Reading

Summer Top Knitting and Reading

This will be a quick update on my summer top knitting and also my summer reading.

Knitting

We will get to the knitting first.

I am excited that I have joined on the sleeves to the body on my Muqarnas. I am making good progress on the raglan decreases now.

Muqarnas knitting Classic Merino Bamboo yarn sleeves joined

When the sleeves are first knitted onto the body, for my size, you only decrease on the body sections for awhile. I am past that point now, and I am knitting all eight decreases every other round. It is going well, except for the head scratching at times. I have to figure for myself how to keep the lace going and still ensure the decreases are accomplished. The decreases aren’t charted, in other words. You have to assess on every decrease round to work it out.

Muqarnas knitting Classic Merino Bamboo yarn

I do like how it is looking so far. I steamed the body before I joined on the sleeves. You can tell where the new knitting above the joined sleeves is, by that front center marker, and the more crinkly stitches.

My favorite feature is the lace pattern that goes doubled up the side seams and is split into singles at the raglan decreases. I haven’t checked the gauge. I am waiting for the wet blocking and hoping for the best.

In my last post, I shared my June reads and my (then) current July reads.

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen (reading for Jane Austen July) A re-read for me which I thoroughly enjoyed *****
Memorial Days – Geraldine Brooks (first read of this author, reading to fulfill a Kindle Challenge, borrowed in Libby) I liked this one enough that I picked up Horse to read in the near future ****
Complete Stories of Eudora Welty (about halfway through this book which is actually 5 published collections in one volume) Still dipping into this a few times a week.

Recently Finished and Currently Reading

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Levin – So many people recommend this one, so I had to see what all the fuss was about. It was okay, but maybe just not for me. I am not into gaming, but the story was interesting most of the time. ***
Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster – This was good and a short read, which is perfect for summer. ****
Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash – I picked this up because of the cover and the summary. I am a sucker for a book with a title/art that is sea/ocean themed. It’s also WWII era historical fiction. Sign me up! I am still reading this and I am really enjoying it!

Shop Updates

We have some new Darning Eggs in the shop this week. We have been working on re-stocking the Walnut, Maple, and Hackberry. Production is currently on pause while Jerry is working on another project.

Do you remember in December 2023 when the tornado totaled my brand new trailer? We haven’t known what to do with it. The insurance paid us about half what we paid for it but didn’t salvage it. Last spring Jerry stripped it to this point. I jokingly referred to it as a “gorilla cage” which of course he must have broken out of.

We didn’t know for sure what to do with it at that point. So, there is sat for over a year. He finally decided to just strip it down to a flatbed frame and see what we can do with it. The tires are practically brand new. They alone are worth over $1000 to buy new. We hated to just junk it and keep the tires for my current trailer.

So, I have no idea what will come of this, but I’ll keep you posted.

Posted on July 22, 2025July 22, 2025 by yarnmama — 5 Comments

Summer Activities: Knitting, Dyeing, and More Fun

It is high time for a catching up post about our summer activities. There will be some content about my knitting, reading, yarn dyeing, and a few other odds and ends.

Knitting

First, let’s get right to the knitting content. I am working exclusively on the Muqarnas top. In my last post, I showed you the finished sleeves and the ribbing for the body section. At this point I have knit 4 of the lace repeats on the body section. The intended length of the body before joining it with the arms, is 14 inches. I have almost 9 inches right now. According to my measurements, I need to knit about 3 more lace repeats to reach that goal.

I am looking forward to that milestone. It will slow down the progress even more at first. The addition of the sleeve stitches makes the rounds longer, after all. The momentum of the decreases makes the progress much faster at that point. I can’t wait to see how the finished top looks! I love how lace changes after blocking. It is worth the wait!

Yarn Dyeing and other Business Stuff

The first half of the festival season came to its conclusion for us in early June. Our last spring show was Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival in Franklin, IN. It was another fantastic year and I am so pleased to be a witness to the growth of this festival over the years. I began with the show in 2008, and it is one of my favorites now. I’ll share a few pics from this year.

Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival 2025 Knitting Notions booth

Upon returning to Nashville, we went straight into yarn dyeing time. I spent about a week with dyeing preparations. This involves lots of math and spreadsheet work, dye stock mixing and final color mixing. Then more math and spreadsheet work to make work order plans. Then finally, get all the yarn prepped. For me, that means bundling and soaking for the dye pots.

