Fiber Festival Alert!

This Saturday (10/24) is the Harvest Days and Fiber Festival at Cannonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro. Bring your friends! Bring your family!

It starts at 10 and goes until 5. Come early, stay late!



p.s. Did I mention I'm a vendor this year? EEEK!!!

For your prayer list

Please keep Alan, Vicki, Melissa and John in your prayers. They live in my neighborhood, and their house burned down tonight. Luckily, everyone, including Coco, is safe. I don't know what to do for them right now other than send prayers their way and ask you to do the same.

I've never seen a house burn down before and I'm shocked at how fast it can happen. This is a good reminder to check smoke detectors. Make sure you have both kind...the kind that detect a slow smoldering fire (lots of smoke) and the kind that detect a quick burst of heat (flash flames).

Be gentle, it's my first time

My first paid Ravelry advertisement! How's that for just too darn cool?

Not typing much tonight. I smooshed my finger in a car door today. Yes, it hurt like hell. I have this lovely little black spot under my finger nail. If I lose this nail I'm probably going to vomit a little every time I look at my hand. (I lost a toe nail once and let me tell you, it was totally nasty! After the nail fell off (gag) I opened a door and my toe was in the way...right over the toe...a whole new level of pain and uglyness. I couldn't get a pedicure for a year for fear that I would freak out everyone in the nail salon and be banned for pure grossness.) At least with a toe I could hide it in a shoe, but my right index finger? I may have to knit some gloves...or a finger condom.

(That last comment will probably hurl this innocuous little knitting blog right into adult content land! HA!)

Tulips in October

Tulips Cardigan by Lindsay Pekny is finished and ready for delivery! Yes, it's just as sweet and cute in person! I purchased the kit for the cardigan at Stitches Midwest last month at the Elegant Ewe booth. A friend's daughter had a baby last month and this cardigan was on my shopping list. As my sister was admiring a baby sweater at the Stitches Market, a fellow shopper said, "How darling! Doesn't it make you want to ovulate?"

Yes, the sweater is very cute and I'm sure it will look very sweet on Avery, but it does NOT make me want to ovulate! As if!

In other news...in case the new banner isn't obvious enough...I've taken the plunge and started advertising my Etsy shop on Ravelry in the group forums. (If you're a knitter/crocheter/spinner and not a member of Ravelry, you need to be. Go. Join.) I have been hesitant about the advertising because I'm not typically one to call attention to myself. And advertising is the epitome of yelling, "hey! look at me!" into a crowd of people. I'm nervous.

And finally, my latest investment (the shorter one on the right). I like to call this Lawn Boy x2.

I seriously considered buying a couple sheep to tend the lawn, but there's that whole poop issue. I realize the one on the left poops too, but he's toilet trained. (I'm so dead if he reads this...one of the reasons he won't "friend" me on Facebook!)

Any resemblance to actual events...

Let's examine the concept of making certain items of a personal nature "gratis" after a certain time of night.

Gratis: out of kindness, free, charitable

For example, let's say a woman enters a grocery store at a very brisk pace at, say, 11:20pm, heads straight to the feminine products aisle (purely an example) and seconds later approaches the checkout lane with a big extra OMG large package of products from said aisle. In my opinion, the woman should be able to head straight home and bypass the entire checkout process. Especially if register 1 is closed (even though the light is on) and the surly young man lounging by register 1 says, "he'll get you at register 5." The woman knows the clock is ticking and register 5 might as well be in Chattanooga...and where in the hell is the cashier for register 5? Oh, he's at the front desk making a "I'll be right there" gesture. (Again, just a "for instance".) Shopper discount cards need not be scanned, item(s) need not be bagged, debit card need not be swiped. No need for chit chat. No need for the pleasant "did you find everything you were looking for?" (As freakin' if!) Time is of the essence here!

But like I said, I'm just presenting the subject for debate.

Any similarities to actual persons, surly, living or dead, or any resemblance to actual events, past, present or future is purely coincidental.

Other items to consider as "gratis" after 11pm:
Baby diapers, formula, pacifier, etc.
Preparation H
Pepto Bismol
Bandages
Dark chocolate

On a serious note, here's my feedback to the cashier: Dude, DO NOT ask a woman who has just plunked down a massive package of feminine products on your checkout lane at 11:20pm if 1) she is having a pleasant night and 2) if she found everything she was looking for. The proper greeting is, "Good evening, ma'am. There is no charge for your purchase tonight. May I offer you this complimentary slab of dark chocolate as well? Would you like to hit me? Please...if it will take the edge off."

Just sayin'...

Oh Fabio!

My latest finished object!

Drop Stitch Scarf
Knit with my superwash hand-dyed in "Oh Fabio!"
Pattern by Laura Bryant
Published in Spring 2009 Vogue Knitting

Initially, the pattern comes off as rather fussy. A lot of "Row 9 as Row 2" then "Row 16 as Row 9", but once you get the hang of the pattern repeat you can pretty much go on your own.

As for the name of the yarn...it's named after Fabio, a gorgeous peacock who struts his stuff around Three Creeks Farm.

Festival Preparation

It's tough to photograph yarn and get the true color. Really tough. My camera isn't all that great. I bought it 8 years ago when 2 mega pixels was that cat's meow. About a month later 3 mega pixel cameras hit the market. What are they up to now? 12? But my camera does a pretty good job and it has taken thousands of photos.


Sugar Maple hand-dyed sock yarn. 460 yards of 75/25 blend of wool and nylon. This is a very durable sock yarn. The nylon gives added strength and it can be machine washed.


This is one of my latest handspun yarns. It's an 80/20 blend of merino wool and possum. Yes, possum. You see, there is a terrible possum problem in New Zealand. A long time ago someone brought a possum to the islands (I guess it would have been two possums). They are considered an invasive non-native species and have been causing major problems for decades. An erradication project was established (I don't want the details) and the result is more fiber to spin.
Possum "down" is a very short fiber so it needs to be blended with a longer staple, such as merino wool. The wool holds everything together and the possum adds a lovely bloom. It's also a very warm fiber. I think this batch of 4 ounces wants to be mittens or maybe wrist warmers.


I purchased the fiber for this yarn from the Fiber Denn about a year ago. It's 100% corriedale wool. I'm thinking nice thick socks.


I'm getting my inventory in shape for the Cannonsburgh Village Harvest Days and Fiber Festival on October 24th. I'm planning on selling hand-dyed sock yarn, hand-dyed fiber, hand spun yarn, and maybe a few other items. Stay tuned!