Kris found out from one of our co-workers that there was a “Pick Your Own” farm in our county (Larriland Farm in Howard County for you locals).  We don’t venture that far north often, but the call of fresh berries and veggies was enough to make us go out in the heat and humidity for a couple of hours.

… and oh!  the rewards …

We met an adorable little girl and her father at the blueberry patch.

He asked, “Are you picking the berries for our basket?”

She answered, “Nope, I am snackin’.”

My sentiments exactly.

Most went into the basket, but some went into the mouth.

After picking a six pound bag of blueberries, we headed to the raspberry patch, further down the road.  The farm has so many pick-your-own fields, and now that we know about its location, we will definitely go back.  There were several fruits and vegetables in season this time, but we only had two hours, so we chose blueberries, raspberries, and beets.  (Sweet cherry season ended today, so they were planning a “Cherry Dash” this morning for the last of the fruit on the trees… too bad we missed it!  I have been eating some great cherries from the farmer’s market!)

The raspberries appeared to be overpicked, but upon closer inspection, the best and juiciest berries were deep inside the bush.  So, you put aside all decorum and reach right into the thorny patch for the best berries.  With scratches on our arms and purple stained hands, Kris and I managed to get six pounds of these as well! 

In all, we got some amazing berries and some fresh beets (I pulled them up myself!) for a very reasonable price.  It was great fun to spend the evening outside, meeting new people, and enjoying the fruits of the season. 

…Now I have to figure out what to do with all of these berries! We split up the berries with half in the freezer, and half in the fridge.   Right now, I have visions of muffins, smoothies, crumble cake, sorbet, and some yummy borscht for the beets.  Do you have a favorite berry recipe to share?

Once I get a new warp on the loom, I can zoom right along.  It’s just getting that new warp on… the process takes a steady hand and a dedicated attention span - threading all of the heddles, sleying the reed, beaming.  Once I am in that zone, I quite enjoy the process of it.  Especially with a good audiobook* playing.

Silk Stripes Scarf 
Warp: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed in Linen (2 skeins)
Weft: Noro Silk Garden in 249 (1 skein) & 269 (1 skein)

[more photos of the Silk Stripes Scarf here]

Each skein of the Silk Garden yielded three bobbins (to put in the boat shuttle) each, so with six bobbins, I alternated the striping patterns between the earthy colors of the 249 colorway and the cream variegations of the 269.  Each bobbin gave me between 7 and nine inches of woven fabric.  The deep colors of the 249 colorway appear to be three different skeins of yarn - but that is the true beauty of Noro!  Every time I work with Noro, I fall a *little* more in love with it.  (Sad side story:  Remember my Shinano cowl?  Totally loved that thing.  Well, I seem to have lost it somewhere en route to Nova Scotia.  I think it must have been at Dulles Airport somewhere…  I am thinking around the security check when I was hurrying to put my shoes back on… ack.  I loved that thing.  And now I want more Shinano to compensate!)

I am brimming with weaving inspiration right now - so many great ideas and designs out there!  Many thanks to Barbara at The Lumpy Sweater for sending a weaving book she found at a sale.  It is about Finnish weaving techniques.  I look forward to trying some… once I get a little better!

…

I had a nice holiday with the family.  We planned to go down to see the fireworks in DC, but the thunder and lightning kept us at home.  We played a few card games and Scattergories whilst munching on my leftover Friendship bread!  It was a fun night.  My sister Sarah and I made plans to get together the next day to check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.  The weather forecast didn’t look particularly pleasant, but it ended up being quite nice once we got to the National Mall.

The themes this year were Bhutan, Texas, and NASA.  Very disparate themes, but a good mix for a day of learning.  The SFF seems to always include a rich textiles display, and that offers some amazing photo opportunities.  So full of color!

[All photos from Festival here]

 We saw several demonstrations, heard a few discussions (a particularly interesting one on the environmental sensibilities of the Bhutanese people and their Gross National Happiness) and in the Texas “Opry” pavillion, I got to dance.  The band was playing some polka music, and this older gentleman came up and held his hand out to me.  I hesitated and pointed at my sister, but he pointed right at me.  So, I polka-ed with this man (who didn’t speak any English… I believe he was actually Polish) in front of a large audience.  Even though we lived in Texas for a short while when I was young, I guess I didn’t realize that polka was so “big” there.  The band was pretty good, and my dance partner was getting quite into it.  He kept on saying things to help lead me in the dance (but I did not understand!) and I just stepped around in a square figure.  He even twirled me around a few times!  what a charmer!  (…but Kris should have no cause for concern…)

*I listened to The Man Who Loved China whilst weaving my scarf.  Fascinating and engaging story!  (Psst - anyone else on Goodreads?)

