I Have Been Away

I did not realize just how long I had been away from this blog. Sheesh. But I have a good reason. I was in the Western Cape of South Africa in January. My first trip to South Africa whet my appetite for a return some day.

One of the highlights was visiting Carlé at Nurturing Fibres. Her yarns are gorgeous; I especially like her sock yarn and laceweight. Equally impressive is her commitment to her community and to women’s empowerment. If you cannot make it to Philadelphia (but you really should; it is a charming farm village), you can find her yarns at Spinknits at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Carlé and some of her yarns.

South Africa mohair at Spinknits.

Stash from South Africa.

We also visited the Barrydale Handweavers. I would show you what I bought but Christmas presents are involved so I cannot. The alpaca in my South Africa stash is from Barrydale Handweavers from a producer in Wellington. Barrydale is another charming town that is worth a visit.

Want to know more about our trip to South Africa? Click on the Travel link in the list of Other Interests on the right.

Two from South Africa

Last September, my husband had an opportunity to visit Cape Town, South Africa. Because he is the Best Husband in the World, he went yarn shopping, as you can see here.  I have finished two projects from my gift yarns, which are from Nurturing Fibres and the dyepots of the talented Carlé.

The trick was finding the right pattern to highlight the yarn. I think I succeeded.

The pink one (color name Georgina) is Nancy Bush’s Stork’s Nest pattern. The finished size is 7 inches by 62 inches.

The green one — Dappled Forest — is the Crest of the Wave design from Barbara Walker’s first Treasury. It is 7 inches wide by 60 inches long.

Both scarves were knit on 3.25mm needles.

The yarns were a joy to knit with and I enjoyed seeing the colors emerge.