The Fiber Side of Village Books

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

KOLOTR (Knock Out Lord of the Rings??? um no - Knitting Out Loud on the Road!)












Here we have the lovely ladies of Starcroft Fiber Mill, Leah Estell (left) & Jani Estell (right). We were very naughty in their booth, frolicking amongst the juicy yarn and calling one and all over to frolic too. A worthy Maine enterprise indeed, Starcroft uses the "fog washed' fleeces of Nash Island sheep, sheared by local women. The wool is gently washed & spun at Starcroft, then hand-dyed using colors inspired by the Nash Island landscape.
THINK WE BOUGHT ANY?
Do check out their website here and continue your support of small, local businesses. Leah & Jani also were just about the nicest folks we met, out of a whole slew of very nice people.


Now this little bit of Americana is the motel where we stayed. Kathy & I were particularly appreciative of the little bush in it's square hole, so stalwart & severely pruned. Later we realized that we had three times the space in our inexpensive room as the people down in the Freeport hotels did in their hi-falutin' ones. A bit of smugness set in, I confess.



The Old Maine, disappearing fast...


NETA Knit, Spin, Spa











Kathy is meticulous about her booth and passionate in her promotion of knitting literature via Knitting Out Loud. The three year old business is becoming well-known in fiber circles. The newest release, Wild Fibers, sold quickly. We heard some fascinating stories from the many artists who stopped by.

The handknits being modelled at every turn were extraordinary too. Here's my pick for best blend of yarn & pattern:


Although the Starcroft ladies also scored big with this pattern, the Nash Island Sweater in their Nash Island L obster Bake yarn:
And finally, my favorite thing about the whole weekend: THE FREE TABLE!!
Kathy wasn't piggish (as I was) confining herself to this lovely little Fair Isle vest:

I got TWO WHOLE BOXES of stash & magazines & needles and some strange objects. If you know what these are and can more or less prove it, you win a free knitting book from Village Books:

Comment here or email me at kjelenfy@fairpoint.net with your guess.

More soon & happy spring knitting,

Karen


3 comments:

  1. Just read the first comment and am chuckling - maybe it IS a cocoon: if so you have some mighty BIG moths. Before I got sidetracked I was going to say that I have had such balls before and was puzzled and asked around and have a vague memory of someone coming up with an answer - which I cannot now recall. They don't seem to be center pull balls - did you check - which would be my guess now as I have wound wool on a nostepinne (a Scottish oatmeal stirrer works great as one) and mine came out looking like that. What fun!

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  2. Just the way my MIL wound her yarn/cotton. I dontated them as she passed this Oct. and I'm deluged with her stash. Kinda fun to look at though.

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