I have an article in the upcoming Yarnmaker Magazine, #16! and a mini-holiday in Upstate New York

Now that the magazine has gone to the printers, I can let it be known that I've written an article on making rolags on a blending board. I had a blast playing with my board and spinning up the results. It was so much fun spinning woolen yarn quickly that I also designed a set of warm fingerless mitts to accompany the article. I made the mitts in the Bleeding Hearts colorway but decided I liked the idea of using the four elements as color inspiration, so have four rolag colorways available--Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Taking it one step further, I have a matching earwarmer pattern in the shop, and it will shortly appear in my Ravelry shop. The Elemental Earwarmer takes about an ounce of rolags, and the Elemental Mitts require about 1-1/2 ounces. It's a quick spin and a quick knit for holiday gifts!

This past weekend we drove up to the Fingerlakes Fiber Festival. I like to hit this festival every 2-3 years because it's good to see old friends and new fibers and equipment. We also took the bikes and went riding from our historic B&B (Adams Basin Inn) to the next town to get a cup of coffee, just 5 miles each way into beautiful Brockport. On the way back to Pittsburgh, we stopped for two days in Letchworth Park--so peaceful to spend two days without wi-fi or phones. These are views of the Middle Falls:

Our second day, we decided to take one of the hikes. It starts at the Council grounds where Mary Jemeson's cabin is located and ends at the Upper Falls. Join me for the trip:

We stayed at the Wild Iris on the park property. It was the country home of William P. Letchworth (1823-1910) and much of the interior reflects his taste. The food in the restaurant attached to the Wild Iris was wonderful! Such a lovely mini-vacation, we're planning a return trip.