Midnight Run Blanket

     It can be hard to remember that there are many things all Americans agree about and many ways we can work together to make this world a better place.
     Earlier this summer, a couple of ladies in our knitting group proposed we spend our summer knitting for charity.  We initially thought we’d get one blanket to donate to a local church’s midnight run, so I posted the idea on social media to see if there would be any interest.  The response was overwhelming. Both experienced and beginner knitters have been excited about this idea and participation has been high.  Even a local business wants to donate yarn for this project.  As a result, we now have four blankets to donate, and we are planning to repeat the effort in 2019.
     As knitters, we have a unique opportunity to join together in our communities to make small changes, one stitch at a time.  We make things that can really help people, all the while putting love and good wishes into each stitch.  The blankets we make will be cherished by the recipients, and we can pass our love of craft along to help others.
Advertisement

Marushka Roving

00000000aaaaA friend asked me to spin the undercoat of her Samoyed into yarn.  I had done this before and had been happy with the resulting yarn.  The Samoyed fiber acts much like Angora does: it blooms, has little if any memory, and is very warm, which is why I like to ply it with wool.  In this case, however, because my Merino stash was quite depleted, I was shopping for similar roving.  I would have considered just about any soft wool — BFL, Cormo, Romeldale and the like were all in the running.  I remembered meeting Marie Minnich from Marushka Farms at Rhinebeck a few years ago and decided to give her a call to see if she could help me.  She maintains the largest flock of Romeldale in the US.  Odds are, her stash is probably larger than mine. Emails were exchanged, and we both decided on a Romeldale roving with added silk and mohair.  The roving was delivered to my door yesterday.  Time to dust off the spinning wheel.  We will spin come the dawn.

Musings From Dutchess County

rhinebeck 2015Rhinebeck 2015. Cotton candy, Leicester Longwools, Miss Babs, Periwinkle Sheep, Briar Rose, Jenny the Potter, and snow (yes, that’s right, the white stuff you shouldn’t see before December). Sharon, Veronica and I had a wonderful time.

Sharon had planned her trip well, shopping with knitting patterns in hand.  She was on the lookout for, among other things, 1000 yards of gradient fingerweight yarn (thank you, Miss Babs). Veronica got a shawl pin and a swift.  The yarn fumes got to me, and I walked away with quite a haul: wonderful yarn from Briar Rose and Miss Babs