Threading a Needle with Yarn

Whether you knit, crochet or do crewel work,  threading a needle with thick, fuzzy yarn is a necessity. Here's a little trick that my Grandmother taught me:



1. Wrap the yarn around the tip of the needle,




2. Pull the yarn into a tight loop over the point of the needle,

3. Pinch tightly and slide the yarn off the tip of the needle,

4. Thread the little loop through the eye,

5. Pull the short end through and,

Vacation

We went to Bartlett, NH in the White Mountains for a long weekend. If you haven't been, go! We had a blast. Well, that's except for the part when we walked to the Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch. I'd forgotten how terrifically afraid of heights I am and the torrential rain storm didn't help. It is funny in retrospect. There is a lot that we didn't get to do so we'll definitely go back. Here are some pictures:

A good pig

Stopped at Froloff Farm in Ware, MA to visit with the pigs and got a good pig pic:

Froloff farm is owned but the East Quabbin Land Trust.  Here's a link to their website: http://eqlt.org/?page_id=531

Lord Raglan

I was spinning at my dear friend Lisa's and telling her about the sweater that I'm trying to knitting. It has raglan sleeves and so she shared the story of the raglan sleeve. Turns out that Fitzroy James Henry Somerset, the 1st Lord Baron Raglan lost his arm due to injuries he sustained during campaign for Waterloo in 1815. After the loss of his arm, Lord Raglan had a difficult time dressing himself and ultimately his tailor designed a diagonal sleeve that had enough room for the Baron to get his remaining arm through more easily. Who knew?



Here's a pic of the sweater that I'm working on. The pretty blue yarn was hand dyed by my wonderful Aunt Polly of Tennessee Valley Fibers.

A Sampling:

Feels like I haven't posted much lately but I have been busy. Here are a few pics of this and that:

Coopworth at the Southern Adirondack Fiber Fest

The same Coopworth; look at those curls!

The view at the Fest

Two ounces of Finnsheep ready to spin.

The Finnsheep on the bobbin. 

The last tomatoes from our garden. 

A short hike in Barre to see the face in the rock.

Peg loom weaving

More peg loom

Made myself a little hat from Icepick, the Jacob's, fleece.

Jake

Mom and babe at Great Rock Alpacas; did some spinning
there during the Backroads Tour.

Travis

Did you know...

why you should never cut yarn? If you do, the cut edges will poke out when you try to weave in the ends. Always break yarn so that the rough and ragged edges will disappear into your work.


I love these kind of little gems that my Mom, Aunts and Grandma shared with me. I'll try to post them as I think of them. If you know of a trick or tip but would like to the "why", let me know and I'll try to find out. 

Columbus Day Sale

I can't believe Fall is here! That means it is time for a Fall sale. Please come visit my Etsy shop, Gardner Street , and enjoy 25% off everything in stock; no coupon code required. There is lots of yummy yarn waiting for that Fall project.