Winter is Here

Never mind that Winter is Coming, it's here!  The temperatures have been well below normal here for the past week, dipping well down into the single digits.  It was only 2 degrees here yesterday morning and barely got into the double digits.  I had all the intentions of blogging yesterday afternoon only to discover that we had a frozen pipe.  I spent a large part of the afternoon thawing the pipe with a heating pad and a blow dryer.  This doesn't sound really awful and normally I don't think it would be, but the pipe happened to be in between a wall in our basement and the foundation in a spot that I could barely squeeze through.  While I was squeezing in and out of this tiny space I noticed that where the main power to the house comes in had a large hole and was letting cold air in. No wonder the pipe had frozen!  I plugged it up with insulation and then insulated the pipes with pipe insulation.  So far it seems to be working. 

This was the spot that I squeezed into and yes, I was terrified I would either get wedged in there or attacked by spiders the entire time!

Because there was exposed insulation and god knows what else, I dressed properly for the occasion:

Now, onto some fun and much happier stuff!  

Last month Verity from Truly Hooked contacted me to see if I would be interested in having my Wentletrap pattern included in her sock club!  The mail has been really slow here and I sometimes wonder if our mailman likes to keep the yarn packages for a bit before delivering them.  After all,  they are really soft and squishy and hard to resist!  I can't tell you how delighted I was when I opened the lovely lavender package that contained Verity's yarn!  The colors are bright and cheerful, just the thing for the middle of a dreary winters day.  The yarn base is an 80/10/10 Superwash Merino/Nylon/Cashmere with just the right amount of twist to work well for socks, and soft enough for me to just want to wrap the skein around my neck and dance around the house for a bit.

As well as being a fantastic indie dyer, Verity also just recently had one of her crochet designs published in Inside Crochet. Verity also has a group on Ravelry and there are quite a few Wentletraps knit up in this colorway.  It's called Quirky, which suits it's cheerful colors perfectly.  Here is a link to this months yarn club: TruelyHooked

Here are Verity's Wentletraps in Quirky.  Don't they look like happy socks?  The colorway is perfect for them!

I've been working on a second Arya's Needle that has three of the lace panels and omits the sword in the center.  It's going to be used as a sample at the booth I will have at The Powhatan's Festival of Fiber in April.  I dyed up the yarn myself and will have some kitted up with the pattern at the festival. It was snowing again this morning and I wanted to capture a bit of it in the pictures without actually going outside. Even though they are a touch dark, I really like the way they came out.

Festivals, Knitting and Blooms

I had so much fun at the Powhatan's Festival of Fiber last Saturday.  I have worked at festivals and trade shows for other companies and organizations, but this was the first time I actually had space at one.  I wasn't sure what to expect or how it would go and I was a little nervous.  Erica had some great words of wisdom for me which really helped to keep me on track and not worry so much beforehand.

It didn't take long for Stephanie and I to set up.  The practice set up was well worth it.  We knew where everything was going and operated like a well oiled machine.  We were in a great spot and I think the booth looked really good.

Once the festival opened for the day our booth was so busy that we hardly had time to take a break!  I am so blown away with the support that you guys have given me and can't tell you how much I appreciate it.  I really enjoyed getting to meet so many of you at the festival.  Thank you so much for stopping by our booth.

I am so over the top excited that my Mother of Dragons pattern will be in Miss Babs booth this weekend at Maryland Sheep & Wool!   If you are going to the festival and haven't gotten a copy of the pattern yet, be sure to stop by Bab's booth to get yours and some Yummy 2-Ply to go with it. The original shawl will be on display in the booth.   Beth was kind enough to lend me the one she test knitted to the festival.  It's the dark green one in the picture above.

If you are wondering what the pattern is like, Tina Sanders did a great review on her blog - and there is a chance to win a copy of the pattern there so be sure to leave her a comment. If you would like to see the shawl in motion, Julia from the Dropped Stitches Podcast shows her's off and does a pattern review too.  Julia was one of the test knitters who whipped the shawl up in record time so that it could go to Stitches South. Julia and her sister Jennifer are a riot to watch and their podcasts always make me laugh. 





Today I am getting packing and doing a few last minute things before we head to Maryland Sheep & Wool.  The first priority (of course!) is to figure out what knitting projects I want to take.  I have a simple hat that I am working on for my Uncle.  Since we are staying with him this weekend, I had better hurry up and get that finished.  I think I can get it done between tonight and the car ride up.

I am bringing a new sock design in progress.  It's small enough to tuck into my bag at MDSW and I can work on it while waiting in lines.  The yarn is Gnome Acres - House Gnome in the Aquaman colorway.  Andy got the yarn for me for Christmas because Aquaman was my favorite superhero when I was a kid.  Can you see my inner geek peeking out here?

I am also taking the shawl I am working on in Coquette from Wanton Fibers.  The yarn is so incredibly soft and really enjoyable to work with.  It's triangle shaped and worked from the bottom up. 

I think these will keep me occupied during any lag time over the weekend.  Our drive is about four hours each way so it's good to have something to work on in the car.

I'm leaving off with pictures of the garden.  Andy and I have spent the past couple of weeks removing the bark mulch and replacing it with stone.  In the long run it will be much easier to maintain and hopefully we will have fewer weeds.  This first picture is taken from our deck and overlooks the garden on the side of the house.

Columbine which is one of my favorite early spring flowers.

The chives always look so pretty when they are blooming.

 

I was a little surprised with the early appearance of this group of Irises!  They are in a really sunny spot in the yard which I think is why they bloomed so early.

