Danes and Things

Well here's a start!

2010-08-30T14:51:00.000-04:00

So I have been putting off starting as I have so much to catch you all up on, I haven't known where to start. So instead of starting with a bunch of pictures, I will just start at the last post date. That was a while ago!! I want to take time to up date my page, it looks old and I need something new. I keep thinking about just starting a new blog, but I have so much to move, I think I will just re vamp! Since my last post months ago, we have lost our last old friend Penny, she is center on my photo. Bless her heart, she made it to the ripe old age of 12 1/2. She started getting so un comfortable, couldn't control her urine, when she started looking at me with those eyes like, "mom don't make be go thru this" I knew it was time. Very tough decision to make. We took her to the vet, they gave her an IV and then a shot, she went to sleep. I miss her every day.
We still have our rescue Jackie (Captian Jack Sparrow) and he has been a God Send. He goes with me everywhere and has become quite spoiled. He seems to know it's his turn to take over.
We also have aquired some new family members. We have 2 LGD Reggie and Elsie. They are Pry,Komodor and Anatolian Shep. Sweet Sweet dogs. So smart!! They love the outdoor animals and Jakcie. We are down to 17 chickens, we lost several to nasty Bob Cat attaches, it really broke my heart. Then we have added 2 Peacocks, Dancer and Vixon. What fun they are and so pretty. Only 1 year old so there isn't too much color yet on the tails of the male, but he's a looker anyway. Also have a gaggle of guinea's! Now that is an ugly dumb bird LOL but they do love bugs and ticks. We haven't had a tick since we got them. I got 14 3 day old ones and figured I would loose 1/2 anyway. Nope, I still have 12! That's alot of poop. After all that, we had got some beautiful Shetland Sheep and one Shetland/Babydoll ram. First I got 2 Ewes Cleo 3 a white with spots on her face. I know there is a name for that, but I don't know it yet :) Then a moorit Sheeba 4 . With them came 2 Shetland/Babydoll ewe and ram lamb (5 months).A beautiful Shetland Ram from Norma named Matte. Not to be partial, but they just don't hold a candle to the personality of the Shetlands. We lost Matte after a few weeks, I think to bloat :( I was crushed. I talked with Norma, who was so gracious, and we agreed I would take her old ewe Joanie and she would take my Shetland/Babydoll ewe. Then I would purchase GloFly another beautiful Shetland ram. Soon I had come across someone selling some Shetland lambs so then came Nette 3 months balck ewe with a cream collar and white underneath her black coat. She also is going to have horns!!! Then Wolfie 4 months ram, tan with cream underneath cute as a bugs ear. I will have pictures following later today. Now we have a herd, 4 ewes, 3 rams. Now I know that is too many rams, I am not breeding but 1 Glofly and 2 ewes Cleo and Sheeba. Everyone else will be seperated so we have no accidents. I think we will move Sherman (Shetland/Babydoll) and Wolfie (4 month old Shetland) into one front pasture and Joanie and Nette ( old and new ) into the other front pasture. I'm thinking we will wether Sherman before next year. His fleece is so pretty, soft with the length of the Shetland.
So I have been very busy, hands full with animals. Got a new studio set up. Added it onto the house, much nicer than the "used to be studio" that rolled down the hill! But it has been alot of work getting it all set up and still isn't.
Well this was a start. I have much much more to post. Little bits at a time to start, just need to keep up on it! I know alot are doing the face book thing, but that just isn't me.
WooHoo I got a start!

A Blog???

2010-08-17T18:01:00.000-04:00

You want to know how long it has been since I posted? Long enough that I had to look up my pass word!! For Pete's Sake!
This post is to confirm to myself that this week, I am updating my blog. I am going to have a new look and lots of news to share. I am going to be faithful in my postings :) yep, that's what I'm gonna do, first thing tomorrow. LOL

Well Shoot!

2010-01-06T11:45:00.000-05:00

Here it is the New Year already and I have been so bad about my blog! Shame on me. I really think it is my list. It does keep me busy. I have a personal relationship with everyone on there and it takes me a lot of time to keep up on their daily lives and post so I can keep up with things. I have made such good friends from that list, I never expected that to be the case. I am truly blessed to be able to talk with these people on a daily basis!

I am such a hermit. I will do almost anything to keep from having to venture out during the week. Yet I can participate in all my friends daily "doings" and only have to open my lap top! Isn't the internet great!?

Last year was a very poopy year. It seems to me this time last year I had great hopes LOL. Well this year I am going to take it a day at a time. Try to roll with the punches. We have had a few! But it is up to me to get it together and make something of this year. I almost feel like I have the mental energy to do it. So I just need to not over whelm myself, I do that often. I need to not put unattainable demands on myself, and them get upset when I don't meet them. I mean really.

I hope to post more often, get more done, enjoy it more and make more online friends this year. I hope to be mentally stronger this year. Not as many wimpy wimpy days, just a few LOL. My goals will me more daily goals not huge chunks of time or huge projects. I also am going to try to a lot my time better. Spread it around a bit. Reward my self for doing the drudgie housework that no ones ever sees but hubby and me! Get my butt outside and do smaller projects a little a day, instead of going out and totally exhausting ( usually hurting) myself trying to get it all done in a day. Pace will be my word for the year 2010. Ha, here I have been trying to figure out a way to describe what I wanted for this year and all I had to do was post to my blog, and I figured it out. Yes, I need to post to my blog. I always find out thing about myself!

Oh My!

2009-10-06T12:25:00.002-04:00

I have had so many Oh My's this year, it is what has kept me from posting. Let see if I can re cap quickly. Oh My, my studio rolled down the hill, Oh My I had a terrible allergic reaction to poison sumac, Oh My I got mixed up in the yarn and dye sales for Marion, Oh My we got chickens,pheasants and peachicks, Oh My we have finally gotten a start on the "new to be studio", Oh My it that time of year again when Jeffery died.
Well, I guess that about sums it up!
I haven't posted in ages and everytime I have felt guilty and almost posted, I didn't want to sound depressed. Well for the most part, I have been. I just can't seem to get to a point where I can take a deep breath and relax and enjoy life. I don't know if it is a left over grief thing, just shitty luck, or maybe the way things will be for a while? Everytime we seem to take one step forward, we get 3 back. Hubby's work is awful, haven't been this strapped for money since we were kids. Of course lost a good part of our savings when we had to close up Jeffery's business. Still can't talk about that. I can't seem to get a place set aside for my fiber stuff. I am getting to the point I have mostly lost interest in it for now. I have gotten the birds, they have given me alittle sanity. I could just sit out with them all day. We still have Penny and Jacky, both are doing well. I am fairly healthy as is hubby. Maybe just a cycle I am going thru. I feel like I need to withdraw and take care of me, and yet I feel like I am giving in if I do :(
So here is the poopy post I have been trying to avoid. Now that it is done, I will take some pictures of the birds and "new to be studio" and come back and hopefully sound alittle more content!

Lost My Friend

2009-06-12T09:45:00.004-04:00

As many of you know I have old Great Danes. Sunday our little boy took his last breath on our deck and died. I am just crushed. It was a sweet sorrow as we knew we were going to have to make that decision before long as he was just getting to heavy and weak to haul around with the towel around his hiney. But he just adapted so well to anything that came up just so he could be around, it was hard to call an end to that spirit. The sweet boy he was, he took that decision out of our hands.

Sunday evening we had been outside trying to get some things done and when we came in he was on his bed kinda choking and had thrown up foam. I thought he must have gotten something stuck in his throat as they had just eaten. I calmed him and he seemed to settle then he was having trouble breathing and had a gurgling noise when he would inhale, then his jaws would close tightly. As I look back I think he may of been having a mild seizure. We called the emergency vet, closest being 45 miles away. They could only tell us to bring him in. We got on the floor and he seemed to calm way down, couldn't lay on his side with out having troubles, but is he laid on his tummy, he was doing okay. We decided to take him in, in the morning and I would stay with him on the floor that night to make sure he was okay. So we got him up to go outside to go potty, and when he got on the deck he laid down and died. It was just a few breaths and he was gone. He was home and in his mom and dads arms which is where he would have wanted to be anyway, not in a vets office.

Loosing an animal is always hard, I had many extra years with Petey than most do with Danes, and we cared for him making sure he was included and as comfortable as possible in his elder years. But the hole that is left is huge! I still have his sister and our Rescue Jacky, they are morning too. Monday they both went out on the deck and laid where he had died most all day. They are still not eating well and are looking around every corner for him. It is just lonely without him :(

Petey was my best friend, there thru Jeffery's death cuddled with me for months, made me get up to take him out when I didn't want to, made me get up to feed him when I didn't want to and let me sleep longer than I should when I needed too. He was there when all the grand kids were born, checking them out on the floor when they would come over, deciding it was something he wasn't really thrilled about but it was okay he would just lay down and ignore "it". Then as they got older, maybe they were okay, after all they would play when they came over! He was with me when I lost my Dad, again silent but caring. He was always the funny one, his ears would cock from one side to the other when something puzzled him. He was the one that would chase the ducks into the pond on the golf course and then realize when he got in there, dumb dog couldn't swim! He also ran right into the swimming pool one evening while we were sitting out side, he was trying to beat his sister to the ball! Again, damn dog couldn't swim! He was a very sweet boy by nature, even though in his day he was 180 lbs.! I remember one day when I had him and his sister in the back of the SUV, I was facing the truck and both of their leashes in my hands, they took out of the truck and pulled me right out of my shoes! Right on my butt! They just looked at me like,what your problem??

I miss him terribly but I have many good memory's. I see him in his sister, I see him in the way he trained our little rescue as to how to act in this household, I see him on his bed with his blankie over his head, I see him on the deck sunning himself, I see him laying on his bed waiting for his treat like maybe, just maybe, this time she might forget me!

Most of all, I feel him in my heart loving me.

How Long Has It Been ??????

2009-04-13T17:25:00.006-04:00

OMG, I had a lady from my list ask me about my blog, I dropped by and took a look at my post, I am shocked! What in the world have I been doing??

I made a promise to myself I would keep up on this, this year. I haven't done a good job! I should have something to show for it shouldn't I?

This is the "to be studio".

That's what I have been doing.

It is an old mobile home that was left here on our lot. Let me tell you, it was not a pretty site! I have put up wall paper, painted,ripped out walls,gutted the baths. Torn off siding and am residing. Put in new windows, am putting in new floors, un packing, organizing, and trying to get something done to put on my Etsy store :)

I was pleased with my organization, till I decided to rip out the front wall dividing the master bedroom ( the rest of the storage that hadn't been gone thru) and my room and decided I couldn't possibly finish putting stuff away till I had everything un packed! So now I have a huge mess again. But when it is done it will be done!! So far I have the living room, kitchen,laundry done. Baths are storage for my fleece. You know how usually you end up having more than you thought you did? I didn't :( I actually need to purchase much more wool to get me thru the season till next shearing.

I love having the kitchen to do my dyeing. I removed all the cupboard doors, painted the cabinets lavender and cream, crackle glazed them, and they are presentable now. One of the nice things is I don't worry about my mess or spills. I have a cupboard above the sink that has all my dyes where I can see them. Pots underneath the sink where I can grab them. Very good lighting now that we have them all installed.

I have the living room area for my looms, which aren't set up yet :( The dining area is my sewing quilting area. I have a wall for blocking my knitting, a wall for yarns for weaving, and yarn hanging everywhere. As you can see from the pictures, it is still a work in progress. After I get thru all the stuff I have strung from one end to the other, I will take finished pictures!!

My last post was when I had first gotten the Texel. I have had more time to work with it and have been dyeing it in the grease. I have been experimenting with that method with several of my fleece and am having good results! Here are some pictures of the Texel

Here is some Border Leicester I dyed in the grease

Here is some Salish Cross I dyed in the grease

This is Cotswold dyed in grease

I picked up 150 lb more Texel over the week end! Hubby made me the nicest skirting table right out my front door and to the right of my "to be studio". It is waist high so I don't have to lean over, we cover it in a nylon type chicken wire so it won't rust. Everything falls right thru! I am saving all the skirted parts of the fleece to put in the bottom of the holes of the Leland Cypress that we are planting at the beginning of the drive.

Now that I have at least posted something to my poor blog, it's time for me to catch up on the blogs I subscribe to. I'm sure everyone has been much better at keeping current than I have!! My desire is to post here at least once a week. Lets see if I can get it done thru the rest of April!!

New Fleece!!!!! What is it???

2009-02-24T16:35:00.012-05:00

I have been soooo bad about keeping up on my blog! I actually have been bad about keeping up on everything! But I had time to find some pretty fleece :) Priority's you know!

Look, hardly any VM and it's not coated!

Interesting huh?

Let me tell you all the good things about this so far. It is low in grease, hot tap water will wash it. It has good crimp, and lock length, about 4" average. It is a beautiful cream color when washed. It spins into a soft,springy yarn.

So below is what it looks like after it is washed

Isn't it a pretty color?

Here it is combed for spinning

Here is a sample skein

So I'm impressed. IMO I think it is as nice or nicer than Cormo or Polypay. I am in love!

It goes on my Etsy site this week :)

So if anyone would like some raw or washed, let me know. It will be 10$ a lb raw, and 12$ washed.

I know you are going to love it when you get it!!

What is it?

Texel

Post? What's a Post?

