A Wee Pretty Thing

I actually mean the scarf, but who am I kidding?  The model's pretty too.  I made them both, but not on the same day.  Only human, after all.  The model's Lindsay, and the scarf is my exclusive for next year's Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat.

"Violets".  What could be sweeter?  The yarn here is none other than Socks That Rock Lightweight, made by the unsinkable Tina Newton of Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

If you like BMFA (and who doesn't?) you will LOVE this limited edition kit.  Tina's groupies (myself included) will recall that she doesn't usually produce kits, but she did me a special favor in this case.  We Love BMFA!  "Violets" measures 11.5" x 48", just the perfect length to snuggle under in late winter.  It's worked in the round, then steeked, for easy knitting. Big. Huge. Fun.

The kit costs $60 and is available one of two ways:

1.        Students who sign up for my Eeek! Steeks! class at Madrona will receive one in the mail upon registration.

2.        You can purchase a kit-only from the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth at Madrona.  They will be available to non-students there, in limited number.  If you really really really want a kit and you're scared they might be gone by the time you make it to the booth (legitimate fear), send me an e-mail and I'll work with BMFA to arrange for a pre-order.  This will also help us know how many kits to create.  

If you attended Eeek! Steeks! with me at Madrona last year, you know what a great time we all had.  If you didn't get in last time, here's your chance.  This is only the second-ever Madrona exclusive design, so if you are planning to become a collector, don't miss the opportunity. 

For the die-hard, here is a list of the official BMFA colorways included (some are not yet available to the public):

Melusine:                The main background color - a "spirit" of turquoise; ethereal.
Mossay:                   The absolute best green in the whole wide world.
Tumbleweed:           Subtle and earthy; the perfect leafy foliage foil.
Saffron Surprise:       The middle of a fried egg.  The first crocus of spring.
Tanzanite:                A real and true, not even kidding Purple Gem.
Happy Go Lucky:     New this year; everything you ever hoped to find in your Valentine.
Vancouver Violet:     Delicate whispers of neither aubergine nor blue.  That secret place between sleep and awake.

Go on, you know you want one.  See you where the violets bloom.
 

Level Of Commitment

Last year, when I set about to process my very first raw fleece (still wondering what was in the water that day), I had an academic understanding of what steps were required, and what tools I would need to execute them.

As with most endeavors, there are plenty of places where a beginning would-be fleece processor can cut corners and muddle through.  Don't have a big enough pan to simmer the locks on the stove? Disposable turkey roasters from the grocery will get you through.  Hesitant to spare $100 + for proper wool combs when you aren't sure you'll ever attempt fleece processing again?  Not to worry,  you can get by with a dog comb.

This one is very like what I used.  Its bent wee pins do an acceptable job of opening up a lock so it can be spun.  It will even remove some vegetable matter, leftover dirt, and short fibers.

As long as you don't mind accidentally removing the hide from your hands with it from time to time.  Hint:  When the bleeding starts, the combing should stop.  Oh, and once your hands are that torn up, you will have to wait for them to heal before you can properly spin again. 

And of course, dog combs wear out.  I mangled about four of these over the course of the fleece that I processed, and remember that half of that got thrown out, so who knows how many combs would have been required to do the whole thing.  The pins would all start breaking off, and I'd make another trek to the pet food aisle at the grocery.  Hint:  If you won't feed your actual DOG anything from the pet food aisle at the grocery, perhaps it's not the best source of fiber processing tools, either.  Just saying.

I was cognizant of these, and other limitations on my fleece-handling equipment.  But for reasons which escape me completely, I was not willing to cough up the dough for real wool combs. 

I am a knitter who will not flinch in the face of $55 sock needles, even though the $7 ones do a perfectly reputable job.  I waited till I could afford a very fine and very pricey spinning wheel, in spite of the fact that less expensive models are well known to produce string.  And don't even let me start in about yarn.  Suffice it to say that I have learned over and over again that if you buy great yarn, you may get great knitting.  And if you buy crap yarn, you will absolutely get crap knitting. 

So now that my first fleece project is well enough behind me to afford perspective, I am seeing the error of my ways.  Hindsight has provided the wisdom that I might not have required an entire year to comb out the locks if I had had tools that were made to do the job.  And here's the worst part: Fiscal Reality:  4 dog combs cost almost $50.  The salves, lotions and bandages I got to repair my hamburger hands added up to $65.  Already more than combs would have cost.  Add to that the opportunity cost of not learning what my beautiful fleece could have become under better tools. 

The answer comes straight from the pages of "DUH" Magazine:  Time to suck it up, Buttercup.

Here are the storied Forsyth  Mini Combs, sadly not currently in production.  Still, hope springs eternal...Carson has a pair, and he has to sleep sometime.
 

These are made by Blue Mountain Handcrafts , and come in this gorgeous mahogany/oak combination.  Don't they just make you want to touch them?  You can even get a special tine straightener, in case you have the bad luck to bend a tine.  Beastly clever.

This knockout set comes from the Benjamin Green Studio.  they can be used freehand, like the others, or you can clamp one to your table and use them in the style of larger comb-and-hackle sets.  Stunning.

I think I'm finally ready to own up to the place that playing with string now has in my life.  And I'm going to save a fortune on bandages.
 

Class-y

Last weekend I had the great good fortune to teach a class to these ladies:

Heidi, Kristi, Donna, Nan and Jill are not only friends, they are family:  Living proof that the clan who knits together is the clan who fits together.  They met up at Kristi's house for an afternoon of knitting, snacks and high jinks, to which they invited me.  Turns out this gang all learned to knit from the same lady:  A Grandmother's gift that keeps on giving.  Being with them was almost like getting to meet her, and I wish every knitter could be remembered with such love and joy.  We made some steeks, and some edges, and some promises to do it again another day.  Big. Fun.

Then I came home after a week on the road, where my little family were as glad to see me as I was them.  And I got straight to work on my next dreamy project:

I am delighted to share with you that I get to make another exclusive design for Madrona next year!  As you can see, the yarn is coming from none other than Oregon's own Blue Moon Fiber Arts. 

Like last year, these kits will only be available to my students, and, in limited number, to attendees of the 2011 Madrona Winter Retreat. Check the Madrona website for registration information - Can't wait to see you there!

I never get tired of saying it:  I love my job.