Family, Friends, and Fiber

Last week began with a Mother’s Day soft ball game with all of my five children and their families present, and ended with lunch with some of my Tuesday knitting friends after we attended the 18^th Annual Door County Shepherd’s Market. In between there were two water aerobic sessions, open knitting, and coffee with my friend, Ginnie,  http://kewauneecountyhistory.blogspot.com/.  Her knowledge of and enthusiasm for sharing local history are astounding.

At the Shepherd’s Market I saw fantastically spun art yarns, and beautiful felt pieces and baskets. The vendors encouraged handling the wonderful array of natural and dyed fibers. And the funny faced, shorn alpacas brought by Kele Alpacas hummed their discomfort of being away from their field fellows. I purchased the roving pictured below from Nora Ahlen of Homestead Sheep and Fiber Products, Baileys Harbor, WI. It is an aqua and gray cloud of Romney, Wensleydale and silk noil.

Kathi Cascio of Apple Hollow Fiber Arts, Sturgeon Bay, WI offers fair trade Ghanese baskets among her fiber and related products. It was hard to chose from the plethora of wonderfully patterned baskets. I chose a small one to hold a ball of yarn while knitting.

Right now it contains the beginnings of an Elizabeth Zimmerman bonnet from The Opinionated Knitter. My version is in stockinette and will be embellished with embroidered flowers. I’m using the bonus yarn pictured a couple of posts ago.

One additional stop made after the Shepherd’s Market was to Jenny Ribbens’ Red Sock Yarns new location in Fish Creek, WI. Her move was well timed for the beginning of the Door County summer tourist season. No knitter’s vacation could be complete without a visit to a local yarn shop. Congratulations, Jenny.

Good Stitches.