Tag: fiberfestivals

The Perfect Time for Sweater Knitting

Dora Cardigan small and medium

It may seem weird, but I think spring is the perfect time for sweater knitting.

Baby Sweater Knitting

I am continuing my spring sweater knitting with some more baby sweaters. You may recall that after I finished the large size Dora Cardigan, I planned to partially re-knit the other two sizes.

I have already finished the small size sample. In the picture below it is the green one. I have added back the buttons after I took the picture but I am waiting until I finish the white one to wash and block them together.

Dora Cardigan small and medium
yarn swift
dora cardigan re-knit

This morning I ripped back the cotton version with the aid of my Yarn Swift so that I could steam out the crinkles as much as possible. I have it back in the needles so I can work on it this evening. I like to use a needle that is a couple of sizes smaller than my working needle for this task. I find it is easier to catch the stitches.

It may take two evenings to complete. I would really like to have it ready to wash and lay out to dry by tomorrow if I can. I would like them both ready to be back in the booth this coming weekend in Ann Arbor for the Spring Fiber Expo.

Another Sweater and Socks

I finished my Glittering Snowscape Socks while I at the Greencastle Wool Show. I washed them in the hotel room sink, and wore them in the booth on Saturday. I love there socks and can see them being favorites in my stash.

Glittering Snowscape Socks
Glittering Snowscape Socks
Miss BB sweater back cast on
Miss BB
Miss CB's Camp Jacket
Miss CB’s Camp Jacket

Since the baby sweaters were in the booth at the time, I cast on for one of the sweaters I had yarn with me to make. It is the Miss BB Cardigan that I am making with stash yarn. This has been in my queue for many years. I knit it’s predecessor around 15-20 years ago. I am not sure when it was. Bonnie Marie Burns originally released the Miss CB’s Camp Jacket that is shown on the far right. I made that from some Bartlett Yarn and it is my coat on the rare occasion that I need something that heavy. This newer version of that pattern is much smaller and more in sweater territory.

It is a pieced garment. I rather like to knit sweaters in pieces. The knitting is more portable since you can just have the piece you are working on in your project bag. I also like the structure from the seams which helps it keep it’s shape. I make seamless sweaters too and can appreciate their benefits but I don’t shy away from seamed garments. What are your thoughts? Seamless, seamed, or both have their place?

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New Booth Sample Knitting is Done

Dora Cardigan large size

I have a new booth sample finished. There is a bit of sock knitting going on when I am able.

Dora Cardigan and Other Knitting

Dora Cardigan large size
Glittering Snoscape Sock 2

I am so pleased with the new booth sample for my Dora Cardigan pattern. I made the updates to the pattern for all three sizes. I will be altering the other two samples to match the changes soon.

As you can see, I have been knitting the second Glittering Snowscape Sock. I am almost to the heel flap and turn. As I am knitting this, I find myself with the idea of reviving this discontinued color.

I am considering using it as a replacement in my palette for Cerise. The Cerise is a much less muted cool red. The above color is a deep rose pink. The dark rose might fit more into my palette. If I do that it will be this summer. I will probably tweak the color mix a bit, so it may be a different version of this color. Here’s a picture that compares the two:

back to business as usual
The Dark Rose is on the far right

Shop Restocking

Speaking of dyeing, I spent about five days this past week getting all the fresh dyed yarn labeled and stored. The website inventories are all updated also.

On the heels of that task, came the new Darning Eggs. Jerry has spent the past several weeks working on more Darning Eggs. On Thursday, we applied the first layer of linseed oil. Yesterday, after that had time to cure, I applied the wax coat. Then got them all labeled and added to the inventory.

We have more Cherry, but we replaced some other woods that have been out of stock for a bit. These include, Mahogany, Maple, Oak, and Walnut. I love them all, but my particular favorite is the Mahogany ones. I love the rich color and the interesting grain. They feel as satiny as they look.

Mahogany Darning Egg
Maple Darning Egg
Oak Darning Egg
Darning Eggs

I will have a full selection of these in my booth at Greencastle Wool Show next weekend. I will be in the Community Building in booths 135-136.

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Some Finishing, Frogging, and New Beginnings

sorrel front

Let’s get started with some finishing, then move on to some frogging and some new beginnings in my knitting.

