Sometimes

Sometimes when your living room looks like this:And you find one of the 9 month olds in the kitchen helping himself to some bananas.....
It is good to peek into a bedroom with no boxes, peaceful and serene, where the bed is made and a hand-appliqued pillow rests, a good-bye present from a friend.....
It is good to glance at the handspun as you pick your way through the rooms, and maybe even set the timer for ten minutes and watch the fiber flow through your fingers as you spin....
It is good to take the kids and a pile of stuff into the outdoors, and pack it all away while sitting on the grass, where it is easy to look up and thank God for beauty all around.

Halley's Comet Hat and Argosy Scarf

I am now blocking this hat to show the stitch detail better, and to get a better fit in the front. Also you will note in the last picture that I have a dangling yarn end that needs to be woven in....but, we are moving in less than a week, so please accept the imperfections of this post. Blogging is taking a back seat to packing this week!

Halley's Comet Hat is another Marnie MacLean pattern, like Chapeau Marnier. It knit up very quickly, and is a pretty pattern that goes well with the Argosy scarf. You can't beat Ravelry for helping to find the right pattern for the job!
Here is a picture of Argosy in progress. The diagonal striping turned out lovely with the Spunky Eclectic Celebration handspun. If I needed to get in the mood for autumn, these colors would do it. But I relish autumn without any help at all....this just added to the delight!
Finally, a smile from Mercy, who looks great in these colors!

For the Grandmas: Squinty but Cute

Chapeau Marnier

Pattern is Chapeau Marnier from Knitty. This pattern was great, and it makes a sweet hat for a young girl.

Yarn is my fingering weight handspun, from merino-angora top in Apricot from Kendig Cottage.

I adjusted the needle size and shaping for a smaller head size.

Finished with a tea-dyed silk sash and rosette.

The scarf is ye olde feather and fan.

Fiber Frenzy Surprises

An Anne Grout handmade spindle. I have tried it out, and it spins beautifully. Isn't it lovely?

A cute little Strauch mini doffer/flicker. So sweet, so portable.

Nestled in a cloud of Wensleydale. Famed for its sheen and its ability to take dye....it was on my "to try" list, and now I can!


A wrist distaff from Greensleeves Spindles, complete with a wpi gauge on the handle. I was about to make myself a wrist distaff cause I have had ---ahem---some tangled fibers. Well, no more! And this one is a beauty. Much prettier than mine would have been.

And a precious bag of Buffalo Gold Roving. What fun I will have playing with this downy bundle! Somehow it just reminds me of my father.....

Thank you and three cheers for Beth, owner of The Spinning Loft.
She can put together a winner of a package! I look forward to sharing a state with her in a month, and maybe I'll even get to visit her store some day!

Swatching Coyote Cotton

There is a gift baby project on my horizon, and I wanted to try making a cotton yarn for it. So I ordered some coyote cotton from Kendig Cottage.

This is a naturally colored cotton that has been developed to be fire resistant.
The color is quite a nice reddish brown.

I figured swatching was a must, since I didn't want it to fall apart in the washing machine. So I spun and plied, and knitted a swatch directly from the spindle that went directly to the washing machine. The verdict? I am happy. This is so soft, and there was no pilling. The dimensions of the swatch changed very little, just a slight gain in width.

The baby sweater project has a green light now!

Almost done with Chapeau Marnier.