Knitting Notions Yarn dyeing — mixing dye stocks

Other preparations were also some much needed upgrades to our “dye and finishing studio”. This area is in our daylight basement which opens out onto the covered patio area we built 5 years ago. I have been relying on clip on shop lights on the floor joists and portable fans in hot weather. We decided to install a large fan that is suspended from the joists. Even more exciting, to me anyway, are the ceiling shop lighting. We got 4 of these and they sure do make a huge difference! I love how much better I can see. This is particularly important when measuring stock to mix colors. Notice in the above right picture, that was before we installed the new lighting.

We accomplished all the dyeing of the yarn in three sessions over one weekend. It was hot and mostly dry that week. That is a bit of a con for the dyers, but a pro for getting the yarn dry.

The following week, we got all the labeling and storing done. Now we are all set for the fall festivals. I have extra yarn in the event that we need to dye anything that runs low. The only catch will be time to do it.

In other product news, the wood shop has been in full operation all spring also. We have been adding a lot of Shawl/Hair Sticks to the inventory. Lately, that has been some Walnut, Mahogany, and Maple.

Currently, we are working on some more Darning Eggs. These were hot sellers around Christmas time and for a few months after that, so the inventory got a bit low in some woods. We are out on a few also, but more will be in stock soon! I will be back out at festivals in early August, and we should have plenty more by then.

Reading

Let’s switch topics to a bit of book chat. First, I would love to hear what you’re reading lately if you want to share in the comments.

I am making my way through my TBR but I am also a bit of a mood reader, so there have been many diversions. They were good ones though, and that’s the important thing.

My most exciting report is that I finished my re-read of War and Peace. I am so glad that I took my time with it. It took me 6 months, but it was time well spent. I definitely have a fuller understanding and appreciation for what Tolstoy was doing with this work than I did after my first read 13 years ago. If you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to have a go at it. The chapters are pretty small so even if you only set a goal of a chapter a day, you can read it slowly through over a year. Anna Karenina is a bit more engaging, character wise, but War and Peace is just so magnificent!

Other books that I have read in June are:

Never Flinch – Stephen King (*** okay but not one my favorites)
Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier (**** a re-read sparked by reading The Trackers; really liked it!)
The Wedding People – Alison Espach (**** first read of this author due to a BookTube recommendation; liked it)
A Month in the Country – J.L. Carr (**** same as above; very good short summer read)

Currently reading:

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen (reading for Jane Austen July)
Memorial Days – Geraldine Brooks (first read of this author, reading to fulfill a Kindle Challenge, borrowed in Libby)
Complete Stories of Eudora Welty (about halfway through this book which is actually 5 published collections in one volume)

Closing

As always, thank you for reading and hanging in there when I let the grass get too high. I will attempt to post before another month goes by. Blessings!

Posted on July 4, 2025July 4, 2025 by yarnmama — 11 Comments

Slow Progress is Better Than No Progress

My knitting progress is slow but better than no progress, right?

Knitting

This post, like many, will be an update on the late couple of weeks. I will begin with knitting progress.

I am still slowly working on my Muqarnas top, designed by Anne Hanson. My Classic Merino Bamboo yarn is one of the recommended yarns for this project. I am using one of my new colors, Rose, and I am making the L size/43″. I am making the short sleeve, short length version.

I have completed both of the sleeves. I am 3 rounds away from completing the bottom rib section. After that I will begin the main body which is worked in the same lace pattern as the sleeves.

It is slow going because I am using US2 needles for the ribbing and US4 needles for the lace patterns. I initial swatched with a US5, but the fabric was not firm enough and the gauge was a bit too large. Another reason it is slow is because it’s not very good booth knitting because it’s lace that I need to pay more attention to, especially when working the sections requiring shaping. Hence, it’s slow progress.

Festivals

Speaking of booth knitting, when I wrote last I was waiting to set up at Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival. It did end up being a great show on Saturday and Sunday, despite the rough start.

Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival Knitting Notions booth

Most of us vendors that were in tents and the Pavilion set up bright and early at 6am on Saturday. That made for a very long and tiring day, but definitely worthwhile. The attendance was fantastic and the weather for the remainder of the weekend was beautiful.

