SAFF aftermath report (pic heavy post)

Mom and I had a great time at SAFF! It's definitely something I want to do again next year, and the year after that, and the year after that, LOL.

The drive over was gorgeous. We saw lots of beautiful trees. I tried to get pictures out the window, but didn't really get any good ones. This one is the best one I got:

Getting into the parking lot was a bit of a hassle- there were TONS of people turning in; but it gave me a chance to get a picture of the sign!

The first thing we did was go into the main arena. There was so much to see, and pretty much anything to do with fiber arts was featured at some point. Here's a shot of the floor of the arena from the top area (which also had booths).

There were vendors selling all kinds of things, from soap and looms to spinning wheels, rovings & locks, and lots of knitting yarns. And, my favorite: angora bunnies!

We meandered around a bit in the main arena, and I got some yarn from Miss Babs- 3 hanks of sock yarn. Here is Cleopatra & Chocolate Roses in her Yummy Sock:

And here is Obsidian in her Bamboo Baby sock:

I also got a gorgeous handthrown yarn bowl from The Knit Witch and some vintage Bakelite buttons from another vendor, and those will be for my Concetta, which got finished 2 days before SAFF.

We got to see part of the Sheep to Shawl competition, which included watching a ewe get shorn:

That poor ewe- she had never been shorn and had a 3-year coat on- and when they got her butt shorn she was standing there shivering in the wind! The lady who was in charge of the shearing had a sweater all ready to put on her as soon as she was finished.

We also visited the livestock barns and got a chance to see some alpaca:

and a couple of llamas:

After we finished seeing the alpaca and llamas, we left because my mom was getting really tired and we were both hungry. We tried to go to Tupelo Honey Cafe for dinner, but there was a 1.5 hour wait for a table and we weren't that desperate to eat there, so we went to this place down the street instead. Well, let's just put it this way- the food was great but the atmosphere was horrible, there were a bunch of obnoxious sports fans in there, our waitress sucked, etc. So our meal was less than spectacular. I did have one stroke of genius- I called in two sweet potato pancakes from THC while we sat there, so we had them to take home with us! My mom just wasn't sure why I was so crazy about that place... until we heated the pancakes up the next morning and ate them for breakfast- now she's as big a fan as I am. :) I definitely think we'll be going back to Asheville another time just to eat at THC- but it'll probably not be on a weekend during peak colors season, LOL.

Well, the biggest thing that SAFF did to me was make me REALLY want to learn to spin. So... I'm saving up for my first wheel! I'm going to get a Fricke S160 single treadle wheel from Spunky Eclectic. I'm going to pay payments on it til I get it all paid off, and then I'll have another fiber addiction to feed. ;)

Well, that's all for now I guess! Hope you've enjoyed seeing my SAFF pictures! :)

XO-

D.

My little pumpkin

Here's Ethan in his new pumpkin hat that I made him.

Isn't he the cutest? :)

Pattern: Pumpkin Hat by Susan Esser

Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton/Cascade Luna

Needles: US8 dpns

Mods/Notes: I made the leaf for the top of the hat but decided not to use it- it was way too big and detracted from the hat. This hat fit a 19" big ol' baby head. ;)

Ten

There's a new meme that's been making the rounds on blogs, and it's "Ten things you'd like to say to some people but can't, or won't." So here are mine, and please... even if you think you know who they are, don't comment with names because I won't allow your comment through... any other comments are fine, though, as long as they're nonjudgemental.

1. You can always make me smile. I try as hard as I can to be there for you as much as you're there for me. I think you've made life hard for yourself in a lot of ways, so it's beaten you down... but you need to know that you're wonderful and I really respect you getting out there and grabbing what you want. You inspire me and I'm so glad I've got you around.

2. I see the way things are finally going right for you, and I'm really happy about that. You've worked too hard for too long, and had way too many people shit on you, and it's great to see things going better for you now. You're going to lose the weight you want, and then you really will have it all. I miss talking on the phone to you all night- call me more often!!!

