up a tree (with my knitting)

Summer is finally here. Yesterday the season arrived in Minnesota to stay for the duration. The morning started out with thunderstorms and hail, but then the temperatures started to rise, the sun burned through the hazy clouds and we were left with humidity.

I kept on thinking my tomatoes, basil, and especially peppers will love this weather, but I'm already looking for a nice shady spot to hide from this damp heavy heat.

I guess a treetop will do. In this image, however, it's my sister up the tree. I had her climb it so that I could take a few shots of these socks that I knit with yarn that I spun at Shepard's Harvest this year. I spun about 8 ounces over the weekend.

This colorway is called Gems. It's a blend of our mohair and combed top. The yarn that results from it is strong and glossy, perfect for socks. (At least I thought so.) My sister's feet look like two colorful birds up in that tree.

Birds flown up from the equator to enjoy the Amazonian heat that's settled over Minnesota.

going to the harvest

Hi everyone, as I write this I am surrounded by tubs of fiber and knitted objects. My mother and cousin are staying with me this weekend and tomorrow we are all going to the Shepherd's Harvest Festival at the Lake Elmo fair grounds here in Minnesota.

This year we have a wide selection of raw fleeces, yarns and hand dyed combed top to sell. We're especially excited about our 2011 lambs that are for sale. Please visit us at the Crosby Hill Farm stand (we're coordinating again with our good friend Sandy of Winterwind Farm) and check out the products from our farms.

Our line of Hetty Yarns is new this year. My mother illustrated the labels with an image of a vintage goat she drew a few years ago after I shared a story that I wrote with her. The story was about a garage band of goats who played symphonies in the pasture under the summer moon, look for more additions of these labels in years to come.

Hope to see you at the festival.