Wool Is Wonderful

Back Again...

2011-12-13T03:24:00.001-08:00

I haven't blogged for a very long time! I need to change things a bit, but am glad to still have my old posts handy.
I have been knitting more lately after taking a break for a couple years. There were many life changes and I had to get back into it. :)

3 and a half years later.....

2011-05-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile. My other website blog disappeared in 2007 and I just didn't feel up to writing.
Lots has happened, guess I need to clean up that sidebar. The main change is my husband and I dedicating our lives to serving God. Further updates yet to come. :)

Time To Dust This Off...

2008-01-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I blogged. Last summer my .com supported knitting blog died and I didn't have the energy to start over. Things are a little more in order now and I'm getting knitting fever again. :)
Hopefully I'll have pics of Wips soon and have more going on ravelry.
Take care all!

I'm Moving!

2006-04-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end right?
Ok so it's not really ending as I moved the archives to my new blog. :-)
I'll be posting here from now on.
I still need to fix up my sidebar and get my webrings updated, tweak the template, and back up all my pictures before they go *poof*.
The link gives away the fact that I have my own domain now,(Woohoo!) but I still need to spruce that up too. I haven't programmed any pages myself yet, just used a very limited wysiwyg editor. The sheep haven't been very cooperative in their recent photo sessions either. Oh well, it'll be pinker and more liz-ish & sheep-ish soon.

Anyway, please stop by! :-)

Day 5 And I'm Still Alive!

2006-04-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

Meaning I could about die from the cuteness! :-)
Sunny & Klaus have been enjoying romping around the pasture and nibbling on the grass. I was too paranoid about the milk, I talked to Steve and he let me know that the lambs were likely getting their share. It's nice to get sleep again!

This morning Sunny pushed Klaus into the feed trough, she's already picking on her little brother.

One Day Old Pics :-)

2006-04-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

Klaus is very sweet. His wool is not as crimpy as his big sister's.
It's almost like very soft thick kitty fur. He's not getting as much milk as Sunny so he gets a bottle every 4 hours. Fricka's very short and her milk bag hangs in such a way that her teats kind of point into her legs. It's awkward for the lambs to get a hold of her properly.

Sunny is very aggressive with her mom's teats and seems to be getting enough milk. I let her take the last few sips off of her little brother's bottle though so she doesn't feel left out. Her little spotted ears are so cute. I can't wait to see how their wool coloring turns out, if it will lighten much as they age.
I'm incredibly tired! It's like having another couple of babies around. They don't need me as much of course but I worry nearly like I do for a child.
We're going to go to Easter dinner tomorrow as usual and I'll probably be freaking out the whole time. :-)

It's a Girl...And a Boy!!!!!!

2006-04-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

This is little Sunny, born a little after 7 p.m. tonight.

This is little Klaus, second born and looks alot like his daddy.

Sunny and Klaus a few hours old.

Could they be any cuter? :-)

I need to figure some stuff out.

2006-04-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

I've decided not to renew my picture hosting account. Since I obviously love pictures, I might not be blogging as much. I'll still be here, just have to rework things a little and figure out if I'm going to use a different host. Sorry about little red xs where my normally poorly taken pictures would be. :-)
If I'm still host-less when the lambs come I'll email pics to anyone who wants a peek!
I might decide to go with my own domain, I'm not sure though. I might wait until I actually have wool to share.
Fricka is doing well, even though she's about to burst! I'm so glad it's not me waddling around pregnant. I seriously need to mark rams at breeding time so I have some clue as to when lambing will begin! The rate I'm going no one will believe me when the lamb does come. :-)

F is for....Flash Your Stash!!!

2006-04-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

This is about 95% of my yarn, quickly and inartistically piled for this pic.
Anne and I were busy today admiring the stash at Yellow Dog Knitting!

This is such a cool little shop, located in beautiful Eau Claire, WI.

We were greeted by happy faces and were soon overwhelmed by the fibery goodness at hand.

I was practically bouncing it was so exciting.
Did I mention this was my first visit to a real yarn shop? :-)

I would love to be able to attend some of the many classes they offer.
These girls knew the best way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Here's a teaser flash of what we bought peeking out of the bags.
I picked up a few things for Callisto's birthday as well as my Knitty SP so most of the goods are top secret!
Wool truly is wonderful, but I think the shop itself is why I had such a great time today. Yellow Dog Knitting has such a warm, comfortable atmosphere. It was the most fun I've ever had shopping!!

E Is For ER

2006-04-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

Late, I know, but here's my "E" pic. I love my ER DVDs.
Enoch would have been first choice but he's been naughty lately, jumping out of pens and such.

Saoirse's Kaftan

2006-03-28T18:43:00.000-08:00

I finally finished it!
This was knit with some cool pink cotton that my pal Sarah sent last fall. The pattern is from the Debbie Bliss Special Knits book. Saoirse didn't like it at first but once we got outside she decided it was wearable. :-)

Thank You SP!

2006-03-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

No lambs yet but I just got a nice spring surprise.
The latest package from my pal arrived with four balls of gorgeous yarn, chocolate tea, Cadbury eggs, gel pens, a glitter notebook, and pretty butterfly stickers.
I cast on for a little poncho already with one of the balls of Sirdar Super Nova. The colors are really cool and I love that it's machine washable. The girls have been wearing their knitted items alot. I've been having to wash them often. :-)

Snow Kitty!

2006-03-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

Since the snow's melting so fast we decided to go with a quick classic.
Sapphire and I built a kitty like this in 2000. It went faster this time, a few hours of building over two days.

While we were building a few neighbors came by on a ride.

I love the spring weather! :-)

No Lambs Yet!

2006-03-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

Plenty of snow though. The girls call this their Army Fort. I don't like snowball throwing but don't mind them building the forts. I've been meaning to build something cool with them, like the giant turtle of '02. I think we'll have enough white stuff to work something out.
Did I mention no lambs yet? Aaaarrggh. I shouldn't be frustrated, I should just mellow out and let the ewes do their thing. I don't like not knowing when the babies are coming!!
I was asked what I'll knit first with the wool from our first shearing. Being the weirdo that I am I spun up 230 yards of Fricka's wool to knit a little jumper for her baby.

I was worried about getting this done before lambing time so I started sewing the right rear leg on before the body was dry from blocking. Bad Idea.
It won't go back into shape. Instead of re-stitching the leg on or some other intelligent repair method I'm going to leave it be. I doubt Fricka or her baby will complain about the wonkiness. It's silly for me to stress out over it. The little darling is going to be romping and rolling in the jumper, muddying it up. She won't need it as Shetlands have excellent mothering ability and Fricka will have that baby fed and warm in no time.
I read most of All Flesh is Grass today and the author shared this traditional folktale that hit home:

Once upon a time, an ambitious young man decided that he wanted to make money raising sheep even though he didn't know much about them. Being a practical man, he asked the sheep. After all, who would know better than a sheep how sheep should be raised. "Simple, really," the old leader ewe of the flock told him. "All we need is a bite of grass, a sip of water, and a pinch of salt." As long as the new shepherd followed the sheep's advice, things went well for him. He even made a little money. But if the sheep were content, the man was not. He asked them again: "Are you sure you don't want something more, a barn perhaps to sleep in, better kinds of grass, some grain, a little protection against wolves?" To which the sheep assured him again that all they needed was a bite of grass, a sip of water, and a pinch of salt. But their master would not listen. He drove himself into a frenzy of debt and stress to provide his sheep with all the things that he was sure they needed, meanwhile complaining that sheep were costing him money. The sheep responded only by reminding him once more that all they needed was a bite of grass, a sip of water, and a pinch of salt. At long last, broke and tired, the man understood: he himself had been the cause of his problems, not the sheep. "Sheep don't need much, it is true," he admitted. "Most of what I've done is for me."