2009-01-28T11:11:00.002-05:00

I know I have been moving, but geeez you would have thought I could have atleast kept up a little on my blog!
We have had such a time during this move, my hubby said we would have made a good country song! It really was one thing after the other. But now we are here and I am hoping I can get settled. Of course I hurt my back, to old, to out of shape and in too much of a hurry to be doing the things we had to do in the move. I have had to slow down, which is frustrating as I don't slow well :)
We have the mobile up here, it was quite and ordeal to get it up here and then the rain made it so much worse! We had to have the area graded so the mobile would sit level and not be to high in the air. So of course the rain made the wonderful NC clay slick and muddy. The drive is 350 feet up hill and narrow,we had a business that has a special house tractor pull it up. I couldn't watch. It took all day to get it up here and then a day to get it settled and hooked up. I often thought it would have been easier to just wait and get the house built!
On the property there was an old mobile. It really is a dump. We had to have it removed to a lower spot before we could do anything. That was also a ordeal because of the slope and it hadn't been moved since 1990. It is going to be a studio, but has much work it needs. First to reside, then paint,flooring and rip out the baths and replace with half bath and storage. It will be really nice when it's done, it won't take too long ( I hope!) A few week ends!
I am so excited about having a dyeing kitchen and all the comforts of the house in my own area. And I'll finally have room for all my quilting things out at the same time. I really love to sew.
Of course we had alot of timber cut to get up here and the guy that did it was so great. He cut all the timber for free and stacked all the small limbs in nice neat stacks for us to dispose of. But now, we need to do just that. I don't think we have an area where we can burn safely, we have a chipper so that's what we will probably do, and maybe haul some off. That will be a few more week ends!
We also have some cosmetic things to take care of as when they were getting us up here the bottom of the drive got tore up a little as did the back yard as they had to go down the hill to hold up the mobile! So we need to get the shovel and rakes out and do some work. A few more week ends!
As you can tell, going to be busy for a few week ends!
I am having such a good time with the group on Yahoo. Everyone is so nice and so imformative! We have had a few people on the list that have gotten ill and everyone has been so supportive tolerant of them.
As far as fiber things, as you can imagine they have been limited! I am knitting and have finished a the purple scarf,hat and gloves for the Dear Daughter. I have also been knitting on the CVM vest for hubby and the shawl I have been picking up and putting down for a year! Then because it was so darn cold here for a while I knitted a quick hat and gloves for me!! Of course my blocking board is taken apart so nothing has been blocked! Do you block hats or gloves?
Hubby's job is going well he has been busy and like the people he works for. Soon he will have his client list built up and will be working alot from home. I like that, as he is really great company and gives me a good excuse to sit and spin or knit while I spend time with him!
Hopefully I can get it together enough to find my camera and get some pics taken to post. Hopefully I can keep my blog more current! I would like to add some more links,patterns and instructions of interest. I need a blog update!!

Yes It Is!!

2009-01-01T13:13:00.002-05:00

So it is the first day of the New Year, I haven't posted forever! I think it is a good feeling. A New Year { new start} , we will move on Monday { new place} don't know what is ahead { new experiences}. I'm ready for NEW! I am looking forward to all of the above. I feel kinda of an anxious calm, how that for an oxymoron?

No New Year resolutions for me! I'm not setting any expectations. My goal this year is to have a calm,relaxing,soothing,enjoyable year. I am going to be good to myself and make sure hubby is the same. This is going to be a healing year for me. I have been wound up so tight I have felt like I was going to pop any minute. It is time for me to stop talking the talk and walk the walk, let go let God, kay sura sura,go with the flow,exhale, well you get the point!

So without further ado, I'm going to go and do some knitting and spin for a while today, may take a nap (not really can't sleep in the day) but might sit and watch a movie.

Hope you all have a great New Years day and many more to follow!

Moving Moving Moving!

2008-12-20T17:54:00.002-05:00

So I know it is right before the holiday, but seeing that we don't want to think about it, I'm not writing about it either! But I will take this time to wish you and your family's a wonderful Christmas.
I have been running between SC and NC all week and I am tired. It's been awful weather up north, foggy,misty,wet, it's like I'm in Oregon again ! In SC it's been sunny, warm, nice! I hope this isn't normal for NC, I don't like to many grey days!! Although Randy's work has been going good, so that is encouraging.
We are running reallllllly slim as far as finances for the move so I am selling my knitting machine. It really is a beauty, I put adds on the lists and will get around to putting pictures up on here probably tomorrow. It's a electronic Singer 840 with all the goodies. I am the second owner, the first made some samples and a sweater or two and stuck it away! I got it, made a sweater and stuck it away! Well now I need the money and the room, and may as well face it, I'm not going to take the time to learn this! I did the same thing with my sock machine :( So if anyone is interested in details, email me and I will send pictures and details! I'm asking 1450.00 including shipping in the continental US. I have all the original boxes! If that is out of your range, shoot me a price, I need to sell it!!!
So now down to funner things :)
We should be up here totally around the 5 th of January. I have been painting the little trailer up on the lot and trying to get it cleaned up. It really had been let go and is a mess, and of course with funds tight, it's mainly elbow grease for me. But that's okay, it's lookin good! I am putting some wall paper in the my dyeing kitchen, I got it at the re store, habitat for humanity, for 1$ a double roll!!! I love that store! I also got some miss mixed paint at Lowes for 5$ in Lavender and some off white. So the wall paper is off white back ground, with very light foliage and butterflies in lavender. Cupboards are off White, doors lavender, trim on walls lavender. Hubby kinda looked at it and was surprised, I told him it was my dyeing kitchen! It's got taupe colored carpet that is fairly new and in good shape, but the kitchen, baths and laundry YIKES!!!! We are taking out the 2 baths, putting in a 1/2 bath and turning the other into a walk in storage for fleece. The laundry will have a washer for fleece, but then my freezer will be in there too, with more shelves. Not quite sure what we are doing with the floor, probably vinyl tiles or something after we get up there and things ease up. In the dining area I'm going to put my sewing machine, Ironrite, and quilting stuffs. Then fiber prep , then living room full of looms! Front bedroom will be a small wood shop for hubby, after all he needs room to make my hackles and combs :)) Will move the wall in the front room to expand and keep the very back bedroom for storage. It's nice to have a distraction this time of year.
My old dogs have been having one heck of a time up here! The back yard is sloped, poor guys hind ends don't work well anymore and when they start down they keep going! Then down the butts go and they can't get up. Poor things, you would think they would not go down the hill!
We are out in the boonies here and it is Deer hunting season, this morning there were shots everywhere! I was afraid to let the dogs out for fear they would be mistaken as a Deer! At the far end of the property is a corn field so I would imagine the deer go there to eat.
We have had such a nice group on the handpreparedfiber group. Everyone is so considerate and full of projects to share. It's been so fun. I was worried that it would feel like a burden trying to host a group, but I love it! I don't think I would do it again, I think one is enough, don't want to push my luck, don't know if I would get such a nice group again!!
Don't really have pictures to post at this point, need to go and read all the blogs I watch, haven't had time for that yet either. Can't wait to get back to my normal life:)

I'm Gonna Start a Tie Shawl

2008-11-28T11:29:00.003-05:00

I have had such a hard time just looking at all the Bunny!! I couldn't keep my hands off it so I keep thinking about a gazillion projects I could start with it. I know I need to do some blending and put some on my Etsy, but once in awhile I like to do something for me first. Which sounds kind of funny when I write it as I don't keep much for myself anyway! The Bunny will make the yarn a bit fuzzy so I didn't think a Lacy pattern would be the best choice, I happened to think of the Danish Tie shawl I had seen at Dorothea's site and decided that would be the ticket! She really has some great patterns, her site is under the pattern section on my blog page. Then I couldn't decide about color. I really wanted some Shetland in the mix somewhere. I had some light grey I could get to so out it came.Then I have all the Alpaca I had dyed, it only made sense to start blending. I love pastels and blending it this way really muted the colors, I am please with the results. The pics don't show the color as good as I would like. It is a very light Lavender and a Apricot.

This is the pattern I am going to use. The third color is going to be a Teal color, hopefully I will get some blended today to see how it is going to look. You really wouldn't believe how soft this is, I am going to use singles I think depending on what it tells me when I start to spin :)

I also took my spinning wheels apart yesterday and cleaned, dusted and dressed each of them so they are all happy to spin for an other 6 months or so.

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Why Thanksgiving Once a Year?

2008-11-26T10:19:00.005-05:00

So I've been thinking, I find since I have been blogging I actually spend more time thinking :) Why is it that I start thinking about what I am thankful for the week of Thanksgiving? It's not that I don't thank the Lord everyday for the things he does for me , it's just that I don't take the time to think about the big things. So today I have been thinking, if I had to narrow it down to one thing that I am overwhelmingly thankful for what would it be? I think that this year it is that I am slowly moving on thru my grief of Jeffery. I have had a problem with the idea "moving on". It has felt like everytime I let myself think that, I was leaving behind Jeffery. I am now starting to realize that moving on is now taking on a new meaning for me. I am accepting that he isn't here anymore, I have my memories and he will always be in my heart. What I am moving on from isn't Jeffery, it is my grief. Believe me when I say, that is a good thing. What a relief it is to have that horrible cloud only over me once in a while. Not to feel the hole in my gut when I think of him, but to get a smile. To be able to forget, even for a moment the loss I have had. To get excited about my life and not feel that guilt. To go to sleep at night and not have the tears as I say good night to him. To have my husband look at me and not see the sadness in my eyes most of the time. To really realize that he is much happier than I at this time and not begrudge him that. To not look at the chair in the living room he always sat in and start to cry, but have a smile as his legs were so long he looked funny in the other ones ;) To forgive his wife for being so hurtful, instead of letting my grief turn to hatred towards her. To realize there is a little pocket in my mind I can put my grief and have more of a choice when I take it out when I feel the need. To be able to listen to another mom that has experience the same loss and let her have her grief instead of turning it into mine. I am beginning to realize that although grief is something I will never get rid of, I can not let it consume me, I have that choice. It has never felt like a choice, it has felt like a sentence. There is life after death, in more than the way I have always thought. Thru Jeffery's death I have found God has shown me a special purpose in my life. I don't know if I would have found it otherwise. Everyone has a special purpose, maybe that was God's plan. I can certainly question that plan, and not like it and will never understand it. I have to trust in him that it is the best plan. So I will make use of the purpose he has shown me, as it would be a huge disservice to Jeffery to not. So I am thankful this year in a sorrowful way, but thankful none the less for the way God has shown me I can get thru this with his love and help. That he has put a new challenge in front of me that I will pursue with his help and guidance to the best of my ability. Pray that he will continue to give me the courage and strength to live the rest of my life as a example to other people who have experienced the type of loss I have experienced, that with his help, you can get thru anything he puts in front of you.

So last but not least! I want to thank all of you, for all the hours of enjoyment, the support, all the learning and sharing I have gotten from everyone that has posted on my blog, let me participate on the lists and become my "puter friends".

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!

Finally Pictures!!!!

2008-11-18T08:34:00.015-05:00

Seems like it has taken me forever. I hate to end posts on a "not so happy note". So today I have pics!!!!

I met a very nice lady on the Internet.

Take a look :0

I was so thrilled.

Now my little mind is a workin, what should I blend it with? What should I make? What a pattern? Do the rest of you take so much time planning projects? It takes me almost as long to figure what I going to make as it does to make it!! Of course I love looking on the Internet for patterns, and going thru all my old magazines ewing and awing over patterns.

I have some lovely Shetland in a light grey that I think is calling my name on this :))

I have also been working on Heathers scarf of the hat,gloves and scarf set. She was at 20 degrees this morning and walks Hayden to school in the morning so I'm thinking I need to spend some time on that for her!!! This is the pattern I'm using. Do you know how hard it is to find a pattern for a matching set of all 3?

Heather loves purple, I have some yarn that was some of the first yarn I ever spun, eeekkk over 10 years ago, I don't even remember all that is in it, except mohair and angora. Looks like maybe Merino, it's all very soft. But it is overspun in some spots and not really even. But it is giving it a nice texture and when it's blocked I think it will be pretty.
It changes color and texture so much I am switching from skein to skein so it will look consistent when I am done.

Here is a picture of the scarf so far.

I also came across my first attempt at weaving! It is a rug I never finished, wasn't happy with the weight. But it's interesting to look at now. The warp is Hemp and the weft is a hand spun yucky yellow wool and the rest is Linen. I got a kick out of it, I may just weave in the loose ends and put in front of the back door.

Here is a picture or the Salish taupe yarn I am spinning for this! It is so springy! This is the neatest fleece. The silver I have is much like very soft mohair, the brown and taupe is very crimpy and soft. I haven't gotten the white, except the lamb, washed yet so I'm not sure what it will resemble.

I have eyed this for a long time, but haven't been in an area where I could really wear it. Well this year in NC, it looks like it will be cold enough. Now will I have it done in time to wear it this year? Probably not :(

I also got a couple of pictures of the goats yesterday, they are so cute!

They are Boar goats, as you can see they talk and smile!

Smiddy smiling

Little Candy :)

Her hiney is getting so furry, I think I see spinning in her future!

Then there was this little thing that followed me home the other day.I just turned around and there it was :)
She is a Union Special Loom made for rugs in the early 1900's. Made of mostly oak and in good condition. After we move I will get her all cleaned up and ready to go! It's the only 2 shaft loom I have and will be perfect for making fleece rugs.

I am so anxious to get all my looms set up, I'm sure it will take me a year to get them all warped!

