This past Saturday was the 7th annual Powhatan Festival of Fiber (and the 6th annual Lee Family Trip to the Fiber Festival). My husband is not exactly known for his punctuality, so I jokingly told him I was going to go without him. This got me thinking about our tradition (we only missed the 2nd year because we were living in North Carolina at the time). I heard of the first festival by chance when I was just starting my knitting business. I couldn't find a partner in crime w

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and the cold weather being back, today we are drinking an Irish coffee. There is definitely a liberal amount of Irish cream added. Here in Virginia, Spring seems to be locked in a battle with Winter, and it sure feels like Winter is winning. I needed something to warm me up, so a mix of coffee and alcohol is perfect. Of course, be careful that the caffeine doesn't mask just how much you have imbibed! I worked on a chunky scarf while having my dri

I have always thought about doing drink and knitting pattern pairings, similar to drink and food pairings. I find a nice wine or fun cocktail relaxing in the same way that I find knitting relaxing. What is better than knitting one, then sipping one? Today I start with a local spiced wine spiking my hot apple cider. This pairs well with a pattern like a washcloth. The pattern may be a little more challenging - counting may be involved. If you make a mistake, frogging is easy,

Last weekend was my first market that I ever put together. I found a venue and vendors, I promoted and strong armed friends into getting the word out. It was definitely waaaaaay outside of my comfort zone, but it ended up being a success. I have attended all kinds of markets and craft shows as a vendor. I have acted as assistant to my mom when she put on a series of Barn Sales full of vintage and handmade dealers. In 2018 I even held 2 pop ups in my home. So creating a market

My husband and I bought our first house at the end of 2017. With it came my own separate office space. No more sharing space with my wonderful but messy husband. I began dreaming of all the wonderful things I could do with the space. I bought a chandelier to replace the old, dated ceiling fan. I could be girlie in this room! My pinterest is full of dream home office pictures (and still growing). Now, I admit, my home office keeps taking the backburner as other things come up.

Welcome to part 2 of our beginner knitting series. If you haven't read vol. 1 yet, I definitely suggest starting there. We are going to touch on a few things left hanging in that post. Today we're going to talk about choosing your knitting needles, along with a few other tools. If you have picked out a pattern for your project, you probably already have an idea of what size needle you need. Most patterns will suggest a specific yarn and needle and then say something like "or

I know! I am a day late again. Truth be told, I was a bit overwhelmed by my chosen topic. So, I decided to split it into two parts, with the second in the series being posted Friday. We are talking about choosing the two main tools for knitting, needles and yarn. Today we are going to discuss how to decide on the yarn for your project and in volume 2 we will discuss the types of knitting needles and which one is best for your project. We may also go into a few other things li

I know. It is Saturday. But I actually had a few things to post for FO Friday this week. Problem is, I sat up to watch the first episode (second season) of Luke Cage with my husband, and sitting that long wore me out. My neck still isn't quite up to the task of supporting my head for more than 30 minutes. So I pretty much just went to sleep after that, completely forgetting about my blog post. For this one time exception I bring you Finished Object Friday on a Saturday. We ar

I promised more yarn reviews, and considering how many skeins I have of Kim Dyes Yarn, I thought this was a good indie dyer to start with. But first - I will give you a very quick update on me. You probably noticed I missed a few of my regular posting days. My surgery was a week ago and was a complete success, not that there were any concerns. If you haven't been keeping up, I had a cervical fusion to remove a badly herniated disc in my neck. It really had gotten to the point

Let's be honest - I had no plan for today's post. I frankly forgot it was even Tuesday. I am just shy of 1 week away from my cervical fusion surgery and that is pretty much all that is on my mind. What little things I need to buy, what I need to pack for my stay in the hospital, the cleaning I want to accomplish... my husband is wonderful and helpful, but he just doesn't see dirt and clutter in the same way I do. I have 4-6 weeks of cabin fever ahead of me, I want to at least