False Alarm! (But thank goodness!)

2006-03-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently I got excited a little too soon. According to all of my sheep info Fricka should have had a baby by now. She's at about day 151 of a 145-147 day gestation period and looks like she could give birth any second.
I would be bummed out but we just had a ferocious storm. The snow total (2 feet) wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the wind. The plows couldn't get out for a day, the power kept going out, and the drifts were massive. I had the sheep in the barn and found them dealing with 10 inch high drifts. This was in a closed barn. There are gaps a few inches high between the bottom boards and tons of snow blew in. It covered the entire corner pen, half of the second pen, and a large section of the ground on the North side. Fricka would have had a hard time finding a comfortable spot for her lamb.
On top of that, everyone except my husband has been sick. I've been so fatigued and have found it hard to do the barn work. So it's probably a good thing the lambs are waiting a few extra days to make their debut.
Is it spring yet?? :-)

I might be sleeping in the barn tonight!

2006-03-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

Fair Warning: The following may contain TMI for some.
That being said, Fricka's baby is coming!!
Yesterday she showed no signs of impending labor. This morning I noticed the distinct triangular hollow in front of her hips that indicates the lamb has dropped. She ate about half her normal amount of grain and has been nibbling at her sides. The last time I checked on her, about 15 minutes ago, her backside looked a tiny bit more swollen. She has a small amount of mucous leaking. She still appears comfortable even though I think I'm seeing contractions. She's on her feet and interacting with the other sheep.
I'm so excited!!!!
Back to the barn...

2006 Shetland

2006-03-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

I got 5 different colors from the 3 sheep. :-)
From left to right we have:
Enoch - Most of his fleece is pretty vm laden and matted this year. His good stuff has a nice crimp and spins up to a gorgeous black.
Freya - First is her long wool which covers most of her body. This is a lovely golden brown mixed with taupe and has a nice luster. Next is her much darker fine wool from her neck and close to her belly.
Fricka - First her long wool, very dark brown with some light fibers. Next is her fine wool. It's very dark and came from along her spine, her neck, and near her belly.

The yarns are all hand carded and spindle spun, only one rolag of each different wool type. The pic shows the actual yarn size.
These will never be knit, I'm going to save them in my sheep records.
I love having yarn from my own animals! :-)

Almost Done!

2006-02-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

I have nearly all of the wool washed. This is 25% of Freya's wool on the right with the Blueface Leicester & black lambswool.
The little cutie is Callisto knitting her first scarf from some of my early thick handspun.

The wheel from Sue is a Saxony type that needs replacement parts and much care/clean-up. Callisto has been spinning the wheel and pretending she's riding in a wagon. I'm a little bummed that I couldn't monkey around and try to spin something right away. Dean says that he'll fix it up for me soon, sweet man. I have to start somewhere, right? :-)

D Is For Diary.

2006-02-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

This is one of the few items I would be mindful enough to rescue in the event of a fire.
For one full year my husband's grandfather, William Seth Lincoln, recorded his daily life. The year was 1971 and my husband would not be born for 2 years.
William was born Sept. 16 1884 and passed away shortly after my husband was born. He is believed to be a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln's Uncle Mordecai.
In 1971 William and his wife Nora were living in this house, with my husband's father and his family in a smaller house across the driveway. (What we now call the Little House.)
William wrote of everyday occurrences too numerous to mention; as well as 2 moon landings, corresponding with ex-president Truman, and the pain and shock of finding his wife passed away 6 days after her 80th birthday.
He wrote every day that year, whether it was a grief stricken day or a day of joy. I am so glad to have this tangible record of his life here 35 years ago; not typed or on a computer disk but written by his own hand in the same space I am writing this post. I sleep in the house he built, work his land, admire his trees, and watch his great-grandchildren play in the same fields as his children.
Part of his entry for this day; Feb. 28, 1971.
"Light wind, 10 degrees, nearly clear with a very high and light overcast. Bright and clear 10 a.m. 22 degrees."
I took these pics this morning at 10 a.m.

It's hard to accurately convey with a blog post what having this diary means to our family. I hope that William is proud of us and approves of our decision to dwell here and care for his land. He's one of the first people I look forward to speaking with in Heaven.

I Have Wonderful Neighbors!

2006-02-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

I just got a call from my neighbor, Sue. She and her husband were at an auction and spied a spinning wheel with lots of extras thrown in the lot.
They bought it for me and are bringing everything over tonight!

I'm so excited and it's perfect timing as I have Fricka's fleece all washed up and drying. I've never spun on a wheel before, let alone try to figure out all the little doodads and set it up. Thank goodness for the internet!

Shearing Day!

2006-02-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

Don't we look cute with our new haircuts?
Today was pretty interesting.
Steve started with trimming Fricka's hooves.

She was very calm when he began shearing.

Here she is about halfway done.

Almost done. Doesn't she look tiny?

Freya's experience was nearly identical, although her hooves were in better shape.
Enoch was last, he had lots of attitude and put up an impressive fight. He looks pretty mellow here getting his nails done.

I didn't get a pic of his 8 pound fleece inside yet but here are the girls'.
Freya's - about 5 pounds.

Fricka's - about 3 pounds.

Close up of Fricka's curls.

I was gifted with some Navajo Churro, Bluface Leicester, and incredible black lambswool fleeces that I can't remember the breed of. Those will be very fun to work with.
Here's the Blueface, I've never seen such crimp.

Steve said the sheep look to be in perfect health and to keep doing what we're doing. On the lambing front Fricka is further along than Freya and looks as though she'll lamb in march. I got to feel her baby (yes, I call it a baby and not a lamb!) and can't believe she has a little one in her own tiny body. She must have been easier for Enoch to catch than Freya at breeding time. I'll have to watch and wait and see when Freya will likely lamb. I talked to Dean about using a breeding harness next year and he thinks I'm nuts, that we should just let them do their thing. I really want to know though who gets pregnant when.
I gave Steve the Olympic Mittens for his wife and they were very well received. I decided to leave them as is and not to decorate the tops of cuffs. I'm glad I finished my KO project in time and am a little sad that the Olympics are over. I hope to make it to Vancouver in 2010.
Enough babbling, here's one more pic of my shivery girls.

Cocktail Mermaid Bag

2006-02-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

While waiting for my Olympic yarns to dry I finished up this little bag.
It's knit from the Cocktail Monkey Bag pattern @ Knitty.com. The supplies were gifted to me by my first secret pal Sadie.
I have a small stash of cute quilt fabric so had lots to choose from for the lining. I have more pink than anything but this minty green cried out to me.

