SistahKnitaQue 08

Wow,

Its been a dogs age since I have updated my blog; my computer is dead and now I am using my laptop to update everything and what not, I have a lot of catching up to do so bear with me. The annual BBQ was Great as usual, met some new folks and the weather was lovely. I brought my Fricke I just purchased this year, so excited about that, learning how to spin on my Frickenstien is what I call it and its slow but I am coming along; its just coordinating the feet and the hands that's the problem,I will let you know how that is coming along from time to time but for now here are some pictures to oogle at

Mommy & Son










Ian & Will





Ami Learning

This years BBQ we expected quite a bit more knitters to show up but things happen and we had a small group which worked out well, so much food to be taken home not to mention the newest little knitter finally arrived, check her out below


















some of my favorite knitters were there, take a look!




I will have to post the picture of my Fricke later, I managed not to add it to my picture folder and now I have to go find which camera I took a photo of it with, not that I have that many but there are three of them, two digital, looking at a third digital now but still just looking. (LOL)

I have lots of photos of all the items I have worked on and the ones that I am still working on, so much yarn and so little time. Oh yeah Rhinebeck was a whole lot of fun for me this year, I will tell you about it later but soon


Chow for now, enjoy the photos

SistahKnit BBQ Deux

Hey there my fellow knitting enthusiast's, I am back after taking some time to tend to my garden and knitting one of my most favorite projects....socks. Saturday we had our second annual SistahKnit BBQ and it was awesome, this years crowd was bigger than last years and the variety of food and sweets were exceptional. I met some really lovely ladies who are very talented and gifted in so many other areas.

I have a few pictures of the event and the chefs on hand to feed the group of happy knitters, above is my Girl Harlem Purl; my Guru you can't what she is doing right now because I was too busy knitting myself but she had her spinning wheel with her and she was spinning up a storm with some roving from Moon Mountain Farms, I am not sure I said that right but if you Google it I am sure you will find it. Right now I am just anxious to post something, it has been quite some time since I have done so and I have a few things I want to share with you all.


Here is Marvalousknits and Granddaughter Ami, Marva I hope I got this right, I am not ashamed to say that I have been so busy with my garden and knitting my socks that I have not visited many sites to check up on my fellow sistah's progress even though I see two of them everyday. Priorities are like that at times when you are on a mission like the one I am on. 'O)

Here is Tawana with Saunielle, I hope I spelled it right my friends, It was such a delight seeing you again and meeting Saunielle, it seems that the only way I will get to see any of you is to attend the annual BBQ, that will have to change; we have to make some kind of arrangement to get together at least once every three months or so just to keep up with one another and I could be more diligent with my b-log so that you can see what I have been up to too. Congrats again on you know what! (Smile)


Here is the photo I mentioned earlier that I thought I didn't have, its of Harlem Purl spinning like the pro she is, you go girl; I can't wait to get my Majacraft little Gem, too excited



Here is Sahara of Knitty City with one of her lovely works of art, I think she said that it was a stole; I just love the colors, you should see the sweater she is working on it is awesome, she essentially went through her stash and took about 3 or 4 different spools of wool thread and added some I think she said Alpaca or merino to it before she gave it all a soft twist using some gizmo she mentioned which I have to find out what the exact name of it is because I want one and she came up with the most beautiful mix of colors and the sweater is being made as we speak, can't wait to see the end product, I am sure it will be lovely Sahara is extremely talented.



Below is my friend Will, the best corn griller I know next to Ian, let me tell you that corn was so delicious and sweet and crunchy all at the same time, yes it is possible. That is one of the best way to cook corn, you must try it some time. (Shuck that corn Will) 'O)





Here is Njoya, I hope I spelled it right and Iris' daughter, sorry I couldn't remember names as I was so absorbed in what I was doing...knitting socks. Njoya teaches knitting and crocheting in Harlem I apologize again for not remembering the Library you teach from, I gave the flyer you gave me to Vivian so that she could attend your classes so look for her. I will check Sahara' site and get the correct affiliation you have with the Library and edit my post accordingly. ;O) It was so lovely meeting you and I can't wait to see that shrug and hat set you were working on with straights, wow; you are brave, I would just die if my stitches fell of those straights. (LOL)




Above are the Koigu socks I was finishing up on at the BBQ, the stitch which you probably can't see clearly is the Double Andalusian stitch from the 365 Perpetual Day Calendar, its just wonderful for stitch pattern ideas. I really enjoyed making them and look forward to making some more socks using the Koigu, its just delicious!