Sorrel (Finishing)

I mentioned in my last post that Sorrel would be done very soon and here she is! This is the smallest of the three sizes in the pattern. All three of the sizes can be knit from one skein of Classic Merino Bamboo. I used 65g, which is about 320 yards, to make this size.

sorrel front
Sorrel front (color more accurate here)
sorrel back
Sorrel back to show the button and keyhole opening

It is quick to knit and fairly simple for even newer knitters. You need to be comfortable with knitting in the round. The shaping is simple and the stitch pattern is only knit and purl. What I think the most special attribute of this design is that the range for wearing is flexible. It can be made a bit larger and be worn as a dress, but later as the baby grows it can still fit as a top.

Spiral Splash Socks (Frogging)

There is a story here.

When I began the Spiral Splash Socks in late January, I had a hard time choosing the size to make. My foot size was in between sizes 2 and 3. Size 2 began with 60 stitches and size 3 with 72 stitches. I know that socks that fit me best are 66-68 stitches but 64 can work too. It was with trepidation that I went for size 3.

Here’s the next problem I was worried about: the leg stitches increase after the cuff to 80/88 respectively for sizes 2/3. This is to account for the slipped stitches, I assume, to prevent them being to tight. This was feeling very wrong to me all the time I was knitting them. You know how it is though. You’ve already invested the hours and you hope if you keep going it will work out. Hint, it usually doesn’t. Trust your knitter instincts.

spiral splash sock
spiral splash sock

After I knit the heel flap and turned the heel, I tried them on. You can see how huge that leg is. My ankle was swimming in there. It was a little painful to do it, but I frogged them. I considered casting on the size 2, but I really don’t see how 8 stitches less was gonna help that leg section fit. They were way more than 1 inch too large. So, that brings me to the new beginnings part of my post.

Knitting Glittering Snowscape Socks and Dora (Beginnings)

I am using that same Dark Rose Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn to make the Glittering Snowscape Socks by Stephen West. I am making the size 2 this time which begins with 64 stitches. I thought about going with a three color gradient, but then changed my mind. I am not in the mood for the extra fuss of color changing so I am just using the one color throughout.

glittering snowscape socks
Glittering Snowscape Sock
dora cardigan sleeves
Sleeves for large size Dora Cardigan

My other cast on project is the Dora Cardigan in the large size. I showed you the yarn in my last post. I like to begin this sweater by knitting the sleeves. These are small and quick and work as a swatch too. I am spot on for the gauge on size 3 US (3.25mm) needles.

The sleeves are knit flat and then joined to the body stitches after that piece is knit to the underarm length. The raglan shaping forms the top section. The button bands are knit along with the body. When the knitting is complete, the sleeves are quick to seam and you stitch closed the underarm stitches at the same time.

I knit about 1-2 inches of the sweater body but I didn’t take a picture yet. I’ll show you next time. It will be big enough by then to see that lace better. I hope I will get some time to finish it while I am in Raleigh, NC this weekend.

I am leaving on Wednesday for the Carolina Fiber Fest. I am setting up the booth bright and early at 6am on Thursday. I received by booth number today, so if you are planning to come, look for me in booth 21.

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Just a Few More Rows to Take the Edge Off

sorrel small

As I was having my coffee this morning, some strong storms were rolling through, bringing cooler weather in its wake. It was good to have my knitting to calm my slight anxiety that storms can bring to me now. I used to enjoy stormy weather, as long as it wasn’t too scary. They all make me a bit edgy since the tornado in December.

Knitting

I am just a few rows from finishing my Sorrel. Okay, there is also grafting the underarm stitches and then applying the button loop and button. But that is probably, altogether, about an hour’s worth of effort.

sorrel small
Sorrel small
sorrel small
Sorrel small
classic merino superwash sport yarn - damson plum
Classic Merino Superwash Sport
Damson Plum

I am going to try to get back to my Spiral Splash Sock, but there is also another booth sample I want to start.

I designed Dora about 7 or 8 years ago. I want to make a large size, which I have not knit before. When I do that, I think I am going to revise the neck shaping a bit. I am planning to use Classic Merino Superwash Sport in Damson Plum to make it. I like the idea of having both a light and dark color example of this in the booth. I have the small size in the same yarn in Lichen. I have the medium-sized sample in the natural color Organic Cotton Sport.

Dora Small Classic Merino Superwash Sport Lichen
Dora Cardigan Organic Cotton Sport
Dora Medium Organic Cotton Sport

Festival Season

It is almost time for our first festival of 2024. I will be in Raleigh, NC, March 6-10, for the Carolina FiberFest. We have gotten a lot of the preparations done. I have been packaging new Shawl/Hair Sticks this week. They are on the website, and I added the singles, which is new. We used to only have those at shows. Since we have over a hundred now, I decided to go ahead and list them online as well.

walnut shawl-hair sticks
purple-heart-shawl-hair-stick
padauk-shawl-hair-stick
osage-orange-shawl-hair-stick
sshawl and hair sticks packaging

As I am writing this post, the storms have passed. I should probably get my day’s work started. I should have a finished project and a new one cast on soon.

