A long, boring, personal post

Sorry I have been absent for the last few weeks.  I've wanted to write a post and there has been so much going on in my personal life, that I just didn't know what to say and I felt like I had a bit of writers block.  Just before we left for our beach vacation, the company that Andy had been working at for the past ten years was abruptly sold.  We were very grateful that Andy would keep his job, but things were still in a state of flux.  After much thought and discussion, he decided to accept an offer from a new company that is coming to our area.  We are both really excited about his new position and I'm very relieved that some of the stress that has been in our lives will hopefully be lessened.

Around the same time of the job upheaval, we found out that a family member has skin cancer.  Since this person didn't want other family members to know, I'm not going to say who they are.  It's been a battle to get them to agree to see the doctor, and then to let the doctor do a full examination. Fortunately, the first biopsy revealed that the area is not melanoma and is a more successfully treatable form of sarcoma.  Please, get your skin checked every year by a dermatologist. Your skin is the largest organ on your body and if anything is found early, it is much more treatable.

I haven't been doing as much designing as I normally do this summer.  I have knitted several pairs of stockinette socks, which are one of my favorite things to knit. These are from a Gales Art stenciled sock black that I picked up at MDSW this year.  The color is "The Big O".  I love how they turned out and they colors are nice and cheerful.

My current stockinette sock project is with yarn from Neely's Knits. The colorway is "Thing 1 and Thing 2". I had to make a bag just for these socks!  I love the Cat in the Hat and the Things.

I also cast on for the Solitude Jacket that is in the Knitscene Fall 2015 issue.  I'm using Malabrigo Worsted in the Apple Green colorway.  It's quite a bit brighter than the picture is showing and looks just like a Granny Smith apple.  I haven't knitted a sweater in over a year, and I'm really enjoying the process.

What do you have on your needles this summer?

Seasons

I got an email from Carol at Rivers Edge Fiber Arts this week telling me to keep my eyes out for a package.  The mailman now thinks I am some sort of yarn crazed lunatic because I have been meeting him at the mailbox every day! When you are waiting for something exciting like yarn it really feels like time slows down and this week was no exception.  I was only a few moments too late to meet our mailman today and it makes me wonder if he has started speeding up his route to avoid the yarn stalker?  When I opened the mailbox, the package from Carol was there!  I opened the package up right away, and am so delighted at the amazing fall colors! 

This is Seasons, a blend of 70% Royal Baby Alpaca and 30% Tussah Silk.  It's so soft that I just want to wrap the skeins around my neck and wear them just like they are!  The colorway is Riverstone and can be found at RiversEdgeFiberArts.com  This is the same yarn that my Juliet pattern is designed for.  I was going to knit another Juliet in Riverstone, but when it arrived all I could think is what a fantastic cowl this yarn would be!  If you are heading to SAFF this weekend, be sure to stop by the Rivers Edge Fiber Arts booth and pick up a set of Seasons so you can make your own Juliet.  I have to warn you though, if you pick it up you will not be able to put it down.  It's that soft!

It's gotten chilly here and we had a bit of frost on the car's this week.  I thought it was time that Iggy had a proper hand knit sweater.  I don't really have much worsted yarn in my stash and wound up using left overs from the two Intersect projects.  Iggy doesn't seem to mind and I think the stripes are cute on him!  I made it on the large size so that he has some room for growing.  I also skipped blocking it since the yarn is superwash and I can get a bit of stretch to it if needed in a month or so. 

 

Just before we left for Florida I had a moment of panic and thought that I would run out of things to knit on our trip.  It happens every time we go away and not only have I yet to run out of something to knit, I can't remember finishing a project while on the road!  Back to the moment of panic...I went digging through my stash, skeins were flying everywhere, and I found a lovely skein of Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply in Perfectly Wreckless.  I wrote up a little cable and lace sock pattern and stuck it in my carry on bag.  Of course I didn't have time to work on it while we were on vacation!  Now that we are home and settled back into our routines, I have cast on and am really enjoying the yarn and creating the new design.

I am a Clean Freak or 100 Ways to Drive Your Husband Crazy

Kristi called me the other day and asked what I was doing.  The conversation went something like this:

L: I'm cleaning
K: That's all you ever do
L: No, I organize too

I think it's no secret that I'm a little compulsive when it comes to cleaning and organizing.  I never seem to be able to get it quite right.  It seems like either I could have done a better job with how things fit where I placed them, there is too much stuff, or the storage solutions that I have come up with just don't work.  The only area I am completely satisfied with in the house are the kitchen cabinets.  It's really only been since September that the kitchen cabinets were finished.  While we were working on them we took everything out of the kitchen.  This gave us a chance to go through what we had and sort it into what we were keeping and what needed to be taken to Goodwill.  Everything is nice and neat and has a place.  I think Martha Stewart would be proud! 