So I am going to start my socks today. There is a yahoo group I joined to learn how to make socks from the toe up to fit any foot, any yarn, any needles. That will come in handy as I spin all my yarns and have many different feet to knit for!

This is some Salish I'm going to knit my spinnin socks out of,

I don't know if I am weird, but I sure do enjoy the yahoo groups I belong to. There is one I can't post to :( but the rest I really like. I have developed a fond relationship with the members and look forward to hearing of their projects, learning from them and sharing mine. I usually check in when I take a break thru out the day.

I also really enjoy blogs! I am in awe of some peoples! They are so elegant in their writings, explain things so well, and have posts that are so interesting. It can be very intimidating! I am going to take the time to add some good links to mine this week. I would l really like to search out some good ones for knitting, spinning, weaving and quilting. I haven't added any for quilting and I really enjoy it, but haven't had the time to really participate in that activity for a while. I have had 2 quilt tops finished for several years! One for my "step" ( won't pref ice that again as she is more than that ) mom and one for my hubby. I actually have the batting and backing all basted and ready to quilt for my mom. It's in a box :( O well I do have the best intentions :)

My leg!! It just isn't getting better. I'm not sure what they are going to do. I will see the Dr at the end of the week if it doesn't look any better. I don't have any health ins. at the moment becasue of the job move hubby has made. So to go into the hospital at this point really isn't an option! Maybe just more antibiotics. It's still red and hot and hard! I keep thinking every morning I will wake up and it will be gone!

I've had way to much time on my hands with hubby up north and really miss him. I didn't really realize how much we shared at the end of the day, or through out the day as far as that goes! We draw alot of strength from each other on those not so good days too. Hopefully we will be able to finish this move by mid Dec.

I am also finding I don't make good use of my time without those "deadlines" when you have that extra person in your life you work around. My mom has had that since my dad passed a year ago. It's is very easy to wander and not accomplish things thru out the day. Maybe it's age! Oh No!

Leg on the Mend!

2008-11-05T14:42:00.003-05:00

So today I went to see the Dr about the leg again, it is much better. But I am having a reaction to the Tetanus shot! My whole arm and shoulder is swollen and soooo sore, red and hot! She said I probably wouldn't be getting one of these anytime soon again! I remembered when I was a teenager, way back then, that I got really sick from a tetanus shot. But my leg looked so bad, I figured, it had been a long time ago and I probably was just being a baby. Well, now I remember!! Boy for being fairly healthy, this has been the pitts.
Today, I am going to give spinning a go again. I really want to finish the sock yarn on the Mach 1. I need to give her a name. Names really aren't my thing. Maybe wheel 1 and wheel 2?
Atleast now, we won't have to watch any more politics for a while!! Even though I am very disappointed at the out come, I am grateful for that!
I also need to get my room empty and ready to move. Get the trailer that hubby is staying in cleaned for him this week end, and start packing stuff up. I had an interesting question posted to me today and it made me stop and think. What are you worried about, anxiety over change? I have never really been a person to not roll with the flow. I haven't been controlling, or up tight. So when did this all change? Then it hit me. I got so scared when I couldn't do anything for Jeffery. The whole world changed in a split second for ever. Not just my world, the future of his wife and children, his sister, his dad, mine, everyone who knew him. I now feel scared because I now know, I really don't know what will happen, that I can do anything about it, or what is coming. Now it's not like I didn't know it before! I know who is in control. It is just so easy to say you "know" but then to let him do that! I feel like I am hanging on to something for dear life afraid to let go. I'm not quite sure what it is. It feels like change is my enemy and is very frightening. Now in my mind, I can work thru it, but in my heart and gut, the anxiety is over whelming. I haven't really spent much time trying to work my way thru our loss. I don't think you can, and just getting thru each day is such a exhausting job allot of the time, I feel encouraged to be able to do that. But I guess I also need to get back on track some what to my old self. I have turned off most all feelings except grief, fear and anxiety. But I can put on a happy face! I don't think that is unusual under these types of events, it is very hard to give yourself permission to feel anything else. I also had another mother tell me she got angry when people said they were sorry for her loss. She didn't feel that they understood. She's right. It's a different kind of anger I think. For me it's "why me" " what are you sorry about you have your son" " sorry doesn't even begin to touch it" I could go on and on but you get the point. People are very uncomfortable being around people after they have lost a child, they don't like you to talk about them, how you are feeling and how bad you hurt. They say silly things like "You'll get thru this" or " it'll be okay" "be thankful you have grandchildren" I know they try. Sometimes you just can't say any thing. It's been 2 years for me, and I have stopped crying everyday. I get that hole in my gut several times a day instead of all day. I can get a smile on my face once in a great while when I think of him instead of just tears. I can remind myself I can still enjoy life from time to time. But I hadn't realized I was carrying that fear with me on a daily basis. Thanks Michelle, if you hadn't posed that question, I may not have taken the time to think about it :) So I am going to approach this move as a new adventure. Work harder to have more good days that hard ones, more good thoughts than sad ones, more calm days than anxious ones, and most important, more faith and trust in him that put me here and loved me enough to give his son for me.

Twists and Turns in Life

2008-11-02T11:04:00.005-05:00

Well it's been a long month for me, and this will probably be a long post. First my bite, as you all said and I wouldn't listen, see I'm not even giving you a chance to say I told you so, I went to the Dr and it has gotten infected. It had started healing so nicely, but there is one spot where Pennys tooth went in so far, it just wouldn't heal up quick enough and has in fact pretty yucky. So I am on meds and go to see her again tomorrow. It doesn't really hurt, it just looks bad.

For the last month we have had some difficult decisions to make. When we moved here to help our son in his business, we had pretty much lost every thing for our retirement in a business we had of our own. I won't go into great detail, but had been in business a long time. We depended on insurance payments as we were in restoration, after the Cedar fire, we lived in that area of CA. we got overwhelmed with jobs, there came the big hurricane in Florida and all the ins. companies moved down there and stopped making payments to businesses in Ca. Therefore, we did all the work and ended up having to wait for well over a year for payments! Alot they never paid at all! After a hard look at what we wanted and where we were headed, we decided to close. Weren't left with much, but did manage to pay off almost all bills the business had incurred.
We moved to Tucson, love Tuscon, and hubby went back into Commercial truck sales. He had been a Manager for years and is quite good at it. Having always being around the kids and grand kids, when Jeffery called up and asked us to come out to SC to help him, and he was calling his sister to come too, we were excited. So up we went and out to SC. It was great, both kids and all the grand kids were close and we could retire here.

Well Jeffery was killed, Jane turned horrible, we paid to close up our end of his business, can't see the grand kids, Heather my daughter has moved back the Wisconsin and here we sit. Hubby has gone back into the truck business and things have gotten very tight since the economy has taken a dive and actually even before that, here in SC. He has gotten an offer to move to NC and take a position with one of the largest dealers on the east coast, which means lots of inventory,financing ect. He is very good at what he does they even have offered to pay moving expenses which is very helpful. I am just so tired of moving! We had lived in the same place for over 10 years in Ca. and seems like we have been on the move ever since and it is driving me crazy! Before Ca. after the kids left home, we raised thm in Oregon, we sold our home and purchased a 5th wheel and traveled for 10 years. It was great but at the end of the 10 we were both ready to put the roots back down and stay put. Both the kids married and moved to Ca. and we were able to enjoy both of their families. It really was so nice to enjoy them as adults, neither of them were easy to raise! Both were older when they got married, 28 for Jeffery and 31 for Heather. After the business failed, kids scattered, we scattered and that was that.
So now we are faced with another move, guess not always a bad thing. We have been trying to "listen" to what God has in store for us and sometimes I sure wish he would talk louder. We have found a place in NC, with 2 acres, we can take the goats, dogs ect. It has a older mobile home on it we can move to the lower area and I can set it up as a studio. It will be great when all is said and done, but until then I have a tendency to worry, my hubby says, so it is very stressful.. SC hasn't been a very good place for us and I thought I would be looking forward to getting out of here, which I am in a lot of ways, but it feels odd to know I am leaving Jeffery here and that chapter of my life will be over. It is like it is the final act to making me realize he is really gone. At the same time, it is also a new beginning and as far as Jeffery is concerned, I have no choice there.
So, I have very mixed feelings, hubby is up in NC and coming home on week ends till we get everything handled, so I have even more time to worry :(
I will say that having a blog is cheaper than a therapist! Fiber cheaper than pills :) So I know I will be okay, I seem to remember when I was young, I thought life would get easier as I got older. Wrong!

I GUESS I'M IRRITABLE TODAY :(

2008-10-30T15:28:00.003-04:00

It must be one of those days. I don't get them often. Everyone seems to be irritating today. I don't know what is wrong with everyone! I have a headache, am having some personal things going on, trying some new meds and feel like smacking someone :(
So I figured seeing that everyone was going out of their way to irritate me today, I would stay in and work with fiber. Well that didn't go so good. I can't seem to get this stupid CVM to comb without neps!! It looks like it has neps before I comb it.
So I decide to read some blogs, people are even going out of their way to tick me off long distance! So if I left you a nasty comment, chalk it up to a bad day. Now I'm afraid to answer any posts as I am really coming off nasty, and I really don't mean to. So today will be a reading day.
I've yelled at the dogs, called my best friend to complain, emailed my puter friend to complain too, complained to my hubby ( he may go out for a beer :0).
My blog is my last outlet for this type of thing, but here it is, my journal part :)
You can be very thankful you are just reading this and not with in shooting distance :)
Am I alone? Does anyone just feel angry for no reason? This is so unlike me!
O Well this day to will be over, and tomorrow will be the best day in the whole world! ( I'm making myself sick)
So much for Polly Anna, it doesn't become me!

I GOT AN AWARD!!

2008-10-27T09:32:00.004-04:00

Okay, I promise to not let it go to my head :) The leader of my Etsy team South Eastern US Etsy team, has bestowed upon me an award of Kreativ Blogger! I am so honored! Actually I'm amazed anyone reads it at all ;) I really have a tendency to ramble and I don't live a very exciting life. But I do love my fiber, animals and just being here in it's self. My blog isn't a selling blog, I have used it as a journal many times. I often wonder if that is such a good thing, but there have been times I just need to, so I do. I also tend to be a "keep to myself" type person so sharing my activities with my cyber friends is fun for me too. I love paroosing people's blogs! I also like to get to know them. I often think maybe I shouldn't have slept thru English class at times!!

So my AWARD!

Comes with this reward a great responsibility :o

Here are the rules for receiving this award:

1. Mention the blog that gave you the award & comment on their blog when you post the award.

2. List 6 things you VALUE & 6 things you DON'T VALUE.

3. Then, pass the award onto 6 other blog buddies!

Ahhhh TC What can I say about her and her blog?

She is tireless, puts hours in on our team work.

Her blog is amazing (as is our team blog)

Did you know she has several blogs?? (told you she was tireless)

Very creative, love the Jewelery, if you want vintage she has that too, and the photo's, soooo pretty.

Thanks TC for my FIRST award and your tireless work with animals and on our team.

So on to the 6 things I value:

My relationship with God

My husband and children

My animal friends and people friends {Dee and Robin don't pay attention to the order :)}

My opportunity to work with fibers

My me time, so very important!!!

The Troops

That was easy!

What don't I value:

People that are taken with themselves

Dogs Bites!

Dog Poop (2 of mine are getting very very old)

Grand kid poop (been there,done that, don't want to again)

People with out compassion

People that mistreat animals

That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!

Now who to pass this on to:

http://keetacollection.wordpress.com/

http://fairy-spunfibers.blogspot.com/

http://sochicandvintage.blogspot.com/

http://sittinnspinnin.blogspot.com/

http://laughingratstudio.blogspot.com/

http://www.funkytimeart.blogspot.com/

Oh my, only 6 :(

So Today I'm Bored!

2008-10-23T14:05:00.005-04:00

I know, it doesn't make sense, I have to sit here and now all I want to do is get up and do things! Any other day I would say yea I get to sit and knit, but today, I don't want to. So I did some spinning on the Mach 1 and let me tell you, you really can spin with 1 leg. It just isn't as comfortable with the other on a foot stool!

So dogs are fine, best friends today, me on the other hand probably should have gone to the Dr., but to late for stitches now so I will just tuff it out. If I can get it to stop bleeding I think it will be fine. It doesn't look infected or any thing, just bruised,swollen and bloody!

Enough details :)

We have Directv and have more that 500 channels and there is nothing on TV! This is ridiculous. As you can tell, I am not a very good injured person.

Here are some pictures of some German wheels Vickey on the handprepared fibers group posted the other day. It is always so interesting to see more wheels!! These are different. Now I want to know what it costs to get them here.

Nice looking aren't they?

I am looking for a knitting pattern for a matching hat and gloves and scarf if possible for my daughter. I would like something that has 2 colors as I have that nice gray Shetland and Angora mix with the Lavender mohair mix I was knitting a hat for her, but have lost interest and would like to try another pattern. I just haven't found anything I like.

So best get on with the knitting, I would like to have my shawl done, it is so soft!

Not For The Faint At Heart!!

2008-10-22T13:12:00.004-04:00

So I am doing my morning chores, feeding the dogs, cleaning kitchen ect. Our rescue Jack always eats by him self, he was starved before we took him in and has taken his food very seriously now that he has had some! Pete and Penny have always eaten together since pups so we have never had a problem. I usually stay present so I can see whats going on, pick up dishes as they are done and finish cleaning up the kitchen. Today I decided to go back and brush my teeth as I was in a hurry to go out and work on some of my stuff. Penny decided to go and check out Jack and see if he was done! Jack growled, Penny lunged and that was it. I come out running, both are gnashing at each other, Jack is on top and Penny is exhausted, after all she is "old girl" and he is the "young pup". It's alittle intimidating being in between 160lbs and 145lbs, but I get him off of her, looks like things are calming down and out of the blue, Penny goes for Jack and my leg is in the way! OMG does it hurt!