After a brief couple of days at home, I headed back out the following Thursday for Wooster, OH for the Great Lakes Fiber Show. The weather this year was very cool and pleasant, which was a nice change. I had no issues this time that was also welcome. :-)

Great Lake Fiber Show Knitting Notions booth

Home and Reading

I have been enjoying a full week at home since my return on Memorial Day. I am heading out this weekend for Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, but after that I have the rest of June and July at home.

I have put in an order to the mill for yarn to dye. That will begin when I get home from Indiana. It will probably take a few weeks to get all of that processed. While on my break, I might even get that vest pattern done.

In reading, I am down to the last 25% of War and Peace. I am definitely getting a better retention and grasp of what is going on than I did on my first read in 2012. I think a slow, deep read is just right for a work of this scope. I like it a lot! I am also currently reading/listening to The Trackers by Charles Frazier. I plan to start the new Stephen King – Never Flinch, this weekend. I received the hardback this Friday that I had pre-ordered. :-)

I have been reading other shorter books on the side too. Since my last post I read or listened to the following books:

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – read
The World According to Garp by John Irving – Audble
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr – Audible
The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel – read

Closing

That is enough for one post I think. I’ll see you next time and thanks for reading!

Posted on June 2, 2025June 2, 2025 by yarnmama — 6 Comments

Festivals and Knitting

Today’s post will be a brief update on festivals and knitting.

Festivals

I am currently waiting out the storms in Lexington, KY. The Kentucky Sheep & Fiber Festival is tomorrow and Sunday. We are supposed to be setting up today. The severe weather expected today and tonight has put a change in that plan. My booth is under the Pavillion, but there are no sides. I brought my tents but with the possibility of strong wind, we were all advised today that it may be best to set up in the AM. They are giving us a few extra hours tomorrow before the festival opening at 10 AM.

I was at two festivals in the interval between this one and my last post. I was in St. Louis for the Midwest Fiber Festival, the last weekend in April. It was fabulous and fun as always!

I had a weekend at home, in which I dyed a small batch of @250 skeins of yarn. Then, it was off to MN for the Shepherd’s Harvest Festival on Mother’s Day weekend. It was unusually warm and sunny, and the turnout was great.

Knitting

Now on to the knitting part of my post. I have sadly little to show you. As you can guess my knitting time is limited. I did manage to work up a swatch for the Muquarnas. I knit that in the stitch pattern in my Classic Merino Bamboo on US 5 needles. After I measured the swatch, I decided to go down one needle size to US 4. Instead of swatching again, I cast on for the first sleeve.

While in the hotel room this morning, I finished the sleeve and steam blocked it. It looks to be close enough on gauge, so I will proceed with the second sleeve. Here’s the first one in the Rose color I am using for the top.

Reading

I suppose I owe you a reading update too. I am still reading War and Peace and the Eudora Welty Short Stories Collection. I am sorry to report that I bailed on Lonesome Dove. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with it. I’m sure it is as great as everyone says it is. It’s just me. I have never liked westerns. Also I can’t read the third book in a four book series, without reading the whole thing. I thought I could, but I just can’t. And I am not up for a series of four large books that I am not into. So, there you go. The itch is scratched, and I am moving on.

I am reading a few horror books for Horror Mayhem (May Booktube event). I came across Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak and I really got drawn in to it quickly. I guessed part of the ending before I got there but there were still surprises. I recommend this one if you like a mystery that’s a little creepy. The illustrations were very cool too.

I am currently re-reading the Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I am a big fan of here writing. I was first introduced to her work in school at some point when we read The Lottery. It had a profound effect on me and that story stuck with me. I have read most of her novels as well as her other short stories.

Okay, I will close for now. Stay safe if you are in the path of these storms today. See you again soon!

Posted on May 16, 2025May 16, 2025 by yarnmama — 3 Comments

Hand Knit Socks and Other Chit Chat

It has been awhile since my last post and there’s not been a lot of knitting. I have a finished pair of hand knit socks and some other chit chat.

Knitting

I have not started writing the pattern for the vest. I have, however, finished the pair of hand knit socks I was working on.

