Woolybuns

No, I'm Not Obsessed, Not At All, Nuh Uh

Bobble Hats.  They have indeed foofed my fancy.  I just finished my fourth one this morning.  This one is knit with Brooks Farm Yarn Four Play, using one strand this time.  I need to fiddle with fit to get the play between yarn and pattern more comfortabe but as is, it still works.  I think.  I will see when it's recipient tries it on.  I think perhaps one or two extra repeats around, make the K2P2 rib section a half inch longer and double the garter stitch band will bring fit more along the lines Beth devised.  I love this pattern!!!  And I love that each yarn stamps it's own personality onto the hat.  My own kniting skills still whup my gluteus maximi whenever there is distraction.  And after 8 pm.  Under those (and sadly any number of other) occasions,just pfffttt.  Gone.  Fortunately, stockinette and I are best friends under most circumstances so life is still good. 

Blizzard 2010

It's been a big storm.  Lots of slippery, lots of wind, lots of snow.  Cold.  I did some shoveling before light this morning in case the boy had to go to work (he didn't) but most of the snow clearing remains to be done.  I made adjustments to an errant tarp led astray by the wind so it slipped in it's duty to protect and shelter a couple bunnies.  Handed out water to the buns at earliest light this morning.  Let the dog out and marveled at her delight in racing the wind and chasing the snow.  But mostly, it doesn't feel like we had a blizzard.  Conditions were met.  Certainly there was strong enough and long enough wind and snow, and the driving - well, most of the state just didn't because there really was no visibility.  My clocks say we had power interruptions a couple times.  But over all?  Just another storm.   The view from my front porch.  Apparently, wind played a big role in where the snow is.  I'm sure the driver's side of my car has a big snowbank to work through, just like there was about a 16 inch depth of snow covering my sidewalks.  But the deck has bare spots, there is no snow holding the tarps to the top of the hutches and the trees out back are naked.  I haven't made it to the garage yet to see if I can coax the snowblower into another season.  The snow is already compacting under it's own weight.  I may see if I can flag down a snow plow.  Might need to bake a plate of brownies or something to help my cause.  :)  There is time to contemplate it all.  The wind is still blowing in big spurts.  Time for some more knitting, I think.

The WIP I Repeatedly FU But Finally Made It To FO

Another Bobble Hat.  I promised a photo and then gifted the hat apparently before I took a photo on a  styrofoam head.  The only photo I have of this latest Bobble Hat (lovelovelove this pattern!) is not on the head of the intended recipient.  I knit the hat for my daughter and yet it is her BF who models the hat.  Apparently I need to knit him a hat too.  He wears this one well, don'tcha think?  When I started the hat, I had yarn I love (Brooks Farm, 4 Play), pattern I love, colorway that didn't quite hit the mark.  So I wound the yarn into a center pull ball and knit with both ends, changing the colorway and doubling the size of the yarn, so I had to recalulate stitches.  Yep, English major so there were ... some challenges.  But it's done, it's squooshy soft, warm and cute.  I call that a success.  And just in time for a blizzard (if you believe the forecast).  I am by no means done knitting Bobble Hats.  Another one is well under way, at least another 3 planned.  Did I mention I love this pattern?  Even more so since discovering it works so well with my favorite purchased yarn. 

Part of the holiday this year included time with the granddogs.  Coupla cute, silly characters.  Amika likes  to lay sweetly at my feet, grin at me when I give her hands on lovin', and gut her Christmas present.  She is merciless when it comes to stuffies and they last about 5 minutes.  I hate to think what she'd do with a bunny since they are pretty much living stuffies.  I imagine they'd even squeak if squeezed.  Better to continue indulging Amika with an intended stuffie.  And then there is Murphy.  Sweet goofy wildly enthusiastic bundle of boisterous joy.  He likes to give hugs as well as get them, and never turns them into that obnoxious thing many dogs do.  He is an amazing pup finally maturing into a grown up boy who will hopefully never lose that boyish charm.  Amika was born grown up but she has her own specialness. I am lucky to have had a hand in both of their puppyhoods.  

 

Progress, But Not So Much With The Horse

I started a knit last week sometime, a project I really enjoyed even though we ... ummmm... had some disagreements.  No time outs for it but a few trips to the frog pond.  And to be fair to the knit, it was all my fault.  Inattention issues and knitting in pattern after my brain slips into stockinette only mode.  But the knit is now done.  I like it.  Can't show you until after Christmas.  A new knit is on the needles now.  I guess I'm taking a major break from Portuguese Fisherwoman's shawl but that will start up again soon.  I truly love that pattern.  How about a progress shot of that?  I love the swoop of this pattern!  She's getting a bit big to qualify as take along knitting, but I've been doing it anyway.  People seem intriqued with the incomprehensible knitting they see with PFS.  She sits draped across my lap (keeping me warm) with that swoop and people cannot figure out what I'm knitting.  I can feel eyes watching me while I knit at the coffee shop so I glance up and generally a conversation starts.  That doesn't happen as much when I'm knitting something people can figure out, like a hat or socks.  I know I've probably made mistakes in this shawl, in the wraps, but they don't stand up and shriek "you fool!" so they do not demand correction.  I like that in a pattern. 

