Lavender Festival 2011

A few moments from the 2011 lavender festival in Yamhill.

We visited 4 farms - Wild Rain Farm, Willakenzie Lavender, Red Ridge Farms and Mountainside Lavender Farm. And we also spent most of the morning at the Yamhill Festival shopping at the Plein Air Artisan market.

 

 

My goodies:

Olive oil and Passion fruit vinegar from Red Ridge Farms

Late Harvest Riesling from Sokol Blosser winery

Lavender Honey (can be found at all the farms)

Lavender bunches and a dram of lavender essential oil from Mountainside Lavender Farm

I bought the Blue collage art and turtle print from Magda Moor

I bought another sea turtle print and a mini sunflower oil painting by Megan Turner-Baxter (Art By MTB on Etsy).  Not pictured because she had to send them to me.

Tea Time

Hazel is having fun playing with the teapot that she got for Christmas.  I taught her how to pour a cup of tea and how to "eat" the little treats that came with the set.  She doesn't quite have the "pinkie out" while drinking down yet, but we're working on it!

I also got a tea set!  Except mine doesn't talk, or come with a teapot.  It was at Starbucks and discounted (yay), and I've been eyeing it since November.  I bought some Jasmine tea pearls, because that is my favorite.  And every afternoon I've enjoyed some tea while I knit or crochet, it's perfect!  I'm loving the little red one the most.

Rosy Little Kits

Check out the goodies I've been getting in the mail! Two handmade ornament kits from Posie Gets Cozy! I've had my eye on them for the last three years Alicia Paulson has been making them, and I finally decided to order a couple. She comes out with a new one each year and they are simply adorable! She sells the patterns as a pdf file as well, but the kits help get you going and the quality of the supplies she sends is really nice. They don't look or feel cheap at all!



I spent last night watching Letters to Juliet and making this tree.  I was glad that I had something to do while watching the movie, because it was not as good as I expected it to be.



These pictures don't do it justice, because it's prettier, sparklier and better looking in person.

I blame the camera. The camera I normally use (Canon Rebel T2i DSLR) had an error and I ended up sending it back to Canon to be fixed, so I'm using our old Olympus Stylus 1010 and it is just not the same quality. Hopefully my camera will be back next week so I will have it for Thanksgiving weekend!

Oregon Flock and Fiber 2010

My favorite festival of the year - OFFF! I look forward to it all year long and tout the awesomeness to anyone who will listen! Of course, it didn't beat Sock Summit 09, but I doubt anything could beat that, so this is the next best thing.

Just look at all the animals! Rabbits, sheep, goats, alpacas! And the Sheep (not sheet) cake makes another appearance ;) Hazel had a great time visiting all the animals. I think she was a bit scared of rams though, apparently one came too close to the fence and she backed away.



"The Delights" got back together and we have a new member! Kathy bought a spindle on Saturday and we were teaching her how to use it.

Hazel Rose was reunited with Hazel of Hazel Rose Looms and even modeled a toddler dress designed for HRLs.

The PDXKnitbloggers and the Portland Spinnerati had premium tent space on the lawn, to hang out, chat and knit/spin while we enjoyed all that OFFF had to Offfer!




I went a little overboard on the fiber from Knitted Wit! I couldn't help it! 50% off and "make a deal" are hard to resist - 3 merino bumps, 1 bfl, 1 m/t and 1 m/b. I also came home with some Pico Accuardi dyed falkland and a 4oz fiber exploration kit. Adult Mohair locks from Willow Creek Farm, some Angelina and dyed Tussah from a booth in the 4h building, a doffer from Duncan Carders, and 2oz Baby Camel/Silk, Firestar and silk noil from Hokulani Farms. I found the cutest "got wool" pin from woodland woolworks too!  Did I mention it was my birthday weekend?