The mermaids looked kind of funny hanging below the trim so I tucked each of their arms into a bind-off stitch. They help keep the handles upright, I like that. :-)

This was fun to complete once I got past the rough hemp knitting. Anna wants her own with blue trim, I need to give my fingers a rest first.

Mitten Progress

2006-02-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

I ran into a few problems during the knitting phase. I spun up all I had of the Shaela Shetland fleece and came up about an ounce short. I looked through my other wool and though I had another similarly colored fleece it is of the primitive coat type, having the soft undercoat and guard hairs. I tried working with that and spinning it up and didn't have any fun. I decided to spin an entirely different yarn. I looked at my Jacob wool but it didn't seem right anymore & the white Columbia from Schrocks' would get dirty too easily. I settled on a 60/40 wool/mohair blend I've had for ages. It's hand-dyed in a colorway called Blue Lagoon. To make the mitts match I ripped out the cuff of mitten #1 to have enough yarn to complete mitten #2. It was tricky to get all the right stitches on a holder first as the yarn is thick & thin and slightly slubby.
I spliced in the Blue Lagoon yarn and knit down 20 rows on each mitten. I ended up with these ginormous specimens, nearly 18 inches tall.

After about 18 minutes of felting they look like this.

Much smaller, much less muppet like.
I'm going to have to shave the insides, the bottoms have a cool furry thing going on. I like it on the outside but when I put my hand in feeling the hair creeps me out.

Reminds me of fish. Fish aren't fuzzy though so I need to come up with something else. I had wanted to put a cool design on the hands in duplicate stitch. I tried but it looked pretty bad with the variety in stitch texture. When they're dry I may embroider the design. The Olympics aren't over yet so I still have tinkering time but I'd really like to have these done for when Steve comes to shear on Sunday morning.

Olympic Yarn

2006-02-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Here's the first hank of yarn for my Knitting Olympics project.
Now for a slew of adjectives: it's 2.5 ounces of hand-carded spindle-spun heavy worsted 2-ply woolen natural shaela shetland. I used my homemade mini cd spindle and it worked well.
I cast on for Spinderella's Felted Mittens using size 11s and mitten the 1st looks good so far.

Knitting With Beads is Cool!

2006-02-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

I received an amazing package on Valentine's Day from my SP.
In the box I found all of the supplies to knit MaryElla. This is my first beaded knitting project. I like working with the little beads and teeny size 0000 needles. I'm glad to have begun the knitting, I spent hours last night just stringing the beads onto the cotton! I hope this is how the beginning is supposed to look.

My girls were very excited to see the Barbie Fairytopia Valentines as well as the heart shaped lollipops that seem to have disappeared. They were sweet enough to share some with the other little girls over for 4H last night. I hid the truffles but the baby found them & conned me out of one. :-)
That lovely wool roving is begging to be spun! I've been pawing at it frequently.

My favorite item by far is the beautiful wool headband she knit.
The colors are amazing, it's very warm, and it's perfect to wear when I'm working outside. She's a thoughtful gal, my pal. :-)

Love it or hate it?

2006-02-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

After all the chatter regarding Marmite on the Knittyboard I decided to try some. My friend Jane was kind enough to send me a jar along with assorted goodies in exchange for a few hanks of my handspun.

I convinced DD#1 to try some with me. She opted for a wee mite on a spoon while I went all out and spread some on lightly buttered toast.
My apologies to my parents & Steve and Mary for the forthcoming foul language.

OMFG!!!! This is the nastiest, foulest, vilest product ever concocted for human consumption. This stuff is worse than that crushed up Cipro I tasted when I had the wonderful idea to smash the huge pills I had trouble swallowing.
DD & I agree, Marmite is halitosis in a jar.
I don't even want to look at the jar but I'm going to keep it around as an alternative to soap in the mouth when the kids swear.

C is for Card.

2006-02-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

I'll be using my delightful Howard Hand Cards often in the next week or so.
I need to prepare several ounces of Shetland wool to spin up for Steve's mittens, my Knitting Olympics project. I'll be covered in vegetable matter for the opening ceremonies. :-)
I haven't figured out which pattern I'll be using or whether I should make up my own. I'm debating whether to knit them flat or in the round. The original mitts aren't knitted but felted flat, cut, & stitched together with handspun around the edges. I'd like to knit the new ones as traditional mittens, but the rustic look of the originals is pretty cool.

I have a few weeks to figure it out. :-)

No Lambs + Approaching Olympics = FO

2006-02-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

This is Joanne's second Go With The Flow Sock. The yarn was great, the pattern was fun, but as usual it took me a little while to complete this pair. I got on it this week though as I'm trying to finish up as many lingering projects I can before the Knitting Olympics. I'm spinning up some Alpaca too & need to finish that before I start on the mitten wool. Back to the socks, I really do like the stitch pattern and will probably knit some for myself or my mom sometime.
No, no lambs yet. I was joking with my husband that I'll probably end up sending out birth announcements on the big day. Maybe. :-)
I've been meaning to knit toys & doll clothes for awhile. I'd planned on starting some Knitted Babes by now but haven't had the time/yarn. Soon.
Meanwhile, today Sapphire bought a new Barbie outfit.

Now her Christie has the cutest caramel shrug that I had to steal for a little while. The color reminds me of Freya's wool.
Maybe I'll knit some Barbie stuff too, eventually. :-)

Whoa!!

2006-01-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

Today I got an email from Steve's wife letting me know that they had lambs born this week.
This Week!!! This means Freya & Fricka could have lambs any day now. Once we got past mid-January I was starting to doubt that the ewes had been bred early. Now I'm in ultra-hyper-mega lamb anticipation mode. Too bad I can't sleep in the barn.
As if that weren't exciting enough news the new Knitty Secret Pal matches were sent out today. I've heard from my upstream pal already and I have tons in common with my downstream pal.
The SP Gourdesses did a wonderful job with the match-ups. This should be a great round. :-)

Almost forgot, I played First Contact for the sheep today but didn't select particular tracks. Oops! They didn't like the unexpected trumpet blasts after the first few relaxing tunes. I blame the Borg. Tomorrow I'll be selective and maybe try a little Tears For Fears. :-)

Snow Sheepies!

2006-01-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

We've had some really weird weather, it's been sunny & warm!
That's right, I said warm and it's January in Northern WI. Sweet.
The sheep are getting very wooly, no surprise there, & will likely be shorn on Sunday, February 26th.
Someone on Knitty mentioned the Merino sheep in Australia that listen to Italian Opera & as a result have finer wool. I posted that mine listen to NPR & Coldplay while I work near the barn. I wonder what this does for them? I don't think I have any Opera on cd, I should ask my mom. I visited the Opera frequently as a child but usually fell asleep! Embarrassing.
Anyway I'm going to look through my old cds next to the 'puter and see what the sheep may like.

