Yarn-Along: April 27th ... Easter break and lots of driving ...

... and therefore, lots of knitting!

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~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ Ginny at small things

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We were blessed to be able to take a short road-trip down to North Carolina to visit dear friends for Easter and a few days after.  About 20 minutes from their house on Easter Sunday, our van started making a very odd, scary sound (so worrisome, I actually stopped knitting for that final stage of the drive!).  We got to the house and the men took care of the van (we got it back on Monday evening, $300 later!) while the kids played with their NC counterparts and the mom and I knitted.  Poor dear, she's pregnant with their 8th and so can't knit too long ... it makes her dizzy.  


But I got lots done.  Here's what I got done since last week:

 Two scarves in cashmere/silk/merino blend (yes, VERY luscious!) -- the top one is a gorgeous teal that I've called "The Long and Winding Road" while the lower one is a beautiful true royal blue that is called "Lapis Lazuli Lace".  Both patterns should be up by the end of the week ....

A cable sampler jacket is currently on the needles.  Knit with KP's Cadena (a wool/alpaca blend bulky) the jacket is going quickly.  The welt is a cable I "unvented" which grows into a 9-stitch braided plait with seed stitch as the ground.  I have jury-duty today and tomorrow, so I can get lots done on the jacket today!


Read-aloud?  Not so much read since it's Easter break 'round these parts!  On my nightstand, I'm just about done with Motherless ... a fiction book packed with Church teaching (and the explanations of) for all things bioethical -- end of life, abortafacients/abortions, IVF, etc.  What a great book ... I can't wait to review it!  I'm also reading Smashing WordPress to get my new website up and running -- I've got a deadline of May 1st to have it ready; next week, the yarn-along will come from there (God willing!).


How has your knitting and reading been progressing?  Don't forget to check-in over at small things and catch up with all the others as we participate in this week's yarn-along.  [Oh and do leave me comments on your reaction to my knitting ... I love comments and advice and suggestions!]

Yarn-along: March 30th ... new design and new book ....

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ Ginny at small things

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 This week's yarn-along finds us with a new design on the needles and a new book on my table.  The new design (close-up below) is a spring-shawl in a fun lacy pattern.  The yarn is fingering weight cashmere/bamboo from Spring Gate Farms (whose yarn is gorgeous -- she'll be at the Olde Liberty Fibre Faire -- as will I -- on April 16th if you want to head down for some fun and a good cause ... all proceeds from the Faire will go to area hospice!).  The idea from the shawl came from a question from Ginny ... so it's quite appropriate that it's presented here on her Yarn-Along!  

BTW, to get the nice airy look and wonderful drape, I'm using a size 8 on this yarn.  The bamboo gives the cashmere enough body to really show the stitch definition.

On the book table -- we're continuing to read-aloud the Another Whole Nother Story ... which my kids have deemed even better than the first book, A Whole Nother Story (which ranks right up there as a fabulous read-aloud).  Another one we're delving into that is great fun is M.B. Synge's A Book of Discovery -- wonderful short readings for history/geography!

In yesterday's mail, I received my newest reading book ... one for review for Thomas Nelson's Book Sneeze program.  Titled, No He Can't: How Barack Obama is dismantling hope and change, this book is written by Kevin McCullogh and details not just how Mr. Obama's administration is taking away our hope and changing what is good, but also gives suggestions on how to stop the hemorrhaging in economics, national security, human rights and accountability.  I went to bed at 8:30 last night so I could get reading this one!  It is really good.

Won't you join the yarn-along.  Check out Ginny's post and add your own link.  And let me know what you think about the burgeoning design by adding a comment at the bottom of this post!

Off to read and knit before the squidges get up!

 

Yarn-along: January 26th edition ....

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ from Ginny's blog, small things

Can I just say that I love these "yarn-alongs" that Ginny started.  What a great way of peeking into homeschool-rooms and seeing what's on the needles, the reading table and other interesting tidbits!

On my needles:  last week I started Victoria's Tank but only got about 1/3 of the way done with it during the week as I had a cashmere design (Birds in Flight cowl/headband) to prep for a meeting with my supplier of cashmere (and cashmere goat owner) Miss Jane.  Miss Jane was coming on Monday, so the weekend knitting was devoted to prepping that design.  But I did get a bit done and love the way the top is coming out.  The unwound skeins in the picture are for a design that Jane commissioned ... a Snow on the Mountains vest in this lovely dusty rose ... that will imitate the Snow on the Mountains scarf I've already designed for Spring Gate.  So, I'll be working on BOTH knitting projects this week ... glad the weather is supposed to cooperate by being nasty AND the van is in the shop so I can't go anywhere anyway!  Great knitting times ahead!

Reading table for the kids:  Last week we gave String in the Harp a shot.  After reading more than 20% of the book (our standard if-it-don't-hook-us-it-ain't-gonna), we decided to set that particular book aside and pick up something else:  the kids picked The Bridge to Terabithia (not knowing the ending!) and so we sailed right thru that one, finishing yesterday afternoon (and then watching the latest video version ... which led to some interesting discussions of what was in, what was out, what we liked/didn't like from the movie, etc).  Today, we're starting a creative writing unit to encourage the kids' writing:  Word After Word After Word will be our read-aloud today .... a lovely book by famed author Patricia MacLachlan (Sarah Plain and Tall series, etc).  We're also using this week:  Writers Express, You Can Write a Story: A story-writing recipe for kids, and we'll start doing the exercises in Unjournaling.  I'm looking forward to pulling the creative writer out of each of my littles -- they can tell stories but avoid writing stories!

Reading table for mom:  continuing to read the Agatha Christie's notebooks book ... fascinating (and maybe why I'm on a creative writing kick with the kiddoes!).  I have also started Dr. Ted Sri's latest book, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass, which is a GREAT book and particularly interesting since he's using the new translation for the Mass that will go into effect this coming Advent!  Very cool to see all the links to scripture that are included in every Mass celebrated every day throughout the world.  Dr. Sri is a homeschooling dad and amazing theologican I was privileged to know during our sojourn in Denver.

So what do you have on your needles and your book table this week?  [BTW, make sure you link your yarn-along post to Ginny's this week; she's giving away a gorgeous skein of yarn!]

 

Exciting News and New, Exciting Designs

Almost two months ago, at the Fall Fiber Festival at Montpelier, I met a woman who owns the largest herd of cashmere goats in the eastern United States.  Jane McKinney, owner of Spring Gate Farm, has just started producing chashmere yarn from her championship goats and she needed a hand-knits designer to help create patterns to show the true quality of the fiber. 

Enter ME ... moi ... I! (If I had a video, I'd show me doing the happy dance for the past 6 weeks!)

Yep, I now am the hand-knits designer for Spring Gate Farms and have started designing using this amazing fiber ... so soft it feels like butter but is strong enough to hold up to "frogging" when small errors occur (at 9 or 10 sts to the inch ... yes, I make mistakes!)  This stuff is so amazingly warm -- EIGHT(!) times warmer than wool and yet 1/3 lighter .... and the fiber's feel must be knit to be believed.  Yes, it is truly worth the cost to knit this stuff.

I'll be posting about my designs as they go "live" ... so please check back often on my By Hand, With Heart site as the Spring Gate/By Hand With Heart partnership evolves ... we'd love to have you along for the ride.