Knitting and Artichokes

Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. I did last weekend at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival. My gut told me not to buy yarn. There were a few reasons for this:

1. My yarn basket overflowith. Happy 2. Computer time has cut into knitting time. Sad 3. Wool-related items were in hot demand, so I purchased: sheepskin slippers, alpaca socks, wool-batted pillows, and a scarf from Peru. Oh, and...artichokes. Yes, you read that right (more below). Satisfied

A funny thing happened on the way to the Sheep and Wool Festival...

I got sidetracked at my local yarn shop - Fabulous Yarns. You may recall, I posted a rare, free pattern of a reverse cabled scarf. Apparently, not only was the scarf scrumptious and warm, it was a hit in the knitting world. That cabled scarf was picked up all over the web: Ravelry, Pinterest, One Pretty Thing, Vogue Knitting, and a few other sites. I purchase the baby alpaca yarn for that scarf at Fabulous Yarns, and when I stopped in before the Festival, the owner asked if she could create a kit using my pattern. I'm thrilled, and will announce when the kit will be available. In the meantime, you can get the pattern here and purchase the yarn online at Fabulous Yarns.

Sustainable Sheep Stuff...

Last year, I wrote about how overwhelming this event was in its pagentry of everything yarn-related. This year, I focused on the many small, less commerical merchants selling their warm, wooly wares. For instance, my friend, Lynn Mordas owns and operates, Dashing Star Farm, a working farm in Millerton, NY. She is a one-woman sheep farmer. Lynn operates her farm in a humane, sustainable manner. Her livestock are free-ranged on rotated pastures, and fed locally grown forages and whole grains. Her gorgeous yarns, wool and sheepskins are naturally processed. I am pleased to say, the wool pillow I purchased from Lynn at the Festival is one of the most comfortable pillows I've ever slept on. Here is a wonderful story about Lynn's farm.

Artichokes...

I believe many people come from far and wide to the Sheep and Wool Festival just for the French Artichokes. They are amazing...festival-food at its finest. Check out the artichokes here at Knitter's Review. It's well worth spending a chunk of your precious time waiting on line and talking to knitters in the know.

Photo Credits: Main image: Colours, Johan Ku via Items by Design Bird, Goat, Juliet R. Harrison Photography, Pillows: Berkshire Food Journal

Excuse Me While I Knit The Sky

I’ve been admiring the sky. The early, check early morning sky…and the late, late afternoon sky. One of the things I love most about living in the Hudson Valley is the color of the mid to late August sky. The morning pinks vibrantly pop on the deep hazy green backdrop. In the early evening, the brilliant blue sky is tinted with an orangey foretelling of fall.

The Hudson River School began capturing this landscape in the mid-1800’s. I recently took a walk on a wonderful local trail, Poet’s Walk. It winds past the Hudson River and is often visited by a line up of artists painting similar depictions of the river, as old masters did so many years before.

Knit The Sky

What I did not see on my walk was anyone knitting a Sky Scarf like the one in this video. I love the idea of “concept knitting” - of being inspired to knit by taking a walk or looking out your window. Here’s how the project works:

Sky Scarf from Leafcutter Designs on Vimeo.

Painting: Fredric Church

DIY Wedding Delights

Weddings enchant and inspire! It's wedding season, and during the research for an article about creating ethical weddings, I found the most delightfully creative wedding-related DIY projects – in white, of course.

The cake was a tree.

So the bride wore bamboo…

…and carried antique buttons too.

Descending the stairs of no-frills…

...she danced all night in her handmade espadrilles.

Credits and DIY tutorials: Abstraction White Rose Georgia O'Keefe, Wedding Shawl via Purl Bee, Cake Tree - Pretty Chic Blog via Craft, Vicente Wolf for Elle Décor, Button Bouquet - Letters4Lilly, Espadrilles - Between The Lines

Eco-Win: DIY Reusable Bags

My local farmer’s market just celebrated its annual Mother's Day opening. So many folks now carry reusable shopping bags. It must be one of the most remarkable eco-wins of our time. The impact of using plastic bags has been relegated to the equivalent of sleeping with the green-devil. Would you be caught dead without your reusable bags - especially at the farmer’s market?

Plastic vs. reusable bags is one topic that I am asked to write about again and again. I do believe that educating people about issues that affect the sustainability of the planet is paramount. But, if I'm going to ask people to go greener, I like to provide viable options. That’s why one of my favorite writing niches is DIY. For me, making things by hand is just so environmentally-friendly. Plus, I love writing directions and patterns for making things. It's like creating a kick-ass lesson plan!

I've been on a bit of an anti-plastic rant…again. Please revisit with me why this symbol of our throwaway culture is still prevalent…

Why have we not banned disposable plastic bags?

The petroleum and plastics industries oppose the ban of plastic bags and they lobby hard to keep plastic bags in supermarkets. Also, people don’t want to change their habits.

Here's my latest favorite DIY reusable shopping bag:

The crocheted bag above is made from durable natural linen. It scrunches up into a tiny ball small enough to fit in a pocket. I love linen because it is antibacterial and antimycotic (suppresses the growth of fungi). Here is the pattern from Purl Bee for this Crocheted Shopping Bag.

To get us even closer to solving the plastics problem, do you believe we should fine people for not using reusable bags, or charge a fee for using a plastic one?

More DIY bags: Check out the Linen Fabric Bag, Felted Bag and Knitted Bag.

Credit: Purl Bee