I hope to see you at MDSW this weekend! 

Powhatan's Festival of Fiber

The past week has been spent putting the final touches on everything for the booth that Stephanie and I will have at the Powhatan's Festival of Fiber tomorrow.  I have had so much fun putting the Ready to Knit kit's together, sewing the bags for the Limited Edition Mother of Dragons kit's and making the stitch markers to go with them.  Here is a sneak peek of the Mother of Dragons kit.  The yarn is Indieway Yarns First String Plus and is a lovely Superwash Merino/Nylon blend.  



Stephanie and I decided that we had better do a dry run with the tent, tables and some of the displays so she came over last night.  We set up on the patio and had a blast figuring out where everything was going to go.  Hopefully this will save us some time in the early morning hours tomorrow while we set up.

 

I am coveting that painting of the llama wearing glasses that Stephanie painted! I know just where I would hang it too.  

I already had the majority of my stuff packed up.  I set up my tables and a few other things to make sure they would fit under the tent with everything else.  It worked out well and we are good to go!  I've had everything staged by the stairwell for a couple of days.  I think Andy will be glad it's out of the house!

 

We are all packed up and ready to go!  Since Steph and I live about and hour away from each other and we underestimated how much we were taking, we decided to take separate cars and meet up at the festival grounds.  I will take lots of pictures and hopefully one of us will have time to watch the alpaca shearing so I will have that to share with you too.  I think we are going to have a fun day and I am really looking forward to it!

The little bit of knitting that I have had time to do this week!  It doesn't look like I did much, does it? I really didn't have as much time to knit as I had hoped to, but that's ok.  The nice thing about knitting is that it doesn't go bad and it's there anytime you want to work on it.  The lovely yarn I am working with is Coquette from Wanton Fibers and is 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere.  To say that I want to roll around in it and rub it all over me would be an understatement!  I am working on a new design, it's a bottom up shawl and I will have more details on it as it comes along.

 

 

An Interview, Powhatan's Festival of Fiber and Spark KAL with Bare Naked Wools!

Last month Robin Hunter contacted me to see if I would be interested in participating in an interview for her blog.  There are a few blogs that I try to read on a regular basis and hers is one of them.  She always has interesting information and I enjoy reading the interviews she does with other designers.

Robin posted the interview today.  I'm really honored that she asked me!  She asks a lot of good questions and if you were wondering more about me and my business, please check out her post:  An Interview with Lara Smoot

For the past few weeks I have been getting ready for the Powhatan's Festival of Fiber.  I've put together some "Ready to Knit" kits with a few of my patterns.  These kits include the yarn, pattern and a stitch marker.  All you will need are your needles to get started!


Frost in Bloom



Oktoberfest



Iridill
 


Ferry Beach 




I will also be bringing some Mother of Dragons kits.  They include a Limited Edition dragon project bag, Mother of Dragons pattern and coordinating yarn.  This is just a little hint of the bag as I am putting the final touches on them:

I will be adding some project bags and kit's to my Etsy shop around the first week of May.  I am really excited to be starting this new venture!

Speaking of excitement, the Spark KAL has been announced in the Bare Naked Wools group on Ravelry.  We would love to have you join us.  It begins on April 30 and Erica and I have some fun things planned for the KAL including a few contests along the way.  If you are looking for something to knit for your Mom for Mothers Day, Spark is a perfect gift.  Mom can wear it in the chilly spring air when she goes out for her morning walk, or in the evenings since the nights are still a bit chilly.  Ok, who am I trying to kid here?  When I spoke with Erica earlier this week she had 2" of snow at her house! It's definitely a late spring and Mom would sure appreciate a nice hand knitted Spark cowl to keep her warm.  Check out these pictures from the look book photo shoot.  Beth knitted the lighter colored Spark using all Bare Naked Confection and I knitted the darker one in Confection with Indieways Best Worsted for the contrast.

Spring Knit A Longs

 

It is warm and absolutely beautiful here today.  The Redbud tree in the front of our house is in full bloom and buzzing with bee's.  One of my favorites, the Grape Hyacinths are blooming too.  Our lilac bush has it's usual two blooms on it, but they haven't opened up yet.  No matter what we do to that poor bush it refuses to produce more than a couple of blooms each year.

I've been busy getting ready for the Powhatan's Festival of Fiber on April 26. I'm putting together a few Ready Set Knit kits that will have one of my patterns and some luxury yarn paired with them.  There will be an assortment of project bags and a few other goodies.  Stephanie will be bringing some of her fabulous fiber related artwork, hand spun yarn and yarn bowls.  If you are in the area be sure to stop by our booth!  I just noticed that she has some of her paintings added to her Etsy shop: Spinderella  I may wind up coming home from the festival with one.  The colors are really fantastic in them!

 

I'm hosting a KAL in the Berry Colorful Yarnings group on Ravelry for Despicable Socks.  The cast on date is April 15 and runs until June 1. Michelle and I are working on gathering up some prizes for the KAL.  I hope you can join us for some Minion Mayhem!

 

The ladies from Dropped Stitches Podcast are having an Intersect KAL in their group.  If you are interested in joining in and don't have the pattern yet, use coupon code: Merlot for 20% off until April 12.  Julia and her sister Jennifer are a lot of fun and their podcast has a lot of good information from knitting and yarn to plants and wine.  You can watch it here: Dropped Stitches Podcast

 

 You can choose to knit the hat, mitts or both for the KAL.