Knitting in Comfort

August 30, 2014August 30, 2014 | Verónica

Anytime I travel, besides booking a room and mapping out my route, I always look up local yarn stores. On our girl’s weekend to Fredericksburg, I found two listings that looked promising but turned into dead ends. Stonehill Spinning simply wasn’t there. In its place was a vitamin shop. I have nothing against vitamins but it was disappointing. The next shop, Things in a Room, was there on Main Street but no longer carried yarn.

But our adventure didn’t end in Fredericksburg. On our way back, we took US 87 south toward Interstate 10, which took us through Comfort, Texas. There, on a balmy Sunday afternoon, was The Tinsmith’s Wife.

Located in the historic downtown, The Tinsmith’s Wife fills six large rooms with beautiful, colorful, exquisite yarn. There is one room with a large table for sitting and knitting. Other sitting areas are scattered throughout. This one was my favorite. Can you imagine sitting there, knitting in comfort and feeling the warmth of the sun on your face?

Then there was the yarn.

Feeling light-headed yet?

You should have seen my mother and my aunt. They behaved like giddy school girls trying on the sample knits and choosing the yarns they wanted so that I could knit shawls, scarves and sweaters for them. Clearly they forgot that I actually do have a day job and do not, as much as I would like, spend all my days knitting.

Wendy, the owner, was lovely and helpful. She let me know that The Tinsmith’s Wife is a stop along the 2014 Hill Country Yarn Crawl. The dates are already on my calendar.

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Girl’s Weekend

August 24, 2014May 10, 2016 | Verónica

Mom turned seventy-something this month and I had been contemplating a mother-daughter weekend for some time. To make it even more fun, we invited my aunt whom I had not seen in a while. Thus began our girl’s weekend.

The destination was Fredericksburg, Texas. Fredericksburg was founded by German immigrants and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia. (Source). It is located among the rolling stretch of the Texas Hill Country just a short drive from Luckenbach, Texas. Yes, the one with “Waylon and Willie and the boys.”

We took the scenic route on Farm Road 1376 to get there and made our first stop in Sisterdale, Texas (population 25). Housed in a restored cotton gin is the winery for Sister Creek Vineyards.

We toured the various rooms where the grapes are turned into Merlots, Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. Oak barrels were neatly arranged in rows fermenting the wine. A sign read, “Employees only please. Our wine is resting.” After a wine tasting, we packed up a couple of bottles and hit the road again.

Upon arriving in Fredericksburg, our first stop was the cottage which would be our home for the weekend. Words cannot describe how adorable this place is – all 440 comforting, quaint and cozy square feet. Mom said it was like staying in a life-size doll house.

Once settled in, the rest of the weekend was filled with one delight after another. It turns out that the monthly Fredericksburg Trade Days was during our girl’s weekend. Trade Days is a giant flea market with 7 barns and various acres of antiques and collectibles. The girls were giddy with excitement stopping at every booth, finding shabby chic and rustic decorations, and sampling Texas salsas and peach jams.

For meals, we ate hearty German food and locally-brewed lagers and ales at the biergartens and steakhouses; and creamed corn frito pies and bacon-wrapped grilled jalapeños at the food stalls at Trade Days.

On Sunday morning, after enjoying hot coffee and the freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies left at the cottage by our host, we stopped at Wildseed Farms. Wildseed Farms has acres of zinnias, sunflowers, dahlias, and other wildflowers; and rows of vegetables and shrubs. Everything is labeled so that one can buy the seeds or plants from the nursery.

We shopped, slept, did our make-up together sitting at the cozy kitchen table, talked, laughed, and enjoyed life. Just us girls.

Among the Azaleas

March 22, 2013April 18, 2014 | Verónica

Believe it or not, Spring is almost here. Every March, the Azalea Trail takes Houstonians on a tour of homes whose gardens overflow with pink and white azaleas. Luckily, the former owners of our home planted a few azalea bushes in the backyard.

The sunny weather prompted the husband and I to make a quick trip to Austin, just the two of us. You know it’s love because our first stop was Hill Country Weavers, my favorite Austin yarn shop. The place had expanded since I was last there with an additional two rooms overflowing with yarn. I picked up these lovelies – 300 meters each of 67% silk, 23% kid mohair, 10% nylon yarn by Hand Maiden. It is hand dyed in Canada.

Here’s a glimpse of it catching some rays among the azaleas.

I honed in on this pattern from Malabrigo Book 3. The pattern calls for Malabrigo sock yarn with a gauge of 24 stitches over 4 inches. The gauge for the Hand Maiden yarn is 20 stitches over 4 inches. This should result in a larger shawl which is what I would like. I’ll definitely knit a gauge swatch before casting on.

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Here is one more view of those colorful azaleas. And there are still buds waiting to bloom.

Dew Drops Cowl in Orange

March 3, 2013 | Verónica

Ever since the new year, like many of my fellow knitters, I’ve wanted to reduce the size of my stash. I purchased this lovely orange skein at a fiber festival a couple of years ago because I was intrigued by the color. It’s from Brooks Farm Yarn in Lancaster, Texas. “Ellie” was marked down in the widows and orphans bin – the place where leftover skeins go to retire. It’s 4 ounces, 400 yards of a lustrous 50% Fine Wool, 50% Silk Slub.

I used the Dew Drop Cowl pattern which is available as a free Ravelry download. Here it is blocking.

Down here in Texas, it gets cold and occasionally freezes but not for long. I wanted a cowl that would keep me warm without burning me up. This airy pattern was just right. Bear is back to model the cowl for us.

Here is a close-up. I like that the yarn was spun to have thick and thin sections. It gives the cowl an interesting texture.

Bear is keeping watch over my work in progress, a large knit blanket. I keep it tucked away in this large tote from 31 Gifts. The tote bag was only $5 with my other purchases! I love those big grommets. I pull my needles through them to keep my stitches from falling off.

It’s been a bit chilly here in Texas. Perfect weather for my orange cowl. Now, back to that blanket.

Of Handmade Quilts

November 10, 2012 | Verónica

These are the last two quilts from the International Quilt Festival last weekend. Undoubtedly, they both represent superior craftsmanship but what appealed to me most was the theme. If you read My First Post, you will understand why I love these quilts showing a woman’s hands at work.

This first quilt, “The Mending,” captures a woman’s hands mending fractured lives. In the quilter’s words:

Women find themselves continually mending the fabric of their lives, trying to restore beauty and function in the aftermath of war, greed and lust. This quilt began as a collage of photos collected over a decade of living, working and traveling overseas. The quilt top was then torn, cut, burned and shot – literally, tearing families apart. Finally, the woman’s hands are shown working to stop the destruction, mend the damage, and repair the vision.

Upon seeing this quilt, I couldn’t help but think about atrocities committed against women. Just the other day, there was an article on CNN about how women and girls in Haiti continue to be raped in the makeshift tent cities that serve as their not so temporary homes. A BBC report recounts details of sexual violence against prisoners in Syria. There are many more stories every day.

I did not mean to lead you down an unhappy path. But my heart goes out to these women and I am ever more grateful for so many blessings in my own life.

On the other end of the spectrum, this next quilt represents the power of friendship and community-building. The artist made this quilt to commemorate her ten years as a quilter. Her design inspiration was “the people who gather at a quilting bee.”

It is heartwarming to see so many hands at work. Each person contributes busily cutting, sewing and ironing and each leaves his or her mark on the quilt. This quilt fills me with joy and leaves me feeling hopeful about what people can do when they come together, each contributing their own unique gifts.