Getting enough fiber

Fiber festivals are really the best place to get loaded up on fiber for maximum health and spinning nutrition.
I did get color overload a little bit, but SAFF was definitely fun and filled with inspiration and nice people.
I had orders pile up while I was gone, and am catching up now, so if you are waiting on a Spindolyn, I appreciate your patience, most gratefully!

This is our booth, and the lovely, talented, kind and encouraging Susannah of Harvest Moon farm at the helm of her spinning wheel. In the baskets- soft and spinnable roving from her sheep (Finn and BFL and various blends)

 Just so's you knows and you might be tempted to come next year to SAFF, it IS in the mountains of North Carolina, which you can see in the distance in this photo, beyond the trailers that brought sheep and llamas and goats and other fuzzy creatures to the festival...such a pretty, pretty place.

 I got the blues whiles I was there (not really) but I did bring home some oceany blueish green  roving from Susannah and some blue and turquoise mohair to blend with it--- a great combo for socks. The grayish in the background is colored mohair locks...ok. call me curious.

SAFF (!!) Update

Our spot has been moved and we are now indoors at SAFF! (South Eastern Animal Fiber Forum)
 Yea! Come by for a visit, I will be in booth # 46, near the open spinning area.
I will be spinning and oogling fibers.

Mod-duh!-ular knitting

In which Cady May discovers there are no rules to modular knitting.

     This is a jim-whammy kinda cold. I won't whine, but I will say that it has affected my ability to think clearly, even about knitting, which is my default "comfort" mental state. Some folks curl into a fetal position, some rock back and forth, I calculate stitches and rows..
I had started an off the cuff, no pattern-no plan keyhole scarf with an idea to make it have a pocket in it for aromatherapy, and then I had a brain lock down....

So, I was googling around in a coughing stupor, vaguely wondering if there are "rules" to modular knitting, specifically, if it matters if you have an odd or even number of stitches. Now, if I had not been sick, I probably would have been able to think that through, without googling..but it is what we do when we are miserable, I guess.

I was drawn into this post at The Girl From Auntie Blog, "So who invented modular Knitting" in which she talks about Virginia Woods Bellamy "invention" of the mathematical approach (and patenting there of!!) of modular knitting and I said to myself..."hey, wait a minute, I have this book!" and so I dusted it off  in excitement thinking that of all sources, this one would have a list of "rules" ((it was really, really dusty, I live in an old cabin, so actually, I wiped it off with dilute vinegar))

Shor nuff! it did, but she never said anything about odd or even numbers, nor does she even describe her decrease method (K2tog? sl1k1 psso? or what have you?) but I just love the models and the "look" of the '40s. I also like the subtitle "How to Knit Many Beautiful Articles Never Before Possible"
Wow.
Doesn't that sound wonderful? and all from the wonders of math!

All the patterns in the book are with small yarn on large needles so they are very stretchy and airy. She really impresses the "all direction stretch" of this method...Like this triangle turban...

 

Which I got so excited about when I saw it modeled, and wondered just how you wrap that to look this cool, with the beads hanging down and all.........

 

But this is what she says about that

"To wear Drape on the head to suit. Photographed model starts with bead on the right angle at the right front of the head. Two corners brought up and over the head in soft fold. Beads crossed under at sides to hold in place."

hmmmm...It will have to be knitted and tried on to make sense of that...que.

Meanwhile, back at the sick farm...I have a square and a heart knit for my keyhole scarf, lack just a little of the pocket, then I will resort to hybrid knitting (that is, I will slap it on the LK 150) to finish up the scarf part...now I am off to breath steam while trying to imagine how one "drapes to suit"

I'm going to SAFF!

and am so excited!!!! Will be in booth 3 in the barn  in the building, booth 46, with Susannah of Harvest Moon Garden (hold me back, she has lovely fleeces I am told) and the countdown of days is shrinking rapidly.

Normally I would be running around like crazy polishing spindolyns and making fancy ones out of cherry...but everyone has the fall "it" and JB brought me a tainted Louisiana variety off the tour bus (and a tee shirt, too!)
I usually don't get stuff, or if I do it is mild, but I am stresssed because of the deadline of SAFF, the sudden cold weather (been frantically stapling up plastic walls for my shop, and picking the last of the tomatoes) and getting firewood, etc.

So to unstress and get well, I am taking off work from Knitting Any Way this afternoon, and am going to spend it wrapped in a blanket with hot tea, some time looking around at other peoples lovely work on ravelry and knitting on some soft and warm socks, toe up. More tea, more knitting, more zinc and I should be good to go soon!