Is this not the cutest little dress EVER?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Making Progress
I've been working on the boys' ganseys, but boredom is not my friend. I am beyond bored with these sweaters. The pattern just keeps repeating, and repeating, and repeating....but they'll be beautiful when they're finally done. I keep telling myself that.
I've also chosen a sweater pattern for myself: The Flower Child by Norah Gaughan. It's so pretty yet simple. I really hope the yarn I chose will work, and I'm getting to work swatching today. I can't do more than swatch though, until the boys' sweaters are done. Oh, help! Four (make that 2 whole rust sleeves plus 4/5ths of each of two green) sleeves to go.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
How do I love thee, New Hampshire? Let me count the ways (with a side trip to MA).
1. Henniker is host to The Fiber Studio, my first stop after getting off the plane in Manchester (oh wait, I needed to get a new jack for my GPS, so I did have one previous stop at a terrible big box discount store). There I fell in love with Island Cotton yarn but instead bought three intoxicating skeins of 80% Mohair, 20% Raw Silk, fingering weight yarn from Abbott Angora Goats, a local family farm. There's a photo of Bonnie the goat on the band!
2. Antrim, where Chris & Cindy live is a great little town, home of Bakery 42. Chris is Andrew's (DH's) brother, and Cindy is Chris's wife and a good friend. Bakery 42 is Cindy's bakery, and it's a great place to stop for breakfast, bread, snacks, and fancy cakes. Why 42? It's the answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything" according to supercomputer Deep Thought from Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (a trilogy in four parts) by Douglas Adams. I railed against reading those books because Sci-Fi is not really my thing, but they were very fun reads. My second stop after getting off the plane in Manchester was Bakery 42. The next day I went back to Antrim to visit the Wool Room at Meadowbrook Farm, a lovely shop run by Anne Hennessy. Anne has taught many locals to spin and knit, and is a font of fibery information. There I bought a locally-handmade deer-antler orifice hook:
for my spinning and a pair of fair-trade knitting needles from Joint Venture Knitting Needles: a "product of U.S. and Russian Cooperation" distributed by Peace Fleece (more on them later). The balls are milled in Maine, the Birch dowels are milled in Lithuania, and painted and assembled by artists in Russia.
3. Peterborough is a slightly larger town, and is where I discovered the Best Yogurt in the World at Roy's Market on Main Street. I wish I could remember what brand it is, because I'd beg my local grocery to see if they could get it. It's like eating cream (with real fruit & nuts) with a spoon. Heavenly. It's the home of Mariposa Museum, a museum dedicated to world culture & cultural arts. Cook's Complements is a great little kitchen store on Main Street. Sharon Arts Center is an art gallery and store. I got Andrew a pair of alpaca socks at Sharon Arts. They had all sorts of textiles for sale there, as well as sculpture, furnishings, photography & art prints, art supplies, jewelry, and more. This chair
sits right by the front door. For about $8,000 you can have it. I was informed that it's featured in a book, but I can't remember which one. I love it but decided to let someone else buy it. Joseph's Coat is a fair-trade retailer where I bought this dress:
made by Marketplace in India, an apron like this apron made in Guatamala by UPAVIM, some finger puppers for the boys, and a wine-stopper for Chris & Cindy, who were playing hosts to various members of my family at random intervals during the time we were in NH. The apron will make its debut at one of the fiber festivals Earthly Hues is doing this year. Harlow's Pub has Smuttynose Shoal's Pale Ale on tap, and has great soup, sandwiches, and Bangers & Mash. the Toadstool Bookshop (host to Aesop's Tables Café), a really great Diner, and lots of other great shops & restaurants. Also seen in Peterborough (so you can feel safe):
4. Dublin has a fabulous general store with great produce and fresh, ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. The proprietress, Michelle (ladybugbooo on Ravelry) has hand-dyed yarn and spinning batts. I bought a beautiful batt, which has turned into this:
Michelle also has her own sheep. Check out her Etsy shop: Happy Gnome Farm. This sign:
convinced me to stop at the General Store--you would have stopped too wouldn't you? Dublin is also the home of Yankee Magazine.
5. Keene is the home of Keene State College and tons of shops and restaurants. It has big name restaurants like Panera and Starbuck's but also has small, family-owned shops and restaurants. I didn't spend much time in Keene this trip, but I did stop at The Knitting Knook, where I bought two balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a really pretty pale celery green.