Here are some socks I made out of some acrylic yarn from Moda Dea called Sassy Stripes, it was fun making them but I am having a difficult time deciding on how to bind off on the 2x2 ribbing pattern that runs throughout the sock, if you have any suggestions I sure would appreciate it, I have fairly large calves and I need the room, I can't stand anything binding me at all so bring on your suggestions. I thought about a picot edging type bind off, we will see.




Below is a Baclava that I am working on in Patons Merion wool yarn, I am still at the ribbing stage, I have a few morn inches of ribbing to go before I start the hat portion.



I have at least three more pairs of socks to show you, one in Lorna's Laces, the pattern is scrolls and the other is Lisa Souza's Mahogany and I can't off hand remember the stitch pattern yet because I sat it aside to start the Sassy Stripes and the Koigu and I am also working on some Socks That Rock, Chanticleer, I think that is spelled right, anyway it is heavy weight and I deliberately didin't left it in stockinette because it is so thick that a pattern would be lost on it so I decided to place a pattern on the cuff somewhere maybe.

For now I will get back to my kniitting and when I am close to done which I am just about there I will post again.

Chow for now and don't forget I welcome comments on how to bind off in ribbing 2x2 and any other type of constructive criticism or critiquing, ;O)

Now The Fun Starts

Wow, Now it is time to put all the Winter sown seedlings into their new homes for the Spring and there is a lot of work involved but it is well worth it once you see the actual fruits of your labor literally. :o)

Now I have gathered some of the Winter sown seedlings that have survived the Noreaster we experienced this year, it did a lot of damage, I had to replant almost everything.

I mixed some soil and some Sphaghnum moss and prepared my Earthboxes for their new tenants:

Watch as I begin preparing the beds for my green babies ------>

Below is a prepared bed with a strip of vegetable fertilizer to help the little babies grow up strong and healthy and produce an abundance of peppers, squash, tomatoes or squash, etc.

Below I place the cover over the Earthbox and mark the layout for the incisions to be made so that I can insert the little ones so they can begin their growth cycle.


Once I have made my cuts into the cover, I can place the corn, two at a time so that the can support each other as they grow up, I will show you a before and after photo as the corn has grown since it was planted.

Now below are some pictures of before and after, I would have elaborated on much more of the process but there are way too many steps and photos to view, maybe when I get some more knowledge under my belt regarding the flickr feature I will post all the photos from my garden with a short caption describing what you are looking at, until then enjoy the vegetable garden as it grows. I will continue to post photos as everything I have planted continues to grow, I will even supply a list of the different vegetables and flowers I have planted. Enjoy!

See the corn and to the left of it is some squash and in the corner are some peppers, now look below at the same three items:

This is a picture of the peppers in the corner and the squash to the right of it. Here is the corn below.

Wow, look at the corn; its even taller than this now, soon I will have to cut a hole into the netting I placed around this portion of the deck to protect my green children from the critters. Did I tell you about he bat that got caught in the net some time in the night, the photo isn't very clear but I took some other photos with my 35mm camera and as soon as I get the film developed I will show it to you; I freed it and it flew away, it was so cute with its little teeth and long wings, look at it caught in the netting:


Granted the photo is not very clear but I can tell you it was the cutest little thing I have ever seen, you should have heard it screeching as I lifted it up so it could free its wings, he had fangs and everything, way cute! :o)



To the left are my pumpkin babies, I had way too many and I am not certain if they will all grow only because I placed all of them in 5'sq box, not nearly enough room for them to grow properly, I just didn't want them to die and I had nowhere else to place them at the time.

My peppermint before and after, its a perennial and it comes back every year, Thank God; fresh peppermint tea is really delicious.

Now look at my strawberries!
Look below, red cabbage and Brussel sprouts, ummm yum!

