Yarn Yearnings

Finished - and I'm liking it....

2009-05-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

I finished the bamboo/cotton bag I've been working on, and am really happy with the results. The yarn was some that I had dyed with acid dyes, but since you're not supposed to use those dyes on cotton (oh, well), most of it washed out. At first I was really upset, but the more I looked at it the more I liked it. It reminded me of sand, so I decided to make it into a summer bag, and put little tiny shells on it. Those little bumps aren't just bobbles, either , but teeny flowers that I made individually and sewed on. Yes, I know I'm nuts!

But I think it's going to be my next kit...

And in other news...

I took my baby sweater kit to a local yarn store, and she bought a bunch of them. This is one I made out of hand-dyed thick and thin wool, and when I couldn't find buttons that I liked for it, decided to make my own out of polymer clay. Each kit has buttons to coordinate with the yarn. She also asked that I put one together un-dyed, so I made dark brown buttons for it. When I brought that one in to the store, I was told that the knitting group that had met the night before had gone nuts for it. Whooooooo Hoooooooo!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! It's supposed to be gorgeous weather around here - maybe I can get more gardening done???!!!

Done for the Day...

2009-05-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

Finally - a beautiful, sunny, cool day to work outside. And boy, did I! I had started an herb garden outside of my shop/cabin last year, but with all the commotion of Michael's illness, I just couldn't get it done. The herbs came up like gangbusters, so I decided to finish it up today (with my daughter, Jessi's, help). I didn't want to plant the usual in the window boxes, so planted some herbs there, too. Here are some pics:

The side was all weeds, so we covered that all up with soil and wood chips, and then I did a quick hunt through the barn. I've had the tall birdhouse for years, and will put (maybe) some lights around it. The bench is one that's falling apart, but I just can't bare to get rid of it, so I leaned it up against the side wall, and will put some flower pots and plants on it. And the old school chair had been on the front porch, but I thought it finished everything up nicely. I'll do another barn search tomorrow and pull out some old watering cans and such, and see how they look.

But for now... I'm done! Gonna reward myself with pizza and beer - or maybe a margharita!! Think I've earned it....!!!

No Housecleaning Allowed

2009-05-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've been spinning... and knitting... and sewing... and NOT cleaning! So what? Won't be able to post pictues of my latest creation for a while, since it's a gift, but sure am thrilled with the way it turned out! I've made up lots of kits, for socks, baby sweaters, and soap holders, and have some really pretty dyed yarn that I'll be putting up for sale on etsy in the VERY near future. I'll keep you informed. If you live nearby, I plan on setting up my stuff at the Lebanon Farmer's Market this Saturday.

Also plan on starting a bag that I have in the back of my head (hope I can get it out of there). It'll be made of hand-dyed bamboo and cotton yarn in a lacey pattern. I want to make it soon, since I really need a summer bag :-)

Stay dry, everyone - the sun's sure to come out - sooner or later....

Busy Day!!!

2009-05-07T08:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was such a dreary day - again!! I needed to play with some color. Wound up dyeing 3 lbs. of sock yarn. Here's the result, drying in the living room... Hope it dries soon, so I can take it with me to the Lebanon Farmer's Market. I'm curious to see if there's any interest...

I actually saw the sun peeking out a few minutes ago! Hope it stays awhile!!

Have a great day, everyone!!

I'm baaackkkk....

2009-05-06T03:52:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Sorry for the delay, but I've been so busy, I haven't had any time to blog! I've spent the last several months trying to figure out what direction to take with my wool, and it looks like it'll be hand-dyeing and spinning for me. I'll be selling (on occassion) at the Lebanon Farmer's Market, and have some people interested all the way out in California! Yikes!

For those who didn't know - one of my babydoll sheep, Molly, had twins April 8th (my daughter's b'day). She presented me with a ram (Moses) and a ewe (Modesty). Both are healthy and adorable. I've also decided to get some shetland/gotland crosses. Their wool is to die for!! I have the first one (a black wether) coming in July, but I'm sure it'll grow from there...!

Here's a pic of the lambs at 1 week, along with mom, Molly and my other ewe, Addy:

I've also been really busy making up patterns for kits. This one is an all wool baby sweater made of hand-dyed thick and thin yarn. I couldn't find buttons I liked, so made my own out of polymer clay:

And here's one out of bamboo/cotton blend yarn:

Okay, enough for today - I've got to get my butt in gear and start dyeing some yarn!! Have a great day, and email if you want - I'd love to hear from you!

Pat

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and once again, we'll go next door to Ron and Irene's, and I'll route for the Yankees...! I really don't have a clue!! Hubby Michael will be starting to make his soup soon. He never ceases to amaze me - his soups are always delicious, no matter what he decides to dump in the pot! I'm really looking forward to spending time with our friends. We always have a wonderful time, and come home agreeing that we do, indeed, have the best neighbors in the world! And, no, it's not just because of Irene's world famous margaritas!!

I'm trying to decide what kind of hat I want to start next. Any input would be greatly appreciated - what's your favorite style? I'm thinking I'll try a felted cloche next... Half of my time is spent surfing the web for ideas and inspiration. It's very humbling, really, to see the amazing things other knitters are putting out there. I LOVE the freeform hats and bags, and have tried my hand, but somehow haven't yet been able to give up the pattern habit. I'm thinking that I need to try crochet again, although I'm not that great at it. It just seems to lend itself better to freeform. For the most part, though, I'm leaning towards combining my love of embroidery (can't see to do those fine reproduction samplers anymore) with my knitting. It's tough to be enthralled with all kinds of fiber arts...the attention deficit disorder comes out big time with all the ideas rolling around in my brain.

No pictures today. Daughter Jessi has managed to swipe my camera with the pics of new hats on it :-(

I hope everyone has a great day!! Stay warm and safe...

2009-01-31T08:52:00.000-08:00

The real estate business around here isn't so great, so I've decided to put my license on hold for now. I'm so excited to be starting out on a new venture! My dream since I learned how to knit at age 5 was to have sheep and go through the whole process of shearing, cleaning, spinning, dyeing, designing, and finally knitting a garment. I'm starting small (2 babydolls - and lambs on the way), but I've been having a wonderful time dyeing yarn, designing (mostly hats) and knitting. I've also now started offering knitting classes, and signed up for a farmer's market in the spring. What a change in perspective one gets when focused on creating instead of worrying about making money. I guess it's the old hippie in me... :-) ---- Thank God, she's still there!

Anywayyyy - I'm going to try to post some of my stuff. Hope you enjoy!!

Hand knit and embroidered hat Hand dyed thick and thin wool yarn

A busy day of dyeing yarn..... Felted bobble bag