Woolybuns

Oops

A technical glitch of my own distraction fault means comments are not forwarding to me.  That should resolve soon since I took care of the issue this morning.  In the meantime, please forgive me if I have not answered you!  I have some catching up to do.

WIP Me Wednesday 4/29/09

Whew.  Riding lesson promptly at 7 am followed by a good brisk walk with the puppy.  I'm ready for some nice quiet knitting time.  And the primary object of my desire at the moment is Waterfall Rib Socks from Charlene Schurch's book Sensational Knitted Socks.  I'm playing with my new sock yarn, Abundance, in colorway Periwinx.  The yarn is a blend of merino, mohair, and angora to give your tootsies a bunderful dance of luxury, warmth, and sweet softness.  This pair of socks is my test of this yarn.  So far, I'm liking it!  So far, though, is only an inch and a half of cuff.  I'm now ready to start the leg lace.  Goal for next week: finish the leg, maybe the heel.  

Montana Tunic sadly is pretty much on hold.  I still have a lot of dyeing to do for NHSW, so just can't take the time for MT.  Sigh.

Ribby Blues Socks are FOs.  I finished them just in time for CTSW and all that heat.  I wore them  anyway.  They fit, but it's a loose fit, not surprising since I deliberately tried for a loose fit.  But.  Meh.  I like my snug fit better. 

I think my next project, whatever it will be, will not be blue. 

Yay! It's Fiber Season!

I guess folks took the weather forecast to heart on Saturday.  At CTSW, the crowd kinda swooped  in right at opening time, behaved sort of locust like with the anniversary t-shirts - gone in about an hour and a half.  It seemed like the crowd shopped strong until the heat kicked in as promised, then poof!  Gone.  And I confess, that's how I shopped.  I got to the fairgrounds at about 9:20, dropped off the bunny, table and other stuff I use for the bunny demo, then marched myself right over to the vendor whose fleeces I coveted.  Oh, baby yes!  I scored.  4 beautiful white fleeces, 3 of them lamb.  I did leave a few fleeces for others to drool over consider, cause the pocketbook does have a limit I'm nice that way.  What I didn't do was bring the  fleeces home.  I walked them straight over to Still River Mill's booth.  So far, the only plan for the fleeces is a bath.  I'll decide after NHSW what I want to do with them.

 I also picked up my latest fiber run from the mill.  Oh. Holy. Cow.  13  pounds of orgasm for the hand yummies.  I'm pleased with the result.  Three different blends, each a different colorway.  That 3 color ribbon roving is cormo and angora, I think about 60% cormo - have to check the records to be sure.  The colors aren't showing up quite accurately, especially the navy - you can only see a hint of it in the photo.  Next up is a delicious blend of soft: merino, alpaca, and angora all dyed in soft shades of blue and lilac.  The photo of this one really stinks.  The fiber does not.  I picked up the alpaca fleece last year at a gathering with Alpaca Kathy.  Her fleeces are as lovely as her smile.  This was the first time I've dyed alpaca and I thought I'd ruined it.  Like angora, it came out of the wash and spin just clinically depressed sad.  Well.  At least mine did.  Tangled, mangled and pathetic.  I worried, but clung to the hope that, like angora, it would fluff nicely once dry.  Ohthankyoujesus It did.  And last is my personal can I really sell it off favorite: cormo, angora and silk in a ribbon roving of peppermint.  Yes, it's girly.  Lots. of pink.  But the feel.  Ooo.  Imagine it spun fine and knit into a swirly cascading ruffle of fluff to loop and flirt around your neck.  Yes, some of this will definitely be staying with me.

Then I bought a t-shirt, and other than lunch, I spent not a cent more.  Poof Bear got nekkid in front of a crowd.  Well.  Actually half nekkid.  He wasn't all that inclined to cooperate upside down.  I don't blame him.  It was hot. So I clipped his back, sides, chest, and one hind leg, which covers pretty much all the hold techniques for safe clipping. I love the opportunity to demonstrate bunny grooming at CTSW.  Every year, a crowd gathers and they actually listen to me prattle on about bunny butts and gut stasis and other manner of yuck.  Bunnies gotta be some kind of cute to make people stay for all that.

The rest of the day I spent chatting.  Always so fun to turn around and there's another friend to squeal over reconnect with.  Meet the new babies. Find out who's pregnant. Flirt with a grizzled old bastard.  And I finally got to meet Gale Zucker.  Shear Spirit Gale.  A lovely book, a lovelier lady.  We've been trying to meet for a while now, but truly have opposite schedules.  I love her photography.  And I love fiber season!

