DUCKFAT

We went downtown to get Rachel's dress hemmed. Afterwards, we had a brilliant idea. DUCKFAT!! The last two visits to Portland saw me crestfallen when it was closed the first time and jam packed the second. So, off we go.

Oh, oh. Cruise ship is in!We race to DUCKFAT and find plenty of room.
I'm going to have the famous Duckfat Fries with Duckfat gravy...and the homemade creme soda.
Doesn't it look yummy? It was worth the calories. Rachel also tried the cucumber soup. It was delicious, also.

FiberSmyth in Woodstock, VA

On day two, Sue and I drove to Woodstock to visit FiberSmyth.What a wonderful shop full of interesting ideas and possibilities.
I found these unique buttons....
...and these wonderful needle felted faces.
This is Elizabeth - owner and creator of the faces pictured in front of her Santa's and snowmen.
The shop also sells teas.
And best of all, after a busy day of shopping and planning....The Cup and Crumpet!!! It's the restaurant run by Elizabeth's husband...in the same building. This is wonderful. It combines two of my favorite passions - knitting and eating! I have a menu which I shall scan when I return home and post. Even husbands like going to the knitting shop if they can eat at The Cup and Crumpet. (reservations recommended)

Sue ordered the special of pesto and green olive chicken salad. I had the open face roasted asparagus and Brie sandwich. Delicious!!
Doesn't Sue look happy waiting for her meal?
I would highly recommend YarnSmyth whether you knit or eat.

Never Enough Yarn

I made it to Winchester, Virginia where I stopped at Sweet Sue's for a few days. Our first mission was to meet up with Maureen. The Three Amigos are together again!!Of course, we met in a yarn shop where Maureen started working. I should mention that Maureen is the Barefoot Spinner. If you have purchased fiber at an eastern fiber festival, i.e. Maryland Sheep and Wool, then you probably know the name. Below Maureen is displaying a knitted neck-piece (helped by Sue).
NEVER ENOUGH YARN is owned by Pam and this is the shop mascot. It is truly a wonderful yarn shop. It has a great webpage with a sale going on, too!!
Sue is modeling her Liesl and Pam the Curlicue Coverlet. Love the shawl!
Upstairs we went. Sue is browsing the sale patterns. This is the room where the sit 'n knit is held.
Across the hall is the baby yarn room. The entire store is displayed well.
This is a new yarn to the shop.
Can you see the bits of fur attached to the yarn as Pam holds it up?
Maureen is modeling a scarf made from just one skein of Fuzzy Purls.
And, of course, I check out the bathroom. What a wonderful surprise to see the montages of yarn and the shop.
So what did I buy? Some linen to make a Liesl (on sale!). You see how wonderful it looks on Sue who is tall and thin. We will see what it looks like on a short, squat person in a few months. :-)

On The Road Again!!

I'm packing...and not heat. :-) It's time to hit the road. I'm going to Maine for my daughter's wedding.Shelly and Michelle don't want to miss the trip. They get to visit their brother, Sig.
This will break your heart. It breaks mine. I must leave Muggs at home. As you can see, she definitely wants to go, too.

I'm stopping in Virginia to see Sweet Sue. She's going to show me the ropes (literally) on weaving. Perfect candidate to teach me since she is a weaving instructor. Let's see how much patience the teacher has. Bwuhahaha

Dale of Norway - Park City

IT IS DONE!!!! One year of knitting, five months of procrastination, and two months of finishing and it's finally done!I searched the net and every book I had to read up on steeking. I did the crocheted steek...and backed it up with machine stitching around the steek before I cut.
My stress level was pretty high at this point.
That wasn't so bad. I am SO glad I machine stitched because with the two colours of yarn, the crochet edge was wanting to pull away from the sweater leaving unraveling edges. Always machine stitch!!
I added my daughter's name and the year to the collar to, hopefully, prevent someone from accidentally acquiring it.
The finished placket. The pattern had a zipper and we liked the clasps much better.
I finished the inside with grosgrain ribbon.
The back. So I have been there and done that. I don't feel the need to do another. I really like sweaters that are done when you finish knitting and nothing to put together!! Amen!

The End!

My Bad!

I know it's been ages since I posted anything at all! Well, things are starting to heat up again and there will be plenty of posting over the next few months. I'm off to Maine in three weeks for my daughter's wedding!!!

What do you think of when Maine is mentioned? Blueberries! Well, that's one thing that comes to mind. These were just picked by moi only 10 minutes ago. The first blueberries from our own bush. Yes, that was singular and it's taken about five years to get these.It's blueberry pancakes in the morning!
Ciao....or is it chow? :-)

Dye Day

We set up at Peggy's house. Here she is giving us our orders. :-)Cynthia is in charge of showing everyone how to immersion dye if that is their method of choice. Most people like to paint the wool and/or yarn. So we begin.
OOOH, AAAH!
The first from the pot is Cindy's (not to be confused with Cynthia) Sangria...a ProChem dye.
Karen and Diana are going to paint their yarn.
This is a good shot of Karen applying the dye. Notice everyone is wearing their gloves!
Belinda had a formula in mind of the colour placement.
Billie checking out Karen's finished skein.
Peggy's Cotswold/Merino hand spun.
Cindy's Twilight.
Belinda's Deep Purple (Jaquard) on a Henry's Attic yarn.
Catherine dyed Henry's Attic, too, in a scrumptious Golden Pear from ProChem. I love Belinda's resist dyed Sock Blank.
We dyed darker colours this year.
But there were a few bright ones, also.
I would say it was another successful year.

It's Spring!

It's finally here (for good, I hope). My columbine is flowering. Bruce is back to work on the sea wall and put in a patio area big enough to fit a swing. It gives one a new perspective at water level.....