The Peace Blanket and Opal Sock Yarn Back in February 2005, the chorus I sing with, Confluence, received a letter inviting them to send members to sing "Sing For the Cure" with members from 17 other GALA choruses from the US, Canada, and outside North America. The performance, which would include "When We No Longer Touch" , would take place in February 2006 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. When the invitation was broadcast to the chorus, I knew this was going to be an opportunity of a lifetime that I could not pass up, even though it would be a challenge for me to raise the funds to go. So after some thought, I came up with making an afghan with meaning then raffling it off and using the funds to help cover the expense. It was before we knew which requiem we would be singing but I felt the subjects would limit who would purchase raffle tickets. I knew of the Peace Blanket and had read the story behind it in KnitLit (Too) . It would also be my response to the Iraq War and the terrorist bombings. So I have been working on this piece with the goal of completing it by the end of August. The top, which is my redesign of the blanket, is completed. To protect the floats, I made a back piece that incorporates my signature and the date (it also broke up the rows upon tedious rows of stockinette!). Both pieces were done in the round so after cutting the steeks, I bound them together with a crochet edge that will work as the foundation row for my border. The border is of my own design, which means trying to figure out what to do with the limited amount of yarn I have left. It was a closeout, so I can't get any more yarn once this is used up. =8P Anne has requested that I post a pic of the Opal sock yarn waiting to be knitted into socks. Here you go, missy!

Confessions of a fiber freak..... Woodland Woolworks -- I swear I'm getting to be a junkie there. It's an hour & a half drive from my house through the beautiful Yamhill County countryside and all you see that marks it as a fiber shop is a spinning wheel atop their sign. Inside is their retail shop with walls lined with fiber tools (needles, crochet hooks, spinning supplies). On the floor are racks of yarn, shelves of roving, kits, books, tools, and other goodies. Then there's the clearance room with discontinued yarns, books, and tools such as spinning wheels, looms, combs, and spindles. Upstairs is their weaving supplies room. Today I drove there, avoiding the Old Fashioned Festival in Newberg, only to see a "Closed" sign on their door! If the warehouse doors weren't open, I would have thought I had missed a message they had posted on their website. But as it turned out someone forgot to turn the sign. =8) It was the last weekend I'd have to myself for a while and I was in need of some serious indulgence. I left with a number of books that were on sale, a new swift, a Fricke jumbo skeinwinder, and some Brittany 10" needles. No good yarns to steal my heart in the Clearance room though I was tempted by the closeouts on Opal Yarn. If I didn't already have 5 skeins of Opal waiting for my sockneedles to get to work on them, I'd have picked up another. Current project: This tea cosy from Sarah Bradberry's website. I'm going to alter the top a bit; it's for a friend of mine who's returning to work after recuperating from a total hysterectomy.

Welcome to my adventures in the world of fiber creativity! You'll find in here my notes on projects I'm working on, experiences in the world of fiber, and observations. I also sing in a chorus, so I'll be documenting those experiences as well. My cats will also pop in on occasion. Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert in the fields I will be posting on, so if you disagree on any techniques I describe or information cited, please contact me! I try to research my information so that I'm giving accurate information for those who don't know, but I'm not perfect.