Today was a gorgeous day!! It was one of those days that I wish I had a picture of!
I spent the morning out at the Fleece and Fibrefest at Silmaril farms. The Fibre Garden hosts monthly spin-ins and they decided to hold the May spin-in out at the Fibrefest. Just a side note, next time there is an outdoor spin-in, I will take my drop spindle, not my wheel. My wheel doesn't travel well, and I find it difficult to spin on my outdoor folding chair.
Aside from that, it was just an incredible day! The Weather Network was promising thunderstorms on Sunday all week, but the sun was out when Incubating Mouselet woke me up this morning. I was pretty excited. Sure enough, the sun came and went all day without rain. We enjoyed a sheep shearing, watched baby goats, held little yellow ducklings...bought more fibre (I bought a lovely braid of silk). There were even kittens to be adored.
A little later in the afternoon, we went up to Alpacas From Eighth and Mud to enjoy their Alpaca Shearing. The Alpacas were not as accepting of the shearing as the sheep had been, so it was pretty interesting to watch. We wandered around the store. I resisted a serious urge to overspend my budget and buy my daughter a teddy bear made from Alpaca fleece (it was OOOOOOOHH SO SOFT!!). I very nearly failed in my self-control. After all, said teddy bear was only $30. I might go back and buy it for her for Christmas.
It was truly a wonderful day. It started raining as I headed home. Not very much, and not for very long, but the weather had the decency to hold out to make a perfectly enjoyable day!
And I, sadly, haven't got a single picture.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Little weavings
I have started a new weaving project. It's an idea I had a while ago to use up leftover handspun scraps. I've got a few 1/4 bobbins of little leftovers that didn't make it into one yarn or another. Little samples that got spun on my drop spindles. Half finished yarns on my drop spindles. Just singles all over the place that need to be used.
So I've tied on a 6.5ft warp, filled the loom up almost as full as she will go wide (it took forever to tie on all those little ends) and set to work.
The warp is a laceweight boucle acrylic/wool blend. It's quite lovely and soft, but mostly acrylic. The weft will be everything from silk to linen to wool to bison!! The first two stripes are linen/cotton (white) and wool/silk (purple). There will be green, blue, pink, red, yellow, and everything in between. I am excited about the finished product. If it looks especially nice, I might not keep it as a shawl. I might do two 3ft lengths and whipstitch them together as a baby blanket for Incubating Mouselet.
Speaking of which...in spite of my numerous deadlines and more serious knitting to be done, I have started and half finished her little Homecoming outfit. :) The leggings are beyond adorable. I took an idea from a vintage mag and did pantlets with closed toes. Heartmelting!!
The dress is stockinette to the waist(-ish...babies don't really have "waists"), and then it will flare out in some cute little lace. I'm still looking for the perfect stitch.
I'll just need a bonnet and some little mitties and she'll be the belle of the ball...and the apple of her daddy's eye.
The warp is a laceweight boucle acrylic/wool blend. It's quite lovely and soft, but mostly acrylic. The weft will be everything from silk to linen to wool to bison!! The first two stripes are linen/cotton (white) and wool/silk (purple). There will be green, blue, pink, red, yellow, and everything in between. I am excited about the finished product. If it looks especially nice, I might not keep it as a shawl. I might do two 3ft lengths and whipstitch them together as a baby blanket for Incubating Mouselet.
The dress is stockinette to the waist(-ish...babies don't really have "waists"), and then it will flare out in some cute little lace. I'm still looking for the perfect stitch.
I'll just need a bonnet and some little mitties and she'll be the belle of the ball...and the apple of her daddy's eye.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Greensleeves is all my joy
I recently swapped it away when someone else on Ravelry was looking for one. She offered me a spindle for it.
Truthfully, I am more of a spinner than a weaver (though I do enjoy weaving), and find myself strangely addicted to spindles. I don't quite understand the addiction, but I have several spindles of different sizes, weights, and varieties. I let her surprise me with the one she was most able to part with, and she parted with a Greensleeves McKenna Lee (ganked picture to the right).
I don't know what I'm going to do with the superfine sample of yarn I am spinning. And I don't know why I put yarn immediate on every spindle that comes into the house...it results in every single of the 7 or 8 spindles I own currently being used.
Also, I feel a little bad. I definitely feel like I got the better end of the deal. It's just such a beautiful little spindle!! And while the loom is/was a very pretty and useful little loom, I think the spindle is just far nicer.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A baby update, plus submissions done
I'll start with the knitting update. My submission for the upcoming Jane Austen Knits publication is done, emailed, and sample sent in the mail. The deadline isn't for several more weeks, but I discovered yesterday that Canada Post is threatening a strike, which got me really nervous. If they walk out on strike, it would be on May 24, which is before my deadline and would virtually ensure that my package would not arrive on time. So I hauled my butt into gear yesterday and finished the last of my editing. It was an extremely busy and productive day. I don't think I've ever sat so long at one project.