Oops! I didn't even mention the goat cheese making class that I took Saturday morning!  The class was taught by Tammy S. Paul of Two Track Farm We learned how to make fresh Ricotta, Chevre and Feta!  It was all really delicious, and seemed simple to make, so I just need a couple of supplies and I'll be off and running!  I think everyone in my knitting/spinning groups are anxiously awaiting to taste the cheese I make and possibly learn to make it too!  I promise that will happen, but I want to try it first and see if it's as good as the instructor's!

WWSIP Day 2010

It's come around again, World Wide Spin In Public Day! It seems like last year's event was just yesterday! How did a whole year go by?? I got a little more spinning done today than I did last year, so that's an accomplishment! But I probably spun only a half ounce of fiber. I worked on a Merino/Tencel roving from the Knitted Wit. I had brought more fiber with a pipe dream of getting more done, and a drop spindle for spinning the sample fiber from the goody bag. Oh well. I got a lot of chatting done with my friends and occasionally with someone passing by. This event really got the public's interest! We were at the end of the farmer's market, so I didn't think we would get a lot of people, but we really did! From little kids, to the eldery to dogs dragging their owners in! A nice man even brought us cupcakes from a local vendor! Cool!! Christine from Upstream Alpacas came with a bin of fiber! She included a coupon in our goody bag and once I felt her baby alpaca roving, I had to by some! I bought 4 oz of her Pacific Dusk colorway - it's blue, pink and purple dyed over a grey alpaca roving! I also won a door prize! The table was full of fun prizes to pick from and I walked away with the "101 Designer One Skein Wonders" book (I think Gail donated it, so Thanks Gail!)

Unfortunately I didn't get any pix of myself this year, except this one! And LeeLoo is taking up most of the frame.



So, I hope Tami posts a couple on her blog.


Check out my awesome goody bag - it was stuffed to the brim with fiber samples from local fiber artists and other fun things:



Handmade pink flamingo bag (probably made just for me ;) ) from Duffy
Raw alpaca fiber from the Cupcake Factory
Merino/Silk from Dicentra Designs and a coupon for Cindy's new shop donated by Cindy of Urban Fiber Arts
BFL, a pencil and a coupon from Knitted Wit
Merino from Stitch Jones
Corriedale, a pin, and a coupon from Pico Accuardi Dyeworks
Baby Alpaca and a coupon from Upstream Alpacas
BFL from Rogue Adventures
A generous sample of Rosemary Spearmint soap from Peace of Soap Company
A Handmade i-cord distaff made by me!

Seattle Extras

So, my last post had nothing crafty in it, and I did want to share a few things.

Here I am, working on a test knit shawl for Michelle (of PDX Knitterati). I found a few moments on our trail hike to sit and enjoy the nice weather and the negative ions from the water. I'm wearing my Travelling Woman shawl (in case you were wondering)


Something I've been making for people lately - Crochet Bracelets. I made them for bday presents and for a spinning swap that I recently participated in. They are really simple to make - I used 26 gauge colored wire, beads, a size J metal crochet hook and a magnetic clasp. You can check out in Debbie Stoller's "The Happy Hooker" for the pattern I used :) I am sorry to say that I have not been photographing them, because I make them and the next day give them away, and then say, "DARN! I should have taken a picture!" So, here you go, I took one with my cell phone just to say I have a picture of one! This one may end up being gifted as well, because I think I may be allergic to the metal. I was wearing it for a little while and my arm started to itch where the bracelet was. Grr :(



Bead purchases from Shipwreck! I bought the 6/0 beads for the above mentioned shawl, some swarovski crystals, blue-green stars, two boxes of mixed beads in turquoise and purple, a few turtle charms and some Bails (for a project coming soon! well for Christmas, so probably wont post about that for a long time yet).  You can click on the picture to see the beads in better detail.

Black Sheep Gathering!

As you may remember, I was in labor last year during the BSG and did not get to attend. I think I made up for it this year though! Check out all the fiber I got!


