Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

The other weekend I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  I'd been excited for this for over a year, ever since my friend told me about it, and I'd had the date marked on my calendar for a good 4 months.  Originally, a group of knitty friends were scheduled to come, but after a few last minute cancellations it ended up just being me and Mr. T.  I was able to lure him into coming by telling him he could pet sheep (never having been, I wasn't actually sure this would be possible, but thankfully it was!).

The Sheep and Wool Festival is really a two-fold event.  There's the animal husbandry side, with livestock and equipment for sale, as well as sheep shearing contests. And the other part is a fiber enthusiast's paradise, with countless stands selling yarn, fleece, spinning tools, etc.  A few weeks earlier I had watched a free lesson on Craftsy called "Know Your Wool," so I was excited to examine different sheep breeds and determine the length, crimp, etc. of their fleece.  I also was also hoping to buy hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn from someone who also raises the sheep, but in the end I was too overwhelmed by all the yarn and didn't buy anything.

The best part by far was the sheep dog demonstration.  It's amazing how well trained the dogs were, and how fast they can run!  They literally blurred as they sped by us going to collect the sheep.

All in all it was a cool experience, though I'm not sure I feel the need to go again.  If I did, I'd be sure to have another enthusiast with me.  As much as I love Mr. T, and as tolerant and patient as he is, I think it'd be slightly more fun to go with someone who understands the appeal of a room full of yarn.  Though it might be quite a bit tougher on my bank account...

And now, for photos! (I was a terrible photographer and didn't get any photos of the yarn...)

Bah bah black sheep, have you any wool?

This one was HUGE!

Clearly the weekend of excitement wore her out!

Mr. T waiting for the sheep dogs!

Corralling the sheep

Herding the sheep to the other end of the ring.

Shorn sheep! Missed the demonstration though : (

Very hairy ram

Little lambs. We were thinking about buying one. They were only $125!

Nom nom

  

This guy was pissed. He kept bleeting at us!

He looked feisty too. He had FOUR horns - two up and two down

 

Little goats - only $50! They were about the size of my cats.

Guest Post - Washcloths for Honduras

The crafting front has been a little slow chez Crafty Roach, so today I'm bringing you another guest post. This one comes to us from MaBrown, the mother of Mr. T's best friend from high school and college, and now one of my good friends. Just as with our previous guest poster, Lauren, MaBrown took some time away from knitting, but she's easing her way back in with these washcloths.

Photo courtesy of MaBrown

And now I'll hand it over to MaBrown:

I have recently been inspired to pick up knitting again, thanks to "The Crafty Roach." I used to knit when I was a teenager, but school, career, and children pushed my crafty aspirations to the back burner. My kids are grown now and I am exploring new ways to foster my creative side.  

Photo courtesy of MaBrown

Every year my husband and I go down to Honduras on a medical mission trip with the Luke Society. We take care of patients in the mountain villages with all sorts of medical issues. I am a pediatrician and love seeing all of the kids. Many of them have never seen a doctor, much less a pediatrician, so we have lots to talk about.  They are grateful for any small thing we can give them, so every year, with the help of my church friends, we fashion "hygiene kits." They include a toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant soap, anti-dandruff shampoo, and for the babies I throw in some baby shampoo and baby lotion.  I am happy to be able to knit the colorful washcloths, which add a personal touch to the kits!

Photo courtesy of MaBrown

Thank you, MaBrown! I'm sure the kits are much appreciated, and its always satisfying to create a product that you know will be well-used. 

Materials
Pattern: Slanted garter stitch dishcloth/washcloth (not the exact pattern, but similar)
Yarn: Lily Sugar n' Cream

Guest Post - Curves Ahead Cowl

It's finally time for another guest post!  Several friends have been churning out amazing items, so I hope to have more of these in the near future.

 

 
Today, I'm happy to present my beautiful friend, Lauren!  She took a bit of a hiatus from knitting, but now she's back and here to tell us a bit about her project.

I decided to get back into knitting because a new yarn shop had opened in my town. The owner was the friendliest knitting shop woman I had ever come across, and her store was so beautifully set up, with couches, coffee, and the nicest yarns I had seen in a while. As soon as I stepped inside, I couldn't wait to start a project. She suggested this cowl because it was slightly more advanced than I was used to and would get me back into the swing of things. Also, it was a one skein project, so it would be quick to finish, which would be encouraging to continue knitting more.

My favorite part about this was knitting in the round and doing the increases and decreases. I loved this pattern and the final look of the cowl is super fun. I recommend it!!!

 
Thanks for sharing, Lauren! We will definitely be taking a trip to this shop the next time I come visit.  I just love this colorway.  Doesn't it look gorgeous on her!

 
I've also seen a pillow she currently has on her needles, so we'll be hearing more from Lauren soon!

Materials
Pattern: Curves Ahead Cowl (free)
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Baby Me Boo

Eli's 2D Zoo

As a child, I was part of a big brother/big sister program.  Every Sunday after Hebrew school, my PAL, Marcia, and I would go toiling around the suburbs of Atlanta.  We kept in touch even when I "graduated" from the program, moved away for college, and never returned.  She has always been an important part of my life (and I can't imagine that I was an easy kid to get along with - very moody and non-communicative), so when I learned she and her husband were expecting their first child, I couldn't have been more excited.  Naturally, I immediately started planning something special.  I was unable to go to their wedding a few years ago, so I felt that this had to make up for that absence as well.

