WIP Wednesday May 25

It's Wednesday again? ALREADY?? And the last Wednesday in May, too. Our weather is getting decidedly more summer-like around here this week. Don't like the hot and humid, nope nope nope. I'd better finish my prayer shawl before it gets too hot to have the thing on my lap!

But no prayer shawl to show today, instead I have a new square (and another started) that I've made for my favorite charity, Knit-a-Square. I'm rather behind on my goal of nine squares per month, but I know I'll catch up when I have vacation time and trips over the summer. Anyway, here's this new pattern I LOVE:



I'm still working through all the purples that I got in my yarn swap back in February, lol! Remember this?



I got this pattern from Skye's Images of Life blog. She starts with a chain 46, but for me a chain 31 gave me a square about 7 inches wide, then I added a hdc border to bring it up to 8 inches for Knit-a-Square. I think I will make several of these! And to see what other folks are up to for WIP Wednesday, just hop on over and visit Tami's Ami's blog.

And I can't let today go by without mentioning another special Work-in-Progress. A very long-term project in fact, one that's been going on for exactly twelve years today! Happy birthday, Miss G--we love you!

WIP Wednesday May 18th

See, I promised, I do have something new for this week! I have started making a scarf using the Crocus Bud Shawl pattern. Here's the shawl:



Pretty isn't it? It's a Valley Yarns pattern, and you can buy it here if you're interested.

I'm making it much narrower, as a scarf instead of a shawl. And I'm using a sock yarn instead of lace weight that it calls for. I made a swatch and blocked it, and I think it's going to be very nice!



I'm still working on my prayer shawl, hasn't changed too much since the last time I showed it to you. And I've made a few more charity blanket squares. I feel like I've been spinning my wheels a bit lately, time to get back in the crochet saddle!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

My finds from MD Sheep and Wool

I haven't shown you what I bought at the Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend! Now first may I say, I am pretty much on a yarn diet, meaning I don't buy new yarn unless I have a specific use for it. And there are literally HUNDREDS of vendors at this show, and I'm not much of a yarn connaisseur (wow I spelled that right first try). Some folks come to this festival specifically to pick up certain yarns from certain vendors, and some of that stuff is EXPENSIVE. Those weren't the booths where I spent most of my time.

First off, they have some really fun buttons to buy (the kind you pin on, not the kind that go through buttonholes). My FAVORITE one that I got last year is this one:



This year I found this one!



Man of the House is not amused. But I was happy because I actually found several with crochet mottos instead of all knitting sayings. Here's all that I bought:



I bought these two adorable little finger puppets:



And this pin:



And this magnetic shawl clasp--now I need to make a shawl.



I think this little cutie is my favorite--it's a little zippered felt pouch to keep things like yarn needles and stitch markers in. Adorable!



I also bought some things to help with my resolution to make some jewelry--beads, glass pendants, and little balls made out of felt. There WILL be jewelry making going on here!





And finally, yes I did buy a bit of yarn. I love to get a bargain, so I got these small skeins from a bargain bin of "mill ends"--the ends of a color run that aren't big enough to make a full skein. I plan on making some skinny scarves, or maybe even using them in some jewelry!



And all that fit in one little bag! Not like some of the people who were walking around the festival--when you're a spinner, you need a LOT of fleece!



And don't be too shocked, but I do have something new for WIP Wednesday this week--I promise!

How I spent my Mother's Day

Actually, I spent a good bit of the whole weekend here--9 hours over 2 days. The weather was absolutely perfect, and I had such a great time! Sheep judging, sheepdog demonstrations, great lamb to eat, and HUNDREDS of vendors selling everything a fiber lover could possibly want!

So what was there to see? There were sheep:



And more sheep:



And more sheep!



Somehow I got an awful lot of pictures of sheep behinds. They also have some very cute fronts of course:



Awwwww! And there were alpacas too! I love alpacas.





And there were so many beautiful things to look at. Some were on display by vendors:





Some were entered in a judged competition. These next two pictures are felted--they look like watercolor paintings!





And other things were being worn by their creators!



On Sunday I watched the Sheep to Shawl competition--amazing! Each competing team has 5 members--a shearer, three spinners, and a weaver. And they have 4 hours to shear a sheep, comb and spin the fleece into yarn, and weave it into a shawl! Each team comes with their loom already warped (all strung with the threads needed to make the shawl), then as the spinners get yarn made, the weaver creates the shawl. It was so cool to watch.

Combing out fleece:



Three spinners and a weaver in action:



There was a junior team too:



Their finished shawl:



The 2nd place winner--isn't this gorgeous?



And the winning shawl on the right:



I have more photos up on my Flickr page if you'd like to see them. I had an absolutely MARVELOUS time, and I can't wait till next year!

In case you're looking for me this weekend....

You'll find me right here!

This is one of the biggest fiber fests in the whole country, and it's only 10 minutes from my house! How lucky am I? Last year was the first time I went, and WOW it's amazing. Actually it was a bit overwhelming, huge and packed and it was really hot. This year the weather looks cooler, and I'm planning on spending most of Sunday there, and probably part of Saturday too. What better Mother's Day present than a day immersed in all things yarnilicious?

Anyone else who's planning to be there?

It's May!

And nobody tells it better than Julie Andrews!