Sunday, November 25, 2007

6 hours of spinning and boy are my wings tired.

I have no idea where that came from except that I just got back from seeing the Bee Movie and all the flying jokes are still in my head.

I have spun for about 6 hours between yesterday and today.
I decided to start breaking into the Crown Mountain Farms stash before I have to give the Lendrum back (whimper whimper).
I followed Teyani's tutorial (more or less, I had a hard time finding really white parts) and started spinning yesterday afternoon while hubby took Princess B to a free movie.

(Can I just say I love our town. Yesterday, for the start of all things Christmas--there was a free Christmas movie, free hot chocolate and cookies everywhere we went, we saw Santa, played with toys, got gifts, visited the Festival of Trees (scroll down) to see my jacket, saw the parade and had a fun and tiring day)

(this seriously is the best picture we have of Aidan. This is the face that he makes all the time when he doesn't like something--he's got quite the scowl at times)

So I spun for about 1.5 hours in the afternoon and then hubby and I watched a movie last night.
(really good movie) and I spun the whole time.
Then I was up with little man at 6:30 and spun some more while the kids played happily until hubby got up for Church.

I have a full bobbin (the Lendrum bobbins are smaller than my Ashford jumbos) and so I think I will weigh it (to see how close I am to halfway) and then start again tonight.

This is "Brown Eyed Girl"
See how it stripes from a light section, to dark, light, dark etc.
Teyani dyes it like that on purpose--you spin it in dark,light on one bobbin and light,dark on the other so when it plies together the lights ply with the darks and so on--so you don't get sections that are light on light--cool huh??


I think I will back post and talk about what happened since Tuesday when I posted (Tuesday??, like I said, it's been busy)

But for now, hubby is gone, kids are in bed and I hear the wheel calling...

Friday, November 23, 2007

What have I been up to?

A lot and a little.

Hubby's scarf was totally frogged as when I got halfway through I realized it would only fit around one of the kids necks.
I started again with 26 stitches versus 30 with bigger needles and it seems much better.
It's still only half done--but then I kept swatching.
I swatched for a zeebee in some orange Malabrigo (Glazed Carrot) and the swatch is still sitting there.
I swatched some handspun for a hat for Princess B.


SO cute: Princess B pulls out some sock yarn and needles and says "can you teach me to knit socks this afternoon?" --for her little friend. I let her know that I can teach her to knit but socks are hard--but I could help her with some.

We had our first snow Thursday (I'm back posting this) and Princess B had her first sleep over
(surprisingly I was fine--it was a quiet evening with the boy and hubby).
Apparently the little Princesses did not go to sleep until 11:20pm and so a tired girl crashed hard the next afternoon:


and not to be outdone, her brother after his big nap decided to crash on the floor in the playroom (he did this himself, blanket and all)


I have finished half of some CJ Kopec roving (this one...drool worthy no??) but can't get a good picture since it's totally grey here all the time now.

So I have some swatches sitting, some roving sitting.
I just can't seem to finish anything. This weather is knocking me out--I'm so sleepy all the time--I crash on the couch early every night and have been getting lots of sleep but I think the lack of sunlight has already put me in a finishing funk.
Hubby was working lots last weekend and this weekend is our Pastor's last Sunday (can't talk about it for fear of crying all over the keyboard) --and full of other activities.

Let's see if I can actually get something done-shall we?

What I have actually completed is some dyeing for the shop:

Presenting:
WINE AND ROSES


IRISH


SUNNY (naturally dyed with Tumeric. Tumeric? Tumeric!)




and some Luck O' the Irish I completed for an amazing person who did a store ad for me (you can see it as the new banner at my shop also)



The dyeing is so fun. The winding of the yarn by hand off the cone?
But when you can look at pretty like this stuff--it makes it all worth it.

That's all for me folks.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Randomness

Why is it that you are always sick on the days your kids have off from school? Here I am with a wicked cold and Giraffe has the day off for Thanksgiving. I have the day off which is great, but I can hardly spend the day in bed and sleep as my body would like. Alas, it might be cuddle in bed with cartoons for the morning as Giraffe is extra tired from a mild cold himself.
It has been forever since I have posted I realized and I have to attribute that to much business- at the new job things are hectic and having only one work day this week didn't help. The laptop is downstairs and I plan to get a few hours of work in over the next few days- database entries and perhaps builing a new database.
Church is also very busy. I am a delegate (reserve) and we are up to our eyeballs in planning a retirement dinner for our Pastor and his wife who will retiring from full-time ministry in the Free Methodist Church. The dinner is just a couple of weeks away and I am feeling panicky it won't all get done. On top of that I am helping with the chidren's Christmas pagent. Luckily the pagent is in the hands of two capable people and I just have to help with the singing.
Finally there is Christmas. While I have been doing some shopping all along, I have not put the dent in the shopping I would have liked by this time of year.
In the midst of stress and strain, God finds so many ways to bring joy and wonder into my life. I have taken some photos of some of that joy:

3 boys + 1 evening = 3 Jedi knights



This is Giraffe with two of his very best friends in the world playing on Ladies night out. We ate icecream and watched a comedy, they played with light sabres and drove the one father crazy.









