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April 2008 Archive

Jane C. of Sag Harbor, NY sent us these photos of projects she’s made from The Knitter’s Book of Yarn.

Thanks for sending these to us, Jane, they look fantastic. They’re going straight into our hall of fame.

— Katherine

Come meet the woman behind The Knitter’s Review. Clara Parkes will be signing copies of her book at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, and, if you ask, she’ll probably tell you what her favorite type of tea is. Gale Zucker, author of Shear Spirit, will be at both Maryland Sheep & Wool as well as the Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair. Come by to get a book signed and meet the authors!

May 3-4 - Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Howard County Fairgrounds - West Friendship, Maryland
http://www.sheepandwool.org/

   Saturday, May 3rd
   Clara Parkes, author of The Knitter’s Book of Yarn, will be signing copies of her book at the Spirit Trail Fiberworks booth.
   1:00pm-2:00pm
   Location: Spirit Trail Fiberworks booth, A30 in the Main Building

   Gale Zucker, co-author of Shear Spirit, will be singing copies of her book at the Seacolors booth.
   10:00am - 12:00pm
   Location: Seacolors (Meadowcroft Farm) booth, Barn 3, Booth 11

   Sunday, May 4th
   Gale Zucker, co-author of Shear Spirit, will be singing copies of her book at the Botanical Shades booth.
   10:00am - 12:00pm
   Location: Botanical Shades booth, Main Building A15

   Gale Zucker, co-author of Shear Spirit, will be singing copies of her book at the Autumn House Farm booth.
   2:00pm-3:00pm
   Location: Autumn House Farm booth, Building 5, Booth 7 & 9

May 24-25 - Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair
Cummington Fairgrounds - Cummington, Massachusetts
http://www.masheepwool.org/aboutus.htm

   Sunday May 25th
   Gale Zucker, co-author of Shear Spirit, will be singing copies of her book at the Botanical Shades booth.
   10:00am-12:00pm
   Location: Botanical Shades booth

— Katherine

Spring is here and sheep & wool festival season begins! Below is a list of some upcoming festivals to check out. If you know of any others taking place during the next few months, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

April 26, 2008
   21st Annual Sheepshearing Festival at Gore Place
   Gore Place - Waltham, Massachusetts
   http://www.goreplace.org/sheepshearing.htm

   99th Annual Connecticut Sheep Breeders Association Sheep, Wool and Fiber Festival
   Tolland Agricultural Center - Vernon/Rockville, Connecticut
   http://www.ctsheep.org/event.htm

May 3-4, 2008
   Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
   Howard County Fairgrounds - West Friendship, Maryland
   http://www.sheepandwool.org/

May 10-11, 2008
   32nd Annual New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival
   Hopkinton State Fairgrounds - Contoocook, New Hampshire
   http://www.nhswga.com/content/view/36/33/

   11th Annual Shepherd’s Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival
   Washington County Fairgrounds - Lake Elmo, Minnesota
   http://www.shepherdsharvestfestival.org/

May 17-18, 2008
   Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Festival
   Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
   http://www.sheepandfiber.com/

May 24-25, 2008
   34th Annual Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair
   Cummington Fairgrounds - Cummington, Massachusetts
   http://www.masheepwool.org/aboutus.htm

June 14-15, 2008
   4th Annual Iowa Sheep & Wool Festival
   Dallas County Fairgrounds - Adel, Iowa
   http://www.iowasheep.com/Festival.html

June 20-22, 2008
   Black Sheep Gathering
   Lane County Fairgrounds - Eugene, Oregon
   http://www.blacksheepgathering.org/

— Katherine

Shear Spirit is a new book that profiles America’s fiber farms and raches. The authors, Gale Zucker and Joan Tapper, compiled a list in slideshow format of the top ten things they learned while creating their book. I thought I loved alpacas before I read #5, but I love them even more now …

You can watch the slideshow below, or click on the individual pictures to read more from the authors. And be sure to join our brand new Flickr group! To read more from Gale and Joan, check out their blog, Two Shear Spirits.

— Katherine

Hey, crafters, we want to hear from you! Take this survey for a chance to win a free book.

— Shawn

My friend Christine is a really talented knitter and crocheter. She also makes fantastic lasagna. Here’s a photo of a starfish she made from Toys to Knit. I think it’s really simple and cheerful.

— Katherine

Crafters frequently tell me that they love to listen to audiobooks. They can keep up with their favorite authors while their hands are busy. I think this is very clever. I’d love to hear about what you’re listening to these days and what you recommend. We can even build a gallery of what everyone’s listening to. Let us know by posting a comment below.

I recently heard about a good one I plan to check out myself. Killer Heat is a treat for Law & Order fans. Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak on Law and Order: SVU is based on the author’s real-life career as a Manhattan Special Victims DA. I’m all ears…

— Katherine

If you read Knitty, you know that Amy Singer, editor and publisher of the esteemed online magazine, always delivers the good stuff. She partnered with Jillian Moreno for their first book, Big Girl Knits. In this and their latest book, More Big Girl Knits, they’ve done the hard part of figuring out what looks good on big girls by breaking it down into three key body bits: Boobs, Belly, and Butt. They call them the B3. Jillian and Amy base their designs on the principle that looking good and feeling good in knitwear is all about balancing your overall silhouette. Pretty simple, but pretty smart. We interviewed them when Big Girl Knits came out and you can read it here.

Stephanie Martin, who writes the blog Half Baked, has this to say about the book.

— Katherine

I just love these “play blox” from Nature Babies. My cousin is expecting a baby and I’d really like to give her something handmade. The coolest part is that the felt is made from old sweaters. I have a few sweaters that, let’s just face it, I’ll never wear again, but I don’t have the heart to throw them out. This project will give them a second chance at life! I can’t think of a better way to do some much-needed Spring cleaning.

To flip through a few pages of the book, click on the book jacket below:

Check out author Tara Jon Manning’s blog here.

— Katherine

Tune-in for more from our talk with Faith, Justin, and Ellen, authors of 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Tie & Rock Your Scarf

Click here to listen to the second part of our podcast interview!

— Katherine