Category — Crafty Goodness

my new spinning wheel

Wow.

They don’t call it the matchless for nothing- this is one amazing wheel. Everything seems to go faster, smoother and just plain more enjoyably on this wheel. It was love at first treadle.

I have one bobbin of merino/bamboo spun up and will probably have the other done tomorrow. Then I think I’ll use my first-ever skein from the matchless and weave it into something on my lovely Schacht flip loom.

I am so smitten with this wheel I can’t imagine ever wanting another one. Except, some day, a walnut Kromski Sonata for travel. But this is definitely my forever wheel. To prove my commitment, I even have a woolee winder and some high-speed bobbins ordered.

I am officially a Schacht convert. Now all I need is a baby wolf loom…

6 PM. My new matchless is supposed to be here today- the website says it’s out on the truck but no UPS guy yet. Have I mentioned I’m not the most patient person in the world?

I promise pictures if the dang thing ever arrives!

oatmeal with strawberries, flax seeds, almonds and maple syrup

At last, the warmth and sun return. Looking out my window now, it’s a bright, sunny day that is getting warmer as the sun rises. Yesterday was a different story.

Yesterday was a blustery, cold day that never made it over 50 degrees. Last night, around 6pm, our power went out. This wasn’t alarming, as every time the wind blows even remotely hard around here, the power goes out. We assumed that power would be back in an hour or so, and went about our business cooking dinner on our propane stove and putting the kids to bed by candle light.

When 10pm rolled around and the power was still out, we became a little worried. It was getting very cold (it ended up getting into the lower 30’s last night) and the house was getting below the comfort level. Since we had our chimney fire this spring, things haven’t been re-connected and we had no source of heat. We weren’t worried about ourselves (we have lots of blankets) but we were worried about our chicks. They hadn’t had their heat lamp for hours, and they were huddled together in the way that indicates that they are working to maintain their body heat. They are still very young and cold can be deadly for young chicks.

We got the idea to use two of our tall water glasses, that are about the same height as their brooder box, as hurricane lamps. We put tea light candles inside the glasses and put them in a corner of the brooder box. With the cover on, the glasses came right up to the chicken wire that covers the top of the box, so there was no way for them to tip over. It quickly got warm and as we watched, the chicks seemed to relax and weren’t so huddled.

Luckily, the power came back on around 4am, and our chicks were completely fine. Our garden is fine as well, despite the light frost we received. Life goes on today for all of us at our little homestead. It’s a good day.

how's pickin's?

Happy Memorial Day! We’re off to visit the graves of our loved ones who have passed (including two World War veterans), and then on to a family barbecue at my aunt’s house. I’ll be back to work tomorrow, getting all of the lovely yarns ready for this week’s update!

meet trouble- the biggest and boldest of the bunch

Our little chicks arrived a day early and full of energy! We are having a fantastic time with them. So cute!

Naturally, our oldest son picked out the leader of the pack as his buddy and promptly named her Trouble. Our youngest picked out the runt of the bunch- she’s little but she’s got enough spunk for all of them. I have a feeling that my boys will have constant companions once these little ones are big enough to roam outside.

baby broccoli

Our garden is also doing well. As I mentioned yesterday, we have lots of baby veggies popping up, and even a mini broccoli head! It’s so exciting for all of us. We can’t wait until we can harvest those first sugar snap peas and tender lettuce thinnings.

I had my second fiddle lesson this morning, which was very encouraging. My instructor told me that it is rare to get the hang of the instrument as quickly as I have, and that it usually takes months to get where I am. This confirms my long-held suspicion that I was meant to play the fiddle; I can’t help but imagine that my Scottish fiddle-playing grandfather, long past, knows somehow, and is proud of me. I’m working on an Irish Polka which was a surprise to me (they have polkas in Ireland?) but it is a fun piece of music. Every time I practice, it sounds a little better and wow- I actually am playing Irish music already!

baby knitting is so fast!

In knitting news, I’ve completed one of Mom’s socks and have yet to go back to the other. I’ve been slightly distracted by another little project– A baby thorpe for my newborn niece. Her daddy requested a brown thorpe so I’ve done the top in a soft bamboo/acrylic blend and the brim in organic cotton. So far, so good! I’m hoping that her daddy approves, and if not, it’s a great excuse to knit her another one! The great thing about these hats is that they take no time at all and really are useful. The perfect baby item, in my opinion!

May has come and almost gone and I’ve yet to make a blog post. Oh dear.

Lots has been going on in my world beyond the usual dyeing, knitting, spinning, and weaving.

I have a new little niece, Sabine. She is absolutely the most beautiful little baby girl I’ve ever seen and I’m so in love with her. Unfortunately, she lives across the continent in San Francisco, but her parents (my sister in law and her husband) have been wonderful enough to set up a photo/video blog where we have been able to watch her grow, as well as watch them grow into the role of parents. Having been the only couple on both sides of the family with children, being an aunt and uncle is a new experience that we are loving every moment of, albeit from afar.

before planting- the chives and irises are in good shape!

Our little garden is growing happily, and we now have baby carrots, lettuce, radishes, broccoli and peas shooting up alongside basil, rosemary and chives. On Friday, our four little chicks are due to arrive. Having a vegetable garden and raising chickens is a life-long dream that we finally made a reality this year, and I must say that I’ve been greatly inspired to finally do it by a book that I originally heard about on the CraftSanity Podcast. Made From Scratch, a book by Jenna Woginrich (who also happens to live in Vermont), is a truly inspiring story about a woman in her twenties who dreamed of homesteading and instead of just dreaming, she jumped in. Her whole message is that regardless of whether you live in a house in the country or rent an apartment in the city, there are things that you can do today to start living your dream. And she’s right.