1 6year old + 1 marker = a lasting impression


I helped out friends by watching their 5 kids on Saturday while they moved. 5 of theirs plus the 2 year old uncle (long story), and 11 year old "helper" and Giraffe = 8 kids and a lot of fun. Other then the marker on the stairs, there was nothing broken, nothing spilt, no injuries and I was still sane when the parents arrived.

1 boy + 1 skein kroy sock yarn + happy feet


Giraffe picked out this yarn when we went to Mary Maxim in October it while I was a little sceptical about the colourway, it turned out cute, I did the best heel ever and he likes them, though is getting used to wool blend socks as oppossed to the cotton sport socks he normally wears.



So I am off to take a hot shower, drink some tea, cuddle with Giraffe and maybe get some knitting done. I am no ambitions for anything else today.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

I met a knitter!

I'm so excited.
There is a Mom's group that I have been going to off and on since Aidan was about 6 months old.
There is a girl I used to work with who invited me and it's a nice time for us to connect.
It's actually a Mom's Morning Out and I found out today it' been going at this Church for 40 years!!

So, sometimes Mom's bring little crafts to do while we chat--I have been knitting on my Jitterbug sock and today another Mom pulled out some dpns' and started knitting a sock.
I actually said out loud "Ooooh a Knitter!!!"--she didn't hear me.
Someone said her name and I realized that she is this knitter.
She has another pattern here.

I told her that I knew who she was and for some reason she knew that I had e-mailed her 2 years ago about her pattern and recognized the park that the sweater picture was taken.

too cool

I had a sushi lunch with friends, bought some Starbucks Christmas blend--little man is napping.
Princess B made herself a p/butter and jam sandwich for a snack (she did this while I was upstairs putting A to bed--and did a perfect job of it)

Quite the day.

I did some dyeing last night (4 skeins) and just learned of a new method which I want to try out tonight.
My yardage counter is not working and I ended up winding a 10 oz skein (how on earth I did that w/out noticing is beyond me).
So, I spent the rest of the night doing yardage math (ugh--math!) and winding on my niddy noddy TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY TIMES.
240 wraps on the niddy noddy times 3= sore carpal tunnel wrist.
It's the skein winding which takes away from the thrill of dyeing.
Someday maybe a skein winder is in my future--but maybe I can convince hubby to do some
You think???

Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Handspun Project...

I finished setting the twist on the BFL yarn (the yarn that "broke" the Lendrum)
I have some more roving to spin of it--but didn't dare spin the on Lendrum.


I think it's my most even, best spinning and plying yet.


I also cast on a new project.
Since the weather is getting colder and my family needs warm stuff-I figured I'd better get moving.
I took the singles of the Spunky Club October Fibre and cast on the Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf:



The extra energy in the singles plays with the pattern a little bit--but I like it:

(really dark pictures taken at 8:30am this morning before hubby stole the camera)

I will need to spin the rest of the fibre--but all in good time.

Princess B wants a hat and scarf and mitts that are "pink, just pink" but I've convinced her that some colour is nice.
I think I'm going to use my other Spunky Eclectic handspun:

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Wow it's Tuesday??

Can't believe that time flies like that when you are doin' nothin' and everything
Went to visit my MIL for the weekend in Ottawa.
The kids had been mildly ill with a stomach/virus thing--so they were a little whiney and Aidan is still not eating, but we had fun!

We went to the Museum of Nature (free that Saturday morning!!!) the kids had a blast and it was great except for the no elevators part. Carrying a 40 pound child up about 16 flights of stairs= not fun.

Digging for Dinosaur bones:


Aidan being a Polar Bear: (this was about the only time he smiled the whole weekend)


and another picture because this one makes me laugh so hard--his little face peeking up from under the "snow"



I worked on my Jitter bug sock which I don't' think I've touched since Thanksgiving.
My sock mojo is around somewhere, I'm just not sure where.