I have some plans for a few projects but I haven’t cast on for any of them. Knitting hasn’t fit into my days since the socks were off the needles. My fingers are starting getting itchy though, so I may cast on the Classic Merino Bamboo that I wound up last fall. I set it aside to make Muqarnes in the short sleeved, cropped version. I am using Rose for the sample.

Knitting Notions hand dyed yarn — The red yarn is the one for this project

Reading

One of the reasons I haven’t been knitting much is probably because I have been reading a lot more instead. I am fine with that. Reading is just as much my happy place as knitting. I have been a reader since as far back as I can remember. Knitting came into my life in my early teens, but books were my first and long time companions.

I am still making my way through my re-read of War and Peace. I like the Pevear & Volokonsky translation the best. I am intentionally taking my time with it this go round. I aim for at least a chapter a day, but sometimes read more. My goal is to immerse myself in the story and live with it, while I also read other things. I am enjoying it this way.

I am also reading The Complete Stories of Eudora Welty. This is a wonderful book to slow read. I dip in a read a story a day or sometimes only a few a week. Her old southern charm is enchanting. I can hear her voice in my head while I read. I am savoring this volume.

In March, along side the above books, I read a lot of shorter mystery books. I follow quite a few book bloggers on YouTube and March was Mystery Madness. I read four John Banville novels ( The Drowned, The Lock-up, April in Spain, and Snow). I also read The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins and We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker. While it wasn’t exactly a mystery, I also read Orient Express by Graham Greene. I like his work and have quite a few more on my TBR. This one was good, but maybe not as good as some of his other works. My favorite so far is The End of the Affair.

All the John Banville books were good; the stories were pretty interesting but I like the most is his style. I have read 8 or 10 books by him at this point and he hasn’t disappointed me. I also liked The Blue Hour. I read one of her other books, Girl on a Train. I enjoyed them both for their compelling style that drew me in and kept me reading past my bedtime.

I was not as thrilled by the Chris Whitaker book. I am in the minority here, but I don’t enjoy his writing style. This was the second book I read and I was unimpressed to be honest. Both, We Begin at the End and his newest one, All the Colors of the Dark, were highly recommended. I don’t know how much of my reaction is due to the audiobook, because I did listen to most of these books. I have the Kindle versions for them so some of both were read that way. I mainly disliked his dialogue style. I can’t pinpoint what it was, but something was annoying me. I think His books just aren’t for me. I am not saying they are badly written, but neither one appealed to me.

In April, I listened to the newest Chris Bohjalian release, which is a Civil War historical fiction novel. This was really good as I have found every other book by this author. I listened to this while driving and loved it! I also listened to The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett. She is one of my instant buy authors. I have read all her books, but one. She never disappoints either.

I took a shot with a new to me author, Charlotte McGonaghy’s Wild Dark Shore. I listened to this on Audible. I picked it up purely based on it’s description and reviews. It is described as a mystery/suspense with literary style prose. It was those things, but I don’t know if I’ll read any other of her books. It was a bit heavy handed on the “environmental crisis” for my taste. I rated it 3 stars though. The story itself was interesting and compelling.

I am currently reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. There has been such a lot of buzz about this book lately. I am not interested in Westerns as a genre, and that’s what 90% of the people also say who are raving about this book. It’s praised for it’s character development and the writing. I HAD to see what all the fuss was about. I got on the Libby wait list for the Kindle version and it finally came through on Saturday. I am four chapters in and it’s pretty fun so far. I am really enjoying the dialogue and story telling style. I’ll let you know what I think after I have read more. It’s gonna be a challenge to read a 945 page book in 3 weeks. Wish me luck!

Festivals

I’ll finish off this post with a quick festival update. At the end of March, I was in Ann Arbor for the Spring Fiber Expo. I had a weekend home and then was in Greencastle, IN for Greencastle Wool Show.

Greencastle Wool Show 2025 - Knitting Notions Booth

I was home last week and for Easter weekend. We had some of the family over for the afternoon on Easter Sunday. It was a fun day of food, visiting, and egg hunting for the little ones. Sorry, no pictures. I don’t know why I forgot to take any.

I will be back out on the road Thursday for the Midwest Fiber Fest in St. Louis, MO. Hopefully it won’t be a whole month before I talk to you again. Thanks for reading!