3. You started out as a good friend, but I really think you're a wolf in sheep's clothing. You have a way of worming your way into my head and making me think horrible things about myself, while you pretend to be helpful and supportive. You're always stirring up trouble, and I think you get a weird sadistic kick out of watching people who love each other get into fights that you've instigated. There's a reason I've been avoiding you, and it's because I really, really don't like you that much. You were fun to hang out with for a while, then I started seeing all of the ways you were poisoning my life. I wish you'd just get the hint, because I really don't want to have to say these things to you in person... but if it comes to that, then it comes to that.

4. You need to remember that you have friends who love and need you too, regardless of everything else that's going on with you. Why can't you return my calls and why is it always excuse after excuse? Why don't you ever actually ask me how I'm doing? I think the answer might surprise you- I'm a pretty good actress, but I don't like to have to pretend with you of all people- I never used to have to. I miss you, but I don't like the situation right now. Let's work on it.

5. I'm honestly glad I am no longer in touch with you. #3 reminds me of you and all of the hell you put me through a few years back. I just feel sorry for your spouse and family- one day you'll shit on them like you shit on everyone else, and they'll be left out in the cold. Nobody deserves someone like you in their life- you're poison.

6. Gain some frackin' weight. You look like a skeleton and you're disgusting. You think you're really hot, and that everyone's sooo jealous of you, but really we were all laughing at you behind your back. You have no talent at your job- you just skate by and everybody knows it. Before too long you won't have that job anymore and you might actually have to work to bring home a paycheck- and you'll fail because no respectable employer will ever keep you around with that attitude and ugly-ass face of yours. Grow up, learn to be nice to people, and maybe one day you'll have a man for more than 24 hours.

7. You and I used to be pretty tight, and I guess we still are, but... I get the feeling that you're starting to think badly of me and for the life of me I don't understand why. I'm sick of your lectures- I'm 26, not 5, and I already have parents that do enough of that. (Actually, you do it way more often than they do!) I do appreciate the help you've given me, and I think you're a great person... just please, let me make my own decisions and try to stop shaming me if you don't agree with them. I don't question what you do or how you feel, so please stop doing it to me.

8. Quit spending so much damn money all of the time, and throwing it in my face. I get that I'm unemployed and it makes you feel some sort of weird high to buy things that I say I like just to shove them in my face, but that pretty much makes you a shitty person. I only spend time with you because I have to, not because I actually enjoy your company. Don't ever ask me to carry your bags again- if you want to spend that much money on that much shit you're never going to use, then you carry your own damn bags.

9. Stand up to him. It's your money too, and you deserve better than this. I'm watching your health fail and it's killing me because you don't deserve to be treated this way. I wish I was closer so I could take some of the burden off your shoulders. I don't know how you do it, but I do know that I'm learning from your example- learning exactly what NOT to put up with. You're too good for this. Please, please... do something, and do it soon.

10. You are one of my favorite people in the whole world. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you... when my world falls to pieces you're always there to help me out and make me laugh. I worry about you because I know that you're getting older, and that you're not feeling as good as you used to... and I don't think I could take it if something happened to you right now. I need you around for a good long time, so stick around, ok?

I'm Mirth-ful

So I finished my Mirth last Friday and I'm so in love with it! It was a really fun knit, and I'm really glad I got the chance to take the class from Stefanie!

Here is the finished Mirth blocking:


And here is a detail shot of the stitch patterns while it was blocking:


These last two pictures were taken by Chris in artificial light, and I didn't realize how distorted the color was until I saw them uploaded on my Ravelry page- oops!

Me in my finished Mirth (complete with my Annie Adams shawl pin!):


And the wingspan shot:


The one interesting thing about this project is that I used three skeins of Malabrigo from the same dye lot, and yet none of them matched. You can really see this in the first picture- it's obvious where I changed skeins.