Jon Secada? - Maybe.
Smashing Pumpkins? - Doubt it.
Sponge? - Why did I buy this????
Tesla? - Meh.
Greatest Rock Hits of the 80's? - Hehe.
Star Trek First Contact Soundtrack? - We have a winner! :-)

Naughty Juju

2006-01-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

Looks like Geordi solved my little KSH mystery.
Apparently my Juju was trying to make off with the leftovers & was caught by one of Starfleet's finest. He had made it all the way to the kitchen and was likely going to hide out in that empty Crispix box.

Saoirse's Handspun Mittens & Such

2006-01-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

I've had yarn spun up from this Brown Sheep Co. botched dye job SW roving for about a year.

I loved it so much and couldn't find the right item to knit with some. Saoirse loves mittens so I knit her the Wee Winter Mittens from Yarns to Dye For.

Guess what? She won't wear them. Of course they'll only fit her this year. I'll just have to keep them on hand for visiting mittenless toddlers, donate them, or save them for grandkids(!).

Nana's Tie One On

2006-01-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

Yup, It's finally complete. Only took me about eight months! I made it as far as the second pattern repeat last spring & then I didn't really knit on it until a couple weeks ago. So if I'd stuck with it this would be a two-three week knit for me.

I used 24 inch size 6 Takumi circs and don't think the tips were pointy enough for the ~~thread~~ yarn. I had a nice amount of the second ball left over, but that seems to have mysteriously disappeared. Hmmmm.
I do think turquoise would be a pretty stone for the pin, I don't think I'll send it with my Batman pin there.
I take back what I wrote earlier about no more decapitation. You'd agree if you saw my hair today. :-)

I Just Finished Shadow of the Colossus!

2006-01-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

The ending was unpredictable, very cool, and definitely worth waiting for.
If you own a PS2 you should own this game. :-)

Pink Pink PINK!!

2006-01-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

This is my second Goldilocks Triangle Shawl & it's in the Raspberry colorway. My first Knitty SP, Sadie, sent me the gorgeous Fleece Artist yarn several months ago. The color is incredible, so bright and such a contrast to our drab environment. My other Triangle Shawl is awesome too, just not quite so bright. :-)
I finished Nana's Tie One On today, It's very pretty! I used KSH #592 & have most of the second ball left over. I wasn't getting the whole KSH fascination everyone has as I was initially knitting, then after a few pattern repeats I draped it over my shoulder and stood back for the effect. Wow! Now I get it. :-) I need to find the perfect pin to go with the shawl before I send it off to B.C. I have pins that could work but I'd like to find one with a blue stone, or maybe a fairy.

B is for Black vs Brown.

2006-01-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

I was looking at shetlandsheepinfo.com and am wondering now if Enoch is really a Black Shetland & not Brown.

I separated many sections of his fleece for inspection and it all appears black at the base with varied shades of brown at the tips, resembling the young ram at the bottom of the Dark Brown page. However, he also resembles the ewe at the bottom of the Black page.
This is of course with the exception of a few white spots.

He has white on the side of his neck, under his chin, on his nose and on top of his head right between the horns.
I believe this is the Krunet marking. So instead of a Brown spotted sheep I may have Black. This would change his coloration genotype to Aa/Aa BB/BB? Ss/Ss. Arggh. I may never figure this out! :-)
In non-sheep news we're nearly through the warmest January on record here in NW Wisconsin.

We've been about 18 degrees above normal but that's still just hovering around 30 degrees. It's kinda cool being able to breathe when you walk outside but not cool that the snow isn't packy enough for building.
I'm almost done with Nana's Tie One On. (Finally!!) I have the second tie to finish and a few ends to weave in. This was my first KSH project and I love the stuff.
I finished the Raspberry Shawl last Sunday but haven't taken a good pic yet. It's so scrumptious and very pink! This was my second Goldilocks Triangle Shawl and if I could I'd knit one of these in every colorway. Anna keeps borrowing my shawls even though I already knit her one of her own. She'd love this one with the bunnies by Miss Monkee. How does she do it? 10 days is amazing.
I suppose I should get some rest sometime here. If you've made it this far through my babbling and haven't pinned my Frappr Map yet please take a sec & do so. :-)

Time To Bust Out The Carders!

2006-01-17T20:13:00.000-08:00

Yup, I've signed up to participate in the 2006 Knitting Olympics.
For my ~~event~~ project I will be carding, spinning, and knitting Shetland fleece into mittens and then ultimately felting them for Steve. I can't start until 2 p.m. February 10th and the mittens must be complete by the time the flame is extinguished. I should have plenty of time to finish a few projects before then, right? Sure.

A is for...

2006-01-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

Apparently a whole lotta stuff if you have four kids to help you in your search.

We found:

A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting
Aardvark named Ants
Ace Ventura Pet Detective DVD
Acrylic Paint
Act II of Chushingura Print by Utamaro
Addition Flashcard
Albrecht Durer Print, The Great Piece of Turf
Aloha Pearl G3 MLP
Alpaca Roving
Alphabittle G3 MLP
Amberlocks G3 MLP
Ambrosia KnitPicks Yarn Knit as a Nakiska
America (The Book) A citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
American Family Insurance Magnet
Angel Ornament
Angora Handspun
Anne Yarn by Schaefer Yarns
Apple
Applejack Vintage MLP
Applejack G3 MLP
Applejacks Cereal
Arrowheads Found by Ayanna's Great-Grandfather
Art 1 Student Pages Book
Artificial Intelligence DVD
AT-AT Driver Vintage Empire Strikes Back Figure
Ayanna Faline, who loves the letter "A".

Sheepies!

2006-01-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I stole the post title from Monkee. :-)
No little babies yet from my lovely ewes but I did get an email from Nancy Krohn a few days ago. She breeds amazing Shetlands. I feel like such a newbie in the livestock world.
I'm just starting to figure out the color genetics and I think Enoch's genotype is Aa/Aa Bb/Bb Ss/Ss.
The first pair of genes are the Agouti, which determine the patterning of color. I'm pretty sure I got those right. I know he's not Awt (all or nearly white), Agt or Ag (mouflon pattern or white mixed in with the brown), Ab (badgerface), or At (reverse badgerface). The only one left is Aa (solid color) and since it's recessive to all the other Agouti genes I need a pair of those.
On to the Bb pair which represent fully recessive brown coloring, easy one there.
Lastly the pair of Ss genes. These represent spotting and I need two of these recessive genes to account for the spot on Enoch's nose and the cute little patch of white fluff on his neck.
The girls I have figured as Aa/Aa Bb/Bb SS/S? with the question mark meaning I have no clue if they carry the recessive Ss spotting gene.
We'll see what happens when the babies come!

Happy 2006!

2005-12-31T21:48:00.000-08:00

Where did the year go? I joined this KAL hoping I'd be able to clear out my knitting bag & start fresh in '06. I managed to complete 5 projects since late November, however 4 of those weren't on my original list. 7 projects I'd hoped to complete were neglected for the joy of casting on for something new.
Aarrrgh.
Oh Well, Tim got his scarf, my ChicKami is cool, Callisto has a new shawl & hat, and Saoirse has a pair of handspun mittens.
I've been working on the Kaftan for Saoirse the past few days.
I just finished seaming one shoulder & will start on the hood after the other is done.
I dreamed a few nights ago that Freya had her lambs, she was the size of a cow though and everything was way wacky. Every day when I go out to the barn I wonder if it'll be the day when I open the door and see her lying in the pen with gorgeous little babies.

