Nearly FO: Taos Shawlette

Finally! I am reaching the end of my skein of Plain and Fancy yarn that I bought at the Taos Wool Festival a year ago.

I tried a Simple Yet Elegant scarf pattern that I bought with the yarn several times and just could not get the instructions to speak to me. So I gave up on that and started the Eye of Partridge Shawl. While this stitch makes an incredible pattern, by the time I got 5 inches into it I realized that the gauge was not giving me the drapey effect I wanted. k

So I set the project aside for a bit to consider my next steps. I really wanted a shawlette/scarf to wear this winter and did not want to rip it out again. So I decided to continue with the same size needles and switched to seed stitch. It is working beautifully. And, I am happy to report, I am to the last few rows of the project as I am beginning to see the end of the skein.

Once I get it off the needles and blocked I will post a finished picture of it with measurements. Then I will be ready to start the next skein of yarn I bought at this year's festival. I will be considering the Eye of Partridge Shawl for another project in fingering weight however will be knitting a swatch on 8s and 9s before I decide which to use. The 7s produced a very solid fabric, too much so for this type of project.

I hope everyone finds fun ways to recreate their projects when necessary!

Wool Festival, Taos 2009

Another glorious fall day dawned in Taos. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel and headed out to the park to see what fabulous fibers we could find.

Wow, was is it busy. First stop was at Cat Mountain's booth. She is the owner of The Yarn Gallery in Alamosa and dyes her own yarn. Her booth was so busy we could not even get in to say Howdy. So I snuck around back to give her the big thumbs up sign and we wandered on down the line of vendors.


There was lots of angora rabbits there this year. And the Jabberwocky tent was there with their cashmere goat yarn. That stuff is hard to resist. We also found my favorite yarn dyers from Texas, Brook Farms and Plain & Fancy, respectively. Both were doing a land office business and it was worth your life to get into the tent.

We did the circuit of the park and then discussed which places we had to go back and try harder to get into. Both the Texas booths won out and we made the concerted effort to get in the door.

This time I was smart and had picked out the pattern before arrival so I knew what I was shopping for. I ended up with both yarn and mohair locks for the Prairie House Shawl and a matching headband where I can use the locks. It should be an interesting knit.

I headed home mid-afternoon so I could get ready to teach class tomorrow. As always I had a great time meeting some new folks and talking about all things fiber.

Weekend Update

I had a great turn out for the Ooh La La scarf class. I think everyone had a great time learning yarnovers, and the modified bind off. We discussed the difficulty of remembering cast ons and bind offs when you only do them once a project. There are classes coming up soon that are devoted to just those components of knitting.

The rest of my weekend was spent working on the kid cardis as the deadline for mailing them draws nearer. They are going to be really cute. I can hardly wait to see them modeled by their recipients...hint to the parents to remember to take and send me pics. :-)

I also worked in my stash to set up a list of projects I want to work on next. With a list I can prioritize what comes next and do I have everything I need to start. My next project is the Plain and Fancy scarf with the yarn I purchased from Brooks Farm Yarn at the Taos Wool Festival. I discovered while reading the pattern that it does not specify a needle size. The instruction reads "Appropriate knitting needles for the yarn you use." This does not help me.


So I went to Ravelry to see if I could find someone else who was working with this yarn and pattern. Not much luck as I found the same yarn, however in sport weight instead of fingering. And the pattern does not discuss gauge, just the following: "Gauge is not important." That is all well and good except I would like the scarf to look something like a scarf, not a doll blanket.

So I am still on the hunt for someone with information since Plain & Fancy does not have a website and only attend two festivals a year, Estes Park and Taos. I hope to have this knit and wear it to Estes Park in June.

While writing this I emailed the question to the designer. My guess is size 3 needles, will see if I am close. I hope you all have fun projects to spend time creating!

Previously on my blog...

we talked about knitting, and I am sure you have been waiting for a comprehensive update from me. As you can see, the guy with the glowing eyes has convinced me it is time to share the news.

The best news is: yes, I have been knitting, a lot. The bad news is: I cannot really tell you about it.

I know, you think I am teasing you. Well, I'm not. Since Ravelympics I have been trying to finish my gift knitting for this year. Most of the things I am working on I cannot show you pictures of or discuss.

So, now you ask yourself, why should I continue reading this post? Because I am going to share with you what is on the top of the knitting list when I finish the gift list. It is my Taos project purchases. First on the list is a lovely lacy scarf pattern with an unusual shape and some fabulous yarn from Plain and Fancy.

The shape is more ellipictical than rectangular and has a beautiful lace edge. The yarn is fingering weight in a multi-color with brown, gold, teal, peach, and lavendar. It looks like it will go with anything. I had help from my friend CatWithCats picking it out. There were too many choices and it always helps to have another pair of eyes.

My other great purchase was dyed mohair locks from Kai Ranch in Texas. They had them lined up in bins in every imaginable color. I was baffled by what you might use them for. While I stood there pondering their use, CatWithCats had located Gale Zucker and Joan Tapper of Shear Spirit.

Besides convincing me I had to buy a copy of the book (Shear Spirit), Gale showed me a great idea to use the mohair locks. She was wearing a scarf that she had made in a plain, dark color with the mohair locks incorporated into it randomly to get a very fun look. So I picked out the colors I liked and we decided that they would look great combined with a charcoal gray. I have not found the base yarn yet, but am looking forward to starting that project the first of the new year.

Well, it has been great getting caught up with all of you. Hope you are pursuing your passions and enjoying the start of the Holiday Season. I promise to share pictures of my gift knitting ventures after December 26th.

Taos Wool Festival 2008

The day dawned grey and cool. The prediction was for sunny and 75, however the sun only showed itself late in the day for a weak moment. This made for more knitwear viewing as I toured the festival grounds. I got there early to find a treasured free parking spot. Those are about a block and a half walk from the park where the festival is held. I managed to find a place in the free lot that was also hosting the weekly farmers market. It was a colorful site on a grey morning.



Some festival tents were the simple white, four-legged covers while others found creative and free ways to decorate their spaces. This one with the aspen branches was really fun.

I met CatWithCats around noon and she was sporting the much coveted and commented shawl from Shear Spirit. If you have not seen this book yet, go get one! It was fun because the ranch that had provided the shawl pattern for the book was there and they found her to make a fuss over. Then we met the author and photographer for the book. They were there to sell/sign books and to visit one of the fiber farms featured in the book, Victory Alpaca Ranch from Mora, New Mexico.

What I discovered about this festival is: if you like dogs you will see every breed, shape and style; there are not as many fiber animals to see as the Estes Park Wool Festival; angora rabbits are BIG (popular and size-wise); and here be mohair locks. Now, if I can just figure out how to knit the bright colored locks into a scarf I will be happy. It sure looks like fun.

Hope your autumn is providing bright-colored fun events for you!