Mother's day sweater

Last year, for mother's day, I gave my mom sock yarn gradient dyed in her favorite colors.

Connecticut Sheep and Wool festival 2014

Last year, about 2 months after getting into drop spindling, I was able to convince my mom to come with me up to a fiber fair in Vernon CT. This year, it was decided that we are turning this into a tradition. CT is a small state that doesn't quite fit into one cultural region, I live in an NYC suburb, but the upper part of the state has farms, sheep, and Red Sox fans (or so I've heard).

The vendors at the wool festival tend to be from all over New England with a few NY and NJ vendors. It is worth visiting purely because these people are just so incredibly friendly, helpful, and overall amazing. This year's weather wasn't awesome, but the vendors are mostly in 3 barn structures, so rain is not a big issue. My mother took some pictures, I was way too busy shopping and learning about fibers to stop and document.

I got a batt at this stand in wool and firestar. I also picked up a cool one for a friend that couldn't make it to the fair. I am looking for the info on the ladies who made these, it will be posted later.

I saw a friend that I made last year, she owns Blue Button Farm and had these super cute turtles in great colors.

He will show up a lot in the future.

I also got a handspun skein from Leslie Alexander and a ball of babydoll roving from rowanwood farm at the same stand. The roving is extremely springy and soft, perfect for woolen yarn.

Alpaca Obsession had a great selection of blended rovings in all sorts of colors, not all alpaca. I got some of these earth tone bundles.

Last, we stopped at the Ball and Skein stand. They have some of the nicest hand dyed colors I have seen.

My mother got this silk wool blend .

 I got bulky wool for a hat, and some lace weight.

I just can't decide yet if these colors should go together to make a huge cozy merino/silk/cashmere shawl. They are sporty and fun, but I don't know what it would look like yet or if I'd rather use them as separate solids. Input is appreciated.

If you live in the area, next year, check out the fair. It is a great place to meet local farmers, spinners, and dyers Including so many that I didn't take pictures of.

dyeing rope for crafting

In the spring and summer, I try to put down my knitting for a while and work on a few warm weather projects. Rope is one of my favorite materials because it is cheap and readily available at the hardware store, even in bright colors.

clothesline dyed with blue food coloring and neon yellow acid dye

Feather Flame Pattern

Feather Flame is a chevron patterned scarf knit on the bias.  It has a scalloped edge and a slight curve that makes it easy to wear. The stitch pattern can be scaled to fit any gauge and yarn weight. Self  striping sock yarn gives definition to the waves of the flame stitch pattern.

Instructions are given in both chart and written form. Difficulty is intermediate, you need to know about increasing and decreasing using a few techniques but all are explained in the pattern. 

Yarn: 1 skein Lion Brand, Sock-Ease Prints, 438 yards (401 meters) shown in Red Hot,
or any fingering or sock weight yarn.

Needles: Size 6 (4mm) straight needles.

Gauge: 24 stitches and 32 rows in a 4 x 4” (10 x 10cm) square in pattern stitch.

Other Materials: Row counter, sewing needle, stitch holder.

Finished size: Approx 60 x 8” (152 x 20 cm)

You could definitely use any wight yarn with this pattern and change the number of repeats to get the  width you desire, striping sock yarn just happens to be a great way to show off the flame stitch pattern without using multiple colors to create stripes. That said, the pattern still looks nice in solids.

I hope you'll give it a try. The pattern is now on sale in my ravelry store or you can buy it here, use coupon code spring14 to get a 50% discount for the rest of March.

Spring sale

I'm having a 50% off sale on 4 of my favorite spring friendly designs in my ravelry store. Easy is a kids and adult shrug that's super simple to make (one piece, 2 seams). Midnight blazer is my spring workwear, it is warm enough to wear as a coat when spring weather isn't quite here and it is perfect for over air conditioned offices. It also takes a weekend to make. Drop top is a basic cotton sweater with a modern drop sleeve and shaping in the shoulders. Finally, Spellbound is my personal favorite. I wear this crop top everywhere, it works for the day, the night, the beach, or anywhere. It also includes a non cropped version for those who aren't into the cropped trend.

There's really something for everyone here including the kids, so check it out. Remember to use coupon code spring14 when you check out. I'm going to go get more yarn to make another spellbound now, periwinkle or hot pink?