Skip to main content

All Things Midwest

This past weekend, I spent an afternoon at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival with my fiber friend Lauren, which is one of our favorite regional shows to attend (second only to YarnCon in the spring).

I had a specific shopping list in mind which somehow I managed to stick to:

L-R: Cloudlover Spinning Fiber, Green Mountain Spinnery Weekend Wool, and Bijou Basin Ranch Tibetan Dream in Seaside, a limited-edition color dyed by Miss Babs.

Besides shopping the vendor marketplace, I spent a lot of my time talking to people at the show - I ran into a friend I haven't seen in a while, met up with Sarah of the excellent Knitting Sarah blog, and chatted with a few of my clients who had booths at the show. As always, there was plenty of temptation, but I was somehow able to resist.


We didn't get a chance to see the sheep shearing demonstration (though we caught it last year), but I did get a chance to make some sheepy friends and snap a few shots.




We also popped into the fleece auction right before it started, but thought it was best to remove ourselves before we filled our car with huge bags of fleece.


Per our tradition, we stopped on the way home to pick up some New Glarus Beer:


All in all, it was a fantastic day!

While I'm waxing poetic about all things Midwestern, I'd love to share my friend Allyson's latest project, which is currently raising funds via Kickstarter:


Midwestern Knits is a pattern collection celebrating the history and culture of the midwest, and it promises some great designs from both well-known and up-and-coming designers, all knit in yarns from the region. It's being curated by Allyson  Dykhuizen (from Holla Knits and the Sweatshop of Love) and Carina Spencer (designer of many great patterns, including Zuzu's Petals).


Allyson has published many design collections with Holla Knits, and the work ethic that both she and Carina have is exemplary; if they reach their funding goal, I know that the the resulting collection and book will be nothing short of spectacular.


Having done my own Kickstarter, I also know what an uphill battle reaching the funding goal can be. It's really hard work - even harder than doing the project you're raising funds for, in many ways!

If you can take a moment to visit their Kickstarter page to pledge - even $5 will be a big help to the cause (though I highly recommend taking advantage of some of their killer rewards). 

Click here to back Midwestern Knits! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends,  so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with  this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks).  The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels?  I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my  taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b