Is there no end?

Have you ever had a never ending project. I have been working on my Montego Bay Scarf and it never seems to get done. The pattern calls for 80″, I think I am there but it is sooo hard to measure. I am just going to have faith and stop. I measured out the fringe the other night (I just didn’t feel like knitting it anymore).  Here are some pictures:

Because it is knit with a bias the cast on edge looks a little weird. I hope I can block them to look straighter. It may not matter, with the fringe and the drape it will probably not be noticeable.

I have worked some on the Laguna Blouse. I was knitting happily along and making the front match the back until I realized when I got up to the sleeve area the front has a lower neckline. So now to rip back!

The weather here in New Hampshire has finally improved. It is actually spring. I still have a few piles of snow in the yard but I have been able to get out and survey the winter damage and clean up a little around the entrance way. We have a yard service come in and do a spring clean up which saves a lot of time. They don’t cut back damaged plants or shrubs or repair garden beds, but they get the dead grass and sand off the lawn, get rid of leaves and generally make things look better until I can get out there to work. My time is limited over the next couple of weeks, but come May 1st I will be able to spend more time in the garden. I can’t wait.

I am going to a class with Lucy Neatby tomorrow and Sunday. Tomorrow is a class on design and Sunday on finishing techniques (my sister is coming with me on Sunday). I am so excited and hope to learn a lot.

“I’d rather be a failure at something I enjoy than be a success at something I hate.” George Burns

Cynthia

Knitting Slump

We all get into knitting slumps. I cannot seem to finish anything. Of course I am not doing a whole lot of knitting, so knitting one, two or three rows a day does not get a project done. I just do not seem to have any time. I only have a half hour for lunch now, I use to have a full hour, so my knitting time during the day is less. I knit some at night, but even that has been less lately.

I have been doing a little spinning:

 

The North American Alpaca show was fun. I went to a seminar on geldings as fiber animals. It was given by Nancy Durst who owns a farm in Buxton, Maine. She only has geldings. It is a great idea for those of us who are not sure of the whole breeding, showing, competitive thing. I want fleece! Her farm is White Barn Meadows, www.whitebarnmeadows.com.

Our friends did very well in the show ring.

Here are a couple of fun pictures:

 

 

 

These kids were so cute. They were in a performance class. The alpaca was not being judged, their ability to show the animal was. All of them got blue ribbons. It was so fun to watch. The one with the biggest alpaca was 5 1/2 and knew more about his alpacas and the breed in general than some adult owners. His grandparents pens were right next to ours He was such a pip. (sorry the fiber pictures showed again, I have not figured out some of the changes to wordpress yet)

It was 60 degrees today. Snow is melting. My goldfish have emerged from hibernation. I think I even see some daffodils poking through. Yeah.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes; Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow: Let reality be reality; Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like” Lao-Tse

Is It Spring Yet?

It is April 3rd and this is what my garden looks like! There are raised beds under the snow where I will, hopefully, grow vegetables this summer. I know planting season in New Hampshire is still more than a month away, but I am having a hard time visualizing things will be ready to plant.

 It was a beautiful day today. Sunny and about 50 degrees. It will be very cold again tonight. One thing to say about this weather, the sap for maple syrup is running well (warm days – cold nights) and the season should be a healthy one for those who produce the syrup.

Here are pictures of my recent handspun yarn:

This was from a Kraemer Yarns Roving, color is Carrot Cake. The tag says 60% New Zealand Wool and 40 % Domestic Wool (I am not really sure what that means). I have two skeins, 81 and 90 yards. I am pretty pleased with the results.

Nothing to report on the knitting front. I am still working on the same two projects. I think I am close to the end of the scarf, I have not measured it yet.

David and I are going to the North American Alpaca Show in Springfield Mass over the weekend. I will take some pictures to post. Alpaca shows are interesting. The alpacas (or is it the owners?) compete for ribbons. They are divided by color, gender and age and are judged on confirmation (body size and shape) and fleece quality. The first and second place winners of all the classes then compete for color champion and reserve color champion. The judges are very serious people and follow a set of guidelines, but there is a lot that is subjective. I hope to make some connections this weekend and maybe find some fleeces to buy. There are also a couple of seminars I want to go to.

“It is not doing the thing we like to do, but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed.” Goethe

 Think Spring

Cynthia