Can I drink a red bull at 10 o'clock at night? Asking for a friend. I am seriously exhausted. I keep thinking I will just get through this week and then I will get a break...and then I find myself filling up that time too. When I was shopping at all those wonderful yarn shops last weekend, I kept getting asked what I liked to knit. My answer - things that knit quickly. I do not have the time or the patience to knit a fair isle sweater. They are gorgeous and I am thankful for

Happy Tuesday! Sorry for missing Friday's post, but there was no way for me to get the blog post published while traveling. That just means there will be more finished objects for this Friday! As for how my husband and I spent our Memorial Day weekend, we traveled through the mountains of Virginia, stopping at every yarn shop along the way. All in all, there were 12 shops participating in this year's yarn crawl and we hit all 12 in 3 days. I believe we were some of the first

The last year or so has seen my traveling continue to increase to the levels of my college days. Happily, I can say that I stay in better hotels now than I did then! But it does mean I have learned how make sure my knitting makes the trip successfully with me. Things like TSA rules are always changing, but hopefully these ideas will help you enjoy your hobby on the go. First step, figuring what to take. Now I not only knit for pleasure, I do it as a business as well. So I bri

We made it to the weekend! Phew. Let me start with a little personal oversharing. I have a badly herniated disc in my neck that is compressing my spinal cord. Yup, that is as painful as it sounds. And because I am stubborn, I put off surgery longer than I should. But it is finally scheduled for June 12, and let me tell you, I am counting down the minutes. I have never been so happy to watch the days pass quickly! So another Friday is a win for me. I'm probably not unique in t

Happy Tuesday! I thought this would be a good time to talk about some of my favorite yarns to knit with. Let me warn you now. This is no yarn snob here. I do not only use the finest merino, spun by angels, and dyed by a local artist living on a commune. Don't get me wrong, there is some of that in my stash. I am an equal opportunity yarn lover and firmly believe there is a place in any stash for just about any type of yarn. They all have a purpose. So feel no shame if your on

Happy Friday! Welcome to our first Finished Object Friday. I kinda cheated this time. Since this is the first FOF post, I didn't actually knit everything this week. I did finish everything this week, so I feel like that is in the spirit of the post. Especially when you take into account how much I hate the actual finishing process. I let my projects stack up while I keep knitting, hoping elves will sneak into my office and weave in ends while I sleep. It hasn't happened yet,

I'm about a week late writing this, but let's be real - I was in a yarn coma. My husband and I have made PFoF our family tradition since it started in 2013. Let me take you back for a bit, to explain how this tradition got started. My husband (boyfriend at the time) has always been supportive of my knitting business, but that didn't mean he had to actually GO with me to buy yarn and do yarny things. So he had no plans on making the trek out to Powhatan to look at skein after

It has been a few weeks, but I still need to tell you about my trip down to Raleigh, NC for the Carolina Fiber Fest. Until then, I had only been to the Powhatan Fiber Fest and I was really excited to adventure somewhere new. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed! Being in a building versus out in a field did make for more crowded aisles and sometimes led to difficulty getting to the skein of yarn that caught your eye. But the 3 hour drive down was definitely worth the blast

I know. I should do these on Friday. But Friday is supposed to be Finished Object Friday (not that I have been able to post on a Friday yet), so we will just have to figure out a better title together. Also, I want to take a moment to apologize for my absence. My trip to Asheville really set me behind on my schedule! The hubby and I had a blast though, so totally worth it. Now. On to the good stuff. Free knitting pattern!!!! Spring time seems to equal baby time, so here is a

I know. I couldn't think up a fancy alliteration title, and I didn't want to wait until Friday. I just finished up a custom order for a cowl/hood and I thought I would share the love and pass on the pattern to you! I know, it is spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, but you never know when you need a little warmth (or plans for fall projects). The pattern is from years ago and until someone dug up an old picture and asked if I could make another one, I hadn't knit this hood