Long Time No Blog

I had way too good a time, yarn-wise, at the Common Ground Fair in Maine last weekend! That's me on the left, trying to hide the huge bag of yarn I had just bought from the lady on the right. This is Nanney Kennedy, Seacolors Yarns dyeing Goddess. It was through complete serendipity that I ended up at the fair in the first place. With very last-minute notice, hubby and I ended up at a lovely B & B in Camden ( http://www.blackberryinn.com ). We secured a room in the Inn's sister property, The Elms, and were completely spoiled with gourmet breakfast and a whirlpool bathtub. (Not simultaneously, but you get the idea...) The Common Ground Fair was about an hour's drive away, and knowing that Nanney would be there, I thought it would be a good idea to go. I picked up a dozen skeins of a gorgeous Terra Cotta/Rose blend, and at some point in the future I will design a very special Aran sweater for myself, to showcase the yarn. Thanks again to Nanney for being so very good at what she does with wool-dyeing, and being such a terrific, warm, friendly person, too!

From Common Ground, we headed back to Camden to take a sunset sail aboard The Surprise. I couldn't go on the NETA knitting cruise in September, so I created a mini-cruise of my own! This is my first Flamingo Opal sock in a nice razor shell stitch. Lovely view of Camden Harbor in the background, eh? And a nice shot of the Fleagle sweater, and the funky felted hat I bought myself at the fair. Yes, folks, the lady I bought the hat from was selling her merchandise from within a Yurt she had felted herself! My fascination with Yurts does not just continue; it intensifies. I want a Yurt! Such a structure would be sooooo nice for a fiber workshop, but before I get one, we will probably end up fixing up our barn instead. The barn would be a great space, too, but right now the house requires whatever restoration capital we possess. [sigh]

Cap'n Jack let all the passengers on the cruise take a brief turn at the helm for photo ops, so Keith and I passed our camera off to the Cap'n, and he took this nice picture of us. We enjoyed the sail and the stories the Cap'n offered so much, we actually seriously considered going back for a second sail first thing in the morning. But the breeze was not impressive when we went over to the Blackberry Inn for breakfast, so we decided to wend our way home slowly and visit some antique shops along the way.

I also thought it would be cool to stop at the Mexicali Blues shop on Route 1. I've always wanted to, but we have either been in a hurry, or passed by too early or late in the day. This time, we hit it just right. Keith went out for a coffee and snoozed in the car while I enjoyed the store. And what a store! Hippy Heaven, complete with incense burning, Buddha and Ganesha figurines, bright-colored , floaty Earth Mama clothes, and mirrored accessories. I'm not usually much of a gung-ho shopper (unless it has to do with yarn or fiber), but this place sucked me in FAST! I found the most incredible dress for me. Rayon, with a very full skirt, and of course the photo does not begin to do the garment justice.

It's still air-drying after its bath today. I love "Eau de Head Shop" when I am in a store like that, but at home it can be a bit cloying after awhile, plus to avoid skin allergy reactions, I have to give EVERYTHING I buy a bath before wearing it. The dress will get its first outing at church tomorrow, where for once I will be pew-sitting amongst the congregation instead of singing. The reason?

I caught a cold while I was in Maine, didn't realize this until Monday, and by Thursday I had a full-blown case of bronchitis. The doctor prescribed complete bed rest over the weekend, so I have not attended any rehearsals, and these lungs don't feel like producing much sound at the moment, beyond a hacking cough. I have never been advised to take complete bed rest before and, on a Prednisone High Friday morning, I felt silly staying home from work and in bed when I had so much (albeit false) excess energy. What's a gal to do? Why, dye a couple of little ol' skeins of wool on the stovetop, of course! Little did I know that the color I was doing would be such a perfect match for the new dress, but lo and behold...

OK, so thanks to Judy ( http://smatterings.typepad.com/smatterings/ ) I started my own version of Cheryl Oberle's Wool Peddler's Shawl from her Folk Shawls book. The colors are a wee bit darker than the dress, but so far, holding them next to each other, I think the combination will be wonderful. Oh, and the yarn I overdyed was originally, believe it or not, a most vivid shade of Road Construction Crew Rain Slicker Yellow. So, there is hope for the future of those several BINS of yellow yarn I have in my inventory. I mean, I haven't yet run into enough people who are fond of bright yellow to warrant keeping it all in its original state. I will obviously have to use colors that are compatible with yellow if I want to succeed, but so far it looks like I'm off to a good start with this colorway, "Autumn Leaves."

There is also a batch of muted yellow/greens that I am calling "Willows," which I haven't had a chance to photograph yet. What fun!

Well, I'm still on a Prednisone High, so I think I'll take it back to my knitting needles and make a few more rows of this shawl!