Yesterday was a relatively warmer, easier weather day than we've had lately so off I went to see the mare.  I did not ride because CC is always a fruitloop when I haven't ridden lately, and slightly warmer weather following a lot of nippy days makes her more so.  I wanted to give her some free longe time in the ring, and planned follow up days with round pen then riding.  But in her frenzied frolic yesterday, she slipped, fell and slid on her right side.  Her right knee and right upper thigh took the hit.  Road rash type hit.  Probably not serious but certainly not comfortable.  And her knee swelled and is tender to touch so there could be more to it than just ouch but she wasn't limping.  I'll be checking on that a bit later this morning. 

For now, back to knitting. 

Fluff For Sale

Spin it, felt it, blend it, or just pet it, angora is a lovely bit of luxury.  If you are feeling the need for some of that luxury, I can help you out.  I generally have raw angora available, or at least ready to harvest off some full coated cuties like this one, my opal doe who clearly handles shearing quite comfortably by napping through it. 

Right now, I have raw angora in white and a few shades of gray, as well as an assortment of dyed angora.  Colors  currently available: aqua, sage, pale violet, red violet, blue, and orange, in one to four ounce lots.  Price for raw angora: $6 per ounce.  Price for dyed angora: $9 per ounce, plus shipping.  Carded into one ounce batts: $12 per ounce plus shipping. And a little goes a long way.

Available rovings:

Cormo, silk, and angora in shades of salmon, sunshine and green

$9 per ounce plus shipping, up to 38 ounces available in lots of 2 to 4 ounces.  20% discount for 2 pounds or more.

 

Cormo, angora in shades of blue, violet and green

$8 per ounce plus shipping, up to 28 ounces available in lots of 2 to 4 ounces.  20% discount for the entire 28 ounces.

 

Want some?  Email me. 

 

 

 

Ponder Me This

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance that little indestructible black box is?

 Can fat people go skinny-dipping?

 If a person with multiple personalities threatens suicide, is that considered a hostage situation?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?

So what's the speed of dark?

Since light travels faster than sound, is that why some people appear bright until you hear them speak?

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a Train stops On people's work desks, they have a work station...

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

If cannibals ate clowns, would they taste funny?

Oh Them Blues

They are just so hard to photograph. Particularly when you factor in my poor battered camera with the damaged lens.  So the photo of my skein doesn't even begin to show off it's pretty color facets.  I'm so darn tickled with this skein.   It's my own angora blended with a really nice raw cormo fleece I picked out at a fiber festival  in 2009.  I split that fleece into three lots, adding angora to each lot, silk to one lot, alpaca to another, dyed them all, and sent them off to Still River Mill for some really yummy rovings, exceptionally well processed.  This skein is the cormo angora blend, dyed sky blue, navy, and raspberry.  Look how the blue dominates!  In person, though, both raspberry and navy show up a lot more than in that photo.  I spun the single on my Norm Hall Saxony and the spin was quite simply the best I've ever experienced.  I've finally gotten to know the wheel enough to do her some justice.  Spinning the fiber as a single was like cuddling a sweet happy baby, just all smiles and pleasure.  It transformed into a raging teenager when I wound it into a center pull ball and we had some words during that time but I managed to hang on to my cool, and coaxed it with reason, so eventually we worked out the tangles and had a comfortable two ply spin.  I ended up transforming that 4 ounces of fiber into a bit more than 200 yards of I'm guessing a light worsted weight with a tweedy like blend of colors I love.  I think it's the best skein I've spun.  Considering how pathetic my spinning had become over the last few years, this skein is quite an accomplishment for me.  I have another 6 ounces of the fiber left and am wondering why I ever sold any of it.  I could happily spin a sweater's worth and look for more at the end of it.  I think it will all become a hat, cowl and mitts set for me before winter's end. 

Simple Silly Fun

I went to spinning guild yesterday, something I haven't done in waaay too long.  Guild time is generally pretty loaded with creativity, warm fuzzies of the social kind, and inspiration not to mention an assortment of yummies for the tummy, so it's a good place to go.   Yesterday's get together included our annual Yankee swap.  A good bit of silliness with some pretty nice gifts.  I ended up with some hand made note cards, kind of too cute to actually write in, ya know?  :)   I'd link but I don't know who made them, other than a friend of a guild member.  But if anyone is interested, I can find out. 

