Nesting

Trust me, it’s not what you think. I’m not pregnant and I’m not busy feathering my “nest”. I’ve been busy making little fiber nests out of combed merino fleece that I scored on my visit mid-February to Lynn’s Fantasy Farm in Pearisburg during sheep shearing day. I came home with Dinah and Alice’s beautiful fleeces and upon the owner’s strong suggestion, sought out some combs vs. hand cards. I borrowed a friend’s Louet/Edward Scissorhands like combs and combed the freshly scoured fleece before rolling them into nests.



Gorgeous Fleece


Washed and dyed locks


Lots of loverly little nests


Spun and plied yarn


Close up of colors


Finished Yarn


While I’m all about the process, the hand combing merino thing is a lot of work. And there’s a great deal of lost fiber. However, it’s equally difficult to find a fiber mill that a.) takes in small amounts of fleece to comb into top and b.) hard to find a mill that even combs fiber into top. Long story short, I’m going to have to buy some more fleece so that I can hit Zeilinger’s (http://www.zwool.com) minimum and hope that it will be ready in time for me to pick it up at Maryland Sheep and Wool in May. It will be worth it. It’s a dream to spin top and this merino is fabulous stuff.

Thing Two and I had a blast at Lynn’s farm though it was mighty cold that day.


The shearer hard at work


Her two dogs were the sweetest creatures I’ve ever encountered and her flock was well cared for and very loved.

We got right to work, skirting fleece. I was stunned that Thing Two jumped right in because there was lots of icky stuff to pick out on the skirting table. He simply donned some rubber gloves and went to work. What a trooper! I hope that we can make it again next year.


Thing Two at the skirting table

Color Therapy

Awwww, ya'll are so good to me. Thanks for taking the time to comment. It's heart warming to know that someone is reading me out there. I don't have a whole lot of contact with people on a daily basis so I treasure any and all interactions, including comments. If your email is in your Blogger profile, then I'm able to and try to respond directly to you. (((Big Hugs))) right back at ya.

I've been sucked into dyeing again by a certain someone - ahem Catie - who showed me some kettle dyed yarn. I became totally obsessed with doing it and am now totally hooked. Here are some braided ropes of my experiments on Shetland, Finn and Cashmere-Finn...







I realized as I played with dyeing this roving that I LOVE COLOR and really need it ever present daily. I can't begin to tell you how happy these little braids have made me and have sucked me out of my funk. One is destined to be a birthday present and I just may pet the others until they tell me what they want to be.

So I can spend more time playing with color and less time processing fiber, I've sent off most of the fleece I accumulated last year to be processed at Ohio Valley Natural Fibers. Wish me luck. I hope that they do a good job.

So what makes you happy these days? What's your therapy for the winter doldrums?

A bit of a funk

I've been called out for not posting in a while. Frankly, due to the lack of comments, I wasn't sure anyone even read my blog so I've wondered if I should even bother. I've been in a bit of an anti-technology funk these days. I've read few if any blogs since Christmas, haven't logged into Ravelry in ages and barely read the news but once or twice a day. I think it has been hard to stay plugged in because bad news abounds. I've retreated from it all in an effort not to get so horribly depressed. I'm of the mindset that I AM my brother's keeper and I feel so helpless to do something for my fellow (wo)man get through these tough times.

I have been knitting and spinning but have had a problem finishing anything of substance. My energies have been focused on reclaiming my house during these winter doldrums. I've succeeded in cleaning the entire main floor from top to bottom and hope to begin to tackle the upstairs in the coming weeks. My crafty room needs lots of work but I hope that I'll find my mojo when I attack that space. So many hidden treasures to unearth.

Since I posted last, we've celebrated several birthdays and events, the most notable being Thing 1's 16th. My boy will fly the coop in a couple of years and I can barely believe he's not a little smiling chub, toddling around our first home. I still have my job but several of my colleagues have recently lost theirs :( My brother is coming home this week after having spent three long years activated with his Army reserve unit. He still has 17 months before he retires. I pray that they don't get activated again during that timeframe.

I promise to post pictures as soon as I take some. What are you up to these days? Do tell :)

A year of firsts

Sorry I've been mia. Work has kept me very busy up until yesterday. I'm not complaining. I'm so very grateful to still have my job especially in light of the fact that many friends, family, co-workers and colleages are losing or have lost theirs. I'm trying hard not to get overwhelmed but some days its hard than others. I've been given notice that I might only have a couple of months before I need to start looking, depending on funding. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and am sending a blanket prayer to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.