Pattern: Mirth: A Fitted Raglan Shawl by Stefanie Japel
Needles: US 10.5 circular (moved from 32" to 60" pretty fast, and was a bit crowded on the 60" before I finished)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Pearl, 2.9 skeins

I plan to make this shawl again, in laceweight, for a wedding shawl for my hope-less chest. ;)

Next, I made and finished this little hat in less than a day:

Since I took this picture, I not only blocked the hat but cut off my hair pretty dramatically. ;)

Pattern: Felicity by Wanett Clyde

Needles: US8 16" circular and set of 4 dpns

Yarn: Berocco Pure Merino, 1.6 balls

My thoughts on this hat are a bit mixed. It's a very cute hat, and I like it, but I think the gauge is severely off on the pattern. I knit mine exclusively on size 8 needles, unlike the size 5 and 7 recommended for the pattern, and it was still extremely tight when I finished it. The author of the pattern specifically states that her hat only measured 16" when finished, yet it stretches enough to fit her 22" head, and I honestly can't see how that's possible. I have a 21.5" head and I can tell you right now that although Pure Merino stretches quite a bit when worn, it would NOT have stretched enough to fit my head if I'd used the needle sizes she gave. I'm glad I listened to my own gut instead of relying on her judgement in this case.

Anyway, I'm now working on a pair of socks for Chris's birthday, which is coming up really soon (Oct 12). I am almost finished with the first sock, and will cast on the second one immediately. I'm also working on the Selbu Modern beret out of CTH supersock solids in cream and Oceanwind Knits Merino in razzcherry. It's turning out beautifully so far, and I can't wait to wear it when the weather finally cools off!

Hugs and stitches,

Dana

A few things

Here are a few things that are on my mind lately, in no particular order of importance:

1. Short little trips to closeby cities are so much fun and break the monotony nicely. C and I just got back from Nashville tonight and we had so much fun! We left on Wednesday and stayed two nights at the Hotel Preston which was way cool- very mod and funky.

2. Dresses can apparently be made out of crayons, and are on display in very cool hotel lobbies.

3. The hotel we stayed at has a fascination with the female form.

4. Nashville has the only full-scale replica of the Parthenon in the world, and it's a fun, cheap tourist destination.

5. In the center of the upstairs floor there is an amazing full-size statue of Athena that is more than just a little bit scary. If she ever came to life I think she'd pillage and plunder and eat babies for breakfast.

6. There are a bazillion mean-tempered geese outside of the Parthenon so you'd better tread carefully- both because of the goose crap and because they're aggressive.

7. Bliss Yarns in Brentwood is amazing, and I wish it was here in Chattanooga so I could hang out there every week. I got this Malabrigo Worsted in Tuareg:

And this Dream In Color Smooshy sock yarn in Flamingo Pie:

YEA for souvenir yarn!!!

8. Online knitting classes are super cool. I'm taking the Fitted Raglan Shawl class from Stefanie Japel right now, and I just finished the first week's homework. I'm in love with this shawl so far- it's going to be big, wooly, soft, and soooo warm. Yea!

And here's a closeup of the first chart:

9. I have the sweetest fella in the world... he bought me the most gorgeous gold and pearl necklace today at this fun little shop in Nashville called Fire Finch. If you're ever in town, definitely go check out that store- they have the most amazing selection of vintage and vintage-inspired things I've ever seen.

That is all I'm thinking about right now. Carry on! :)

XO-

D

More baby stuff!

Chris's coworker and his new wife are going to have a girl! They just found out at her appointment.

I'm using the leftovers from the first KaiMei sock to make a baby sock. When I finish the second KaiMei sock, I'll be able to knit the mate. I'm super excited!

Do ya'll have any favorite baby girl patterns? I'm still kind-of in shock that they're having a girl- lately everybody's been having boys, so I have no practice getting to make girl stuff!

Hugs & Stitches,
D.

Miles to go...

Inspired by Tika of Gives Good Knit, I decided to figure up how many miles of knitting I've done since the beginning of the year. I'm only counting projects that I've finished.

As of today, I've knitted 9307.4 yards, which equals out to be 27922.2 feet... for a grand total of..

5.29 miles!!!

I'll try to remember to update this as I finish new projects. Note to self: last project counted was the Ishbel shawl.