This and That

First off, I'd like to say that in the last post I mentioned that the entralac scarf structure was not very "giving".  Well, that is not true!  It is very pliable.  I think it would make good socks or hats as it isn't firm at all.  I don't know what I was doing that day, but it wasn't feeling my work!!!  Also related to the last post--the socks.  They are finished, given away and are said to fit perfectly.  I love when that happens.

Happy spring socks

We had our "winter" picnic which was so much fun, even though the weather was definitely more like spring at almost 60 degrees!   Afterwards we went for a lovely walk in the woods.  The dogs thought it was great and Rosa got her first close up look at a flowing brook.  I was wondering if she would like water.

Rosa exploring the brook

She thought it was wonderful.

I am working on my scarf, and also the pair of socks for myself.  Neither of these are very taxing so I am casting around for a more challenging project.  Now that the folk's house has sold I have a lot more free time on my hands.  It will take some getting used to.  Especially Sunday afternoons, as we have gone over there on almost every one for the last 25 years.  I think I will warp the loom for a few small rugs to jump start the creative juices.

The weather has been very warm and rainy.  The bees were out and about, but as there is nothing really blooming yet we decided to feed them.  They get a sugar water jar on their hive that they have access to.  The chickens are also out and about.  One of the younger two spent yesterday making a very sad sound the entire day, non stop.  Occasionally Miss Buffington, the older hen, would answer her.  I was sure that this was a death sound and fully expected to find her demised this morning.   She wasn't!  Today she is acting totally normal.  I did find blood in one of the overnight droppings,  whether that was hers or not I will never know.  What her problem was, I will never know!  It didn't stop her from laying an egg.  One of the reasons I was hoping for a recovery is that she and her sister are the only egg layers right now, and I would hate to be down to one laying hen.  I'll keep an eye on her today, but so far she looks perfectly normal.  Chickens!

All recovered

Don't get excited about the green grass.  That is a picture from last summer.  It is still pretty brown around here.  There are clumps of spring bulbs starting to pop out only it is supposed to get pretty cold again this weekend, so I hope they don't emerge too much!

Now I am going to get out the Easter decorations.  I am looking forward to that Sunday as both girls and their families are going to join their aunts and uncles at their  Nain's house.   And we all know who I am going to be happy to see--my beautiful grand daughters, especially that cutie--Miss T!

Love this baby!

Learning

It seems to me that learning a new thing is good for the brain.  I like to learn about things and how to do things and what things are and what is the name of that bird/flower/whatever?  Stories, songs, poems---all these things keep me going.  Last Wednesday at the Village Yarn Shop, I learned a knitting technique called "entrelac".  According to what I can discover, the word entrelac comes from the French meaning "to interlace".  The fabric constructed with this method resembles woven strips, although in reality the material is one piece.  I had played with entrelac many years ago and decided I hated it and would never do it as it was all about picking up stitches.  Not my thing.  However, when this class was offered I decided it was time to revisit the technique to see what I found so unappealing. 

Entrelac knitting

Turns out that, with the right kind of yarn and a little encouragement, it's FUN!  The yarn makes a huge difference.  I am using the yarn Gina made by Plymouth Yarn.  This is a scarf pattern which I think is a great way to get used to the rhythm of the structure as I knit.  The method can be used for anything, from hats to socks, but attention has to be paid to the fact that there is no "give" to the fabric.  It is hard for me to think that socks knit in entrelac would be comfortable.  I think hats would have to be exactly fitting.   The scarf feels rather sturdy right now but I have great confidence in the softening factor of washing and blocking when finished.   Which probably won't take me long as it is a slightly addicting sort of knit.  Watching the colors change and seeing the blocks form is quite intriguing.

Hoping it will fit all her hair!

I did find time to finish Alice's hat.  The lining is very nice.  Probably not necessary only she will be up near the Canadian border the next time we have winter and will be glad of an extra layer around her ears when the north wind starts howling.

Socks for someone with small feet

The socks are coming along nicely.  They are just straight knitting, nothing fancy.  Used the basic pattern and construction from Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.  Her methodology appeals to me for some reason and I find that I turn to her book often when I do socks.

The non winter continues.  Although the ground is still frozen and a layer of ice lurks under the mud, spring is trying to force its way in.  The birds sing like winter is over, the sugar makers are boiling and the temperatures stay above freezing during the day.  Nonetheless, we are having our winter picnic this weekend in Cropseyville where we hope to find at least one pile of snow in the woods.  The menu will be the same as always--brats, beer and s'mores.  Well, except for some who will not have beer.  Let's hope it doesn't rain!

Last year's picnic

This year we will have a new member at our picnic.  Little Miss T is changing and growing so fast.  Can't wait to see her again.  I wonder if her Mommy and Daddy will let her have a s'more? 

