Delicious would be a word I’d use for some of the new and favorite yarns I brought home.  After all these years, I finally purchased a skein of Quiviut from Windy Valley Muskox. Along with the Smoke Rings cowl pattern, the grey/violet Quiviut made my day. Lisa Souza’s booth was a symphony of color and texture and wonderfulness. Her Poiple Baby Alpaca, with the most delightful bloom, was impossible to pass up. Over the years, I’ve purchased often from Lisa. She’s one of the most accomplished spinners and dyers out there. Her yarns always light my fire.

A new custom dyer and shop that sent me over the moon was StringTheory. I had to have two skeins of their Caper Sock, a mix of Cashmere, Superwash Merino and Nylon. The colors and blends shimmered and the quality of the yarn was exceptional. These gals know what they’re doing, and they do it well. Based in Blue Hill, Maine (a former stomping ground of mine), StringTheory happens to be Clara Parkes local yarn store. Lucky Clara.

Seriously, I felt as if I was on some Danish excursion as I drooled over the colors and quality of Isager yarns. In fact, I got an education in several other Danish designers and yarn companies. These included Vivian Hoxbro, imported by Harrisville Designs, and Kauni. Many of these yarns and designs were new to me, although they’re not new to the U.S.

For a $10 donation, I got a great knitting bag from Warm Up America. The organization really needs blankets. It’s such a worthy cause.

I love the Handknit Heroes (http://comicknits.com/) comic, which has marvelous knitting and crocheting superheroes. I also discovered The Knit Princess (http://www.knitprincess.com/)with her own comic.

A button from JustJul (the work is fantastic). Check out the store locator to find stores or online. I also got a set of square circulars from Stacy at The Fine Needle, and the Queenie Sisters‘ Prudence scarf added to my finds.

Speaking of Knitter’s Review’s Clara Parkes… Clara was signing her new book, The Knitter’s Book of Wool. A giant line formed, with Clara smiling and signing and chatting and signing some more. The book is getting much well-deserved attention. It’s quite fantastic, as are the patterns within it. I particularly covet Sivia Harding’s luscious shawl. Actually, I might have drooled on Clara, who was wearing it.

I’m always looking for unusual and interesting fibers. Why? I have no idea. I just love all the various fibers, particularly the natural ones.

I also stopped by the wonderful Bijou Basin Ranch booth home of wondrous yak fibers and yak people, Ellen and Carl Koop. I’ve knit with their yak/cormo and loved it. I keep trying to have them send me a yak. So far, no luck.

Seeing Ellen and Carl made me think of my friends at Buffalo Gold. Several yarn shops at Stitches sold their gorgeous buffalo yarn, but Cecil and Ron Miskin weren’t there. I missed them.

I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff. There was a lot to see and do and (especially) feel. I confess I longed for the critters, and I’m looking forward to another fiber festival soon so I can pet the goats and sheep and bunnies and lamas and more.

I also got this little fella, made out of a ball of string, at The Fine Needle. Isn’t he cute?

"Knit Together," Renwick award winner

I just discovered this marvelous artist, who combines her passion for knitting in an innovative and exciting way. Her blog is entertaining, and she’s got some neat stuff in her Etsy shop for purchase. (Check out her moleskin notebooks. I love “Knit Buddies,” but others are terrific, too.) But her art is simply ohlala.

Some other samples:

How cool is this?

Love that pink yarn!

I'm fascinated.

Here’s the proof:

Gracie running. This has nothing to do with my post.

Except I came across this blog that…well….it’s far more deserving of a post than anything I can think of right now.

First of all, it deals with real UFOs. Second, it’s about knitting, naturally. Third? It’s positively and absolutely hilarious. How could I top that? Right.

So…with great fanfare and many frills, I would like to present the UFO (UNFINISHED OBJECT) PROJECT ADMINISTRATION SERVICE blog. If you—a knitter—are not laughing out loud by the second page, please see a doctor. Fast.

Excerpted from the UFO blog.

Dear Knitter,

UFO Project Administration Service was the answer to a proposal I was asked to give for the Jerwood Contemporary Makers 2009 Exhibition. The exhibition will run from 10th June -19th July at the Jerwood Space in London and will then tour.

You are invited to take part in helping us complete Planet Earth’s UFOs.  All the UFOs are posted opposite. Some are ‘WAITING’ for YOU, and some have been ‘TAKEN’ by SOMEBODY!

Take chances, make choices, tell stories, imagine the possibilities, and connect to the bottom draw of other knitters across the globe.

Please leave comments, and for more information or to book a UFO, e-mail ufo@prickyourfinger.com

Happy knitting and love,

Rachael Matthews

Me again: Immediately go to the UFO blog. See the unfinished projects for yourelf. Finish one of them. Join the manic fun.

Linda brushes a muskox to glean the amazing qiviut, a fiber beyond compare.

