November 30, 2011

WIP Wednesday: Georgiana Shawl and Maluka

My Georgiana shawl is coming along great!! This is the first project in a long time that makes me want to knit all the time. Lately it seems that knitting has been a chore, but I've found my love of knitting again in this shawl.


Currently I am working back and forth on what seems like a million short rows to shape the shawl, but they are easy. I think I could be sleeping and not screw these up which is a nice change from the lace charts. Only 20 some-odd rows to go before I get to the next lace chart. I might even make it there by tonight.

I'm trying to behave and not cast on another project before this shawl is done, but it's very hard not to. I recently received an awesome skein of alpaca blend yarn in a swap and it finally told me what it wanted to be.

 Isn't it pretty?

I will be making this shawl/scarf/wrap thing (not entirely sure what to call it) that I found on Ravelry. It's called Maluka and looks like this.


This will be my very first project with cables! I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. It's only little cables though so I think it'll be ok.




November 28, 2011

Spin in Your PJs Day Follow-Up

Spin in Your PJs Day was a rousing success!!


Several of us from around the world came together and spent at least part
of the day spinning in our jammies. Some of us were even brave enough to post pictures in our pjs.

For many of us, this was a day to enjoy spinning again. In our busy lives
it can be difficult to find the time for our fiber hobbies and we occasionally need a push in the direction of relaxation. Coming together in a group where we can encourage and nudge each other helped me get back to my spinning wheel and I know a lot of others felt the same way.

The day was so successful that we've all agreed that we want to do it again next year! I'm already super excited and planning some fun. I'll be sure to let you know in plenty of time in case you want to join in. In the meantime, you can read through this year's thread and see some of the great pictures posted.

November 25, 2011

FAF: Spin in Your PJs Day

Happy Friday! I hope your Thanksgiving was a happy one!

How are you spending your day after Thanksgiving? Did you brave the dark and stand in line for great deals? Did you sleep in and do your shopping online? Or did you skip the post holiday shopping altogether?

I did a little shopping online yesterday after the big meal and was able to score the couple of "doorbuster" deals I wanted. I really liked the fact that most retailers were offering their sales online yesterday instead of waiting for today.

So today I am celebrating a day that I have officially declared "Spin in Your PJs Day". It's a simple concept. Just spend the day relaxing in your jammies and do something you love. In this case, spinning.

I started a thread on Ravelry so people can gather together and it's taking off. At least I'm not celebrating it alone! I've even offered a prize drawing for anyone that posts pictures of themselves spinning in their jammies.


 I was a good girl and posted this picture taken of me this morning spinning in my Christmas pjs.

Today will be a day of relaxing. I needed one and I suppose it's a little sad that I had to declare my own holiday to get it. I'll enjoy every second of it though and hope to get some yummy silk yarn spun. Maybe I'll even get a few more rows of my Georgiana shawl done.

Have a great one!




November 23, 2011

WIP Wednesday: Georgiana Shawl Continued

I am really loving this shawl pattern! It's easy to follow, looks more complicated than it is and works up fairly quickly. Once I finally had the correct number of stitches, its been flowing pretty fast.


I wanted to be through the first chart by now, but I didn't realize how much that really was. I thought 22 rows...that can't be too bad, but turns out that there are more than 10,000 stitches from the beginning of the shawl to halfway through the first chart.

Yeah, you read that right. More than 10,000.

At roughly 10 stitches per minute, that's around 16 hours so far and I still have half the chart to go. I was a little too optimistic I think.

My yarn is shrinking rapidly too. I've used up the first 250 yards of the 750 yards I have. Please let me have enough!


 I'm not sure how much more I'll be able to work on it today because I've got pies to bake, but I'll try.

Happy Wednesday!

November 21, 2011

*~* New Product Update *~* Mini Skeins and Yukon

I spent the day trying to list some of the new products in the shop.

First up is a brand new yarn base called Yukon. It is a cousin to our Klondike fingering weight sock yarn, but comes in worsted weight. It's 100% superwash merino and totally soft and squishy. I LOVE this yarn!!