I'm thinking about knitting some socks with it. The 'Knook is a nice comfortable store on the second floor of a building housing other shops--no elevator I'm afraid but I could be wrong. The Weaving Ladies and I ate at Thai Garden one evening. The food was great, and the service was quick and pleasant. We were there on Valentine's Day actually, and it was very crowded but we were seated almost immediately. Sally, my GPS, got us lost on the way back to Harrisville though. I don't know why, but sometimes she takes it upon herself to take scenic routes.
6. Walpole is a beautiful town and a chocolate-lover's paradise. It's where you'll find L. A Burdick's chocolate shop and restaurant. The chocolate shop has hand-made, award-winning chocolates and the restaurant has fabulous Sunday brunches. This might be TMI, but one morning around Chris & Cindy's wedding, we had brunch there. Geoffrey was an infant--about 3 months old and was hungry, so I proceeded to breast-feed discreetly. A couple of the waitresses had "You go girl" types of comments and made sure I was comfortable and even brought me fresh water every five minutes. It's a really nice place run by nice people. There's also a small gourmet grocery store where I stocked up on wine, crackers, and cheese for my days in Harrisville. There's a tempting-looking used bookstore on the road from Harrisville to Walpole, but when I drove by I was on a mission to get to Burdicks, so I didn't stop. I will next time though!
7. Manchester's airport is so much better to fly in & out of than Boston Logan. I was pretty hurried when I packed to leave though (fleeing a snow-storm), and had my two carry-on bags searched. One was because a bar of extra-sharp Vermont Cheddar cheese looked like C-4 explosives, and the other was searched because I forgot to move my Leatherman tool from my purse into my checked baggage. I got to keep the cheese but the knife was, unfortunately, trashed. It has come in handy many, many times and I'll miss it. There's L. L. Bean outlet in Manchester, but I didn't visit it.
8. Harrisville is the home of Harrisville Designs and the Harrisville General Store, as well as a few other neat little places. Be sure to check out the General Store's menu if you're visiting Harrisville, it changes daily. The Store's blog is fun too-and contrary to popular belief, I now know without a doubt that Father Christmas lives in Harrisville. Check out the photos in the category "Some of my People." Seriously. The Store also carries the Best Yogurt in the World, and they have excellent breakfast & lunch fare & coffee, which is important. So, why was I in Harrisville? I was taking a weaving class titled "Beginning Weaving and Beyond." The class was taught by Tom Jipson, who's a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. Tom took up weaving 30+ years ago when he decided he wanted to have something to show for himself at the end of a day. Though he started with Navajo weaving, he's now an expert on several weaving techniques as well as color theory and he's another font of fibery information. Oddly enough, he's also a 1970 Denison University graduate--and he majored in economics. I'm a 1995 graduate (I still live in Granville, Ohio) and I majored in English Writing and Composition. The class was fabulous. I learned sooo much, including that my loom is pretty limited and that I'll probably want a more modern one once I master plain weave (tabby). We learned to measure warps, to warp the loom, we learned terminology and loom parts & types, and we learned several weaving texhniques. This was not like going to a class where your goal is a finished object, it was a class with the goal of learning the loom and learning some techniques to get started. It was a pleasure to share the experience with all the ladies in class: Linda L., Merilly, Linda R., Lucile, Ann, Paulette, Barb, . We came from several different backgrounds and all had different experiences, and it was really fun getting to know you all! It made the class go smoothly because we were all learning together and willing to help each other. The class was five days, split up into two weekends. It was an experience that I am grateful for. The class and trip were a Christmas gift from my husband, Andrew. It's the first time I've been away from the boys overnight--ever. Not once in almost 7 years have I spent a night away from the family--unless you count the two nights in the hospital after having Kevin. So, I learned that Andrew is perfectly capable of taking care of things and that it's OK for me to have fun without the kids. I missed all the boys terribly though.
Linda R. is on the board at Coggeshall Farm, a Living Museum in Bristol, RI. The farm is host to the RI Wool and Fiber Festival on May 16, 2009, so mark your calendars! She's also a certified Weaving Circle Leader for Weaving a Life. She's a very interesting lady and I'm lucky to have met her and my other cohorts!
Some highlights from Harrisville:
We got to choose from all 56 colors of Harrisville's Highland and Shetland yarns.
View from the road driving into Harrisville from MA Friday morning.
It's a beautiful town in a beautiful area.
We had a tour of the spinning mill. This machine spins the carded, ribboned wool into singles.
One of the giant carders.
This machine puts spun & plied yarn on cones.
A skeiner.
I bought the boys a little lap loom there.