Trust me, it looks better in the picture :( So I get some ice on it as it is quickly swelling, now I am just having alittle trouble stopping it from bleeding. It really does hurt :O

So now how will my day go?

And yes, the dogs are fine, Penny has a puncture on her ear and neck, Jack looks to have a couple on his neck, mom definitely got the worse end of it!

Week End Catch Up!

2008-10-20T15:56:00.003-04:00

It seems after each week end I am always behind. Behind in house work, behind in fiber prep, behind in groceries, behind in energy! I lag behind in shipping things that have sold from my store too. I always try to be so prompt on that one in particular. I hate waiting for things! So today isn't any different. I have spent all morning cleaning, who would think 2 people and 3 dogs and 2 goats would need that much work! No the goats aren't in the house, but they still need tending. If someone had told me how much Danes shed I would have told them they were crazy, but boy how they shed! I love my vacuum, it's a Dyson and it works!

So now I'm tired and need to get more done so I am going to spin and knit for a while :) Makes sense don't you think? I got caught back up on my shawl, ya know how you put a pattern down and then when you pick it up you have lost the rhythm? It always takes a few rows to get it back and get the counting right. I don't know if I am just getting old, or soft in the head, no comments, but I have a hard time keeping count. I used to keep it all in my head, not if it's not on my clicker, it's gone. I also got another batt done for my sock yarn, I am beginning to think I am going to have to spin up some solid Salish to ply with it so I have enough yardage. I ran out of the blue green, darn. But it should still look okay. I'm not a sock knitter and would like to try the magic loop method, I've got a book around here somewhere.

We had frost this morning! I was so surprised. These days are so great, love the weather. We have Pines and Hardwoods on the property and the leaves are looking so pretty. What I should do is take out the Mach 1 and do some spinning outside :))

Spun up My Sample!

2008-10-16T11:27:00.004-04:00

I spun up some of the sample I had carder the other day and wasn't happy with the way the white spun. I needed to much twist compared to the rest of the fibers. So I got some Cormo out and blended it and it looked good. So here is how it turned out.

Ravelry

2008-10-15T12:11:00.003-04:00

So I have been a member of Ravelry almost since the very beginning. I haven't done anything with it. I just don't seem to have the time. Is it me, or do others find it a bit time consuming to enter all the stuff you need to, to become a participating member? I have a problem loading pics for some reason, of course I don't use flicker. Guess I could check into that. I also have found alot of the gals seem to be a bit on the younger side. Not that that is a problem, but sometime the conversations just seem to go in a direction I'm really not into. Now before everyone gangs up on me, and touts the benefits of Ravelry, I fully admit I haven't given it a full hearted try! I'm just wondering if I really have the time to do that. Interested in getting feed back on how you think it adds to your fiber life.
I spun up the sample yesterday and it turned out nice. The white seemed to need much more twist that the Alpaca and Merino surprisingly! So today I will blend another breed and see if it spins nicer. Then I will get it up on my site. I'll post a picture later today after I change the mix.
My poor old dog Petey, he is having the hardest time. He is just not getting around well at all. The last 2 days have been very hard. He trips so easy and then plop down he goes, or looses his balance and plop down he goes. Yesterday he fell going down his ramp and got his leg caught in the fence. He did the splits and I could tell he hurt. So I'm out there in my flip flops slipping off them, trying to get him un stuck and to calm him so I can get in the house and get the towel I use to help me move him around, of course it's dinner time and I have left the water running in the sink for some pots and pans! I got him layed down and calm, of course I have water all over, get that turned off, grab the towel and he has dragged himself off the side of the ramp and fell. Now we are talking about 135lbs with no help. Today my back hurts! I know most of you are probably saying, for pete sakes ( no pun intended) put the poor guy down! But most days he's much better, and he's not in pain, and he is so happy to still be part of the family, I just can't bring my self to do it. He loves to go out and watch the goats play, lay in the sun, watch TV and sleep. Most of which doesn't involve moving around much. So while I can, I'll help him move around and complain about it when he gets to heavy :_)

Comb,Comb,Spin,Spin

2008-10-14T16:03:00.012-04:00

I have gotten some pictures taken of my last couple of days work or I should say fun. First I have been complaining so about not having any of my knitting caught up. As I looked thru it and decided what I was going to finish and what I wasn't, it's not as bad I thought.

I have this vest for hubby, it is CVM and so soft! Variegated greys with dark grey trim. This is what it will look like when it's done.

As you can see, I only have 3/4 of the back done. I need to get going or he will never wear it this winter.

This is another vest, yes hubby likes vests, he wears them instead of coats most of the time.

This fleece was huge and so full of colors! It was so much fun to knit up and see how the colors mingled.

This one is all done except the pocket lining which I need to spin a little yarn for, it gets a zipper up the center, blocked and it is all done! It has 2 big cables up each side, it is so heavy and soft, makes you want to cuddle up in it.

Now for my shawl, I'm making it from Store Bought Yarn! Yes I know, it went against my grain too, but it is Cashmere and I loved the colors.

This is what it will look like when I am done.

It is called Waves in the Square Shawl by Silva Harding. The yarn is a pink,taupe and brown marl.

I am only about 1/4 of the way finished with this one. If I would just sit down and get to it, I could have it done in a week or so. So what's keeping me? That's a good question :)

Here is my experiment with a variegated yarn in a Fair isle. I guess you would actually call it Fake Fair isle. It was going to be a hat for my daughter, if it gets done. For some reason I have just lost interest in it :( The yarn is gorgeous, Grey Shetland and Angora back ground and a Mohair,Shetland and Angora design yarn. It was one of my first attempts in blending Angora. That tells you how old the yarn is!

This is some Green Salish,Silver Salish and a blend of Rose Llama,Columbia. I'm going to spin this up for a sock yarn.

The Salish gives it a fuzzy look like Mohair only softer. It is as strong as Mohair so I should make some nice socks. I am tearing the batt and spinning with the colors blocked.

Remember when I washed and dyed up the Rambo a few weeks ago? Well here is some I spun up last night. I had a break in the yarn while plying it so it will be used for weaving. I have about 270 yds. of lace weight in this skein, so I think I will spin up something to go with and make a scarf on the loom.

This was spun woolen long draw, it really is a springy yarn.

The color turned out a soft red, I wonder what color would look good with this in a scarf? Any ideas?

This is my skein that I am so please with! You know when you are spinning something and you have it in your head how nice it will be, only to get it off the wheel and it isn't as nice as you thought? I was so hoping this would turn out nice. After looking at the taupe color so long, I was wondering if it would be boring. It is CVM blended with Angora also spun long draw. I plied this on my Mach 1 and ended up with a total of 700 yds in one skein. It is a very light weight lace and oh so soft! I have it washed, but it's not quite dry, after it is good and dry, it will go in my dryer on air and fluff up! Then I will take another picture and post it.

I am as pleased as I hoped I would be!

Now the big decision, do I keep it and make a shawl? Do I put it up on my Etsy site for sale? Only time will tell :)

Here is my experiment for this evening. I blended this today, it is Rose Alpaca, White Romney and Brown Merino. Oh yes soft!! So I'm going to spin some up and see how it turns out. I don't want to blend something and put it up on my Etsy site and then have it spin up into a glob of colors. I am hoping for a nice variegated yarn. Will see!

Wow this was a long post! I guess I have been busier than I thought!

Felting Can You Do It???

2008-10-10T16:41:00.008-04:00

If you have read thru my blog at all, you know that I have really wanted to learn how to wet felt. After all, look at all the fiber I have left over!! I joined a Wet Felt yahoo group, unfortunately it is very quiet. But there is one member who just started her own Etsy shop. I went to look, how can you not :), and wow, she really has some pretty neat things! Now for those of you that know about felting, you know how much work wet felting is. For those of you that don't here Kim explains it her self.

"My passion now is making felt by the wet-felt technique. I sometimes use the felting needles. Thanks to my friend who moved to Sweden and introduced felting to me. A fine colleque helped me with different felting techniques. Felting is so much fun to do! It gives me new energy in this world where everything has to be done fast. Felting is physical hard work and can take a while before it's finished. Never the less Is felting something magic every time. Colors somehow mix together and become new colors.The process of felt making is as follow: Start placing the short wool fibres in opposite directions,Make it wet with warm water and soap,Place another 2 layers of fibres, wet it and repeat till 6 layers are done.Now the hard work comes: start rubbing very gently in the beginning, but more and more firm to the end. This rubbing helps the fibres decline together. After a while (mostly 3-4 hours depending how much wool)the wool is felted. Rinse the piece out and let it dry flat. It's a WET-FELTED piece now"

That's some elbow grease! Here are some pictures of a few of the things in her store.

This is made of wool and silk, you really need to go to her Etsy store, she tells how she made it!

Wow, it's gorgeous!

Are these necklaces not cool?

Need a crown for a Prince or Princess?

And who is this little Princess?

Here is a link to Kim's Store

Vilt A La Kim

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5962958

Stop by and leave her some hearts and welcome her to Etsy!

Look What They Made!!!

2008-10-09T09:32:00.010-04:00

Well, to change the subject from yesterday :))

There is a lady Marie, in my South East US Group, puchased some of my yarn, and look what she made! Isn't it pretty? This is some of the Salish and look at the sheen. I just love that fiber! Here's her store http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6161285

Isn't this pretty?

I don't crochet, but I think I'm going to have to learn! Thanks so much for showing me what you made!

Well I just add to add to my post as I got another interesting email from Janelle!

She purchased some of my fibers I have left over from combing, I figured they were only good for felting. Well this little lady is very handy with a spindle and has a very creative side!

Click on the images !

Look what she has done!

Isn't that amazing? So now I need a picture of the project she uses it for :)

Some people can make a silk purse from a sows ear :))

I Don't Talk Politics!!

2008-10-08T13:22:00.004-04:00

See this is the nice thing about having a personal blog, instead of a selling blog, I can talk all I want! I have so been trying to not go into this here. But I just can't help it. I'm not a big one on trying to "convert" someone to my side of things, which is conservative BTW. But I am so frustrated with this election, I could just spit. First of all, we have over 300 billion people in the US and these are the only 2 we could find to run?????? I am tired of voting for the lesser evil. I feel my choices are to vote for a candidate that wants to totally forget we have a constitution, by the people for the people, and a candidate that doesn't have allot of answers. but does have a voting record. I will premis this with I am voting McCain, but would have been a little more enthusiastic had he put up a fight for pete's sake. I don't know about you, but we are hunkering down for a rough several years. It's not going to be easy by any means, although I think allot of people don't stop to think, this type of thing has happened before and we are always fine in the end.
The minute you get the government telling businesses what they HAVE to do, we start having problems. Jimmy Carter put this 1977 law in effect that requires banks and thrifts to offer credit throughout their entire market area and prohibits them from targeting only wealthier neighborhoods with their services, a practice known as “redlining.”
This was during the Carter administration with a Democratic Congress.
Then in 1995, during the Clinton administration, the Democrats added new provisions that forced banks to issue $1 trillion in “sub-prime” loans. It doesn't matter if you can afford the house, we'll get you in with a cheap payment and then to make up for it, we'll raise the interest, then the government will buy the paper, at it's current worth! What you can't make your payment?! Well that's okay, the government has stepped in will take the loss, after all, they are the ones that made us do it. Have you noticed that government run programs are almost always filled with waste and deception? Did you know that banks couldn't even open new branches unless they had a percentage of their loans to people that could not afford a home? If you were a bank, what would you do? The birth of Fannie and Freddie. The sub prime and other junk mortgages that Fannie and Freddie bought ( the government, you and me) -- and the market in these mortgages that their buying spawned -- are the underlying cause of the financial crisis. These are the mortgages that the Treasury Department is asked for congressional authority to buy. If the Democrats had allowed the Fannie and Freddie reform legislation to become law in 2005, the entire financial crisis might have been avoided. How can people not see this as a problem?
Our country was founded on specific principles and our Representatives are not doing their job. This election could determine our whole direction of this country. If people don't wake up, and start voting from the bottom up and getting the right people in office, we are just going to keep seeing the same old thing! Don't people get it? How long have most of the Senators been in office? Congressmen? That's my point. If it's not working, fix it!! I realize that there is an important election in front of us now, but PLEASE, when it comes time to elect your Congressmen and Senators, lets see some fresh blood. I am to the point where I am going to vote for the other guy just to get some change and shake things up. I am not at all happy with either party, again, I am voting for the lesser evil, someone that will help save the few constitutional rights I left.
Okay, I'm done.

Now Can I Stay Current This Month??

2008-10-01T20:15:00.010-04:00

I have been good about posting this last month, which is good seeing that it really isn't my favorite. So I am hoping this month I can do as well! I did sampling today of the fleece I dyed. They turned out so nice,

this is Llama

Salish

taupe Salish, isn't it pretty?

I also took a couple of pics of my wheels,this is my Mach 1 and my knitting rocker. It is so comfortable to spin in.

