Lessons, Goodies and Progress

 

Hello everyone!  Yes, I am in good spirits after a lovely trip to WI for the Sheep and Wool Festival this past weekend.  We arrived in Jefferson on cool and breezy Thursday night to set up camp.  I needed to make an early start the next morning for the class I was attending.  It was a class on Natural Dyeing where we dyed skeins of yarn, then saddening those dyes with iron and finally over-dyeing with indigo.  I've taken a natural dyeing class before through Community Education, and done some natural dyeing on my own, but there is always more to learn and I definitely picked up some new knowledge this past weekend.  We used cochineal (bugs), madder (roots), logwood (tree), osage orange (tree) and pomegranate (plant) as our dyes. Each class member dyed 3 skeins in each of the colors, then we kept one skein "as is", re-dyed another in the same pot, but with added iron which "saddens" the color by graying and darkening it.  Then we took our last skein and over-dyed the original color with indigo.  The results I think are quite stunning in shade and variety.  The pomegranate (bottom three skeins) was a bit boring on it's own, but over-dyed with indigo it makes a lovely sage green.  This class really showed me the infinite possibilities available using only alum, cream of tartar, and iron as your mordants.  True, you can get even a wider array using copper, chrome and tin mordants, but these are dangerous to use for the dyer as well as the environment.  I'm really excited to get started on some more dyeing now that I'm home and already have some black walnuts lined up with which to begin.

The other great part about the Festival, besides all their Wonder of Wool classes, is the Marketplace of all things woolly or wool animal related  There was yarn and fiber in every imaginable shade, tools to create with fiber as well as tools for removing fiber, books, dyes, soaps, cheeses, meats, baskets, wool pillows, wool blankets and comforters and the most beautiful hooked wool rugs.  Really the rug hooking work was stunning and I was sorely tempted to give it a go, but resisted as I do not need another hobby.  With all the goodies available you'd think I'd come home with an armload of stuff, but I managed to only purchase a few things.  Soap was actually on my list to purchase thus I was happy when I found Maple Hill Farm's sheep milk soaps.  They only use essential oils which is a must for my husband who is very sensitive to scents and fragrances.  I chose unscented, lavender and peppermint to take home.  While I love handmade soap I hate paying for shipping soap as it's heavy and therefore expensive so buying it in person is my only option.  I'm hoping these three last until the next market I visit.  Since I was so excited to start dyeing I was very excited to find these 2 undyed skeins from Sheepish Creations.  The first is a BFL/Nylon tweed sock yarn which I'm planning to dye with indigo and the second is an incredibly soft (like dipping your hand in a vat of melted butter soft) single ply of a merino/silk blend which will be dyed with black walnuts for a rich brown.  At the end of my visit to the Marketplace I finally braved the beauty of the Fiber Optic booth and chose a Paintbox Gradient in the Copper to Verdigris colorway to take home.  It consists of 15 mini skeins of 30 yards each and will most likely become a shawl. 

With all that was going on while at the Festival and then while visiting Madison I got very little knitting done.  Oddly, I went for a project that I had not been planning on knitting the Dudester Scarf for my friend Anna's friend.  It's a super easy 4 line pattern, but I kept managing to still make mistakes and did quite a bit of tinking back.  It's knit in Kollage Yarns Scrumptious which is 70% angora and 30% silk.  Kinda an odd choice for a man's scarf, but he's Filipino like my husband who is super sensitive to wool,  so I thought a super soft yarn might be a good choice for him too.  We'll see what he thinks come Christmastime.  The scarf is a project on my Year of Projects list so there's a bit of headway there.  No finished objects to share with you, but I'm hoping to get something done by next week.  I won't even try to predict what it will be as I seem to change my mind all too often.  If you want to see the other YOP participants you can check them out here.  That about wraps it up for me.  Have a great week everyone!

Plugging Away and An Upcoming Project

 This morning I find my right forearm is sore from all the blanket knitting I've been doing as of late.  I have been diligently plugging away and finished another square ring yesterday.  While I'm pleased I'm a bit overwhelmed that there are still 2 more skeins left to knit the final edging.  There will be some leftover yarn to be sure, but it's still quite a lot of yarn to knit when I just want to get this project done and out of my WIP pile.  Actually, I want to put it into use as the weather has turned colder and in our drafty house you can feel the difference (not that you can tell by my barefooted short sleeve t-shirt wearing son but that's another story.)