My finished projects. They're a little over-fulled, because I forgot to set the washer on "delicates," but I'm so proud of how they turned out anyway!
Side trip to Massachusetts:
The Monday-Thursday in between class days were days I used to regroup and reload, and I picked up Kevin and Geoffrey in Antrim (Andrew had to go to work in NJ) and drove down to Franklin, MA to visit my Mom, Dad, and sister.
The boys and I went to the Boston Museum of Science. We got in free because we have a membership to The Works in Newark, Ohio, which is a Smithsonian Museum. It was a great day for us. Geoffrey called out quite loudly when he saw this display, "Mom! Look! It's the Horsehead Nebula!" People stared because I guess a 6-year-old isn't supposed to recognize star formations and name them?
I took a photo of the giant T-Rex (we named him Bob) wearing a very appropriately-sized scarf:
for my spinning and a pair of fair-trade knitting needles from Joint Venture Knitting Needles: a "product of U.S. and Russian Cooperation" distributed by Peace Fleece (more on them later). The balls are milled in Maine, the Birch dowels are milled in Lithuania, and painted and assembled by artists in Russia.
I also bought, on Anne's suggestion, a copy of Woolbur written by Leslie Helakoski and illustrated by Lee Harper. It's a great (sheepy-fibery-based) children's story about how individuality is great. I love it!
3. Peterborough is a slightly larger town, and is where I discovered the Best Yogurt in the World at Roy's Market on Main Street. I wish I could remember what brand it is, because I'd beg my local grocery to see if they could get it. It's like eating cream (with real fruit & nuts) with a spoon. Heavenly. It's the home of Mariposa Museum, a museum dedicated to world culture & cultural arts. Cook's Complements is a great little kitchen store on Main Street. Sharon Arts Center is an art gallery and store. I got Andrew a pair of alpaca socks at Sharon Arts. They had all sorts of textiles for sale there, as well as sculpture, furnishings, photography & art prints, art supplies, jewelry, and more. This chair
sits right by the front door. For about $8,000 you can have it. I was informed that it's featured in a book, but I can't remember which one. I love it but decided to let someone else buy it. Joseph's Coat is a fair-trade retailer where I bought this dress:
made by Marketplace in India, an apron like this apron made in Guatamala by UPAVIM, some finger puppers for the boys, and a wine-stopper for Chris & Cindy, who were playing hosts to various members of my family at random intervals during the time we were in NH. The apron will make its debut at one of the fiber festivals Earthly Hues is doing this year. Harlow's Pub has Smuttynose Shoal's Pale Ale on tap, and has great soup, sandwiches, and Bangers & Mash. the Toadstool Bookshop (host to Aesop's Tables Café), a really great Diner, and lots of other great shops & restaurants. Also seen in Peterborough (so you can feel safe):
4. Dublin has a fabulous general store with great produce and fresh, ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. The proprietress, Michelle (ladybugbooo on Ravelry) has hand-dyed yarn and spinning batts. I bought a beautiful batt, which has turned into this:
Michelle also has her own sheep. Check out her Etsy shop: Happy Gnome Farm. This sign:
convinced me to stop at the General Store--you would have stopped too wouldn't you? Dublin is also the home of Yankee Magazine.
5. Keene is the home of Keene State College and tons of shops and restaurants. It has big name restaurants like Panera and Starbuck's but also has small, family-owned shops and restaurants. I didn't spend much time in Keene this trip, but I did stop at The Knitting Knook, where I bought two balls of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in a really pretty pale celery green.
I'm thinking about knitting some socks with it. The 'Knook is a nice comfortable store on the second floor of a building housing other shops--no elevator I'm afraid but I could be wrong. The Weaving Ladies and I ate at Thai Garden one evening. The food was great, and the service was quick and pleasant. We were there on Valentine's Day actually, and it was very crowded but we were seated almost immediately. Sally, my GPS, got us lost on the way back to Harrisville though. I don't know why, but sometimes she takes it upon herself to take scenic routes.
6. Walpole is a beautiful town and a chocolate-lover's paradise. It's where you'll find L. A Burdick's chocolate shop and restaurant. The chocolate shop has hand-made, award-winning chocolates and the restaurant has fabulous Sunday brunches. This might be TMI, but one morning around Chris & Cindy's wedding, we had brunch there. Geoffrey was an infant--about 3 months old and was hungry, so I proceeded to breast-feed discreetly. A couple of the waitresses had "You go girl" types of comments and made sure I was comfortable and even brought me fresh water every five minutes. It's a really nice place run by nice people. There's also a small gourmet grocery store where I stocked up on wine, crackers, and cheese for my days in Harrisville. There's a tempting-looking used bookstore on the road from Harrisville to Walpole, but when I drove by I was on a mission to get to Burdicks, so I didn't stop. I will next time though!