Posted on April 21, 2025April 21, 2025 by yarnmama — 4 Comments

New Knitting Design Progress

I am making good progress on my knitting design. I also got some new books for Christmas.

Knitting a Vest

I have been working on my new vest design since my last post. This is the only project on which I have made progress.

I am almost to the arm hole shaping on the back piece. I am enjoying this stitch pattern. It is easy to memorize with just enough happening to keep you entertained. I usually prefer working from charts for stitch patterns, but you really don’t need one for this.

I am close to the end of the first skein of yarn already. I don’t think it will last through the arm hole shaping. I have three skein set aside for this. It looks like I will be using all three but I don’t think I’ll need more than that.

New Books for Christmas

Is there any better Christmas gift than books? Well, maybe, but they rank pretty high in my opinion. I hit the jackpot this year!

I started collecting the hardback copies of the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith (J.K.Rowling) last year. I have read them all and already own the Kindle and Audible versions. I wanted to have physical copies though since they are some of my favorites to re-read. I bought books 4 and 5 this summer. My children got my the rest of the set for Christmas. I am looking forward to re-reading these before book 8 is released.

I also hit the Barnes & Noble hard back sale the weekend after Christmas. I had some reward points to spend too. Here’s a few books I picked up. I haven’t read any of these before.

I just finished The Frozen River and I enjoyed it very much. I will definitely be reading some other books by Ariel Lawhon.

This book is set in the post Revolutionary War period in Maine. The main character is a midwife who reminds me of Clare Fraser in The Outlander series. This story is based on a real person, Martha Ballard. She was a midwife who kept a diary. I remember owning a copy of her biography, A Midwife’s Tale, but I don’t have it anymore.

I planned to start my re-read of War and Peace on January 1. I will do that as a slow, year-long read. All these new books are calling my name right now too. Which one to read first is the question. Have you read any of these?

Posted on January 2, 2025January 2, 2025 by yarnmama — 9 Comments

A Knitting Update and My 2025 Reading Plans

It’s been longer than I like since my last post. Things have slowed down as far as traveling, but there is still lots going on every day. Most of that lately is just catching up on the household and production work. Let’s start out my update post with my knitting progress. After that I’ll get to other goings on.

Knitting

In my last post I was still on Clue 2 of the Go Go Dynamo Shawl. I began Clue 3 sometime in the second week of October, I think. I thought the brioche was slow. The short row triangles in Clue 3 took FOREVER. I finally got that completed this past week sometime. So, yeah, that was around six weeks to get that accomplished.

I have started Clue 4, finally, and it is progressing much faster. Part of the reason for that is that there are much less stitches. It is now proceeding from the middle of the shawl towards the top. The rows are getting shorter and there is not all the back and forth happening.

There is an additional edge that can be added at the bottom. I haven’t decided whether or not I will be doing that yet. The primary determiner will be yarn supply. If I still have plenty of the balls I am using, I will consider it. On the other hand, I may just be DONE regardless. We shall see.

Last Festival

The last festival on our schedule for 2024 was November 8-9 in Fayetteville, AR. The NWA Fiber Festival was founded in 2023 and I attended both years. I am looking ahead to seeing this festival grow in an area that is a new market for me. I expect to return next year.

I experimented with a different booth setup because there was a pole in the front of my space. That was also where the electricity was. It again took a little canoodling, but I liked it. I plan try some other arrangements next year.

Preparing for 2025

We are making festival plans for 2025. I have booked a few new ones and will be returning to many of our favorites. I haven’t updated the schedule on the website for 2025 yet. I will be getting to that sometime in December.

In the wood shop, Yarn Swifts are in production. Jerry started working on this batch in late September. All the bases and arms are completely finished. He is now making the dowels. I spent a week in November sewing bags and preparing the tags.

I will be starting to assemble, bag and store the Oak and some of the Walnut today. We have enough dowels ready to get started while he works on the rest.

I will be ordering more yarn for dyeing some time in December or January. I am planning to get the restock dyeing done in February. The days are starting to lengthen enough by then. It’s hard to get enough done in the day in December and January. When you depend on daylight hours outside to work by and get the yarn dry, more is better.

Reading Plans

While I am on the topic of plans for 2025, I will share my tentative TBR list. I always have a list in my head. Sometimes I lose focus. The books I wanted to get to don’t happen. So, this morning while I was having my quiet time with my coffee and my Kindle Scribe (LOVE this thing BTW!), I made a check list.

