tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28658600613472614312024-03-21T09:18:50.197-07:00StarcroftLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12763645596472761911noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-79593774300969172562017-07-05T16:54:00.002-07:002017-07-05T16:58:03.589-07:00Nash Island TIDE Voe Vest
Nash Island TIDE Voe Vest on it's maiden voyage. Modeled by Captain Matthew at the helm of the Schooner Olad.
I am always eager to start knitting with a freshly spun batch of yarn, so as soon as this spring's new batch of Nash Island TIDE was spun and dyed I cast on for a summer knitting adventure in stranded color work. As with fine wines, each batch of yarn spun possess it's ownStarcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-84844022533343865342017-05-01T10:03:00.001-07:002017-05-01T11:02:47.050-07:00SPRING! Tide's In!
Acer rubrum ~ Red Maple
Having grown weary of the long monochromatic winter, my eyes hunger for color this time of year. As the new season unfolds, I find myself on a quest to seek out the emerging color moments that harbinger spring. Not the deep lush colors of summer, not the vibrant last hurrah colors of autumn, but those innocent soft colors of spring. This year I Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-83482892062737142912017-04-07T12:49:00.000-07:002017-04-07T13:02:58.946-07:00Fibertrek Wool Scouts Retreat We all need to take some time for ourselves. Now more than ever. Time to disconnect, seek solitude, immerse in nature, recharge our energies, reground.
Just imagine... climbing into a float plane and leaving chaos behind as you lift off above the tree tops and head into the Great North Woods of Maine.
Just imagine... flying over the peak of majestic Katahdin Mountain as yourStarcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-74523145307425649222016-11-08T07:46:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:42:18.457-08:00Fall Round-up
Fall round-up on the islands, the event that for me marks the end of the growing season, and the final chore to get done before hunkering down for winter. This year a gray, but thankfully warm and calm day makes the task a bit easier.
Round-up in the fall is quite different from spring round-up. It is deliciously quiet. The lambs are bigger, the Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-76053823494484815802016-03-14T12:42:00.001-07:002016-11-20T17:26:50.015-08:00Nash Island by MJM
Nash Island
pattern by Mary Jane Mucklestone
Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-4974665198033833232016-02-29T12:45:00.001-08:002016-02-29T12:45:58.755-08:00Starcroft Mill Monday FOG ready on the spinner. Let the bobbin filling begin. ...and at the other end of the mill... For the past several years we have been working on improving the breeding on one of the islands to produce natural colored fleeces. Last year was our first clip of beautiful dark brown fleeces. Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-1907905119981365632016-02-16T06:03:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:26:44.244-08:00TTY w TTL
Two more completed in my Through The Year with Through The Loops shawl project.
ziggity ~ Nash Island FOG in spruce and single ply handspun wool/silk in shades of cove.
moulin rouge ~ deadman's fingers from highlands on the fly.
Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-12380741746209572322016-01-13T19:53:00.001-08:002016-01-13T20:06:16.701-08:00Winter Expeditionnew year. new journey. setting off on an expedition.
expedition (n.) 1. an excursion, journey or voyage made for some specific purpose or exploration.
This expedition is inspired by Sarah of Fibertrek's Shackleton CAL which invites you to join a community of fellow explorers and challenge yourself to go beyond known boundaries to
pursue that epic knitting/crafting project that Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-82494336591335694622015-12-20T12:38:00.000-08:002016-11-20T17:30:02.190-08:00Kanagawa KAL
Clockwise : Sea Star. Crustacean. Rockweed. Atlantic.
Holiday gift knitting all done? Settling in for a long winter's rest and wondering what to cast on next? How about joining Emily, Sonya, and Beverly (loveaslug , knitsonya , PoMoGolightly on Ravelry) for their KANAGAWA Mitten KAL? Limited Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-64529981344412103862015-11-27T16:17:00.001-08:002015-11-28T06:20:08.634-08:00Starcroft LIVE
Starcroft's new web store is live! Check out our new logo designed by Holly McBride.
On Our Story page we share with you the history of Nash Island Wool and the making of Nash Island Yarns.
On our Shop page you can fill your cart with Nash Island TIDE yarn...
and Nash Island FELTING WOOL for your holiday knitting and felting projects.
Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-11262051023360121662015-11-06T15:50:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:13:36.549-08:00Through the Year with Through the Loops
I've been terribly remiss with sharing my project 'Through the Year with Through the Loops'. Knitting these shawls has been my tiny oasis amidst the hustle of summer house construction and the bustle of fall gardening and winter prep. I'm ready for deep snow and long dark quiet nights filled with more Through the Loops shawl knitting.
Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-3546618898906474832015-06-20T19:02:00.001-07:002016-11-20T18:14:35.323-08:002015 Handspinning Fleeces for Sale
The 2015 Nash Island handspinning fleeces are ready!
NEW this year we have six colored fleeces for sale! After several years of working to improve the breeding stock on one of the smaller islands we are thrilled to finally be able to offer beautiful dark chocolate brown and dark gray fleeces along with our traditional 'fog-washed' pure white handspinning fleeces. Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-59596066421282228132015-05-13T10:46:00.001-07:002015-11-06T16:08:03.759-08:00New Obsession
I have never encountered the obsession for knitting shawls until I saw this (gasp) and tumbled full-tilt into complete obsession.
