Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A Little Bit of This and That

YCrochetY

Two beautiful hanks of hand spun yarn by my friend Mary are quickly transforming into a Seraphina Shawl. I love how well this pattern is showing off the various shades of blues and greens. I wish I'd been able to show just how brilliant the colors are. It is such an adventure to do a large project from hand spun. Before this the largest was a hat! I hope Mary likes it!


YSpinning - Tour de FleeceY


First mission accomplished...the four ounces of Shetland wool have been spun and are patiently awaiting plying. What they will become ultimately depends on how much yardage/weight I end up with. I'm thinking of making this into a three ply...

Then I went searching in my project bags for another UFO and came up with this. I haven't spun on this style spindle in some time and found it a pleasant change of pace from the Turkish I was using. Lesson learned. Have more than one spinning project going and have them on different style spindles. Fun! Oh...the fiber is Colonial wool and the spindle is from Zebisis.


YShopping - Chain Link ConferenceY

The CGOA Conference was held in Manchester, NH this past weekend. I wasn't tempted by any of the classes this year, but decided it was worth the trip to poke around in the marketplace. This was especially true when I heard that MissBabs was going to be there! Yes, those two lovely braids of fiber on the right are from her booth (left = BFL in Lake Michigan right = 50 Merino/30 Bamboo/20 Tussah Silk in Falling Leaves). Goal achieved!

I spent a few hours taking in the fibery fumes and enjoying all the lovely temptations. I managed to escape with just one more purchase. The beautiful purple and blue skein of sock yarn, much more vivid and deeper in color in real life, that jumped into my basket in the Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm booth along with a cloissonne stitch marker which is on the Seraphina at the moment. I left well satisfied that the trip had been worth the effort. Storing away ideas for the future!

YBaking - Celebrating Independence DayY

I hope everyone in the USA enjoyed their Independence Day celebrations! Mine was spent in the traditional manner of a BBQ surrounded by friends. My contribution was the dessert above. Several people had recommended these cookies made from a lemon cake mix. It was the first time I've ever rolled cookies in powdered sugar before baking. I love how they look all crackled and powdery. Were they good? Yes, but a bit sweet for me. I think next time I might try a tart lemon glaze made from the powdered sugar. My mouth waters just thinking about it!

Happy stitching, spinning, shopping, and celebrating one and all!

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