Now, this is just to remind me of what I really want to get to in the coming year. I am still somewhat of a mood reader. This is mainly a pared down list of my higher priority books that I already own. This doesn’t mean new books can’t jump to the top. I can decide to do that. :-)

I included a good variety of books I haven’t read, and re-reads of classics. There are plenty of shorter works and chunky reads. I love both! Again, it depends on my head space and mood at a given time. I am sure about one thing. I want to start War and Peace on January 1. I plan to do a slow year long read. I want to just live in that book while also picking other ones for variety. I am excited to start!

I have only read War and Peace once. I did some background reading this past summer to prepare for this re-read. I read a History of Russia and a very thorough and interesting biography of Napoleon. I think my read through this time will benefit from the additional historical familiarity. (not an affiliate link, but I do recommend these).

Closing

This has been brief, considering how much time has elapsed, but I covered the basics. I hope to get back to a more regular schedule of 2-4 post a month.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving celebrations!

Posted on November 30, 2024November 30, 2024 by yarnmama — 4 Comments

Summershine Knitting and a Major Book Haul

Summershine Top back in Organic Cotton Sport

Good Morning from Pittsburgh! I have an update on my Summershine Top knitting and a major book haul to share with you.

Knitting

I will start off my update with my current progress on my Summershine Top in Organic Cotton Sport.

I am still on the back piece, where I have reached the underarm bind-off and shaping. I had yesterday and today off so I hope to finish this part soon and begin the front.

Mini Break Between Festivals

So, as I said in the opening of my post, I am currently in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Creative arts Festival. I was in Allegan, MI last weekend for the Michigan Fiber Festival. That festival was wonderful as always. The weather was mixed between rain and sun. We had a good turnout and fun was had by all.

I drove from Michigan to Pittsburgh on Monday. Since I don’t have to set up the booth until Thursday (tomorrow), that gave me two days off. It goes by pretty quick and it has been nice to just hand out with my knitting and books. I am very easily entertained. :-)

Book Haul

Speaking of books, there is a Barnes & Noble just a few miles from my hotel. So, of course, I had to pop in on Tuesday. There is a big book haul sale going on. How could I resist that, I ask you? Recently I did some culling of my book shelves in my office. I am pretty sure I just refilled a bit of that space. ;-)

I have read all of these before with two exceptions. The book on the top of the stack, Wild and Distant Seas by Tara Karr Roberts, intrigued me with the cover art. I love the ocean, and whales. I picked it up and read the summary. It is based on a spin off from Moby Dick, one of my favorite novels. I was ALL IN at that point. I have already read the first chapter and I like it so far. (No affiliation, just a book-lover who likes to share)

The other one that has some stories I haven’t read yet is the Great American Short Stories collection. I have read probably at least 30-40% of the ones contained in the volume. I am excited to dip into this and just read whatever one strikes my mood.

Posted on August 21, 2024August 21, 2024 by yarnmama — 3 Comments

A Knitting Post From Home and Some New Office Stuff

Home Time, Books, and New Office Stuff

I am home for this weekend and have some knitting to show you. I also have a few new things in my home office.

I drove home from Pittsburgh on Sunday . The trip was long but uneventful. The one bonus of a long drive is more audio book time. During my trips from Nashville to Kalamazoo to Pittsburgh and back to Nashville, I had many hours of listening time. I listened to Later by Stephen King, Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner, and began The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadesh.

This was my second time reading Later. I had forgotten how good it is. If you like the movie The Sixth Sense, you might like this book. Secrets of a Charmed Life is very good for fans of historical fiction set in two time periods. The main characters are two sisters separated by World War II and how that affected their lives. I am not even halfway through The Weight of Ink yet. It’s a bit historical too, but in a different way from the other one I read. It doesn’t feel as personal but it is very interesting. The main plot revolves around some manuscripts from the mid 17th century and the people that wrote them in the past versus the ones discovering them in the present. Technically it is the year 2000, so the past to us, but in modern times.