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Present and Future Knitting Plans

Present Knitting

Today’s post is focused on my present and future knitting plans.

I have progressed, in my current knitting project, to the last chart, with fifteen rows and the bind off to go. I am excited to soon be adding Saltarello to my booth samples. I think it will be a popular one. I am confident that the color I chose in my Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn is going to look great after it is blocked. I was thrilled to see Dee’s Saltarello on Saturday. It’s the one in the link above. She came to the Fall Fiber Festival and we had a lovely chat. I am kicking myself that I forgot to get a picture. I can share a few booth pictures though.

Fall Fiber Festival

The festival was great as always. It rained a bit Friday night and Saturday morning, but it wasn’t really much of a hindrance. The rain stopped and the sun came out by 11:00 am. It was lovely cool fall temperatures after that.

Tent shows can be wonderful when the weather cooperates. The natural light makes the yarn look great!

There are some challenges, like condensation in the tents overnight, but that is easily compensated for by covering everything up at night. There is also no electricity at this one, so no lighting in the booth, but that also saves time on setting up and tearing down. Fortunately, like I said, the sun was out so it really wasn’t a problem to leave off the lights. I have battery packs for keeping my devices charged.

Future Knitting

While I had all the yarn out on display, I took the opportunity to pick out some potential candidates for my next knitting project. I am planning to use my Classic Merino Bamboo to make a new design that Stephen West released last month.

I have only made one of his designs before, his work is unique and interesting but not usually styles I care for. A customer last month at Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival was buying some of my yarn for the Mingling Daisies Shawl. I immediately knew I wanted to make it.

I purchased the pattern and decided that my Merino Bamboo base was a very close match to the original yarn. That was the easy part. Now, I have to choose a color.

So far I have narrowed it down to these five colors. From left to right they are: Tea Rose, Sea Coral, Fern, Lichen, and Winter Sky. I believe all will show off the stitch patterns well. That was my main criteria.

Next important is colors that are not already in a current booth sample. Technically, only the Tea Rose and Sea Coral qualify here, and the other three are only shown in other bases, so they are still a consideration.

The third criteria is which one will look amazing and be fun to knit? That is, of course, a very subjective question. Dee thought the Sea Coral to be a good choice. What do you think?

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Catching Up on the Last Two Weeks

Knitting Updates

It’s time to do some catching up on the last two weeks. I am going to start with knitting stuff this time.

I have made good progress on Saltarello since my last post. I am pleasantly surprised that the color isn’t difficult to read as I am working. Good lighting is a must but it’s going pretty well.

I also got the second sock finished that I began ages ago. This is what I took along with me for booth knitting at Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival. I have been wearing these a lot since I got home. They are just the right thing for this time of year. I made this pair from a basic sock pattern in remnants of discontinued colors of my Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn. I use 68 stitches and US 1 (2.25mm) needles.

Travels and Festivals

In my last post I was in Ohio for the Wool Gathering festival. I am happy to report that fun was had by all and the weather was fabulous. I came home for a couple days and then left for Virginia. The drive up and the booth set up at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival was great. No problems and weather was nice. However, that was about to change for the worse.

Friday night Ophelia arrived in Northwest Virginia and it was not pretty, LOL. When you are in the midst of weather with a name it is never good, am I right? It was chilly, windy and soggy all day Saturday. Sunday was a bit improved, it warmed up some and rain was lighter. It mostly stopped raining by mid afternoon. God bless every one of the festival goers who braved the weather to shop. I also want to extend a special thank you to my customers who couldn’t make it to the festival who placed orders on my website. (((Thank you!)))

I am home at the moment and will be until Thursday. I am heading back up to Virginia for the Fall Fiber Festival in Orange, VA on the grounds of James Madison’s Montpelier. This show is all in tents so we are really hoping for good weather this year. It had to be cancelled last year due to more named weather. I forget which one it was but it was also a hurricane.

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Two Fiber Festivals and What Am I Knitting?

So it has been super busy in my world. I am on the the road traveling between Michigan and Pittsburgh for two fiber festivals. I will get into that first and then on to what am I knitting lately.

