To knit is divine....

I've spent the last few days figuring out how to keep all the animals somewhat comfortable and staying indoors myself during the middle of the day. The lambs and ewes are spending their days under shade trees (or in front of the big barn fans) and the llamas and alpacas are getting a cooling shower from the garden hose, several times a day. How can it be that we are in the 90's and it's not even officially summer yet? I hate to complain any more because I know there are many of you who are dealing with even higher temperatures. So, how about I talk about something else?

 

I finished my "To Eyre" shawl last week and finally got around to blocking it. I love this shawl so much, I'm ready to cast on another.....right now. I knit this one with Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed and the color is Brindle. I don't think Jo Sharp has stockist in the United States anymore, but it can probably be ordered on-line. Happily for me, I had this in my stash, left over from this sweater that I blogged about way back when. I'm not sure why, but knitting this shawl was so much fun for me. The pattern is easily memorized and the short rows are somehow entertaining (or maybe it's just that I'm easily entertained?). I'm feeling the shawl love these days and I'm not the only one. Ravelry and other blogs are full of enthusiastic shawl knitters at the moment. I guess if a shawl Kate Middleton wears to the grocery becomes a fashion statement, we commoners are free to wear them without being dubbed an "old lady" in a shawl. (of course, in my case, I'm already considered to be an old lady, so what can I say?) I had literally just bound off when I got an updated pattern from "Sunday Knits". It seems that some people had trouble getting the back of the next to stay flat and it was determined that the neck shaping was a little too severe. I literally blocked the heck out of mine and think I have eliminated most of that problem. I will definitely use the newer version of the pattern on my next one. The only thing stopping me from casting on right now is that I haven't been able to choose which yarn to use. This is just the project for someone looking to escape the heat and spend a few days hanging out in the comfort of air conditioning.



And speaking of blocking; I found some play mats (or anti-fatigue mats or whatever you want to call them) at Lowe's and they work great for a blocking surface. They were around $20.

Everybody say..........

Awww!  Isn't she cute? The ever sweet and thoughtful Susan Anderson sent me a surprise package yesterday and look what I found inside: the cutest little handspun, handknit lambie.  Even better, this little lambie was knit by Susan using her very first handspun yarn, spun with Tanglewood Farm natural roving (and you can find the link to the pattern right here). I think I need a pedestal to put her on (the lamb, not Susan, though she deserves one too).

And you know what? This lamb reminds me a of little Olive, in her babyhood.

All over the place....

(lambies with their favorite babysitter-good old Strawberry)

 Ah, Kentucky--the land of many seasons......and sometimes they all happen within one week.  Just days ago, I was still wearing socks and a sweater to the barn in the mornings.  Now I'm wearing as little as possible because it's 90+ freaking degrees.  What is wrong with this picture?  It's not even officially summer yet, people!

The last group of lambs got separated from their mamas over the weekend and have had their second vaccinations and de-worming medication.  They have been in the barn for a few days, with the big barn fan on them, but this morning I let them out into the pasture where they can find a shade tree.  It's time to start letting my babies go to new homes, but it is so hard for me!  It's part of that cycle of life on the farm that I've come to accept (but still dread).

Last Friday I had an opportunity to take a felting workshop from Nicola Brown, who traveled here all the way from Ireland.  Almost everyone there had more experience than me, but I learned a lot and came home with my very own iPad cover, from my very own home grown, hand dyed wool.  I am inspired to do some other small projects now.  I've heard rumors that Nicola may be coming back to the states in the fall, so I'm hoping to take more classes with her.  My friend, Lindy was also there and wrote a wonderful blog post about the workshop and a little adventure that happened the day after the workshop.

I realize that this post is kinda all over the place. When my brain is functioning a little better, I'll have some new knitting books to share. This kind of weather calls for staying inside during the heat of the day, with my knitting and books, of course.

And a good time was had by Luna

(Luna.........just being Luna)

I can hardly believe that it has come and gone. After much work, by many people, the 2nd Annual Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival is history. Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity and now I wish I could go back and re-live the whole thing, without the worry that it was all going to come together as planned.

Many of us on the planning committee have been attending fiber festivals for years (or in my case, many, many, many years!) and we have known the potential for our event. I'd say we are well on our way.  This year we had lots more vendors and the attendance was much larger than last year. The weather cooperated, which is always a risky thing to count on during a Kentucky spring-time. I should say, it cooperated right up until an hour before the closing and then all you-know-what broke loose! Fortunately, everyone was told ahead of time and most everyone got their stuff packed up safely

Susan Anderson was our star attraction this year. She taught a workshop on Saturday morning and had a book-signing for her new book, Spud and Chloë at the Farm, on Saturday afternoon and both events were very well attended. (She blogged about it here.)I met Susan several years ago, when she was in town for a book fair. It was while I still co-owned Magpie Yarn and Jane and I were lucky enough to take the knitting authors out to lunch (Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Stefanie Japel, Ann Hood and Susan). It was so much fun and a real thrill to meet all of them in person. My impression of Susan that day was that she was such a  down-to-earth person. I liked her immediately. What I've since learned, is that she is also the most genuine and generous person you'd ever want to know. She seems completely surprised at how many adoring fans she has and how far they are willing to travel to see her. Anyway, I am honored to call her my friend now. I wish I could say that I took lots of pictures of it all, but I did not. I was so busy most of the time, I didn't even think to get my camera out. Plenty of other people had the presence of mind to record the fun and you can find those on the Festival facebook page. (Obviously, I have a lot to learn about capturing the moment!)

As many of you know, Luna and Birdie (along with a few of their friends) came to the festival with me. I was sure that Luna would be timid and Birdie would be her usual in-your-face kind of girl. Not so. Birdie was not so comfortable, kind of shy and retiring, and actually got to stay at home on Sunday because she developed some digestive distress (if you know what I mean). Luna, on the other hand, acted as if the whole festival was just for her benefit. She was not the least bit shy, let all the little kids pet on her and tried to get Lila to come out to play and take a walk around with her. (Lila is still a house baby and had no inclination to hang out with a lamb, for goodness sake!)

So, it's back to real life on the farm this week. I want to thank everyone who came by to visit the Tanglewood Farm booth. We do know it was just to see Luna, but that's okay. By now, we are all used to living in her (very small) shadow!