The project itself was already finished, and my test knitter had finished her sample, too, which made everything easier. The hard part was scaling up the math for the finished dimensions. Still, it's extremely pretty and I am super excited to see it on the shelves in the late fall. :)
Now on to other news. To the left you can see the tiny little human incubating inside me. She is absolutely perfect and healthy.
Yes...that's right...read it again, I said SHE!
We found out on May 4 that we are having a little girl. She was wide awake and extremely cooperative in informing us that she is a girl. We do have a few names set aside, but we are not sharing them until she is actually born.
She's kicking up a storm and is extremely active. It's a little distracting feeling a tiny foot imbed itself in your bladder, but mostly it's just really cool. Not entirely comfortable, but interesting and exciting nevertheless. Still, I'm looking forward to getting the next 19 weeks finished up so that I can actually meet her.
Knitting and focusing so heavily on deadlines is helping to make the time speed by. Or maybe it just speeds by when you're pregnant. I think it's the knitting that makes it go so fast, really, because it just seems to crawl by so slowly at night. I might "accidentally" smack the next person who implies that pregnancy insomnia is just your body preparing yourself for less sleep when the baby comes.
A) My body doesn't need that much practice.
and B) Wouldn't a better way of preparing be to store up as much sleep as you can now so that you're all rested and happy when she makes her debut?
Maybe that's just me. Or maybe pregnancy really does make you slightly crazy.
The project itself was already finished, and my test knitter had finished her sample, too, which made everything easier. The hard part was scaling up the math for the finished dimensions. Still, it's extremely pretty and I am super excited to see it on the shelves in the late fall. :)
Now on to other news. To the left you can see the tiny little human incubating inside me. She is absolutely perfect and healthy.
Yes...that's right...read it again, I said SHE!
We found out on May 4 that we are having a little girl. She was wide awake and extremely cooperative in informing us that she is a girl. We do have a few names set aside, but we are not sharing them until she is actually born.
She's kicking up a storm and is extremely active. It's a little distracting feeling a tiny foot imbed itself in your bladder, but mostly it's just really cool. Not entirely comfortable, but interesting and exciting nevertheless. Still, I'm looking forward to getting the next 19 weeks finished up so that I can actually meet her.
Knitting and focusing so heavily on deadlines is helping to make the time speed by. Or maybe it just speeds by when you're pregnant. I think it's the knitting that makes it go so fast, really, because it just seems to crawl by so slowly at night. I might "accidentally" smack the next person who implies that pregnancy insomnia is just your body preparing yourself for less sleep when the baby comes.
A) My body doesn't need that much practice.
and B) Wouldn't a better way of preparing be to store up as much sleep as you can now so that you're all rested and happy when she makes her debut?
Maybe that's just me. Or maybe pregnancy really does make you slightly crazy.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Fleece back
I got my fleece back from the mill. It turned out amazingly gorgeous! I'm really happy with it. I have some roving and some that was just carded out into a cloud for making batts. But you can spin right from the cloud, which is nice.
One of the first things I did was take out a nice big ball of the grey roving and dye it up. I don't have pictures yet, but I dyed it a rich red with black spots. I plan on listing it next week under the colourway name "Ladybug".
The white fleece was pleasantly surprising. I cannot believe how white it got. It's really pretty incredible. The cloud will be heading into the dyebath in the next few days, after which time it will go through the carder to be mixed up with other wools for batts. I think it will mix very nicely with some silk and nylon for sock batts.
One of the first things I did was take out a nice big ball of the grey roving and dye it up. I don't have pictures yet, but I dyed it a rich red with black spots. I plan on listing it next week under the colourway name "Ladybug".
The white fleece was pleasantly surprising. I cannot believe how white it got. It's really pretty incredible. The cloud will be heading into the dyebath in the next few days, after which time it will go through the carder to be mixed up with other wools for batts. I think it will mix very nicely with some silk and nylon for sock batts.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
3 down...
I finally sorted through my fleeces in the garage. One of them is thoroughly bad and is worthless for anything but mulch. It's an old suffolk cross that I was given 2 years ago. If you would like mulch for your garden, please let me know. It has lots of sheep manure attached to it.
I had 3 fleeces that were still excellent. One had been sorted last fall, and I took advantage of the GORGEOUS (!!) weather today to sort the other two. I called the mini-mill upon completion and asked when I could make an appointment to bring them over. It's only about 20 minutes away. Well, they suggested I bring them over today, which I did.
I've got about 2 kilos of wool. 1.5Kg is a grey dorset, and the other 1.5 Kg are two different white fleeces. One of the white fleeces is a dorset, the other is unknown. The two white fleeces will be mixed together. I'll get half of each back as a cloud for spinning, the other half will be processed into roving. I am looking forward to seeing the end results. I've seen the work this mill has done and I am generally impressed.
I'm pretty excited!! Can't wait to see the final result.
