Hurrah! Comfort Shawl & Yarn!

Introducing the comfort shawl! I wish I could say I designed this, that would be most thrilling indeed. However I did not design this. But it is a lovely little shawl pattern. It's actual name is "Peace Shawl" by David Assemany. I purchased it at the yarn shop after seeing a sample knit up. To give an example of how quickly this knits up, when I took this picture here I had only worked on it for about an hour and a half.

It has some elegant eyelet detail along the edging

This was a few days later after I had picked it up again and worked on it a bit more. Notice the design in the back has split off into a v.

Regrettably I just discovered yesterday that somewhere in the last ten rows I made a mistake on the edging. It is the simplest of patterns so there is no reason for making mistakes. Other then sheer carelessness perhaps. I have to tear back today, and there are few things I hate worse.

Some day it will be finished and beautiful. Then I'll post it again. I really need to see if I can find a dressmakers form, it would come in handy for my photo shoots. Not to mention the fact that it might come in useful for sewing!

I've done quite a bit of spinning in the last few days. This is done up with some of the roving that I purchased at the fiber festival. 70%merino/30% alpaca.

It spun up beautifully. I never did take a picture when my spindle was completely full of yarn. It looks rather anemic here.

The color isn't coming out as bright as it really is. The green is more of a bright grass green.

And here are my completed skeins! I still am so sad about the color.

I plied the single strand with the Navajo method to get this three ply yarn. Saturday was the first time I had ever plied, and I find I am quite pleased with the results.

My work basket, all ready for an afternoon of knitting.

And here is my first ever knitted project with yarn I hand spun! I was pretty excited about this!

I am making a little child's vest. I was going to make something for myself but I opted for a small project instead.

This was how far I got before running out of yarn. I knew I'd need about 220yds but I just couldn't wait to see what my yarn looked like knit up.

And that's all for now. I'll try and whip up a few more things over the next few days. I have a lot to do in the next few weeks so I am trying to prioritize and make a list of what needs to get done, and when it needs to get done. Sometimes it can be hard to knit/spin on a deadline. But so far it has been enjoyable.

Fiber Festival

This past weekend I went to my first ever Fiber Festival! Mother and I were away visiting relatives and it just so happened that there was a fiber festival not far from their house! I was pretty excited to go, it was a new experience for me. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't until I was browseing around that I realized I would probably be able to find some really nice roving here. I have been wanting to purchase some online but I have not got around to it.

Wool rugs crocheted with roving.

I thought this orange shawl was lovely. Unfortunately the price was a little steep for me.

I took this little fellows picture because he was so adorable. There were some Angora goats in the pen that I was trying to get a picture of but they just stood with their faces in the corner.

We saw a variety of spinning wheels, here are just a few. I did find a lady who's spinning wheels were smaller and a little more affordable. I liked the portability of them.

And of course there were all sorts of scrumtious roving, in multitudes of colors.

I'm not sure what all these fibers are, but I thought the basketfuls of fiber looked quite charming.

More roving of various blends. I loved this green color.

A young crafter checking out a possible purchase.

And of course no fiber festival would be complete without animals!

I was hoping to see some alpacas but there were only these three llamas. They didn't look too happy to see me.

Look at all these scrumptious hanks of handspun yarn! What a beautiful sight!

I didn't purchase any yarn, but I did find some nice roving. This lady here had a deal on these 8oz. balls of 70% merino wool/30% alpaca. One for $14 or two for $25. So naturally we got two.

I did finally catch this Angora buck's picture as I headed back to the vehicle. Isn't he adorable?

Some curls from a Wenslydale Sheep.

All in all it was a lovely experience. I came home with plenty of roving, including some lovely andgora that I can not wait to spin up. I am finding that I very much like this fiber festival business!