Jenna is also responsible for my acting upon another life-long dream of mine, and also one of my husband’s. For years, I’ve wanted to learn to play irish fiddle, and my husband has wanted to learn the banjo. After reading Jenna’s book, and with my 30th birthday looming in the not-too-distant future, I decided that it was time to do it. I ordered the instruments, a couple of books and CDs, and signed up for lessons. We’re plunking away, slowly getting better and better. It has been wonderful and we still can’t figure out why we didn’t do it sooner!

making progress!

I’ve also been knitting away on a pair of socks from Cookie A’s new book, Sock Innovation. It just happens to be my new favorite sock book! The socks I’m knitting, Sunshine, were supposed to be a mother’s day gift but they weren’t finished, so she got a half-finished pair of socks nicely wrapped in a box. Being my mom, she didn’t mind, but she is looking forward to receiving the finished pair sooner than later!

Now to the business- I’m planning a fiberphile update early next week. I’m adding some new luxury lace weight yarns on a trial basis (alpaca/silk/cashmere anyone?) and will have large batches of the most popular colorways and bases so that (hopefully) everyone who wants a particular color has a decent shot at it. Yarns available for reserve will be posted in the flickr set starting Friday and going through the weekend. For more information about reserving yarns, you can read the Reserves FAQ.

So, that’s it. I’d like to get back to shorter, more frequent posts. We’ll see how I do!

It feels like it’s been a very long week. Suffice to say, I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s actually been above zero lately, so maybe we’ll get outside to sled in all of the beautiful snow we got in the last storm.

i'm loving these socks!

I’ve got a couple of things to share on the crafty front today. The first is the considerable progress on my handspun socks. I am having so much fun knitting these up!

I decided to use Silver’s Sock Class two socks on one circ tutorial as a basic technique guide. As fast as these are moving along, I may even have them done by the end of the weekend. Hey, a girl can dream.

I’m sending out samples today for the February Phat Fiber Sample Box. It’s a great new mail-order club that includes sample-sized yarns and fibers from many different fiber artists.

fiberphile glimmer and mosaic sample skeins

This is my first month contributing and I’m really excited about it. The photos from last month made me very sad that I wasn’t able to get my hands on a box.

The boxes sold out in a phenomenally fast 15 minutes last month, so if you’d like to get your hands on one, be sure to sign up for the newsletter to know exactly when the February boxes go on sale!

study time isn't complete without a hot cup of joe

School is back in session which means that a considerable amount of my time is spent reading and writing. This semester, I’m taking a class that has, so far, been really interesting and thought-provoking: Science and Spirituality. The opening discussion was about science and religion and whether they were mutually exclusive or integrated. Good stuff!

It’s online, which means that I don’t have to spend two hours total driving to class and back (major bonus in the winter!) but I do have to spend a lot of time on the message board. Wow, whoever thought that all of my online slacking skills would be put to such good use?

finished handspun sock yarn

Despite being back in school, I did manage to ply and dry the latest falkland singles I had on my wheel. It came out as a nice fingering weight (exactly 450 yards/100g) and I can’t wait to cast on some socks with it! There are still some places that are underspun/underplied -I am still very much a student of spinning- but all-in-all, I’m pleased. It did take FOREVER to be plied though! There will be no navajo-plied sample of this yarn because for once I actually finished both bobbins within mere inches of each other. That has got to be a sign of improvement!

I managed to get some decent photos today. Presenting my 9-5 socks:

getting in shape on the sock blockers

Whew am I glad to have those babies off the needles! Actually, they’re currently on my feet. They’re soft and squooshy and I love them. Now to decide which socks to cast on next. I’m thinking that I want to do two-at-a-time magic loop, and I want to do them toe-up. Nothing terribly complex, just simple, easy TV knitting.

my first weaving project is finished!

I also got a photo of my finished scarf, though it’s not a terribly flattering one. It shows my wonky selvedges but that’s ok- that’s what a first project is about.

In other news, there is a nasty stomach bug going through our house and I’m beginning to feel like I’m going to be its next victim. If you don’t see me here for a few days, that would be why!

my new loom and some hand-dyed yarns

My loom came today! My boys were both home sick from school, but they were well enough to help me figure out the warping process, and actually helped me quite a lot! One managed the yarn ball to be sure that there were no tangles, and the other used the hook to thread the heddle. I haven’t had much luck getting the older boy interested in any of my crafty pursuits, but he showed a genuine interest in weaving. I cannot express how happy that makes me!

My first project is well under way. It is definitely a first project. There are skipped threads and uneven selvedges, but that’s ok. This is how we learn- and honestly, I think it’s the wonder of discovering and pride of learning a new skill that motivates me more than anything in my crafty pursuits.

the beginning of my first handwoven cloth

It was a lot of money to invest in something that I had never done before, but somehow I just knew that I would love it. And I do. I’m so glad that I found this hardly-used loom!

I’m hoping that by the end of this project, I will have mastered some basic skills. I’m looking forward to taking this project off the loom, finishing it, and then being able to observe the progression of my abilities from beginning to end. I’ll wear it with pride; skipped threads, loose selvedges and all, because it represents the time I spent learning this new, wonderful craft.

On another note- my boys and I watched the inaguaration today. I was overcome with a wonderful sense of pride of my country and hope for our future. Good on us, America!