I must confess I had previously admired several of the shawls in this book draped across the back of a chair in a sunlit NYC apartment (the image still haunts me.) Perhaps that was the dawning of obsession. This sweet little book by Kirsten Kapur ofStarcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-38701913015922887592015-02-23T07:24:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:15:10.575-08:00Calm before the (next) stormThe weather has been a bit difficult. Storm following storm following storm. Finally a brief calm morning to run out to the islands and check on the girls. 10 am launch, snow & wind due at 2 pm.
With temps hovering at +5, it's a bit of a wait for the motor to warm up. With the harbor frozen over, a beach launch on the lee side is necessary.
A quick sweep of the Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-48212578792402836632015-01-22T08:11:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:15:58.042-08:00Clementine
Nash Island LIGHT and our new TIDE yarn are now available at Clementine in Rockland, Maine.
We are busy working on a new WebStore for online shopping. In the meantime, if you need a Nash Island yarn fix you can call the nice lady at Clementine, she is happy to mail you some. 207-596-3905.
Also to be found at Clementine ........
There is lots of Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-9195664146624171402015-01-06T14:47:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:17:28.702-08:00Tide's In Contemplations for spinning up a new yarn have been simmering on the back burner for quite some time.
A duel purpose sturdy sock / fine stranded color work yarn. (Made from Nash Island wool, of course.)
A large backlog of wool, the realization that getting caught up was never going to happen, and my impatience to play with said yarn Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-76485984196257876552015-01-04T15:48:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:18:39.234-08:00Out of the Woods
When my dear friend Gale (pictured here with her friend Cleat) e-mailed me a few months ago with an offer to do a pop-up store in New York City in January, my imagination mind immediately thought, 'Yes! That sounds like a lot of fun!'. Then my introvert mind thought, 'Oh, my, NYC is so far away...and there are so many people there' (I live almost in Canada, in the woods, and Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-78280985427787874332014-12-03T14:01:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:32:47.012-08:00Bits and Bits
Sometimes when I'm dyeing a new color it takes many, many tiny test skeins to get just the right recipe for the color I want. Sadly, these tiny not-quite-the-right-color skeins end up forgotten in a box on a shelf. Recently rediscovered during a studio tidying, they begged for attention and a little sorting.
Which led to a little color play and contemplation.&Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-45064604112062465262014-11-17T19:51:00.001-08:002016-11-20T18:20:10.241-08:00Ram Rescue
Early in November we take the rams off their summer island and bring them to the mainland until it's time for them to go out to the ewe islands for breeding in December. The reason being that when the scent of ewe wafts in their direction, rams being rams, they will sometimes wander out onto the ledges at low tide thinking they can walk over to the ewe's island (impossible). And if the Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-72624700920512401672014-11-13T13:25:00.001-08:002014-11-13T13:25:12.240-08:00Round Two Round-upYet another perfect day. Island #2 fall round-up completed with calm seas and a crew of five. This year's lambs. Next year's Nash Island Fog yarn. Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-19563003857271757512014-11-11T17:22:00.001-08:002014-11-11T17:22:32.906-08:00Fall Round UpIt was a perfect day for fall round up on the island - sunny, warm, calm seas, southerly breeze. (It's usually freezing cold & windy when we do this.) Hard to believe it's November. By now this spring's lambs are almost as big as the ewes. The island can support about 120 sheep, so some of them are about to get voted off the island. We will take off all the male lambs and any ewes Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-85602640753231039292014-11-03T07:06:00.001-08:002014-11-03T07:06:20.223-08:00The LarchThe larch. (aka : hackamatack). My favorite evergreen. So much so, that the first time I stood in this circle of larch I knew this was the spot to build my new house. It's a roque evergreen. After all the deciduous trees have flashed their colors and dropped their leaves, the larch defies the laws of 'evergreen' and follows suit. Maintaining some family resemblance, delicate marble Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-42226861953167193702014-10-20T06:20:00.001-07:002014-10-20T06:20:48.811-07:00Red BarrenTree show is pretty much over, except for the deep golds of beech and oak. But the barrens ....are busting out the reds. Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-41876514908723433652014-10-13T08:51:00.001-07:002014-10-13T11:21:09.782-07:00Schoodic PointSchoodic Point (the quiet Acadia) with views of Cadalliac Mountain in Acadia National Park,and rock exploring, and wave watching. And hiking trails ...with clever trail markers, and the perfect picnic spot, and color moments for fall knitting inspiration. Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2865860061347261431.post-21512663571505900012014-10-06T16:25:00.001-07:002014-10-06T16:25:15.056-07:00Barren MoonAlthough the trees are just a bit past peak, the barrens are only half way there. There are numerous varieties and species of blueberry plants in a barren, some turn earlier than others. The dry weather of late has also influenced the rate of color change. Happy Full Harvest Moon. Starcrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14675536113987204182noreply@blogger.com4