This is my Timbertops

I did allot of washing the other day, as you can see from my earlier post, and boy my shoulders, neck and hands ached that night! It was foggy the next morning so I figure it must be the moister in the air. I hate having to slow down as I get older. I used to go till bedtime, which wasn't 9 pm! Now hubby and I look at each other around 9, yep time for bed. Thank goodness for Tivo :)

I joined several web rings, but am still pending so I can't go from site to site

yet :(

Here's some of the CVM I washed the other day, I love this fiber! It is so fine and soft. It mixes with anything, great by its self! And did I say soft?

So I think if I remember correctly I promised pictures of some things I did the other day. Here is the water left over from washing after it cooled.

There is a slight scummy surface but the minute you put the spoon in, it breaks up! I think it is the detergent that emulsifies it so it doesn't form anything hard, just like when you wash dishes. This leads me to believe that is why dish soap works so well. Laundry detergent doesn't break up grease. Of course this is just my opinion!

Here are some samples of the wool I washed yesterday. Everything turned out nice and clean! I did try to comb the Rambo to early, I figured I usually spray the wool before I comb it so it shouldn't make much difference if it's damp, right? Wrong! I stretched the fiber and neps neps neps! So I waited till it was dry, then combed and used my spray, neps :( So I combed some without moister, it was fly away, but no neps! This convinces me that stretching the fiber is the worst thing you can do with this fine of fiber. This is so delicate, that when you separate the lock with your fingers, you need to be careful! A little too touchy for me, but it has been a learning experience. Below is the Rambo, you can see the CVM and the Salish are above.

So now to get busy and do something with all this!

I Washed Fiber!!!!

2008-09-30T14:28:00.008-04:00

So, we have had allot of discussion on washing greasy fleece on the new list lately. I am certainly no expert, nor have I been trained in any way, but I thought I would share with you how I do it. First let me premise this with a little back ground. I am space cramped!!! We moved here in 2006 from Ramona Ca. and from a 3800 sq.ft. house. In earlier posts I explain all the other things, but don't want to get into it here. So now after some unfortunate circumstances, we have decided to stay here and purchased a piece of property and decided to build. In the mean time we got a 16x76 mobile home to live in while we do. Well, needless to say, you can only imagine all the stuff I have! I do have an outside building now to do all my stuffs in, but no water yet, so, I bring this up so those of you that don't have an outside kitchen or an outside area to do this, it is possible to do in your kitchen. Now I can only imagine the turned up noses, fleece in my kitchen!!! Here's what I do:

Usually I wait till it's time to give my kitchen a real cleaning, I move everything to one side of my kitchen, clean off my sink area so now, nothing food related around that area. I bring in the fleece I want to work with, I don't usually get to fleece to wash it before I store it.

Out goes the sheet on the floor and down goes the fleece. I have no kids at home, but as you can see, Petey sees the fleece and thinks he's going to get in to it, not a chance! Here is my fleece, I chose 4 different fleeces so you could get an idea how it works on all types.

The first is my fav, CVM from http://www.thewhitebarnfarm.com/.

The second is Salish also a one of my favorites, it is a special flock that was developed by a woman in Ore. It is a cross of Salish,Coopworth and Romney. She spent 20 years developing this flock for handspinning and worth every year of it in my opinion! Long,strong,and soft.

the third is Finn, I think :o, I really can't remember, it's either Finn or Romney.

The last is Rambouillet, I love this fleece after it's combed and the yarn it makes, but gettin it there can be a chore! This one is very clean compared to some I have gotten! Like Merino, the heavy grease can really hold in the dirt. However the locks are tapered and not boxy like Merino, that helps!

In order of how much grease, I would say the Ramouillet is the most with the Finn being the least, the other 2 in between. Although the Salish I have today is 2 years old and as I got into it, I noticed it had a touch of mold in the center.

I usually get fairly clean fleece and don't have to pick out to much yucky stuff. If it has veggie matter it gets a good shake out side before it is put up. You need to get the poop and stuff out before you wash. Veggie matter isn't that big of a deal to me as it mostly comes out during processing.

Here's my magic ingredient! This is what I use. Now if I have a fleece, like the Salish that has mildew, or very poopy and dirty fleece. I put a couple of drops, and I mean drops as it is very concentrated of Odoban in. I get it at Sam's a gallon lasts a life time. It is a great disinfectant and gets rid of any smell you can think of! I also use it when I wash rugs, dog beds anything that has an odor. I fill the pots with warm water and the fleece goes in before the water gets hot. That way it gets hot slowly!

I usually use canning pots, but they are dark and hard to get a good picture of so I also have these I use for small amounts. These are just used for fleece. This is the CVM in it's pot with a quick squirt of dish soap and put on it's burner to come to an almost boil.

Here's the Rambo in it's pot with 2 good squirts of dish soap.

Here is the Finn.

I fill the pot fairly full, so there is just enough room for the wool to have water around it, but not enough room for it to move too much should I forget to catch it before it boils! If it does I just remove it from the heat and let it sit a minute. I usually poke the wool down from time to time in the pots so all of the wool gets good and wet. As soon as it starts to simmer, I turn off the burner and start pouring off hot water and putting in the sink to soak and rinse. I pour the pot into a colander over a bowl, let it drain

well

So here I have poured the fleece into the colander and this is what the wool looks like.Doesn't look really clean huh? Well the object is to get rid of the grease in the hot bath, then the dirt can come out in the sink! Now I know people worry about felting wool when you wash. But I have found that if you keep it under water and move it gently, you won't have that problem. This is what the water looks like after it has drained, the creamy look is lanolin. I'm keeping a bowl full till tomorrow and I will show you what goes down your drain. We have a septic, don't start yelling at me yet :)

So in the sink it goes! Full of warm water not hot.

At this point most of the wool gets 2 rinses. Except the Salish and the Rambo. It gets 3 cause it's so dirty. I have also from time to time let it soak in the sink for 30 minutes or so if it is really dirty.

This is another handy tool I love! It's my spaghetti spoon! It scoops up hot fleece easily and seems to get the very last bit when you run it thru the last bit of water.

So now it gets squeezed and rolled in a towel. Now at this point you can put it in the washer to spin out the water, it takes much less time to dry! Both alas, I have a front loader, that won't spin without water! So I'm back to the roll in towel thing :(

But I do love my washer :)

Hopefully as I get my out building done, I will get an old washer and I will replace my in house stove and move it out there!

This is what it looks like when it's all washed and ready for the rack in my dryer!

Here is each one before and after

Finn and Salish

CVM and Rambo

Here it is altogether! I worked on this from 11AM till 1:30 PM that's not too bad! Wish I could get it all combed and carded that quickly :)

So now to clean the kitchen, out comes my Odoban in my squirt bottle, everything gets sprayed down and wiped, all the cloths,towels and sheet go in the washer with Odoban and hot water. The floor gets vacuumed and washed and I'm done with a clean kitchen.

Then it's out for Mexican food for dinner, I've been in the kitchen all day working, I need a break!

It's Almost Worse

2008-09-28T22:12:00.004-04:00

I know 2 years ago this evening, Jeffery was hit by a car and died.It makes it worse, that now ahead of time, I know what happened before it did. This is probably one of the worst night of my life. I so remember the call I got tomorrow morning of what had happened. I don't want to, but I do. I guess now that I have had way too much wine my hope is , I have had too much to drink to remember, I haven't, I do.

Yes I've Been Dyeing Colors Colors!

2008-09-28T15:50:00.007-04:00

So I got up into the rafters, pulled out some Salish,Alpaca,Llama,CVM and Merino and I started dyeing. I have all kinds of colors! Here's what I did yesterday. You can also see my old man, that can hardly get up and down with out help, found a way to get to his favorite spot! He is so sweet. I have to help him with a towel to get in and out of the house, and sometimes just to move from bed to bed, but somehow he managed to get here from the bedroom! That's not unusual for Great Danes when they get old. Most die around 7 or so. Pete and Penny will be 11 in February! As they age they seem to loose track of the hind end. They don't know where it is or what it's doing :( They aren't in pain at all, it just does what it wants. So when he tries to get up, sometimes his legs get under him and work and sometimes he tries so hard and then looks at me and waits. It is very time consuming, but we love him and he has been such a good friend, he will be taken care of until he leaves this world on his own, or gets so uncomfortable he wants too. His sister is much more agile, and she has had both her hind knees replaced! We thought she would end up with arthritis so bad she would be in pain as she got older, but she is doing so well. Some people really think we are crazy as our lives really revolve around these guys now that they are old, but I don't want someone putting me down just cause I am a little extra work! Our little rescue Jack, he's 155lbs now :), is doing very well, he has fit right in and actually has perked up the old guys. We were worried they would have a problem with him, but they tolerate him quite well :)) He was only 95 when we got him, he had been in the pound for 3 months, had an infection and was so sick. My vet called and asked if we would take him as he wouldn't last another night. So what could we say? She took him home, treated him till he was on his feet and home he came! He hid in the bedroom for 2 weeks! Ducked every time we would reach out to pet him, as felt so scratchy :( Now he bounces and leaps, plays tug a war, and tries to curl up on your lap in the evening to watch TV! He is so sweet! If you can't tell, we love our dogs :))

So here is some fleece I combed, thought I would take a pics as it shows how different fleece and lengths comb up together. I think it turned out nice and fluffy!

So now I need to get busy and get all the wool I dyed today dry!

Chatty Month!

2008-09-25T09:03:00.011-04:00

Well I have been chatty this month, I am amazed how much I enjoy talking here. I put up a link showing who follows my blog and a place to subscribe. I have 1 loyal follower, thank you, but it is looking alittle empty so if you are so inclined to, please subscribe so it doesn't look so empty!

I have been trying to keep busy this month, but I really feel yucky physically it's hard. Isn't it interesting what your mind can do to your body? I know my only problem is knowing the 29th can't be avoided, and I still relive that day like it was yesterday. I still have so many questions I will never get answered. Not seeing the kids is getting harder too. I was in Sam's the other day and all the Christmas things are out and looking at the girly and little boy things is very hard, I will always remember how Jeffery and the kids loved Christmas. It was his birthday too, Lauren always was amazed how daddy had the same birthday as Jesus! :) I still have 4 more days so I really need to put this off as long as possible so back to fun stuff!

Yesterday was one of those days and didn't really get anything done, I want to start on some weaving and quilting, but I need to get ahead in some of my fiber prep so I have something to put on my Etsy store. So today I'm taking some pictures.

Here is something I am working on right now, it is a Rambo mix, blended with Silk. unusual colors you say! Yes, it's pretty don't you think?

I am hoping to have atleast 4 oz of this and then I will have some solid fuchsia to do with it. I blended it on my hackle, I just love that thing!

We have been talking on the new list about batts that look so pretty and bright and then when you spin them up they loose the distinction they had before. I have been trying to spin up a sample of everything I do so I know how it looks and post a pic of it. It is surprising sometimes!

I also need to get the dye pot out. I haven't gotten very experimental with that. I need to throw caution to the wind and go for it! Okay, you convinced me, that's what I need to do today! I think I try to do to many colors at a time, maybe just do several wools in several colors. It really isn't much trouble to get set up to do it.

So Hi Ho Hi Ho Off to dye I go! :))

Esty Stores?

2008-09-24T09:00:00.006-04:00

I'm curious what most of you think of Etsy compared to EBay? I have sold on EBay for years, usually antiques when I had my store. I haven't had much luck selling fiber on EBay as there seem to be alot of vendors that can sell things for nothing! I'm thinking they are going for volume. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I am a one gal show and can't even begin to keep up with that! I like Etsy too, I think maybe it is limited to who shops their. So I'm wondering if it would be worth getting my own site? I know alot of people that use a blog for their store, maybe I should start a blog just for business. I don't want this to be that type of blog as I would really like to be able to post personal things. I need that right now. So I guess what I am asking of the few of you that actually visit my blog, what do you think? Do you go to blogs that just sell? Do you prefer stores? Do you shop on Etsy?
Now doing just that, getting down to personal stuff :)
I am really having trouble with my hands :( I know I have carple tunnel and have been avoiding getting it taked care of, but now my artheritus is starting to bother me more. I think it is all the combing I have been doing with longer wools. I have to pull harder to get it thru the diz. I combed that whole Llama blanket last week and my hands are paying for it this week. So I have used Tiger balm,Alieve,Heat,Tylenol. Maybe Advil? It's not that I can't stand it, it just that I am dropping everything and can't close my hand all the way. I am going to comb some more today, would like to do some Alpaca, that is a little easier.
I need to take some pictures today too, doesn't it get boring just to hear someone ramble?
The new group is doing well, everyone has done just wonderful and full of info.
I have a table loom for sale, I will get pics up this afternoon. It's a nice little LeClerc Dorotyhy 8 harness. It can hold up to 16 harnesses. It does have one small crack on the second harness set, but I have glued it and it is stronger than before. It is also reinforced by the rubber dowel that runs thru the shafts, LeClerc did a good job in making sure their boxes for the shafts was strong. I am aking 400 including shipping. I have 4 floor looms right now and don't have room for the table loom. It has been sitting on my kitchen table for months and haven't even looked at it nor have I found a place for it!

