Black Sheep Gathering

No, it's not a meeting of disgraced family members. It's a fiber festival here in the Pacific Northwest. I'm off to work a few booths and fondle lots of yarn and fiber. I get to use my spinning wheel for "work"......gotta love that.

Lots of pics from Black Sheep Gathering and WWKIP day to follow soon. If you'll be in Eugene for the fiber festival this weekend, look for me at either the Stitchjones booth with the fabulous Sharon or at the Carolina Homespun booth with the wonderful Morgaine.

Nothing In Particular

Yep, that's right.......haven't posted in over a month and still don't have a particular focus or point to this post.  I'll just wing it. 

Hmmm, what's new.  Let's see.  My children are turning shades of brown with all the playing in the sunshine.  We've been going to the fountains and setting up sprinklers for their amusement. One of their favorite places to go is Jamison Fountain.  They can't get enough of the place. 

Even the walk back to the car was fun......

......and scenic.

All in all a very enjoyable day!

On the knitting front, I've got a couple of secret projects that can't be mentioned for a few months (very cool stuff, I must say).  Also, there are two patterns of my own that I will self publish with in the next few weeks.  Plus, I'm really looking forward to WWKIP Day.  One of my patterns will be included in the goodie bags for our local WWKIP event in Hillsboro.  After that Black Sheep Gathering is on the horizon.  This will be my first year attending and I'm really looking forward it.  Plus, I will work the vendor booth for Carolina Homespun thanks to the wonderful Morgaine.   Lots and lots to keep me busy!

Knock, knock, knock.....

.....yes, the lights are on and there is indeed someone home.

It's been a bit of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" around the Digit household lately. Suffice it so say that life/the universe/whatever gave us a little kick in the pants recently and we've been making the needed adjustments here at home. Luckily, the four of us here in the Digit household are, for the most part, healthy again. A few sniffles here and there but nothing like the last couple of months.

I could go over a long laundry list of things that have been going on but no. Look at these pretty pics of our garden instead.

We also got our veggies planted as evidenced below.

We've got Walla Walla Onions, a Northwest variety of garlic, Hood strawberries, a variety of lettuce and a few herbs.  We also planted some seeds for tomatoes, sweet peas (just for flowers) and a funny French type of carrot that is a little round globe instead of the normal long tapered variety.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the rather brazen squirrel in my yard will stop digging up the soil.  I've already secured my title as "crazy neighbor" after I screamed semi-obscenties (my daughter was present otherwise I would have gone for the full f-word variety) at the afore-mentioned squirrel when I found him digging around in the onions.  The squirrel merely looked up, finished his/her digging and then jumped to the dogwood tree as I finally got close enough to throw something.  

On a more enjoyable note, the Incredible Digit Girl and I attended the yearly Beaverton Women's Club Tea.  Dear friends of ours are related to the organizers and we always get invited to join their table.  It's a fun event with dozens of raffle prizes.  The best part is that each year the funds are applied to a scholarship that is awarded to a woman in the local community.  The recipient this year is a single mom with two small children.  With her scholarship she is completing a micro-electrical engineering degree.  Who knew that eating tea sandwiches and chocolate could help someone support their family?   There was also a very enjoyable speaker, Leigh Anne Jasheway-Bryant.  She is a writer of stress management books and also teaches related courses.  Bascially, though, she is just hilarious!  

Finally, since the law states that I must feed my children, I'm off to make lunch.  Enjoy your day wherever you are :-) !!

I Hate the Flu

This is all I have to say to my germs.  "Aloha.......Aloha, HARD!"

(Sorry, couldn't get around the auto commercial that plays at the beginning.)

I Sheared A Dog (and other firsts)

Yes, that's right. I sheared a dog. A cute little poodle named Jack. His mommy Carissa, better known as the proprietor of The Cupcake Factory, had been curious about using his furry coat for spinning. My contribution to the experiment was to offer my clipper set to the project.  Notice how springy and fluffy his "hair" is on top of his head. 

That is what he looked like all over until we did this:

Luckily, Jack's got plenty of fluff left to keep him warm and Carissa has plenty to experiment with as evidenced by the bag below.  

But the main reason I was there was to pick up the 3.7 pound Alpaca fleece that I purchased.  

It's a beautiful multi-colored fleece that I'm processing a few different ways (another first!).  I separated one pound each of the dark brown and the lighter "apricot" shade.  Those two pounds are going to Fantasy Fibers for professional, machine processing.  The remaining 1.7 pounds is going to be hand-processed by me - plenty to practice.  I've already done a little under 100 grams myself and I'm really happy with how it came out.  I got most of the guard hairs out and it has spun up really soft.  Yeah!

Speaking of Alpaca, I found some dyed Alpaca fiber in the most unlikely place....Cost Plus World Market!  I should admit it was the Incredible Digit Girl who first spotted it.  We were wandering through the store when my daughter said, "Look, Mommy, fiber!".  How cool is  my kid!    

What a deal!  I got ten different colors of hand-dyed alpaca for $12.99.  This was definitely the first time I found spinning fiber at a retail home decor store.  It may be a very temporary item, though.  I could not find it listed on their website to post a link :-( .

And, last but certainly not least, is my most exciting first.  The current issue of the KnitPicks catalog has two original designs by yours truly.  

The first is the Arrow Knee Sock which is a lace-y sock pattern in KnitPicks Gloss yarn which is a merino/silk blend that is very soft and has a lovely sheen.  

The second is the Dellarobbia Legwarmer in KnitPicks Swish DK yarn ... a soft and squishy merino yarn that I really enjoy using.   This pattern also has an optional foot section to make the legwarmer into a warm and comfortable knee sock.  Perfect for cold winter days.  

Many thanks to K & K (you know who you are) for giving me the opportunity to design these two patterns!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Weather Report......

......courtesy of the Incredible Digit Girl. I couldn't help myself.  I thought it was quite poetic for a six-year-old.  I'm her mom...I get to brag.