Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival

I have some catching up to do I see. The biggest update is about the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival which was this weekend in Dickson, Tennessee. It started on Friday but I had to work all day so my friend Stephanie and I headed out after I was able to leave. We got into Dickson after 10 so we just checked into our motel for the evening. The next morning we headed out at 8 to set up for the festival.

Pulling the car in to unload (as you can see, everyone else had already set up for the weekend).

My little sign marking my booth space.

Unloading everything.

Stephanie helping to set up the wire shelving.

Sock yarns on the table.

And on the wire shelving.

Aran yarn (on the left) and all the sock yarn.

Another view of the sock yarn.

Roving on the back shelves, bulky (in front of shelves) and aran yarn (front).

Checkout.

View of the whole booth.

And me!

Inside our "barn" area.

The fairgrounds outside the barn doors.

On Saturday there was sheep shearing every hour on the hour. Stephanie was able to catch one of the shearings and she took some great pictures of the process.

Sheep in the pen.

Baa, baa, black sheep...

The shearing.

And afterwards! I think it's so cool how their fleece comes off so cleanly in one piece.

We had a great time on Saturday and I ended up crashing at 8:45. I was exhausted! Thankfully the festival didn't start until 10 on Sunday so we were able to sleep in a little later. First thing Sunday we had a visitor.

I think I need a bunny. She would match Penelope perfectly.

Stephanie got in on the bunny love too.

Sunday was another productive day, up until the very last minute actually. Got to meet Mercedes of Kitchen Sink Dyeworks which was very cool. We broke down the booth and headed out to meet our friend Paloma who lives in Nashville. After dinner with her we headed to my aunt and uncle's house who live east of Nashville. While there I got a call from my dad saying the weather was bad in Georgia. Stephanie and I decided to stay with my aunt and uncle for the night since we'd be getting home after 2 a.m. anyways. This morning we had some delicious pancakes (made by my uncle) and headed home. Finally pulled in to my place around 3:00 this afternoon. I took a nap, picked up some groceries, and I've spent the night just relaxing. And designing a child's fair isle sweater.

There She Grows!

My little swatch-y looking scarf has gone from this

to this.

I've stolen little moments throughout the days to get a row or 2 done. I had some friends over last night for a knit and sangria night. I taught 2 of them to purl (they were naturals). I was able to get a few more rows done in between teaching, eating, talking, and laughing. So, it's growing little by little. Also got some awesome news last week. Turns out that I have a booth at the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival! There was a small mix up and I didn't think I would have a place. I dyed a little yarn last week and need to reskein and label it. Now it's just a countdown until the last day of school (5 days!) and then until Memorial Day weekend (7!).

Totally Thrown

My schedule that is. It's totally thrown off. I slept in this morning so it feels like it should be Saturday, not Sunday. And that means I pretty much want to do nothing for the rest of the day except watch movies and knit. Personally I think I deserve a day like that. Every weekend prior has seemed like it's been in preparation for yesterday. The Great Brown/Brunner Wedding of 2010.

Which went off pretty well if I do say so myself.

I'm so happy for my brother and his new wife.

I have been doing a few other things (mostly during the week) besides getting ready for the wedding. I found out last week that a fiber festival I thought was overbooked actually had a spot for me so now I have less than 2 weeks to get ready for that. Also finished up the Road Scarf.

It will get washed and dried this week so it will be ready to send out. It turned out to be a very wide scarf so it should keep the recipient nice and warm. This scarf was part of the EEROP April/May KAL to benefit CERI. Remember the other scarf (based off the Road Scarf) that I started?

Now it looks like this:

Yeah...I didn't like how some of the sections in the original scarf were pulling in and how other sections were curling under. So I frogged everything and decided to go with the "ant egg" stitch for the whole thing. Think I can finish this in 2 weeks? I need the mindless knitting right now.

A Night of Relief

Things have been a little hectic around here lately. They'll continue to be that way through this weekend but for now I have one night where I can take a breather and...relax? Well, not really. Still working. Dyeing yarn for the shop. But at least kind of relaxing. What have I been up to? Well...

There was a bachelorette party for my future SIL.

There was a graduation for my brother.

Who won an ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) award.

There is/was general revelry over the upcoming wedding between the aforementioned crazy kids.

There has been a little knitting. I've been working on The Road Scarf for the EEROP April/May KAL.

As you can see I've started the 4 stitch pattern over again.

There will be one more repeat of these 4 sections to go. That should make a nice length scarf. I've also been working on another scarf based off this pattern. But I've added some other stitch patterns in.

Some sections look better than others but it's been fun just trying new stitches. If you want to join in and help Children's Emergency Relief International, there's still time! This is a quick knit so you could easily finish one by the end of the month.