Look at the cucumbers they are growing up pretty nicely, I had to place some stakes in the Earthboxe because they began creeping up the netting which eventually the weight of them would have brought the netting down; whew, just in time :o)

I will submit more photos and the garden progresses, for now I will leave you to absorb the wonders of nature taking its course; so cool!

Chow for now

The Sheep & Wool Festival

Awesome!

Oh my goodness the weather was perfect and the vendors were plenty, a good time was had by all even my husband had fun. Here are a few of the photos I took of the sites that I have seen. Look at the beautiful Llama isn't she gorgeous?

Here is a wonderful selection of felted items from RJ Club Lambs, the vendor was very helpful and in the middle of applying needle felting to a sweater she knitted, it was awesome.




These lovely items are from a friend of RJ Club Lambs, Shadyside Studio Wools, Ms. Arbuckle's small mill really produces some wonderful quality yarn, as soon as I read up on how to attach her site I will; look how colorful everything is. Way Cool!

Here are some more of the items from RJ Club Lambs, look at all the lovely, rich earthy colors... Look at the variety of colors in these hanks below which I didn't check to see if they were for sale but probably were. I just refuse to purchase yarn in any quantity for that matter that I can dye on my own unless it is extra special and speaks to me to be something...

Look at the young Alpacas, aren't they cute? I noticed that they are always in pairs...

Pinned baby Alpaca's they are just so adorable aren't they almost like overgrown dogs but I am sure they are much more sensitive to their surroundings and like I said before they are always in pairs, I will have to find out why that is and when I do I will let you know.

Below is a live auction for the sheep to the bottom left of this photo, wow it was so cool; my first auction, boy did he speak fast, I could barely hear what he was saying once the bidding began. Sorry for the darkness of the photo, I will have to go back into Adobe and fix it and reinsert it into this b-log be patient.

Here are some sheep that were auctioned off and waiting for their trip to their new homes, I met one of the sellers and she had to contain her emotions having raised them from babies, I will have to look up the actual term for baby sheep which I am sure there is one; I will let you know what that is.


Now for the bidding on the goats that provide us with the extra,extra fine fibers Cashmere, and the first goat to be auctioned has entered the bidding circle below... Isn't he gorgeous?




Now here are the other goats that were being auctioned off. I heard that they do not like to walk much and had to physically be dragged out to the center of the floor for showing, it was too funny seeing them put up a fuss while being dragged across the floor. What do you call a bunch of goats, a flock or is that just for sheep, does anyone know?

Look at the bunny rabbits, I didn't get a shot of the note above the cages they were housed in but I think it said that they get silk and something else from them, I can't remember what it said; I will have to do some research on it and get back to you on it.

Here is another photo of the rest of the rabbits on display, they are so fluffy and cute..

I am going to have to check into this because I would like to see what the actual fibers look like when they are gathered and then worked into roving if that is what its worked into. I will post photos later. I found out what it was, Angora. 11/14



Look at Marvelous Marva at the Little Barn where she cleaned up on some great yarn, they had a fairly large selection of yarn and roving on sale in quantity and the line was long, I didn't want to wait but Marva shared. Way cool!

Here are some lovely, colorful items from some of the multitude of vendors on display in one of the lofts of a barn, I didn't get a chance to get any of the names it was so crowded and we were being shuffled along like cattle so I just shuffled along.

Here is another one...

Look at all the colorful yarn in the background of this picture, check out this ladies felted hat, it is really beautiful as all the items were.


The structure below was very interesting and gave me some ideas for my backyard especially since I have a whole lot of trees not to mention all the surrounding trees in the area that have fallen. I will let you know what I decide to do with this photo of a natural enclosure, lots of possiblities.


Now what you have been waiting for, I bet you thought I went out of control...(lol) I didn't. Here are the items I purchased, I must admit I was very good, no exceptionally good check it out...


My very first needle felting kit to the left and below some roving for needle felting...take a look at the colors.


Now for some fancy type roving for needle felting, look at the colors...



Here is another view of this cool curly roving...



Now for some of the yarn I got at the best price in town and yes, it is wool..