With great Aunt Katy

Family Fun

There was a time when my parents lived in Pennsylvania.  The house they bought came with many interesting things.  Among these was the board game Michigan Kitty.  It was a very old board with the instructions still with it, a card game of chance involving poker chips and lots of anxious waiting for the right card to be played.  We loved it.  Mostly because it required no thought at all, so if we happened to be consuming drinks that dulled our thinking process we could still play.   My brother and I really took to it.  It was so much fun to play that at one point I even painted the board onto a round patio table (the kind with an umbrella in the middle) so we could play out by the pool. 

Source of hours of fun

The parents moved again after that, always bringing the old board with them.  Another generation learned how to play.  Then, one time when my brother was up, we couldn't find the board.  I assumed it was at my house, as my children loved to play it, and it would have been natural for them to bring it home.  But it wasn't here.  Nor did my mother seem to know what happened to it.  Later on, when we had to clean out the house to put it on the market, my brother was sure we would find it stuck away someplace.  We didn't.  At that point I think we both decided to find a board for ourselves.

And we did--although his is a different edition, the game is the same.  Mine is like our lost one.  Needing to celebrate,  I invited the girls and their attendant families to a lunch and a Michigan Kitty day.  It was great.

Demonstrating chip placement

The star of the show was Miss T., now a whopping 11 pounds of adorableness.  We all took turns holding her and spending inordinate amounts of time watching her sleep.  Cousins and grampa included.

Happy baby

It was such fun to have the family together.  It makes us miss the Wisconsin couple.  We definitely will be playing a game or two with them when next they come east.

Meanwhile, back to the knitting needles.  I finished the two pairs of lace and ruffle fingerless gloves for the woman who requested them.  The one pair has a definite ruffle, the other more of a "ruff" so that she can choose which ever one comes closest to whatever she had envisioned.

Two pair of lace and ruffles

Also finished adding six inches to Annie's sweater.  Now am working on a hat for Alice which is to replace one I made years ago that I had lined with polar fleece.  This one is being worked from the top down with two stitch cabling to give it texture.  The polar fleece will line only the ear area.  The yarn is alpaca plied with merino/silk which has lots of colors in it.  Should go with everything.

Top down construction

Working from the top down allows me to make sure it will cover her ears before I start the ribbing.  My fault in the past has been to make hats too shallow when I start from the brim and work up.  

I also promised socks to her Mum, which I am excited to do because she has such small feet!  She also wants them out of thin yarn which means I get to knit on size ones or zero needles and I haven't done that for a while.  And I get to buy sock yarn.  My favorite yarn to buy!

It is pouring rain again.  It started with snow, turned to sleet and by the time we awoke was rain.  The temperature is at 32 degrees, holding steady.  I had hoped it would warm up so that I would feel comfortable driving, but at this rate I think I will just stay home and work on my projects. 

Rosa is being a good dog and is sleeping away the rainy morning.  She is really settling in now.  Since this last outburst when she was left at home and didn't want to be, she hasn't had another.

The guilty party

Which is good, as she doesn't have a bed anymore.  I put a towel in the empty bed cover and if she gets wild she shakes that.  But no more bed to shred.  I am looking forward to taking her to obedience class.  She is really a smart dog.  It will be fun to train her.

Right!  Enough talk.  I am off to do really important things.  Like make more coffee!!!

Resumption

Ice on snow

With ice on snow keeping me indoors for the day,  it seems as if it is as good a day as any to get back on track with my writing.  It also is a memorial day for me--two years ago this day my mom slipped her earthly bonds and tired body to wing her way to heaven to be with her Lord.  It was icy that day, also.

The past year was one of all the ups and downs that are easier when spread over time.  They weren't.  We managed to cram in my father's coming to live with us, dying, emptying his house, putting said house on the market,  going to Wisconsin for a wonderful, joyful wedding,  having an East Coast reception for the newlyweds, getting a dog, losing three chickens to predators, gaining a brand new baby granddaughter on Christmas Eve, and many more of the usual life things that one expects.

They do

Moving forward, I have closed my Etsy shop and let my trade name lapse.  It was a five  year run in which time I found out that I really am not a business person.  I really don't like to have to make things just to sell them.  It's time for me to get back to making things that I want to make for the sake of the creating.  (After I get done with a pair of fingerless gloves that I am doing for a woman who is wanting lace with ruffles.)   Besides,  there are many baby things that need to be made.  Like these things.

Booties in alpaca

Cap and wrap around sweater

My new dog is Rosa.  She was a stray in South Carolina that got to a kill shelter from which she was rescued, fostered, and then finally trucked up to Vermont with 9 others so that I could adopt her.  I worked with Passion 4 Paws.  They are great.

