Awesome Weekend in Meadows of Dan!

What's Needlin' Ewe: New yarn shop in Mount Airy, North Carolina

It has been a busy week and weekend up here on the mountain, although you might have guessed that from my silence on this blog! Lots of people came up to enjoy the cool breezes, the Chinquapin Festival, the opening of the Corn Maze and lots and LOTS of yard sales!


Strange tomato from Mountain Meadow Farm and Craft Market

The garden is sort of winding down, just in time for me to be busy with other things. My tomatoes have fallen victim to late blight, but the freezer is full and I'm content to let them go the way of all things. The half-runner beans, however, haven't gotten the hint that fall is on the way and I've been stringing and freezing for days. We're also waiting on the sweet corn, planted late, and impatiently checking the watermelons every week for signs that they are getting ripe!


Wild Aster on the farm

It was a lot of fun this week seeing so many people at the shop. Some old friends came to visit and I met some new and enthusiastic knitters and may have started a couple of nice neighbors into spindle spinning. Everyone that comes in to the shop makes a bee-line for Miss Babs and her beautiful rovings, even if they don't spin. Yet!

We have a couple of great sales going on with two of our vendors. Fiber on the Mountain is running a 20% off sale on her beautiful handspun skeins and Knit Fit Knitting is continuing her 50% off sale on her hand dyed and handspun yarns, mostly sock weight. Come in and check them out!


At What's Needlin' Ewe

I took a break from my shop on Saturday to go down Squirrel Spur to Mount Airy to check out the new yarn shop there and record Episode 3 of our podcast. It was a beautiful drive down the mountain and a lot of people, especially on motorcycles, were enjoying the scenery and the sunshine. I saw the new Angel Overlook about halfway down Squirrel Spur. It's shaping up to be a lovely spot where people can picnic and see an impressive view of a lovely part of Patrick County.

There were lots of people in Mount Airy, but I found easy parking not far from the LYS. We talked a lot about the shop on the podcast, but I do want to say that it is lovely and the yarns they've chosen look to be smashing. I didn't have time to really shop because I had to get back to work, but I'll be heading back down soon to fondle and purchase. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming and I know how knowledgeable Natalie is about knitting and spinning. Check out their web page for classes!


Blue Texel Two-ply Handspun Yarn

I finished the Texel I've been spinning, and really like how it turned out this time. I aimed for a finer single and the resulting yarn is a nice sport to light worsted thick and thin. The colors range from deep to light Carolina blues. I'll be putting it up for sale at the shop as soon as I get the skeins measured and rewound. It think it would make beautiful hand warmers or hats!

And now I'm spinning dog hair! One of the Stitch 'n Chat knitters told her neighbor about my shop and she brought in a lovely bag of combed "wool" from her dog. I think she said it was a Komodor. It has been fun to spin, much like alpaca. I haven't had much time to work on anything else lately, but I'm still crocheting a bag and spindling some of Miss Babs beautiful roving, when I have a break!

Well, it rained some...

but who had time to notice? Sadly a lot of folks in Patrick County haven't been seeing the nice showers we've had here in Meadows of Dan. My garden is very happy right now, though. I'm happy, too, because I'm getting a few little tomatoes and the watermelons are blooming! Don't have any idea that we'll see a watermelon here but you never know!


Eggs in a nest in Sue's garden

Sue found a nest in one of her caged tomato plants a couple of evenings ago. She was watering and looking for ripe tomatoes when she saw it. There were four eggs in it and some poking around at bird information sites makes me think the nest might belong to a house finch. According to the books, a house finch will nest twice during the year. There are few things more beautiful to me than birds' eggs. I love the look of them.

I've been wildly busy, trying to get some advertising done for this year's Meadows of Dan Folk Fair, scheduled for August 8 this year. Amazing how fast time flies! I'll be hosting hand spinning demonstrations here at the shop and Blue Ridge Tree Climbing is coming to talk about his interesting tree climbing teaching and demonstrate tying knots. There's a play in town that day, lots of music and crafters and some other demonstrations going on. Even a chain saw artist!

I've also been working on three new web sites, which I'll talk about a bit more when they're all ready for company. And as usual, I'm behind on the newsletter progress but hope to get it out today or tomorrow. I need to start bugging some of my vendors for articles...hint, hint!

And speaking of projects, I've just signed on for a fantastic new one. Natalie of Knit Fit Knitting, on of my talented vendors, is an indie dyer with great ideas for promotion. She approached me not long ago about doing a podcast called "Knitting in the Round" which would feature local artisan yarn, spinning fiber, and the process of creation from the fiber animal to the finished product. We recorded our first session yesterday here at the shop and Natalie has it posted. We also put up a blog, Knitting in the Round, with more details and some photographs. We plan to post a session every two weeks and our next will feature an interview with a local fiber artisan.


Texel Singles

And somehow I've managed to get some spinning time in, between meetings, computer work and the odd weeding session in the garden. I'm trying to fill a bobbin on the Reeves wheel with some fine Texel wool singles. This is yet more of the Texel I bought at Border Springs Farm and had processed at Central Virginia Fiber Mill (there's plenty at the shop if you'd like to try it!) Natalie and I talked about it a bit on the podcast and she dyed it with a cold method which worked well for her. I was pleased with how mine turned out. The roving I'm using for these singles is some I painted with acid dyes in delicate shades of blue.

And some more exciting news that Natalie told me! Not long ago I heard a rumor that someone was going to be opening a yarn shop in Mount Airy, just across the North Carolina line from Patrick County. I was excited to hear about it but then the rumors drifted away. Recently in talking to Natalie I discovered that it's her mother that is involved in this project, and they are just a couple of weeks away from opening "What's Needlin' Ewe?" at 411 North Main Street in Mount Airy. I think it's a great idea and I'm happy to have more neighbors. Yarn crawl, anyone?

Remote Blogging

in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. Every year we come here for a nice Civil War Show, right downtown, and this year has been lovely. In spite of a little rain!

I took today off to do some work on this laptop and some knitting. But the first thing I did this morning was take a walk. It rained heavily in the night but by the time I was ready to go out it was just overcast and a bit cool. I had a destination in mind, but I took my time, wandering along the city streets and admiring the beautiful houses along the way. I detoured into a tiny cemetery by a church and wandered through the tombstones. Several of the older homes along the way are being remodeled; it's lovely to see them preserved!

My route took me down King Street, lined with interesting and temping shops. I stopped only once, though, to speak to a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that was pining for attention in a trendy shoe store window. He had plenty of devoted fans inside; he just wanted all the admiration going!

Around a corner or two and there stood Knit, the shop I had found in my traveler's guide. This shop is all any yarn fanatic could hope for, with shelves crammed with a large selection and lots of cozy places to sit and knit. Nice staff; I wasn't there long at all before someone spoke to me, offering help. Even though they were busy getting ready for inventory both clerks were available to their customers and chatting to the knitters in the room. Nice atmosphere!

I bought some orphan yarn, more pictures later when I have a better Internet connection, some nice double pointed needles in Size 11 to finish Bentley's sweater, and another knitting bag. Yes, I know I didn't need it!

Now I'm going to go out and knit in the lovely courtyard of the little bed-no-breakfast where we're staying (also more about that later). I've been peering through courtyard fences and gates here for years; it's going to be enchanting to be able to experience sitting in one!