Michigan Fiber Festival

Michigan Fiber Festival was awesome as always this year. The weather was lovely for most of the weekend. It did rain some on Thursday morning, which was booth set up day, but after that it was sunny and pleasant. Sunday got a bit hot but it wasn’t too bad. The attendance was good and sales were fantastic. It is so satisfying to meet and chat with other knitters and to help them pick out tools and/or yarn that they will enjoy using. It’s the best!

Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival

On Monday morning I drove from Kalamazoo to Pittsburgh. The drive was fine. I took the Ohio Turnpike since it was the most direct and the fastest route, but oh boy! The tolls are nuts! I paid $48 so far and I think I will be getting another bill from Pennsylvania for the 376.

I arrived at the hotel and got settled in for the week. I had one full day off, which I haven’t had for weeks, and I spent that day just hanging out. I did make a short run to a grocery store up the road and got a few supplies but other than that I spent the day reading and knitting. More on the knitting in a moment.

I got the booth set up on Tuesday and Wednesday was when I had a day of rest. Today, Thursday, is opening day at the Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival. The market is open on Thursday from 12-7, Friday from 10-5, and Saturday from 9-5. I am glad to be here this year. I have been a vendor in this festival since 2008 and only had to miss one year. That was 2021 because of the date change and a prior commitment. I have met many knitters over the years in this area and I look forward to seeing them each year. It’s especially nice when customers show me what they are doing with their yarn from previous years.

What Am I Knitting?

Which brings me to my own knitting. While I was in Michigan, I finished my shawl! Of course I have had no way to block it yet, but I took a picture in the hotel for you.

I haven’t named it yet or written up the pattern, but you will be the first to know when I have that part done. I will be blocking this lovely thing as soon as I return to Nashville. I think that seeing it after it’s blocked will help in picking out a name, but if you have any suggestions I would be happy to hear them.

For the remainder of my down time in Michigan, which was very little mind you, I worked on my second sock in progress.

New Knitting Project

I also picked out a yarn and color to begin a new project. This one is one of Dee O’Keefe’s designs called Saltarello. I decided to use my Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn this time in Obsidian. Dee used an 80/20 Merino/Silk blend which almost made me choose the Classic Merino Bamboo, which I used for my shawl I just finished above. I has a nice drape which is similar to a wool and silk blend. However, in looking at the stitch pattern, I felt like the crisper hand and better stitch definition of the 100% wool 2 ply spun with a tight twist, would be a nice substitute. I may be crazy for picking the Obsidian, but I think it will be very dramatic if it doesn’t kill me. I am not gonna lie, the garter tab in black was tedious. Once I was past that part it got easier but I definitely need good light to work on it.

I brought my yarn swift and ball winder along because I knew I would be starting this project before I got home. I hadn’t decided on which yarn I was going to use before I left. It is much easier to consider them when I can see them all hanging in the booth. Here I am winding the yarn for Saltarello and the spare skein I need to complete the sock.

This is my progress on the new shawl at the end of the first chart. I think that when it is blocked it will open up and show the stitch pattern well enough. I will reassess after completing a bit more.

Closing Comments

It is getting close to the time I need to head over to the Double Tree for the market opening today. If you are in the area this weekend, come on by and stop in to say hello. I am in the Green Tree Ballroom in booths 25-26.

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Meanwhile Back in Nashville: a visit to the Work Shop

Back in Nashville

I arrived safely back in Nashville on Sunday. The traffic on the drive was light for most of the day until I got to Knoxville. Between Knoxville and Nashville I hit at least 4 slow downs due to who knows what? There were construction zones a few times, but they didn’t have workers present. So, I finally arrived around 3:30 pm just as a rain storm was bearing down on Nashville. I got the trailer turned in the driveway and my luggage out before it poured. I waited for it to stop raining before unhitching though.

Back On the Road

I took the afternoon to unpack and rest a bit. On Monday I did the grocery shopping and some trailer restocking. Today, Tuesday, I washed and gassed up the truck, hitched up the trailer again, and packed for my next trip tomorrow. I am leaving in the morning for Michigan. I will be setting up the booth on Thursday for the Michigan Fiber Festival. I started vending at this festival in 2007. It is a three day show, Friday – Sunday and is at the Allegan County Fairgrounds. I have always liked this festival but improved more now that I am in the new Expo Building. The light and ventilation is much better than the old white building where I was for the first 12 years.

I will be going straight to Pittsburgh from Allegan on Monday next week. I am once again back for the Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival in Green Tree, PA. We will be setting up the booths on Wednesday since the dates for the show are now Thursday-Saturday. It just makes more sense not to drive home. I’ll talk more about this show later though, because I wanted to spend some time in this post with a work shop update.