Since I don't have too much new to show you on that project I thought I'd show you a future project I have planned that I'm both excited and a bit nervous about.  When reading the Interweave Press KNITS magazine Santa so kindly left in my stocking this Christmas, I ran across an article about some very unique yarn.  It's called Silver Spun and as the name implies it actually has silver spun into the yarn.  The contents to be exact are 87% Combed Cotton / 5% Silver / 5% Nylon / 3 % Spandex.  We all know what cotton is, nylon I know is added for durability and strength but I was thrown for a loop as to what the silver and Spandex would accomplish.  Well it turns out the silver makes the yarn therapeutic because it has excellent thermal properties as well as making it conductive.  The Spandex is then used to keep the silver from breaking apart.  Interesting no?  The conductive properties really hooked me because that means you could wear gloves made out of this yarn and still use your smart phone.  The Feel Good Yarn Company who makes this yarn thought of that too and put together the above kits with this free pattern for making just such a pair of gloves.  I instantly thought of my husband who is in the tech trade and gets many business calls on his cell phone, sometimes at less than opportune times as he is on call 24/7.  For example, he was walking home from the bus stop this winter with his hands laden down with many bags and got a call on his phone.  He managed to get it out of his pocket but with only three rings before voice mail kicks in there was no time to take off gloves so what did he do?  Why used his tongue of course!  Can I get an ewww!  Yes, that was my reaction too.

Anyway, I purchased this kit right away after I read the article in December, but they have yet to knit themselves into gloves so I thought I'd give myself a deadline.  My plan being to knit these up for Dan's birthday which falls on the last day of March.  Plenty of time of course, but they'll come after this blanket, a hostess gift I'm knitting for a friend who's hosting me on my trip to Washington DC at the end of February and of course since I'm going on a trip I want to knit this scarf to wear while there...  So, I'll probably won't start these gloves until I'm on my plane to see my friend Anna.  They are the perfect travel knit though as they are small and will tuck easily into my purse.  The only reservation I have is knitting 10 individual fingers knit in the round on US size 2 needles.  Sounds very laborious, but hopefully they will knit up fast.

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On and Ginny for Yarn Along.

Lake Superior Trip With Socks

Since we are homeschooling this year, we decided to take a trip the weekend after Labor Day instead of before with the thought of less people, traffic etc.  Did it work?  A resounding YES!  We ventured north, as Minnesotans are wont to do in the summer time, to Lutsen, MN along the northern shore of Lake Superior.  It is where I went as a child with my family, where we went for our honeymoon and as a young couple and I couldn't wait to show Sam the beauty of it all.  We stayed at Cascade Lodge, which has been around since the thirties, in one of their "cabinettes" meaning 4 "cabins" in one building.  It was cheaper and still woodsey, but I think next time we will stay in a cabin with a kitchenette to save on food expenses.

 Sam and Dan at Gooseberry Falls - High Falls section on the journey north.

 Dan and Sam at Cascade Falls State Park.   

Finding a walking stick along the way is a must for this family.

Cascade Falls looking like root beer at the bottom don't you think?

 Dan and I with Lake Superior in the background.

Lake Superior coastline at Lutsen, MN.

The blazing fire Dan and Sam built on the rocks of the shore on our last night there.

Me wearing the socks I just finished on the trip and starting up another pair.  

Winter is coming soon you know.

Here's a close up of those socks.  I can't find the yarn tag to tell you what yarn/colorway it is though.  

 Here's the socks I started up north from yarn (Fortissima Colorpack 1) I purchased at Yarn Harbor in Duluth.  A little more Caribbean blue than Superior blue, but it's a nice remembrance from our trip.

 We enjoyed all the hiking, waterfalls (really can anyone have enough of seeing waterfalls?), the city of Grand Marais, The Angry Trout restaurant in said city, swimming at the community pool, playing tether ball and Foosball at the Lodge, knitting, campfires, stargazing and lastly the serene beauty of Lake Superior.  Did Sam enjoy the trip?  Why yes, yes he did.  In fact he kept saying "This is so Awesome!" so many times Dan and I couldn't stop laughing at his exuberance.  What a trip!  We loved it so much we're going back next year, that is, the weekend after Labor Day.

Oh, and I'm still working on the socks.  Just turned the heel today!

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On.

