holiday weekend

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

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i’m always amazed that no matter what date memorial day lands on, our poppies burst into bloom to celebrate the holiday. how do they know??

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i was convinced that between the cold and wet last week (we had a frost one night), they would be a little late this year. but when i backed the car out on my way to the grocery store friday, there they were, the first pink, papery petals just uncurling—and i jumped out to take a picture for you.

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yesterday, after the weekend events and festivities were complete, i snapped some more on my way home from the office, when i saw that the red ones had since bloomed as well.

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the bees were so greedily feeding on them that their backs had turned bluish purple from rubbing against pollen loaded stigma.

more about the garden later on—let’s talk about the weekend; did you have a good one?

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all of our hard work and preparation to get ready for the great lakes fiber show came to a close on friday, when the whole kit and caboodle was loaded into several vehicles for the trip out to wooster. many MANY thanks to darpan, barb, erica, anastasia, lillian, and david for packing it all and setting it up.

i stayed on at the ranch to greet our weekend guests, cherie and anne marie, while getting ready for my friday afternoon yarn voyage class.

we had a terrific class that evening—so much so that as usual, i forgot to take photos (maybe laura got some?). afterward, dinner with the crew and knitting back at the house, at least for as long as i could keep my eyes open, haha.

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the next morning it was up and out early for all of us to get ready for a busy show day.

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for lauren, our new graphic designer, this fiber event was her first; i think she had a lot of fun.

i’m always so tickled to see new and old friends, knitters who read my blog and hang out in our ravelry groups, people from near and far.

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chris and laramie were visiting from england!

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it’s also nice to see what everyone is wearing at the show. since it’s usually warm for this event, scarves and shawls are the norm, but in the early hours, it’s sometimes possible to see a knitspot sweater in the wild.

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bonnie, who raises sheep and alpacas, used some of her 3-ply 50/50 alpaca/merino handspan to knit this highlander sweater last summer. the stitchwork is just beautiful, isn’t it?

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on a road trip through new england, she purchased these beautiful celtic knot buttons for it.

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on the way back to canton that day, we made our traditional stop at the dalton dariette for ice cream; cherie is now a devotee.

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duly fortified, we went right on to a knit along with our retreat group that night. i had been working on my third triticum sample in stone soup fingering yarn for about ten days by this time and i was just winding up the right front piece, which i had started a couple of days days earlier.

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i finished that off at the KAL and cast on for the first sleeve. i need to have this sample completed by the friday morning, but i really want to have it all seamed up by wednesday so i can wash it will before we leave.

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even though i’d done a lot of knitting up to that point, this meant that i still had to knit two sleeves and the back. i got busy right away; by the time we left the hotel KAL, i had started the ribbed cuff.

sunday was another full day—class for six hours and afterward, i think i took a nap—can’t remember!

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i definitely worked on my first sleeve for at least a bit, but i must have been too tired to get far, because on monday morning just before the yarn tasting, it looked like this.

by mid morning our weekend events were complete and i made a beeline back to my study to put my feet up and enjoy a day of knitting and listening to audiobooks. i probably should have been gardening but i really need to finish this sample too!

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the sleeves go quick, thank goodness; a little before noon i was at the underarm bind off (they are three-quarter sleeves) and ready to start the cap shaping. that took no time at all as the stitch count diminishes with every couple of rows. by 2 pm i was done.

i was so pumped at how quickly i’d knit that sleeve that i figured i could knock out at least the second one before  i had to go to bed last night.

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sure enough, it is possible; in fact, by 7:30 pm last night the second sleeve was ready for cap shaping as well. i had plenty of time after binding off to begin the final piece—the sweater back.

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i got cast on and started the hem ribbing; by the time david was ready to stretch out and watch TV together, i had begun the pattern for the central panel. at this point, i was indeed tired—and even—just a little bit—tired of knitting, though that wouldn’t have stopped me if i wasn’t sleepy, haha.

i was on a mission.

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i worked for a few hours this morning while i had my coffee and made some phone calls; by eleven, i had finished the body shaping and was heading to the underarm bind off.

i knit some more this afternoon during another meeting and now i’m ready to shape the armholes—a finish tonight will be mine!

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i have to run to an appointment now, but when i get home, i will complete the back and steam block all my pieces. i can start seaming while we watch TV later.

more seaming tomorrow and then a nice hot, sudsy bath to make this fabric soft and cuddly and bright—stay tuned!

(also, once it’s done i need to get back to the gardening .)

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11 thoughts on “holiday weekend

  1. The poppies are killer gorgeous! And the sample sweater just makes my head spin…go, Anne!

  2. Those poppies are beautiful…..so perfect that they look artificial! And every time I see that sweater, I cannot wait to start one!

  3. You are the knitting wizard, Anne. I bow down to your speed. Your sweater is just beautiful. And now I want to plant poppies.

  4. The day after Memorial Day in Oregon, and my poppies haven’t popped; thanks for sharing pictures of yours! And for all the pictures of the gorgeous Triticum.

  5. You didn’t knit a whole sleeve in one evening–naw, you do knit in your sleep haha. It would be wonderful to knit as fast as you do. I am champing at the bit to start Triticum, but need to finish a couple of stealth projects first. The poppies are such a delight. I have a long history with a husband and stepson thinking they’re dandelions and digging them up. My poppies are a protected species– heaven help the guy who dares touch them!

  6. My mom has those at her house, they’re so bright and pretty, I miss seeing them every day!

  7. I had a great time at the sweater fitting class! Oh, I learned so much- I only hope I can remember some of it when it is time to start knitting.

    Your studio is beautiful, anne. It was good to see Cheri and Anne Marie at the Wool Fest, too.

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