Work Shop Update

If you recall, we were starting a new batch of Yarn Boxes before I left for Charlotte, NC. While I was there, Jerry got the pieces all cut to final dimensions. That means that the next step is to cut ALL the finger joints. This is a time consuming process. Aside from the time involved in making the actual cuts, the jig is tedious to set up and tweak it until everything is lined up exactly right. If that doesn’t happen the joints won’t line up correctly when we start assembling the sides and bottoms together. Prayers for patience and wisdom are appreciated ;-).

While we are on the topic of the work shop and our processes, I’d like to share a new page I have on the website about that. I have had in mind for awhile to write up a gallery type page that not only shows but also informs interested visitors about what goes into making all of our various products. When people come into our booth at festivals or visit our website, they may not already know that almost everything they see there was hand made by us. From the wood knitting tools and accessories, to the hand dyed yarn and knitted samples, it is all us. That is pretty cool to me and I want to share what it takes for that to happen. I hope it will be interesting and informative and a work in progress itself as we add new items or change how we do things. If you’d like to check it out, here’s the link to a Sneak Peek at Our Production. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think. Is there something you’d like to see there that I didn’t include?

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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!

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Time to Head Back Out on the Fiber Market Trail

Southern Comforts Fiber Market

Wells kids, it’s time to head back out on the fiber market trail. Break time is coming to an end and I am off to Charlotte, NC for the Southern Comforts Fiber Market. Click the link for more details. I am looking forward to using my new trailer. I have taken it for a few spins just to check on the brake adjustments and such. Restocking the booth between market days is going to be much easier with all the room to spare. It’s all stocked and ready to hitch up today. I will be driving on Wednesday, setting up on Thursday, and market days are Friday and Saturday.

Oh! I forgot to tell you, we found a new owner for the old black trailer. Hopefully, someone will fix her up and get some more use out of her for many more years.

Knitting

I am glad to be feeling myself again today because I was feeling under the weather for 3-4 days. So much so in fact, that I wasn’t up to knitting. I would pick it up and realize I just didn’t have the energy. I wasn’t severely ill, it was just a low grade fever that hung on for days and a couple days of lower GI discomforts, but knitting a lace edging was a bit taxing. After countless cups of various herbal and medicinal teas, and quite a few bowls of chicken soup, I am grateful that I was feeling better by Sunday. I wanted a least a few days to get back on my feed before hitting the road.

Before I got sick, I had started and completed one of the repeats of the lace edging on my shawl design. I decided 3 skeins would be a decent size. I had 20g of yarn left and the edging should only use 17g, so I should be good. I didn’t touch it again until yesterday. When I picked it back up, I worked 3 repeats in one sitting. There are only 18 repeats across and each is 12 rows. The end is in sight! I am excited to see how it looks when it’s blocked.

Work Shop News

Just a day or so before I was briefly out of commission, we decided it was a good time to make a visit to our lumber supplier. The plan had been to work on more Shawl/Hair Sticks for awhile and get more lumber in the fall. We had bought a few new boards of exotics last month at Woodcraft for these. We revised that plan, however, and decided it was better to go ahead and start a batch of Yarn Boxes first. We had completed a small batch in June to fill out the inventory some, but one wood is already sold out. Time to make more boxes. Who remembers the old Dunkin Donuts commercial? You know the one? “It’s time to make the donuts”, says the sleepy guy who is rising in the middle of the night to get the dough started. That’s what I thought of just now. LOL

While I was trying to get healthy again, Jerry has been busy cutting, sorting, jointing, and planing wood. We bought some walnut, cherry, and white oak. We haven’t made any cherry boxes for quite a few years, and while we use oak quite frequently, it is usually red oak. At this point in the process, they are now all planed to the proper thickness and ready to be marked out for cutting down to the dimensions needed for the sides, tops and bottoms. Then the joinery cuts are made and they get assembled and glued together. There are dozens more steps after that to get to the finished product. These are probably the most labor intensive, as far as number of processing steps, of anything we make.

Parting Comments

Thanks for the comments on my new office. I am really enjoying having my own space. As a matter of fact I am writing this post from there. I got a couple better desk lamps and a desk stuff organizer. I have a comfy chair, which I am in now, for work like this. I am, however, realizing that the kitchen chair as a desk chair is going to have to go. It’s not inviting to sit in for any task longer than, say packing an order. So, I am in the market for a suitable replacement. Maybe I’ll have found one by my next post. We’ll see. See you soon!

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