Wandering Creativity

This week has been mental...

2011-08-27T21:49:00.000-04:00

Alright...update time! Since I am too bored to write about EVERYTHING that's happened in the last week, I'll just post pictures with captions, that saves what's left of my tired brain. xx

I baked these for the fair, they're Raspberry Lime Cupcakes, yummy!

This is another shot of the lace weight merino I told you about

Here I am performing at the talent show

Then minutes later back up in Rabbit Showmanship

And what do ya know? I got Champion Showman!

Then I ran back down to the talent show and excitedly accepted my 2nd place ribbon (out of 20 or more competitors under the age of 19)

Mahabhuta got 1st place!

My cupcakes got fourth out of hundreds!

My Strawberry Shawl got Best of Show!

My skein got first out of a lot of other items!

After showing the Cotswolds

Showmanship

A small congratulations...

2011-08-21T10:12:00.000-04:00

I would just like to say "Congratulations!" to my friend Heather Zoppetti (Digitalnabi) her design, Dahlia Cardigan (ravelry link) is number 4 on Ravelry's New and Popular patterns! That's amazing! Keep up the good work Heather! I know you'll go far in whatever you do.

-Irina

Busy, busy, busy.

2011-08-18T20:59:00.001-04:00

Hi all! I'm sorry I've been so quiet this summer, I'm quite a bad blogger, never getting the hang of constantly updating. Alrighty, well, what have I been up to? Quite a bit actually, but at the same time, I haven't done a lot?
Well, let's start off with the things I had planned to complete this summer;
1. I have gotten nowhere on my Norwegian stocking, I haven't even picked it up since I got back from England, how absolutely dreadful of me! I see it as more of my winter project anyways.
2. Hockey is going great for me! Like, sincerely beautiful. Official practice starts the 7th, but I've been training all summer and feel quite confident about it.
3. I finished my skein of lace weight merino. Now it's just time for the super-secret project to unfold. (Picture Below)

4. I have been riding my horse, though not as much as I had hoped to be :(

5. I am white! The whole tan thing was a failure (Picture below)

6. I have finished a repeat of the baby blanket! Pitiful, I know. I just have no motivation to even look at it nowadays. -ashamed-

7. I painted my bathroom, and boy is it bright! I love it though, it makes me happy every time I walk into it and get blinded by the lovely orange hues. (Picture below)

So, in new news (monotonous much?)

Je suis brune.

I got to wash my sheep today :)

I've started knitting the Swallowtail Shawl (ravelry link) for my grandmother who lives in England. I hope I'll have it done by Christmas so she can have it for the rest of the winter. It's being made out of lovely yarn that my friend, Heather gifted me a while ago.

Almost school time!

2011-08-05T19:18:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, lovely school time. That means that very, very soon, I shall be feeling like I have no time to knit! Such a shame :( these are the moments I wish I could be graduated and living in a cottage up in the Yorkshire Moors...ah lovely dreams.

Anyways, even though I have been intently working on my summer reading report (blah. The Red Badge of Courage), I actually have had time to knit some, but I always forget to take pictures :( So maybe I shall have a day where I can just post pictures of all the projects I've completed. I'm very sorry that this post must be incredibly boring, but for now, that's all I have.

Will post soon,

Irina

Mahabhuta--Elements

2011-07-26T17:31:00.000-04:00

My friend Heather Zoppetti has designed one of the most beautiful scarfs I have seen, it's simple yet elegant, and such an easy knit. It's called Mahabhuta, which means Elements in Sanskrit.

Mahabhuta was my plane project on my way to and from England. I added two repeats width wise so it ended up being 17 inches across, and 61 inches length wise once blocked. I used my very own handspun Merino/Seacell yarn from Creatively Dyed Yarns, and I must say, the variegation wasn't too much, and it turned out quite lovely.

Summer projects, and projects from the past, all come back again.

2011-07-23T19:46:00.000-04:00

Let's see...here are some projects I'm currently working on....

Knitting a Faire Isle Stocking

Norwegian Stockings are always fun and interesting, considering I've never knit faire isle, or a sock...

Practicing for the upcoming hockey season, this definitely takes a lot of my time

Spinning lace weight for a little project I have in mind

This project should hopefully be finished in a year (just giving myself a nice long due date)

Riding my horse as much as possible

Attempting to tan, and I am a lot darker than I was at the start of summer...

Finish a baby blanket/toddler blanket/my blanket from May 2010

Paint my bathroom

Tomorrow I plan to paint this little bathroom a nice peach colour!

I hope you all are having a lovely day!

Irina
x

Oh Summer, where are you going?

2011-07-20T12:56:00.000-04:00

Summer is almost at it's end! How absolutely sad! Soon I'll be going back to school with 10x's less time to knit and spin :( this week has been quite busy for me. We're working on big things for the shop as I type this, but along with that, I've been skating, and getting ready for hockey season, plus the fairs coming up. I have my 4h Showcase, and E-town Fair, plus a Fair in the fall that I'm going to with my rabbits.
You know how I said I knit a lot in England?

This is right after we got back from England

The project pictured above is loads more colourful than the picture implies, and it's also grown a foot or 2 since the picture was taken! I can't wait until I get to block it and the pattern comes out!
Hope you all are having a nice summer,
Rini
x

& so I went to England..

