what color scarf are you casting on?

 Fremont Solstice Festival Seattle

Quick! What color comes to mind?

Randolph Vermont general store

How about now?

 

Fremont Solstice Festival Seattle naked cyclists parade kickoff *

Ok do I have your attention? (I should have left the patch off, right? )

So. You should be just about ready to cast on a red scarf for the Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf project. Knit a red (or non-gender-specific) color scarf, approx  5-8" wide and around 60" or so long, to be included in a care package to a college kid who aged out of foster care and is going it on their own.  Send it in by December 15th.  The address, and more info about this wonderful effort here.

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* When I asked my 16yo son Gabe if he'd come out to Seattle and work for me on a series of photo shoots right after school ended this past June, he surprised me by asking if we'd be there for Solstice. He's not usually much of an earthy-crunchy-granola guy. I asked why he cared.  The Fremont festival, said he. Naked bicyclists. Like, hundreds of them.

You know what? It was a fabulous parade and party. The naked cyclists were just the kickoff. In fact the whole week was full of fabulous.  We might just go back in 2011. Gabe says he's going to be in the parade. On a bicycle.

that slippery granny slope

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I know. You just glanced at the photo and thought "whoa, whose blog am I on, anyway?"

It all started in April, I was with the Empress of Granny Square, Ellen Bloom,  in LA. You can't hang with Ellen without  a hook somehow finding its way into your hands, and a granny square springing forth.  At least I couldn't.

Last weekend, my friend Julie asked for a lesson. Since my granny square before the three in April was, like, in my teens, I thought I'd practice a little.

And one thing led to another. I'm thinking granny square scarf. These are 5 inches across.

Truth: I was also thinking afghan. But I realized 15 squares = a pretty decent scarf, 99= a decent afghan.....yeah. Scarf it is.

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Thanks for entering the caption contest, that was great, you need to go read the captions in comments on the last post- so clever and funny. And punny, too. (winners have been notified).

fall ahead, caption contest, & lotsa links

Don't you love how Labor Day Weekend shakes your sheets into autumn with a crisp snap? Make  plans  now  or suddenly you're neck deep in pumpkin, cooking Thanksgiving dinner and wondering what happened to fall. First up for me: 

Photo Workshop Weekend in St Paul MN at The Yarnery September 25 &  26th
scroll down fr the Yarnery link, or click here for details

If you have a passion for photography,  join us for 2 days of hands-on digital camera workshop. Pixels, fiber, FO's..what more could you want?

 

This needs a good caption, doesn't it?  Contest below.

We'll be taking a field trip to a historic farmstead on the Saturday afternoon of the workshop. I'm thrilled to have that setting for teaching about shooting FO's on real people, for showing how you can work with different  light situations,  on a porch, in open sun, in shade, and also have all the textures & colors and props to use as backgrounds. And, sheep. Not promising any will have mad modeling skillz. This cutie was from the photo workshop weekend at Juniper Moon Farm, click here to see some of the workshop in action. The class is half full so go guilt a friend or loved one into coming along and call The Yarnery to sign up. *

Caption contest/ book & yarn giveaway

Leave  a comment on this post with a caption for the photo above, and you're entered to win a copy of the book Shear Spirit: Ten Fiber Farms, Twenty Patterns and Miles of Yarn, or  yarn.

Mention the contest and link to this post  from your blog your Facebook or Twitter,  and you get an extra entry for each mention.  Deadline for captions is September 10th.

Two  winners: one drawn randomly, to win the book. The second, for the best caption, gets 3 skeins of Brown Sheep Lambs Pride yarn (appropriate, no?)

* the Twin Cities are a terrific place to visit for a weekend, if you're not from the area.  And you can't do better than The Yarnery folks as hosts, they're the ones who serenaded  the Yarn Harlot and Mason Dixon Knitting Ann & Kay. Talent and senses of humor, plus they can knit like nobody's business. btw, those are links to posts with YouTubes of the Yarnery Singers in action, you really should view them.