New Stuff!

So it was time for the Knitting Guild of America Conference in Manchester, NH and I was READY.  Here we see a tiny bomb (knitted by my sister Kathlene) in place at a McDonald's in Augusta, Maine.

Later that same day -

A railing outside the Radisson Hotel, Manchester, NH, was hit!

Then the KNITTING OUT LOUD team got to work!  We had a great weekend!

In other news -
I'm working very hard at my spinning.  Here's my first attempt at plying two of my handspun yarns together!  The grey is hand-picked, hand-carded & hand-spun Romney, and the gold is hand-spun from merino roving I bought in NH.  Very excited about the way the gold gleams through the grey.  We see this colour range a lot in late fall in Maine.

I'm also trying to hone my designing skills.  Here's a little sample I came up with, holding two yarns together & working in stockinette.  (one commercial yarn, one my Romney). I love the way it appears to form a pattern, just because the mohair I used and the Romney both have beautiful fuzzy bloom.

Washing & drying more Romney now in the cool, fresh wind that we're being treated to here today.

More soon!

Fiber Frolic, Windsor Maine, 2010

The animals were the stars of this year's Frolic, especially the cashmere, Finn, and Angora kids, who let me hold & stroke them.  Melted my heart! Chris Leith of Eggemoggin Textile Studio was our fantastic neighbor to one side. Beautiful silks and handwovens!  I also got to meet knitting maven Mary Jane Mucklestone, a real delight. My knitting circle, The Washington Handcrafters, were out in force, doing their part to boost the economy. Congratulations to Janet Eckhard of Burkettsville, who won first place for her cashmere wristlets in the first ever Make It With Fiber in Maine contest, juried by Mary Bird of Fiber Maine-ia fame.

 During quiet moments in the Knitting Out Loud booth, Kathy & I worked at our knitting, of course!  I've gotten this far with my Shetland Nemesis shawl:

 Added 4 rows of Fair Isle just to get crazy:

 When my hands got tired, I began my search for my FF knit bomb target.  I finally settled on Golding Spindles.  This company's booth always gleams like a jewelry store.  The spindles are one of the holy grails of
handspinners - truly beautiful, functional works of art. But Seth, minding the booth alone, seemed restless during the quiet stretches.  "My duty to cheer him up", I thought.  Soooo...

Golding's cunningly designed seller's stand received a friendly decoration.  Seth was intrigued and amused.  So I taught him to knit!

Being a clever lad, he caught on right away & settled in to help with the knitting of  a future "bomb".

You may be next!

Watch for Knitting Out Loud in Manchester, NH at the Knitting Guild of America conference July 9-10.

Ode to the Festival Folk

Kathy Goldner: freezing but still cheery!

Having just gotten back from the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival in Hopkinton, NH, I'd like to devote this morning to the hardy men & women who devote their lives to freezing their asses off at these events.  These sturdy people risk their sanity month after month to bring you & me fleece & other beautiful, handmade things.  For two days, as part of the Knitting Out Loud team, I watched & listened as our neighbors patiently and winningly recited their mantras.  Generous Sue Carey of Marble Meadows, the unflaggingly cheerful Nancy Brome of Hair of the Dog, spinner & knitter deluxe Eileen McCormick of Prairie Wind and Sarah Pollock &  husband at Spinner's Warren all helped us not to slit our throats in despair and fend off the vicious wind gusts & rain in the open-ended barn to which we'd all been assigned.  (There was some brisk :) business in fingerless mitts and alpaca socks, I assure you!) Check over at the Knitting out Loud blog where I'm sure Kathy Goldner, so much more organized than I, has pictures of beautiful wool & blue noses & fingers.

Now back in Maine, where it remains in the upper 30's, I am happy to be typing in front of the woodstove.  But these heroes of the handmade nation must not go unsung!

More later... ( I yarn bombed a CHILD!)

Karen

Guerilla Knitting on the Road

 

Kennebunk, Maine Rest Stop South Rt 95

Cracker Barrel, Rt 84 just inside Massachusetts heading north again

Rest Stop Kennebunk, ME, heading north on Rt 95

Pattern used:

Cast on 34 stitches (I used size US8 single point needles) and work in K1,P1 rib for five rows.  Increase one stitch at both ends of row 6, which is knit. Purl Row 7. Continue in stockinette stitch for three more rows, ending on wrong side.  Increase one stitch at either end of Row 11, using K1, P1 rib. Row 2-5 are worked in K1, P1 rib.  Row 6: Bind off loosely in rib pattern.  Use extra yarn to sew into an open-ended cylinder.

Use bright colors!  Be happy! Spread knitted joy!

This is a quick & easy knitted coffee cup cozy that makes an excellent "pop-over" knit bomb ready-made.  You need open-ended poles to install these if you decide to sew them up prior to installation - or you can leave the piece open until bombing time. (I tend to bomb in full daylight so I favor sewing & swift placement.) These also make cute cuffs just to wear on your wrist.  Of course, anything goes yarn-wise, length-wise, width-wise etc.  Just play! Make yourself smile! Others will too!

Thanks to Knitting Out Loud  for transportation, laughs & encouragement over the past year.  If you find out where to buy Yak Butter Tea, Kathy, I'm going along for the ride!

We've Been Bombed!!

The Target













DONE!



AND THEN...

bombing "the clubhouse"!