the things they made

just over the hill and around the lake, in a sunny little valley near my home, was a small fiber festival. i went sunday morning and met talented spinners, dyers, felters and a brilliant sculptor. the yarn over truck was even there!
i was a good girl (on a budget) saving up for my summer trip or i would have brought home that sculpted fox oh! and the kiwi! everything sara created was exquisite. her fanciful imagination realized in the most incredible (cannot use enough superlatives) whimsical pieces. and then i saw the felted owls. oh goodness. these are the creation of borbala. bori teaches natural dying and felting, i signed up for her felted owl necklace class. :) sad to not bring one of these treasures home, but i didn't go away completely empty handed, i found these pretty speckly hanks of wool and silk. i think they kind of match the wild lupine i saw growing in meadows surrounding the festival.
you can find sara's sculpture's at her etsy shop ~ spun on cotton and borbala's felted goods at bori dolls
the wool is from shari (sorry to have forgotten your photo shari!) at morro fleece works in morro bay. lovely work ladies!


and along with lots of knitting lately...

i've been practicing sashiko. i recently found preprinted sashiko designs, you only have to begin stitching. the leaf pattern i am working on is supposed to be a pillow top. i think maybe it wants to be a project bag instead. :)  did you see the felt scissor case? that is the work of my sweet friend karen (she made the pin cushion too, a white owl, love) if you need a good pair of embroidery scissors (gingher) with a very lovely handmade case, karen has them in her etsy shop crows nest studios. 

and honestly, i don't understand how it happened. there is an extraordinary (embarrassing) amount of projects on the needles. a sample knit was just finished, it needs a teeny bit of seaming and off it goes (yay! whew) then there is the in progress dress, and shawl and another shawl. i happily joined in a new kal with lovely leigh, and even though she said it would be just fine to keep knitting whatever you are already working on, i was compelled to cast on the same project she was making, the beautiful shallows cowl. the start of which is shown dangling above. it is such a pretty thing. have a wonderful week ahead. xxx lori

busy making

time for the christmas tablecloth! it's just like santa's workshop here! busy busy busy. chuck has been gone on a backpacking trip and i was able to stay home a few days from work. it's been heaven, really and truly. getting things done! most of the time i didn't get out of my jammy's, or even cook (leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast and take out baked potato soup from the deli, yummy comfort food in cold weather, temps have been down to the 30's at night).

i made: a sweater for baby layla, and one sock, eight project bags (with toadstool fabric) swatched some new marled merino and started a ribbed hat in black cashmere (at least that kind of makes up for knitting in black, ugh.). i watched: hallmark movies, out of africa, midnight in paris* and the hatfields and mccoys (did you know they made up? shook hands and all). * made me want to read *this again.

~ the tiny sweater was made from this book using madeline tosh merino light in the winter wheat colorway. i used soft suede for the ties. baby layla lives in kentucky, where i see there is snow, i hope it will keep her warm and cozy. i like kimono wraps for babies, there is a double layer of fabric around the tummy, important!
ravelry notes here.

~ the project/gift bags were made with a double drawstring and fabric by moda, called a walk in the woods. there are foxes too!

~ the sock is going to (hopefully!) have a partner... pattern found here

~ pretty marled wool was my first purchase from here. there are one thousand five hundred fifty yards of fingering weight. the swatch is made with a size six needles, wondering what this will want to be? it's awfully pretty :)

~ the embroidery happened over thanksgiving with my girls (daughter and granddaughter), they practiced their stitches and i made more project bags, these were sent off to a kal and as a thank you. hopefully i will have more in the etsy shop soon! oh and the blocking pins i had a chance to try on the baby sweater are fantastic! the company  i ordered from has run out, but i found more here. (they look the same to me).

~ and last thing! did you see the yarn bowl? the one in the photo right above the one of chuck and owen on the beach? i am so happy to be able to share with you another creation made by my good friends karen and pat, the tsutsumida's. they made the yarn bowls i've shown here on the blog before. the humble potters (hee hee, yes you are) have opened the doors to their new shop, 'crow's nest studios'. to celebrate, they are offering this bowl, a giveaway!  measuring approximately 4 1/2" across and 3" high, it will easily accommodate most any ball or yarn cake. we are warmly welcoming you to put your name in the hat for the sweet yarn bowl. karen and pat will ship anywhere. they would also like you to know they will be adding more handmades to 'crows nest studio' so check back (EVERYTHING they make is amazing). to enter leave a message in the comments with your email so i'll have a way to contact you. this giveaway ends on sunday december 15.
thank you for stopping by and something i've been meaning to say, thank you and welcome new followers, friends. how lovely. xxxxxxxxxxxx lori

p.s.  forgot to say i hiked too, needing a break from all that making! and right before chuck left we took a few (two) walks on the beach, the tides have been incredibly low. owen thinks being out there is the most fun thing on earth. :)

joining with ginny and nicole

wool fairies

 made by amy

time shared with friends, drinking tea and knitting, i love when it happens! this week amy and i met at a local cafe (missed you karen!)  we try for once a week. today my camera was in the car, so happy to take photos of amy's newest knits, the adorable mustard colored baby sweater and hat. my sweater is slowing coming along, a pleasure to knit, mostly though, it's patiently waiting while i stitch instead...

yarn along project bags (this one just sold. there are not any in my shop at the moment, but if you'd like one, please send me an email, lorix5@hotmail.com, they can be made to order! thank you!)

these photos are a bit overexposed, it's been very foggy and grey here

wool fairies sent surprises through the mail (gifts and giveaways won!):

from andi at my sisters knitter

and from tina at peacefully knitting


and

from south africa, carle of nuturing fibres, handmade this photo book, with pictures she found on my blog, and used them for inspiration when custom dying the beautiful wool she also sent.  i love the wool, the colors glow, the variances and depth, divine. for this wool and book, i really don't have enough words, thank you from the bottom of my heart carle

and from linda of natural suburbia, more nurturing fibres in gorgeous greens, her daughter jenna made the  stitch markers! linda, another south african blogger,  is also a mama, knitter, designer, (these are only some of her many talents) a talented mother and daughter!


then, using the christmas gift card to amazon from my eldest son kyle, the gift card fairy, (thank you son!). these came

LOVE icelandic knits, i'd love to make everything Hélène Magnùsson designs, i've only briefly looked through, but i think this will be a favorite on my knitting book shelf. and hedgehogs in the fog! do you know the award -winning animated film directed by yuri norstein? the companion book, about the adventures of the philosophical little hedgehog is a treasure.

some links:
amy's baby sweater, a free pattern on ravelry : here
yarn along project bag : here
nurturing fibres wool from south africa : here (carle is offering a lovely free shawl pattern for the month of may, and a kal to go with it here) thank you carle!
(the portrait on the cover of the book carle made was painted by artist julie whitmore)
and icelandic knits here ~ little hedgehog book here ~ film here
thank you andi, tina, carle, linda and jenna!
yarn alonging here

thank you for coming by, have a wonderful day!