Also been knitting a little on my Rivulets socks.

I need a few more repeats of the pattern and then I can knit the ribbing and bind off! This sock seems to take forever with these tiny (size 0!) needles. Unfortunately, I still have another one to make. :::sigh:::

In addition to knitting I've also been organizing some upcoming knitterly things. Last Thursday I was elected VP of Workshops for the Atlanta Knitting Guild.

So I'm already getting together ideas for fall workshops.

The charity knitting group has also been given the awesome opportunity of working with Project Hope to knit sweaters, hats, scarves, gloves, and prayer shawls for mothers and their children in Romania. Project Hope works to combat child abandonment in Romania by providing support to families so they won't have to give up their children to orphanages. If you're interested in helping knit an item or 2 (or 10!) visit the thread on Ravelry to see what still needs to be knit. I've picked out a 6 year old boy to knit for. Now I know what all that green yarn I purchased at Stitches will be for!

I leave you tonight with a picture from my brother's senior project on urban development.

This raccoon is in a picture of a nature preserve/walk type thing that my brother designed. The expression he's making makes me giggle.

Winners!

I have winners of the relaunch contest! Despite my internets having some issues (running very slow despite a software "update") I have the names of the winners. Again, a big thank you to everyone who entered and left comment love. Now, without further ado...

1 skein of Vivid Creation Fibers sock yarn in the Captain Planet colorway: Kate (no link but she suggested I name the sheep Scott, which I just might)

1 skein of Vivid Creation Fibers sock yarn in the Trick or Treat colorway: 1celticprincess (who tweeted about the contest)

A copy of Fabulous Felted Handknits: CathyCarter

A copy of domiKNITrix: Suzy

A copy of the Big Book of Knitting: Mary Ellen

Congrats to all the winners! If you could email me your shipping address at info@vividcreationfibers.com I will get your prize out to you before the weekend is over.

Tonight is the Night

When two become one...Well, not really (does anyone else remember that Spice Girl's song?). It is the night that the relaunch contest closes. Remember to go to this blog post and enter your comments to win.

Having this contest has been a wonderful experience for me. I know that I'm not Stephanie, or Kathy, or Laurie, or Velma, or Rachael, or so many others. But having so many people respond, and respond so positively, makes me think that one day I might could count myself among their ranks. At a time when my life outside the blogosphere is hectic and overwhelming it feels like a big hug to read all the comments from each of you. So, I wanted to say thank you. I feel like I've gained a few more friends and that's always a great thing.

~Melissa~
~VCFibers~

Relaunch

Today's the day of the Blog/Store Relaunch Extravaganza!!! Just for fun go type to the new Vivid Creation Fibers website. Don't worry I'll wait.

Nice, right? I like it very much indeed. Especially the sheep, he really makes the logo :)

Today I'm also taking on a new name, much like a married woman. In fact you could say I'm marrying the blog and the store and my charity group and all my fiber related content. But enough with the metaphors. My new Twitter and Ravelry name is VCFibers. Nothing really changed other than the name. I still have the same friends and followers, I'm just going by a new name now that more accurately reflects my "brand."

So, to help spread the word and to make sure that you, my dear loyal followers, are still playing along at this game I call "Melissa Blogs About Knitting," I have devised a little giveaway.

Up for grabs are the following:

1 skein of Vivid Creation Fibers sock yarn in the Captain Planet colorway, 1 skein of Vivid Creation Fibers sock yarn in the Trick or Treat colorway, 1 copy of Fabulous Felted Hand Knits, 1 copy of dominKNITrix, and 1 copy of the Big Book of Knitting

How do you enter to win? Simple. Do one or more of the following.

1. Post a comment here. It can be about anything: your favorite color, your best memory of me, what you would name the sheep in my logo, what you had for breakfast, your dream job...anything.

2. Follow me on Twitter. Come back here and leave a comment telling me you follow me on Twitter. Include your Twitter name so I can follow you back. If you already follow me, leave a comment telling me so.

3. Go to the store. Come back here and leave a comment telling me your favorite product.

4. Join my Ravelry group. Come back here and leave a comment telling me you joined. If you are already a member, leave a comment telling me so.

5. Become my friend on Ravelry. Come back here and leave a comment telling me you friended me. If you are already my friend, leave a comment telling me so.

If you do all five or just one. It's up to you. Each one you do, though, will get you an extra chance to win (up to four chances). Just make sure that you come back here and leave a comment. The comments will close on Wednesday, May 5th at midnight so make sure you enter before then.

Please feel free to spread the word, the more people who comment the better!

Thank you for all your support!

~Melissa/VCFibers~
~Live, Knit, Love~