Currently it is only listed in Peppermint, but I have another color that I'll be listing tomorrow.



I've also listed several packs of mini sock yarn skeins. These have been a huge hit and sell out rapidly. No two are alike and there so many colors to choose from.



 Enjoy the yarn tease!

November 20, 2011

Frustrating Craft Show

Boy, what a weekend.....

We had a craft show yesterday. This is a craft show we've done before so I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong.

Last weekend we vended at a new Art show that far exceeded my expectations. In sales that is, not size. It was small (26 vendors), set in a church and well planned. I love well planned events. We did really well. It helped that the organizers talked up our alpaca products and yarns, but there was also a decent amount of traffic through the show. I did so well I was able to purchase my studio lights for taking better product photos. Yeah!

Yesterday was another small local craft show. We did pretty well last year and it's local so we get a lot of our local repeat customers wandering by to see us. Um....where were the people this year??


There was no traffic at all. In six hours there may have been 100 people come through. I hate it when things become a waste of time. I'm not really trying to blame the organizers of this event although I heard there was something about the signs along the road being taken away a few days prior. It was just plain painful to sit there all day staring at the booth across from us.

In six hours I sold exactly $43.50 worth of product. I have to wonder if this is a localized economy thing or if it really wasn't advertised as they said. Now I'm left wondering if I should add this craft fair to our schedule again next year. 

One bright spot.....I got several more rows done on my Georgiana shawl.


November 18, 2011

Georgiana Shawl Started

I'm trying to get back into knitting after spending the summer not knitting much of anything. I find it really hard to just sit down and knit. I should be up and doing something, even if it's just the dishes, shouldn't I?

I recently bought this special edition magazine by Interweave Knits. It's called Jane Austen Knits. Now I'll be the first to admit that I don't like Jane Austen books, but I do like these patterns. They are very romantic, but yet very practical at the same time. They make me long for a simpler time.


There were several patterns I ear marked right away, but unfortunately I seemed to be missing something for every one of them! For most, I didn't have enough yardage of a yarn I liked, but for some others I was missing the needles I needed. {sigh} If it's not one thing, it's another.

I did manage to stop at a yarn shop near the art show we vended at last weekend and picked up the size 9 circular I was missing. I needed that size 9 to start Georgiana which is a beautiful shawl/wrap. I'm just starting to venture into chart knitting and this pattern seemed tame enough for me.


After casting on, on Sunday I got several rows done and by Tuesday was ready to start the chart. Well.......unfortunately I had cast on the wrong number of stitches. I ended up transposing 368 into 386. The chart did not work with that and I ended up ripping out the entire thing and starting over.

I have now managed to start over and am back to the chart. Actually I completed the very first row of the chart and everything lined up with the correct number of stitches. Yeah!!


The yarn I'm using is a yarn I carry in my shop called Fantasy. It is a truly scrumptious fingering weight 50/50 merino and silk blend that feels like heaven!  I dyed it in a rust color that is in fact, far darker than these pics. Bad camera!


We have another craft show tomorrow, but my goal is to get through the first chart by Monday. That's only 22 more rows. I can do that, right?

November 09, 2011

An Apology and New Directions


I've been absent lately. I'm sorry for that. I could give you lots of pretty excuses, but there's really only one. I was feeling completely burnt out. Blogging had become a chore to get done and it wasn't fair to anyone,
especially you.

I've done some thinking and have decided to take this blog back to its roots. I'm dedicating it to the farm and the fiber arts that happen here. The main focus will be fiber, spinning, knitting and anything else fibery that inspires me. I'm sure the alpacas will still make the occasional appearance too.

For now I will keep the recipe tab at the top for all of you that have come to love the farm food goodies. And because for some of these recipes, this is the only copy I have. Oops.

Other things, like the weekly recipe and blog hops will be gone. I know not everyone will stick around for this journey, but for those of you that do....I promise not to leave you hanging again.

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