Miss Callisto Is a Knitter.

2005-12-22T14:13:00.000-08:00

Yay! I have a young apprentice. She learned on size 10.5 circulars with Gedifra Big Point. I didn't realize until we'd begun that the yarn calls for size 15 needles, but we kept going.
She picked up the knit stitch quickly and is very excited to be participating in an activity that Mommy enjoys so much.
I also finished a cute hat yesterday.

I attempted to knit the Pointy-Top Cap from Handknit Holidays for Saoirse. I used Colinette Point Five and figured with the gauge I got that I needed to cast on for the largest size. It measures about 19 inches around but still too big for Saoirse. The girls fought over hat rights, so we pulled a name out of it and Callisto was the big winner. It looks great with the funky Bernat Disco shawl I knit her a few weeks ago.
She likes this fishy-faced picture best. :-)

Scratch Under My Chin Some More

2005-12-20T04:16:00.000-08:00

Tired of all those annoying Christmas songs? Not the classics of course but the hideous crap spewed forth by every pop act known to man?
Enoch The Wonder Sheep says:

Go check out Lakeside Shadow by Wil Wheaton for an awesome ambient alternative. Oh yeah, and feed me more molasses treats. Yumm.

Andre's Headed For Korea!

2005-12-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Keep in mind the intended recipient will look much cooler wearing this scarf.
It'll be steam-blocked by then & he'll likely not be wearing an uber-poofy lilac jacket while enjoying winter at Osan.

The juicy stuff:

Pattern - Andre from the Knitty Man Issue.
Yarn - Wool-Ease, 4 skeins Black & 1 skein Red
(Pattern called for 1 more skein of each)
Needles - 16-inch #5 Addi Circs
Knitting Time - Approximately 10 days
Dimensions - 8x72 inches
Modifications - I Kitchenered (is that a word?) the bottom seam instead of binding off & sewing up.

Semi-Interesting Stuff -

1. This was my first time knitting with Wool-Ease. At first it felt very soft but towards the end it got a tad rough. Maybe when I'm stress-knitting my sense of touch is heightened? I dunno.

2. Seven yarn bobbins is not enough to keep on hand in case I get that Intarsia urge. Yeah I could make my own, no I don't want to. :-)

3. I didn't get gauge, (I'm a very tight knitter) but went ahead anyway as I like then 8 inch width better than the 9.5 called for.

4. I'll be using the leftover yarn to knit Jujus for Steve, aka The Bringer of Sheep.

Thanks so much, Kirsti for the awesome trade that brought me the supplies for this project. :-)

I Have Willpower!

2005-12-12T13:44:00.000-08:00

The lovely Creative Genius has encouraged posting a pic wearing proper clothing for the current temp.
We're having a typical Wisconsin winter day here, temp is 25 degrees but it's not bad as the wind is only 5-10 mph. Yeah, that's pale me in front of one of the barns. I don't know what's whiter; the sky, snow, or me. :-) The hat is a wonderful wool cap with furrish trim my Nana's friend knit for me a few Christmases ago. The gloves are crap gloves as they get filthy in the barn. I haven't knit myself any gloves yet but would like to.

Enoch's been snuggly lately, I think he misses the hours of attention he got when it was warmer out.

It's been difficult not to start new projects as I plow through the Christmas knitting & my other WIPs. In particular the Knitted Babes book has been calling me. I got the little needles out, some flesh colored yarn from the stash and nearly cast on for Bunny Bright. I have many yards of pretty small print retro fabric that would make lovely Babe dresses, as well as tons of ribbons & embellishment materials. I was able to restrain myself and knit another 12 inches of Tim's scarf. December may be for WIPS & Xmas, January will be the month of the Babes.

Where's that old WWF Nintendo game?

2005-12-04T23:14:00.000-08:00

Here's Tim's Andre scarf after completion of pattern row 27.
My first true intarsia work is wonky as heck but It'll do.
Check out the messy backside.

I'm weaving the ends in every five rows or so, I'm sure that'll get old soon.
I wonder if Tim will actually wear it or just tack it on his wall.
He did say Korea's getting snowy, so he'll need something cozy & warm.

I finished the back of Saoirse's Kaftan a few days ago and have just started the armhole shaping on the front. The mystery yarn from Sarah is very soft and fun.

It's comprised of 6 strands of cotton, 1 strand of shiny cotton/nylon, and random little bits of colored fiber. The strands are not plied together but I haven't had trouble working with it.

Other fibery progress involved the winding of 495 yards of spindle spun lace weight Alpaca singles. Trying to count the niddy wraps in a room with 4 children and 1 husband was probably not a good idea. I somehow managed to count the 297 wraps and only dropped the spindle once.
The sheep are good. They're going through 2 bales of hay a week & seem to be happy. I can't wait for the little lambs to arrive. :-)

I Know Who My Secret Pal Is!

2005-11-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

My third package from Sarah arrived today, bursting with goodies. :-)
I received:

2 balls of Knitpicks Dancing
Winter Vogue Knitting
Pink embroidery scissors with a leather sheath
4 ginormous balls of a shiny pink cotton blend
Pet Shop Boys Discography cd
3 G3 ponies with their original charms & tons of accesories
Clover stitch markers
4 kinds of flower seeds saved from her own garden
2 gorgeous pink dishes (feeling like a domestic dunce here as I have no clue what they are!)
2 balls of purple Funky Fringe yarn
A huge pack of Dead Sea Mineral Mud
And 2 delicious chocolate bars, one Keylime filed and the other Truffle stuffed.

Everything is awesome!!

Good Stuff In the Mail Today!

2005-11-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

Two wonderful packages arrived. The first contained a ball of Aqua Fever Disco, plus fun stickers and beauty stuff from Alice. I'll be starting on Callisto's Disco Shawl tonight. I might have to put on a Beegees record to get in the right mood. I'm sure there's one around here somewhere.
The second package was from Tim (the best brother in the universe) and it contained Shadow Of The Colossus for PS2!

This game is awesome, I defeated 2 Colossi today. :-)
I enjoy games that require some thinking and aren't just point & shoot. Point & shoot is o.k. if I need to blow off some steam or feel like cruising Vice City.
For true escape though RPG/Quest games are my favorite.
It may seem strange that I am a video game fanatic, being that I'm a homeschooling mom of four and a shepherdess. I have lots of happy gaming memories. When I was little my Dad would program games on the Apple, and I would play Parsec on the TI at home & Frogger on the Atari at our neighbor's house. I remember how incredibly excited I was when our uncle bought us Burgertime. When my husband and I were first together we spent one day playing Toe Jam & Earl for about 10 hours straight. We bought Mortal Kombat II when we were in our first apartment, and rented a 3DO with Myst for weeks when pregnant with Sapphire. That was one hefty late fee!
I eventually want to collect all of the classic systems & games, especially the Famicom.

I'm Safe Now, Thanks To Monkee.

