My family recently returned from a vacation to Washington, D.C.  Although there are many things to share about our trip, this post will be related to my fiber.

First, just before I left, I won this gorgeous skein of hand spun yarn from Sharon of Knot-Cha-Cha!  I can’t tell you how excited it was to receive this beauty upon my return!  I admire hand spun yarns since it requires a skill I have yet to learn.  I don’t think I have ever possessed something so uniquely beautiful!  Any suggestions as to what to make with it (115 yds)?  Check out Knot-Cha-Cha Etsy shop for beautiful hand made accessories.  I love this Parrot Green Beaded Beret!

As we set out from Cleveland, I had three projects tucked away in bags.  I pulled out the second Swirl sock and happily knit along until we reached Pennsylvania and I noticed a hole. 

Now the swirl sock is not a hard pattern:  yo, knit 2.  But I am not very good at fixing mistakes in anything with holes!  I tried to drop down and fix my mistake but did not succeed.  So I ripped back, fiddled for an hour and was back on track.  I merrily continued my knitting until I was getting ready for the heel – somewhere within an hour or so of DC.  That’s when I realized I had knit the one leg two inches longer than the other!  Sigh….my knitting remained until the return trip because it now became a project that I could not easily pick up and knit.

Luckily, we hit some traffic on the way out of DC, so I was able to focus on fixing the problem, knitting the heel, which seems so easy in this pattern, and finish!  These are for Annie. I do love socks for trip knitting!

I guess you can’t call it “progress” when you buy yarn, considering I have a number of projects in the works.  However, we went shopping in Old Town Alexandria one day and I enjoyed the lovely shop Fibre Space.

I thought it would be fun to make this cute little bunny for the baby (the first in the next generation!) out of this lovely organic cotton from blue sky.  I always try to support the local yarn stores!  And this one was so welcoming!
 
One of our Smithsonian stops included the National Museum of the American Indian.  It housed the most fascinating art by Brian Jungen.  He “uses mass-produced goods to make sculptures that are simultaneously fake and authentic, playful and political, common and extraordinary”  For example, he used sports jerseys to create this blanket:

There was a large red cloth made from all kinds of clothing and materials.  It was amazing to see how they fit together.

Finally, on our last day, my husband, Annie and I headed to the Textile Museum to see an exhibit on the revolutionary designs of Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag and Marian Mahler.  The fabrics were amazing!  The link above will bring you to the photos of some of them.  Check them out!

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