Writer, publisher Linda Cortright is an uncommon human. Her commitment to her magazine, Wild Fibers, is vast. Equally vast is her commitment to the wild “fibers” that walk on four legs all across our spinning globe. In pursuit of her passion, Linda’s traveled from Kyrgyzstan to Tanzania to New Zealand and just about every place in between. Her writings have encompassed the sacred sheep of Chiapas, Mexico; Vermont’s Green Mountain Spinnery; and a 2,000-year-old Lakota legend. To say that her Wild Fibers‘ subject matter has breadth is an understatement.

I recently spent some time with Linda at her hilltop aerie in the semi-wilds of Maine. Her magic lies in the tales she tells, the exuberance she exhibits, and the smiles she wears talking about wild creatures in their natural habitats. Her chairs are comfortable, so is her demeanor. Make no mistake—it’s fun to spend a day with Linda.

Buffalo and calf

Below is a small excerpt from an interview with Linda on the International Year of Natural Fibers Web site:

What got you so deeply involved in animal fibres?

“Perhaps the fact that as a child I always preferred playing with stuffed animals over dolls may indicate an early ‘attraction’ to the fuzzier things in life. My passion for fibre animals began with my own herd of cashmere goats. However, I must confess that I was well into adulthood before I even knew that cashmere came from a goat. It’s too bad they don’t make stuffed animals out of cashmere – I would have started my herd earlier.”

What’s your favourite fibre and why?

“If you promise not to let my goats read this, my favorite fibre is probably qiviuk, which comes from the muskox. It is softer than cashmere (which is akin to saying that something tastes better than chocolate), but qiviuk really is the most exquisite fibre. And yet, I cannot deny that the cashmere industry is responsible for the livelihood’s of thousands of nomads and shepherds throughout the world, so it’s hard to argue against the ‘bigger’ picture of cashmere and its sustainability.”

Read the entire interview here.

Finally, one of Linda’s projects is Keep the Fleece, whose mission is to raise $250,000.00 that Heifer International will use to donate fleece-bearing animals of all kinds to needy families all around the world. An incredibly worthy cause. (More about this in a future post.) Just know, it’s easy as pie to donate.

The Hopkinton fairgrounds are extensive. I’d done the fair before, so I knew I’d need my fanny pack (talk about dorkie-looking) and my backpack (for my camera) and Ben’s bug juice, for the ever-present blackflies. Did I care I felt like a pack horse? Naw.

I met lots of old friends, like spinning and knitting guru Anne Hennessy (The Wool Room), master dyer and farmer Barbara Parry (Foxfire), farmer and master dyer Margaret Wilson (Mostly Merino), angora bunnista Charlene Schultz (HoneyBuns) and cashmere goat gal Pat Bacon (Roka Farm).

Pat always wears a smile.

I met a bunch of new folks, too, such as Julia Farwell-Clay. I love twist collective, and I sure was surprised to run into TC’s features director. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her. Pat Bull from Decadent Fibers and Ellen Garges from Maple Creek Farm brought their gorgeous yarns. Loved chatting with The Merlin Tree

Chris testing a Merlin Tree wheel.

folks, makers of fantastic portable spinning wheels. And two of the loveliest folks ever – Carl and Eileen Koop of Bijou Basin Ranch, raisers of Yak. I want Yak here in New Hampshire. Maybe they’ll open a branch in the East. I’d love it.

So many more folks, everyone wearing smiles, laughing, touching the fabulous fibers from yarn to roving and back again. Myriad books for sale, as well as drop spindles and knitting needles and needles for felting. Shawl pins and hair pins and silk and bamboo and soy. On and on and on.

Carl & Eileen's reaction to my wanting them to ship me a yak.

But, for me, it’s always about the animals.

Don't llamas personify dignity?

Teenie tiny - I almost put her in my backpack. I wish.

Llama, sheep (so many varieties!), border collies, alpaca, Angora bunnies, and Angora goats. Getting up-close-and-personal with the critters really made the day for me. Funny, how I love the smells of farm animals—rich, earthy, life itself. And seeing the kids —these marvelous 4-H-ers—raising and tending their animals always makes my spirit sing. Sure, we’re in an intensely industrial age. Heck, I Twitter, I Facebook, I Ravelry, and more. But kids still raise animals and they do it with enormous enthusiasm. What’s sweeter than that?

I’ve seen Barbara’s hand-dyeing up close and personal. As I write this, I’m knitting with her hand-dyed sock yarn. It’s delicious. Believe me, she really knows her stuff.

Hand dyers and spinners will appreciate Barbara’s style, expertise and step-by-step visuals. This one’s a keeper.

A new Guinness World Record has been set for the largest tea cozy. Knit in England and just completed.

Around Annapolis: Annapolis knitting club keeps ‘em coming back

A tightly-knit group has formed at West Annapolis Elementary School. You could say their after-school club has kept them in stitches.

They may not laugh uproariously while learning to knit – counting stitches takes too much concentration – but they do have a lot of fun with their friends while making their own colorful accessories.

The members of the Knotty Knitters Club first picked up their knitting needles in February. Now they’re firmly hooked on the pastime.

Over 50 students turned out initially, and most of them come back every Thursday afternoon to hone their skills, said club founder Jennifer Macris, an active knitter who brings her five children to the sessions. Students from kindergarten through fifth grade are represented, and about one-third of the participants are boys.

To read on, go here.