2005-11-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

A certain Rodent knit this wonderful blaze orange Cozy awhile ago and wanted to pass it along. Now I can go out to get the mail and tend sheepies without someone accidentally shooting me. I wouldn't be in a car like that poor guy, but ya know.
After all the hunting is done I'm going to pass this along to another deserving soul. A certain blonde with a big heart will be all wrapped up in Monkee's Cozy goodness.

P.S. I don't think I'm going to decapitate myself in knit pictures anymore. That last one freaked me out.

The Big List

2005-11-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

First off a FO, then on to the scary stuff.

This is my ChicKami, knit with Austermann Mayfair Color.
I wasn't sure about the grey but it grew on me. It looks kind of like when someone wears the wrong color on t.v. and then their shirt or tie or whatever looks all trippy. I like how this fits better than my Soleil, I'm thinking of ripping Soleil and knitting another Kami with the lovely Noro Lily.

Stuff actually on my needles:

1. Nana's Tie One On
This has been stalled out for while as it's a tricky knit, but I need to finish it soon.

2. My Cocktail Mermaid Bag
Hemp hurts, so I haven't worked on this lately.

3. My Raspberry Shawl
So fluffy & pink, I can't wait until this is done!

4. A Katrina Square in lavender Simply Soft.

5. New one, A little pullover for Saoirse.

This is the adorable hooded kaftan from Special Knits. I'm using the pretty pink mystery cotton blend my SP sent me. I need to finish this quickly or It won't fit her.
I had been working on a little dress for Saoirse that I started in June and have since frogged. It was very cute with some funky shiny yarn and frou-frou trim. I grew to loathe knitting the thing though as I knew day by day it was never going to fit her.

In the needs to get on my needles a.s.a.p. category we have:

1. Joanne's mate to her first Go With The Flow Sock.
She works in a cold environment & needs wool socks to toast her toes.

2. Itchy's 8-pack. As soon as I get the worsted wool I'll be cranking these out. I hope they measure up to the original pair from Finland.

3. Preemie Project blankets & booties

4. Mittens & hats for all 4 girls. Not sure if this one's going to happen.

5. Andre and black socks for Tim.

6. Infant's Fancy Silk Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks.

These will be too small for Saoirse but I'm sure I'll find another baby who'd like them.
In the stalled out category we have my I Do. I had this half complete last summer and then realized I was knitting it a size too small. I have yet to pick it up again, not sure why. It's a fast and fun knit. Maybe it's the lack of color.

Did I forget anything?

My Girls Are Shawl Crazy

2005-11-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

Somehow all the kiddo stuff is ending up for Ayanna. I had a ball of Stylecraft Charleston stashed & this little blondie had been begging for a shawl. I'd link to the yarn but the content is primarily *cough* acrylic. Anna likes her giant garter stitch triangle so I'm happy. Callisto wants a shawl too, which brings me to my WIP problem. I joined a little KAL to help me out.

I currently have 13 pairs of socks to knit, actually 11 pairs & two mates. Added to that are Christmas hats & mittens for the girls not started yet, whatever's on my sidebar there, a little pullover for Saoirse & a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting. The bulk of the socks are for one of the guys who hunts up here, he has some worsted wool socks his Finnish exchange student's grandma knit him that he wants me to duplicate 8 times over. I have a pound of Alpaca to spin up too & 2 hanks of Merino/Cashmere to ply for Jane. I seriously need a spinning wheel. I adore my drop spindle but need a little speed now & then. I've been asked to knit up about a dozen of these too. Am I overwhelmed? Maybe. It's a good thing I love knitting. Love Love Love it.

Another Frappr! Map

2005-11-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

I know there's no way I can compete with CrazyAuntPurl's statistics, but please humor me & leave a shoutout on my little map anyway.

Remember That Sesame Street Song?

2005-11-16T06:45:00.000-08:00

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Yup, it's the freaky brown eyelash befouling the rest of my purty fiber.
Riker can't even bring himself to look at it.
I signed up for the free skein of Bernat Disco thinking it might possibly be cute enough to work with if they sent me oh, say, Turquoise or Fuchsia or another appealing color. What did I get? Mr. Brown. Yes, that's actually the name of the shade. Who names this stuff? That's the most unappealing, non project-inspiring shade name I've heard. No offense to anyone named Brown out there. Under normal circumstances I'm a brown advocate. My sheep are brown, My hair is brown, I like brownies. The main issue I have is with the sparkly bits. I can handle sparkle in nearly any shade but in the brown it's freaking me out. Dunno why.
All I can think of to knit with this is a sparkly Mr. Hankey.
Everyone knows he's not sparkly though. Sometimes nutty, sometimes corny but never sparkly.

Snow!

2005-11-16T06:33:00.000-08:00

I'm excited, Freya doesn't seem to share my enthusiasm for the white stuff.
Anyway, every year I attempt to create a unique snow sculpture. This year I'm imagining a huge sheep fort with a built in snack bar. Fort Saoirse was a success last year but I didn't take a good pic before meltage.

Sheep Drama

2005-11-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

So I spent a good 2 hours working with the sheep today.
My goals were to "bump" the girls to try to determine how far along they are & to take Enoch for a stroll in the front yard. Dean suggested getting the girls individually into pens and bumping them there. I was going to corner, catch & straddle the girls, then make a fist and gently push in on their sides. Being met with a solid mass means your animal is either pretty preggo or has a mother of a tumor. Even armed with a bucket full of grain I could not get either ewe into a pen. I moved to the little courtyard right outside the barn instead and shut the big door so they couldn't run in. I had Fricka in there while the others were in the pasture and man, she freaked out! Round and round in circles she went, like a short little wooly Seabiscuit. She was so fast I couldn't even catch her with the crook. I gave up when she tried leaping through the fence. Of course she can't make it through the gap so she was ramming her little teeny torso against the boards each time. That's when I started to freak out. I opened up the gate to the pasture and she ran out there. Having failed my first little endeavor I focused on Enoch. After getting him harnessed up and the lead attached I tried walking with him a little and praising him for every step. I'm really bad with distances but I think it's about 40-50 feet to get to the side barn door. We made it there in about 10 minutes. Once through the door it was his turn to freak out. Outside the barn/pasture is unfamiliar territory for my little ram. He ran back into the barn, with me in tow, apparently unimpressed with the lush unmowed lawn.
So what did I learn? I need to construct handling facilities a.s.a.p & at the very least acquire a Deck Chairshould I hope to actually treat them.
I learned my boy would rather munch hay in a cozy barn than sup on grass near strange and unfamiliar sights.
Did I mention Sapphire found this all quite entertaining?

30 Years Ago Today

2005-11-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

29 men lost their lives when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in a storm on Lake Superior. I've always found the story fascinating and tragic.

I need a copy of this song sometime.

The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald

Copyright 1976 by Gordon Lightfoot and Moose Music, Ltd.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee."
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
when the "Gales of November" came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
with a crew and good captain well seasoned,
concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
when they left fully loaded for Cleveland.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang,
could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
and a wave broke over the railing.
And ev'ry man knew, as the captain did too
'twas the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
when the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
in the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came the old cook came on deck sayin'.
"Fellas, it's too rough t'feed ya."
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in; he said,
"Fellas, it's bin good t'know ya!"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
and the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when 'is lights went outta sight
came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
if they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'er.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
they may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
in the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
the islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
with the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
in the "Maritime Sailors' Cathedral."
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they call "Gitche Gumee."
"Superior," they said, "never gives up her dead
when the gales of November come early!"