It is funny how you can live in the same area as some of your favorite blog friends, and for one reason or another, you are never really able to get together for a face-to-face meeting.  Parikha and I have been trying to get together for a long while, and this past weekend, we finally did it.  And even better?  it corresponded with Rangsiwan’s visit to the East Coast.  SO, I got to meet two great blog friends in one day! (with the addition of R’s really sweet friend, Marissa). 

We started the day off with a great lunch at one of my favorite spots in DC: Teaism in Dupont Circle.

Veggie bento boxes for P and me - Udon needles for R and M

Over lunch, we discussed travels (Rangsiwan just returned from Brazil), photography (we were all outfitted with our Canons - but I think I am the only one who took photos?) and the yummy food.  And the best part?  It was so natural.  Meeting “old” friends for the first time.  Very nice. 

A freak monsoon-like rainstorm hit DC as we were leaving the cafe - we made a break for Marissa’s car to head to Silver Spring for the Crafty Bastards fair.  It is great to see that the fair has reached such popularity that they can now do it twice a year! 

The heat was the resounding topic of the day.  The sun was beating down, and while it was nice to have so much light, it was nasty hot.  Luckily, there was some shade to cool off, and even an indoor area with more vendor/artists.  And some Italian Ice. 

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet a Flickr friend who was showing at the fair - so cool to meet you, Tess! - and met the very talented Abby at Folktale Fibers.  I caught up with Paula at Woolarina - pulled up a chair and made in the shade for a short while.  What a fun time. 

After the fair, we said goodbye to Parikha, and headed into Silver Spring.  Even with the heat, there were a lot of people out and about.  We stopped off in Cake Love and R got a scrumptious cupcake, and then headed to the green. 

~Kids playing in the fountain~ (I was tempted myself)

After seeing the capoeiristas, I decided that I couldn’t complain about the heat anymore.  Amazing to see. Great music too!

Rangsiwan and I made plans for later this summer (when I will be in SF) and we parted ways.  I had a permagrin when I got home.  What a nice day! 

…and I even came home with a few goodies to remember it by…

Felted soap kits from Woolarina / Folktale Fibers Handspun
(and the pretty turquoise necklace in the shot above from Block Party Press)

I unpacked my new yarn from The Loop in Halifax, only to pack it up again to head to the beach for a long weekend. What can I say? (I will be staying put for awhile… well, a few weeks, at least). The Schulana Sojabama first caught my eye when I saw Mimi’s Wyvern Wrap (Ravelry link), and it didn’t take much for her to talk me into it when I visited her shop. I did go in with a plan, however… the yarn was perfect for the Pintuck Tee that I had added to my queue only a week before…

The bamboo/soy blend is going to be perfect for this summer tee. I am thinking about modifying the sleeves on this one, but it all depends on how much yarn I have left. The yarn appears to be a great gray, but if you look a little closer in natural light, it is actually quite multi-tonal: lavender, blue, and maybe a little pink too. Quite lovely.

(beaded stitch marker compliments of dear Coleen)

It’s a small gauge knit in the round - worked on size 3 needles with hundreds of stitches per round. Perfect kind of knitting for lazy days at the beach ~ well, at the beach house, as I only venture to the actual beach after the sun sets and there is smaller risk of my skin turning red

Every year, we head over to Assateague Island to see the wild ponies.

This year, we had a pretty close encounter.

A simple weekend with simple pleasures - it was wonderful.

We had a Namaste Knitters meetup in DC on Sunday. The Namaste Knitters is a group that I moderate on Ravelry to bring together knitters and crocheters who love yoga. Sung-Ji offered to host our DC group at the Inspired Yoga studio downtown. We knit, ate some delicious treats and drank yummy teas, and did some light yoga in the beautiful studio space. This was the first meetup of the group, and we will definitely be doing it again - we had such a good time together! If you are interested in joining us, stay tuned to the Ravelry boards for more information about our next get-together. (Left to right: my BFF Bec, Manda, me, Sung-Ji, and Heather)

The other simple pleasure of the long weekend was our weekly walk in the woods. The weather was unseasonably warm - near 70 degrees - and Kris and I hit the trails mid-morning and explored some great places in the nearby Patapsco Valley State Park. The park is located in Baltimore County, Maryland, about 15 minutes from our home. We have been to the park many times before, but the hike today offered us more time and better weather to venture onto some new trails. I am not quite sure how far we hiked, but we steadily climbed a steep hill, made our way to the top and around the other side. The hike in entirety took about 2.5 hours.

We saw a small waterfall, quite active with all of the rain we have had lately, and also saw a large group of deer - maybe 20. Once we pulled the camera out, most of them hitched up the white tails and jumped away. Four remained and watched our every step. The river used to be much bigger, but has been dammed and re-routed. There are signs of the river’s past all over. There was once a large mill located on the banks of the river - late 1800s/early 1900s - and several structures from the mill days remain. They are now in dilapidated states, but interesting nonetheless.

How did you spend your weekend?