Author: Sally

I  recently discovered five skeins of Cascade 220 yarn in my stash in a black and navy combination. Why did I buy it,  because the name of the colour was something like Australian nights,  and of course it looked nice.

What can I do with 1100 yards of Cascade 220? In a colour that is smart but not a colour I would wear. Thank goodness I have a husband who thoroughly enjoys wearing hand made sweaters. Of course living in California he will often say I don’t need anymore sweaters in this climate.

The solution is a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern #215 for a basic vest for men. It will be the first garment I have made for him from these patterns, although I have used  several Knitting Pure and Simple patterns for myself. The vest will be a nice garment for in between seasons so I know he will get a lot of wear out of it here in California.

The size I will knit is finished measurement 43 inches which is the medium size and I need 1,060yards of yarn so have just enough Cascade 220. I need to do a swatch and have 20 stitches to 4 inches and the recommended needle size on the yarn label is a number 7.

I went to Borders in Folsom Yesterday, to meet Lorna Miser, at her book signing event. Borders does a great job of supporting local authors and they made a really nice banner, from the book cover.

There were about 20 other knitters who came out, most of them from the Camellia Stockinettes, a Sacramento knitting guild. We all sat knitting while Lorna was at the front of the store talking and signing books.

Lorna Miser Puts Together Faith Hope, Love, Knitting at Borders Books

I had the amazing pleasure of meeting Lynette at TNNA in Columbus Ohio on Saturday June 12th.

We are  members of a Ravelry group called Southern Highlands Knit and Stitch from NSW Australia. We were both invited to join the group several months ago.

What makes this even more wonderful is that while I am an Australian who happens to be living in Folsom California previously from Jerrabomberra NSW,  Lynette is a Canadian who lives in  Nanaimo British Columbia Canada.

Our meeting was very short because we were both at TNNA for work. Lynette was with a friend looking for things to buy for the coming Fall/Winter season for their store. I was there working in a booth for Wild Fibers Magazine and Keepthefleece.org with Linda Cortright

Just goes to prove how small the world can be and how friendly we can all make it these days. Thanks Lynette for the opportunity to meet and thanks for the great photo to remember the day.

There is a wonderful article by Linda on this website about natural fibers. The whole website is great but this article really caught my eye.

http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/

With so many problems with our internet connection I was off the air for longer than I had anticipated.

Had a super weekend in Maryland at my first ever Maryland Sheep and Wool Show. Even the very wet weather could not dampen my enthusiasm about being at one of the best fibers shows in the country. I worked at the Wild Fibers Magazine booth with Linda and Penelope and we were so busy meeting readers of the magazine, meeting people who had never heard of the magazine and also making progress on our longest scarf competition. I was very restrained and came home with just two skeins of sock yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery which I am completely thrilled with.

Spent an angry evening working on a pattern by Elsebeth Lavold last night. The pattern appeared to be one of only a small amount that did not have an error in it….. That was until I got to the shaping for the back of the neck, and I think the less said the better it would be. I did work the mistake out and completed the back before going to bed. This morning I began the sleeves and while the instructions are dreadful and very vague I think what is printed is correct.

It has been a little while since I updated this blog.

On Saturday April 11th it was our Lace guild meeting with Lew at Rocklin. Not many turned up this week probably because it was the Easter weekend and I am sure people spend the time with family and friends. I had nothing on needles that I could take and comfortably knit and chat with so I had to do a quick search around the house for a project.

Friday evening I started the Fiber Trend Pattern called Shoalwater Shawl with some Shetland fingering weight yarn in variegated  colours of  pinks, cream and beige. The pattern is basically feather and fan and is very easy to follow.

Like most lace patterns once I start them they are so addictive that I have to do another pattern repeat as quickly as possible. I have almost completed my second repeat and it is looking lovely. Not sure if I will keep this shawl for myself or if I will gift it to a friend in Germany who I heard today has lost her mother to cancer.

It is the Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild meeting this evening so I will try and get the photos of the entrelac class on line late this week.

I found an interesting website recently called www.keepthefleece.org  The site is owned by Wild Fibers Magazine and it is all about fund raising to buy the world’s largest fiber flock.

“In celebration of the United Nations International Year of Natural Fibers 2009 we hope to raise 250K in partnership with Heifer International to build the largest fiber flock in the world”

How they are planning to do this is by fund raising via making the worlds longest scarf. I was at Stitches West 2009 when I was approached at the Wild Fibers booth to pay a fee of $1 to knit a row at the very beginning of their scarf. I paid my $1 and was handed needles with one row knitted and I did the second row. It was very exciting as the yarn was yak and to be at the beginning of the scarf was delightful.

The website has been set up with a great discussion going on now about natural fibers be they from an animal or plant. You can sign up right now and make the conversations as interesting as possible.

Perhaps you have a guild or group of knitters who could take up the challenge to start a scarf raise some money in the process and be part of this great idea.