Episode 16 - Comittment

Just a few days left to leave a response to our "Name the Sheep" contest! Contest ends midnight on February 29 and I will be drawing a name (via random-number generator) on March 1st and podcasting that day! Shocked? So am I! The winner receives a sweater's worth of our own yarn---hand-grown here on the farm---from our Shetland Sheep. The yarn is worsted weight and you have a choice of color---creamy white or brown-grey (I've been corrected on this color!) Here's a pic of the two colors:

You can leave your entry here by commenting on the blog or on Ravelry under the thread in the Counting Sheep podcast group. Good luck!

Fiber Conquests

Knitting:
Sizzlin' Hot Hat continues to be stalled.......I really do love doing this colorwork, but have been trying to meet other fiber-related deadlines. The ribbing for this hat is 2- 1/2 inches and once I get past that, I can add my own creativity with fish! Stay tuned for future developments!

What HAVE I completed? The Citron Shawlette!! YAAY! This item is the January project of the "Christmas Club" I joined up with at my LYS. February's project is the Jabberwock Scarf and I've bought the yarn: Cascade Lana Bambu (79% wool, 21% viscose from bamboo) Color #2. Pattern is a free Ravelry download. I actually started this after podcasting and have some pictures---you'll see that there is a different, unique pattern on each side.

Another project I completed is the Slip Stitch Baby Blanket that I was making for a baby shower. Made the deadline on this one by the skin of my teeth. The gift was well-received by the mom-to-be. Pattern is from 60 Quick Baby Knits.

Work on the Eco Vest has stalled as well & that's because of my enrollment in WEB's Expert Knitter's Certification Program (yes, CRAZY, I know........welcome to my world!) The program consists of a curriculum of 15 core courses with 3 elective courses. Toward the end, you design your own sweater as a capstone project. This semester, I'm taking a course called: Top-Down Raglan Sweater from Measurements. The course text is Knitting from the Top by Barbara Walker which is back in print. My top-down raglan is going to be a cardigan and I'm using yarn from my stash: Cascade 220 in a lilac color (#9541)---a total departure for me!

In Crochet:
The Dusty Snowflake Throw progress has stalled as well, but, hey, I'm only human right?

I promised in the last episode to get going on some kind of crocheted garment. Well, I found one: The Swain Sweater from the Winter 2011 issue of Interweave Crochet. The design is by Megan Granholm and the technique is tunisian. Hook size is L or 11 (metric size: 8mm). The yarn is unique and probably not readily available anymore (I went stash-diving big-time on this one). Let me explain: Many moons ago when all the trouble was going on in the Balkans, the Green Mountain Spinnery teamed up with an organization called "Rainbow Socks." The "Rainbow Socks" project offered hope and income to refugee women from the Balkans through the sale of their handicrafts in the U.S. GMS produced a yarn called "For Kosovo" as a commemorative and I am the proud owner of several skeins of this yarn. I'm glad that this special yarn finally told me what it wanted to be. Ray couldn't resist being part of the picture for this one:

In spinning: Drop spinning some Cormo fiber I picked up at the New England Fiber Festival this past fall.

What's happening in the Barn and on the Farm?
Fergus antics
Due date for Sayda???
Haircut for Bentley
Hershey & Midnight have a Valentine's date
Chickens continue to be productive

Sleeping on the Job
Comittment to oneself----my comittments are yoga and walking everyday!! What are yours?

Yammer: Our Knitting Community
Until next time............