The Woolen Rabbit

Boinging along.....

Spring was a time of swaggering declarations.
Reaching autumn, one finds few absolutes.
Life is mystery and ambiguity,
Toward winter, that now seems agreeable and comfortable.
Deng Ming~Dao

I love this quote from my favorite little book.  I am definitely approaching that autumn time in my life :-).

As you can see in the picture above, I have not quite yet finished Boing, although she is bigger now than in the picture.  I am hoping to finish her up tomorrow then on the blocking wires she goes.

Thank you all SO much for all of your colorway name suggestions...they are great!  So far I am leaning towards a Rhubarb theme, but I think I am going to wait to see how it blocks out first.

The show this weekend was great fun!  Skyy only placed in her class on Sunday, but it was a big class with many lovely puppies, so we were pleased with her placement.  She is still a baby with many shows ahead. 

One of the things that made the show even more enjoyable was the company of Scottish Lamb,Jean and her family.  Over the last year since they have returned from Germany, Ken and I have really enjoyed getting to know them better and this weekend was no exception!

Now....I did take my knitting and my camera.  Did I knit...nope.  Did I take pictures of Jean's family....nope.  You know how it goes....too much yakking and not enough pictures.  The kicker is however that Jean brought her fabulous Canon SLR camera that I used all weekend taking pictures for a dog show magazine.  Oy~vey, you would have thought I could have taken one picture that was not dog related...LOL.

I will tell you however, that I NEVER should have touched that camera....and you know the reason why I am sure.  Yep.....you can't want what you don't know...but once you know, you are sunk.

As soon as I got home, the research began.  A girl can get dizzy reading all of the reviews and of course choosing between a Canon and a Nikon is like choosing between a Toyota and a Honda.

I have narrowed the choices down to these 2 cameras.  A Nikon D300 and a
Canon 40D.  Both of these cameras are way more camera than I probably need, but I really enjoy photography and hope to take some classes.  Between the dogs, fiber and family, I do take a ton of pictures and one of these cameras should get me through many many years.  The hard part is going to be choosing which one. 
Any preferences out there?

Off to New York............

I had all kinds of things I wanted to show you this week, but alas Mother Time didn't allow for it.  Ken and I are heading out of town for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary and to attend the CKCSC,USA National Specialty.

She who would be naughty and chewed her ears will be staying home, giving her younger sister a chance to shine on her own.  Wish us luck!

I hope you all have an enjoyable and restful weekend!

Spring Beginnings.....

Imagination song, the soaring spirit.
Separate them to know them as aspects of the whole,
Join them to know the mystery of totality.
Deng Ming~Dao

In my little book Deng Ming~Dao goes on to talk about how powerful the mind can be when it is focused and  how many of us are lost in the vastness of our own uncharted minds.........(yep...that would usually be me and my ADD)

Many people tend to get a bit unfocused come Spring time, hence the term Spring Fever, but for me, I find Spring to have the opposite effect.  I become very focused and rejuvenated. 

Today I played with my little Peat Pots.  It is too funny to watch them grow when you add water the bottom of the tray....like little  brown Stay Puff Marshmallows...LOL

We have decided to double our garden this year, so I am starting some plants from seed and will sow the rest into the soil directly.  It's hard to believe that Spring is really here, but after a week of 70 degree temps, most of our snow is finally gone..whoo hoo!

Ok, so I bet your wondering what that lovely little bit of lace at the top of my post is.  Isn't it pretty?

This is another of Anne's Little nothings....."Boing".   It hasn't been released yet....but soon.  I know, it's hard to wait, but this one will be worth it....trust me!

You know how much I loved working on Alhambra...well, I think I may love this one even more!

In working up these little scarves, I am trying to come up with colorways that I think will complement the pattern. 

Where as Alhambra really needed to be more of a semi-solid color to show off the texture, Anne went more in a varigated direction with her sample.  Following her lead, I went a bit softer in contrast, but still varigated enough to lend some depth to the scarf.

My scarf in person looks very delicate and almost Victorian.  I have to admit though that I am a bit stumped on what to name the colorway, so feel free to send me a suggestion. :-)

Alhambra......