I Think I'm Going To Have Fun Taking Pictures

Well, It's About Time For Some Cuteness, Don'tcha Think?

This little guy is one of Winnie and Bun Jovi's pointed white boys.  Not the color I was going for but I may succumb.   The goal in this breeding was to introduce the shaded gene (aka sable) into my herd.  Bun Jovi is smoke pearl, which is dilute sable.  The shaded babies in this litter may turn out to be smoke pearl - they certainly looked dilute at birth and for a while after.  Now they are more a charcoal grey with ticking, though that ticking is a typical stage sable babies go through.  It does go away.  I think they will be smoke pearl but I could be wrong.  Either way, they give me the genes I want.  I love how the kits just tumble on top of each other without any consequences.

Mom Winnie is in need of some brushing because the babies also like to tumble all over her, but there are consequences to that - for me, anyway.  The bunnies don't care.

WIP Me Wednesday 4-22-09

Yeah.  Progress.  snort.  I have knit some so that technically qualifies as progress.  It just hasn't been a lot of progress.  Puppy with digestive upset = not much sleep  = not much accomplished.  Yes, I was that tired.  I couldn't even muster the energy to knit a simple sock.  But Ribby Blues sock 2 now has a heel, turned even, with the gusset started.  Clearly I did not wear the socks in Maine.  I did manage to get to Maine but it was a quick one day trip, futon delivered, lunch with Mum and Sister, and lounging for an hour or so on a tiny little coastal cove beach,where Kiri practiced for her try out with the Olympic Clam Diggers team.  Kiri had a ball.  I had a nap. 

I hope to get Ribby Blues finished in the next day or so.  I played with dye pots a little yesterday, and there is a skein I want to get knittin' on.  Right now, that skein, affectionately known as periwinx, along with several others, is hanging out on the deck, catching the occasional ray of sunshine.  As soon as it's dry, I will reskein, get a photo, ball it and cast on. 

As for Montana Tunic - well.  No regress, but no progress either. And possibly going to stay in that situation, since I need periwinx sock 1 at least in time for NHSW.

CTSW Opportunities

The festival is coming up - only 3 more days.  Yes!  Feed the addiction Feel the fleece love.  Two things those of you planning to attend should note: 1) if you want free admission, you can volunteer in advance to work the fleece sale for an hour or two.  Let me know if you're interested and I'll put you in touch with the right person.  2) You can take part in the UN's International Year of Natural Fibres by knitting on the World's Longest Scarf.  I swiped the following info from CT Sheep Breeder's website - I think with permission (my apologies if that's not correct).

Be part of creating the World's Longest Scarf!

Knit/crochet an inch or more $10 an inch - all proceeds go to Heifer International. (Located in the Red Barn Fleece Sale Area) Festival visitors can: knit or crochet an inch or more, sponsor a volunteer or another festival visitor to knit or crochet, bring donations of already knitted scarf (and dollars raised), bring yarn from their "stashes" or purchase yarn from one of the festival vendors.

For more information and scarf directions, email Anne McIntyre-Lahner

I knit an inch at spinning guild earlier this month.  It's going to be quite the scarf, so join the fun if you can. 

The Universe Has a Quirky Sense of Humor

It giveth and taketh away.  I arrived at the barn Saturday morning, expecting to see CC and her riding trainer take their first ride.  Turns out someone somewhere broke an arm so the designated rider was sidetracked helping the friend with the broken arm.  So Kim was going to ride instead.  But first there was spring cleaning.  In a horse barn, that means faces, fetlocks and bridle paths to trim, bodies to shed out, and hair EVerywhere.   Christmas the pony took it well.  The other pony not so much.  Honey the young Appaloosa needed some persuasion so Lucy held up one forefoot while kim trimmed the other.  Honey cocked one hind foot but the job got  done while Honey balanced on two feet.  Once I progress in my riding on quiet safe Maggie, Honey is the horse I will take my lessons on until both CC and I are ready for each other.  All the trimming and prettying took until late morning, then Lucy and Kim gave riding lessons and worked a couple horses.  One of the horses in need of some out of stall time was Comanche. 

