Posts from — October 2009

Where have I been? Digging out from under this pile:

preparing for this week's update

Today, I’m packing up the last of the orders from Monday’s update. Tomorrow, I’ll be working on dyeing the next shipment to The Loopy Ewe, as well as some MCN for the next shop update. I was hoping to have some sweater amount batches of Super Squish Worsted for the next update, but hold-ups with the mill have pushed things back yet again. As soon as the yarn becomes available, I’ll be dyeing up sweater-sized batches in all of my Glimmer colorways. I can’t wait!!

I’ve been dyeing for three days straight, and just ordered another 90 lbs of yarn. It feels good to be this busy, and I’m hoping to do another shop update next week. I’m still waiting for the superwash worsted merino yarn. The last word was that it will be available by mid October. So, if all goes as planned, I should have sweater amounts available for sale before Halloween. Still plenty of time for winter knitting, I hope.

before starting the feather and fan repeats

In the evenings, I’ve been working on the Multnomah shawl. I finished the fourth repeat last night. There are only 10 repeats in the pattern, so I’m getting there. If I keep going at this slow but steady rate, I should have a new shawl by next week.

When Multnomah’s done, I’ll begin the spinning on my milkweed shawl. Some sampling revealed a couple of things- First, two-ply will be the easiest to pull off and looks nice. Second, the silky tweed I originally envisioned was too tweedy.

So, I’ve taken what was left of the test batt, split it, and blended it with the rest of the roving. During the process, the silky fibers blended a bit more into the merino, so the whole batt has a sheen to it, and there are smaller and less frequent slubs of milkweed silk throughout. I’m thrilled with the finished batts and can’t wait to start the actual spinning for the project. Pictures soon!

We lost one of our chickens yesterday. She was hit by a car, and, mercifully, appeared to have died instantly. Although we have prepared our boys and ourselves for the possibility since the day we got our chicks, it was still hard. I was impressed with how well the boys handled it, better than me, probably. I guess that’s what makes me a wannabe homesteader, because as much as I tell myself that farm animals are not pets, I still feel like crying about that silly bird.

Red, Trouble, and Thing 2 are blissfully unphased by the loss, and I suppose that I should follow their lead. Having a farm is as much about death as life, and if I want a farm some day, I’d better start getting used to the idea.

RIP Thing 1. You were as loved as any pea-brained chicken could ever be.

sheep shearing demonstration

Yesterday, my family went to the 21st annual Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival. Thankfully, the weather decided to cooperate, and it was a very pleasant, warm day– the complete opposite of Saturday.

We met friends there and ambled through the animal barns, oohing and ahhing over cashmere goats, multiple breeds of sheep, and the cutest little baby black angora bunnies we ever did see. It’s a very good thing the little buns weren’t ready to go to new homes yet, or the temptation may have been too great to resist, even with Mr. Practical (AKA my husband) around.

Luckily for us, we found another angora breeder located only 15 minutes from our house. Our family decided that next spring will be our time to get an angora bunny. And now we know just where to go!

While browsing in the vendor area, I saw a young woman that I knew I recognized but for the life of me I could not figure out who she was. After a minute it dawned on me that she was Jenna Woginrich, the author of the book that inspired me to finally do so many things I’ve wanted to do for years, including raising chickens, planting a vegetable garden, and learning to play the fiddle. As I realized who she was, I also realized that I had lost sight of her. Too bad, I thought. I’d like to at least tell her that her book was inspiring.

We went back to the demonstration area where a sheep shearing demonstration was starting. As I sat with my family, who should come and sit right in front of me? So, I asked her if she was Jenna. She looked slightly stunned, and then she said she was. I told her that she was the reason we got chickens this year, and introduced the boys to her, telling them that this was the person they should thank for their beloved chickens. She was very gracious, and I think I managed not to make too much of a fool of myself.

my finished ishbel shawl

In other news, I have managed to finish my Ishbel shawl, and I’m very pleased with it. Despite a maddening stretch where it seemed I messed up the stitch count on every row, it was an easy yet satisfying knit and I would definitely make it again.

I’m now on to the Multnomah shawl, which should be finished by the end of the week. I love the way this yarn is knitting up. I haven’t decided whether I will keep it or give it away, but again, I will likely make more. It’s a very fast knit, and the garter stitch section is so mindless you can work on it anywhere, amidst any chaos, without messing it up. Hopefully, I’ll have photos for my next post.

Would you believe that next in my queue is yet another shawl? This time it’s the Milkweed Shawl by Laura Chau. When I first saw this pattern, my eyes wandered outside to the milkweed plants growing along the roadside. Milkweed shawl. Milkweed silk. Hmmm…

the test batt

So, after a long, dull, rainy Saturday afternoon when I decided I had better find some motivation or just go to bed, I thought of the milkweed pods I had collected, now dry, and went into the studio to experiment.

I chose a nice, dark purple superwash merino roving that I had dyed to blend with the milkweed silk. As I carded, it became immediately apparent that the milkweed silk was too fine to blend evenly with the merino. Instead, it went in as silky clumps. Actually, I think this will be a nice effect, like a silky tweed.

Right now, I have a 1 oz batt that I plan to do some sampling with later today. I’m going to spin small skeins of two ply, three-ply and navajo-plied fingering weight and knit up some swatches to see what will work best for the shawl. This alone should indicate how infatuated I am with this idea- I am very much a fly by the seat of my pants crafter. This, my friends, is dedication.

our own home-made cider

And the last thing I have to share today, while most definitely not the least exciting, is cider. Fresh, beautiful, delicious cider that we made ourselves. Mr. Practical also happens to be Mr. Build or Fix Anything, and a few weekends ago he decided to focus his abilities on creating a cider press. We made cider with the boys last weekend and it was fantastic. The friends we met up with at the festival are planning to come over next Sunday for a cider-making, pumpkin-carving, spinning and knitting, all-around awesome autumn afternoon. I, for one, can’t wait.