Favorite thing to do--follow her nose

She is seemingly one of thousands that look just like her coming up this way.  Only about a year old, so full of energy.   The cats were not thrilled at having their home invaded by her, especially as she is still barking at them three months into living here.  Finnegan will actually sleep on the bed at night with her, which works until he gets off, then Rosa has to jump off too, in order to see where he is going.  O'Malley avoids her at all times.   She would chase everything that moves if she were not always on a leash when we are out.  Chickens!  She actually did chase them once when she escaped.  They have been living in a fenced in area since the bobcat (or fox) snatching.  They can only go out free ranging when Rosa is at doggie daycare or inside for the afternoon.

Now I must go and rinse my fleece.  Am working on one for Glo.   Projects on the needles include a pair of socks for myself, the lace fingerless gloves and an addition of several inches to a sweater for Annie. 

Nice to be back.  Hope you think so, too.

February.

February, as most of us in the Northeast can testify, has been so cold and so snowy that I think it qualifies for the longest month of the year. 

Snow from off the roof, piling up in front of the kitchen window

I did mention the cold, didn't I?

We have been keeping busy indoors.  About two weeks ago my 87 year old father came to live with us.  He had spent two weeks in the hospital and then four in rehab.  Still not being too steady on his pins, it was decided that he should stay with us 'til he gets his strength back. 
It has been quite a learning curve.  However, we are all trying hard to make things work.  So far it has been relatively smooth.

To keep out of trouble, I decided to make myself a pair of mittens as mine were sadly in disrepair.  Elizabeth Zimmermann has a Norwegian style pattern that I thought I would try.  It is in her book Knitting Around.  I have wanted to try a patterned something with the background changing colors as I went.  This seemed like a great way to play with that concept.

Mitten backs

Palms, with EZ's idea of stripes for the thumbs

So far they are a lot of fun.  I had to copy out the patterns so I could put them up on my magnet board. The board has a stand that props it upright.  That makes it really easy to follow charts.  After the green I am going to yellow, then orange, then red.  I think. 
I am also working on some spinning as I feel the need to be weaving.  The sun (when it is out) is so warm and strong as it shines into the room where the loom is that I long to be there. 

We had one day that the temperature rose above freezing.  It had been several weeks since the last time that happened.  It was so exciting the girls all had to come out and see what the yard looked like.  They have been confined to the barn with the sub-zero weather.

They are not amused with the snow

At least with 8 hens I didn't have to resort to basement confinement in this bitter weather as they kept each other fairly warm.   They are all laying now, which is great.  I had 8 eggs the other day, so not one slacker among them. 

Eagerly awaiting the return of green grass and springtime flowers, I will post this photo to keep our spirits up.

Ah, the promise of Spring

For Posterity

I felt the sudden urge to document my Reeves spinning wheel.  It was purchased in 1994 after I had tried out several different wheels at the various fiber festivals that year.  Once I knew that I wanted a 24"  Reeves, I looked for the vendor with the best price and ordered one, unfinished,  to be shipped to my house.  At that time the price was around $460.  I sold my Ashford wheel to help defray the cost.

This is the wheel, 20 years later

I wanted to embellish my new wheel with things that were important to me, so I painted, stenciled and had the children help me make it mine.  On the treadle I put heart and home.  Jesse was 16 at the time and as a Boy Scout had gone to Philmont hiking the high mountains.  This was his imprint.

Mountains for Jesse

Becca was 13 and Annie only 9, so their contributions were happy thoughts.

Happy sunshine

Annie's happy self

At first a lot of spinners looked aghast because I had painted my wheel, but over time that seems to have faded.  It is a wheel that suits me perfectly.  How many thousands of yards of yarn I have happily spun on it. All the projects that come from it.  The happy indifference in which I haul it around to demonstrations, friend's homes, craft fairs.  Then I found out that my wheel is now worth more than $1,000!!  By that I mean that if I were to purchase a similar wheel, it would cost me that much.  Made me stop and look at it and consider treating it with more respect.
The frustrating part of owning this wheel is that I  can no longer find authentic Reeves parts for it. This is because Rick Reeves stopped making wheels some time ago, and sold his company to Schacht.   My bobbins have taken the biggest hit as the ends of them are so finely turned that over the years many have snapped off bits.  The one bobbin I bought that I was told would fit perfectly, doesn't.  I use it anyway.  Lately I dropped my largest whorl and cracked it.  I hope I can repair it somehow.  Until then I have stopped using it.  The whorl Schacht offers might fit, but it is not the same ratio as mine.
But the biggest reason to photograph the wheel is this:

Handmade by Rick Reeves Marengo, IA USA

His signature is slowly fading away to nothing.  I don't want to lose it, so documenting it like this brings me comfort.