We added sliding racks for the lower cabinets.  It makes getting pots and pans out much easier.  Before it was easy to forget what we had in the back of the cabinet.  Now we know and we aren't wasting time looking for the sauce pan or trying to lift the enamel cast iron dutch oven out of the back. 

Over the past couple of weeks I've been re-organizing the craft room (gack, I think this is the fourth time now...).  It would be a lot easier if there was just one type of craft that I enjoyed, but since there are a few it takes up a bit more space.  Aside from knitting and spinning I also like to sew, do a bit of jewelry making, dabble in rug hooking and have a very small rigid heddle loom.  Oh and yarn.  I have a lot of yarn and perhaps more than a few project bags and handbags.  What can I say?  I like yarn and bags. 

On the left in a smaller book case are all my knitting patterns, knitting books, a basket full of hexipuffs and hanging above is my little rigid heddle loom.  The mini LL Bean bag on the loom has all the tools that go with the loom.  The middle case from the bottom up: jewelry supplies and yarn, handspun yarn, the next two shelves are indi yarns, knitting needles and tools, at the top are hat boxes with sewing trims/nicer spinning fibers/things I couldn't part with, shuttles and a basket o'hexipuffs.  On the right from the bottom up: orange bag with spinning bobbins and flyers, picnic basket (empty!!), office organizer and foam for needle felting, third shelf has a rug in progress and supplies, fourth is all needle felting, top shelf is a basket of buttons, lazy kate and miscellaneous all topped off by knitting magazines.  I still think it looks messy but aside from covering it with a big curtain, I'm not sure what else I can do.  If you have a suggestion, please post a comment. 

I coerced Andy into helping me in the basement this weekend.  Shannon had given us a solid wood table style desk when she was moving.  We thought it would be perfect to put the drum carder on.  Andy built the brown shelves on top of the table when he was in middle school.  He was horrified when I asked him to trim the bottom of them a bit so they would fit on the table!  Being the good sport that he is he trimmed them and then helped me put everything on them.

It's not especially attractive, but it's organized and in a workroom in the basement.  The table is nice and sturdy and I can't wait to try the carder on it.  I had it clamped onto a old sewing machine table for a while, but it just didn't work well.  This is a huge improvement. 

Yesterday it was finally not 1,000 degrees in the shade or pouring rain.  Andy and I headed out to work on the start of the new patio.  Andy was able to lay the foundation for the new walkway that will go from the basement door to the patio.  The rail road ties are extremely heavy and need to be moved with a hand truck.  The grass in the path will be coming out and will be replaced with stone.  It will be less work to take care of and less chance of me getting bitten by bugs when walking back there.  Since I'm allergic to nearly everything that bites and my blood is crack for mosquito's we are doing everything we can to reduce the chance of bites.

My thumb finally seems to be working properly and I'm knitting again at full capacity!  It just sort of happened over the weekend while I was working on Mariposa for the Shalimar Beat The Heat KAL. I cast on on Saturday and I'm 1/4" away from binding off for the arm holes.  It's in Shalimar Enzo Worsted, Billies Blues colorway. 

With my thumb back in shape,  I've been able to work on my new sock design.  It's gotten some great comments from guys as well as girls so if you are looking for something to knit for a friend or your husband for Christmas this would be a great choice.  I'll be putting it out for test knitting sometime next week and hopefully be publishing it at the beginning of September.  The yarn is Maple Creek Farm Sherman in Chocolate Mint Truffle.

Wandering Wildflower is specially priced at $3.50 until August 1.  After that, the price will be going up to $5.00.

Rain, rain, go away.

It's been abnormally cooler here so far this June.  I actually contemplated turning the heat on for a bit yesterday.  I managed to restrain myself and opted for adding a sweatshirt over my long sleeve shirt.  The rail road ties for our new patio project were going to be delivered yesterday.  It was raining so hard from Tropical Storm Andrea that the delivery was rescheduled until next week.  At least the ground will be easy to dig where we are adding the patio! Our soil here is red clay and when it is dry it seems almost as hard at concrete to dig.  It's going to be a wet weekend here so I think we will be working on some inside projects.  After seeing a larger-than-a-small-dog spider in the basement, I'm hoping we can do a bit of organizing down there.  We still have a few things that need to be sorted from when we remodeled the kitchen last year.  Andy is going to help which is great because I think the spider is now under the dryer.  I sprayed it with wasp spray but it took off so quickly that I think it may have survived. 

