Coast-to-Coast.

Right after Carolina Fiber Fest (as in, that night) I went to the North Carolina Opera Gala (I won only two things in the silent auction, a basket of lots of yummy things from a local cooking shop that my niece and I divided, and several gift cards to a local restaurant; I gave one to her) and the next morning headed to Los Angeles to attend and present at a conference about "Cybersecurity+AI".  My panel talked about trade secrets and AI.  Then I took a red-eye home, managed well enough through that day, but went to bed early.

I mostly worked on small items during my travels, finishing three hats and a Warm Up, America! blanket piece:

I need to add braided tassels to the two red hats.

Coming home, I decided to do some finish-up work on the community pieces from CFF (still in progress) and made another blanket piece from some leftover self-striping yarn.  I also started another mindless knitting scarf, and might have enough yarn for two:

Then I heard about Soap S.A.C.K. and decided to use the cotton yarn leftovers a friend keeps giving me to make a bunch of those.   I finished two today; photo taken before sewing:

I have a dozen bars of Pears soap purchased because I wanted to try it, but this may be a better use, especially since I have a lot of soaps from indie soap makers.

How did I do?

It's Carolina Fiber Fest this weekend, and I ended up with ten items to enter in the competitions, although I forgot to take a photo of the final one, which is one of the knit-along cowls:

Categories AK7 and AK8, respectively.
Knit from a pattern and design my own pattern.

Category AK6 - Knit from handspun yarn.  This is the back.

Category AC10 - Crocheted from handspun yarn.  I clipped
the leftover bit before entering, of course!

Another Category AK7 - The Giverny Shawl of Junction Fiber
Mills' colourway for 2025 Maryland Sheep & Wool

Hat is Category 12, because I designed the pattern, and the
scarf (which is upside down, oops!) is Category AC13, the
annual crochet-along.

:

Two baby blankets in categories AC11 and AK8 respectively.

And these are the results; I have not read the comments cards:

The other items did not win ribbons.  I am well enough pleased with what I accomplished and actually thought I'd get a couple thirds instead of seconds.  I'm not completely surprised that the baby blankets didn't do better.

I was doing VERY well not buying yarn, although I bought some "box bags", and several flavours of tea, and picked up a few books and a box of oddments in the used equipment sale.  I felt very good that I managed to not buy another spinning wheel.  As I was able to get a couple of breaks, I saw many pretty yarns, but avoided buying - until right at the end, just before closing, when I spotted this at a favourite vendor who was right behind our setup:

  

Luckily they had only one left.  I see hat and mitts in my future!

Back from the Fairies.

As always, appropriate masks, although I took them down when not around crowds.

“Let us do something, while we have
the chance! **** Let us make the most
of it, before it is too late!"

--< Samuel Beckett, "Waiting for Godot

March 8th - International Women's Day

It was a good weekend, not too many photos, mostly video as I livestreamed a song from the bands performing at the stage we were near.  Storms on Saturday almost turned the Fun Run into a dogpaddle, but a break allowed the runners (except a couple who decided the 15+(F)-degree temperature drop after the first wave of storm was too much to tolerate) to head out.

Some of the other volunteers - nice to have them, for once! - with my crocheting on the table at the bottom left.  End result is cute (photo in next post) but why I wanted to do fine work in black??!!!

It's Trad

Off today for the North Texas Irish Festival.  Weather is supposed to be warm and rainy, although now Sunday may be sunny.  Better than the icy years!

Mom is worried because of terrorists and flying in storms and because it's the first time I've traveled away from her since Dad died.  We'll see how we manage.

I've packed a small bag, but overfull of items, including a green WFMT sweatshirt (because the buildings are always chilly) that I forgot to include in this photo:

Three days, three yarn projects - right?  One a hat I am designing to go with the Carolina Fiber Fest Crochet Craft-Along scarf; one the CFF Knit-Along pattern (and I just saw they've posted a second option); and one the Shamrock Cowl from Kelbourne Woolens, because that seems appropriate.

Fiberuary 22-28

22:  Different ballpark, same Sidewinder Hat.