Very Bad Juju

2005-11-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

So last night I decided on a human to Juju.
Chai Vang will be my first victim. It could very well have been my family out there had he wandered just a few more miles.
The yarn is my creation, all spun in the last 9 months or so. The red is some soft Kool-aid dyed wool I've had forever. (with no purpose) The bullseye is black sw lambswool merino & white columbia wool. As if it matters if this is washable, just the only true black wool I had spun up.
It's kinda hard to see at that angle but he has a darning needle jabbed in his chest.
Moving beyond the voodoo vibe I got a cool vintage knitting book yesterday.
We're talking 1966, man!

I'm digging the pink cardigan on the cover.
There's a lot of stuff I might actually knit.

This lace pullover is cute, but if I were going that route Cardinal Grapje would be my first choice.
And on to kiddos.

In the barn this morning Sapphire wanted a picture with Oreo, but of course neither one of them will actually look at the camera.
It's horrendously windy out today, the sheep are hanging out inside instead of the normal morning pasture frolic. Enoch's to the point now where he'll run full speed to greet me, too cute.

Someone's Pregnant

2005-11-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know that should be obvious after letting my girls mingle with my silly ram the past few weeks. I mean I think Freya may have arrived pregnant. Steve advised us of the possibility of lambs by January as one of his rams may have been a little frisky last summer. I'm not quite sure but she's looking a lot more girthy than when she arrived. She wouldn't have been fattened by feed as they've been on some pretty sparse pasture. No worries, we have lots of room and a few nice cozy pens should little sheepies arrive.

In non-sheep news I finished plying my Juju yarn.

Yes, Juju #1 will be red. I've also started a second Goldilocks Triangle Shawl in the raspberry colorway. I'm loving Fleece Artist yarns. Much gratitude going out to Sadie for the fab yarn!

Bad Juju

2005-11-05T20:26:00.000-08:00

I have much use for a zuvembie to resolve a few vendettas and perform the jobs around here that I don't like much. Not being a true bokor myself, I'll knit the voodoo doll counterpart and not actually reanimate a corpse to do my bidding.

Go With The Flow Socks

2005-11-03T20:44:00.000-08:00

The pattern is from IK summer '05 and is a fun knit so far.
I'm using theTrekking XXL that I won from Clothesknit last August. The lace pattern is kind of funky and has a lot of stretch.
Here's a close up of the lace freshly knitted:

I'm working on these to give to Joanne. She sent me some awesome loot this week in a RAK. She mentioned on Knitty that she'd love some handknit socks, I hope these will be ok. :-)

Spindle Spun Organic Cotton - Free to Good Home

2005-11-03T05:58:00.000-08:00

What began as 20 grams of lovely organic cotton received from an awesome spinner has become a horribly tangled mess.
The spinning was great, loads of fun. Everything was peachy until I was ready to ply and my center strand broke from the ball. I dug around in the center to find the end and in the process several layers of the outer windings came loose. I figured I could deal with it without any tangles. I probably could have if the kids hadn't run in and distracted me just when I was beginning to ply. Several yards became tangled and the more I tinkered with the cotton the worse it got. I decided to put it away and try to fix it later. Sure. Every day for three days I tried. Finally last night I succeeded in untangling my initial problem spot and realized how horrendously tangled the rest of the loose ball had become while I was focused on the plying end.
So anyway after all of my hard work spinning this up and the stress of my plying gone bad I am no longer enjoying working with this particular fiber specimen.
I know a normal person might resort to scissors to assist in the detangling process but I just can't do it.
I don't want it to go to waste though, or languish in my stash to be grumbled about whenever it comes into view. It's not the fiber's fault I messed up. :-)
I'll send this out to the first person interested in salvaging it.
Send an email to wooliswonderful(at)gmail(dot)com and it'll be on the way right quick.

Edit: Woohoo! My cotton will be traveling to sunny California to be salvaged by Tabbytuxedo. :-)

Spooky!

2005-11-02T00:21:00.000-08:00

I was just going through the trick-or-treat pics and noticed that this one contains a mysterious orb. This is the first time one has appeared for me and it's a little odd it would happen Halloween night.
I've taken thousands of pics in many conditions without any anomalies. That is one of the older Ladysmith abodes. Perhaps a spirit was watching over the kiddos coming by to make sure there were no tricks.

One Month Sheepiversary!

2005-10-30T13:21:00.000-08:00

A few things I've learned about keeping sheep:

1. Do not blindly trust the guy behind the counter at the feed mill when buying supplies. Feed mill guy sold me mineralized salt with 300 ppm Cu. Way too much copper, man! I specifically asked him if what I was buying was safe for sheep and he assured me it was. I bought before I researched copper toxicity in sheep.

2. The copper thing. Sheep tend to be much more sensitive to copper toxicity than other farm animals. Generally sheep require about 5 ppm Cu in their total diet.

3. Do not bake your sheep treats loaded with golden molasses because you feel guilty about giving them too much copper for 2 weeks.

4. If you do bake uber-sweet treats do not let your spoiled ram steal all the treats from the ewes, and don't be surprised if your he goes crazy for a few days and tries to eat your coat.

5. The fence will shock you if you forget to stick the fence tester thingie into the ground before you test the fence!

6. Do not actually touch the little metal thing to the fence! Hold it only close enough to see the spark.

7. Do not jump and scream like a banshee when you see a snake in the barn, it freaks the sheep out.

8. Occasionally you will find a dead mouse floating in the water dish.

9. Grain all over the ground = mucho chipmunk activity.

10. Sheep belch a lot.

A Little Headband in Ambrosia

2005-10-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

My secret pal sent me 4 balls of yummy Ambrosia to play with and guess what happened? 30 grams ended up on my kiddo's head. I cast on for a Nakiska to wear while I'm chasing sheep in the early morn and my gauge was right on. Kewl. The problem is I forgot my gauge tightens up like crazy when I knit in the round. I would up with a finished object that I could barely stretch over my 9 year old's head. We tried the 7 year old & finally miss Ayanna before we had a match. I don't think I would have let Saoirse have this, it'd be ruined in a flash. I did a pretty good job of torturing it myself. I don't think I've ever seen cables this stretched out.

G1 FF Cotton Candy making her debut there to show how the Petal shade knits up as a lovely mauvey pink as opposed to cotton candy pink. :-)

Star Wars Random Act of Kindness!

2005-10-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Joanne from Knitty surprised me with a wonderful RAK package yesterday.
She sent a beautiful handknit keyhole scarf, a fairy notepad, a pretty knitting notecard, and four awesome Star Wars books! The large book, Star Wars - From Concept to Screen to Collectible, is one I've wanted for quite awhile. It was published in 1992 before the hype of the re-releases and prequels. It's so cool seeing some of our collectibles in the book and reading about their design process. I also received a wonderful collection of postcards bound together as a book. I can unscrew the book and take out the cards individually. There are wonderful McQuarrie illustrations and concept designs featured. I love it! The poster coloring book and choose Your Own Adventure book are so fun. Choose your Own Adventures were a favorite of mine as a kid.