Two New Pets:))

2008-09-22T10:13:00.004-04:00

Well I was visiting another site and she had a little lamb. No her name isn't Mary :) So I checked it out and picked up Marty and Licorice. You can pet Marty, he will follow your cursor. Licorice eats alot and scratches. Now if she bothers you, as I am finding her scratching can , please go down and push her sound button and she will just eat and stop her scratching!
Had a very busy week end. Got some drainage put in the front before winter so it won't erode so bad. We have sand here and it will wash off until you get to the harder sand stone and then it will wash from there into deep ruts. Our property has a slight grade down to the creek, so if we get really bad rains, which it has been know to do here, it can be a mess. So we have planted some rye grass around the yard and in the pastures and graveled the drive. Also have been getting the storage shed cleaned out. We moved from a 3800 sq. foot house so we have lots of stuff. It's almost all going way! I am so tired of having so many things, I want everything to be simple and useful and that's all! I'd rather spend my time doing things I like at this point of my life and with no family around (that we get to see :( ), won't be having all those family dinners and get together either. It's hard sometimes to look at something and think, oh maybe I should keep that. Haven't used it for 5 years! But now all of a sudden I will need it :0. Not anymore! I finally kicked hubby out of the shed and started going through it all alone. He is worse than I am.
Also got some really pretty things listed on my site and had a several sales this week end so I am behind at the beginning of the week. That's okay, now I will have to go out and work on some more Alpaca and other pretty things :))
I listed some combing wastes for felting, last time I sold these so fasts and got really good feedback on them. But I think maybe I priced it to high, so this afternoon I'm going to lower it to 60 cent an oz. It's really very nice, if I had the time and enjoyed spinning more novelty yarns I would keep it and spin it up. But my time is better spent doing more of what I enjoy. I started adding blogs I enjoy, not that I have just started enjoying them, I just forget to add them! Like movies I watch, I forget the names before I can get it listed and then I think, oh that was a good movie what was the name of that? Yes it's called age!
So I guess I best get it going, do something productive, beside clean house!

New Group!!

2008-09-19T09:36:00.010-04:00

I decided to start a Yahoo Group! It is called handpreparedfibers. I was hoping a few people would have the same interest I do and like to talk about it. It just seemed like so many people had questions or were intimidated to work with raw fleece. Alot of people were having trouble with Angora, oh so pretty! What do you do with cotton bolls? If you want to grow flax, then what?? Well, much to my suprise, there are over 160 members so far! Everyone has been so nice, staying on topic, only advertising on Monday and Thursday like I requested and only promoting those thing that have to do with raw fibers or processing them. I already let it be known, this moderator is not doing much moderating :) I belong to one group, I can't even get a message posted, no matter how much I beg or remove my sig line. That is discouraging. All I have done so far is check in a couple times a day, check links and pics. So far the are all so considerate. And what a wealth of knowledge! I can see where a few are still alittle conservative in their posting, not wanting to post links or make suggestions, but they are loosening up as the notice they aren't getting scolded :)

So what have I been doing? Well I have a beautiful lamb fleece from the batt lady, white Salish. It wasn't coated so it is alittle dirty, but it is washing up wonderfully and it is oh so soft. It's mine I tell you all mine! Here's a picture before and after.

Then I combed up some Polypay to ply with a muticolored single I have, it also combed up so soft and pretty

Then I had a bobbin of mixed wool, I called it kitchen sink. It was a muti sack of colors, alittle day of this and that. So I spun it up in sections and spun up a little thicker strand of silver Salish and plied them together. I am really please how it turned out. Then I had a small amount of Lavender left so I made a cordinating skein to go with it. I just love the Salish wool.

Then I combed up some Llama, he was a big boy and so soft! Very long staple, I really expected it to spin up a little course as I only pulled out few guard hairs, but look how it spun up! So soft. It's going on my Etsy site for someone that wants to spin up some wonderful soft singles. I don't think it will lend it's self to thin yarn.

So today I need to get all my scraps together and put on my Etsy site. I have so many combings left over. I wasn't really sure some of it would felt, and as you know I don't felt so I don't really know what I am doing. So I brought in some of the LLama I combed, and the Merino I had left over and started trying to felt. Well much to my surprise the Llama felted almost instantly! The Merino felted but not as fast. I had heard that Llama didn't felt well, but this sure does! I have gotten good feed back from my scrapes and they seem to sell quickly. Several of the lady's that purchased them have actually spun some novelty yarns. I don't put in anything that has veggie matter so it is all clean. and at 1$ an oz I guess it's cheaper than buying fiber to felt at the hobby stores.

So if you read my blog from time to time stop by the new group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handpreparedfibers/

a very nice and interesting group of people.

This Month

2008-09-12T09:51:00.003-04:00

Well, no pictures today. This is one of the hardest months, other than December which is Jeffery's birthday. I try so hard to keep busy this month, but grief sneaks up on me anyway. We don't talk about it often, it's like you open a damn when you do. I miss Jeffery so much, and his children also. I have drafted a letter to send Jane his wife to ask for pictures of him and the kids. Like so many people, I wasn't very careful with the pictures I had of him and the kids, I lost the most precious ones off one of our computers right after he died. They were of his last Christmas and my email dumped. I am crushed. Then I was getting copies of all the pictures Jane had, and now with no contact I haven't gotten those either. I have been wanting to start a scrapbook for the kids, showing what their daddy was like when he was their age, but every time I start working on it, I am in a teary state for days. I know 2 years sounds like a long time, but it seems like yesterday. I still get this awful hurt in my gut that is so deep at times you wonder if you will live thru it. Then you wonder if you want to. I know I am here for a reason, I know he was here for a reason, I can look at those 4 little kids and see why! I can't wait till we get to see them again.
Well this was a yucky post, but sometimes I just need to write it down and I feel better.

Lazy Morning

2008-09-02T11:15:00.014-04:00

It's Tuesday after Labor day and I am not getting a very fast start! But I did take a couple of pictures last week so I thought, what better excuse to still not get dressed and get started with my day :))

I put some things on my Etsy site and was combing some Salish, thought I would share that with you. I just can't tell you how interesting this fiber is.

This is what it looks like when I get it and after I wash it, which is very easy by the way.

This is what it looks like on the comb after I comb it

And coming off the combs and after,

It is so soft!

Isn't it beautiful? I am going to spin this for a lady that purchased some of my yarn on Etsy she is on my South East US Street Team, thewishingwell.etsy.com. It will be a thick thin yarn to go with the Turquoise she got. I have 1/2 bobbin spun up on my Mach 1 and will fill it up with this. Then I am finally going to weigh the bobbin and see how much it holds. I keep getting asked that and everytime I do fill a bobbin I forget to weigh it!

Here is some of the naturals that I have on my site, I am surprised it hasn't sold. Maybe it's too boring. I love natural colored wool. This has Yak in it and quite a good amount, it is so soft. I have 4 oz. Maybe I should make my daughter some gloves for winter in Wisconsin.

I also have been going thru some boxes in the storage shed. I have so much stuff in there I will never have room for that stuff again! So I put some of them on my Etsy site. If anyone sees something they like and the price is too high, throw me and offer, I just need it to find a good home. All of it is either vintage or antique and I just can't bring myself to donate them yet, but it may come to that! I feel a great need to pare things down! Simplify, Simplify!

Murano Hand Blown Glass Candy 5$ per dozen

I have 2 dozen

This is a Weiss pin in perfect condition. Very pretty blue, I was going to use it as a shawl pin, but it is too heavy :(. I got this as an estate sale years ago, forgot I even had it!

15$

This is sun glass from the early 1900's, I have 2 of these. Pressed glass they are small around 5" wide and 2" tall. So delicate and pretty.

5$ each

I have more things on my Etsy site and will unpack more this week. I have oil paintings,glass,fleece,weaving yarn,oriental vases even an oriental elephant porcelain foot stool or little table! You would have to see it :))

I take paypal, check or mo. I don't really like to use my blog for advertising, but I really don't have an avenue to get these out, and I really don't want to ebay these few things.

We have had so much rain! And with Hanna maybe hitting the Carolina's we will probably get more next week. Doesn't look like it will develop into anything serious, but still lots of rain! I really don't mind to much, but here it gets so humid, yuck.

Well this is the month our son died 2 years ago. It doesn't seem possible. The 29th of this month. I still remember that day from minute to minute and the next few, then they start becoming a blur. I would have never realized what a change this makes in a parents life. You always think "how awful" but it is worse than that. We still don't get to see his kids, Lauren is 7 now, she is the oldest. Elliot the youngest will be 2 this December 10th. We haven't seen them since last November. It just breaks my heart that Jane could be that hurtful. I wish I knew why she turned over night. One day was fine the next she wouldn't talk to us,take any of our calls. Told The nanny not to let us see the kids. They are 2 hours north, so you try to get in touch before you go, we didn't really want a scene with the kids there. I may never know, but I really miss them. I think I have posted pic earlier on my blog. I miss him so much, he was always mom's boy. He was born on Christmas morning, what a gift, I was only 18 years old. We were kids ourselves.

I know he is in Heaven with the Lord and I will see him some day.

Warned you ahead of time this would be a journal some days :)

So whats everyone think of the conventions? Beside taking up too much time on TV? We are Republican and I am happy with Governor Paylon running with McCain. But I am tired of th politics on TV from both sides!

Tomorrow I am going to get some things done! Today was one of those days. I have so much Alpaca I really need to get some of it worked up and on my site. I have about 40lbs! I have every color you could imagine, especially some very soft pretty black. I'm not sure if I should leave it raw and put on my site or comb it up and then put it on my site. I just have so much, hard to get thru it all.

And I have about 40lbs of Salish greys,browns and white. It takes dye so well. I spun up some brown for a cardi for my hubby, it is so springy and soft. Should work up nice.

And I have about 20lbs of CVM, now that is the best!!!! So pretty and soft. A little more work to wash, but well worth it and no veggie matter!

So now I have gotten myself excited about tomorrow, I think I will go pull some down and make some plans :))

Got a Few Things Done!!

2008-08-20T14:37:00.012-04:00

So I have been out in my room and actually worked yesterday and got a couple of things on my Etsy site today. I have joined a group call South East US Team on Etsy and they are sure a nice group of gals, just interested in promoting their stores and having fun. It has perked up my interest in my store :)

I had fun mixing some colors yesterday that I had dyed before everything got moved and have wanted to play with the fiber, it is Mohair,Salish,CVM, and Rambouillet. Isn't it pretty?

It is so soft and lofty! I'm thinking it would make a nice pair of socks or a scarf. I put it on my Etsy site, but have kept alittle for me :) Then I had some left overs and I thought, wouldn't that be nice for felting? So I brought some in and wet felted some, I mean ya need to know it will felt don't you? :)) Her is what I played with. Now I know it doesn't look like much, but this is the first time I have felted and I WAS just making sure it would. I figure if I can make it felt, someone that knows what someone that knows what they are doing could do :))

So I'm thinking you really need to needle felt flowers :{ But here is a scrap I made just from left overs and it felted up nice and thick! I couldn't believe the stuff I could use and it still felted up good. All the little pills from my combings will felt up good. No more waste! Now all I need to do is learn how! I would like to do some large pieces for fabric, I'm sure I am probably getting inover my head there, but o well thats how ya learn.

I found this amazing. It's like all the little pills just disappeared!

I had sold my Dou 80 knitting machine as I will never use it. Of course in being so careful in shipping I forgot to put the locks in! So I was getting ready to send out the motor and included the locks, ins. it for the motor, dummy. Fed Ex lost the package, so of course the machine was no good. This person that purchase my machine has been sooooooo nice. It's nice to know there are people out there like this. To make a long story short, yesterday they "found" the package and it will be on it's way to the new owner soon. My husband is in sales and it has been so slow, we have just been having ends meet, and to have to refund the money on this machine was just worrying me to death. But now hopefully it is all taken care of.

So it is late afternoon and I have gotten several things on my Etsy site, but nothing else done today :( Best get up and get busy, you would think I could atleast clean house. I hate to clean house :( But I like a clean house!

I will post more pics tomorrow.

Wow It's Been A Long Time!

2008-08-15T09:58:00.003-04:00

So much for keeping up with my blog. It has been a couple of up and down months I guess and feel like if I don't have pics to post I am kinda boring :)
I have been moving my stuff out to my new room, it has been overwhelming, plus I got a space as SAFF and have nothing to go. Seems like everytime I feel like I get on top of it, something happens and I fall behind again. I just don't have excess energy or attitude to pull from anymore. I still feel like I am trying to catch my breath since Jeffery. We are still on the outs with the DIL, I guess as we haven't heard a word. It's been since last November since we saw the grandkids. I miss them so. These last 2 years have been the hardest of my entire life, and Ihave been here 57 years!
I haven't been spinning much, did get 3 new looms, getting them set up this week end. Randy went to Pennsylvania to pick them up, isn't her a sweet husband? One is a Weavers Delight, that is going to be his loom. It is in wonderful condition, the other is a little Lillstina folding loom. She is really cute, I will clean her up and sell her. The last is a Clemente Loom 60" 4 harness with a fly shuttle, this will be my fabric loom, don't have room to set her up yet, she is in the rafters! I will spend a week figuring what to put on them and another warping. I have alot of fleece, need to get that dyed and combed and on my Etsy site. I joined a group for SE Etsy sellers. They seem like a great group and are very active, I am hoping I can participate more in a week or so.
Goats are doing very well, eating like they are suppose to, now they have shown me how much work I have to do cutting down saplings and clearing under the trees! So nice to have them stay in the fencing, they just have such a large area now they really don't want to get out! Although, they have access to the back and side of my building and when I am in there they come and butt the side and rub to let me know they are there. It's startling everyonce in a while!
I feel better now that I have atleast posted, tomorrow I will post some pics of fleece and my room, it's a mess, but almost all my stuff is out there!

It's June!!!