1 Jenkins Kuchulu spindle in borneo rosewood with a redheart shaft
1 (huge) Alpaca/Wool batt from Superior Fibers
1 mystery batt from Fantasy Fibers
2 bags of assorted Wolf Creek Wools fiber from Sweet Grass Wool
1 handpainted roving from StitchJones (that I actually bought before the show, but I’m counting it anyway)
a goody bag from the Knitmore Girls podcast


Before we even got through the parking lot, I ran into my friends Jamie and Blas who own Urban Fauna Studio They drove up from San Fran for a speaking engagement, and made a side trip to BSG.

Once inside, I headed straight to Stitch Jones' booth to say hi to my friend Sharon. Then the shopping began! My mom and I each got a bottle of hand lotion at Lost Valley Alpacas in Sweet Peaches. At Fantasy Fibers, I snatched up one of the last mystery batts they had in stock. Across the way at Crown Mtn Fibers there was a Knitmore Girls podcast meetup. I have been friends with Jasmin and Gigi since Stitches West last year and they love seeing Hazel!

After the first hour (which seemed like 10 minutes to me) my mom, Owen and Hazel took off to find lunch, leaving me to shop. I met up with Cindy, and she and I enabled each other into getting the mini Jenkens spindles and then she enabled me into getting some fiber from the Sweet Grass Wool.

Again I time warped another hour and the four of us found a park in Eugene to have our TJ's picnic lunch.

Then it was back to the BSG, but this time we focused on meeting the animals. Ohh, was Hazel enjoying this. She got a kiss from a Shetland Sheep, and she got to see cute Pygoras, BFLs and Romneys. Not to mention the Alpacas in the the Alpaca barn! She used her new walking skills to lead us from stall to stall. On the way to the Alpacas we ran into Lisa (slumpyfumbler on Ravelry) and she enabled me to get the HUGE batt from Superior Fibers.

Before we knew it, it was time for the market to close and for us to head home. I am beat!

Maui yarns

If there was yarn on this island, I was going to find it. Locally dyed here on Maui. 

Colorways:
Is a green sea turtle really green and whale watching. 

Vanna Overload

What can I say??? It's hard to pass up a sale on yarn!!

It started last week when I bought a couple of colors to crochet a TMNT for my cousin (incidentally, he asked for it last year...). Then I needed to get one more color for the body and all of a sudden all this Vanna's Choice jumped into my basket!! Really, what I did here was plan ahead for some projects that I want to make out of the Itty Bitty Toys book that I'm getting. I want to make the turtle/frog toy and the dress up dolly. Also, after working with the yarn I've decided that I like it a whole lot better for making amigurumi than Red Heart. So, I stocked up on different colors since it was on sale.

Spinning App!

Do you have an iPhone or iPod Touch? Are you a spinner? If so, you NEED the iSpin Toolkit app! There are so many great features in this handy, user-friendly app. Each tool on this app has instructions on how to use it, what the calculation is for and why it is helpful to use it while you are spinning.

My favorite feature is the WPI gauge. I have yet to find one that is so easy to use, and there is even a chart with the standardized yarn weight to compare your yarn to!

Another great feature on this app is the calculators, there are 13!! With all of the calculators, it will be easy to replicate your yarn if you run out and need to spin more! The calculator I can see myself using ALL THE TIME will be the niddy noddy calculator (it even remembers your niddy noddy length!) It is so convenient to have!

With all of the great features of this app and having it handy on my iPod Touch I can see myself becoming a better spinner!!

New Moon

I'm down with the kids!

Oregon Heritage Farms

The weather has done a 180 here, from inches of rain yesterday to blue sky and sun today! We made use of the clear weather to head out to our favorite Apple farm - Oregon Heritage Farm . When Hazel is a little older, she can jump in the inflated apple and go on hay rides, but this year we just posed on the trailer.








No trip is complete without a caramel apple, buying some honey crisps and 2 gallons of their fabulous cider!

Hazel Rose Looms

How cool is it, that there is a company out there with the same name as my baby girl?? I first found out about Hazel Rose Looms back in March when I was at Camp Pluckyfluff. Urban Fauna Studio carried them in their store and I knew I had to have one. During Sock Summit I purchaced the 4" multi loom and I've had fun making coasters with my handspun left overs. I gave those to my friend as a housewarming present. I was delighted to find out from my friend Kathy that Hazel Rose Looms would be at OFFF. Of course, I had to take my Hazel Rose to meet them.