23:  Knitting on the trip home.  Checking size of hat against the length of my book, because the instructions said the hat should be about 8" long before the top decreases and my book is about that size.

24:  Home!  But not quite, stayed at my mother's due to the late hour our flight arrived home.  Busy with helping her unpack, sort mail, and of course work was heavy.  So not too much more knitting.

25:  The Sidewinder Hat is at the point of decreasing.  But it's late so I will do that tomorrow.

26:  All day conference, took a shawl I began out of a skein of handdyed yarn purchased at last year's Carolina Fiber Fest.  It's the Tiny Kerchief pattern but continuing until I run out of yarn.  I didn't have the pattern in the bag (ooops!) so had to hunt as I wasn't sure I remembered it correctly.  Luckily I finally found it, and it's free, so now downloaded to my phone.  A couple people asked what I was doing, and one said it was a "baller move" to bring it - I pointed out it's just a fidget item that helps me focus.  After I returned home I finished the Sidewinder Hat, adding a fluffy pompon purchased at Michaels.  I debated white or black, hope I chose correctly.

27:  I took a garter stitch scarf to a concert at the community center tonight, and got a bit done.  The yarn has long passages of spotted, then a bit of solid, so it feels as if you're not making progress then it goes very quickly.

28:  I worked on the scarf a bit at a community brunch (helps to prevent unnecessary nibbling), then remembered I need to finish a friend's embroidery - begun by her husband, and my friend doesn't stitch.  I did a bit but realized one colour is missing, so I'll have to pick up another skein if possible.

Ending the month by working on the UFO Blanket.  And I finished the February puzzle:

   

Baseball Knitting.

As one does:

Started at Sloan Park - we saw two Cubs games, they lost both.

White Sox winning at Camelback Ranch

The group is scheduled for Cubs games on Friday and Saturday.  Opening Day game is against the White Sox; two years ago the Cubs won, this year the White Sox won.  On Saturday the Cubs lost again.  Sunday the group doesn't have a plan, so people can golf, go to the spa, lie around the pool, or pick up another game.  My tradition is to go to the White Sox home park, which is older and smaller and a very different experience.

I continued working on the Sidewinder Beanie on the way home, measuring progress against the book I am reading, which I'd started on the previous trip two years ago and somehow never finished:

I started the knitting craft-along for this year's Carolina Fiber Fest on the trip out, and made no other progress, so I'll have to work on it in the next week:

A couple non-knitting photos from the parks:

Fiberuary 15-21

15:  I had insomnia so finished the replacement hat and decided to give it to the person who'd flown in for the memorial, and who had commented about it several times over lunch.  Then in the bustle of everything, I forgot.

Second MTI hat, with two braids for Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Replacement hat on the right, Chemknits Creations alpaca yarn.

16:  Busy day at work, despite being a holiday.  I want to start something new but am focusing on finishing items first.  I need to figure out what to take on this week's trip, and I saw that a pattern I've been thinking about is on holiday sale, so I bought it.  I've nearly finished Row 30 on the UFO blanket.

17:  A little more done on the UFO Blanket, but work has been busy, and Mom and I decided to vote before going out of town, so that took up a bit of time.  I had a BOGO at Paris Baguette so we stopped on the way home and the counter clerk apologized that they only had savory items left since it was end of day.  Perfect for supper!

18:  I finally wound yarn for the Carolina Fiber Fest knitting Craft-Along, and packed it along with two other projects.  Because I'll be gone for five days, with three baseball games and two long plane flights.  I'd debated whether to use fingering yarn doubled for the pattern, but in the end selected a thin worsted weight that I think will work up as the DK the pattern requires.  I didn't want to knit the fingering weight alternative!  The yarn is pale, which should show the cabling and other pattern stitches better than a multi that the designer used.

19:  I took the CFF knit CAL pattern and yarn on the plane, and have done most of the starting border.  I need to count the number of repeats but haven't had time - I also had to work on the flight.

20:  Baseball begins!  I knit the border of the Sidewinder Hat, but didn't pull out the pattern to start the sides/top because it was too close to end of game.

21:  I continued knitting on the Sidewinder Hat, having shifted to the body pattern before we left for today's game.