Monday, November 16, 2009

Little Entrelac Bag

When I looked through the new Interweave's Holiday Gifts magazine and saw Susan Lawrence's Little Entrelac Bags pattern I knew I was making it as soon as I got home.
little entrelac bag
It was a fun quick project with Noro Kureyon. The pattern called for a twisted cord, I made a square cord on a Lucet with several strands of thread and pearl cotton. The hardest part has been finding a button for the drawstring.

I have other finished objects but they all need a little something before I take pictures and blog about them.

Ysolda Teague has some great patterns and I'm drawn to her patterns on Ravelry. There's one through that always makes me smile and remember some mystery books I've read. Have you heard of the Aunt Dimity books by Nancy Atherton? The main character has a knit bunny from her childhood that was made for her by Aunt Dimity who lived in England. Well, Ysolda has a knit bunny pattern called Sophie that is exactly the bunny I envisioned while reading. It makes me smile every time I come across this pattern.
(This just proves that you can play "7 Degrees to Knitting" with anything.)

The sun is so low in the south now that it comes further into the house than any other time of the year. The cats are loving it! They follow the sun around the living room during the day. Bright sunlight, the best way to photograph our Sam.
Sam

Old man Ty really loves the heat.
Ty

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Lambtown 2009

Last month the Photographer and I headed up state to attend Lambtown in Dixon, California, west of Sacramento.

There was Sheep Judging
Judging

Strolling Alpacas
strolling alpaca 2

Penned sheep ready for dog herding trials
sheep penned for dog herding

The Fiber Show
Lambtown fiber show
The seated woman in blue is Shari McKelvy of Morro Fleece Works.

The view from the back of the building
Lambtown 2009 Fiber Hall

A rare breed of sheep (sorry I've forgotten the breed name) whose coat was like bristles. The man said there was no known use for the fiber; the Photographer throught it would be perfect for bristle paint brushes.
stiff bristle coated sheep 2
That coat is not soft at all, felt more like a hair brush!
stiff bristle coated sheep

Angora Goat - look at that FACE!! (Is that really an Angora or Mohair Goat?)
Angora Goat

Alpaca Show
Alpaca

I found three bags of Alpaca fleece on display near the pens. There was the most gorgeous black fleece that I coveted the moment I saw it. I went around asking who owned it until I found her; the fleece was brought for display but she was happy to sell it to me. (I walked it right over to Morro Fleece Works and saved the cost of shipping) The beautiful, super-soft fiber was from Midnight, the black boy in the center below. (That's him from the rear in the above photo)
Midnight

And here I am having a wonderful stroll, third time around, in the Fiber Show.
Lambtown booth

There was a wonderful Sheep to Shawl going on that I wish I had pictures of. Looked like there were eight teams - that's the largest S2S I've ever seen. It was fun to look at all the wheels, drum carders and looms.