2008-06-11T11:18:00.005-04:00

I can hardly believe it is June already! But with the Hot weather we are having I shouldn't be surprised :) They delivered my building the other day, so this morning I dug the ditch for the electricity and part of the one for the sewer. I also got all the insulation ready to stick up this evening when I have hubby's height! Then there are water,shelfs, and moving all my stuff out there. It is suppose to cool down some next week, I hope it will just till I get my stuff moved, then it can get warm again.

I found a picture I had tucked away of Jeffery's little boy that was born after he died. His name is Jeffery Elliot Shults. Isn't he cute? I miss seeing them so much. We haven't heard a word from Jane, and any phone calls from myself or my daughter go un answered. :(

He is one of Parker and Caroline, Parker has daddy's watch. Things like this make them feel closer to Daddy, but when I look at these, I still see the watch on Daddy's wrist and it breaks my heart. Still, I love to look at the pics of the kids, the pictures are about 1 year old.

I need to take some pics of some of the things I have been working, maybe tomorrow, today is errons for goats, they need pellets and wormer, so off to the feed store I go.

I had sold my Rose a few weeks ago. It arrived broken, I have been talking to FedEx about the claim and yesterday I got my wheel back and was told they would pay for the claim. Thank goodness! Anyway, I have a wheel now that is too expensive to repair. The head is broken right where the tension peg goes in, it could be glued and be fine. The support on the right bottom is cracked, it also could be glued and be just fine. You would hardly even know they had been broken. The wheel was separated on the outside edge, spins fine, but can't be fixed so it looks good. So what do you do with a wheel like that? I really don't want to just throw it away, but I don't really want to keep it. Any suggestions? I have all the flyer's and accessories that go with, they weren't damaged so I will sell those. Anyone need a Rose for parts? Anyone know of someone that needs a wheel for a child or someone really needy?

Just a Quick Note

2008-05-28T16:07:00.005-04:00

So how was every ones long week end? We just dismantled our storage unit. Have most cleared out since the wind decided to "help" us. It is starting to get warm here. Not much humidity yet, thank goodness. We are going to have some thunderstorms again today.

We went shopping last week, looking at portable buildings. We are in the process of building, or should I say planning at this point, and everything I have is almost all in storage. Soon to be on our lot storage which will be nice. But I haven't room for my stuffs. I have my sewing machine and quilt stash, 3 knitting machines, a Studio electronic, Passap Dou 80 and a Pinkie. I know how to use none of these and will probably only keep the Studio, a loom,lots of fibers,fleece and weaving yarns, an iron rite iron er, my carder,combs and hackle, and I am sure I have forgot something. My 2 wheels will stay in the house. Oh yeah all the dyeing stuff I have. So hubby decided I could get a portable building for the back of the property and it would be called Studio D:) I am excited and will probably spend the evening planing my space. It will be 12x28. We will get the tractor out this week end and get the trenches dug for the water, sewer and electricity, so when she moves in, we will be ready! It should be about 2 weeks. I will have a utility sink, microwave,washer and my propane cooker for dyeing. Hopefully I can be in by next month!

I spent some time this week end spinning some thicker yarn of Silver Salish,Shetland and Mohair plied with Tourmaline chips I got from Leroy and Finch on Ebay. They have some nice natural stone beads. I knit it into a scarf for the my daughter in Wisconsin, I haven't blocked it yet

Kinda different colors, but it turned out pretty with the purple and blue Tourmaline. I couldn't believe how nicely the Mach 1 plied the chips, they just flew thru with no hang up at all! It's nice and thick and soft. I think she will like it.

Guess what I got in the mail the other day!!???

White Salish!! It is so soft and pretty, I can't wait to wash it and get started :)

I have been pretty good keeping up on my posting, maybe next week I can do well too.

Yahoo Group Lists

2008-05-23T11:40:00.003-04:00

Well I have a forum on my own blog! I am really having trouble with a list I belong to. It seems like every time I post I am told I am advertising. I can't talk about wheels because I sell one. I can't talk about fibers because I sell them, I can't have this in my signature line, it can only be this long. Yet it seems that there are others that make there own product who can mention what ever they want. Or perform services that they are recommending one do. Others that can have "please visit my store". This is not advertising?? This is a list with no selling. I can understand that, but I mean come on folks. If you belong to a spin-list and you can't talk about wheels and fibers, what do you talk about? I belong to a huge number of lists, and this is the ONLY list I have ever had any trouble with. I am not going to cancel my membership (although I may get booted), I enjoy the posts and learn allot. But don't you think a moderator should have some moderation?
Gee it's nice to have your own soap box :)

I've Had Over 1000 Visiters!!!!

2008-05-23T10:29:00.002-04:00

Oh my goodness, to think I would ever have that many people come look at my blog. Every time I see someones signature with their blog address that is the first place I go :) I love learning about y'all and getting to know you personally. I just think the Internet is amazing! I have made more friends, people I chat with everyday and never met in person. Years ago, when I was in school, you had what they called pen pals. I used to write people from all over the world, never thought as an adult I would have such access to so many people. Sure does bring people closer, and expands your knowledge and compassion for those around you. Wow, thanks everyone for taking and interest in my blog.
Everyone have a safe and happy Memorial day!

I've Kept Up This Week!!

2008-05-22T10:37:00.007-04:00

This is my second post this week! Actually it's because I have worn my self out and I figure if I am doing something on the computer, I'm doing something constructive. So I finish spinning my lavender Shetland,Angora, it's been so long I don't remember what else!

Here is the 3 ply Alpaca,Salish and Merino I plied for the SIL a scarf, it actually felt alittle scratchy so I thru it in the dryer,dry of course, and fluffed it up some. Made it bloom alittle and soften it right up:)

Yesterday I had blended some Oatmeal Merino I had gotten from Jean Near a couple of years ago with some light brown Alpaca. I didn't think I had anymore washed so I dug thru my stuffs and came across the CVM I had gotten form The White Barn Farm and couldn't help washing just a little so I could see how it looked. Come to find out, I had already washed the Merino so it was ready to go. Here is a picture of the CVM. This is amazing fleece, not cheap, but worth every penny as there is hardly any waste and it is so easy to wash for a fine wool. This year I got a cream and a varigated brown. Last year I got a varigated grey and a cream. Next year I will have to mortgage my house to pay for what I have reserved!

This is the Merino and light brown Alpaca. Isn't it yummy? It is sooo soft, I'm just not quite sure what to use it for yet. I guess I will wait till I spin it and then it will talk to me, hopefully it will whisper MY name.

I also blended some silver Salish and grey Alpaca. Very soft, will have a little more hand than the Merino blend, so I am thinking something with texture. I just love the Salish, it is so soft and

fine, yet a long fiber with strength. I haven't made and socks from it but I expect it will wear well.

Anyone tried Suri?? Here is some I combed. It is as soft as silk. Amazing, I already decided if I get a Alpaca, it will be a Suri. I am going to use this for a woven blanket, I can only imagine the drape and softness it will have.

So while I have been so busy, here is what the rest of my family is doing all day :)))

So I got 2 more things ready for my Etsy store, I separated some of the grey Alpaca locks. I have 8 oz. Absolutely no veggie matter and no dust. I have run all the Alpaca thru my dryer and it is very clean and very soft. It has little black tips, no gaurd hair.

Then I mixed some Salish and black Alpaca on the blending hackle. It really turned out soft and pretty. I need to spin some up for a sample skein.

So now I have kept up on my blog. What everyone going to do over the 3 day week end? We are still dismantling our shed. Hopefully by Sunday we will start putting it together again! We are going to have great weather,in the 70's and low 80's. Low humidity. Boy is that nice this time of year. Another month and yuck, won't want to go outside. It's like walking into a sauna only you have to wear clothes!!

Have a nice week end everyone, and leave a comment while you are here!!!

Birthday Come and Gone

2008-05-20T12:55:00.005-04:00

Well I had a birthday on May 16th, 57 years old! I have a hard time with bdays now, as I feel like I shouldn't have them if Jeffery can't. I don't think that is so odd, but some of my friends do. My hubby sent me shopping up north to pick up some Alpaca and Llama. Now there's a man that knows his woman :)) Here are some pictures of some of what I picked up. I have run half of it thru the dryer, it is too windy to go out and shake, so most of the dust is gone. I have more than I need so I would imagine that I will have to put some up for sale. But we are working on our out building so maybe I will just,insulate, the roof:)

There are a few with veggie matter, but most of that will come out with combing and some more shaking. Only alittle straw. The colors are beautiful and really soft. There were 2 Llamas that were a little on the courser side and I will use that for weaving. I also got a couple of Suri. I hadn't ever gotten that before.

The Suri has more veggie matter than I like, but it being fairly straight and very very very soft, if combs right out and ends up with a fleece that is as soft as cashmere. I haven't gotten any pictures of the greys and the Suri yet, I will post them when I do. Anyone out there used Suri? I think I will weave a blanket with it. Should have beautiful drape.

I also have a lot of Salish coming at the end of the week, all white this time. Can't wait to mix some of it with the white Alpaca and do some dyeing. I already mixed some white Alpaca with some white CVM, almost enough to make you drool. I think I will put some of that on my Etsy site and see if someone else might like to try their hand at dyeing some really really soft fleece! I also have been thinking about mixing some sock yarns. I need to get some nylon and I think with the Salish it would be very soft and very strong. To many thoughts not enough time.

We are suppose to have thunder storms today, I just love them. The dogs have a fit, but o well. And my goats are still in the fence. Now I am thinking they are not eating fast enough and maybe hubby would like a couple of Angora Goats???? We are still working on that.

When I went to get the Llama and Alpaca, Louella the farm owner, also raises Miniature Donkeys, Scottish Highland Cattle and of course Llama and Alpaca. It was great fun to go around her farm, makes me want to take one of each home. Boy would I have to look for a new home :)

I have been trying to post to my blog at least once a week, but I also have been trying to post to the lists I belong to. I got into a rut and just read for a long time, but now it is time to participate! So that has been my early mornings before hubby and dogs get up. Only problem, I have found I need to read twice before I post, short on morning coffee leads to odd posts!

Today

2008-05-14T13:08:00.006-04:00

We you can all start laughing now :) Smiddy has decided the woods across the street looks like a lot better eaten than at home. This is looking down our drive, he likes the pond. So hubby is on his way to get a stronger electric fence charger. Part of it is our mistake, we didn't really introduce them to the fence so they knew what to expect. So Smiddy found a little low spot and decided if he went thru really fast, it didn't hurt enough to make him want to not do it again!!

It probably wouldn't be so frustrating if we hadn't just lost our Out Building we have been working on :(( We had it ready for rafters and outside sheathing the next day, we had winds over that evening in the 70 mile range with gust of 80. Well now we have a pile of match sticks on a solid floor :{{{{

At least nothing else was damaged, but shoot! So this week end we will cut all the nails and start putting her back together again. And everything is cut and ready to go and not but a few pieces actually broke.

I have a farm up north of my that raises Highland Cattle,Donkeys,Llamas and Alpacas. She has alot of wool to get rid of, so guess where I am going tomorrow, if Smiddy stays where he is suppose to. I will take some pictures and show you what I get!

I'm spinning some Alpaca,Salish and Merino now on the Mach 1. It is a Red,Brown and Cream and I am going to triple ply it. It is very fine so I am hoping it will make a light yarn as it will be warm. But I don't know what I am going to make out of it yet! I will take some pics of it when I have it plied.

Our Goats!!

2008-05-07T11:43:00.022-04:00

Girls first, this is Peanut, she is 5 months old and a Boer goat. She loves to be picked up and scratched on her sides. Look at that face!

This is Smiddy, he is 15 months old whether. A Boer goat and as cute as a button, he likes his ears petted.

We have 3 acres of leaves,bushes and pine trees for them to live in. a creek to drink from and lots of love to receive :) I am thinking if these guys can't keep up with the growth, it will be time to get a couple of Angora's to go with. Hubby is a little sceptical, he knows what happens when we start acquiring animals! We have our old Great Danes and of course our rescue Capt. Jack and I am thinking after we no longer have our old guys, hopefully quite a while, we could look into a Great Pyrenees or Anatolian Shepard for an outside dog. It is hard for me to imagine a dog that would really prefer to be outside, but that is what I hear. Of course I will have to do much research to make sure we will be a good home for them :) Isn't he pretty? The people where we got our goats raise these sweet dogs!
http://www.billiesgoats.com/

We also almost have our out buildings done! I am excited for that as I can have a whole huge area for fleece, my carder,picker, lots of other stuffs. I have my sewing room but working with all the fleece is messy for in the house, I would rather have it set up out there. Will also have the drill press and grinder set up for hackles and who know what else :)

We have the possibility to acquire 3 more acres around us, I would love that, I like not seeing anyone at all when I am out doing my things, but there is the up keep ect. We'll see, I was thinking also maybe we could put a little park model trailer on the back lot so when Heather,our daughter, and the grand kids come they would have nice place to stay and I would have my time to recover from grand kids!! Two boys, energy, never still, how much of that can you take in one day????? Love them to death but boy!! And my poor dogs, they have been raised as the only kids in the family.

These are my Daughters children

Here is Hayden, he is grandma's boy, 4 years old and as smart as a whip!

Here is Zachery,2 and such a charmer, and those eyes!

Here is a pictures of Jeffery's kids, the first is Lauren as her kindergarten graduation, she is almost 6

This is Caroline, she is almost 5, quite the prissy girl as I'm sure you can tell :)

And this is Parker Jeffery, he is just like his Dad, what a pill

I don't have a picture or Elliot, our little guy that was born 3 months after Daddy died. He was a blessing. We have had very rocky time with the DIL and we don't get to see the kids anymore. I won't even go into that one.!

