oh boy

Posted on Posted in Bare Naked Wools, book reviews/events, designing, food and garden, projects

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it’s all about friends, right? our weekend at the athens fibre faire was filled with them, thank goodness.

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after driving in the rain most of friday afternoon and unloading the truck in a downpour, the rest of our setup went smoothly and we managed to put together a pretty booth

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at least, that was what a lot of shoppers told us as they approached our corner and were drawn in.

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we like to create outfits to showcase all the shades of our natural color yarns and how well they layer with each other. there’s so much to choose from! i dunno, maybe it’s an extension of dressing up barbie dolls, which i loved so much as a girl—i would sew up new outfits for them, one after the other and dress them in a different one for every hour of their day. poor dears . . .

well, at least it prepared me for something; you know how i hate to waste time, haha.

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anyway, we had many visits from wonderful knitters who loved our aesthetic and our yarns; i am always grateful when others share their enthusiasm and support for our brand and the producers behind it. kelly here follows the blog, has knit several of my designs, and has also purchased a few different BNWs; she not only appreciates knowing where the yarn comes from, but is sincere fan of the quality and beauty of the projects she completes with them.

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we also very much enjoyed getting to know our neighbors, sarah and her daughter from my sarah’s sweets. and guess what her daughter’s name is? anne—who wanted to learn to knit.

well, of course we hit if right away and toward the end of saturday, i had a chance to sit down with her to get started. the only spare yarn and needles i had were in my own project but i figured, what the heck and got her going on the purl stitch first, since that was the row i was doing.

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well, she blew me off the map, i’m telling you. not only did she get the purl stitch right away, but when we turned the row to start on the knit side, she immediately observed that a knit stitch is just a purl stitch done backwards. how about that? she learned so fast that i even had her doing the yarnovers and k2togs that are part of the pattern. knitting lace didn’t phase her at all—just part of the learning curve. erica looked on agog; she has been working up the courage to start knitting lace but has not yet tried it.

i am totally keeping the two rows that anne knit in my project—first of all they are perfect and second of all, it’s a gift knit and i think it’s really cool that this good karma is part of it.

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the next morning we reconvened and this time we brought an extra ball of kent DK we had at the hotel and opened a set of needles for her to work with on her own.

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we cast on 96 sts for a simple cowl in garter stitch and stockinette and sat back to knit together (clearly, not without some iPad silliness). can you believe how relaxed she is with her work already? the show was a bit slow on sunday so we had a lot of time to work; we were all impressed with how many hours in a row this kid can knit! when it was time to pack up to go, she had completed about five rows of her garter stitch hem. i hope she will write to me from time to time and let me know how it’s going!

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after a weekend away, it’s always hard to choose between dealing with the overgrowth in the garden and the overgrowth in my email box. but this week the garden won out because my computer was in the shop til thursday.

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that gave me a bit of reprieve to put up the nearly half bushel of tomatoes that had accumulated in my ripening area (and to be replaced by another big batch that was waiting on the vines).

we had a lot of everything else too, which we ate all week, yum, yum! my favorite from this week was pasta puttanesca with roasted tomatoes and garlic, eggplant, peppers, capers, olives, and codfish. deLISH!

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we are also picking wonderful baby power greens as often as we can use them—i’m so glad i planted that little cutting garden in august. fresh spinach, tiny zen greens, mei qing choi, and pak choi, red chard, beet greens, and erbette. we are fond of making large salads for dinner with salmon or tuna.

david also dug up the potatoes and sweet potatoes while i was away—these drying on the porch for a few days before being stored away. i already stole a few to cook with and they are amazing.

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speaking of cooking, last night and this morning i put together a huge pot of winter squash soup, using everything from the garden—butternut and acorn squash, garlic, celeriac, sweet potatoes, yellow potatoes, celery, onions, and parsnips. i put aside a big container to bring with us to rhinebeck for our friday evening meal after the indie untangled show. everyone decided they wanted to eat in that night. i’ll bake some gluten free cornbread to go with it; i think that will be a great combination. with cheese and apples from the hudson valley? heaven!

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progress shot of our freezer—nearly full now. there are a few little nooks and crannies left, but the garden is winding down and next weekend we expect frost. so i think we paced it just right . . .