2011-07-17T09:15:00.000-04:00

Ah. It was so lovely to be back in England, absolutely lovely. I have tons of photos :) But most of them are for a secret project so I can't post much. But the entire stay was lovely. We spent a night in London with my Aunt, and my Uncle. Then we travelled for about....7 hours? Up to Cockermouth, Cumbria in the Lakes District to go to Woolfest. We stayed at the same lovely place we had last time and everything. We managed to do Woolfest in a day, talk to everyone we needed to etc. then spent our second day visiting the town of Cockermouth. It is a lovely little town, I can't complain about anything on this trip honestly. I got the most amazing shoes while I was there! They're felted high heels with a Union Flag design on it. Très mignonne, in my opinion. Then we had to go to Whitby, on our was there, we stopped at in a town called Keswick---pronounced Kes-ick---and went on a boat ride around the lake there. We got to go into a field that was full of Herdwick sheep, and they are so adorable!
We got to Whitby, we spent a week there. In that week we spent time in the town and hiking. From High Hawsker there were two 3 mile seaside cliff hiking trails. One led to Whitby and the other one led to Robin Hood's Bay. The first time mon père, ma tante Hélène, mon oncle Joe, mon cousin George et moi hiked to Robin Hood's Bay. It was a lovely, long, tiring 3 hour hike, that left the 5 of us burnt from the sea air whipping at us, and the minimal protection from the sun. It was completely worth it though. The hike to Whitby (which was with the same people) was a lot easier, and was more like a walk. Still 3 miles, and 3 hours, but less up and down rocky paths, more like....rolling hillsides. Donc...c'était très bien et amusant.
We also went to see a lot of Abbeys, and Priories. We went to York Minster, Whitby Abbey, Kirkham Priory, and Westminster Abbey (once we returned to London) they were all lovely sights. Westminster Abbey brought me to tears, York Minster left me amazed, Whitby Abbey sparked my curiosity (as always) and Kirkham Priory was très interessant.

Overall is was a lovely trip. I got a ton of knitting done, and I got tons of goodies at Woolfest, but they will appear in blog posts every now and then and I shall say they are from England.

Officially 24 hours and 27 Minutes until England

2011-06-20T20:32:00.001-04:00

England here I come

Oh yay! I'm leaving for England tomorrow! Today was amazing as well! Well, I mean, it may not sound smashing to all of you, but I found it just lovely and simple.

I woke up early and cleaned my bunny barn, then we ran some errands and went to see my sheep. Where, along with my sheep is the cutest dog ever, his name is Joey and I believe I'm in love with the little cutie. He's the most adorable dachshund I've ever seen!

Joey!

My girls

Then we went to the shop and enjoyed a lovely afternoon of knitting. I've already started a project from some old hand-spun I had laying around, it's a secret project that isn't a major secret entirely. But here's a little sneak peak.

the hand-spun..

shhhhh....

Already my summer is amazing...

2011-06-15T12:09:00.000-04:00

I decided that this summer I would live with no regrets and try to make it as amazing as possible, and so far it seems to be working out :)
Let's see...on Saturday my Fleece to Shawl Team/4-H group was asked to demo at the Manning's annual spin in public day, so while I was there I picked up some sock yarn, Lobster Sox. It was dyed in Cape Cod, and Cape Cod is probably my favourite place in the US to visit, because of the weather and the ocean. So it has a special kind of meaning to me.

Today I went to go visit my sheep. They are so freaking adorable and all of the other sheep at the farm are so friendly and I've even made friends with an "ornery ram" who is now a lovebug :)

Prepare for an overload of adorable-ness.

Grace the Sheepdog

All waiting patiently to be fed

if Kitty hadn't moved her head it would've been the perfect pic

the Inseparable Twins

my Jem-Jem

perfection? I think yes.

my Kitty is a pig and loves her food

There's Margaret, the oldest, the wisest, the one named after me that we brought home from Maryland 6 years ago

Kitty <3

the barn cat

yummm salt lick

white sheep, white sheep? Have you any wool?

This is beauty at it's finest.

my Ram friend

Gracie is the most patient and loving sheep dog

So as you can see, the sheep are cuties :)

Summer already?

2011-06-07T18:55:00.000-04:00

I have one day of school left, so odd to consider, knowing that it seems that I've only started freshmen year.
I'm hoping this summer will be better than the last. I expect this summer to be filled with ice hockey, swimming, horse back riding, fairs, music, friends, and of course, KNITTING! I'm going to be going to England as well this summer, and though it won't be my favourite trip due to an illness in the family, I will thoroughly enjoy being in the place I want to call home one day.
I don't have much more to say honestly. I need to think more and with a math and French final coming up I need to concentrate on that. Well, for now I said "Au revoir! et à bièn tôt!" (good bye and see you later)

Did I ever tell you I want to travel the world?

2011-05-22T20:35:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking recently. What three things do I enjoy most...?

Travelling.

Photography.

And writing and performing my own music.

(see that happy girl right there with her guitar? yeah, that's me)

All of these are things I want to pursue when I get older. If there was such a thing as a Travelling Musician-Photographer-person as a full time job, I'd do everything in my power to take it. But once I'm out of school I think that's all I'd want to do. So I'm gonna take a shot at it. The musician part at least (the other two things can then be roped in) So, if any of you are interested in acoustic/pop/alternative sounding music, here's a song of mine, it's just recorded off my iPod...

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival...

2011-05-15T14:30:00.000-04:00

This year, Maryland was quite entertaining if I do say so myself, except, maybe it's for the fact that I actually WORKED this year, as opposed to last year where I was sick and sleeping in the dirt behind the booth. Anyways, this will just be a picture blog of some photo's from the weekend.

The view outside our hotel window

Advertisement much?

Ready for the day...not.

the Wensleydale side of the booth

Helen made us lovely little cupcakes, and they were delicious

Went for my birthday dinner at a little pub called the Trolley Stop

They had massive portions...

I always take the funniest pictures of Jen

That was after I ate some of it!

Jen met another woman nicknamed Cupcake, who brought us cupcakes!

All in all, it was quite a lovely weekend. I can't wait for next year!

I need to stop being so adventurous...

2011-04-15T21:52:00.000-04:00

Today, I went to the ER, again.

Because I got a nail stuck in my foot, with a 4 foot piece of wood along with it. Mind you, the picture above is once the firemen (who were quite attractive) cut off about 2-feet of the wood.

I was being a bad child and jumped into an abandoned barn, I managed to miss the broken glass, but hit the only piece of wood in the entire barn -_-

The police came, and calmed me down until the Medics came. Who then lifted me out of the basement of the barn and put me on the stretcher. The weight of the wood was too heavy and pulling on the skin of my foot, so the medics called in the firemen to cut off as much wood as possible.

The guy in the ambulance was very nice and we talked about hockey to keep me occupied.

Oh, lovely "/

I got x-rays, but everything seems to be fine...

My mom says that she cried more than I did

"Irrigating" my wound as the medics said

So all in all, I had an interesting night. Won't be skating for a while :( ah well, I guess I'll knit to keep me busy.

