Four Blue Ribbons!

I had a great time at the San Juan County Fair again this year :) I had five entries at the Wool Shed and ended up with 4 blue ribbons and 1 red ribbon. The red ribbon was for some woolen handspun that I almost didn't enter because it was my first attempt at woolen spun and I wasn't completely happy with my result. I did better than I thought I would so I ended up being happy I entered it. In the foreground of this picture are the mitts I designed to go with Jean's Irish Hat. The pattern is being test knit by my friend Libby and will be available on Raverly soon.

Libby got a best in class at the county fair  for her lovely blue crocheted sweater.

I am happy for Libby but I have to admit that I want a best in class ribbon too... there is always next year ;)  

Sidetracked

First I got sidetracked with spinning. I had been working with this fiber on my spindles 

and finally finished all the singles. Then I plied it on my spinning wheel and was pleasantly 

surprised by how much I like the end product. I combined it with some tobacco colored cotton 

you see in the bottom left corner of this picture and then I got sidetracked with weaving :)

I'm calling this The Saturn Scarf. It's for my husband, Paul, who is an amateur astronomer. 

The layers of color are reminiscent of the banding on Saturn. I'm so happy with the way 

it came out and it was a fun project from start to finish. Fortunately, Paul really likes it too :)

And of course I've been sidetracked by my garden too...

Now I really need to get back to my knitting. I have one hat to finish for Julie 

down at Island Wools and then I am going to get a few more patterns 

written up to add to my Ravelry Store and website. 

I love how this picture shows off the skinny brim version...

This was my prototype when I was figuring out the pattern.

Beautiful Nieces

Here is a picture of me with our some of our nieces on Easter. They graciously agreed to pose for me  

so I would have beautiful models for my hat pattern. The pattern will be available to purchase and download on Ravelry in the next few days. I'm excited!

Is it a Jacket or a Cape?

Marita really appreciates my work and skill with fiber and because she is so appreciative she is a regular recipient of the goods :) I made this cute little piece for her birthday a few years ago and she loves it. Lucky girl. 

Hunter Gatherer Camo Sox

My friend, Ricky, is a hunter gatherer type. He is really handy too. He has made birdhouses for me, given me his homemade jam, homemade applesauce, smoked salmon (which of course he caught himself) and sausage made from elk that he hunted. He has helped me plant crocosmia at the back of the barn and hunted down and helped me kill tent caterpillars that were on the willow down at the end of the meadow. So I think you'll agree that Ricky is a good friend to have :)

I made these camo sox for him to say thanks for all the nice things he does for me. I hope he likes them and wears them while he hunts and gathers and all of the other things he does to keep himself out of trouble.

Jean's Irish Hat

I was visiting my mother-in-law, Jean, a few months ago and she handed me a hat she had bought in Ireland about 20 years ago. She told me she would like me to change a few things and make it for her. I was intrigued and accepted the challenge :) I came up with two versions, a wide brim and a skinny brim. The olive green tweed is the wide brim version and the one that Jean likes. I like the celadon green skinny brim version. The only difference between the two versions is the width of the brim and it surprised me how much it changed the style of the hat by varying the width of the brim!

I have been working on perfecting the pattern with the help of 13 fabulous knitters who are test knitting the pattern for me. I had no idea that Ravelry had a free test knitters group until I was tipped off by Julie at my LYS, Island Wools. The pattern is very close to ready and will be available for sale on Ravelry and my website soon. It will also be available at Island Wools in Friday Harbor and Main Street Yarn in Mill Creek. I am hoping for a few more local yarn stores as well.

Oh... and if you would like to know more about my infamous MIL, Jean, go to her blog for an earful and an eyeful! I know you'll be happy you did.