I finished the back of the Tempest sweater.  It's such a cute pattern and very easy to follow.  I'm hoping to start the front's this weekend.  We picked up Warm Bodies and The Guilt Trip from Redbox.  It's going to be a perfect night to curl up and watch movies. 

If you are working on a striped project and having trouble carrying your yarns, I put a little tutorial up on Ravelry.  It's in post #253 in this thread.


Kristi sent me one of the new Another Way Kit's from the last Shalimar Etsy update.  I just love these colors, this grouping is called Vero Beach. 

It's not like I didn't have anything else on the needles that I should be working on, but I just had to cast on as soon as the kit arrived!  The Another Way pattern is so much fun and really quite easy.  The colors are really happy and cheerful. 

Needle felting therapy is still going on.  I think my arm muscles are getting into great shape from it. I think I need to work on the mushroom house a bit more.  The top looks a bit flopper than what I had planned.

Ive coerced Beth into felting too.  She came over last week and made the cutest gnome.  I wish I had taken a picture of him to show you. 

Festival Fun

Last Saturday Andy, Shannon, Beth and her husband Andrew and I went to the Powhatan's Festival of Fiber.  Tera told me about the festival last fall and we have all been looking forward to since then.  We were all wondering what it was going to be like since it was the first year.  We arrived to a friendly parking attendant who guided us to where we should go.  There was a short line to get in that moved very quickly.  If you look very closely, I'm the one in the salmon colored jacket.

We walked out into a picturesque scene of sheep in a meadow and vendors with tents set up all through the field.  The sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful azure blue and a breeze was blowing.  We really couldn't have asked for better weather! 

The Festival Committee did an outstanding job organizing everything.  There was plenty of parking, demonstrations throughout the day, things for kid's to do, fantastic food vendors, lot's of sheep and other fiber animals, clean portable rest rooms and everyone was very friendly.  We all had a great time and are looking forward to making this an annual trip.

This is Beth and I at the first booth we stopped at. Check out her sweater!  It's really fantastic, she is an amazing knitter.

 

This is the wonderful group of ladies who organized the festival.  Thank you so much to them for such a wonderful and much needed local event!  There are more pictures and information about the festival on the Powhatan's Festival of Fiber Facebook Page.  All of the lovely photos on my blog from the fiber festival were taken by Al Sneden and used with permission. 

I was so inspired by all the wonderful things that we saw at Powhatan, that I started a new design on Sunday.  It's an infinity scarf with a bit of texture and short rows.  Shannon saw it at knit group yesterday and immediately jumped on test knitting it.  I should have the pattern written up by the end of next week and am looking for a couple more test knitters.  Please PM me on Ravelry (SpinningLara) if you are interested in test knitting this new infinity scarf. 

It really should have a name, don't you think?  Let's have a naming contest!  Leave a comment on my blog with your name suggestion and the winner will receive a copy of this pattern when it's released. I'm looking for unique and funky!  Please keep in mind that any names that are already in use in the Ravelry Pattern Database won't be able to be used.

Catching Up

The last few weeks that lead up to Maryland Sheep & Wool always have me trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done.  There is a lot of behind the scenes work for Shalimar that gets done ahead of time, then getting everything here at home ready to go is a whole nuther issue.  Our dog is getting older and requires medication three times a day now.  Plus we have a house rabbit.  We have a wonderful pet sitter who comes and stays here.  I don't know what we would do without her!  This year she rearranged her annual camping trip to take care of our critters.  Thank you Lea, you rock!

There are two secret projects that Ive been working on and Beth has test knitted.  One of them will be released sometime next month.  The other one won't be until later in the year.  It's all very exciting and rather 007ish.  So while I can't really talk about what Ive been designing, I can talk about what we have been up to and what Ive been knitting for fun.

Last weekend we went fishing on Sunday.  It was freezing cold and very windy.  It was so cold that my fingers went numb.  I know your thinking, why would you go fishing when it's nice and warm at the house and there are things to knit?  I enjoy fishing and especially getting to spend time with Andy.  He's a trooper and comes to all my fiber and knitting things and is wonderfully supportive.  So Im not going to complain about nearly freezing to death being a little chilly.  Plus for the second weekend in a row, I outfished him.  Yes that's right, I outfished Fishing Yoda.  I have a feeling that may change this weekend, but for now I am the 2013 Fishing Champion of our house.  I need to be careful with that though.  I lost a serious bet to Andy a few years ago and wound up making him a pie all from scratch.