Much love,

Shh....

2011-04-14T16:23:00.000-04:00

It's a secret project? But here's a general sneak peek

Quite a beautiful beginning? Right? Ha. Well, the yarn itself is lovely. It's a Yak Down/Bamboo blend I got from Flying Fibers. It so soft and is very forgiving.

This. Is. Amazing.

2011-04-10T19:01:00.000-04:00

Completely unrelated to fiber arts. But.....

yeah buddy

These are my new-old Hockey Skates. They're Graf's which are a pretty good brand. They belonged to my friend before but he outgrew them and I've been using them the past couple weeks at open skate. I fell in love with them and he said a few people were interested in buying them so I bought them right there on the spot. They fit me perfectly, they are already worn in so I don't worry about blisters, and they're so amazing on the ice. I just go. So yeah, they make meee happyyy :) Another thing that makes me happy is that girls are allowed to try out for the ice hockey team at our school, so I'm gonna practice in the summer and hopefully try-out this Fall.

So there ya go. A little bit of Rini randomness to brighten your day? sure, let's go with that

Hiya :)

2011-04-03T22:37:00.000-04:00

Well, hi there everyone. I haven't posted in ages. I'm quite terrible at that, aren't I? I seem to forget or have nothing important happening. Hmmm. what to say, what to say. Well, okay....think Rini think. Aight, here's something. My mom actually finished my hockey socks for me! Yes, it was a shock. They're perfect for when I'm out on the ice though! They're thicker up around my ankles and thinner around my feet so they fit in the blasted skate!

Gorgeous? Before it was off the needles.

Did I also mention I split my chin open? Yeah, fooling around on the ice, shocker. 4 lovely stitches that stayed in for a week. But it was all okay in the end. I must admit, I felt like quite the bad@$$ (excuse my french) because I got stitches playing hockey with the big boys :) haha.

I was the most attractive girl in school with these stitches
(there was major sarcasm there..)

Alright, so, then, after that...I started a new de-stash thing, an entrelach scarf. My first time trying Entrelach and I seem to be doing an okay job. It's grown, but here's a picture of when it first started off

Looks good, right?

Hmm...what else? Well, I've been working a load on music. I finished one whole notebook full of songs. And I've started another. I started it on March 26th and I already have 13 songs in THAT notebook. And yes, these are pages front and back. So....over 220 songs since October 14, 2010....yeah. A little obsession, but...it keeps me sane.
Also, on March 25th I went to an Ellie Goulding concert with my best friend everrr! It was an amazing night, probably the overall highlight of my whole 2011 :) Nothing that will happen in the future 2011 will ever beat how amazing the concert was.

Most amazing woman, right there ^

Pax and I had so much fun, it was a great performance as well. Ellie was ace. Plus I got to meet her!

My life was made.

I love this girl right here <3

So yes, overall, I've had quite a hectic March, it wasn't the best up until the concert, but I'm hoping to make the rest of my 2011 as positive as possible.

LaLaLa Quite busy

2011-02-27T19:26:00.000-05:00

Hi all. I've been so terribly busy. But yet, it seems like I've done nothing! How is that possible? I have no idea.
So, from what I can remember;
I am stash busting like crazy. Honestly. In the shop my mother made me a wall of my stash so I work on it all one at a time. I'm not going to do a bunch of projects at once because then I'd never finish them all. So I'm being sensible and working on a project at a time. My current project is thinking of a project for my stash yarn.
Also, I'm going to be playing ice hockey at my local rink and I'm getting into skating again so my mom and me are knitting something together so it'll actually get done. The project is a pair of socks for me from the toe up. So far, I'm doing good, considering we've worked on it a total of 4 hours and it was a first time thing.

so that seems to be all for now....I'm going to honestly try to update more though!

-Irina

Long time no post?

2010-10-31T00:32:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I've been falling so behind. I have SO MUCH to tell you all, and sadly i will forget it by the time i am able to get a chance to properly post.

Rhinebeck, and lots of other things.

2010-10-17T18:41:00.000-04:00

So, I had such a fun time this weekend. I got SOOOOOOO many goodies!!!! I have probably 9 braids of roving! And plus, I have a little nice treat....

I got a Golding!!!!! and I LOVE IT! <3

I have never been so amazed with a spindle, and it spins like a dream, I am so amazingly happy :)

So, with my 9 braids of roving (5 from Creatively Dyed Yarns and 4 from some other person that had gorgeous color. Also, I've been making up patterns, just because I'm tired of following them. So this is what I have so far,

It's just a really simple pattern, but because it's some gorgeous sock yarn that I got a couple years ago from Shelby Knits

Oh, and this is what I looked like for Rhinebeck

Sheepskin coat, handknit gloves, hat, scarf, fur-lined shoes and two more layers under my coat. I'm usually the one that does like to even button my jacket, this means that it was FREEZING at Rhinebeck this year, and it really was.

And so what have I done other than that. Hmmm, knit, ride my horse, help shear sheep, knit, work on my music, etc. etc.

After a devastating Friday (October 1st. Broken hearts anyone?) I worked myself dead on the farm that weekend. And it helps, so much to be in physical pain. So, I helped shear sheep (so much fun, but major leg muscles) and I rode my horse, and galloped her.

Me holding up TJ while the shearer oils his shears.

pulling Foxy to a halt.

I also went to the Lebanon RBA rabbit show last weekend. And I picked up two new friends. There names are....

Pierre

and....

Antionette

They're my Creme D'Argents. They're a rare breed meat rabbit from France. They're known for their gorgeous colour. They have white guard hairs and underneath, a brilliant orange. I love them to pieces. They will be a breeding pair when Antoinette gets bigger.

So, that's all for now, I need to go and do homework that I've been avoiding. So I'll post later, see ya.

-Irina

Some changes

2010-09-10T23:07:00.000-04:00

Hi all. So as you can see, my blog has changed names! It's been quite a long time since I was in England (and I miss it horribly D: ) so I decided it was time to start things over, and just re do things.
So the name has changed. It is now Wandering Creativity, because that's what I have. I never stay on one form of art. And I have changed the layout to FALL COLOURS because I love fall so much. It's perfect weather. And yes, I know it means winters coming, but I don't care. I love it.