The piece in front is a huge swatch I knitted to see how it felts and its felting but I have to send it through the cycle one or two more times before it gets to where I want it to be. You won't believe how much I paid for each hank, give up.....$2.00 a hank; I know, unbelievable. I will be prepared for next years festival that's for sure (LOL)

Now here is some wool I purchased in Roving as well as some already spun and it is beautiful, can't wait to work with it; I am thinking about a hat, gloves and a scarf and maybe some socks...hey.

Here is one of my most favorite purchases, yarn made from a Samoan dogs hair, the lady said that one skein would make a hat that she had on display and she even gave me the pattern, I will test it and post the results and the pattern if anyone requests it. Here is another view... Yes it is as soft as it looks.









Now you know I could not resist this when I saw it, I will be placing it on top of my plates real soon; baby its cold outside. Brrrrr...
It is so cool don't you think?

I picked this up at one of the vendors booths that was selling shearling slippers and inserts, its my little snake; very soft.





Finally, a farewell to all the furry animals that made it possible for us to be creative in a multitude of ways.
Bye little sheep, give me a big hug and I will see you next year...


So this is the great time I had at the 34th Annual NYS Sheep & Wool Festival and Family Fun Day, can't wait until next year; I most definitely will be prepared to visit all the other vendors I missed this year. We all managed to enjoy ourselves tremendously and the weather held out nicely. To my fellow knitting sisters and brothers (chuckle) (it's all good) (Smile) that I didn't get a chance to see, enjoy my experience at the festival through my photos and I hope to catch up to you next year, until then...



Chow for now

Sow and Sew

Well hello again,



It is time to begin preparing for the Winter garden and I am very excited about it this year because this will be my biggest garden ever; looking forward I see a Green house being built in my back yard, there is definitely enough space to do it and I can get creative as I usually do.
I started cleaning up outdoors so tomorrow I will hit the backyard where next years garden will be placed; lots of work to be done but I am looking forward to it, definitely worthwhile. I got into cleaning up the backyard and forgot to take the before photos so here are the after photos along with the 22 bags of leaves and yard matter I bagged, boy do my feet hurt; 4 plus straight hours of raking and bagging, raking and bagging.






Now, here is what you all have been waiting for; how to start your Winter sowing: Gather your bottles, throw away all the caps and make sure your bottles are all clean; do not use harsh liquid detergents to clean them and make sure there is no cleansing residue, so rinse well.




You will need these things:


As you can see I have an assortment of bottles in different shapes and sizes with designs on what will go in each bottle. The smaller bottles will have herbs and the soda bottles will have flowers and so forth and so on.

Now open all the bottles this way, use scissors and don't cut too low, like this:





Make draining holes in the bottom of each bottle like this:




Now to prepare my soil; I always use Miracle Grow for plants and vegetables its the best. I add a bit of manure and some sphagnum moss to lighten it up a bit so that the soil isn't real heavy for my seeds, good for aeration see:

If you don't have the manure or the sphagnum moss, its okay you are using the best soil for what you are doing.






Now here is where the fun begins, mud pies; place some of your mixed soil in a very large bucket or a small one depending on the amount of veggies, flowers or herbs you are going to grow, mix with water until moist and manageable but not so wet that it falls apart in your hand like this:

Now place a sizeable mud clump into the bottom of the bottles, about a third to half of the way depending on what you are planting now place aside until you have them all done. This is where a legend comes in handy, you know what you are planting and have an idea of the size of the bottle you want to use. Remember that you won't need a whole lot of seeds, it depends on the size of the bottle you will be using, read the seed packet labels and get a feel for what you need to check for. Crucial, know how much of the flower/vegetable or herb you want to plant; we don't want to crowd them but we do want them to be snug like this.



Place them in the bottle like this above right and then give it a number with a sharpie as thick as you can write it, remember it will be outdoors in the elements until the first signs of Spring and you want to know what you have planted so when it comes time to actually place them you know what the plant is and how much room it will require and don't forget to keep a legend so you'll know which number correlates to which plant or where each numbered bottle is positioned just in case the number wears off;do it like this :


Place another clump of loose soil on top of the seeds and seal the bottle like this, you don't want it to be mushy on the top and bottom:




Place the bottles outdoors in a secure area where they won't be disturbed and forget them for the Winter like this:






Now for the clean up of my mess, broom and dustpan, it was so much fun...