7. Manchester's airport is so much better to fly in & out of than Boston Logan. I was pretty hurried when I packed to leave though (fleeing a snow-storm), and had my two carry-on bags searched. One was because a bar of extra-sharp Vermont Cheddar cheese looked like C-4 explosives, and the other was searched because I forgot to move my Leatherman tool from my purse into my checked baggage. I got to keep the cheese but the knife was, unfortunately, trashed. It has come in handy many, many times and I'll miss it. There's L. L. Bean outlet in Manchester, but I didn't visit it.
8. Harrisville is the home of Harrisville Designs and the Harrisville General Store, as well as a few other neat little places. Be sure to check out the General Store's menu if you're visiting Harrisville, it changes daily. The Store's blog is fun too-and contrary to popular belief, I now know without a doubt that Father Christmas lives in Harrisville. Check out the photos in the category "Some of my People." Seriously. The Store also carries the Best Yogurt in the World, and they have excellent breakfast & lunch fare & coffee, which is important. So, why was I in Harrisville? I was taking a weaving class titled "Beginning Weaving and Beyond." The class was taught by Tom Jipson, who's a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. Tom took up weaving 30+ years ago when he decided he wanted to have something to show for himself at the end of a day. Though he started with Navajo weaving, he's now an expert on several weaving techniques as well as color theory and he's another font of fibery information. Oddly enough, he's also a 1970 Denison University graduate--and he majored in economics. I'm a 1995 graduate (I still live in Granville, Ohio) and I majored in English Writing and Composition. The class was fabulous. I learned sooo much, including that my loom is pretty limited and that I'll probably want a more modern one once I master plain weave (tabby). We learned to measure warps, to warp the loom, we learned terminology and loom parts & types, and we learned several weaving texhniques. This was not like going to a class where your goal is a finished object, it was a class with the goal of learning the loom and learning some techniques to get started. It was a pleasure to share the experience with all the ladies in class: Linda L., Merilly, Linda R., Lucile, Ann, Paulette, Barb, . We came from several different backgrounds and all had different experiences, and it was really fun getting to know you all! It made the class go smoothly because we were all learning together and willing to help each other. The class was five days, split up into two weekends. It was an experience that I am grateful for. The class and trip were a Christmas gift from my husband, Andrew. It's the first time I've been away from the boys overnight--ever. Not once in almost 7 years have I spent a night away from the family--unless you count the two nights in the hospital after having Kevin. So, I learned that Andrew is perfectly capable of taking care of things and that it's OK for me to have fun without the kids. I missed all the boys terribly though.
Linda R. is on the board at Coggeshall Farm, a Living Museum in Bristol, RI. The farm is host to the RI Wool and Fiber Festival on May 16, 2009, so mark your calendars! She's also a certified Weaving Circle Leader for Weaving a Life. She's a very interesting lady and I'm lucky to have met her and my other cohorts!
Some highlights from Harrisville:
My first warp.
Second warp: twills.
Third warp: Huck Lace & Summer & Winter.
Second warp: twills.
Third warp: Huck Lace & Summer & Winter.
We got to choose from all 56 colors of Harrisville's Highland and Shetland yarns.
View from the road driving into Harrisville from MA Friday morning.
It's a beautiful town in a beautiful area.
We had a tour of the spinning mill. This machine spins the carded, ribboned wool into singles.
One of the giant carders.
This machine puts spun & plied yarn on cones.
A skeiner.
I bought the boys a little lap loom there.
My finished projects. They're a little over-fulled, because I forgot to set the washer on "delicates," but I'm so proud of how they turned out anyway!
I also bought a warping reel at Harrisville, and a few books as well. One great thing about it is that class participants get 10% off everything (including looms) while taking a class.
Side trip to Massachusetts:
The Monday-Thursday in between class days were days I used to regroup and reload, and I picked up Kevin and Geoffrey in Antrim (Andrew had to go to work in NJ) and drove down to Franklin, MA to visit my Mom, Dad, and sister.
The boys and I went to the Boston Museum of Science. We got in free because we have a membership to The Works in Newark, Ohio, which is a Smithsonian Museum. It was a great day for us. Geoffrey called out quite loudly when he saw this display, "Mom! Look! It's the Horsehead Nebula!" People stared because I guess a 6-year-old isn't supposed to recognize star formations and name them?