So I have been doing some experimenting with some spinning and here is a beaded yarn I did for my Etsy store, I was really please at how it turned out, I am thinking I may go ahead and spin up the Raspberry Chocolate into yarn for a scarf and trim it with the beaded yarn. It is so soft and I think Heather would really love it for her weather there in Wisconsin!

I blended another group of Salish,Polypay, a little mohair, it is a springy color I'm anxious to spin it up and see how it turns out, not sure what to make from it yet, maybe as I am spinning it will talk to me :)

Then I got busy and spun some Fuchsia for me, about 1900 yds.
And I got the brown Salish for Randy a cardigan, it is soooo soft and springy. I just love that fiber! 2300 yds

Then there was this :(( Ever think something will turn out good and then you end up with something like this????
Maybe I will felt it and make some slippers. There is about 300 yds.

Well I sure have made up for not posting for a while! I appreciate any feed back people have about my blog or my Etsy site. So let me know you were here!!

Boy, It's been a long time!!!!

2008-05-07T11:30:00.003-04:00

Well I was going to be one of those that kept up on my blog! Oppps. I have been very busy. I set up and Etsy site, having alot of fun. It is really therapy for me to play with my wool and now that I have been just busy getting things for my site, I feel like maybe I am accomplishing things too. I made a blending hackle, I'm going to start selling those on my site too. I am having sooo much fun with it, I used to try to blend on my combs, but it really doesn't work very well. And on the hackle you can blend combed fiber or carded fiber, or the roving you purchase. Sometimes I get alittle disappointed that things are not moving very quickly, but I just have to remember that I am really doing this to have fun. After all, it's not like I can't use everything I make!!
I also have been playing with the Mach 1 wheel. I will have to say it is a nice wheel. I have had a couple of issues with it, no directions came with it, changing out their knocking piece, can't figure why that have that, it is just confusing. And the peg on the orifice I didn't like. My yarn kept slipping off and when I spun thick yarn it would split on the peg and get hung up. Very annoying! So I talked to mike, he sent me a brass cup hook and I replaced the peg with that and it works great! I am also getting the new orifice made to very bulky yarns, it will be here this week. Now that I have worked thru those several troubles, I am going to continue to spin on her a couple of more weeks to make sure there are no hidden problems then the Rose goes up for sale. I just haven't been able to get close to the Rose, I know they are a nice wheel, but just not my cup of tea. And it is so nice to be able to spin very fine to very thick on one wheel, and it is easy to use. Okay, enough of that.
We got goats!!!!

Just a time to write

2008-02-23T08:34:00.008-05:00

I have been having people looking at my blog. That is so exciting. I am one of those people that really don't like being in public much so I mainly communicate thru the web and this is so exciting to me. I guess I have never really liked the social thing, although when my kids were growing up we were always busy and in the middle of things. Now I am older and I don't have to do that unless I feel like it, and I am so busy with the things I enjoy, I choose to stay home and do them! I also have a great hubby that allows and in encourages me to do so. We you get older I guess they call you eccentric, is that me? I just thought I was different:)

We have had a rough year and 1/2 so my "hiding" at home has been out of necessity for a while now. We lost our oldest son Sept. 29 2006. He was on a walk around his home one evening and was hit by a car. He was only 36 and had 3 young children and one on the way. I can't even begin to tell you how this has changed our families life. Everyone around you life goes on, yours stands still. I am doing better, some days are awful, it helps at times to write about it. People around you get tired of hearing the story over and over so you run our of ears. We are estranged from our DIL so we don't even get to see the grand kids, I don't know what happened there, she just got mad one day. They were Jeffery's life and reason for being, he was such a good dad. I'm thinking the DIL wants to move on and it is easier for her if we(his family) aren't involved. She won't even talk to my daughter and her family. How things change. Someday the kids will be old enough to seek us out on their own, I wonder sometimes what she tells them, I know they ask about us, we only live 2 hours away and I was there atleast once a week. I hope they don't think we don't care, and that daddy's family is just gone.

So now on to funner things! I just ordered some more Knit Picks needles. I just love those things! I got to cables and some tips. I thought about ordering the set, but I have the Denise set and I really never use the bigger needles so I thought I would just pick and choose.

We have finally had some rain! Our lake out front got so low and now it looks like a lake! The creek is running, sounds so pretty, but boy do we have some clearing to do! I'm still playing around with the idea of a couple of sheep. But I'm not sure I really want the responsibility of taking care of them everyday. It may be better to just purchase fleece at the White Barn Farm. :))

I have decided I want to try Fair Isle knitting, I saw the cutest Tam my daughter, lives in Milwaukee, would get so much use from.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9101466

Isn't this beautiful? Now if she would develop a pattern for a pair of gloves to match! Hint Hint.

I think I will dye some yarns today for this project. I was thinking that I would have way to much yarn now that I spin, but it is turning out that I am always in need for more more more!

Now to go find more projects!

Finally!!

2008-02-21T08:37:00.023-05:00

I was hoping I would have more time to keep up on my blog, but it is hard to fine time.

But I did finish my Folk Shawl knit together. It is the Peddlers Shawl.

I made it from some Merino I had. It is so soft! I dyed it in greens,blues and left some white. It spun up great and it is so light and delicate. I thought it would be alittle bulkier when I was knitting it, but after blocking it came out light and airy. I am thinking that maybe I should have done alittle more garter stitch to balance it alittle more, but I do love the lace and the pattern is so easy.

I will deffinately make this again, next time maybe a heavier yarn next time. I don't know what shawl they will pick next, they are all so pretty it almost doesn't matter :))

So now I need to get busy and finish my hubby's vest out of a very large Llama!

Here is Mr. Llama, he was a big boy and very pretty.

Here is a close up of the cable and a picture of the back. I need to ply some more and I will get the fronts done.

It's been a long time since I have done anything on large needles, I forgot how fast it is!!

Here are the tools I like best. I have had a couple of people ask what type of combs these are. They are Indigo Hound 5 pitch combs. Can't say enough good about them.

I use them for everything.

I even blend on them, my bestest friends!

I still haven't gotten far on my socks, I am to the point where I am going to start the heel and have put it off till I have time to really consintrate.

I have some beautiful fleece I got from the White Barn Farm. It is a light

grey and I think I am going to get it ready to make a

cardigan for hubby. It is absolutly wonderful, can't say enough about their wool, so clean and soft!!

I think I will mix it with some black Alpaca and some great Shetland I have

Doesn't it look yummy? Now to pick a pattern!

I have also started another shawl, out of Cashmere. It is a Sivia Harding pattern http://siviaharding.com/Waves.html Waves in the Square.

She has some beautiful patterns and you can downlod alot of the right away. I just love that, I guess I am bit impatient.

Here's a picture at the bottom of our drive as you come up to the house. A little cloudy today, but still nice. No birds today :((

Llama Combed

2008-02-06T15:45:00.000-05:00

I have had several people ask about my wool after I comb it. It pull it thru a CD and roll into little balls waithing to be spun. I can spin from the end and get a more worsted type wool, or spin from the fold and get a woolen type yarn. This is getting spun bulky for another vest for hubby. I will post pics and more detail tomorrow. Just wanted to get this up for those who wondered what it looked like.:))

Some Progress!

2008-01-24T10:50:00.001-05:00

Well here are pictures of my Wool Peddlers Shawl, very dark, I have got to figure out this camera!n Not very far, but that's okay as I have been getting a few other things done. I haven't kept up on the posts, but I need to check, I think I would like this alittle bigger than the pattern so I will have to change my amount of stitches I end up with.

I'm not to good at winging it so I will double check all of your messages. This is a close up of how the yarn is knitting up. I think I like the weight of it, I am hoping the lace will show enough.

Also the other day, after I had been combing more of the purple yarn for my SIL Dragon Shawl, I had all these bits and pieces left over from the combs. So I thought, can't waste that! So I got out my Rose and used the wild flyer and this is what I came up with. I am surprised at the results. I now have 200 yds of really soft bulky weird yarn. I'm not quite sure what to do with it, but I may knit and felt a small purse. Any body got ideas for 200yd of yarn?

I also have started a pair of socks, this is my first,

so I am just kinda hoping that will fit someone :))

They are very relaxing to knit, but I will be to

the heel before long and then I will have to think!!

I just finished a purse for my daughter. It was a pattern in Vogue Knitting Mag. out of recycled silk. I was really please when I finally finished it. It has been off the needles for a while but for some reason the lining was just really getting to me.

The instructions were Greek! But yesterday I just sat down and did it my way and am excited on the finished project. It has pockets all the way around and the way it is mitered it hangs really nice too. So tomorrow in the mail it goes!

I am also still working on the Surprise Shawl and I'll tell you, I have had one heck of a time with it. I am using very fine yarn and had some yucky needles and was not happy with the looks of it. I ordered some Knit Pick Harmony needles in a 2 and a 3. So I started over on my shawl last night, broke the yarn and left the other on the needle just in case :}. I am really happy with this sample so I think I will start over, again. There are quite a few people that are in the slow group, and I figure if I am going to put that much work into it, I should be very pleased with it. It has been a real challenge for me to knit this as my mind will not wrap around things as it once did. My Dr. said that it is normal after you have a loss like we have experienced so to be patient with my self, but boy after you have looked at the same line 5 times it gets alittle ridiculous!!

It has been a rough week this week, my mind has been on Jeffery constantly, has been the same with my husband for some reason this week too. I think that is why I am trying so hard to stay focused on some things, it is a good feeling when I finish something. Although planning and starting things are fun too, but I end up with so many starts, and not enough finishes:))

I wanted to add, I LOVE THESE NEEDLES! I am going to order the set and then some more of the individual smaller sizes. If you haven't tried these, give them a try. I can't say enough good about them. I think what I noticed the most is how effortless it is to use them. I have some problems with my hands, don't we all when we get to that age?, and these are so much easier on them I can knit longer pain free.

We have had great weather here, cold, clear, some rain we need very badly. Perfect hobby weather! This next week I need to get in and start a quilt I have had on the books for several years. It is a English Cottage Quilt. Twelve different 12" cottage squares. Shouldn't be difficult and fun to do. Hopefully it won't take me too long to finish it. I already have 2 tops done I need to put backs on and quilt. I suppose I should finish those before I start the other one.

O well :)))

Day 2!

2008-01-16T12:25:00.002-05:00

So I have actually had several people visit my blog! Today I had chores to run, I just hate to have to leave the house, but before I did, I threw some wool in the pot with some dye. I have been spinning some purple yarn for a shawl for another SIL. It is shades of purple, Merino, Angora, and Mohair. This SIL collect Dragons, so I found a pattern with a Dragon on the back!Here is the link where I found it http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5264274. You can download it right away! I love patterns like that! I was surprised! I thought I had spun up enough, and when checking the pattern, of course I am short. So I gave it a go, I never duplicate very well, and I think it will match up quite nicely. I still have some of the pink Mohair and White Angora and if I run into a problem I will do the border out of a more solid color and the Dragon in the brighter mixture. So now I have the fleece in the dryer on my rack hoping to get it dry today so I can start blending and spinning.

I am still working on the SpringSurpriseShawl. I am about 1/2 done with clue 1, clue 3 just came out, but I think there are a few that are behind like me. It seems to be a bugger for loosing stitch counts. I am also using needles I don't like and my knit picks should be here the end of this week. I am hoping that helps.

Now I'm on a Roll

2008-01-15T12:00:00.003-05:00

So now I have my page some what set up, I thought I would post a few more pictures. This is a shawl I made for my SIL that just had removal of both breast from Cancer. The first is on the bobbin, the other is the finished project. It is Merino, Angora and a tiny bit of silk. It turned out quite good I thought, although I added quite a few rows to get it to a comfortable size. I was one of those fibers that just spin them selves.

When I dyed it I was worried that he colors wouldn't blend, but when I was done it looked like orange sherbet! The picture I took of the whole shawl turned out really dark so I will take another and post this evening.

I seem to be having some trouble putting the pictures

where I want, I guess I will have to play with that for a while, so if something it way the heck out there, you will excuse me!

So here is the yarn I am using for my Folk Shawl group. We will be knitting the Wool Peddlers Shawl from the Folk Shawl book by Cheryl Oberle. It is beautiful.

I dyed this all different shades of green and blues and some natural white. It came out very soft and about sport weight. It should make a great shawl for the cool eveings out by the fire.

I like to comb all my wool and then blend on my carder. It comes out so pretty and smooth.

Well this has been really fun! I can see where this may cut into my knitting time. And I need to change the date on my camera! I am going to give it a so at the SpingSupriseShawl knit I am in, this is a pretty lace pattern but it is a B----. I haven't gotten far enough to even post a picture yet!

Finished!!

2008-01-15T11:19:00.004-05:00

Here is the vest I have been knitting for my hubby. I spun it out of Llama and Icelandic. It was a nice pattern to knit. I made it a little on the large size and then fulled it in the machine, it is nice and thick, warm and fits perfect!! I had just made a blocking wall and it worked perfect. I used homosote, attached to the wall, covered with batting and gingham. I love it, keeps everything out of the way and I can stand and see what I am doing. I always wet block and it just happens to be no to far form the vent in the floor so that is an added plus!!

I have gotten several requests for where I found my pattern. It is the Patons for Men book # 521, an older book, but I would think you could still find it.