Also, I've been destashing. I still have 300 some yards left (I think...) of my handspun silk/cashmere/merino that was used to make my Travelling Woman. So I have a nice idea for it. But more to come later, so shhhh :P
Also, I visited the farm last weekend, and it was quite interesting, for I went on a ride in the pasture, and it was so peaceful....I was tired and it was chilly, my horse was so warm. So I leaned against her (still on her back) and then I woke up to this

It was absolute perfection in my mind.

I've been busy knitting some samples for the shop, and destashing. STILL D:

My little lace shrug (being made out of baby llama glow) is going well. I have 5 inches or so left :D here's a really bad pic (had the wrong lens on my camera ): ) but you'll get the idea hopefully.

School's also started again -_- it's not that bad, don't get me wrong. It's just slightly odd to be waking up everyday at 6. Getting to school by 7. Seeing my boyfriend for 2-3 minutes, then going to class. But it's one of those, whatever deals. It keeps me out of trouble.

Well, enough of my rambling, I need to keep knitting (now where'd my ruler go!)

Rini

Written 8.23.10

2010-08-24T08:33:00.000-04:00

Hi all.

I’m so very sorry for my lack of update. Finally I’m just writing this, getting it over with, at almost midnight.

What have I been up to? Working and getting ready for E-town Fair.

A couple days ago I did get to ride my horse though :)

Today, I washed the sheep. Yay!!! O.o

I’m only bringing Gandalf and Amazing Grace to the show (interesting to see who will win BoB out of the two) but I had to wash Gandalf all good and then help Ellen with a couple of her sheep.

To bide my time while I’m away from the shop, I’ve been knitting a lace shrug that I had started in March, figured it was a COMPLETE disaster, ripped it all out, and didn’t look at it for months. I finally picked it up a couple days ago and I’m quite far if I say so myself. When I first tried this pattern I thought it was sooo confusing! But I was really mislead, after knitting two lace shawls (Travelling Woman and Strawberry) this shrug seems like a piece o’ cake! :D

I’ve also been working out in the rabbitry. I have 7 rabbits for sale at the moment. More information later.

I’ve also been busy writing and such.

To top it all off, I have been practicing diligently with my friend Julia for we’re participating in the E-town talent show. I’m not aiming to win, but I like the whole performing aspect and to get myself out there for others to see. We’re going to be singing (I’ll be playing guitar too) Telephone by Lady Gaga. We’ve worked on it for a couple months now, and we’ve been figuring out different arrangements and harmonies so the song really doesn’t sound like the song. It’s much more acoustic, and the harmonies sound lovely.

So, that’s all. It’s getting late.

For now.

Rini.

P.S. more pictures later.

Yeah, I've been very busy

2010-08-18T15:47:00.002-04:00

I am slightly destashing. I made an art yarn out of some Coopsworth, etc etc.
So, I'm at work, and I'll post more once I'm not busy.

Alright....

2010-08-12T09:54:00.000-04:00

Sunrise

Well, I've been SLIIIGGGHHHTTTTLLLYYYY busy with lots of things, but I just thought I'd post some pictures of my recent projects that I've been knitting up

My "Heather Hat"

I knit this up quick as a stash bust. It took exactly 1 ball of SWTC's Therapi. That's approx 109 yards. It's a nice little beret/slouch type hat. It's my own quick design (of course I was too lazy to write it down -_-)

Sunrise

This was Roberta's Shawlette pattern that I knit up for my sister as a surprise Christmas present (she's actually modeling O.o)

Panda Hat! (minus the ears)

Yep, this is the panda hat. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it too, but whatever. I still need to add the pom poms for ears.

And I'm pretty sure thats it. So I'm still destashing, and I will be for ages.....but at least I'm admitting I have a problem.... :)

Oh, also. I have more yarn up for sale at Flying Fibers :) Some gorgeous BFL and Recycled Sari Silk :)

Wowza, destashing is harder than I imagined.

2010-08-06T18:14:00.000-04:00

Well, like I said, destashing is quite hard to do. I've realized I might have a slight addiction to anything fiber related. Sooooooo I'm slowly clearing it all up :) I've been knitting lots of hats, and I'm spinning like an addict O.o
Also, I've gotten into the idea of blending my own roving to spin or sell since it seems like a cool idea and it would give me a chance to be really creative. So, yeah. Not a big update, but not a lot has been going on. For now, see ya!
Irina
xx

Fair week finally over?

2010-07-31T20:39:00.000-04:00

ah yes! Fair week is over for a couple weeks. God, Lebanon just takes the energy out of you. -shrugs- not much more to report other than I have an idea brewing, and I shall be working on it vigorously!
I'll be in school in a month :) it's gonna be fine....I hope "/
Well I honestly don't have much to say, I'm going to bed, I'm really tired. I'll update when I'm more awake.
Rini
xx

Chocolat Chaud, panda's, and too much stash!

2010-07-29T13:23:00.000-04:00

So, let's see here...
I have been published in the Be Sweet Blog, Waggle Dancing. I'm soooo excited. It was a great accomplishment for me being only a teen. I hope many people like my pattern :)

I also have been loving a panda hat that Ellie Goulding wears, it's a panda. So I'm designing my own version of it. I'm using superwash merino for the white part, and some old hemp/wool yarn I found around the house. Here's a picture of her version,

Ellie Goulding

and once I'm done I'll post my version.

And finally, I was cleaning out my closet and found TONS of yarn! Yikes! I got more knitting to do! I'm going to have a lot of garments once I'm done with it.

Well, I'm off to fair.

Rini
xxx

P.S. I love the new Blogger posting template!

Ah, fair.

2010-07-26T08:26:00.003-04:00

Well, the Lebanon Fair Rabbit Show has taken place. It was a good show I believe. I'm still extremely tired though!

After some confusion (argghh) I handed in my entries (12 of them!) and then went to groom the rabbits before show. We showed and then waited for the indoor exhibits to be judged. The results of the rabbit show that day was my Havana got Best of Breed, and my Angora's got ribbons (forget now, not the best results that day though).

