yarnbombed

Below, scenes from early Saturday morning. Not saying these are the perps. Not saying there's any deeper meaning, although a certain LYS was having its first birthday. And who doesn't like a surprise on their birthday? Surely there were a bunch of others involved but they were at Stitches in Hartford or rowing in Philly, or teaching a crochet class at time of installation.  Just theoretically I mean.

 

may I have a little more, suh?

 
a new friend at Gansvoort Farm last weekend

 I'm still on a post Rhinebeck high. The week unrolled in same vibe.  Oh to re-skein the last 8 days or so and do them again when things get dull and drudgy. Good work, good friends, good knitting, sheep. Go look, more farm life on my photography blog.

On Monday, with the weekend still glowing, I sent my just-barely finished Retro Baby Smock off as a gift for a very pregnant teacher.  Quickie photos at dawn don't do it justice. Sarah, who I met in Minnesota last year, designed this sweet pattern.  Knit side to side, using short row shaping. Quick, fun, clever.  Mine was knit in GGH Merino Soft, color 98 , a  smoky lavendar. Or as my 16 yo fashion critic said, as he carried it to school to bestow it, "a looming kind of purple...its not a very cheery baby color...". 

The teacher, who'd confided in me  she hates bright pink, was thrilled. For the record.

Hot tip:  this is fab yarn: superwash but  soft and springy, in colors just tertiary enough.  There's some left on sale at my LYS . Just saying.

 

Kay's visit coverage via Hipstamatic

On Tuesday, Kay came for a whirlwind visit. Is there anything better than a good friend, Pepes apizza & beer mid afternoon? Why, yes there is: sharing her with your knitting posse. Her full report, over at Mason Dixon Knitting. If only Ann could have made it. While we yucked it up, I imagined her Tennessee garret, solo, quill in hand, novelizing. Also? I think she's wearing a sweepy dress with a fuzzy  lace shawl in that vision, existing on absinthe and pimiento cheese tea sandwiches.

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For those inquiring about the patterns in the noisy Make Mine Local slideshow two posts ago, they are all indie patterns, some unreleased. In true DIY style, the fashion show was spirited, creative, inspiring but not so well-documented. Which is to say I never received complete contact info coordinated with the designs. Try inquiring of the host, the  Common Cod Fiber Guild. At least I know the skirts, the fabulous stripey-armed sweater and the peachy bright foofy coat at the end are all from  Yarn in the Farms, available from that pattern page link. The opening little red jacket is by Ann Weaver of WeaverKnits.

post rhinebeck photo shoot shout

My Rhinebeck shopping: one skein of yarn (up 100% from last year!) and 2 indie published books, by Ann Weaver of Weaver Knits and Mandy Powers of ZigZag Stitch.

Wait- does Artichoke French count as shopping?

Thanks to ClaireArsenault for getting this action shot.
 Back at you when I come up for air with more about the Rhinebeck Style photo shoot but let's  just say this:

1817 images downloaded

123+ fabulous models in handknits (or crochets or felts) posed

1 million thanks to everyone who joined in. So cool to meet you! There's no word for the loooove!

Me and Ann Weaver herself at the very end of the weekend. Now I see it says "Rhineck" Style.  photo by Chris

Another fun statistic:

2 times I was mistaken for Amy Singer of Knitty and embraced in a hug.
And I don't even own a ukelele.

strike a pose: Rhinebeck style

ADDED 10/15/12  : Rhinebeck Style photo shoot project returns this year,  2012 to the Ny Sheep & Wool Festival.
 Stop by and strike a pose. DETAILS HERE

 added 10/10/11 **PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS FROM LAST YEAR, 2010 !! 

I'm not doing the photo thing this year, 2011,  but maybe next?  I WILL be at Rhinebeck, but this year I'll be a civilian, and  booksigning for my new book Craft Activism, 2:30-4 on Saturday and 11-12:30 on Sunday, in the authors barn. Stop by & say hi! (I'm a bingo square too).

as for the photos--I hope, I may, get to edit & post them before they are officially one year old. Its a crazy life!
 __________________
So..here's my little brainstorm. Last year I dragged my white backdrop to the Common Cod Fiber Guild's indie knitwear design fashion show in Boston, and see what happened. (it's 2 1/2 minutes long, sorry it's a bit of a slow loader- and there's music , so hit your mute key if you're at work or near sleeping babes)

The wonderful organizers of the New York Sheep & Wool Festival folks are giving me a space to set up my backdrop at Rhinebeck this weekend and you (and you and you and you.....and your alpaca too) are invited to pose for me. Show me what.you.got!

