E. A. G. M. A. 2010

EAGMA is a slightly unwieldy acronym for a bunch of neat folks - the Eastern Angora Goat and Mohair Association They held their annual show and sale this weekend in Frederick (MD). This is a new location for the show and the temps were in the very high 90's, so I don't think the attendance was all that great, but K and I really enjoyed ourselves and plan to go again next year. The vendors were set up under cover (shade, yay!) at the county fairgrounds. No big crowds, no problems with parking, no admission fee, and the ice cream man showed up just as we were leaving - it was a great outing even on a hot afternoon.

K fed a baby cashmere goat from Harley Farm, and learned that cashmere goats have coats just like Bob-dog's... 

These guys were (I think) from Painted Shadow Farm. 

K thought it was funny that their 'bangs' were longer than hers! 

We bought a raffle ticket and won a keychain. K was excited to pick the next winning ticket out of the jar.

Marlene of Marlene's Felting Madness showed K how to felt roving by hand. She loved it, and we bought a little ball of roving to try at home.

We enjoyed talking to the different vendors and learning about their specialties. All of the vendors were excited about their products even on such a hot day, and were happy to answer questions, which says quite a lot about their enthusiasm for their work. We especially enjoyed talking to Cozy Rabbit Farm, Wolles Yarn Creations, Flying Goat Farm, Puff the Magic Rabbit, and Colleen from Giant Cricket Farm. Can't wait to go again next year!

Gotta Start Someplace!

I know how to knit. Or I should say, I was taught how to knit many years ago by my Great-Aunt Ruth. (She also taught me how to tie my shoes and make bread, but that's a post for another day.) I really never got further than the basic knit stitch, and after suffering through knitting a hat in 4H, I decided that I was more comfortable with crochet and just left knitting alone. I do still have the hat, though - can't get rid of it after all that work! So that's my knitting history. (Bor-ing.) A few years back, my friend M found herself in the world of cashmere goats, and she currently has 18 of them on her hillside in Southern Vermont. In an interesting-to-me-but-not-very-useful-to-her attempt to be supportive, I found myself poking around on fiber sites, which led to blogs, which led to Ravelry (for the scrapbookers, it's a lot like 2peas, a huge time-sink). Along the way I discovered some really creative, interesting, and very funny crafters, and learned all about Google Reader (my new favorite gadget). I also learned that cashmere goats are very entertaining and sometimes downright silly creatures!

Oh, wait. That's Apa. He's a bison. Sortof.

Here they are! During our visit, as soon as the boys started down the driveway ('racing' the car to the road), the goats thought they were going to the path up to the yurt where the hay is stored, and ran right along behind them, which was very exciting for everyone involved. When the boys didn't head up the path to the yurt, there was great goat-confusion (seen here). They stared at M for a minute, and then continued their dash up the hill to the yurt. They had apparently decided that she was the the one who would get them a snack, since the shorter people turned out to be useless. I wish I'd had time for video - the whole scene was hilarious to watch! So after all that - goats, ravelry, yarn stores, fiber festival, etc - here I am, wanting to make mittens and socks and lacy wraps. But straight knit stitch is like single crochet; it's useful and practical, but not always the best fit for a project. I figured I'd better start with something truly easy to get the hang of things, and then move on to other stitches. I'll get lots of practice (and can use up some stash), and (insert optimism here) everyone will get scarves for Christmas next year!  I finished this 'review the basics' scarf yesterday, and I'm pretty pleased that it is more-or-less even. The yarn is pleasantly forgiving, and you can't get much simpler than this - big needles, fuzzy yarn, knit all the stitches.

Size 13 needles, 16 stitches, knit the whole skein. Mine is a nice size for an inside-the-coat-scarf (5.75"Wx37"L). If you started with 10 or 12 stitches I think you'd gain enough length to tie or loop the scarf instead of tucking it inside your coat. Enjoy! Yarn and pattern details here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/LynneinMD/easy-first-knitted-scarf