Bridemaid's Second Choice

Or, should I say, Bridemaid's Choice, the Second? Be that as it may, I am once again knitting on this underappreciated, versatile pattern from IK Knits, summer 2001. This one has Nepalese recycled sari silk for the neckline and the entire body is black alpaca from All Strings Considered. I bought this stuff last summer at the Scandinavian Folk Festival. I showed it to Birgitta when I saw her at the Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival and she heartily approved. (Of course she would, she is a vendor). But, I do think that the materials are suited to the design in that the sari silk is rather rigid and creates a firm neckline, and the body of the sweater is lightweight and thin and in Alpaca will be warm with a nice drape.

That teeny photo doesn't really do it justice. It is hard for me to get a good photo of the black alpaca because it does not have the gloss or shine of merino. It wants to absorb all of the flash the camera wants to muster and other photos end up over exposed. Oh, give me my plain old 35 mm with automatic nothing!

Soon, the sleeves will be off of stitch holders and I can try this on in daylight. That will be a better photo op.

Loot from the Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival!

I brought home many hours worth of spinning pleasure in the form of ready to spin rovings:
The blue and white, above, is alpaca with tussah silk (the blue is the silk) purchased from Birgitta Nostring, All Strings Considered. It is softer than velvet and the blue has a sheen to it.

Merino Tencel blend
The camel colored stuff is just a little hank the vendor gave me to practice with. The purpley, shiney ball is a future pair of socks!

This pretty mix is a wool blend with streaks of yellows, greens and bluish purples. I look forward to seeing how that spins up. Mostly, I picked that one to see what happens with colored roving.

This is still part of the original roving Debi got me started wtih. The skein on the left is the second skein, all ready to fondle, knit or simply admire.

Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival

Look at how much fun Sue is having knitting on the World's Largest Sock. I wonder what she is thinking about as she smiles so radiantly? Perhaps she is smug that she seems to be the youngest knitter on the job at that point in time. Her birthday is looming.

I worked on the big boy, too, at the Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival in Hemlock, NY. We enjoyed a scenic two and a half hour drive there on a beautiful Sunday. We arrived shortly after the opening, say about 10:30 AM and stayed until they were closing the place down after 4 PM.

The industrious guild members worked on a sheep to shawl project. It looked quite promising at the start time of 11 AM.

I must confess that I did not see the finished product but have no doubt that it was a beautiful sight. I got swept away supporting the vendors. More on that, next time. The festival was a delight of demos, classes, vendors and like-minded people. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and will definitely attend again.

Which of these looks like lunch?

Actually, both look like they COULD be lunch, but the actual lunch is on the right and was as big a treat as the fiber festival for me. It was Artichoke French over Beans and Greens with a couple of slices of baguette. Loved, loved, loved it.

The salad on the left is only mulberry leaves for the silkworms squirming on it. Not MY lunch.

Next time: Acquisitions and RAVELRY! Yep, I'm in! Look for Pattipurls. Well, after I get my act together there. I wonder if there is a knitting group on Ravelry for fans of Dr. Who?