Ive been knitting away on my Audrey in Unst.  Love the pattern and the fit.  The yarn is Breathless DK in Copper Pennies and I can't say enough about how much I'm enjoying knitting with it.  Im hoping to have it done in the next day or so.  All that is left is the neck band and button bands. 



Ive also been working on the everlasting hexipuff project.  Earlier this year Kyle Kunnecke was kind enough to share the hexi's he made with me.  They are the cute ones at the top in gray, turquoise and lime.  I love them and someday before the end of time the quilt will finally be done.  I have 219 of them total.  384 of them will make a small quilt.  It's good to know that it's halfway done.  We have a few road trips planned this year and I plan to work on the hexis then. 





My very good friend Stephanie and her family recently adopted a Doberman from a rescue after their older Dobie passed away.  This guys name is Zeus and he's a whole bunch of fun in a giant puppy body.

 
They had only had him a short time and had to rush him in for emergency stomach surgery.  Something they hadn't been prepared for, and it was astronomically expensive.  Anyone that has pet's knows that vet bills can be expensive, but this vet bill was over and beyond expensive.

The Doberman Rescue is helping out by having a raffle this weekend.  If you are in the area and can help out by purchasing a ticket here they will be at:

DAR&E Spring BBQ

Bennett Cerf Park

544 Manchester Rd

Westminster, Md

April 27, 2013

noon until 4 pm

There are some great things that people have donated for the raffle including yarn and there is a gift certificate to my pattern shop as well. 

Spring Has Sprung

It seems that spring is finally here.  It began with fits and starts of warm weather mixed with freezing cold days and snow.  Normally we have a bit of a grace period where it's warm enough to open the windows during the day and the heat or air conditioning doesn't need to run.  This year the heat was on one day and literally the next day it was in the 80's.  So much for getting to wear those fun in-between season knit sweaters!

Ive been working on Ardelise.  It's a fun and easy pattern. I wound up going a needle size to get gauge.  I think knitting all those socks recently has tightened me up a bit!


Audrey in Unst is also coming along nicely.  Breathless DK is really a dream to knit with!  Im going to try to grab all I can laughing like a lunatic get some more while we are MDSW next month. Im thinking of Oyster or Black Truffle which are two of my all time favorite colors, but haven't made my mind up yet.  I guess it would help if I had a pattern in mind!  The fronts are almost done.


  Ug! My camera is not cooperating with me today. The color is really stunning in person.

Candy Necklace should be released next week.  I am super excited about it!  Here is a sneak peek from our photo shoot:

 It's a really fun and quick knit and perfect for spring.

Ive also started a test knit for the Shalimar Indulge Me! Club.  It's from Tabetha Hedrick and a lovely pattern.  As soon as I saw the picture for it, I knew I would love knitting it!  I can't show any details right now, but as soon as the club members receive their yarn and pattern I will post the test knit.

I also have two secret patterns in the works.  One will be coming out within the next few weeks and the other one may not be out until later this summer.  Im so excited about both of them!  Beth is test knitting both of them, but I doubt you will be able to get any info out of her.  She is really good at keeping a secret!  And her model, Daisy won't tell either.


That's the Tuesday Night Cowl that Beth knitted for her sister for Christmas.  I wonder if she knows that Daisy modeled it first?

Ive created a page for my designs on Facebook: Lara Smoot Designs  I will be posting new promotions and coupons there throughout the year.  If you are on Facebook, I would love it if you would like my page!

Miriam

Last month Kristi told me that she had been working with her mill to improve Zoe Sock.  Since it's one of my favorite yarns, I wasn't sure how it could be better than it already was.  When she offered to send me some to knit up a sweater, of course I jumped at the chance!  I searched through Ravelrys massive data base of patterns and decided on Miriam.  It looked like a straight forward pattern and I loved the fit on the model. 

When the Zoe in Driftwood arrived I was so excited I wound it and cast on.  Miriam proved to be a quick and uncomplicated knit.  The new Zoe is so soft and lofty and worked perfectly for Miriam. 

The moment it was done blocking, I grabbed it and headed out the door.  I hijacked Andy on his lunch and we went to a local park to take some pictures. 

