State Fair

Yeah! I'm soooooo excited! Got a postcard today letting me know that two of the three photos I entered into the State Fair Photography Salon will be put on display. The postcard also had a sticker with the word "Award" attached! Yeah! I can't wait for the fair to open to go see what's what! I'm posting a collage I did of Iowa One-Room Schoolhouses in B&W. The special theme of the Iowa State Fair's photography salon this year is one-room schools. I entered one in black & white, one in color and also a color image of a local county park taken this past winter on one of those magical mornings when you awake to freezing fog. We'll see which are in the exhibit when I get there on Aug. 19!

Iowa Soybeans

Just finished a pair of socks using fiber from Street Legal Designs in Fairfield, IA. (Web Address: http://sldknitting.com/ ) This is Okara Sock yarn and it is 100% Iowa Soybean fiber.

I have to say this yarn was really fun to work with. It felt great in my hands, knit smoothly on my wood needles and makes a thick, soft sock! These will fit a women's size 8 1/2 . I did have a small amount of fiber left over from my one 100g hank.....but not a lot! (Thus the anklet design!)

Who knew that such a great fiber was growing up around me this whole time?! I love being able to buy and use a great renewable resource that supports my home state's economy as well.

Someone's going to get luck at Christmas time, that's for sure!!

PS--I was using US#3 size needles getting 7.5 spi!

Socks! Socks! Socks!

I'm knitting socks for Christmas gifts. (Well, I'm knitting socks because they're fun to do and I'm addicted, but I intend to give them as gifts so DH is more tolerant of my continuing sock yarn purchases!!)

I've finished off my brother's family and these are the results. I did Lynn H's "Mom's Fast Florida Footsies" using Cascade Fixation for my sis-in-law; Cat Bordhi's basic sock pattern on 2 circs for my brother using 100% Icelandic Wool from Tongue River Farms, and put my favorite parts of those patterns to use in making the pair for my 2.5 yr. old niece. I added a touch of fun to the top of the cuff for hers since I figure you can get away with adding frills to socks for kids.

I had a lot of fun doing these and have many more to share. (Didn't want to overload the page all at once!!)

I'm looking forward to some new, shorter dpns arriving to make sock knitting in the car on road trips easier as well as some new colors of Sockotta by Plymouth.

OTN now: a pair of Opal simple socks on US#1 dpns; 2 socks on 2 cirs made from purple hued Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock; some slipper-socks from old acrylic stash; and a pair on my new US#3 shorty dpns of Okara Sock 100% soybean fiber in "Lotus."

What's Blooming

I hit a slump in knitting enthusiasm so I decided to distract myself with a trip to the backyard to photograph what's in bloom. Turns out my day lillies are thriving in the heat and humidity that is Iowa in July. I had fun trying several perspectives on the flowers and found myself getting really inspired by the colors before me.

As it turns out, my stash basket is quite colorful too! And as the temperature and humidty continue to climb day by day the sock knitting seems a LOT more appealing than running around outside. So I'll be hitting the needles again tonight. Funny how one thing can inspire another, isn't it?!

Welcome!

If you're wondering about the title of this blog......it's mainly about knitting (ewe) and photograhy (eye). I'm just getting started in this world of blogging....so come back soon for an update!

Kim