We went to the Parliament buildings and saw the cats.
(they have their own blog)

Ate a beaver-tale

It was a full experience.

I started plying the roving I bought from Sakina Needles on the Lendrum last night and then something happened.
First the drive band kept coming off and then the wheel started to wobble
Apparently the screw that holds the wheel to the stand keeps coming unscrewed.
I tightened it by hand but it kept coming off about every 3 minutes--which
a) makes me annoyed
b) makes me scared to use it.

Since the wheel belongs to the guild I"m not going to touch it until I get some advice.
It seem strange that the whole screw/bolt is loose and coming undone and the wheel is only a few months old...

My old/new wheel (the antique one) will be coming home this Saturday--she's all fixed and I will be taking another road tour and hopefully will see the Museum this time.

I have been doing some dyeing and hope to have some stuff for FibreFriday this week.
I've been experimenting with my new crockpot and so far have:

Crazy Days:


and
Blue Raspberry:


I have another one just finished and will still be able to do one more tonight..
I love it.

Hopefully some finished handspun tomorrow and another couple of rovings

Friday, November 09, 2007

Shop Update

















I've added these to the shop recently and have another one on the hook. This next one is quite vibrant so stayed tuned:

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Drive by

This is going to be a short one.

My day in pictures:
Fun

I co-hosted a morning show with my friend from 6am-9am with a few thousand listeners (like maybe 30,000)

Had to get up at o'dark thirty and crashed when I came home.
Napped and got up just in time for a play date.

Cute:


The Princesses

the Prince:


Hubby was gone all night and the play date turned into a sleepover.
Once the little Princesses were finally asleep I had some quiet time (there may have been chocolate involved)

Stripey:


This is some BFL from Sakina Needles being spun up on the Lendrum. I love the way it's striping--totally didn't notice until the end.

Happiness:

Sittin' Spinnin'

Sadness:

Hole in the handspun handknit socks that are only about 4 months old.


It's been a big day and I need some sleep to recover.
that and maybe some more chocolate.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

It's done it's done


The Baby Surprise Jacket is all done and handed in--it was a hit.
It was also a close one: I was spinning and knitting and spinning and knitting seaming and sewing buttons until the wee hours of the morning.
I'm happy with it, it was a fun learning experience.



(*whispers* i don't want to look at superwash merino for a long time.....i'm tired of it now and am ready to move on....ssssh)

Today was the Spinning Guild meeting and it was fun as usual. I missed last month, so It was nice to catch up.
We had a big group with a great show and tell.
I brought home some info about getting some rovings locally--which is exciting.

The biggest thing I brought home is this:

A Lendrum double treadle

I am renting the wheel for the next month and I'm so excited!
I did a little spinning on it at the guild meeting and some again after dinner tonight--it's dreamy.
It's so smooth--the double treadle is like walking on air.
Hubby is interested in looking at the design of it to see if he can make my wheel a d/treadle.

Oh, and my antique wheel is one! I got an e-mail last night that it's all fixed and ready to be picked up any time.

So, I'm off to do some spinning before an early bedtime.

I am getting up around 4:30am tomorrow as I'm going to be co-hosting a morning radio show from 6-9am....i'm excited about that too, but a little nervous...like maybe I'll say something dumb or my brain will blank and I won't be able to remember my name.

Anyways--I hope to have some yarny pictures to show from my time with the Lendrum.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Where have I been?

Let's see
I guess the question should be what have I been doing??
Knitting, spinning, dyeing, knitting, spinning, knitting
talking about spinning
wash rinse repeat

breaking my spinning wheel--well okay that was just today.

So since last week I have finished the 1st BSJ and have been feverishly working on the second--since it's due tomorrow.
Tomorrow is spinning guild day and tomorrow is the day it has to be finished.

But let's start with the happy news.

So Saturday I set off on my own for a little drive to meet Alvin Ramer--to see about getting my antique wheel fixed.
We had a chat and he took a look at the wheel--and after some head scratching and some "I don't knows'--he set about searching his workshop.
I was worried at first, because the flyer is not original to the wheel, it's a "left turn" which is hard to find--the wheel had been drilled into, the "thread" was broken and you can't get those anywhere. Barbara Anne (his wife) was optimistic--she encouraged him to keep trying, keep looking and think outside the box (I could have hugged her)

So she and I chatted while he tinkered around and I found out that the Spinning Wheel Museum--is at their house. I asked her how many wheels she had and she said "80".
She is a master spinner, she dyes with Indigo--I want to live at their house.
Alvin thought that he might find a part when he goes to Quebec in a few weeks, otherwise he might just make one...
It was a wonderful morning and I was quite optimistic when I left.