For years I've been thinking it's a shame not to document all the fine fibery fashion seen at that fair and I decided this is the year to do it. Where else can we wear so many layers of handknit & feel like part of the community?

Weather permitting I'll be there for sure Saturday and  probably Sunday monring too. I'll tweet my location so follow my twitter feed  & you'll know where I am--or else look for a white backdrop.

Fun, yes? See you in your wooolly best. I can't begin to tell you how much I'm looking forward to this.  My talented friend & trusted co-conspirator Maryse is helping me out for a while, if anyone else who knows how to wield a reflector wants to hang out and volunteer for an hour, I would be super grateful, just shoot me an email.

•

Roma

With blocking, my Roma shawl is just what I wanted. I made the smaller version, it's about 48" across the top and 36" on the other two sides. 

I'm not sure if that adds up precisely in geometry but it works for me.

Still loving the colors, except when it creeps into my consciousness that I could wear it to a Minnesota Vikings game with impunity.  Yarn and pattern info in my last post.

My slightly insane participatory project, at Rhinebeck, in my next. Check back in a couple of days, OK?

seasonally affected. again.

 

See that yarn on top? A skein of Schaefer Nichole in Thistle, left over from a test knit for the new book project. I know. I can't believe the knitter returned it, either. I might have been gracious and insist she keep it, there was enough left to knit a small shawl. Except... I didn't. A lot of yarn passed through here this year, a lot of very, very, lovely yarn.  But this particular skein was one I coveted.

Since I've been on a run of scarfy/shawly things, I chose Roma as my pattern for it. Then, I skidded like a ouija board at a pre-teen sleepover to the golden straw skein of Classic Elite Soft Linen for the contrast. Not really my color, why was I choosing it? this is going to look amazing after blocking. trust me.

It took me only a day to realize I'd done it again. Chosen colors that are all around me as the leaves change, shadows deepen  and the marsh grasses turn golden. I am so. freakin'. predictable.

 

And then I reached for my mug, on the table in the family room this week.

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.

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

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.

gale goes goat geeking

 

When my just turning 20 (today! and, really?) son Leo came home for a month this summer, he reprised his role as traveling photo assistant. We had great adventures shooting for the book Shear Spirit four years ago (Texas, fr'instance, here).  Since I can barely stand to pass up a field trip enroute to a job, and we were heading up to Montpelier VT for a corporate shoot,  I found the.perfect. sidetrip. Goats! Goat cheese ! Open to visitors any time, and they are one of the only places in the northeast that make cajeta- goat caramel- which really piqued our curiousity.

Leo's in culinary college and  cooks passionately for work, so, you combine my appreciation of goat farms with love of artisanal foods and we are so there.

It's a self-touring kinda deal. If you're a photographer, this joint is hog heaven.  

The resident pigs seemed to agree.

First stop : the tasting room/shop with a refrigerated tray and do-it-yourself instructions. Some of this came home with us.  I doubt I can make it last til Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. It goes very well with ice cream. Just saying.

We hiked the rest of the farm in scorching heat, if for nothing else than to thank the goats for their labors. 

Freshly harvested garlic & onions drying. 

Taking a breather by the chicken coop. We tease him that he's gone Mr. Miami on us. 

It's my continuing disappointment that you don't get fiber from dairy goats, nor chevre from an angora. But if you did? wow.

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We were at Fat Toad Farm.  There is an official VT CheeseTrail, so you can find other Vt cheese farms, too. Seriously! Get the map from  Vt Cheesemakers

the moral of the story is

 

Storm Cloud Shawlette by Hanna Breetz. I confess I bought Urban Silk while enchanted at  Loop & Leaf  when I was in Santa Barbara. Silk & cotton is perfect, just perfect for that charmingly temperate city, and this is my favorite shade of green. And, it was spring! Who needs wool in a world like that?  It's like buying kickass cowboy boots in Texas, they are so right when you're  there. Or big chunky turquoise & silver necklaces in New Mexico. Or shirts with flamingos on them in Florida.  Then you get home to your east coast beach neighborhood and natural toned wrinkly linen clothes and say, huh, what was I thinking?

