Woolly Stuff

I've knitted a few fun things lately and wanted to show them. First up is Oink, by Susan B. Anderson.  It's the cutest little flying pig!  I love how it turned out.  

A while back I found Susan B. Anderson's reversible patterns.  I knit the little Egg-to-Turtle a few months ago.

 












This time I made the Mini-Reversible Duck to Bunny.  

They're such fun little patterns and take hardly any time at all to knit up!  You have to like fiddly things though, because some of the pieces can be a bit fiddly.

Remember the roving I dyed with Easter egg dye?  I spun it and it turned out really well, if I do say so myself.  I ended up spinning up the colored roving and some white roving, then plying them together.  Stripes!  I really enjoyed the dyeing part, and I can see a lot of that in my future!

Knitting by the Sea 2016

Our aunt is a member of a guild that has retreats every year in Corolla, NC.  Last weekend was my second time going. It's a fun weekend...spending a weekend in a nice hotel with my sister, knitting and having a great time! I was lucky enough to be asked back to teach a needle felting class and to do a demonstration on making felted beads.

The hotel where the retreat is held is so nice!

The view is great.  I'd love to have one of these huge houses on the ocean.  I'd even settle for staying in one for a week in the summer.

Becky and I took pictures on the balcony, but that's as close as we got to the ocean. It was a busy weekend!

Saturday, we set up the Purl & June table and sold some soap, and Becky manned the table for me while I gave my demonstration.

The felted bead demo was fun, and all the ladies ended up going home with several beads.

Later that night, we went down for the festivities.  We play knitting bingo, win door prizes, and eat desserts.  Becky and I wore our matching sheep nightshirts. We got these at our own local Walmart stores, and didn't realize we both had the same shirt until we were talking about what to bring to the retreat.  We decided to coordinate outfits.

Sunday morning was my needle felting class.  I picked 2 cute critters they participants could make- either an owl or a gnome.  The class was a lot of fun.

Aunt Linda made a really cute gnome with the cutest ears. Here he is below, not yet finished.

During the class, Becky let me know Barley was showing signs of going into labor, so she was kind enough to monitor the barn cam for me while I concentrated on the class.

Barley ended up having triplets later that afternoon. 

Here are some of the finished and almost-finished projects from the class.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but lots of fun.  

My Workroom

When our house flooded this past winter after a pipe burst, we were very upset and stressed thinking about all the work we had in order to move stuff out, repair everything, and move everything back in.  Now that we're 99.5% done with everything (still have one small closet to drywall), things are much more positive.  Although it was not exactly the kind of motivation we wanted, it was a great way to get our space more organized.  The basement especially needed some help.

It took several months, but I finally got my space organized as a great work space for me.  It's now organized and has all my yarn, spinning stuff, felting stuff, and Purl & June stuff.  Well, there's still a closet full of all of my oils and soap/lipbalm making supplies upstairs, since all of that is made upstairs.  

But check out my space in the basement.   We've "divided" it into 3 spaces. One area will be a living space, with seating and a TV so we can have it as a sort-of den.  The second space will be for David's firearm and reloading area, and the third space is mine.

Here's mine!  I have just about enough room to store my stuff, but I underestimated how much STUFF I actually have.

This large 4' cabinet holds most of my yarn.

I got the storage bins at Home Depot, and even though they weren't cheap ($7 each adds up!), they are worth it.  I wanted to be able to put everything in nice bins.  My sewing machines are on the bottom, mainly for weight to stabilize the cabinet.   There are extra bins on top, along with fiber fill.

My second cabinet is only 36", because I didn't think I needed 2 of the larger ones.  It's a bit deeper than the 48" one, which is nice.  This cabinet holds my books (too heavy to put on a higher shelf), my fiber for spinning (bins on top shelf), fabric, and bins with sewing supplies and knitting supplies.

This is my fiber tower. It holds all of my fiber and roving for felting.  And check out my new drum carder on top!  I just got it yesterday.  It's the Brother drum carder with the extra fine cloth.  I will be able to prepare all types of fiber for spinning.

My three spinning wheels sit on the hearth.  The one on the left is the spindle wheel David made me for Christmas.  The one in the middle is my "new" (to me) Louet s15.  I got it last week and it's a very nice workhorse of a wheel.  Then the Ashford Traditional is on the right.


These shelves are great for drying soap, and there's room underneath to add more shelves when needed.  Right now it's great for storing bins.  The bins hold wool sweaters (for felting/fulling), Purl & June supplies, and other things.            



This shelf holds shipping and packing supplies, labeling supplies, extra lye (bottom shelf), and all the paper and labels I need for Purl & June stuff.  My new business printer is on the table on the right of the picture.  It replaced the one that got "rained on" from the flood.

I bought a 4' table that I can fold flat when not in use. It'll be a great work surface.

I am so excited just looking at these pictures!  Never before have I had such an organized space for creating.  I just really hope I can keep it looking this organized!!  

Organizing

I'm spending a lot of time this weekend trying to get my yarn/fiber stash organized. We put together a new cabinet..it's pretty big, but I'm doubtful it'll hold everything.  Before I put yarn in it, I'm taking pictures and entering it in my stash on Ravelry.  Once it's on Ravelry, I can keep track of what I have, and it'll keep me from having to dig through my stash when I want to find some yarn.

Buford likes to follow me and keep me company while I'm in the basement, and his favorite spot is on the ottoman. He didn't care if there was yarn on there, as long as he could curl up next to it.  And the cat, Chilli, is just being a pain and getting in the way. What is it about cats? They know you're trying to do something, and they pick that time to suddenly need love and attention.  Yarn balls help distract her.  :-)

Aquafire

 I knit my handspun alpaca into an Aquafire so I could wear it to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I wanted something I could wear around my neck, but I didn't have enough for a cowl (and it's too hot to wear a cowl anyways), and the Aquafire fit the bill perfectly!

Ready to Knit

 This morning Devin and Kylee helped me wind the alpaca yarn I spun around my makeshift niddy noddy (the back of a chair).  I calculated approximately 120 yards of yarn.  Then I soaked it in water to set the twist, and hung it to dry.

I was so excited after it dried. It is so soft and fluffy!  I love the colors, and can't wait to knit it up into something special.  Thank goodness for Ravelry. I was able to find this Aquafire pattern, and I think it'll be perfect for the yarn.  I'm hoping to have it knitted up before this weekend, because I want to wear it to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.

Knitting by the Sea 2015

A few weeks ago, I attended my first ever knitting retreat.  I was very honored to be able to teach a needle felting class there, as well.  

The retreat was held at Hampton Inn & Suites in Corolla, NC.  The hotel was great.

My sister attended the retreat with me, but we weren't the only family members there.  Our Aunt Linda is a member of Tidewater Knitting Guild, which hosted the retreat.  She's in the background below, I think pretending to not notice our silly sister-selfie.

Saturday morning I taught my Needle Felting 101 class.  I made kits for each class member, and brought a sample of some of the felted things I've created.

It was so much fun getting a chance to teach needle felting! 

Later that day, the vendors set up so the retreat members could do some shopping.  I was also there vending, so my sister helped me set up the Purl & June table.

It was fun having a helper there, and it made vending so much easier!   

Sunday morning I woke up pretty early and managed to get a few pictures of the sunrise.  It was so beautiful.

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Then Becky and I took a class on thrummed knitting, which is when you knit with little bits of roving, which make for a very warm finished product!  It was pretty easy to pick up, and I really enjoyed the demo.

It was a very fun weekend, and I would love to go to another retreat!  The weekend was filled with family and fiber...can't think of a better way to spend  weekend!