It was nice to be off by myself--haven't had that in a long time.
Had some coffee, looked around an antique shop--found the perfect lipstick for dirt cheap (I like new lipstick days, don't laugh--it makes me happy)
WHy is it all the cool songs play on the radio when you are having a happy day?

Here is me singing along to "Me and Bobby McGee".
(I'm a weirdo, I know it)

So that was the happy news...
now for the BSJ

I started this project weeks ago thinking I was all smart and being ahead of the game for once.
I haven't shown any pictures, because all I've been doing is feeding this project.
I knit and knit and knit and got halfway through and realized that I had run out of yarn.
(where the arrow is in the picture)

No problem--go to the backyard and get more flowers--dyed them before church--they were dry when I came home.
Children napping--mother spinning and spinning and spinning

and ran out of yarn again.
(Good thing I have 5 pounds of Superwash Merino sitting in my "yarn room" for dyeing)

NO more flowers, no more red leaves---okay spice cupboard.
Tumeric--oh pretty it will give me yellow.
Um, the yellow that I got is enough to sear the retinas from your eyes.

Seriously it's hideous and I"m not going to use it in this jacket for fear of making the baby cry.

So, some leftover more marigolds--gave me a light yellow.
I did some in a natural white and then decided to do some more coffee brown.

That's when it happened. This morning after taking little man to the park and playing for a while in the freezing cold--I was finishing plying the rest of the natural white--when the wheel broke.
Like I can't fix it broke.


I thought maybe that hubby could fix it when he gets home--so I pulled out the drop spindle and started plying the bobbins I had.
I've never plied on a drop spindle before--why am I starting now.

So, the saga continues and we shall see if this gets finished before tomorrow.

Do you think I can do it???

Friday, November 02, 2007

G.I Joe


Just a quick post to get some pics of Giraffe dressed up for Hallowe'en. He decided that he wanted to be G.I. Joe. Lately he has been into Army soldiers, the little green plastic ones. This costume was so easy and cheap. He already owned camo shorts and a tee-shirt so we put those on over pants and a long-sleeved shirt (I love the Hallowe'en falls on a warm night) grabbed a $1 rifle and $3 camo makeup. Hubbo used to be on the SWAT team and had better makeup and did a great job of putting on the face. I whipped up a crocheted hand grenade using camo yarn left over from a pair of leg warmers I knit for my niece's Christmas present last year.
I think Giraffe looked great this year and he enjoyed every aspect of Trick or Treating this year, including the scariest house on the street!
















Giraffe and Hubbo carved the pumpkin while I ran out and grabbed Garbage Plates for dinner.














One last thought before I run. I was listening to a sermon podcast from my church (you can find the sermons on itunes) and the Pastor read a verse that really struck me. It is Ephesian 2:10. I was familiar with 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, throught faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." But verse 10 never stuck like it did this morning: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." All that is good about me is not me, but God's creation of me. He did all the work, He is the Master Crafter designing and working each stich to make me what I am. Just as I knit a scarf, I alone can take credit for how it turns out and not the yarn itself. God alone deserves all the glory for what I am, who I am, and what I can do, not me. I am just the yarn, the clay, the fabric for Him to make a masterpiece. And God has good works for me, hand-picked for me to do. He can make wonderful things with my life when I allow Him to take over. It was an important message for me to hear this morning.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Halloweeny stuff

So I didn't find out until yesterday morning that the adults were planning some costumes.
..some Star Wars costumes.
Well, I thought about certain ones that I thought I could pull off but then Princess B won out.

Queen Amidala she was.
Little man doesn't really "do" costumes, so we dressed him all in green and said he was Yoda

Here's us:


Can you figure out who I am?
What about now:


or now

My sign says "Kick Me: Darth Vader is my Dad"
I'm Luke Skywalker

In other news
Baby Surprise Jacket is done.


I also received my October Spunky Club Shipment.
It's my archenemy Romney.
I'm hoping this time it will be better.
I saw all the dark colours and thought it might be nice for a scarf for hubby.
He saw that there was purple in it and is not so sure--but since I've seen pictures of finished yarn already--it might be okay.

I have started another BSJ, since it's due for the guild meeting next Wednesday. I spun up 4oz in total for this project but I've already figured out that I will need more yarn.
So, I will need to pick more leaves and things tonight, dye them and spin it to finish the knit for Wed.


In happier news, I am going off tomorrow to meet Alvin Ramer who is going to take a look at the antique wheel in hopes of having it fixed and bobbins made. I'm so excited.