Pattern:  Alhambra
Yarn:  300-400 yards (depending on desired length)
Woolen Rabbit Whisper Lace Yarn ~ Fiddlehead
Needles:  US4
Fabulous little knit!  (Available starting Friday)

Thanks Anne!

Blocking and Walking....

Seize the mountain spirits,
Make them divulge their secrets.
Only with strength is there discovery.
Deng Ming~Dao

It is a beautiful day here in the mountains, so once I finished blocking Alhambra, I decided to take a walk around the property to inspect the conditions of the land and the gardens, now that a good amount of our snow has finally melted.

Yes, I actually completed the scarf and can honestly say I loved each and every stitch.  Anne is a genius when it comes to writing patterns, but then you already know that, don't you? :)

Come take a walk.......
First stop is the side yard that is mostly old pasture land.  Yes....the snow has left some pretty big puddles.

We live across the street from a large pond which runs underneath our yard, so Spring is always a squishy time of year, even when we have not had the snows that we had this year.

Great for the garden soil, but certainly messy. 

I have to admit, I am pleasantly surprised that mud season isn't nearly as bad as we thought it was going to be.  The nights have been cold and the days have been warm, which has led to a nice gradual melt.

Now we have to keep our fingers crossed that we do not get a lot of spring rains.

As you can see my garden is pretty much still under water,  but I was pleased to see that  my Rosemary looks like it has survived.

Amazing given that it was under 5 feet of snow at one point this winter.  On closer inspection, I think that my Oregano may have made it as well.  Go figure....they must be sturdy plants!

All in all it was a beautiful morning for a walk.  Blue skies, warmish temps and plenty of bird songs all around........

 

A Quiet Weekend at Home...

Not much going on here this weekend...and after the last 2 weekends of test driving cars, Ken says...this is a good thing :-).

I spent quite a bit of time yesterday working on Alhambra and she is growing. I love the way the pattern swirls in and out around the lacework. 

After seeing Anne's blocked pictures the other day, I am really looking forward to getting this little scarf finished and blocked so that I can wear it before it gets too warm.  It really is the perfect in between seasons scarf.
(I hope to have more of this colorway dyed up later in the week.)

Other than a bit of knitting and a little bit of playing with the car, the only thing I have done is bathe the dogs and watch the Red Sox.

I thought you might enjoy seeing a picture of Skyy now that she is almost grown.  She is turning into a lovely lady, who unlike her older sister, Cleo does not chew on her own ears... :-)

I hope you had an enjoyable weekend too!

Eye Candy Friday.....

This was the reason for our weekend trips to the southern part of NH and the very first non "Momobile" that I have had in 14 years :-)

Have a GREAT weekend!

Third Time's a Charm

Let us not be confused
With kaleidoscopic reality.
Using wisdom and courage to act,
Let us not add to the confusion.
Deng Ming~Dao

I'm betting you thought I would be much further along with my little scarf....so did I for that matter. 

As I was knitting along with the suggested needle, I noticed that the fabric that I was getting was a bit heavier than the sample picture Anne had sent to me. 

I had thought that because I tend to be a very loose knitter, that would give me a lighter fabric, but it did not.  I will say that I LOVE the fabric in the first picture, but it is not what the designer had in mind.....she is looking more for a wisp of a scarf...something hardly there.

So I went up a needle size and decreased 10 stitches and started knitting merrily along.  The fabric was much airier...however, I could tell it would not be wide enough so I ended up ripping that one back to the beginning as well.

I finally settled on the larger needle with the same number of stitches and even though my row gauge will be a bit off, I think that the fabric is more in line with what Anne had in mind, so this will be my traveling companion when we hit the road for one last time tomorrow.

Look what came in the mail today!  Whoo hoo!

Normally I do not pre~order books, but having had the opportunity for a sneak peak at Spa this winter, I was smitten.  Julia was kind enough to let a few of us take a look at the book and I am so glad I was one of them!

This book is a collection of some old patterns and new patterns designed by Lisa Lloyd.

I was particularly smitten with this sweater.   I LOVE it.  Interestingly enough, my good friend Terry test knit the sweater that is being modeled in the book.  I love it even more now, knowing that my friends had a part in it. 

I will definitely be purchasing this yarn in the most beautiful shade of gold soon.  This may be my Rhinebeck sweater!