Comanche is Lucy's horse,a solidly built black and white Appaloose many times a show ring champion.  There is quite a bond between those two, built over many years.   He doesn't often get out to get rowdy and race around  bucking exuberantly as horses should.  Saturday he did and it was wonderful.  There is a reason he doesn't often let loose.  He developed uveitis at some point and it left him totally blind in both eyes.  For Comanche to run around and buck and be a horse, Lucy has to talk him through it.  She puts him on the longe line and talks to him constantly as he widens his circle of movement, getting comfortable, and trusting Lucy to keep him safe.    To see the older fella cavort and kick it out in the sun - well.  It does the heart good.

We broke for lunch, then Kim dragged the ring, preparing the surface for CC's first ride there.  While it looks like a simple fun thing, it is time consuming.  First, we had to empty the ring of cavalettis and jump standards.  Then to do it right, Kim made multiple careful passes around the outer circumference where the sand bunches.  Once that's all carefully evened out without crashing into the fence line, the ride gets more fun.  In the meantime, Lucy gave in to the exhaustion of battling the virus she's been more or less ignoring all week.  Just as Lucy is Comanche's eyes, she is director of all of CC's training, so we put off the first ride.  But.  It was a great day at the barn. And CC happily took it all in from her stall.

Not Quite How I Intended To Introduce Kiri

So here I sit on the couch instead of in the car on my way to Maine as scheduled.  Seems the newest member of my household found something disagreeable out in the back yard and gobbled it anyway.   Oh, crap.  Literally, for two days now.  And more importantly, two nights, every couple hours.  At ten weeks old, she's got shriek to wake the dead down pat.   Since she's so active and playful and happy other than when she Really. Needs. Out. I'm pretty sure she's not sick, just ate something she shouldn't have.  but travel is not a good idea today. 

Kiri is a standard poodle who's favorite spot to sleep is in the crook of my crossed feet.  Apparently, I cannot live without a dog, at least not through the emotional tornado that has been life for a couple years.  At least this time, though, I made a sensible choice: highly trainable, non-shedding, all around cheerful and sane, big enough to see but small enough to not threaten frail elderly relatives.  And her breeder lives only 15 minutes away and is quite happy to take care of her when I travel where Kiri can't go (fiber festivals - I toyed with the idea of a border collie to train for sheepdog trials so my dog could go with me, but seriously.  I may have strong border collie traits, but I don't have the activity level that type of dog needs).  And the most sensible thing of all: I got just one. 

Funny though, this not making the trip to Main today.  Lucy, CC's trainer, hopes to put a rider on CC today and I had expressed my interest in being there for that momentous occasion, hoping she'd hold off until I got back.  But Lucy is determined and not easily dissuaded (yes, I know, I could say "she's my horse, don't put a rider on her until I'm there" but I'm paying good money for Lucy's expertise - does it make any sense to derail her train?).  And weather and opportunity and probably the line up of the stars and good karma also dictate that today makes sense.  It feels a bit like the universe saying yes, your horse needs you so if you don't have the good sense to stay, then we have to force it on you.  Heh. 

WIP Me Wednesday 4/15/09

Not much knitting happened here over the last week.  I did get Ribby Blues sock 2 cast on and knit to only 7 rounds shy of starting the heel flap.  No photo cause ya know - not enough for quality interest.  I also started another mindless rib sock for leave in the car knitting, with about an inch knit on sock 1.  No photo cause that WIP is in the car, and frankly, with just an inch knit, it doesn't look like much.  And the only touch Montana Tunic got this week was to move it off the couch so family could park themselves there instead.  My knitting goals for next week: finish Ribby Blues sock 2 and wear those puppies this weekend in Maine (a quick trip to deliver a futon from one relative who has no space for it to another who has no furniture).  Once Ribby Blues socks are done, Montana Tunic becomes my focus.  My hope was to wear it at NHSW but realistically?  Yeah.  Three weeks and I've only knit half the front.  Maybe, she says doubtfully.

The reason there's been so little knitting this week: NHSW approaches and that means fiber prep for my booth.  I've been playing with the dye pots.  I washed about 10 pounds of assorted fibers, including angora (duh), merino, cormo, alpaca, and silk.  Most of that I also dyed.  And fluffed by hand to speed drying time.  Hard to call that process work when it looks and feels so delicious.  Some of the fibers look so sad as they sit there drying, don't they?  But, rest assured, with the magic of carding, all of it will be yummy roving for sale in the booth.  Next up for the dye pots: some yarns for NHSW.