Also scheduled for the event was a silly hat contest.  I initially thought about knitting a hat but when Saturday arrived and I had one day to come up with a hat, I of course turned to wet felting instead of knitting or crocheting.  I haven't made a wet felt hat in years, don't know exactly where my hat block is, too much stuff in the way to dig for it, so I went the wing it way.  I'm happy to say winging it worked.  My new hat is a basic thing, decorated at the back with some dreadlock thingies.  The fiber is a wool angora blend, though I don't remember off hand which wool.  Possibly corrie or rambouillet.  The hat is still a bit too long so I will probably soak it again one of these days and work on shrinking it a bit more.  It served several purposes: first, of course, having an entry in the contest; second, a practice run for a hat promised to a friend; third, now I have a really warm barn hat; and fourth, perhaps most importantly, reminded me how much fun I have with wet felting in general, hats in particular.  I really need to play with hat making more.  So many fun things you can do with this art form.  Gets my giggle going. 

Oh, yeah.  The contest.  Ummm, I suppose you can say I "won."  Seems no one else remembered or wanted to participate, so my hat was the only entry.  And since I was donating the prize, the contest kind of fizzled.

Now a bit of a public service announcement: a bunny customer in New York state is being transferred to Austin, Texas and cannot take her two bunnies with her.   Both buns are bucks, over two years, but not more than 3 (I haven't been able to get to the records which tell me exactly which bunny boys we are talking about, hopefully the woman will either have pedigrees or remember who the parents are or my desktop computer will magically link up to its monitor to I can read the data).  Both are white rabbits.  Email me if you're interested.

Too Cold For Sitting

Temps kind of dived about 10 degrees yesterday, from a consistent and chilly daytime of mid-40s, down to the mid-thirties, which is no longer chilly, but downright cold.  Overnights are now mid-20s, which means frozen water bottles, so the bunnies now have their winter water cans.  And I sat inside shivering in spite of my hot cuppa tea and the heat on.  Only one thing to do: put on the hiking boots and hit the trail.  And that's what I did on Sunday. I met up with a large group of hikers for a couple hour stretch in a nearby state forest.  We split up into groups based on ability.  I wisely stuck with the social pace bunch  because we started out in the parking lot at the bottom of that large hill.  About an hour later, we were on top of that hill.  I clearly did not adjust my camera settings for full sunlight but you get the gist of things.  We strolled beside the railroad tracks for a little bit then veered off into the woods and headed up.  And up, up, up... huff huff gasp... I warmed up nicely.  Pretty soon we were all unzipping outer layers and swigging water.  Getting out on the trail in the cold is quite invigorating, and much more fun than hiking during bug and  sweat season.  Once we got past the serious up part of the trail and the path leveled out for a while, chatting started.  I'm intrigued with the folks on the social pace level.  One is an active asthmatic, another has an ankle that is fighting recovery from a nasty break a couple years ago, one a photographer who could easily join in with the moderate fast pace or advanced pace bunch, but I guess prefers his camera time.  And then there are those like me: not quite in shape for a serious hike but loving the brisk outdoors, views of waterfalls, sunlight sneaking through the trees, leaves crunching underfoot... and this gentle social pace is a good way to tone the muscles to move into a more serious hike.  Before an injury over the summer, I was able to hike a more rigorous path and the physical challenge coupled with amazing vistas is definitely calling.  A perfect complement to the sedentary knitting and spinning life.  

I Love A Good Adaptation

A Knitter's Night Before Christmas
~Author Unknown~

'Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren't hung by the chimney with care
'cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
but I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window, I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.

The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.
Out on my lawn, I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both dad and the boys.

And though I was tired,my brain was a bit thick,
I knew in a moment,it must be Saint Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplexed-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I had expected
"move, Ashford; move, Lopi; move, Addie and Clover
Move, Reynolds; move, Starmore; move, Fraylic--move over"
"Paton, don't circle round; stand in line.

Come now, you sheep wool work just fine!
I know this is hard semi, it's just your first year,
I'd hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer."
I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight woolly sheep on my lawn all a'grazing.

And then,in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa's feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned round, Saint Nick, I did meet.

He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe
And his clothes were handknit from above to below.
A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,
and his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace,
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.

The scarf round his neck could have stretched for a mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable,
And suddenly on one I spied a small label.
SC was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
and I asked "Hey Nick, did you knit all this stuff?"

He proudly replied "Ho-ho-ho, yes I did,
I learned how to knit when I was a kid."
He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself for I'd thought up a plan.

I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew he was tied to a chair.
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I'd laid my needles and yarn for a cap.

He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two;
For the first time I thought I'd really get through.
He put heels on the stockings and toes in some socks
While I sat back drinking Scotch on the rocks!!

So quickly like magic, his needles they flew,
That he was all finished by quarter to two.
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon
"Next year start your knitting sometime around June.

-Author Unknown