Tada, I will update again when the time is right for you to actually place your little seedling babies in their permanent beds for them to continue growing, until then....


Chow for now

KNIT OUT 2006, WOW!

Oh my goodness, what a turn out familiars as well as newbies. This years event was extra special for me I actually got an autograph from the author of several books, Yarn Harlot, Knitting Rules and Stephanie Mcfee and a photo shot of me and Lily Chin
Check us out! Way Cool!

I met up with harlempurl my Sensei and we had a ball, I stayed longer than I did the last year that I volunteered to stuff bags, Sensei taught knitting this year, way cool! What a beautiful day it was, I was baking in that sweat shirt the next time I will
knit me something to wear for Knit Out 2007, definitely a shawl and matching cap.

Quite a few of the well known vendors came out for the even and they had lots of goodies to hand out which is always a good thing, nothing like adding to ones supplies; check out the photos.......
Look who showed up!
Check out Sahara in her lovely dress representing knittycity, look at all the lovely items in the background, I will have to talk to her about some patterns and some yarn, definitely go visit her and check out her digs. Oh Yeah!



Sahara getting ready for a photo opportunity.




Look who showed up, Marvelous Marva, My Girl! She is such a wonderful person, so crafty and knowledgeable, she is a true asset to the knitting group. Marva is new at blogging so we have to give her a chance to get it together the way she wants it and then we can comment on all her past and present projects and WIP's. We will check her later.

Here is a great picture of the crew, new to me is Tawana in green top and Rosi G's hand and camera, dang I can't believe I didn't get a photo of her, she is so cool and what a knitter. In purple with glasses is Necia, I am sorry to say that I can't remember her b-log name, I will be updating it later; this sister is multi-talented like Marva, unbelievable the various crafts she has mastered, I am still waiting to sample some of her homemade soap, I guess I should put in an order otherwise she'll never know I want some, my bad! lol I have more photos to post of Knit Out 2006, check them out....

I know, this should have been the first photo I commented on but I was so excited that I actually got the chance to see Lilychin the second time I attended the Knit Out let alone having my photo taken with her that it absolutely had to be first, you know how it is; it was so cool! These are the first arrivals before the huge crowd appeared, what a turn out so many people turned out young and old and there were some men knitting and crocheting, it was really great.


Here is one of my favorite publishing companies Interweave press, they have some of the most exquisite patterns available and now they have a crochet magazine out, it is excellent; a friend purchased a copy and let me parouse through it and you know I had to subscribe to it, it definitely was that good, can't wait to get started; I wish I had two more pairs of hands, boy I would be a knitting/crocheting maniac.

Now here is a sister, Danielle that has it going on, she made these sneakers, not the actual sneaker but she designed them and did the actual knitting, can you imagine the time it took to make all those holes so she could knit, we definitely have to hook up with her so we can broaden our skills, the sister is dynamite, check this out....
This is Danielle, look at the boots she made using fun fur; I think that it's actually a high heel shoe that she made into a boot, like I said the sister has it going on, she is awesome; come to think of it I don't even think she uses a pattern, I am not surprised. We will definite see her again, that I am sure of.



Bernat and Patons were in the house right next to each other and I was told that they are sister companies which is alright with me, as you can see they both were giving away bags with patterns for knitting and crocheting and a skein of fun fur, how cool was that. Next year I will be staying until the actual end because I heard that they were practically throwing away the yarn at the attendees so they wouldn't have to repack it, like I need more yarn; its addictive and I can't help myself. LOL

Now here is a publisher of some really wonderful items both knitting and crocheting not to mention other crafts, I won't mention the amount of their booklets that I have only because I don't know but there are a few of them that I scan through to get some ideas on what I want to create next.


Waiting for the kiddies to arrive, lots of crafts to be created by the newbies to the various creative wonders to be made with yarn. I was so involved with my immediate surroundings that I didn't get a chance to take a photo of the outcome, all chairs were taken and they were having a good time; next year I will be more on point. I will probably add a few more pictures to this b-log later, I just wanted you to get a taste of what a wonderful experience it was for me the second time around and to see how the day progressed. I'll be back!