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i even remembered to make something to give back—roasted squash seeds for the birds.

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the rest of the week has been a beehive of activity to get ready for our events at rhinebeck and to release the vendange sweater design. barb brought her completed short version to knit night on wednesday—isn’t it great?

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yesterday was so gorgeous, we took both versions out for a walk downtown to take photos with emily, who rocks it way better than i do.

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everyone is SO excited about this pattern release—jen is ramped up with vesta ready to sell in the spirit trail booth at the show and we will release the pattern in time for downloading to take in your shopping bag.

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long or short, it’s a wonderful coat for fall and winter—easy and quick to knit too, so you could have your own by thanksgiving.

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and for those who’ve been awaiting a glimpse of the coat in our chebris worsted—here it is! barb dropped it off after church today so i could take on the finishing work (we make a great team don’t we?). she was worried about the length so i reblocked the body and it worked out just right.

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i’ve got my work cut out for me this afternoon and evening; knit the collar, add the button band, and sew in the sleeves. if i get it done by tomorrow afternoon, i will wash it, too. i’ll take photos first so you can see it on the mannequin . . .

this is the small size again, this time knit in chebris worsted in the frappé shade—a frosty café au lait color that is to DIE FOR.

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she and i went through our store stock of moving mud buttons and found these—they look like chips of ice down the front. perfect. sarina is making a set of 1-inch size that i can pick up from her and sew on next weekend. it’s all pulling together!

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meanwhile, over at the office, erica and kiran are busy getting things ready to roll out on thursday. we have a truck to pack and plenty to do, but i will be back to blog before then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 thoughts on “oh boy

  1. Yippee–I’m first. The squirrels have nothing on you. You are set for the winter! Your show display is mouth water. Finally, don’t you ove teaching a fast learner? A young woman came into the knitting group I sponsor at church and on her 2nd visit brought perfectly executed squares of garter, stockinet tea and all purl (she did not fully tune into the purl/knit relationship so the moppet gets the genius award)!

  2. Welcome back Anne! Missed you. Love the picture of both Annes laughing, priceless. Can’t wait for pattern release. BTW, that garden is amazing!

  3. Oh, I haven’t gotten to ANY fiber festivals this year…. )-:
    Little Anne is such a cute whiz kid! She’ll be designing in no time.
    I am blown away by how much you produce in your garden and how much you store away for the winter. I have a freezer, but I’m totally outdone! Actually, there’s 7 gallons of BF’s cider in there now amidst the yarn, chicken and tomato sauce. Love ALL the versions of the new coat. It will be hard to choose which to knit.

  4. What an entertaining blog post! Little Anne looks to be following in the steps of “Big” Anne; how wonderful that you were her first teacher and she’s off on the right foot! Love the short sweater coat….both colors!!!

  5. omg I love both versions!!! and I love that little Anne wanted to learn, it’s amazing how quick kids pick it up!

  6. I loved seeing you and the other Anne knitting together. Just precious. I hope she will continue to knit. I was about her age when I learned. It was magical. Your post brought back memories of that time in my life. Thank you.

    Love love love every picture of the sweater coat. I will be stalking for the pattern. For sure. As we all know I clearly do not have enough sweaters in progress. Snort.

  7. A new knitter at work, an amazing stash of vegetables and multiple versions of the new Vendage… I couldn’t ask for a better post to relax with after a second weekend bookfair. Have a fabulous time at Rhinebeck for all of us who live vicariously though you!

  8. I’m excited to see the short version of Vendange and those little ice chip buttons are wonderful! Moving Mud and Spirit Trail are on the top of my RB shopping list!

    See you next weekend!

  9. I think little Anne stole the blog post! That last photo of both of you laughing is PRECIOUS and made the start of my day a happier one. Loved seeing you teaching her to knit. BEST post ever!

  10. Apparently we are ALL fans of the Anne sisters, knitting away! Love that photo! And I, too, will be anxiously awaiting the sweater pattern release!

  11. I love the coat, but what I love best of all is that you started Anne off on her first (not so baby) steps in her knitting life. What greater thing could you have done that weekend?

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