FOs

Finished Objects:

The Sweater

This is the one I started last year.  It took every bit of yarn I had, leaving me with about two feet of the last skein.  Just enough for repairs, should I need it.

The back

Of course, while I was trying to take pictures I had my helper come.  This is Finnegan.  He absolutely loves anything fiber related. It puts him into some kind of ecstasy as he kneads it.

The helper

The next thing off the needles was the shawl.  I had the idea to knit it using the old "feather and fan" pattern, but had to figure out how to incorporate it into my triangular shape.  It came out just the way I wanted, which somehow always surprises me!

Latest Knit Shawl

And I love the way the collar folds.  It looks so elegant.  This yarn was spun with "unicorn hair" so it has this lovely shimmer to it.

Back with folded collar

What do you mean, you don't believe I have unicorn hair?  I am sure the man who sold it to me would not have lied about it.  It is lovely gossamer shimers of something.

The hat was a try at designing a wide band type which seems popular right now.  I really like the colors.

A hat

And the last thing was not off the needles but instead off the loom.  A scarf Not made with my own yarn, instead I put together my stash of alpaca, wool and silk fingering weights.   It came out so nice and drapey.

And a scarf

These are all now in The Shop, except for the sweater which I made for myself.   Now I have to wait on my woven shawl in greens as I am going to be weaving tea towels for another niece.   This time I could not decide on the color so I wimped out and bought a kit where everything is decided for me.  It came from Halcyon,  and although the kits have a few color variations, it was easier than looking at the many, many colors and trying to pick something out!  I chose the color group with the neutrals and wine, adding in a stripe of blue at each edge.  It will be so nice to weave as I can focus on the plaid development instead of worrying if I will have enough to finish!!!  Seems to be a running concern for me with my handspun.

So now with all these things finished,  it is time for me to look toward seed starting, yard work and other Springtime things.  The tea towels will keep my busy along with a pair of socks on the needles.  Just enough for the moment.  After all, it is Spring.

Stuff

Rising waters

We just finished a day of warm and rainy weather which has left the yard almost snow free and very soggy.   The swamp is still gathering water so that my "pond" is now larger than ever.  I don't believe it has come up so far into the lawn before.  Maybe I will get wood ducks in it this spring.  Probably not mergansers as it isn't deep enough.  But I fear that the absent owner of the house on the other side will come along and notice his watery yard and have the town unclog the culvert.  Meanwhile I shall enjoy it every minute.

Miss Goldie

Cleo and The Rooster

Coy Miss Roxie

My chickens are all sporting fresh spring feathers.  Even little Miss Goldie is all back to her beautiful self.  I think they are all laying but someone is laying a great big egg that never quite makes it---sometimes I find it broken into on the nest, and a few times under the roost with what I call a "soft" shell, which makes it unusable.   They are so happy the snow is gone.  I watch them run all over, as if to stretch their legs after a long time cooped up.  Now I know where that term comes from!






Our old lady cat, Sukey Mei Ling,  will be 21 years old at the end of the month.  She is very frail, yet still manages to get around to the litter box, food bowl and my lap.  One of the hardest things for me is listening to her as she is a yowler.  Sometimes I wonder if she uses it like echo location as her eyes are not so good.  On those days when she keeps up a steady "Meewahha" I think uncharitable thoughts, but when I pick her up and she starts purring, I take them all back.  She has had a great life.  When she was a young cat she spent a lot of time climbing trees.  After she raided a bird's nest and ate the eggs, we called her the "weasel".   Twice she got caught in the neighbors havahart trap that he had set for woodchucks in his garden.  She bears a scar of a white line on her foot to this day, from one of those trappings.  One time she got into the neighbor's camper which was being aired out and was shut in it for three days before they found her.  She has lived with three different cats, guinea pigs, two different dogs and now chickens, however she so seldom goes outside that they hardly count.  Sukey has watched all the children grow to adulthood and depart on their life adventures.  Somehow I don't think it is something she gives much thought to!

Sukey, headed towards 21

On the fiber front I finished my scarf, but forgot to take photos of it which annoys me to no end.  However, it has reached its destination and that is a good thing.  I sold my most favorite shawl on Etsy, one that I almost took off the site to keep for myself.   This is a good thing, though, and now I am busy plotting another woven one out of greens.  However, after calculating warp and weft, I find that I need to spin another 200 yards, if I don't want to stress out about not having enough yarn to finish. Which, quite frankly, takes a lot of the joy out of a project.   I had planned it as all greens so now the decision I have to make is if I want to introduce another color into the mix or dye another shade of green.  First, I need to spin!  I also am cleaning one of Glo's fleeces.  It is a gorgeous black from her boy Black Velvet, so I can only work on it in the day.   So many things to keep me busy!  I love it.