I took a photo of the giant T-Rex (we named him Bob) wearing a very appropriately-sized scarf:
Mom and I dragged the boys to Webs in Northampton, MA one day. It was there I bought the double roach clip Fringe Twister by LeClerc, which is used to twist fringe (not to smoke two roaches--sillies). I also bought some fiddly bits and a couple of fun cards. I also got enough Ella Rae 70% Bamboo, 30% Silk blend yarn in "Apple" (another pale celery green) to make a summery sweater of some kind:
I picked up a copy of Shuttle, Spindle, & Dyepot, which prompted me to join HGA, the Handweaver's Guild of America. Mom and I would like to go back to Northampton when the weather's better (warmer) so we can walk around town and visit all the artsy shops and galleries. At Webs I met Ashley from Artmeisia Ink Studio Arts. She has very cool handspun yarns in her Etsy shop. She also has a fun blog.
Another day the boys and I took a little trip to a favorite used bookstore: The Shire Bookshop. I purchased a couple of books for the boys and some older weaving and craft books. While there, we visited another great store: The Franklin Mill Store. While there I got the boys a couple arts & crafts supplies but didn't buy any more yarn. Why? Don't know...I think it had to do with the boys being very, very, very rambunctious.
New Key to Weaving, Traditional American Crafts, and Weaving were used bookstore scores. The Harrisville binder is a color sample book for Harrisville yarns, Factory Under the Elms is a history of the town of Harrisville & Harrisville Designs, which I got at the weaving/yarn store, and Woolworks! Is an elementary/middle/intermediate-school wool/fiber curriculum written by Lorna McMaster for Harrisville Designs. I hope to use it to get my boys interested in wool.
I did a lot of reading while I was away. Seeing the movie "Defiance" reawakened my affinity for WWII-era novels and human-interest stories, both fiction and non-fiction. So it's not exactly "light" reading.
The most eye-opening was that little book on the top: Auschwitz by Sybille Steinbacher. So, for entertainment between stories of destruction, death, and despair, I read this:
It was a really, really great trip but we're really, really glad to be home. There's something about being surrounded by my own stuff and my own people (and Zinny Dog) that makes me feel happy and at ease. It's bloody cold here, but we've got the pellet stove running and I've got all sorts of planning to do for the garden and for Earthly Hues' fiber shows coming up. Spring will be here soon, and there will be new inspiration for colors--it'll also be easier to go to the dye studio and dye when it's warmer!
I picked up a copy of Shuttle, Spindle, & Dyepot, which prompted me to join HGA, the Handweaver's Guild of America. Mom and I would like to go back to Northampton when the weather's better (warmer) so we can walk around town and visit all the artsy shops and galleries. At Webs I met Ashley from Artmeisia Ink Studio Arts. She has very cool handspun yarns in her Etsy shop. She also has a fun blog.
Another day the boys and I took a little trip to a favorite used bookstore: The Shire Bookshop. I purchased a couple of books for the boys and some older weaving and craft books. While there, we visited another great store: The Franklin Mill Store. While there I got the boys a couple arts & crafts supplies but didn't buy any more yarn. Why? Don't know...I think it had to do with the boys being very, very, very rambunctious.
New Key to Weaving, Traditional American Crafts, and Weaving were used bookstore scores. The Harrisville binder is a color sample book for Harrisville yarns, Factory Under the Elms is a history of the town of Harrisville & Harrisville Designs, which I got at the weaving/yarn store, and Woolworks! Is an elementary/middle/intermediate-school wool/fiber curriculum written by Lorna McMaster for Harrisville Designs. I hope to use it to get my boys interested in wool.
I did a lot of reading while I was away. Seeing the movie "Defiance" reawakened my affinity for WWII-era novels and human-interest stories, both fiction and non-fiction. So it's not exactly "light" reading.
The most eye-opening was that little book on the top: Auschwitz by Sybille Steinbacher. So, for entertainment between stories of destruction, death, and despair, I read this:
It's a hilarious read. All true stories of loony-bin rulers of the world.
It was a really, really great trip but we're really, really glad to be home. There's something about being surrounded by my own stuff and my own people (and Zinny Dog) that makes me feel happy and at ease. It's bloody cold here, but we've got the pellet stove running and I've got all sorts of planning to do for the garden and for Earthly Hues' fiber shows coming up. Spring will be here soon, and there will be new inspiration for colors--it'll also be easier to go to the dye studio and dye when it's warmer!
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