Then the indoor exhibits opened up and we rushed in their! Out of 12 entries I got 10 first place, and 2 second place. The person that beat me out was none other than Ellen, so I felt better considering she was my spinning teacher when I first got started. And my sister actually got Best in Show for her molded cookies! She's so happy even still.

The next day we showed we were almost caught up in a tornado! Scary stuff! The rabbits were going crazy, it was NOT good. Thankfully the storm passed and everything was good again. That was the day that my Havana got Best of Breed again, and my junior buck got best of breed and my doe got best opposite of breed. Happy happy rini ^.^

This is Oliver. He is my buck that got best of breed. :)

Well, I'm off to spend the day with my friend Julia (did I mention summer is getting better? I'm going to see a paramore concert with Julia on the 7th!!!)

Rini

xxx

Je suis content???

2010-07-22T10:20:00.005-04:00

I am content if nothing else. Summer has been dragging by and I think I seriously am stressing over high school even if I don't want to believe it. I've been so busy at Flying Fibers that I haven't been able to see my friends this summer. I dub this the worst summer I've had so far. No vacation, no friends, all just work work work, and knitting of course (which helps way more than I can fathom)

So off that sad note.

You know the Chocolat Chaud pattern I posted? Well my friend and her little boy came over for a modeling session. I must say, he is so adorable in the hat. :) Kristen (his mum) loves the hat so much she asked if I could make him one for Christmas! I was so glad that people besides me like the pattern. :)

isn't Cameron the cutest??

Also, I brought home Lacey Kate (my Satin angora) a few days ago. We drove her home while she sat on my lap, thankful for the A/C and papaya bits in the car. Now she's bouncing around her cage. Always coming over to say 'hi' (in rabbit language its a twitch of the nose and an allowance to kiss their nose) whenever I go out to feed or whatnot. Also the kits are getting HUGE. It's sooo adorable when you go out and see one of them sitting in the feed dish. ^.^

Well that seems all for now, Lebanon is soon, I'm not entering as many indoor exhibits as I had wanted. I just got bored after a while. I wasn't spinning for enjoyment or anything.

Bien, au revoir pour l'instant. Je vais poster plus vite.

-Irina

xxx

Oh, and it's been over a year since I've been in England :( I still haven't spun up the Zwartbles roving I got. :P

So excited!!!

2010-07-18T13:50:00.003-04:00

Oooooo! I just found an email from someone and it's quite exciting for me! I can't post details now, but once everything is done I'll be posting :)
That's all for now :)

With love,
Rini
xxx

Chocolat Chaud Toddler Hat

2010-07-16T20:34:00.002-04:00

Chocolat Chaud Toddler Hat

Size: Finished circumference, 15.7cm

Yarn: Be Sweet Bambino Taffy

Colour used in sample: Cocoa

Needles: US 6 (4.0mm) 16" circulars

Abbreviations:

CO- cast on

K- Knit

sts- stitches

K2tog- knit two together

Pattern

•CO 78 sts, join in round being careful not to twist the sts and place marker to distinguish the beginning of the round from the end

•Knit 5 rows

•Begin seed stitch. Continue for 1.2 inches

•Next section: Knit in stockinette stitch until piece measures 5.5 inches

Begin Crown:

•Decrease 10 sts evenly across the row

•Next row: [K2, K2tog] repeat across the row

•Next row: Knit

•Next row: [K1. K2tog] to end of row

•Next row: Knit

*K2tog across the row. Next Knit a row. Then K2tog across the row**

Repeat from * to ** until 16 sts remain. Pull yarn through the remaining sts tightly to seal crown.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-14T21:53:00.001-04:00

Sorry!!

2010-07-13T15:01:00.002-04:00

So I'm finally updating (seems like it took ages, right?)

I have been quite busy, with too many things to really post.

The most important thing (or things) I believe is that I have finished many projects (yay!) probably about 4 in the past week. I have finished my Sunrise shawl, a shawl that Heather designed, a toddler hat (which I designed and should be posting in a couple day), and another quick knit shawl for my sister.

Sorry, no pictures for now.

More later?? Maybe :P

C'est CHAUD!!!

2010-07-06T20:13:00.001-04:00

Argh! It's hot hot hot!!!! The poor rabbits are like all "blehhh" I just clipped them all back, I didn't care about the fiber, I didn't want to lose the poor lil' guys.

I'm so sorry I've been absent. I've been working on some things. I'll definitely post a big, long update once I get some things sorted out.

For now,

Irina

Desolee!

2010-06-30T15:44:00.002-04:00

I am so so sorry I haven't updated the past couple of days. I've been really busy trying to beat the heat. And KNIT! I'm helping a friend with something that I shall reveal when I see it's okay.

so for now, I'm sorry

but back to knitting!

completed :D

2010-06-27T10:17:00.003-04:00

C'est belle

Here's a picture of the shawl, right after I finished binding off I snapped this pic.

It's so soft, absolutely weightless (1.4 oz) and I have tons of yarn left over.

I adore it. I'll be blocking it sometime soon, but after I finish designing this one scarf, and finish up knitting the other simple pattern I designed, I'll start the Café au Lait (Coffee and Milk?) Mitts as a Christmas present with my Mum, they'll be made out of some soft organic Shetland yarn from Wales.

The kits are oh so adorable, I think it's a definite that there's some chocolates in Pumpkin's litter :)

Fini!

2010-06-26T14:42:00.002-04:00

Je fini moi châle de dentelle!

I think it's quite beautiful and does look like a sunrise/sunset over the Atlantic Ocean :D I'm so happy, you have no idea. C'est trés belle.

I still need to block it, but once it's done I'll post pictures.

Rini

Réactualiser

2010-06-25T16:44:00.003-04:00

Donc, j'aime à parler français, même si je ne suis pas le plus grand à lui.

Read French? Nah, I can't read that much either. That's the best I can do. It says 'So, I love to speak French, even though I'm not the greatest at it' :)

Okay, update. I'm almost done with my Travelling Woman shawl which I've named 'Sunrise' because it reminds me of the sunrise I see out the plane window. I literally have 8 rows left, then bind off. =O it's quite gorgeous if I may be braggadocios.

