Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival

Alert! Alert! Mark your calendars, hitch up the horses, and head on out for the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival the 26th – 28th of September. Up here in beautiful Northern Michigan we are all joining again on the Ogemaw County fairgrounds.
The vendor booths are SOLD OUT so you know there will be new yarns and patterns, tools and toys jam packed into the buildings. Free parking and free admission, all you have to do is show up!
There will be spinning, knitting, felting, weaving, crochetting, dyeing classes (be sure to sign up for these early, they sell out quickly).
Do you want to learn to shear sheep? Come to the sheep shearing school and then join us for the sheep and pasture seminars and tours.

Here’s the informational brochure, see for yourself, you can’t miss this event!
http://www.lambandwoolfestival.com/brochurein.pdf
I have to tell you what happened to me last year. I was nonchalently wandering up and down isles, occasionally tripping over my jaw and slipping on my own drool when I came across a novelty yarn that “spoke” to me. (it said, “you must have me”, as it jumped into my arms. I don’t like novelty yarn, but still it persisted, almost attacking me viciously until I finally got out my charge card. I had no idea what to do with this stuff that already owned me. So, that night I fired up my trusty internet and searched for The Perfect Pattern! And this is what I came up with. From Jimmy Beans Wool, the Venus Openwork Diamond Cardigan. You have to pet, er I mean, see this yarn, it’s just awesome! And maybe I’ll have my sweater done and wearing it!

I rarely understand why something becomes a trend in crafting. Gnomes and geese are both cute I guess, but I never thought we’d be making them for all seasons. (See, for example, this collection of gnome knitting patterns, or these knit geese.)

Another one I don’t totally understand is sardines or little fish more generally. Sure, they’re cute, and the shape is fun, but I had no idea when I was sharing this pattern for a fish-shaped pouch last year that it would become a hugely popular pattern that people are still searching for on the site. It is pretty cute, though, so if you weren’t around then or don’t remember you should got check it out.

Recently another fishy knitting pattern crossed my monitor: the little knit fish from Classical Songbird Designs.

Just as the name suggests, these fish are little, about 4.5 inches or 11 cm from end to end. They look like little sardines and take about 12 yards of sock yarn to make.

You can even make a two-tone fish and use just 6 yards of each color.

This sounds to me like just about the perfect use for the yarn that’s left over after knitting a pair of socks, or a mini skein or several that have been sitting around unused in your stash.

The fish are knit flat in one piece, which makes it easy to stitch on the eyes with more yarn or embroidery floss before stuffing, and you can stitch up the sides while you stuff (though it’s not a very big piece so you could probably stitch and then stuff, finishing with the end of the tail).

Because I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one wondering, I measured an Altoids box and as the pattern is written the fish are a little too big to fit in it (the box is about 4 inches/10 cm long). But you could make the fish a little smaller if you want to make a box of them. Or just make a fishy bag to put them in!

You can grab the free pattern for the little knit fish at Classical Songbird Designs.

[Photo: Classical Songbird Designs.]

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