Tag: Kelly Corbett

Turkey Tracks: MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers’ and Growers’ Association) Fair, 2013

Turkey Tracks:  September 25, 2013

MOFGA’S COMMON GROUND FAIR

I went on the first day–Friday.

By myself, as it turned out…

And that was ok…

It was HOT though, so I found myself going home sooner than I might have in cooler weather.

I visited some of my favorite people in their booths, though some sort of inertia set in and I didn’t take many pictures.  The chicken house has been a bit lacking in recent years–not so many types of chickens.  And I confess I would never take any of my beloveds to be gawked at and yelled around for three days.  I continue to admire and think about a cold hardy, dark brown, chicken from Ohio–Buckeye.  Here’s a rooster.

I visited Kelly Corbett of Romney Ridge Farm.  Kelly is now being accepted into major shows up and down the East Coast.  I stopped by The Spinnery booth.  Bill is the most amazing knitter, and his yarns are gorgeous.  I strolled through the craft tents, but I’m not really into buying many “things” these days.  I stopped by Roots, Coops, and More.  Lori and Steven have so many interesting and well-designed chicken coops for people with small flocks.

I didn’t go near the livestock barns–just got too hot and tired.  So, I missed the man who brings ten mules to the fair–ten mules he hitches up together about once a day.  Mules are like potato chips, he says.  You can’t have just one.  Mules, like parrots, live to be VERY old, over 50 years, so getting one is not a small undertaking.

I bought this year’s t-shirt and listened to Sander Ellis Katz (lacto-fermentation–WILD FERMENTATION), who was the keynote speaker.  (He has a new book out, and it does contain a recipe for corning beef, which son Bryan and I talked about when he was here–I think the new book is called THE ART OF FERMENTATION, and it’s meant to be an “everything you need to know” kind of book.)

I stood in line for the lamb shish-k-bob I love to get each year:

MOFGA, lamb vendor

And it was as delicious as ever…

MOFGA, lamb k-bobs

And I always get a “blood” drink from the Solar Cafe–beet, apple, fresh ginger, and lime.

MOFGA Solar Cafe

Delicious!

MOFGA, bull d

I stopped by John’s ice cream on the way home.  I love the way John changes the flavors on a regular basis.  I got Spumoni, which was filled with dates and figs and coconut and chocolate.  Mercy!  It was so good!

I drifted home on a cloud of sugar energy.

Once a year…

Turkey Tracks: I Finished It!!!

Turkey Tracks:  June 21, 2012

I Finished It!!!

And I already miss making it and watching the diamonds shape…

To recap earlier entries on this sweater (click on knitting on the right sidebar or search for Romney Ridge Farm), I met Kelly Corbett of Romney Ridge Farm and Aloisia Pollack at the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association “Common Ground” Fair last fall.  Aloisia had made a sweater out of Kelly’s beautiful yarns, and I was instantly captivated.   Aloisia taught me and Giovanna McCarthy how to do the pattern and showed me how to make a cardigan from the pullover pattern.  I added the big collar, as I thought the sweater needed to be really grounded what with all that pattern and color.  And, Helen of Heavenly Socks in Belfast suggested these buttons, which I also really like and would not have found on my own.

The greyish yarn of the collar, front bands, etc., is the natural color of one of Kelly’s sheep.  The rest she dyes herself, and the colors are shaded and glow in the sweater.   You can see the shading in the dark purple yarn really well…

Here’s a close-up of the bottom of the sweater–and yes, the color lines do match up as the body was knit on round needles.

Giovanna used the narrower, two-color bands Aloisia’s pattern employed, and I think they make the sweater lighter–as you will see when she finished hers.

I have so enjoyed this project and working with these beautiful yarns.

Turkey Tracks: Yarn Road Trip

Turkey Tracks:  February 2, 2012

Yarn Road Trip

Giovanna McCarthy and I hit the road one day last week.  Our destination:  Romney Ridge Farm Yarn Company in Woolwich, Maine, which is about an hour south of Camden.

There is a history to this story.

Last summer I met Kelly L. Corbett, the owner of Romney Ridge Farm Yarn Company, at MOFGA’s Common Ground Fair in September.  (MOFGA is the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association, and they have a spectacular fair each year.)  Kelly had asked Aloisia Pollock, a master knitter, to make a sweater showcasing Kelly’s yarns.  Here’s the sweater–which uses a method of carrying two colors to make the little diamonds.

When I got home from MOFGA I went into our new knitting store here in Camden:  The Cashmere Goat.  They LOVED the idea of carrying Kelly’s yarns and hosting a class taught by Aloisia Pollock to make her sweater–and they have a wonderful space to take such a class.  The three groups came together, and that class will be taught in early April 2012.  The sweater is now hanging in the store, alongside some of Kelly’s yarns.

But, Giovanna and I wanted a larger yarn selection than The Cashmere Goat presently has, so we called Kelly and went down on a cold, wintry to pick out the 7 skeins we needed for this project.  We were blown away by all the colors, the possibilities.  Both of us were paralyzed for long moments.  Giovanna summed up what we were both thinking.  “How can I pick seven colors when I want every single one here!”

Here’s what I came home with–the yarn on the far right is the “natural” undyed color of the sheep’s wool.  And, the dark purple yarn above the mauve color isn’t showing up well in this picture:

I also came home with a turquoise yarn I thought would make a great scarf for my black winter coat–AND that will go with my Noro sweater and hat:

Kelly’s farm shop is easy to get to from Route 1.  She’s just below Wiscasset.  Her web site is www.romneyridgefarm.com.  She has a blog as well on that site.

Aloisia Pollock lives in Jefferson and runs the Sunset Cabins on Damariscotta Lake–www.sunsetcabinsmaine.com.

The Cashmere Goat is at 20 Bayview Street in Camden–www.thecashmeregoatknit.com.

Giovanna and I are going down to see Aloisia next Wednesday, and we can hardly wait!