And Pumpkin's kits are doing quite well. As are Keira Lily's. They're getting quite big. Keira's kits have that nice sheen of new fiber coming over them but Pumpkin's are just all skin still.

That seems to be it. I really don't have much to say.

For now,

Rini

Pumpkin!

2010-06-23T10:29:00.002-04:00

Well, my red Satin Angora, Pumpkin, had 6 kits either last night or this morning. They're all happy and healthy and are regular size. That makes me quite happy. I didn't see any reds but it looks like I finally got some chocolates :D I'll try to post pictures later

so yep. the shawl is going well. And that seems to be it.

Oh, I miss England. It's been a year. I REALLY want to go back, if I had the chance I would fly over and live there.

-Irina

Keira Lily's kits

2010-06-22T16:33:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of the baby bunnies.

They aren't the cutest now, but in a month or so they go into the 'cute' phase.

Also, I finally started the shawl. I'm only a couple rows in, but once it starts looking like a shawl I'll post pictures.

a thought just came to my mind....

2010-06-21T15:35:00.001-04:00

oh wow, I just realized that I started this blog pretty much a year ago when my family went to England. I seriously miss England sooo much. I can't wait to go back (no idea when that will be) even though I wasn't born there or anything I still feel like it's my home and I get a longing for it a lot.

In other news,

One of Keira Lily's kits passed away yesterday. He was the tiniest one that I was afraid wasn't going to make it a couple of days ago. The two remaining kits are healthy, happy, and jumpy. Wow, they seem older than 4 days old! The now smallest one is actually regular size and the large one looks like he/she's actually a week or two old! He/She'll be a big bunny all grown up!

Also, I finished spinning the silk/cashmere/merino blend, it's approx. 700 yards. that's enough for 2 'Travelling Woman' shawls :O

isn't it pretty?

Kits, Knits, and lots of spinning

2010-06-20T10:32:00.000-04:00

Well, Keira Lily had her kits. They are soooo adorable ^.^ They're three of them, all chestnuts most likely. Out of the three they go down in size. There is a big one, a regular sized one, and a tiny one which I was afraid wasn't going to make the night. They are soooooo adorable! :)

In the pic, that's the biggest baby, can you make him/her out? Nestled between Keira's fiber and the straw... (sorry the picture's so dark, it was evening when I took the pic which means little light)

Also, I'm slowly beginning to design my own scarf pattern. It's gonna be simple but elegant. (hopefully) My Mum is gonna let me sell the pattern at the shop if I perfect it. Along with that I'm also just knitting/designing a scarf for a sweater/hat/scarf set my Mum and I are knitting together. It's a fun little scarf that I started last night at a Barnstormer's game.

I've also been spinning some gorgeous merino/silk/cashmere blend roving that is so gorgeous. It's lovely colours, dyed by Creatively Dyed Yarn. I will knit a shawl, Travelling Woman, out of it. My friend Heather recommended it to me. Her and Kim have inspired me to start knitting lace.

I'm hopefully gonna finish spinning/plying today so I'll come home and block it then get knitting right away!

Irina

one down! a million to go!

2010-06-18T13:02:00.000-04:00

I finally finished another project! The 'Be Sweet bambino taffy baby hat' and it is oh so adorable! I need to block it still but once I do I'll post pictures! :)

Also, my rabbit, Keira Lily was quite irritable and hopping around the cage a little mad. so hopefully i'm going to have some bustling kits soon :)

Irina

I really need to update more often.

2010-06-17T17:23:00.000-04:00

But my life has been absolutely hectic! I mean, seriously busy.

School is over and the summer is boring as heck!

I've been hanging out at Flying Fibers and knitting samples (a.k.a. de-stashing) for my Mum. andddd I've been spinning lots :) it's all good.

let's see, I'm almost done with a baby hat! I just have to finish the i-cord's. I'm knitting the 'be sweet bambino taffy' baby hat pattern that comes with the yarn. It's got hearts and bobbles on it! so cute! I'll definitely be posting more pictures and such of my finished projects etc. etc.

well, off to finish the hat!

-Irina.

Also, check out my website: http://wanderingfibers.webs.com/

I'm starting to get more serious with my rabbits so I needed a proper site and such

Spring!

2010-04-11T19:37:00.000-04:00

Spring is finally here! I got to go outside and play with my bunnies :) they loved the fresh grass.
Not a lot is going on in my life at the moment really....

This is Cedric. He's a fawn French angora. I love him to death. He just got his "haircut" a week ago, that's why he's not so fluffy.

Stu Valentino: first lamb of the season

2010-02-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, the first lamb of the season was born yesterday :) His name is Stu Valentino & he was born to my sheep, Noel. He's beautiful. The sire was a Jacob and the dam a natural coloured-moorit sheep.

He is just the cutest. He looks sorta like a calf, no? haha

I love this picture.

Awww, Noel&Valentino <3>

New Years Eve!

2009-12-31T10:35:00.001-05:00

Wow! The year went by so fast. I can't believe that I'll be back in school soon :(

So many things have happened in this year.

-I participated in Farm Show

-I got my first sheep

-My first sheep had her first lamb

-I sold my first skein of yarn off my wheel at a fiber-festival

-My family went to England and I visited Woolfest for the first time in my life (and it was beyond amazing)

-We got 3 North American Wensleydale ewes <3

-I wove my first shawl and got a first place & blue merit for it at Lebanon Fair

-I spun bamboo for the first time and fell instantly in love with it

-E-town fair! I showed my rabbits and sheep there. Lacey Kate (satin angora rabbit: jr.) got best of breed and Guinevere (NA Wensleydale sheep) got Best of Breed

-I went to Rhinebeck 2009 and we came home with two North American Wensleydale Rams named Sir Winston and TJ

-I got a Ladybug spinning wheel

-My mom opened a fiber arts shop in Landisville, PA. Flying Fibers <3

-I actually started knitting a garment (a gorgeous SheepShop pattern) and am working on it now

So, fiber arts wise, my year was pretty good. :)

-Irina

xxx

Joyeux Noël!

2009-12-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Christmas everyone!

How was yours?

Mine was beyond fantastic!