I had 3 fleeces that were still excellent. One had been sorted last fall, and I took advantage of the GORGEOUS (!!) weather today to sort the other two. I called the mini-mill upon completion and asked when I could make an appointment to bring them over. It's only about 20 minutes away. Well, they suggested I bring them over today, which I did.
I've got about 2 kilos of wool. 1.5Kg is a grey dorset, and the other 1.5 Kg are two different white fleeces. One of the white fleeces is a dorset, the other is unknown. The two white fleeces will be mixed together. I'll get half of each back as a cloud for spinning, the other half will be processed into roving. I am looking forward to seeing the end results. I've seen the work this mill has done and I am generally impressed.
I'm pretty excited!! Can't wait to see the final result.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Blogging while busy
It's pretty sad. I have become the worst sort of absent blogger since becoming pregnant. There are a few reasons for that.
Mostly, my absent blogging has been due to two major factors.
Reason #1: I just haven't been knitting as much lately. The truth is, I haven't been able to sit for the length of time required to knit, so my knitting has suffered rather badly. I've even gone to Sip 'n' Stitch without knitting in my purse! How horrible is that??
Reason #2: I never wanted to be one of those pregnant woman who talks about nothing else except her pregnancy. IRL, it's very sad, but I became exactly that sort of woman. I don't know what it is, but this whole pregnancy tihng seems to be taking up 100% of my time and energy. Growing an entire person in just 9 short months is exhausting. Who knew?!
I've been asked a few times how long I plan on waiting before trying for baby #2. I just want to get through baby #1 first. Maybe in about 5 years when I forget what being pregnant is like, I might repeat the experience.
Honestly, I am blessed. I know I am! I am very excited (if somewhat terrified) at the prospect of becoming a mother. It's incredible to hold a life inside you and feel it move and know that this little life is a part of you. At the same time....owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!
I hit a few incredible milestones over the last few weeks. First, I have started to feel Little One moving around in there. Baby tends to be active mostly in the evening or after I've done too much. It's about 4" long right now, maybe a little more. The movements are just quick fluttery sensations deep inside. They can't be felt from the outside yet.
Other milestone this week was my very first experience with Braxton Hicks contractions. I just loooooove how they are described as "painless". Very funny! It didn't help that I desperately had to use the washroom, which by all accounts can make the B.H. contractions stronger.
People presume that when you are a knitter, your little one will be decked out head to toe in precious handknits. I really want to do that, but my project list is still a bit of a killer. I'm finishing things, though, and not adding new things, so hopefully I'll manage to kick out at least a little take home outfit. Maybe a sleeper and hat or something similarly adorable.
H and I start our prenatal classes tonight. I finished my last purse project, so I've got to start on another fairly big project...the fall Little Seasonals project. Watch out! It's going to be fantastic!
P.S. Stay tuned for the Summer edition of Little Seasonals. Coming soon!!
Mostly, my absent blogging has been due to two major factors.
Reason #1: I just haven't been knitting as much lately. The truth is, I haven't been able to sit for the length of time required to knit, so my knitting has suffered rather badly. I've even gone to Sip 'n' Stitch without knitting in my purse! How horrible is that??
Reason #2: I never wanted to be one of those pregnant woman who talks about nothing else except her pregnancy. IRL, it's very sad, but I became exactly that sort of woman. I don't know what it is, but this whole pregnancy tihng seems to be taking up 100% of my time and energy. Growing an entire person in just 9 short months is exhausting. Who knew?!
I've been asked a few times how long I plan on waiting before trying for baby #2. I just want to get through baby #1 first. Maybe in about 5 years when I forget what being pregnant is like, I might repeat the experience.
Honestly, I am blessed. I know I am! I am very excited (if somewhat terrified) at the prospect of becoming a mother. It's incredible to hold a life inside you and feel it move and know that this little life is a part of you. At the same time....owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!
I hit a few incredible milestones over the last few weeks. First, I have started to feel Little One moving around in there. Baby tends to be active mostly in the evening or after I've done too much. It's about 4" long right now, maybe a little more. The movements are just quick fluttery sensations deep inside. They can't be felt from the outside yet.
Other milestone this week was my very first experience with Braxton Hicks contractions. I just loooooove how they are described as "painless". Very funny! It didn't help that I desperately had to use the washroom, which by all accounts can make the B.H. contractions stronger.
People presume that when you are a knitter, your little one will be decked out head to toe in precious handknits. I really want to do that, but my project list is still a bit of a killer. I'm finishing things, though, and not adding new things, so hopefully I'll manage to kick out at least a little take home outfit. Maybe a sleeper and hat or something similarly adorable.
H and I start our prenatal classes tonight. I finished my last purse project, so I've got to start on another fairly big project...the fall Little Seasonals project. Watch out! It's going to be fantastic!
P.S. Stay tuned for the Summer edition of Little Seasonals. Coming soon!!
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