MDS&W II

Today, here's some of the faboulous entries in the Skein and Garment Competition.

This was my favorite sweater and favorite woven thing, placed together by chance (but hey, it made them easy to photograph!).




There were a LOT of yarn skeins entered - several tables' worth. It was all amazing!


This was my mom's favorite sweater. She really liked the yoke design.



I liked these socks:


Finally, there was an INCREDIBLE felted footstool. It's festooned with ribbons, and wow... I think it totally should've gotten them. I was really, really impressed. (At first glance, I thought it was an actual stuffed-like-taxidermied sheep and was a wee bit creeped out. It's that good.)



Everything was pretty darned cool. If you get to the Festival, it's definitely worth putting aside some time to go through and see all the amazing things entered in the contests!

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2012

Clicky!!
The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival was this weekend! Here's the list of vendors. There was a LOT of fun to be had!

I was on the bus trip from Nature's Yarns, so we got there early enough to watch the Sheep to Shawl competition.


Here's the Sheep-to-Shawl CPW team from Cloverhill Yarn. They were using (of course) huge Canadial production wheels, which tend to make thinner yarn, but they were going pretty darned fast! Here's how the competition works: Details


You can see the finished product on Ravelry, here. It's lovely, and this was their first time out!

And here's the obligatory Wandering Sheep Shot:



More tomorrow!

I want a Rocket Ship!

I've been working on the HSS Unity for a couple of weeks. It's going to be adorable, and it's totally going to be submitted for the Fibre Space Window Contest:

We are busy planning this year’s holiday window which will be entered in the Old Town Alexandria window decorating contest – but we need your help!
Knit or crochet a small or large rocket, and you will be entered for a prize drawing that will include yarn, books and gift certificates. 8 prizes total will be awarded – each one worth over $50. You are entered once for each small rocket (5") that you make and twice for each large rocket (10").

I figured out a way, thanks to the now-available Vanna's Glamour BRONZE colorway, to make it a real House Unity ship, with all four colors and all four metals represented. The extra additions, though, are REALLY slowing me down and making it less fun than it should be right now. It'll be fine once I get all the fiddly bits finished (trim on the fins, the third booster, the flames in the boosters). But here it is, and here it will probably stay until the race on Sunday. (NASCAR = work on the Thing That Needs Doing Now).


The yellow/red thing on the left = ship.
Progress towards Order First Class:

18 Classes (over the course of term - 3 months) - Status: Five classes done, four turned in (CoMC is a group project, Astronomy is being turned in en masse on the 25th)
Quidditch (Participate in at least one match) - Status: signed up for Yule Ball and Fire Task #1
Headmistress' Challenge - Status: N/A as yet
Detention (Complete one Detention assignment) - Status: DONE
OWL or NEWT - Status: OWL Proposal accepted, 18% OWL accomplished
BROOM - Status: Mission Request submitted.

(Doing an OWL and a BROOM also qualifies me for the Silver Serpent.)

Yarn Crawl Alert!!

Hey, Virginia Knitters - the statewide Yarn Crawl is happening! (Well, it started. Um. I'm blurry on the rules from lack of sleep. And I probably should have posted this earlier... but YARN!!!!)

Details here: http://getyourknits.com

Things Made from Wool!

I went in to the Great Building of Fiberly Competition. There was so much to see that I hadn't realized there were lovely woven things overhead until I saw this first photo at home!


The craftsmanship & artistry on pretty much EVERYTHING in the room was stunning. I mean - that's a Starmore Henry VIII right there [I think - it's a Starmore, for sure!] - and it didn't get 1st. (My mind boggles. It was amazing!)

There were other amazing sweaters, too, and more!


And all manner of things - this lovely rug, for example.


Some were whimsical and fun (I have to make one of those fish hats for my dad).


Others were just beautiful. (I'll be making one of these shawls, or something really similar to it!)


There was felting, knitting, crochet, weaving, punchneedle, upholstery, toys, paintings, drawings, photos... a whole room full of evidence of MAD skillz!

I think my favorite piece, though was this spider - she's knitting, spinning and weaving all at the same time. Which, really, is what spiders do...!


(Yeah, I'm looking forward to next year already!)

Sheep! and Wool!

So, I got to go to my first-ever Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival on Sunday. It started on a bus at Nature's Yarns in Fairfax, and (in about eight rows of my Nancy shawl, which is getting near the end), wound up just outside the Main Exhibition Hall. (That's Shelldon, my Sheep Ball. He wanted to tag along.)

There were, of course, sheep - and some really nice-looking sheep, at that.




There were fair treats, and music, and bundles of soft things to explore.

There were people. Lots and LOTS of people.

(Me, included.)





Since it was Sheep and Wool, and since our bus got there very early, I got to see the very start of the Sheep to Shawl contest! One of the entrants had a child with her (Shelldon thought the little lamb was adorable.)




This was some SERIOUS sheepage.

The shearing began - the girl with the sunflower apron was FAST. Seriously, seriously fast. (She was also going to be in the shearing competition - I bet she placed high!)


This is the little lamb's mom. He was bleating almost constantly; about every twenty bleats, his mom would do a shout-back, which calmed him down for a few seconds. The first bits of mom's fleece were put just outside his enclosure, and he spent a few minutes sniffing at them before starting to bleat again.





