

I am going to try to blog more often, even if I don't have any photos. Actually, I don't think I did too bad for not having any photos.

I hope you've been watching Grimm on Fridays and Once Upon a Time on Sundays!

Have a great weekend!

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

For any of you who don't know (i.e., you just started reading this blog), The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is the largest yarn/wool/sheep show/market/school of it's kind in the United States. And it's happening this weekend, the 7th and 8th of May!

There are classes on everything having to do with raising and shearing sheep and other fiber animals, spinning, weaving, knitting, and information on lucet, and other kinds of braiding. Also, if you're in the market area, all you usually have to do is say "Boy, I would really like to learn to spin" and probably within 10 minutes, you'll be sitting in front of a wheel, spinning your first yarn.

There is every kind of yarn you can imagine for sale, fibers of all kinds in all preparations (or none), carders, combs, hackles and other fiber processing tools, drop and support spindles, spinning wheels, looms, knitting needles, and too much else to even begin to list!

For 21 years, I have attended the Sheep and Wool Festival every time. This year, however, I won't be going. Holly can't really afford even the gas to take us, and I don't think I could manage to walk around the whole thing.

It's so big that you can't ever see it all in one day, and probably not in two, but I could usually walk around most of it. This year, I really don't think I can make it and I certainly can't afford to be exposed to all the tree pollen I would breathe in if I went.

In the meantime, I've been compiling a list of all the wonderful things pertaining to knitting and spinning that I'd like that I won't be able to get at the MSWF. I intend to pick one (or maybe two, if it doesn't cost too much) and get it/them as a consolation for not being able to go, and I thought I'd include them here, because they'd be good Mothers Day presents if your mom spins or knits.

The other day, I was watching Knitting Daily and they had someone on from Signature who showed how to make swatches knitting on their beautiful needles that look like you're knitting with jewelry. I haven't tried them yet. I haven't been able to afford them. But I've read a lot of rave reviews that say they're worth every penny and more. The most popular point is the stiletto.

They have single points, double points, circular needles, kits, and lots more. Check it out!

I love the Barbara Walker knitting pattern books, and I've been sorely missing one (A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns) that I have (somewhere) but can't find. I've come to the conclusion that it went to New Jersey, and it will cost more than the book to go get it, and I've been thinking about replacing it. Although they, too, are worth every penny, they're fairly expensive (for me) books. I discovered yesterday that there is an older, used (out of print) version of it that's available through Amazon, and I'm seriously thinking about getting it. It's called Charted Knitting Designs, which I can't find a link for, but you can find it on Amazon. This is a fabulous book if you prefer charts.

If she's a spinner and wants to spin art yarns, there is no better wheel you could get her than the Aura wheel from Majacraft that came out last year just in time for the MSWF.

This wheel was designed specifically to spin art yarns, but will also spin heavy weight singles, and (they tell me) even fine yarns.

If you knit socks, the thing you won't know how you survived without is the snag lite. If you're knitting a sock all in rib and you discover a purl stitch down a few rows that should have been a knit stitch, this is the perfect tool to ladder down to the mistake and latch it up again, perfectly! If the mistake is a knit stitch that should have been a purl, flip it over to the other side to fix. It's much easier to fix the knit side.

If you feel you don't need the light, there's the Ergonomic Knit Picker by Dritz, which you can also usually find in JoAnn Fabric stores, or another Ergonomic Knit Picker. These are the perfect size for sock or lace yarn, even though they look so tiny.

If you knit a lot of patterns and occasionally make mistakes, the Seed Stitcher is for you! These are generally available in a size that work well with knitting worsted, chunky and bulky yarn weights. I haven't found any that are a good size for lighter weight yarns, although you can usually manage to use one that's really too large.

As for me, I'm going to go out with Holly on Mother's Day, and we're going to have a great time as consolation for missing the MSWF!

I hope your weekend will be the best it can be!

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