A little pink chemo cap

Yes, yes, I know this blog is named Holly Marie Knits. The reason there has been precious little knitting though is because I have been flying about all week and have not stopped to take any pics. I have done some knitting. In fact quite a bit, I think.
This yarn here is for a chemo cap, for a lady we know who has cancer. It's a fairly straight forward pattern, quite quick and easy. I actually am just about done with it, I only have to do one more eyelet repeat and then the decreasing for the top. It is found in the book "Knitting For Peace". I originally got this book just for the vest pattern, but it has lots of other patterns as well. And although I don't agree with everything in here, it is a very fascinating book to read through, and it makes me wish I could do more knitting for those in need. Whether it be our troops, orphans, or just someone who needs to know that some cares...well, maybe someday I will be able to do this type of knitting as well. I suppose in one way I am! Making this chemo cap out of this book....hmm, that makes me feel better already!

My Grandpa is in the hospital right now, probably with only a few days to live. This was very sudden, and has been very difficult on all of us. So if my blog is rather silent, or uninteresting, please bear with me for awhile.

Living Water

"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst: but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

~ John 4:13,14

A trip to the river

Contemplating the 234 steps down to the riverside.

These hole must have been made by one big woodpecker! Perhaps a pileated?

I took this picture for scale.

Perched in a rather precarious place.

The beautiful river side scenery.

There were some rather treacherous spots but we avoided those. There were lots of fallen down trees and muddy spots.

Speaking of fallen trees, this one made a good spot for a picture.

The hill side was covered in flowing water, it sprang from every little hole, nook, & cranny. This was the biggest of the small water falls we found.



Off to explore.



More beautiful scenery.



One last shot before heading home.


It was a nice treat to be by the water and spend some time in God's creation.

Bits of Knitting, Color, & Cooking

I kept my word and am including some knitting in this post. Sarah's bag is just about done. I have half of one handle to go, then I need to seam it together. Right now it is huge but she needs lots of space for her things.

This yarn has been a lot of fun to work with. I know from past experience that it felts well, but I am not sure how it felts when knitted, or how much it will shrink. That makes me a bit nervous.

Some of Paton's 100% wool that I am going to use for another purse. I have a fiber festival I am hoping to do in June so I am trying to whip together some things for that. Well, not 'whip', but try and get as much done as possible before then. I am hoping to do it with Debi if she is back by then.

Bee Balm just starting to bloom. The picture doesn't do it justice, it's coloring is simply stunning!

The amaryllis is just opening up! It is gorgeous, I think so anyways.

Dahlias on the porch.

Petunias on the other porch.

And look at these sweet little pansies! Do not they have the most adorable faces? All smiley and cheerful looking.

To finish of the evening last night, I did some baking. I have not done a whole lot of baking over the last six months. Mainly because it is extremely hard to bake something and know you can't eat it! Even more so when you have only had liquids for months on end! So I try to steer away from it most times. But Grandpa is back in the hospital with some sort of infection and fever. He has 'round the clock care from either Grandma, Mother or Aunt Sarah. So I knew they'd be needing a bit of sustenance for the day. I whipped up these "Melt-in-your-mouth Strawberry Muffins" It was a recipe I found on the lid of a Stoneyfield yogurt container.

This morning I put some eggs on to boil. Then I gathered together yogurt, cheese, cut up muskmelon, snack crackers, oatmeal, nine muffins, butter a box of Raspberry Green tea, and various bits of necessary cutlery. All of this went into the little cooler and a grocery bag, to be sent back to the hospital. Because of my poor diet (although we have been supplement as able) my immune system is low so I am not supposed to be in hospitals right now. Or anywhere else where there could be sick people. That is pretty much everywhere! But I still go out and do what I need to, shopping for Grandpa and Grandma mainly, quick visits to the library. I carry hand sanitizer everywhere.

But back to the cooking. At least this was some small way I felt that I could help. It's hard to be far away and not in the midst of where the action is, lending a helping hand.

Today I am home, visiting the family for a while. We might play some games or perhaps I'll do more knitting. My lace shawl has simply not gone anywhere. I suppose it would help if I worked on it.......