I got some really nice things.

My favourite was the Nikon D3000. It's a really nice camera. I was entirely speechless when I opened it! I also got some silk from Ellen: silk, soy silk, and tussah silk. Mmmm! Good.

I got some clothes, earrings, ear buds, and 3 new books (darn, I have to make more room on my bookshelf now!) the books I got were Shiver (I read it all in 4 hours, it's an amazing book if you like fantasy/romance), Graceling and Fire. I also got the Harry Potter DVD (watched that already too). My sister arranged a beautiful present for me: a stuffed bunny rabbit made from SoySilk. They bunny's name is Soynia. hehe. it's so cute! I love it!

I've been experimenting with the D3000 and I'm loving it! It's 10x's better than my old point-and-shoot :)

So, that's all really, today was a slow day really. We opened presents, skyped the family in England (got to even see Jack who came home for Christmas), and then we watched Harry Potter and I read a book taking breaks every-once in a while to take some pictures. So over-all today was an absolutely brilliant day! I hope you're Christmas was just as good!

-Irina

Salut!

2009-12-22T16:54:00.000-05:00

Bonjour! Salut! Ça va?

I'm fine actually!

Um, let's see...

I'm back at school, which is oh so boring but I love my teachers and I adore French class, it is beyond amazing!

My mom opened up a fiber-arts studio/shop which is nice. Flying Fibers. It's the business she's had (it's actually a family business now that I think about it) and she decided to open a bricks and mortar shop. It's so much fun there!

Check out that blog, please. I update that blog too, so you may read terms as "no lie" and other things I have a tendency to say while speaking. :)

Yes, so I'm thinking, I spin way to much, and don't do anything with the skeins because I don't care for knitting very much. So I was thinking that maybe I should sell some of them. I'm working on some alpaca right now, light and dark browns. I'm gonna cable ply it. It's only 2 oz, but if someone likes it I'm sure I could spin up more.

Also, we went up to Rhinebeck this year and wow! We came home with 2 more NA Wensleydale's except, these ones are rams. Hehe. :)

So this fall Jemma and Guinevere were bred to Sir Winston Wensleydale (natural) and then TJ (black) was bred to two BFL's for a nice spinners fleece.

Who all is coming out to Farm Show? I'll be competing in the Youth competition and the adult competition this year! The shawls are so gorgeous! I love them :)

So, that's all, I guess.

See ya,

Rini

Lebanon, E-Town, Wensleydales, oh my!

2009-09-04T11:36:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone. Yes, I know that I'm not in England anymore but I had some things to share with you. Don't worry tons of random pictures coming at the end of the post

Recently we bought rare breed North American Wensleydale. They are gorgeous! Their names are Katherine (Kat, KitKat, Kitty), Guinevere (Gwinny), and Jemma (Jem, Jems, Jemmy). We drove all the way to Michigan from the east side of Pennsylvania to get them. It was worth it. Oh, yeah. Kat is a lamb, Guinevere is a yearling, and Jemma is 2 years old.

We then had to prepare for Lebanon Area Fair. I entered tons of handspun skeins, a few knit items and I wove a bamboo shawl, this was my first time weaving. It was a challenge...an amazing challenge. I still snuggle with that first place, blue merit shawl every night. All of my items did extremely well. I showed my Satin Angora Rabbits at Lebanon Fair as well. They did good. My Junior Buck, Lightning got Best Opposite Sex of Breed both days.

Elizabethtown Fair was great as well. I only entered one skein there because they had stupid categories, but I entered my rabbits again and this time, my three lovely sheep. My Junior Doe, Lacey Kate got Best of Breed!!! I was sooooo excited and happy! She's a keeper, definitely. She's sweet and loves to give kisses as well. She was always a winner in my book and this confirms it. Then I also showed for the first time in Rabbit Showmanship and got Reserve Champion in my class and I was up against teens who had been showing and working with rabbits longer than I had.

On to the sheep show then. First, I had to do sheep showmanship. The thing was, my sheep had never been handled in their life, they had only been on a halter for a couple minutes loading on and off the truck when they were brought to PA. But in the end, I got fourth. I used Jemma, she was older and had lambed which made her tamer than the other two. She did well, she didn't like her back legs being touched though...

After showing Ellen's Icelandic Sheep it was time to show the Wensleydale. I was so nervous. I took Jemma, Alex took Guinevere and Ashley took KitKat into the show ring all at once. Guinevere got best of breed (yay!), Jemma got second and Kat third. That meant I had to go in for Supreme Champion with a sheep I never led around before. She walked well for me though. She didn't win Supreme but I expected that...

So I guess that's it...

now time for pictures from England/Woolfest, and other events...

Gotland sheep

Teeswater sheep

Cute pillows at the SheepShop

A mini fashion show showing off all the hand-knit jumpers at the SheepShop

The Wensleydale's when we first got them. Kat is the smallest, Guinevere is in the middle and Jemma is on the far right.

Showing Guinevere for Supreme Champion at E-Town Fair

so I guess that's it. There are more pictures, I'm just not sure if Blogger can handle it. haha.

helloooooooooooooo Wensleydale....

2009-07-03T04:31:00.000-04:00

heya!
Today my Mom and I are gonna go to the Wensleydale Longwool Sheepshop up in Wensleydale, Yorkshire.
Apparently we're having lunch there which will be nice.
I can't think of much more to say actually...
I'll be losing the internet today,ye be warned...
I miss everyone so much but we'll be back next Friday though!
Then ROAD-TRIP!!!!!!!!!
haha.
Not much more left to say :D

Love everyone lots,
Irina
xx

bonjour my friends

2009-07-02T04:40:00.000-04:00

Hi all. I'm sitting here at the breakfast table. It's getting very tiring over here.
Last night after dinner we watched the movie 'Son of Rambow.' It was actually a really good movie.

Anyways, today we're gonna go to Malten (sp?) to see my 'Auntie' Betty. She was friends with my dad's grandfather so my Dad's considers her a family member.

Yup.

gosh. I really don't know what to write. They day is young, 9:46 AM.

hmmm. oh. my cousin, George, apparently knows Rob Pattinson (Edward in Twilight). This has no meaning to any of you (maybe Rose considering she hates Twilight) but I found it odd that my un-famous cousin knows two famous people besides his brother.
hm.
well. I guess I should stop rambling.