 

 

Ok, I am skipping in this last picture.  It was a beautiful day and the sweater fit perfectly.  What else can make a knitter so happy?  Well the fact that I have another full skein left over for matching socks doesn't hurt!  Now, just need to pick a pattern.....

PS Shalimar Yarns is giving away a skein of the new Zoe on their Shalimar Yarns Facebook page!

 

 

 

Lot's of fun things going here!  Today Ann McCauley is teaching at our knit group.  This will be my second class with her and Im really excited about it!  Last year I took a seaming and finishing workshop and I can't even describe how much better my seaming is now.  The class is being sponsored by The Friends of the Forest Library (FOFL) and is free to all participants. The FOFL does many wonderful things for the community and this is just one of them!

A little over four years ago I started a knitting group at the Forest Library.   We meet the first and third Wednesday of each month.  It's been a great experience and Ive met a lot of wonderful people.  Ive been trying to find someone to take over being the group leader and liaison between the group and the library, but haven't had any luck.  Between working and everything we have going on in our lives Im just unable to continue running the group.  Im hoping that someone steps up to the task before the end of the year or the group will have to disband.  We have over thirty members of the group and usually have around ten people at our meetings.  I know everyone has commitments and other things going on in their lives but it's really time for someone else to have a turn at this.  One person asked why the group can't just meet without a liaison and why the group needed a leader at all.  The library receives grants and funding based on the number of people who attend events there.  There needs to be designated leader/liaison to report back to the librarian on the number of people in our group and to be a contact person for people who are interested in joining.  We also send an email out to remind the members of our meetings.  If you are interested in helping with the group or being the liaison, please leave a comment on here on my blog.

And now onto some knitting fun:

The Mermaids Tail Cowl is finished and I love it!

Handspun SW Merino Roving from Shalimar Yarns in Zombies Treat

 

Ive been working on the Miriam cardi in Shalimar Zoe Sock, colorway Driftwood.  Not only do I love knitting with this springy yarn, the colorway is really fantastic!  Im such a sucker for gray.  If I thought I could get away with it I think most of my knitting and wardrobe would be in shades of gray paired with white t-shirts. 

 

Ive already attached the sleeves and am on the raglan decreases.  It's a bit dark in the house for pictures this morning so Im using one from earlier this week.

 

Ive been a bit of a busy beaver and finished spinning 4oz of Hat Trick in Popsicle Stick from Rivers Edge Fiber Arts.  It's going to be paired with Breathless in Ore to make a Spectra by Stephen West. 

 

 

I really should have been painting the new shelves that Andy built for the dining room, but slacked off with spinning instead.  Good thing he is an understanding guy.  Oh wait, we did go fishing for most of the day on Sunday....



 



 



 

My New Favorite Sweater

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be a test knitter for Anne Hanson's newest sweater design; Blümchen

I love my finished Blümchen.  Not only does it fit perfectly but it was such a fun and very easy knit that Im currently shopping for yarn for a second one!

If you are looking for a well fitting and flattering sweater this is the way to go.  I used Knitting Notions Classic SuperwashMerino in Pumkin Spice. 

The finished sweater may give the impression that it was difficult or challenging to knit, but I promise it was quite easy.  The lace pattern is easy to remember and I knit the majority of it while watching tv with Andy in the evenings.  I even brought it to our knit group and worked on it while catching up with the girls.

Leaving

Anne Hanson is one of my favorite pattern designers.  Her patterns patterns produce amazing results. 

This is Leaving and it's first sweater that I have knitted where I am completely happy with the fit. 

Knitting a something as large as a sweater and not knowing how it's going to look on your body is a little daunting.  If you look at the finished projects page for Leaving on Ravelry it looks wonderful on everyone.  It's light enough to wear in early fall with a shell under it and later on in winter would also look great with a blouse. 

The yarn is hand dyed BFL by Wits End Serenade.  It was a gift from Andy at the Montpellier Fall Fiber Festival last October. There is a skein and a half left over.  Enough for a shawl or perhaps a vest.  The nice thing about yarn is that it doesn't have an expiration date.

Seams?  What seams?  They don't really stand out, do they?  That is thanks to Ann McCauley, another fabulous designer, author and mentor.  She was here in Virginia a couple of weeks ago and was kind enough to teach a seaming class at our knit group.  While Ive done some seaming in the past I was never satisfied with the results.  After Ann's class my seaming has improved one hundred percent.  If you ever have an opportunity to take one of her classes, I highly recommend it.