While we are on the topic of home, I want to show you that I added a few things to my home office recently. I added a few desk lamps, a filing cabinet and best of all, a comfortable desk chair. I am writing this post from here and it’s awesome! I really do feel more productive. Now, I just need to use that productive feeling to get my new knitting pattern written for that shawl I finished.

Knitting Updates

Speaking of that shawl, let’s take a look at the blocking shots and a few after blocking pictures.

I love how the pattern opens with the blocking. This stitch pattern is not hard to work because as you can see it’s pretty solid for a lace pattern. That is the reason I chose to use US 3 needles for the fingering weight Classic Merino Bamboo yarn that I used. Normally I used US 5 needles to knit lace with either of my fingering weight bases. I am happy with the body in this shawl that the tighter gauge creates.

I ended up using almost all of the 3 skeins. The shawl weighs 295g. I measured it after removing the pins. The length is about 84″ and the width about 23.5-24″. The width was more than I had planned but it’s actually a nice size for wrapping up in. I think the width is a result of how I blocked it. The edging wanted to be stretched more and therefore, I went with it rather than making the fabric stretch more lengthwise. You may also notice that I chose to accentuate the shaping of the selvedge that occurs due to the lace. Now, I just need to get the pattern written and published. I would like that to be done in time for my next show in Wisconsin next weekend.

I have one other knitting project to share before I end this post. You may recall that I started Saltarello in my Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn.

I am finding the stitch pattern easy to follow, even in the dark yarn. I do need good light to work on it but that can be true no matter the color when working lace patterns. I have gotten through the first two charts at this point. I hope it will show the design well in the booth in the dark color. Blocking will help I think. I am using US 5 needles on this shawl to help the stitch pattern open up more. See you next time.

Posted on September 1, 2023September 1, 2023 by yarnmama — 13 Comments

Hello from the Southern Comforts Fiber Market 2023

I am grabbing a bit of down time to send you a “Hello” from the Southern Comforts Fiber Market.

Getting Ready for the Market

Thursday afternoon was set up day. I arrived at the appointed time and was there until they kicked us out for the night. I did manage to get the booth 95% ready when I left for the night. The final touches, sample arranging and signs, were easily managed on Friday morning before the market opened.

Knitting notions booth Southern Comforts fiber Market

Market Days

Friday was a nice day in the market. I met lots a knitters and crocheters and had a wonderful time chatting and showing off our wares. I enjoy helping my customers find the right supplies they need for their projects. That can be the right tool, the best yarn base or color, or the perfect pattern.

One thing that I am excited to report is that the new trailer did, in fact, make restock pulling SO MUCH EASIER. It is great having the extra room to move the totes around to get to stuff. Also, since they no longer have to be stacked as high, I have an easier time manipulating them. It only took about a half an hour to get to what I needed, which means it’s earlier when I get my supper, LOL.

Saturday in the market has been a bit busier and it’s already almost break down time. I have my truck and trailer hitched up and in a decent proximity for loading in a few hours. I am anticipating a smooth pack up.

This is the third year for this festival and I have been at all of them. It is still a new show and I am impressed with how much it improves each year. The attendance is still on the low side, which is common for a new festival, but I see the potential for it to become much bigger. The committee seem to be focused on growth and doing a lot to achieve it. They are also fabulous at caring for the needs of their vendors. I will definitely be back next year.

Home Again

I’ll be staying the night and driving home tomorrow. The upside to driving home on a Sunday is, no rush hours to worry about. I started a new audiobook on Wednesday while driving to Charlotte. It’s one that I think I picked up during one of Audible’s BOGO sales. It’s The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton. I am enjoying it and looking forward to continuing the story on my drive tomorrow. I have listened to a number of her books and they are always entertaining. See you soon Nashville!

Posted on August 12, 2023August 12, 2023 by yarnmama — 1 Comment

Knitting

Reading

Shop Updates

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Knitting

Yarn Dyeing and other Business Stuff

Reading

Closing

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Knitting

Festivals

Home and Reading

Closing

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Festivals

Knitting

Reading

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Knitting

Reading

Festivals

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Knitting a Vest

New Books for Christmas

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Knitting

Last Festival

Preparing for 2025

Reading Plans

Closing

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Knitting

Mini Break Between Festivals

Book Haul

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Home Time, Books, and New Office Stuff

Knitting Updates

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Getting Ready for the Market

Market Days

Home Again

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