So Much to Say; So Much to DO.. and NH S&W

***To all my friends -- I'll add hyper-links later, but for now, I have taken enough time to write this dissertation and must MOVE ALONG!!***
Ok, you may want to go get some coffee, and nice snack, make sure the kids are well situated, b/c this is gonna be a Looong one.
Firstly, Saturday was the best possible day I could have imagined at NH Sheep and Wool. What a beautiful day! Sunny, warm but not hot, with just enough of a breeze to keep pesky bugs away. This was not at all a crowded event and the atmosphere was just fantastic -- friendly, peaceful, enthusiastic. I never cease to be amazed at the sharing nature of the fiber community, more interested in imparting knowledge, sharing creativity, and appreciating the talents of others than the members are of their own personal gain. I have never been involved in any organization or activity in which peope are so ego-free. (Of course, there may be the rare exception, but to my notice, they are not well tolerated, and often don't stick around long.) I was thrilled to see and visit with so many blogger and fiber friends...Julia, Cheryl, Theresa, a slew of Island Pond Spinners, the most awesome Amy and her family (could her daughters BE any more gorgeous??), my Manchvegas Peeps -- Ericka and Chris, Gina, Jackie, Lauren, Melissa (with friend and daughter), Amanda, Gigi, and, and, omg, I'm sure I am forgetting someone! Of course there was also Joanne and Marlena, who I drove to the fair and my own lovely oh-so-well-behaved children. I hadn't anticipted bringing them, but hubby got called out to work, and I am so glad they came. They really enjoyed the sights, esp. the sheep dog trials and watching Jeff Jordan shear a sheep. And we got to cover the whole festival, take in the sights, and then when daddy came to pick them up I was able to do some serious shopping without boring the heck out of the poor things.
Now, about that shopping. oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I was a bad girl. Not quite as bad a girl as I wanted to be as hubby nixed the idea of bringing home a sweet little black german hybrid angora boy for Lilah. For some reason he feels we have enough animals in the house to deal with (see the past month of posts) -- silly man. So, I had to relegate myself to items inanimate. NO YARN. Shock, I know. And I only purchased 2 varieties of fiber! I got two more batts of Crosspatch Creations in the Tammany's Prize colorway to give me a full pound for Clapotis, and some fabulous black alpaca from Sallie Fenn Alpaca's (yarn and fiber can be found locally at A Knitter's Garden, as well -- I never knew!). This is the same small farm fiber producer from which the natural cinnamon brown fiber I used first on Izzy came. I am not sure if this will be spun as a uber thin two-ply or a lace weight single, but I think it will be destined for some sort of lacy stole. I'm not a triangular shawl kinda gal -- too short and stumpy -- but I definitely can see myself in a nice black lace wrap (and who knows -- maybe hubby will get to see me in just that! oops...is this still a family show??)
I had been determined to come home with a fleece, but at each lovely I saw, I reminded myself of the 4lbs of lambswool I still have yet to wash and process, and the farm to which I will be going this following weekend to buy it out of Romney fleece. Kinda didn't need any! But what I DID need was a drum carder. Meet my new friend...

...a Strauch Petite Drum Carder. I so heart this little guy. I heart it muchly. It is dangerously addicting, and I have done some serious stash diving for all fiber unwanted, unappreciated, maybe-this-was-a-tad-bit-too-felted-after-dyeing (although in reality, probably not), found some angelina Gina had gifted me, and of course, left over BUNNY fiber and went a-crankin'. O. M. G. I love fiber batts! And these are all sooo girly. Glitzy, glittery sparkle in fabulous puffy clouds of color. Oh yeah, there will be so much more of this. The damage thus far?

From there, I have been working steadily on getting orders dye and compiled. I am thrilled to announce that my yarn will soon be offered in The Yarn Sellar in York, ME and that I am also shipping an order of kits and bags out to Woolgirl.com. I'm putting a few together for Sereknity as well, and hope to have those up soon along with a number of other bags. My amazing seamstress Kendra has come through once again with bag assembly and I am entirely indebted to her FOR LIFE. Free yarn FOREVER for her! I'll also be shipping yarn, bags, markers and fiber to One Planet and The Urban Knit, so keep checking their sites for updates. (But the batts stay with me!! hehehe)
I also dyed up a new colorway (in Falkland superwash) that I just adore. I am calling it Mystic Mountain, and have already reserved a skein for myself...


I was going to knit RibZagger socks in this skein, but I don't think I want anything quite so textured as I want them to show off the color and knit quickly. Maybe just stockinette with a simple cable? Any suggestions would be welcome.
Knitting? Ummmm, not so much. Been way to busy and crazy distracted. It is probably a very good thing that I haven't had time for this tho as when I am this crazy, I get nasty startitis. It makes no sense, I know, to start NEW things when I have so my unfinished projects, but I think when I look at a sweater or a lace sock (that still needs a match cast-on AFTER the first is finished) the unfinished is too overwhelming and the greener-yarn-on-the-other-side-of-the-stash looks so much more appealing. I do have some knitting related (a stretch, to be sure, but I can make the connection) BIG FAMILY NEWS. My cousin will soon be cuddling her new adopted daughter!! Meet Grace Marie Tierney...

And the knitting? I have selected this pattern and the lovely deep aqua GGH Goby yarn to knit as a welcome home for my new little "niece"/cousin. (The white is some Rowan Calmer I scored on a clearance table that will prob be a sweet little top from the new Interweave.)

I did do a bit of spinning over the past few weeks. I started the Tammany's Prize fiber and I am spinning this as a dk-ish single. I really like how it is coming out, although it is a bit overtwisted. I think Clapotis can handle some bias, tho, so I'm not too worried. I also on a whim spun up the lovely pick sparkle fiber I got from HollyEQQ. This is soo soft, and will probably become another Lacy Rib Hat for Rachel.



I also made a feeble attempt at a beaded yarn. Didn't like it -- it came out like crap and was a pain in the butt to do. Maybe another day, when I have more time and experience, but for now, I'm done.

Lastly, as a teaser, I just ordered up some laceweight cashmere and Zephyr wool silk for dyeing. Such lusciousness. Oh, the possibilities!
OK -- I release you now -- back to work for me. Wonder if I will actually get to shower today?