 In this case, I was thinking I'd use it to knit Saroyan. Within a few inches I knew it wasn't working. With all the sheen and texture in the Urban Silk, the leaves disappeared into little crinkly sneezes along the edge.

So, I shifted over to the Storm Cloud, a simple semi-circle shawl.

yarn: urban Silk - 3 skeins

needles: size 9 us

modifications:  I changed it up a little, increased sooner than suggested, threw in two bands of stockinette. All good, it's a rock solid design structure and you can't really mess it up by improvising on the stitches.

my thoughts: Lovely yarn, wonderful simple pattern. But I was not truly feeling it. I'm an animal fiber kinda gal. I like wooliness. A short way in I realized it was, in essence, going to look similar to my Clapotis .  That is:  green,non-woolly, voluminous neck wrap, open stitch pattern. I lost my zip.  Until on a photo shoot for a dear friend. She loved it halfway done. I mean EL-OH-VEEE luuvvvved it and I am always thrilled to make something for her. I sped through the second half. So, happy ending, the Storm Cloud has been sent to New Jersey.  And if I can remember NO MORE shopping under the influence of geography, I'll be A-OK.

 

Although this example of shopping locally? No problem!13 pounds of August tomatoes etc bubbling away right now, to be frozen as summer sauce.

she knits seashell at the seashore

Coquille (rav) on the needles on a cloudy beach day

I'm tickled by the colors echoing the sand, seaweed, driftwood, and coastal water. Do you know how happy this will make me this winter? Designer Mary Lou Egan nailed this fun project. Which explains why it's a hit since it came out in Knitty . Mine's more of a scarfy shawl, I snagged 4 skeins of Noro Chirimen while dashing through the Webs backroom a couple of weeks ago. I neglected to check yarn weight for the Coquille  pattern (um, fingering!) , so my interpretation is heavier in this worsted weight cotton, silk & wool blend. To love. If you click the Noro link, you'll see it's still on sale, btw. ( you're welcome).

So, speaking of Mary Lou (smooth segue, eh?), she and the Yarnery in St Paul have arranged for me to return to Minnesota for a Photography for Knitters workshop weekend. So psyched! It'll be Sept 25 & 26th, 2 days split between the store classroom, Grand Ave and a field trip to a historic farmstead to use as a setting for shooting FO's, fiber, sheep, the farmhouse, fall crops, and anything else we aim our lenses at. A 2 day workshop gives us time to really get a lot of work done, you will leave with new skills. And tons of images.  I promise.

Info is up here and also  at The Yarnery Visiting Teacher page.

I hate to have beach season end, but knowing we have the workshop in St. Paul to look forward to makes it a lot easier.

and the seasons they go round & round...

Taking the day off to enjoy a bigbigbig anniversary with Dave. It's not the endlessly sunny beach day we planned, but we're going to enjoy it anyway. 

(I swear, that's not supposed to be a metaphor about marriage.  Just a weather report).

Watch Hill, here we come.

all we are saying

Give toast a chance?  At the Gathering of the Vibes last weekend, in an unusually idyllic Bridgeport CT.

 

Like a Grateful Dead concert circa 1979,  add many hula hoops. It was a rare family outing, which was both very wonderful and slightly weird. I mean, we used to go to lots of music festivals before we were parents, and here we are, years later, finding Sunday's lineup of Little Feat, Martin Sexton, Jimmy Cliff and Damien Marley+Nas as common ground for all four of us, and off we went. Don't get me wrong, we are not so groovy as to have a 16 & 19 yo who hung out with us there. They met friends, we created a small force field of uncoolness right near the stage for most of Sunday,  they'd stop by and visit once in a while. (I brought these socks to work on. Cause every time I look at them I think "the only place these belong are at a Dead concert.)

 

You could sit on the seawall to cool off and admire many Goldsworthy-esque cairns and a dude selling seashells by the seashore. But I think he was mostly giving them away.

There's nothing like live music.We kind of forgot the magic of listening in the sun with thousands of people, all in the moment. Our son is turning the same age we were when we met, the week of our 20th birthdays and here we are 3 freakin' decades later  enjoying  the same things together. (Big anniversary making us maudlin? I think so!). At one point, Jimmy Cliff was playing Cat Stevens,  all were grooving along. It's true. Baby baby it's a wild world.