The year of firsts reference is to our first year without Mavis our beloved Pembroke Welsh Corgi we had to put to sleep last December. Not a single "first" went by without someone in our family remembering it. The first Christmas was the hardest, the first time we dropped food on the floor and she wasn't there to slurp it up, the first snow that she didn't get to roll in, the first trip to the beach without her, the first fourth of July that we didn't have to calm her down from the fireworks, the first Thanksgiving. The last of the firsts was this weekend - the first anniversary of her leaving. I still get choked up when I think of her. I miss her so very much. The Things want another dog and I can't bring myself to do it yet because I'm not ready to have to make the decision to take a life again anytime soon. I doubt myself everyday, that I did the right thing. I pray for her forgiveness if I was wrong. Our lives are richer for her having shared it with us and yet missing something now that she's gone.

Okay, this entire post isn't an entire downer. Just needed to get some stuff off my chest. Since I posted last a lot has happened. I celebrated my 39th birthday (40 is coming fast), Thing One got his learner's permit (yikes!), Thing Two is hitting puberty (ack!) and I've cast on for a few projects. See, I am still knitting...

The penguin was part of a birthday gift to a dear friend, the chalet socks are for me and hubby for the holidays and yes, the thrummed jacket is finally finished but I'm still weaving in a zillion ends.

Heifer Holiday Fundraiser

Team Ravelry for Heifer International is having a donation drawing for a WONDERFUL FIBER ARTS BASKET!The contents of the basket include:
Addi Pearls Jewelry Kit
Poems of Color Knitting in the Bohus Tradition book by Wendy Keele
Handmade chicken and egg tape measure
Two 25g Rowan Kidsilk Spray shade 571 (taupe)
Two 25g Rowan Kidsilk Night shade 611 (pink)
Two 600m Fleece Artist “Suri Blue” 50% Suri Alpaca, 50% Blue Face Leicester hand dyed pumpkin/harvest orange
“Tulips” Baby Cardigan kit with pattern and Dream in Color “Classy” Worsted Superwash Merino wool
Red and Green standing Knitting Basket
Chichi the Pig pattern

We are raising money for Heifer International, an organization dedicated to ending world hunger.

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:

1. Each donation drawing entry is $5. You may make as many donations as you like.
2. You can make multiple entry donations through the Team Ravelry Donation Link (or single entry donations through Pay Pal).
3. Scroll down to the middle of the page using the Team Ravelry Donation Link on the Heifer International site.
4. The first donation option listed is: General Team Donation. This is where multiple entry donations are accepted. Follow this link through to make your donation.
5. Your donation will be made in private. Heifer International will provide the Team Leader, indigomuse, with the information needed for donation drawing entries and winner contacts.

HOW CAN I GET MORE INVOLVED?

• Make as many entries as you possibly can to win the fiber arts basket!
• Tell as many people as will listen about this important cause. Ask them to enter the donation drawing too!
• Join our exciting team! Your name and donation amount will appear in the list of contributors.

The donation drawing closes at midnight EST on December 21, 2008. The winner will be announced December 22, 2008.

Please, help us help others by ending world hunger one family at a time! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to PM indigomuse (if you're on Ravelry) or e-mail her at indigomuse@msn.com.

To see pictures of the basket contents, visit the Team Ravelry Heifer Blog.

Thanks and good luck!

Purple Nurple yarn

Remember this "Purple Nurple" yak/merino roving that I dyed a week or so ago?



Well it's all spun up, navajo plyed and made into yarn, a gift for my friend CM's birthday.










This yak/merino is yummy stuff to spin. Must.buy.more.soon. I hope she likes it. If not, I'll gladly take it back - LOL!

Unfortunately, the temps have dropped so I have no excuse (other than being down with a flu-like cold over the last few days) not to cast on for the rest of Walk in the Woods.

Tell me, what are YOU knitting now-a-days?

Thrummed cardigan, anyone?

Wrong side of the back of the "Walk in the Woods" Jacket

I'm so very tempted to leave all of these unwoven ends hanging free and call it a thrummed cardigan. Is there such a thing? I believe it would be quite cozy on really cold nights. However, considering the heat wave we're having right now, its not the easiest thing to knit on. I'm not casting on for the front until it cools down a bit. It has felt like a heating pad in my lap over the last few days. But I was determined to finish the back before I took a break from her so I willing roasted.



Back of Walk in the Woods Jacket

I swear I can't see the vibrancy of the detail until I take a picture of it. Its like one of the pictures that you stare at until another picture appears. It just looks like a bunch of colors in person.

While I wait for the weather to cool down (those are NOT words you will hear from me very often) so that I can cast on for the front of "Walk", I'm spinning up some custom dyed yak/merino roving that I bought at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year from The Fold.



Its gorgeous stuff and purple is my color right now. Alas, this is destined to be a birthday prezzie for a dear friend. I can't wait to see it knit up. Its so rare that I get to see my handspun actually put to use - LOL!