After harassing Marcia about the color scheme for the baby's room and scouring the internet for ideas, I settled upon a minimalist approach using this quilt as inspiration. I wanted something subdued and classy that didn't scream BABY, but also had a bit of fun and whimsy.  The Alexander Henry fabric was perfect. The colors were just right and, based on the registry, the nursery has some nods to jungle animals. I paired the focus print with a few shades of brown, as well as some blue and green for accents. I didn't want bright white for the background, so I used Kona bone, which compliments the different shades in the quilt really well.

When it was time to piece the back, I had just watched Elizabeth Hartman's Creative Quilt Backs class on Craftsy, so I was feeling inspired to try something festive.

For the quilting, I kept with the square theme and practiced my FMQ, inspired by Angela Walter's book.  It's not perfect, but it improved over the course of the quilt.  Though I definitely had a sore back and arms by the time I was finished, especially trying to wrangle this quilt through my machine's 5 inch (if I'm being generous) throat space .

To really make this quilt special and personalized, I tried my hand at embroidery for the first time. I used #5 DMC perle cotton, which I really liked, though in retrospect I probably should have used stranded floss instead just so I could have made the lettering a bit thinner.  Next time...  Anyway, I think this simple label with the baby's name and birthday, plus my initials, is the perfect touch.

Finish with some Madrona Road to pull in all the colors for the binding, and that's it. My fifth completed quilt! Marcia and Eric, I hope you love it and Eli gets some good use out of it!


Quilt Stats:

Quilt Name:  Eli's 2D Zoo (I'm bad with quilt names...)

Quilt Size:  43" x 43"
Pattern:  Improvised by me, inspired by this quilt

Fabrics used:  Riley Blake Small Chevron; Robert Kaufman Spot On Tiny Dot and Small Dot; Oliver + S Roundabout Dots; Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow Herringbone; Violet Craft Madrona Road Haystack;  Kona Bone and Navy; Bella Platinum

Binding:  Violet Craft Madrona Road Broken Herringbone in blue
Backing:  Design by me, same fabrics as above

Quilting:  All over meandering square FMQ done by me on my home machine

Mr. T got a little impatient during the photo shoot.

Check out the awesome backdrop (you might need a magnifying glass)!

This is my first finish for FAL 2013 Q2! Much better start than last quarter!

do. Good Stitches - April 2013

This month Linda tasked us with making half-square triangle blocks of contrasting values to make a quilt like one of these. The last time I worked with HSTs was my first ever quilt (in retrospect, probably not the best idea knowing what I know now about bias edges), so I was excited to try them again now that I know more about fabric and better piecing techniques.

So here are my blocks!

Fabrics: dark: Dear Stella; light: Denyse Schmidt for JoAnn

Fabrics: dark: Free Spirit; light: Dear Stella

I must say, I'm quite please with my center points.  I don't think my points have ever matched that well, except maybe when paper piecing.

Finish-A-Long 2013: Quarter 2

I can't believe it's already time for quarter 2.  After my ridiculously poor showing during Q1, I'm trying to keep my goals realistic.  I thought I was doing that last time, but apparently not.  We'll see how it goes...






1) Baby Quilt

Carried over from Q1. This is a gift, so only a sneak peak.  Just the binding left - should be a quick finish.

2) Index Blocks

Carried over from Q1. I made these blocks in October as a pattern tester and they've been sitting around since then. I didn't even look at them last quarter. I have a few friends moving soon, so the plan is to turn them into something that can be a housewarming gift.

3) Coasters

My friend just redecorated her place and asked for some coasters, so that is what this pretty stack will be. Main fabrics are cut - the three middles ones are the tops and the two on the ends are the backs, so 6 coasters. Just need to add batting and bind in the solid purple.

4) Wiksten tanks

More Wikstens! The pattern is cut, the fabric is pre-washed (not sure if that's necessary with voile since I let it air dry, but I was doing laundry anyway), and the weather is getting warm, so I'm ready for more tanks!

Items that don't count towards the FAL, but I'm including for motivational purposes:

5) Snowballs in Helsinki - still need to start cutting! My friend is becoming inpatient (understandably so)
6) Boyfriend Sweater - need to block and add buttons, and maybe pockets if I can figure out how
7) Spectrum socks - I really want to start working on these again, but I currently have two projects on needles, plus the BF sweater, that I need to finish before I can re-cast on

Wearable Clothing!

I made a tank! And I'm kind of in love with it.  It's a Wiksten, which is all the rage these days.

After deciding I had no desire to even try to fix it, I cut up the Schoolhouse Tunic I made last fall and reconstituted it for this tank.  The tunic skirt wasn't quite large enough for the tank pattern, so I did have to piece it a little bit, but this fabric is very forgiving and, unless you're looking for it, I think it's really hard to tell where the seam is.

Following my tunic fiasco, I was a bit nervous to take on clothing again, but this went really smoothly! I had a little bit of trouble with the bottom hem, and the sleeve and neck bindings are a bit fiddly, but it was nothing that elicted yelling and swearing, so that's always a good sign!

I made the medium and it fits really well! Though depending on how I move it can be a bit tight across the chest. I have a small bust but big ribs and wide shoulders, so I think in the next go around I might give just a hint more ease across the chest, but otherwise I really like the drape.  This was not the best fabric choice - it's a bit too stiff - but I have some voile washed and ready to go to make a few more!  Good thing the weather is warming up - I'm going to be in a Wiksten every day!