Do You Know What I Know?

I know that wet, heavy snow for two days is beautiful, picturesque and destructive.

My flattened bushes and downed shrubbery

I know that my husband, who got up at five o'clock to shovel, really appreciated me coming out at six to join him.

After two hours of steady shoveling

 I know that it is a wondrous thing that we still have electricity.

Looks like we will have to be shoveling off the porch roof in short order

I know that this is an accurate measurement!

Who can argue with the snow stick?

I know that we are, in all probability, going to have a white Christmas!

This is a seriously heavy snow.

And finally, I know that I am not going anywhere today, but will be home baking and working on
Christmas gifts.  
Stay warm, stay safe and if it looks like this where you live, enjoy a day off from work!

In Case You Were Wondering

Last time I posted, O'Malley the cat was in the bathtub washing himself.  That particular place for his daily ablutions only lasted a day or two.  Since then he has spent the greater part of each day here:

The best place in the house

I am  constantly walking into the bathroom thinking I have left a project soaking and forgotten it.  He is so happy in there that even when I throw him out in order to have some privacy, he is right back there as soon as I am out,  Crazy cat!!
The scarf project did not turn out as anticipated, although the end result is not displeasing.  I chose to count out the yardage on the warping board, but did not do the crosses.  Then I removed it from the board, and laid the 4 yards out on the floor.  I figured I could easily put it back on the warping board doing the crosses and match up the color blocks.
Here it is in photos:

Dye painted in one foot increments

 

Warp and weft hanging to dry

Warp in ball for easy wrapping of warping board

On warping board, note colors do not line up

Scarf on left with solid weft, on right with warp yarn used as weft

That was a learning project all right!  I learned that if I want to keep the bands of color I need to actually count off the warp with the crosses and taking it off the board, paint it.  Then when dry,  dress the loom, and it should line up the large painted sections.  Ha!!!

After that we had our first real snow.

Her first snow--does she like it or just not know how to get back?

The rest of the flock, waiting for me to bring her in

MacTavish Dundee, playing frisbee in the snow last winter

The snow came after we laid our beloved Gordon Setter to rest.  He was 12 years old and had a wonderful life.  We miss him, the loneliness being tempered with the knowledge that he doesn't have to struggle any more.
Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent.  That gives me the impetus to Decorate!!!  Christmas is really the only time I decorate the house.  It is my favorite time of the year. I do have an infinity scarf on the loom that I want to finish before the next craft fair on the 6th.  However, I am sure I can fit in weaving around Decorating.
Til then, stay warm and as Brenda Dayne says : "If you're cold, put on a sweater.  That's what they're for."

Thinking

I have a great idea for a project that I am working on.  It involves doing something I have never done, so that in itself requires a lot of research and thinking.
I have never dyed a warp. 
Now the way I see that most folks do it is to actually paint the warp with the dye while it is on the loom.  I am not up to that.  Another way to do it is to wind the warp, secure the crosses, remove the warp and dye it as you would a skein.  Eeek!! How I could I keep the yarns from tangling I do not know.  I suppose that tying them multiple places would work.  Then there is the drying part after they come out of the steamer, as I am thinking of a four yard warp.  Granted it will be for two scarves, so only six inches wide.  Still, that is seriously a lot of yardage to keep straight while drying.  The third dyeing method I read about was very interesting.  It was dyeing "palindrome skeins".  This means that the dye is applied in wide stripes across the skein.  Doing that makes the color sequence match up when you are warping and come to the turning peg to go back.  Theoretically  then when I dress the loom the colors will be in wide stripes across the scarves.  However, as I will have to wind the  yarn into a ball after it dries for ease of winding on the warp, will the stripes come out in the right place again??? 
What's the least stressful method, I do not know. 
Meanwhile, when I was washing the skeins to set the twist I heard this strange noise coming from the bathtub.  Looking over I beheld my cat O'Malley washing himself!!  In the tub.  It was hilarious.  I can't imagine why he was in there.  So I ran to grab my camera, and of course, because he is a cat, he was no longer washing himself.  In the bathtub.  Oh well.

What he does best

This is the yarn I am going to dye for the scarves.

Marled grey and white alpaca

So, now that I have procrastinated long enough, I am going to get out the dyes and Do It.  You will have to wait 'til next time to see what method I use.

Phases

Phases?  Stages?  Part 1 and Part 2?  Something like that.

                 Phase 1:

Remember this yarn from last post?

              Phase 2:

Warm and snuggly shawl

          Phase 1:

Sketching ideas

        Phase 2:

Final product

         Phase 1:

Trying out new loom location

       Phase 2:

More space and more light to weave by!

That is all for the moment.  Have a great day!