Lots of Love to everyone,
Rini
xx

2009-07-01T13:01:00.000-04:00

Almost dinner time over here...
Today we went to Robin Hood's Bay. It was nice but we went when the tide was high so we couldn't walk along the beach or anything. I got some really nice photos though. GRRR. It's gonna be so hard to pick out photos for Fair.
Then we drive back to Whitby and had a nice lunch up by the Abbey. We split up then because my Grandparents were getting tired and we had to pick up some friends who were coming over for tea. So my Aunt, Uncle, George (cousin) and Grandparents left while my other Aunt, Helen, and my family stayed and payed to see the Abbey. It was gorgeous. I must've been the ideal height (5'2 and still proud) because when I laid in one of the excavated graves I fit perfectly. It was gorgeous and I got some amazing photos as well. Then we went into the graveyard/St. Mary's part of the cliff and read all the dates. The earliest one I saw was 1706. It was crazy!!
The tea with the friends I have no recollection of was nice. they were an elderly couple who have lived in Whitby for ages.
I'm really having fun here.
oh yeah. yesterday going to Whitby... George, Tejal and I proved we would never be meeting Tiger Woods on the golf course because we were dreadfully on a tacky little mini golf course called 'Crazy Golf' we failed. but had the best fun ever. :D

I finished Dracula. Weirdest yet pretty good book. Since it was reformatted to fit on my iPhone I read 1867 pages worth of vampire-craziness.
Got to go,
it's dinner.
lots of love,
rini
xx

we're not yet dead!

2009-06-30T04:30:00.000-04:00

Hiya! I miss everyone sooooooooooo much it's incredible, but I must admit I'm loving England.

We're in Whitby now. It's my most favourite place in England, definitley. I wish I could add pictures but the computer is slow and would likely crash if I tried to make it think to hard.

Woolfest was so much fun! It was big and indoors which was nice even though it was lovely weather. We met tons of people, some who have suppiled Flying Fibers with the yarn and such. We also met a lovely woman named Nicki. She ran the Gotland booth there. She was really friendly and so were her Gotlands. We bought lots of things at Woolfest and I can't wait to come back to the Fiber Studio and show you guys everything. I'm even knitting with yarn I bought (hand-dyed Merino/Tencel (sp?) yarn. I'm knitting it up in a seed stitch.
I'm not sure what else to say...oh yea, we got Zwartbles and a few really nice sheep books.

It's 9:37 here and I started reading Dracula at 5:00 this morning, I'm now on page 713 (iPhone format) and it's actually pretty good. At first it was boring but... my Dad thought it would be nice for me to read it since we were in the place it was written in. Oh, I'm also reading Wuthering Heights. It is the most confusing book I've ever read. If you haven't read it yet...don't.
Emily Bronte is a vague writer....

OH MY GOSH... I'm giving book critiques on a fiber-related blog. I'm so confuzzled haha.

Today is Tejal's "birthday." We're gonna celebrate it today since we were driving to Woolfest on her birthday.
So. I guess there is not much more to say...England has nice weather...

Lots of Love,
Rini
xx

P.S. I miss my sheep and bunnies!!! (let's name them for fun and to pass the time)
Saoirse, Noel, Cedric, Pumpkin, Cocoa Puff, Keira Lily, Stormy, and the 9 babies. :D oh, and that Havanna (sp?) from Mr. Norris.

shopping

2009-06-24T16:45:00.000-04:00

yup, today we went to the largest mall in Europe. It was huge, expensive, and gorgeous. Tejal went to her favourite shop, Monsoon, which is Indian inspired clothing. Then my Mom, Aunt, and I found a shop called Desigual which is a shop originated in Spain.
I two amazing dresses, they're really original. (and yes, they do look great over a tank top and skiiny jeans :P)
I don't really have much more to say. We finished up take-out night (Indian, yummm!). I'm actually getting a little tired (it's almost 10PM over here). I guess I'm handling jetlag easier than before.
Did you know that the English computer keyboards are laid out differently? It took me forever to find the @ button.

Driving to Woolfest tomorrow!!!!!!!!

Irina
xx

YAY!!!!!!!

2009-06-23T17:31:00.001-04:00

everything about the plane trip was REALLY nice. The airport was effortless, it was a nice time to go, not many people were there. I didn't sleep the entire plane ride, just read and finished a book and watched a few movies. Mom slept for an hour and Tejal and Dad were out for almost the whole flight. I started dosing off when we were landing because we had an extra ten minutes of figure eights around the runway.

We landed safely though and went through immigration and customs smoothly with little wait. We were greeted by my Aunt Alison, Grandma and Grandpa.

Mom, Dad, Grandpa and I went to get the rental car (it was nice, we got to pick any car in a certain lot) when we were driving back I decided to get some of my seed-stitch scarf done for Lebanon Fair which I only managed to finish a couple of rows because my vision was going blurry from exhaustion.

I fell asleep in the car then and woke up when we arrived at my Aunt's house. There we had some tea and then I went into the living room/den to start to re-read the book I had finished on the plane and fell asleep, again. But I woke up a couple hours later (I think it was 3:00PM our time) and felt tons better. So we had more tea and then my cousin surprised us by coming home. He was in Norway for a gig with his band and we didn't expect to see him.

We had a nice little dinner with the four of us, my Aunt Alison and Uncle Joe, Jack, and his girlfriend Louise.

My other cousin George came back when we were starting dessert.

We're going shopping tomorrow and I really don't know what to expect at Woolfest, I'll give y'all updates when I can.

Rini

xx

Info.

2009-06-21T16:28:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a trip to England, my family and I are going tons of places. London, Woolfest (the equivelent of Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival), Whitby (up north) and Yorkshire (up north as well).

Hey all. So, tomorrow at 5:30 PM EST. We will start driving and then our plane will take off at 9 PM EST.

From there we will land in Heathrow and drive to my Aunts house in Ealing. I might have internet access there. But if I don't, I'll miss everyone at the Fiber Studio!!!!!

Irina