Books and patterns oh my!

Here I sit at the laptop looking at tons and tons of new patterns on Ravelry! How can I not? There are so many awesome designers out there these days. That is one of the wonderful things about Ravelry, how it gives creative people a way to make their patterns available to other creative people.
So never mind the fact that I have many many pages of queued patterns in Ravelry, I might have added a few more today *grin*.
Here are a few of the ones I might have just added:

• Workhouse Mitts - I love the simple elegance of these. Fingering weight, not too fussy but still nice. I may have to push these to the top of the queue!
• Jenolan Shawlette - this immediately caught my eye! I love a simple shawl (for Lilly-girl), and one that isn't out of lace/fingering weight is a bonus for me! This one is out of DK and has just enough lace to make it pretty. Really like it!
• IceBerry Mittens, IceBerry Hat - I simply must mention these. The designer is a wonderful lady and she comes up with such beautiful designs!! I love the option on the hat to allow it to fit over a ponytail! So fun.
• Lenore - I'm not sure what it is about this one that has caught my eye but I was immediately taken with it. I'm sure the color is part of it, but I think the flowy lines really draw my eye.

So many pretties to choose from! Is it any wonder my queue grows so quickly?? I think not.

Perhaps after I have tamed the wild Darling Hubby sweater I'll be able to devote some time to a sweater for me. What am I saying? The instant I have needles free something for the Lilly-girl goes right on them. *smile* But I am going to work on that this year...actually of things actively being worked on only one of them (the hitchhiker) is for her, so that isn't too bad.

As everyone who knows me just a little is aware of...I tend to get very deeply involved in whatever my current interest is. When I was a scrapbooker I spent ALL my extra time with scissors, glue and paper. When I started knitting I immediately began my mad rush into all things fibery. From knitting I headed strait into dyeing yarn & fiber, spinning, weaving and of course what could follow that but raising my own sheep, rabbits and/or goats! I haven't quite made it to the livestock yet but it is the goal. Between wanting the livestock and learning all I can about spinning The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook became a must!
Mom & I attended Sock Summit in Portland together this past July (2011) and came across this book - WOW. It has so much information in it - talk about overload (in the best way possible). Mom surprised me with a copy of it after we returned home (too big & heavy to lug on the plane home). I haven't had a chance to read through the entire book as of yet (it is really big, did I mention that yet?) but there is just so much information. It covers sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, camels, bison, must oxen, yaks and more! The book has sections that are divided by family: Dorset, English Longwool Family, Merino Family, etc. And within those sections are the individual sheep breeds. For the breeds it gives history, facts about the fiber (from staple length to diameter, colors, characteristics, etc.). There are pictures of the locks (raw & clean), spun fiber different ways, knit swatches. Just a tons of information. I am really looking forward to getting familiar with more breeds of wool producing critters!!
I can just see myself with a sheep farm (okay, maybe not, 2 acres isn't really big enough for an entire farm). Well in my dreams I can at least.
We have taken the kids to wool festivals and they just love the sheep. Last summer they were able to help shear a sheep, comb the wool and spin it. Then they were allowed to use a loom for weaving. They loved it all! Seems to me it is time for them to learn about skirting and cleaning it *very big grin*
Okay, enough rambling on my part. If you are interested in learning about the properties of different wools go get this book *wink* I think I am going to get back to reading it myself.
Have a great day!