The only thing I can say is "RUN" to your nearest bookstore and get this book...it is fabulous!

Spring.....
The last 2 days have surely had a taste of Spring in the air, and the warmish temps have worked hard at melting some of this snow that we have.  Unfortunately what we are starting to see is the incredible damage all of this heavy snow has had this area.  Will you take a look at my fences.....sheesh!

Look What I Found Today!

Look!!  Those are the very first signs that Spring is actually going to visit the Valley this year...whoo hoo!
Of course what you do not see is the 5 foot snowbank right next to the bush that these little buds are hiding under....but that's ok....this will do for today :-)

It must be the yearning for Spring that keeps me coming back to these green colors. 

The other day Anne asked if I wanted to test one of her quick scarf patterns...quick, fun and pretty, how could I resist?

I wanted to do it in a solid color so that the incredibly beautiful pattern would shine and this green literally jumped into the dye pot minutes later.  The color reminds me of the fiddleheads that we will see soon....and the airy pattern actually reminds me a bit of the ferns that you will find around fiddleheads often.

I guess I am going to have to admit it.....I am weak.  Remember I told you that another sock had caught my eye?  ....the temptress that she is, winked an eye at me and that was that.  I could not resist casting on immediately.

This is an incredibly easy pattern but with an air of sophistication.  Another fabulous sock for traveling, which we did again today.  (More about these weekend jaunts later in the week).

Now, just to prove that I can knit a pair of socks and lest you think that  I have completely abandoned litter Peter in the cabbage patch, I did immediately cast on and have completed the toe on the second sock.  This is one sock that will have it's mate for sure!

Inch by inch, row by row...

  Inch by inch, row by row
    Gonna make this garden grow
    All it takes is a rake and a hoe
    And a piece of fertile ground
    Inch by inch, row by row
    Someone bless these seeds I sow
    Someone warm them from below
    Till the rains comes tumbling down
Dave Mallet (listen to a youtube version here)

Garden season seems like a long way off here in the mountains, so working on this sock has been the next best thing.

Working with the colors of lettuce, cabbage and carrots, lets me dream of the days ahead when I can work with the soil again in the warm sun.

This is a fun pattern to work on.  Plenty of things going on to keep your interest, but also big areas of mindless knitting as well.  Great travel knitting!  I spent a good portion of last weekend in the car and this was the perfect companion.  The upcoming weekend may be a repeat of last weekend, so I will work on sock number 2 then....at least I think I will.  I have to admit that another sock has captured my attention and you know how I can be with that second sock....

The other day when I was cruising around blog land, I read this post and it made me laugh!  I'm thinking something like this would be a perfect display in the studio I hope to have this summer...LOL!

As I was binding off my sock this morning, I started thinking about all of my single socks, and why I have such a hard time motivating myself to knit the second one right away.  Most of it I imagine is boredom.....been there...done that already....don't really want to do it again right now.  Kind of like reading a book and then picking it right back up to read again.

The thrill of a new project almost always wins out.  I guess for me, it really is about the process and the enjoyment that I get from the knitted stitch.  If I finish the pair right away...wonderful.... if I don't, I completely enjoyed the process on that first sock, and I will get back to that second one eventually :-).

Speaking of binding off a toe up sock....my good cyber friend Gina sent me a mini tutorial on a sewn off binding and I want to send her a huge THANKYOU! 

This method of finishing the top edge of the sock works perfectly!  The ribbing was comfortable on my leg with no tightness at all.  For those of you, who like me, had never heard about this bind off, here is my little mini tutorial...

This bind off is worked from left to right. (opposite of the way you were knitting)
Cut a long tail, 3 or 4 times the length of the edge you're binding off, and thread it through a tapestry needle.

Slide the first 2 stitches on to a tapestry needle as if purling, right hand stitch first. 
Gently pull the yarn through the two stitches.

Place the next stitch that is on the knitting needle onto the tapestry needle and sew the tail through it and the stitch just to the left of it (except for the first stitch, every stitch gets sewn twice).

Continue around the top of the sock,slipping the right hand stitch onto the tapestry needle and sewing it together with the first stitch to the left.  Make sure to keep the tapestry needle underneath the working thread as seen above.

...and that's it!  Easy Peasy! 
This kit will be available on my website Monday, April 7th.