Welcoming the new

Just before the entrance of 2013, Mother Nature brought us nine inches of snow. The next few days were pleasant to spend indoors, knitting by the wood-stove.

Sunrise over the Wood River, Woodville RI, 12/30/12

This is the kind of weather that, like the end result of labor, obliterates the memory of pain and suffering--all those torrid days in July, those wild hurricanes in the fall, the endless slush and mush of early spring.  Gentle knitters, it is really beautiful here in New England right now. That is all I know.

As per usual, I polled an array of friends on their New Year's knitting resolutions. The minority who replied (my friends are very busy people) seemed both sensible and creative. Here are their thoughts to share with you, and perhaps inspire.

Neuroknitter and Oogyknitter annually choose a knitting theme and spend the rest of the year working it out. This year's is entitled "Thing a Month," and as Oogy explains, "We have selected 12 items, techniques, or project categories, and have designed one for each month of the year.  For example - our January project is collaborative and will be based upon the BFF Scarf from knitty.com, but with a few alterations.  Our February project is New Sock Technique, when I will attempt Magic Loop, and Neuro will attempt Toe-Up.  And so forth.  We'll both blog these and all subsequent months, favorable and not.  It should be a fairly eventful yarn year from that perspective!" You can bet that I'll be tracking their fascinating progress, and you can, too, as the links are both on my blogroll and above.

Irene DeVerna, of Eneri Knits, says "my resolution is to sort through and organize my stash, sell or donate what I no longer want, and prioritize all my UFOs!"  (Isn't that every knitter's dream? More power to you, Irene!)

Sven and Laura Risom of North Light Fibers have set themselves great goals to achieve--see my post prior to this--and Deborah Newton, the Knitting Goddess, says her plan is "less Internet, more productivity!" (By the way, you can catch her at VK Live in NYC, January 18-20!)

As for me, I really need a vest and I want to use up stash yarn and I crave a break from dpns...so I'm going to start the Anastasiya vest in the very near future. It's on straight 2s and 3s, but on the plus side, it's only two pieces to knit (if I don't go chart-blind). Let's hope I get it done before summer....

Shameless plugs

As you know, gentle knitters, occasionally I mention opportunities that seem worthwhile. Recently the following events caught my eye, and I'll pass the info on for your consideration.

The first to occur, on January 17th of 2013, is the Second Annual Knit-In, sponsored by Main Street Art, an arts community center in Newfields, New Hampshire.  It runs from 8 to 8, and is to benefit New Horizons of New Hampshire, a social services program that includes a food pantry, homeless shelter, and soup kitchen in Manchester. "Knitters are welcome to join us for the day or just for an hour...Yarn and patterns provided, but everyone should bring their own needles (7-9).  We'll be knitting up as many hats as we can and would love everyone's company."  So, for further info go to www.newfieldsart.org, or contact Kelley Corson at 603-321-7305/kacorson@yahoo.com.

The second is a Debbie Stoller weekend retreat, February 15-18th, at the Rowe Camp and Conference Center in Rowe, Massachusetts (in the Berkshires, very pretty).  It's called "Raging Wool," and it promises to be amusing, though I hope not overly enraged.  Click here for more info.

Now, on to the last shameless plug. When I queried Sven and Laura Risom, the dynamic couple behind North Light Fibers on Block Island, about their New Year's knitting resolutions, I seem to have unleashed a force of nature.

As you may recall, if you read some of my earlier posts, the Risoms have embraced yarn as a way of life, and to spend any time in their company is a fiber immersion experience. Now they're asking willing knitters to collaborate with them on specific projects, all of which sound quite interesting.

I'll leave you with the Risoms' resolutions and forecasts in their own words. (In a day or two I'll be posting the New Year's resolutions of other knitters who responded to my request--and if you have some you want to share, email me asap!)

So...here's the skinny from North Light Fibers:

As many of you know, North Light Fibers is a small yarn mill and store located on Block Island, RI focused on producing quality blended yarns from exotic fibers such as qiviut, yak, camel, alpaca, bamboo, silk, etc. We clean, dehair, dye, card, and spin all of our yarns and we are starting to work with other exotics including Paco Vicuna and other beautiful fibers. We are located in the middle of an animal farm on a beautiful island and welcome everyone to visit us. In addition to planning a great retreat for the weekend of May 3rd with instructors including Deborah Newton, Melissa Leapman and more (http://northlightfibers.com/knittingretreat2013) and introducing a new line of Forever Lace yarn (80% baby alpaca, 20% bamboo in 16+ colors as pictured below), we are really wanting to work with more knitters and expand the use of our yarns – and this gets us to our resolutions for 2013:

• Work with knitters to develop new patterns and applications for our yarns. Laura is knitting a pillow with a prototype new super chunky yarn (80% Fine Alpaca/20%Fine Bamboo) in the picture below. But we need new ideas and we want to work with knitters to help develop and introduce the ideas to the knitting community.

Credit:  S. Risom

• Develop and market more patterns and kits using our yarns. If any of you design patterns or have recommendations of patterns for us to carry, we would love to hear from you. Many knitters want help in planning their project and we need your help in developing the kits and project plans.
• Create many more knit samples of patterns we market. We produce a lot of yarn but we need assistance making samples of the patterns. We would love to hang your knit sample in our booth at shows (Stitches, Vogue Live, New York Sheep and Wool Festival, New England Fiber Festival, etc). We look forward to forming partnerships with knitters to work with us.
• Expand retreats in the spring and fall that are dedicated to yarn shops, clubs, guilds or groups. We have had many "small" knitting retreats that have all been very successful (i.e. The RI Hook and Needle Guild) and we would enjoy talking with more people about a weekend retreat on Block Island.
• Identify a select set of stores to sell our yarns wholesale. We plan to start selling our yarns wholesale in 2013 starting in 2-3 stores in the Northeast. Do you have any ideas? We would love input and advice as to what stores can best carry our yarns.

As the saying goes, you put out your call to the universe, and you get what you want.  Let's hope the universe is listening in 2013!

Neighborhood alpacas inspect North Light Fibers yarn.  Credit:  S. Risom.

An idyll, with yarn

Because I suffer from mal de mer, we earlier this week ditched the idea of the ferry and flew to Block Island in a plane that felt like a minivan (minus children and soccer mom).  It takes twelve minutes, and besides being efficient, offers excellent views.

Stayed two nights, ate mostly at great restaurants, hiked, read, slept, etc.  From the lawn of the Atlantic Inn where we stopped for drinks and tapas

I espied this peaceable kingdom,

a hobby farm of esoteric animals behind the Manisses Hotel. Some of these critters, it turns out, provide fiber for the island's first and only yarn mill, North Light Fibers. The world being a small place, and Rhode Island an even smaller place, it turns out that Sven Risom, the co-owner of the mill with his wife Laura, is a former student of H's.

I am happy to report that North Light Fibers produces some amazing yarns, and a detailed account will be forthcoming in the pages of this blog. Dear Knitters, if you find yourself on Block Island in the near future, do please find your way to North Light Fibers to tour the mill and see for yourself the many fascinating and meticulous steps involved in the small scale processing of fiber into yarn, from the raw ingredients to the spinning and dyeing and skeining--all in the most environmentally-correct ways possible.

Short and sweet was this vacation--actually, a wedding-anniversary celebration. We shall happily return in the fall, just because.