He was quite happy when mom, all nicely shaved, was back in the enclosure with him. I think mom was happy too, but I'm not good a reading sheep expressions just yet.


I meant to get back and watch the rest of the competition, but kept wandering into as-yet unexplored parts of the festival. I did get to see the shawls at the end - and there's
photos over on the Official Site. (And an explanation of what, exactly is involved in fielding a team for the contest. It's pretty intense!!)

I'm back!

I'm back, more or less! So, gotta catch you up on what's been happening in April so far. The big event was the DC Metro Yarn Crawl, which happened from April 9 to April 17. For just a wee bit of cash, you could get a totebag:


A link to the website: http://metroyarncrawl.com/ (okay, that was actually free) that had links to all the participating stores and - most importantly - DIRECTIONS!

You also got a card. Seven stamps on the card entered you into a drawing for a Fabulous Prize at the participating store of your choice. I only got six stamps, but decided I'd rather have the pretty card as a memento anyway:


I'll be sharing the loot I got over the next six posts. The stores I got to, in order, were:

Monday, April 11 - Aylin's Wool Gatherer and Uniquities;
Thursday, April 14 - Looped Yarn Works and Knit & Stitch = Bliss;
Friday, April 15 - Fibre Space; and
Saturday, April 16 - In Stitches Needlework

I didn't get to anywhere I hadn't already been, but I *will* be getting to the four other stores at some point, just because I now know they exist!!

A contest! Enter now!

DK is having another contest, for some REALLY cute snowman stitch markers!! Whoo Hoo! To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post on her blog (1 entry in the hat of names);
2. Put a link to that post on your blog, myspace, facebook, whatever, so others can find DK's contest post (another entry);
3. Leave another comment on her blog telling her where you put the link (another entry)!

You can get your name in the hat three times by doing all three steps. She will draw names for the three sets on December 1st and send them out to you as quickly as possible.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

The Secret Hat Project (Post #300!)

First, go to DK's site and vote for which project you think she should work on next. (She can't remember what project is where, so I'm voting on the shiny bag at the back. Pick your favorite!)

Second, welcome to the latest crazy, the Secret Hat Project. I'm trying to make a lovely Karabella Supercashmere hat for my spouse (the "Hat Recipient"), with whom I live and commute to and from work - i.e., He Who Is In All My Knitting Spaces. I can only work on this hat at work, usually. Today is Day Three of the project. On to the chronicle!

Secret Hat Project, Day 1:

Managed to cast on at lunch, work several rounds, and determine sizing probably OK. Worked under desk later in the day. Realized hat would not be done quickly if only worked on at work. Smuggled hat and one ball yarn home under yarn for SotS-II. Worked on SotS-II during trip home. Hat Recipient unaware of extra yarn. Managed to work a bunch in between Hat Recipient's trips around house by having SotS-II draped over lap, hiding other yarn and needles as necessary. Also got a bit done on SotS-II, out of necessity. Had, by end of day, four inches of ribbing for hat. Need about a foot. Glad I bought two balls of yarn. Hat Recipient has big head.

Me, with flashlight and self-photo.
Lots of room on my head;
should be right size for Hat Recipient.
Secret Hat Project, Day 2:

Managed to smuggle hat back to work. In between reading "I Can Has Cheezburger?" and iTunes-ing my new Spanish-course CDs, I managed to knit right in the open at my desk. (It's slow during the mornings here right now; after lunch, WATCH OUT!) Boss-Who-Knits came out at one point, and we discussed the projects about to hit, and I kept knitting. Thankfully, I can work a k2/p1 rib without looking, so I was able to maintain "I am hearing what you're saying" eye contact, and still keep going on hat. She understands the importance of Warm Knitted Things for family; she has a son in college in inland Maine right now. (Maine = coldest northeasternmost tippy-tip of the USA. About even, latitude-wise, with Helena, Montana, with the extra bonus of winds from both Canada *and* the North Atlantic. Not somewhere to go for the winter, unless you REALLY like snow.) Got 5.5" done, then nothing. Spouse did not go to bed early as expected, so no knitting at home.

Hat, late Thursday afternoon.
Secret Hat Project, Day 3:

Almost finished with first ball of yarn. Knitting openly at desk now. Wish I'd found 16" size 3 circular needles last night, but can't look for knitting gear w/o inquisition from Hat Recipient. Don't want him to inquire as to why I need needles. He can tell when I'm winging an explanation.

Got to second ball of yarn at lunch. Will get k2p1 ribbing to 10", then begin decreases for crown. It's 66 stitches around. Figure decreasing 6 st/round every other round makes it all go away in 22 rounds. Hrm. Every 3 rounds? 33 rounds. Yeah. Then the rim can go double... GAK. I'm at 44 rounds total right now... but as the hat goes 'round, it will take less yarn... GAK.

44 rows of k2p1 rib
There won't be much knitting over the weekend, as I expect Hat Recipient to be fairly glued to my side all weekend, espeically during the Family Stuff on Saturday. So, he likely won't get his hat until Tuesday... unless everyone leaves me alone for the next hour and a half, and stops interrupting my knitting...!