Chow for now

A Whole New Topic

Ga Ga Ga Ga, Gardening (LOL) :-)

(Baby Bell Peppers)

Right up my alley, I am a gardening attic as well as other manual type crafty attic which you are aware of; there are others I won't mention right now only so I can talk about my gardening. Well I seriously began gardening in I think it was the Summer of 2003 or 2004, and it has grown enormouly. One of my favorite types of gardening is Winter Sowing. Winter sowing allows your seedlings the opportunity to harden off during the Winter months allowing you to begin planting much earlier than most gardeners and farmers, the process if very simple even something the children will have fun joining in on, there are mud pies to be made and decisions on what you want to plant for the new season and collecting the different empty bottles in preparation.

Here are the steps:

Step 1 - Collect all the empty milk gallon jugs that you can even the 2 litre soda bottles and rinse them out with hot soap and water making sure not to leave any soap residue.

Step 2 - Parents should do this part because of the scissors, at about mid point on the bottles/jugs, cut them open but not completely off.

Step 3 - Parents, punch some draining holes in the bottom of these bottles/jugs so that when the weather changes, the rain/snow will be able to drain directly out of the bottom.

Step 4 - Purchase some quality vegetable/flower growing soil like Miracle Grow, its really great it has all the nutrients the seedlings will need to grow strong.

Step 5 - Let's not forget the non-washable marker you will need to mark each bottle so you know what you have planted and how many of them.

Step 6- You will need to make a Map/Legend of what you are planting and it is also good practice to decide where you want to plant what, height and width of a particular plant is also very important to keep track of and how long it will take for a particular plant to grow to maturity.

Step 7- Let's make some mud pies....Have fun

Step 8 - Seal the jug/bottle with some clear packing tape, believe me it i will hold it all together then place all your jugs/bottle outside the house

Oh yeah, when you make mud pies try not to make it soupy or you will have to keep adding more soil so that your seeds do not fall out so keep it firm but moist. I begin in September just when the weather is beginning to get cool, I will double check with my friend up in Saugerties just to make sure and get back to you.

Most importantly, when you place the bottles in your yard or on the porch like I do, make sure you do not leave the caps on, how else will the rain and snow get into the bottle. (Laugh) That is the whole purpose for puncturing the holes in the bottom of the plastic bottles and leaving the caps off, you don't have to worry about remembering to water your new plants.


Here are some photos of my Garden from 2004 here they are, please feel free to comment and ask as many questions as you like.

Baby Cucumber growing up, isn't it cute? Its own vines support the fruit isn't that just motherly? LOL

Cucumbers and Corn growing together in harmony:

The corn is further from you when looking and the cucumbers are facing you. My mistake was that I was too anxious and I planted them in the same pot.....guess who lost.... the corn. The cucumber are very viney and they strangled the corn once it began to reach 7' tall, no corn and plenty of cucumbers, organic mind you. I will not mix them next time that's for sure.

Wait until you see the Wasp nest that is built every year I grow my garden, my motto is don't bother them and they won't bother you; I have not been stung yet, checked out but that's it; wait until you see the photo

Look at them, get closer; they are busy about their business of establishing a nest for the Queen and their young ones. (Smile) My new tenants, non rent paying bleep bleeps! (LOL)

My first Banana /Bell Peppers, they were delicious and crisp, no pesticides in my garden.

Young Pole beans on the vine:

Some ready for cooking:

More youngins, baby peppers, onions and tomatoes: Okay one more photo and I will stop for now, wait until you see my 2007 garden it is going to be awesome




Directly below, Corn and Gourds taking over my deck, that is one other item that takes over everything, Gourds; whoah! talk about pervasive; I plan on planting some for next years garden for sure.

To the left is the corn that actually grew to about 8' before they were totally strangled by the cucumbers and to the left are the gourd leaves of which I only got one of because I planted too late, those leaves were huge as large as a collard green leave, too bad they were not edible.



Just one more photo and then I will close: My Strawberries, the chipmunks had a ball, I don't even think I tasted one.






Okay now that I have talked a bit about one of my other loves, feel free to ask any questions you like, I will do my best to answer them or find someone who will. Have fun checking out my photos and blah blah.

Chow for now