Rainy Day Train Ride

It was a very rainy Saturday morning when we took a drive to Osceola, WI to take a trip back in time on the Osceola Saint Croix Valley Railway.  Along for the ride was myself, my mother Jean, my niece Anya and my son Sam.  Unfortunately, my husband Dan had to stay home due to catching my cold from the previous week.  Although, feeling poorly he was happy to have the house to himself to sleep in peace and quiet while we were gone.  Here is our hour and a half ride in pictures.

 

The train consisted of coach cars, dining cars, box cars with gates over the open doorways, observation car and even an old mail car.  Once the conductor punched our tickets we were free to roam the cars at our leisure.  The ride was smooth and went by quickly and before you knew it we were back at the depot.

The sun decided to shine upon our return giving the children a chance to see the engine up close and play on an old caboose car.  It was a fun excursion with great volunteers happy to answer all the many questions the children asked.  If you are in the area I would recommend a visit to anyone young or old.

Swimming

We just got back from a short camping trip to Baker Park.  It's not far from our home, a mere half hour drive, but it feels like getting away none the less.  We camped for just one night packing in a lot of outdoor play time taking walks, running around at the playground and of course going to the beach (a prerequisite in the summer living in the land of 10,000 lakes.)

Sam has surprised me on how comfortable he is in the water as of late.  Dunking his head all the way underwater (on purpose no less), flying in the air after being tossed by Dad and finally floating on his back resting his head in the water.  He hasn't had a formal swim class yet, but I think it's time as he's almost teaching himself!  We've heard good things about Foss Swim Schools so I think we might try there.  It will be good for him to swim confidently before we take our trip to the Phillipines this winter. 

Here's a few snaps of my boy in action!

Looks like fun - yes?  What are you doing to enjoy your summer?

Sam's BIG Adventure #2

This happened a few weeks back, but I'm only now getting to writing about it. Sam's first adventure as you might recall was a trip into Uptown Minneapolis on a city bus. The day went so well and we had such fun that we decided we needed to repeat it, but this time on a train.

The beautiful new light rail train

Minneapolis is behind most major cities by not having an extensive train/subway system. Instead we have 1 light rail line that runs from downtown to the Mall of America (my least favorite place to go.) So, we drove to the enormous Mall of America Saturday morning; parked our car and took the train to downtown Minneapolis. Sam was vibrating with excitement and could hardly wait to get a seat. Not too many people were going our way, but we made all the stops just the same. Going over the bridge that crosses the freeway was of great interest, as well as passing the Metrodome where the Minnesota Vikings football team plays (Sam was ready to drop everything and play some football!)

Dan purchasing our tickets - Sam was free!

Sam choosing his window seat

We disembarked on Nicolett Mall and as the day was cold hit the Skyway system. Because of our cold winters a series of enclosed corridors that connect the downtown buildings one level above the street were developed to keep us out of the inclement weather. Sam was not as impressed with this as I thought. I was so enamored with the Skyway when I was a kid that I had plans to build my own starting in my bedroom cutting through the garage to the backyard where I'd have my very own playhouse. Ahh, those were fun daydreams. The Minneapolis rock band The Replacements even wrote a song called Skyway back in the 80's. So, needless to say I expected more from Sam than his non interest in the cars driving beneath us.

Dan and Sam looking out at the cars below in the skyway. Note the blase look on Sam's face.

After quite a long time of running through the Skyways we started looking for somewhere to eat. Not knowing downtown very well we ended up at Applebees a chain restaurant where we knew there was something that Sam, our picky eater, would eat. Not as glamorous as the Independent in Uptown with it's pool table and darts; maybe next time.

Mom and a squirrely Sam on the return trip

After we were all sated and sleepy we took the train back to the Mall. This trip was much busier with many more passengers - lots of good people watching to do while I knitted. Sam was a bit impatient and ready to go home as the newness of the adventure wore off. We said goodbye to the train as we got in our van for the ride home. As we were passing the airport we heard Sam request from the backseat "I want to ride an airplane next time." Oh boy, that one will have to wait awhile!

Sam's BIG Adventure

Sam has talked about a desire to ride a bus and we decided it was time for a big bus adventure. Our journey was to Uptown Minneapolis (about a 1/2 hour ride from our house.) We looked around at shops, bought some fun smartwool socks for me and Sam, had lunch at The Independent and took the bus back home. Big for a three year old is relative. We had so much fun watching Sam explore these new worlds; trying out pool and darts at the restaurant, going up and down an escalator and did I mention the elevator? Such fun was had by all. Bear with me I took lots of photos!