Happy spinning and knitting everyone :)

A Walk in the Woods

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. I love the crispness of the air and the transformation of the verdant Blue Ridge mountains into a veritable color palette. I can't think of a better time to cast on for the Walk in the Woods Jacket from the Interweave book "Inspired to Knit" than now. I haven't found a book in ages that excites me as much as this one does. There are several patterns that I can't wait to cast on for but this one beat the others hands down.

I dove into the stash and was surprised that I had 75% of the colors in either Manos or Malabrigo yarns. The other 25%, I decided to spin up and dye using the Rupperts Corriedale I bought at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. Twas a labor of love washing, carding, spinning and dyeing that yarn but it was worth it. I love the results.



Washed and carded batts



All spun up into yarn



Cooking up maroon yarn goodness



Happy dyed skeins



Finally, casting on



What I felt like once it was all over...

I've learned so much just knitting the sleeve as a swatch. A year or two ago and I would have impaled myself on my needles before I would have taken on such a large scale intarsia project. There are SO many ends to weave in. But I'm madly in love with all of these colors. And I will love this sweater forever so I plod ahead and am 1/3 the way up the back. I screwed up one flower on the sleeve (its an Amish mistake, right Robin?) and knit it in the wrong color. I might frog it, I might say the heck with it and leave it. I'll decide another time. The inconsistent thickness of yarn makes me a little crazy from time to time but it seems to all work out in the end. And while it is NOT a portable project, it has been an easy project to pick up and put down thanks to my magnet board. And its knitting up quickly. I'm hoping to have it finished by my birthday later this month as a prezzie to myself (and perhaps to wear to Stitches East which continues to be an on-again/off-again prospect). We'll see if I'm all smiles after another week or so of knitting on it.

On an unrelated note, I've started a Ravelry group and Heifer team for Heifer International supporters called Team Ravelry (you can also visit the team's progress through Team Heifer HERE). If you love Heifer and its outreach, please consider joining or supporting our efforts. We're planning to do some fundraisers, knit-a-longs, team projects, etc. in the future. I'm going to be posting more patterns soon and Heifer will again be a beneficiary. Lots of fun is planned for the coming months. Hope you'll come along for the ride.

But does she knit anymore???

Yes, I still knit and have actually done quite a bit over the last few weeks. But work and life have kept me from blogging regularly. I've included some shots of several completed knitting and spinning projects and random fun I had fun with the fam in DC a couple of weekends ago.

Until later...

Another baby pinwheel sweater (for King Thing's cousint's new baby)



Experimenting with Spinning Techniques including navajo plying



More little peas...



Fiber Fairies were made for the 2008 Ravelympics



Still adding colors/sections to the Seafoam wrap...



Experimented with natural dyeing on roving and yarn



Experimented with using acid dyes



Had tons of fun at Madame Tussauds in DC and visiting the FDR memorial










Clicky for more photos from the DC trip.

Home again, home again jiggetty jig

I can't recall what nursery rhyme the title is from but that's what I kept singing in my head when I finally got back home after a week long vacation in Chitown with King Thing. Not that I didn't have an absolute blast but considering we've been gone so much this summer, there really is no place like home.



King Thing was in Chicago for a two week long training session. His company kindly offered to send me up to visit him and we chomped on the opportunity. My dear friends in Raleigh kept Thing 1 and 2 while I was gone and we were able to spend several days alone for the first time in probably 10 years!



I had a couple of days on my own while DH attended classes on the campus of McDonalds University (no, he doesn't work for Mickey D's, they were using their training center) so I made the most of those days by visiting Oakbrook Center Mall. In the process, I made three new retail friends - Lush, Lucy and Lululemon Athletica. Everyone working in the stores were so nice and helpful. I don't think I met a single unfriendly person while shopping. I even found these wire sheep at Anthropologie.

I spy wire sheep and friendly peeps

People in Chicago seemed to be very eager to help no matter what the problem was. The weather was picture perfect so we decided to spend our time tooling around downtown Chicago. We rode the train and several water taxis.

We rode on trains, water taxis and watched planes

We watched the air and water show while sipping drinks in the lounge on the 96th floor of the Hancock Center.



We shopped the Miracle Mile (thank goodness I'd bought new walking shoes or my feet would have fallen off by the end of the weekend). Visited American Girl Place and the Lego Store even though we didnt have kids with us.



Saw some pretty cool street performers.



Ate a Chicago style pizza at Giordanos.



Had incredible meals at Wildfire and Fultons by The River.




Gnoshed on fish and chips and beer at Elephant and Castle near the Union Station train stop. Visited the Field Museum and saw lots of cool mummies in the Egypt exhibit and of course, Sue the T-Rex.



Visited the Navy Pier. Saw a castle in the middle of downtown Chicago. Looked up at the Sears Tower.



In all, we had several fabulous days together and reconnected in way that we haven't in ages. We're already planning our next trip - woot woot.