I enjoyed watching this video about traditional ways to process wool and other fiber.
This past week I engaged in a lot of crafts; spinning, crochet and knitting! I’ll be sure to post some of my ‘works in progress’ along with the ones that I have actually completed within the next few weeks.
Yesterday evening, I started crocheting a last minute birthday gift for my daughter. It’s right around the corner. See! It’s a crocheted bath puff. Now that I think about it, I haven’t crocheted anything in a few years.
I still have a few more rounds to do, and since I do have time, this will be completed some time today. This morning, before taking my daughter to school, I took the following pictures.
Here’s what has been happening outside. Say hello to Eclipse, the outdoor cat. He’s super friendly, so I would not consider him feral and we feed him so he hangs outside our place.
Here’s a view of our garden.
It’s too big to include it all in this shot, but you get the idea, right?
And here’s a snapshot of some of the irises.
..and one of the woodpiles. It’s been so chilly here, we’ve been using our woodstove… in May! Brr
Here’s Mr. Bentley, the old man. He’s 10 years old. He’s super sweet and just likes to hang out and rest. He sounds the “bark alarm” when there are strangers coming in the driveway, wind is too threatening, people talking or or whatever… 😜 He’s an equal opportunity barker!
Last but not least, here’s our newest, Bella!
She’s a Bichon Poo and she only knows one speed… and that’s fast! Even though I was only outside a few moments with Mr. B, this was how she greeted me. She always does that. She is my shadow.
On my short list of items to make, I’ve decided to create a machine sewn tote bag.
Earlier today, I saw this challenge posted on a Facebook weaving forum. It sounds like a plan to me and I decided to add a twist by using some of my handspun yarn. There’s something completely satisfying to me about doing most of the process. The only thing left for me to try is shearing the sheep… and of course having some of my own. Perhaps someday.
It’s been very busy around here with gardening, a new fence going up around the garden, moving woodpiles, seeing snakes (garter and black snake) that are wonderful for culling the rodent population and a minor injury on my part… ouch! It happened when I was lifting wood. Well, that was a log and I attempted to just lift the top part and move it. It easily weighed over two hundred pounds. Well, I felt a tear. Thankfully, it will heal on its own. I would have been fine, but I forgot to lift with my legs and that caused the issue. Lesson learned, a bit too late. My “injury” didn’t stop me from cutting about an acre of our grass on Wednesday.
I’m hoping that I can start getting back into the virtual world of writing and visiting very soon. I hope all is well in your world. Wishing you all a fabulous Friday!
I finally can say that I’ve experienced the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. It’s located at the Howard County Fairgrounds, which is about 15 minutes away from where my boyfriend lives.
Yesterday, he took my daughter and I to the event. We all had a wonderful time. I must say that I was good and only walked away with one purchase… 1/2 pound of Cormo roving. Cormo is a cross between Corriedale Sheep and super fine Merino ewe. The fiber that the Cormo sheep produces is next to skin soft, but it’s not as soft as the Merino that I’ve purchased, which is 15.5 microns.
This evening, I pulled some of the fiber out of the bag and spun with it. It spins a bit different than some of the other fibers that I’ve spun, but I like it still and look forward to spinning (and hopefully dyeing) more of this fiber. I took a lot of pictures; however, the rest will be posted another day. 😉
This past Wednesday, I dyed some merino comb top roving. It’s 15.5 microns and is incredibly soft.
I dyed the fiber in my crockpot. I used Wilton’s icing color. This isn’t the greatest picture, but that’s how it looked when I submerged the fiber in the hot liquid…. murky. I wasn’t liking the color then, but I knew it would change after I took it out of the crockpot. I let the fiber set in the crockpot overnight and the next morning I took it out. I removed the excess water by gently wrapping the fiber in a bathtowel. Since it was raining outside, I could not hang it on the clothesline and so I hung it inside to dry. It was chilly here, so the woodstove was on, providing added heat to the room.
Guess what? I really love this color.
My only regret is that I did not dye more. However, I’ll spin this into a fingering weight yarn and use it for a small project.
I’m still spinning the bobbin of fingering weight handspun yarn… see? I’m hoping to finish it this weekend! We’ll see. My brother, sister-in-law and nephew will be in town.
Because yesterday was a cold day, I decided to make a tiny surprise for my daughter… pizza! The dough was prepped in the morning, which gave it plenty of time to rise.
This is what it looked like, right before I slid it in the oven. This is a half and half pizza; half is sausage and the other half is vegetables.
The herbs and spices were freshly ground in my 15 pound granite mortar and pestle. The ‘pizza sauce’ had been simmering for a few hours, to really add a full body flavor… and the crust was lightly seasoned with herbs. Not too much, since I did not want to overpower the pizza. After returning from picking my daughter up from school, she was welcomed with the delightful smell of a freshly made pizza!