Finally! Nice weather, the kind we’re supposed to have in the middle of May. It’s been the perfect sort of day for puttering and doing errands and hanging out on the steps. I was beginning to doubt that we’d ever see the sun again.
I had a wonderful time visiting my sister and her family. There was a lot of chatter and laughter and knitting going on all weekend. The weather was pretty horrible there, too, but we managed to take a little road trip on Saturday. I can’t believe where we went…
Ready?…
Set?…
THE FOLD! In Marengo! Just an hour west of my sister’s house! I got to meet and visit with Toni Neil! We had a blast. Toni is the best, just the best. I’m pretty sure our gaggle of giggling girls was her afternoon’s amusement, because we managed to put on quite a show. Milton Berle would have booked us to open for him. We were that silly. Did I take pictures? Of course not. That would have been smart.
This is what it looked like out the car window on Saturday afternoon. On the way to THE FOLD. Dark and rainy, everywhere you looked. It’s beautiful there, though. I love the big sky and the small towns and the lakes and THE FOLD.
There was not much purchasing of the Socks That Rock, since she had about twelve skeins left after the frenzy at MDS&W the week before. That’s okay, I think I have enough to hold me for a while. There was some purchasing of Blue Moon yarn, though.
On the left are two skeins of Bambu, which is 100% bamboo, obviously. The colorway is called “Rock Creek.” I’m thinking summer shawl (I have 800 yards). The same yarn was chosen by one Niece R for a ruffled scarf. On the right is a ball of Trekking XXL, color 67, and a set of new-to-me ChiaoGoo bamboo dpn’s to try. Just for fun, you know.
Other Niece R chose some beautiful Blue Moon nubby cotton in turquoise and brown for a simple scarf (I wish I could remember what the yarn and the color are called). Sister E had fun choosing Mountain Colors yarn –deep and rich — for a couple of projects, and we all spent a long time trying to see everything that Toni stocks in all the nooks and crannies. Books, needles, more laughter, and embarrassing nuttiness were had by all, and then it was time to head home. It will take another trip and a longer visit to the shop for me to be able to take it all in. I barely had time to look at the fibers, and I’m sure I missed a lot of yarn. It was heaven, though. I went to THE FOLD!
My sister S loved her Clapotis. It looks just beautiful on her.
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I worked on my Shoalwater shawl on the plane and at my sister’s and on the plane home. When I looked at the yarn that was left after I’d finished two and a half chart repeats, I knew what I had to do. Good thing the yarn is named Frog Tree Alpaca, if you get my drift. It’s such a pleasure to knit this pattern with this yarn that I’m not unhappy that I chose to start over. Bigger needles (6.5mm, up from 5.5) are making a lovely fabric, and I’ll make sure I have enough yarn to bind off and do the i-cord edging this time.
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Have you heard about Sundara Yarn’s Petals Collection? Go on, have a look!
Not Plain Jane 