Kid 'N Ewe and Lamas Too 2006

I almost talked myself out of driving to Boerne on Saturday for the fiber festival when I pulled the map out the night before and really looked at how far away it is from my house. It seemed a lot further than I remembered, but I decided to go anyway. It took me fours hours to get there and because I had to be back home for a dinner at 6:00, I only had a couple of hours to look around and eat lunch.

It's a small event and I was able to see everything in that time, but not able to spend much time at any one thing. Most everything is indoors which is good in case it rains, but not so good for taking pictures. Many of the photos I took turned out blurry because I didn't use the flash.

The animals are the only part of the festival that's outside.






I was glad to see more people in attendance at this festival than last year's. Last year I remember it was hot, but this year the weather was perfect. Maybe that was the difference. It looked like people were spending money too which is good for the vendors and will encourage them to keep coming.

There was lots and lots of roving for sale, spinning wheels, spindles and everything a spinner could ever imagine.




Brooks Farm was there and not one knitter could walk by without being sucked into their booth and a the very least touching and drooling over their yarn. Most couldn't leave without purchasing some yarn to bring home and I was no exception.

I think I bought enough of the red (Cinnamon Spice?) Duet for a sweater and the Four Play will probably become a scarf or something small like that. I was hoping to buy some of their sock yarn that I had heard they have started selling at shows, but they sold out before this show and didn't receive their shipment in time.

Two hours went by very fast and then it was time to hit the road again. The drive home took only 3 1/2 hours. That makes a total of 7 1/2 hours of driving for two hours of fiber festival. Was it worth it? Yes. Will I go back next year? Yes, but only if I don't have a schedule to keep. By the way, I made it home in time for the dinner.

Home Stretch

The title of this post is significant in two ways:

1. You may have noticed there are no travel photos this week. That's because I'm actually home for a change. I think this is the first week in two months that I've been able to stay home and just catch up on things. When you spend as much time traveling as we have lately, you tend to get behind and lose touch. All time is devoted to getting ready to travel, traveling and then recovering from the trip, just to start the process over again in a day or two. It's nice to have a little break and I've been enjoying this "home stretch", no matter how brief.

2. The second "home stretch" refers to the progress I've made on my cardigan.



All that's left to finish knitting is one sleeve. It won't be long now.

Fiber Festival

This weekend, November 10-12, is the Kid 'N Ewe and Lamas Too fiber festival in Boerne, Texas. It will be held at the Kendall County Fairgrounds and is open to the public beginning at noon on Friday. This is a small festival, but still has a lot to offer--vendors, workshops, animals and demonstrations.

I went last year and was pleased to find some wonderful vendors like Brooks Farm and Wyatt Wheels.

Both are scheduled to be at Kid 'N Ewe again this year. For a complete list of vendors, click here.

Think I'll drive over on Saturday. Hope to see you there.

Sweetgrass Baskets

My favorite part of our visit to Charleston was walking through the Market and watching the ladies make sweetgrass baskets. Sweetgrass basket making has existed in the South Carolina Lowcountry for more than 300 years. This traditional art form was brought to this area by the slaves who came from West Africa. Since then it has been passed down from generation to generation, usually from mother to daughter to granddaughter, though the whole family is often involved. Traditionally the men gather the materials (sweetgrass, longleaf pine needles, bulrush and palmetto leaves) and the women "sew" the baskets.

It is fascinating to watch the basketmaker "sew" her basket. The tools of the trade (other than the natural materials) include a pair of scissors and a "nailbone". A nailbone is used for piercing when making a sweetgrass basket. In the old days a rib bone from a cow or pig was filed down for this. Today most basketmakers use a filed down silver spoon or fork or even a nail.



Each basket begins about the same with a coiled circular or oval shaped bottom, but can become one of a hundred or more styles. A small basket of a simple design can take up to twelve hours to complete, while a larger complex design can take months.

I knew I wanted to buy a basket to take home. I walked through the whole market before deciding to buy a basket from Sue Middleton.



Something about her baskets caught my eye. They are beautifully made and the coils are very uniform and tightly sewn--the work of an experienced basketmaker. I finally decided to buy a round bread basket that incorporated all of the materials in it's design.



The lightest color in this basket is sweetgrass. By the way, it is called this because of it's pleasant fragrance, similar to fresh cut hay. The brown color is pine needle and the black is bulrush. The coils are sewn together with strips of palmetto leaves.



Though sweetgrass baskets are expensive, I don't think the basketmakers are getting rich from this business. They make baskets because they love to and because they don't want this part of their heritage to die out.

I found these quotes made by sweetgrass basketmakers from this article:

Maggie Polite Manigault makes baskets "because she has been doing it for so long that she would feel lost if she didn't sew at least once a day."

"Even though basketweaving is time consuming," says Mae Bell Coakley, "I enjoy it because it's relaxing, kind of therapy."

"Making things with your hands keeps your head together," Mary Jane Manigault reflects. "When you sew baskets, you just concentrate on that one thing. You have to have long patience. You can't be a nervous somebody and make baskets. You have to sit in one place and really get into what you are doing. You can't have your mind running on all kind of different things. You have to have a settled mind."

Sounds a lot like knitting, doesn't it?

Charleston, South Carolina

John and I spent most of the afternoon exploring historic Charleston. We walked and walked and then...walked some more. Too tired to write much about the trip now, but here are few pictures to look at until the next post.

Almost There

Just a couple more inches to knit on the body of the cardigan and then I can move on to the neckband and then the sleeves.

For some knitters, the large amount of stockinette stitch in this cardigan would be a chore to finish, but not for me. I enjoy this stitch. It keeps my hands busy and my mind free. It's been the perfect project for evening knitting in front of the TV.

This cardigan has also been a good traveling companion on all of the trips we've been on lately. It's easy to put down and pick up later without having to relearn some complicated stitch pattern or spend time figuring out exactly what to do next. I'll pack it in my suitcase for this week's trip to Charleston, South Carolina.

This will be my first trip to Charleston and I'm excited about it. We'll have one full day to explore, so check back in a couple of days for pictures.

P.S. Playing around with the new template layout options on Blogger Beta. Are these color choices too hard to read? Should I go back to the white background? Let me know what you think.

Please Read: Ignore the note above about template color changes. I've already changed back. I was trying out a dark background. I liked the way the pictures "popped" on it, but the text was too hard to read. The white background is much easier on the eyes.

Yarn Search

I've been looking for some black and white yarn for a hat I want to knit for a gift. I had in mind to get superwash wool or maybe a wool/acrylic blend. Something that won't shrink if thrown in the washer. I've been to several shops, but I haven't had any luck in finding something like that in both colors.

Yesterday I was in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I decided to continue my search for this elusive yarn at a yarn shop I saw listed in my yarn guide. Armed with the address, a map and a phone number, I navigated my way through the town and found the building. One problem, though. It was empty. Had they moved? Closed down? A call to the number got me a recording with the name of the shop and operating hours and a message to call back because they were probably on the phone. I called back numerous times throughout the day, but all I got was the same recording. I suppose they are out of business, but why is the phone still connected?

I decided to check out Hobby Lobby. No luck. Next on the list was Michaels. I haven't been in this chain craft store in a while. I was really surprised to find that they are now carrying Patons Classic Wool. This is 100% wool and requires handwashing, but is so affordable (only $4.99 a ball) that I decided it would work.

Began the hat last night, just to see how the yarn knits up.

I really like it. It's a smooth worsted weight yarn. Soft. Not scratchy. The hat will not take long to knit, but I won't show it finished until after Christmas. I can't completely spoil the surprise now, can I?