This is Hazel, Hazel Rose and Rose.


Checking out the looms


Look at all the shapes!!


I did add to my collection and bought a 2" multi Loom and a small pick for straightening the wefts. ( I also bought 2 oz of Border Leicester locks dyed blue and purple from Baabaara's Handspun a table I found out in the sheep barn)

Oregon Flock and Fiber 09 - Day 1

OFFF in a nutshell: I bought way too many pretty things, met FRANKLIN HABIT! (and may or may not have gone fangirl on him), created a new spindle group called "The Delights", spent all day spinning on my new spindle and made a few yards of yarn, hung out with all my PDXKB and PDXSpinerati peeps, did not knit a stitch, and did not see any of the animals.


First thing after Angela and I got there was buy a Jenkins Turkish Delight drop spindle!


I did a self portrait and kinneared Franklin Habit at the same time! Cindy did take an actual picture with me and Franklin together, but I'll have to wait for her to post it on her blog. I'm going to see him give a talk on Monday, so I did not hog too much of his time.


Me and Michele spinning on our Turkish Delights



Tami took this picture of "The Delights": Tammy, me, Michele, Duffy, and Leila
I inspired Tammy to get a TD spindle, Michele inspired me and Leila inspired Michele (see this chain reaction thing going on?) Duffy is an honorary member with her top whirl spindle.


My purchases:
Pink BFL and pastel Merino/Tencel from Knitted Wit
10oz of BFL (the blue/green pink) from Dicentra
Turkish Delight drop spindle from Carolina Homespun
A rare gem and a skein of silkie and a pattern from Blue Moon
1oz of white pygora (Cody) from Foggybottom Farms

Sock Summit: Day 4

Well, Sock Summit 2009 is officially over :( I don't know what to do with my time anymore, I've spent 5 days down at the convention center making so many memories with my friends! I guess I should get back to taking care of my baby (who turned 7 weeks old today!) who missed me terribly every day I was gone. I guess my wallet will be happy that ss09 is over and it's a good thing that the market closed early today! I sure hope the vendors did well and would attend this event if they have one in the future, because there were some awesome treasures to be had in that marketplace.

So, today my Sidekicks sock class with Janel Laidman was cancelled, and I chose to take Carson Demer's 3 hour Ergonomics class as a substitute. I had already taken the 1 hour class on Friday, but thought there would be a lot more info in the 3 hour class since it was 2 hours longer. However, this was not the case. The information he was teaching was basically the same for both classes except the with the 3 hour class it was drawn out to cover 3 hours. I am a little disappointed in this, but I'm going to chalk it up to Buyer Beware.

After the class Angela and I got in line for the Luminary Panel. We at our Pita Pit sandwiches while waiting and finished before the doors opened, so we must have been in line for over an hour!! I don't know what to say about the whole panel discussion, except that it was well worth my time to be there. It was very interesting to get to know the women on the panel and their viewpoints. I got a little misty eyed when Barbara Walker was said that feathers developed so that birds could fly and humans need to have their hands busy so we knit :) The whole discussion was very poignant.

I only took a few photos today and they are not that great, but I'll share them anyway!

Check it out, Meg Swanson sitting next to Barbara Walker!!


Tina and Stephanie - they were a hoot up there. I sure hope they go to bed with a nice bottle of booze and sleep for the whole week, because they both need and deserve it!


Lucy Neatby and Cad Bordhi


After the panel discussion, we sang Happy Birthday to Elizabeth Zimmermann who would be 99 years old today, they even had a cake for her! They had yummy lemon bars and raspberry oatmeal bars for us! And then it was over!

Here is a great wrap-up article that sums up the whole summit!

Today's Purchases:

A skein of Silver Spoon and a shawl pattern from Kitchen Sink Dyeworks