Thank you so much, Joanne!

Secret Pal Goodness!

2005-10-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

I've been overwhelmed with goodies yet again. :-)
Check out the Lego Star Destroyer! So cool.
I received 4 balls of KnitPicks Ambrosia, 3 giant balls of an awesome cottony blend from her stash, a gorgeously illustrated Pilates book, a whole box of organic green tea, the first MLP G3 video (finally my own copy!), adorable 3D autumn stickers, MLP stickers, beautiful notecards with the initial "E", and G3 Razzaroo & Moondancer with their original charms! My pal even knitted my new ponies some cute little scarves to keep them warm on their journey. Also received but not pictured are some White Chocolate Reese's (those didn't last 5 minutes!) and the soundtrack to "Some Kind of Wonderful".

Thank you, thank you so much my pal! Everything is so cool and fun. I can't wait to find out who you are and have a proper chat. :-)
I think I'm going to go watch my pony video and swatch up some Ambrosia while the girls veg out on Saturday cartoons. :-)

Riker Approved Finished Object

2005-10-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

My Starfleet Bag was completed this afternoon after much frustration.
When initially knitting, I ran out of black Jacob wool and had to spin more up. The fiber content is my handspun Shetland, Jacob, and Columbia wool with some purply mohair thrown in. Anyway, I finally finished spinning the Jacob this week and got the strap knit up.
Here's the bag pre-felting:

Notice the somewhat normal shoulder strap length of 45".
Now we have the post-felting pic:

My strap grew to 78" making the bag hang to my knees. Not cool.
I decided to snip it right in the middle and then stitch each end on the opposite side.
For blocking some nearby DVDs proved useful.

For the lining I chose faux suede for the bottom and satin for the sides and interior pockets.

I'm happy with the finished product, now I just have to keep it away from the kids!

Sheep, Sheep, Sheep!

2005-10-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

These are my babies 2 days ago in the pasture. See how little tiny Fricka is in front? She's their leader. Where Fricka goes, all follow. Enoch will come right up to me and follow me around for a scratch on the neck, but if Fricka decides to bolt off he goes. It's kind of funny; this big tough male being led around by a little lady, human or otherwise. :-)

To answer Sam's question about what his horns feel like, they're smooth and light and lovely! They actually feel like a ridge covered fingernail.
I can't get over how sweet that ram is, he's like a big puppy without the bark and better fur.
I decided to put the sheep together a month early as The Old Farmer's Almanac has predicted a mild March in our region. I haven't observed any mischief yet, and probably won't document it if I do. Someone close to me who shall remain nameless has suggested I'd get a lot more hits if I posted intimate sheep pics.
*Not gonna happen!* :-)

I Love a Sheep, How Weird Is That?

2005-10-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

The sun shone brightly this afternoon as I picked an enormous amount of long grass to bring the sheep for a snack. After several days of shockingly cold temps the warmth was quite welcome. I let the sheep out inside the barn as I tidied their bedding and cleaned out their water dishes. I was pretty sure that if I was present no mating would take place, and I was correct. I don't think Enoch wants an audience. It seems they enjoyed their little visit with each other, a half hour with one's own kind does a ram some good. When I was ready to pen them again I didn't have as much trouble as anticipated. I rounded them all up into Enoch's pen, then just opened it up and ushered the girls out.
I feel like I crossed a major threshhold with Enoch today. Normally after they're fed & watered he will come up to the side of the pen to see if I have grain, and if I don't he stays and lets me scratch him under his chin and rub his nose. Today after about ten minutes of chin/neck scratching and me saying "Good Boy" about a thousand times, he decided to lie down right there and allowed me full petting priviledges. I was very happy to be able to stroke the wool along his neck, sides, and back. I was so incredibly excited to be able to part his long fleece and see how gorgeous the deep, dark wool is at the base. He allowed me to pull out most of the hay bits stuck on his back and to caress his beautiful horns.
I felt like I could pet him forever but I eventually had to get back to my noisy, wool-free children.

Flash Flooding

2005-10-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

We received about 10 inches of rain overnight and there's a lot of damage in our county. This is/was a bridge a few miles from our house, that we happened to drive over several hours before I took this picture. We made it across before it totally washed away, but a woman we know was driving over it at 6 a.m. and her car cleared the first washout point but not the second. She's pretty lucky, no broken bones and had her cell phone to call the ambulance from on top of her wrecked car.

This is the south end of our road at 7 a.m.

One of several sinkholes several yards down the road. That's a 12 ounce cup there to help indicate the size. Living on an unpaved road we have a few washouts every year but I've never seen ones this big so close to our house. I was very worried about the sheep but the barn is high enough that the rains only flooded a few spots in the center of the corral. The tractor is in the middle of a huge puddle, and the roof leaked onto some of the new hay. I'll have to feed that first and hopefully within a few days the sheep will be grazing.
Take Care everyone and heed flood warnings. We're lucky the bridge didn't crumble underneath us last night.

An Awesome Surprise and a Sweet Ram

2005-10-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Tim told he last week he was sending me something from Korea, but I never expected a basketball! He coordinated a visit from the Harlem Globetrotters to his base and they signed a ball for him. It's so cool and I'm going to have to find a good way to display it.
The ball arrived wrapped in the August 30th edition of The Chosun Ilbo, the #1 newspaper in Korea.
I have no clue what anything says, aside from the dates and such easily recognizable portions as this:

A few days ago he oversaw an Everclear concert and although it sounded pretty stressful it must have been awesome. He had plenty of volunteers to help the band with their bags, which included a three hour ride with them from Incheon airport.

Our sheep are adjusting very well, although I'm eager to ease Enoch's loneliness.

Sapphire was hand feeding him grain today and he's such a sweetie.
Shetlands are very social creatures and he's not used to being without a buddy. Until I can put him in with Freya and Fricka I'm showering him with attention and petting him as much as he'll let me. He's been butting the pen sometimes when adults come close but never when the kids are around him. We almost have the pasture ready and I can't wait to let him out.
Last night Freya and Fricka escaped from their pen when I was changing the water. It was pretty funny. Saoirse was nearby and as soon as the sheep ran out she cried "Kittens!!", as she does when a cat runs in the house, and started crying. The ewes ran alongside Enoch's pen, Freya jumped on the haystack, then Freya nad Fricka both ran straight back into their open pen. I latched it and picked Saoirse up, as she said "Let's Go" over and over. Saoirse's only 2 so I don't know if she'll remember the experience, but I'll never forget it!

My Shetlands Have Arrived!

2005-09-30T23:32:00.000-07:00

Allow me to introduce Enoch, a wonderful little chocolatey colored ram. He had his first big trip today to come stay with us and is understandably a little ticked off. After a few hours of nummy green hay and a cup of grain he's starting to mellow out a little.

These are my new girls, Freya (in the back) and Fricka. They are both young, Fricka being only a little over a year old, but have already lambed. There is an ever so slight chance they were impregnated by a Blueface Leicester/Scottish Blackface ram this month, but I think they were seperated from the rams before any courtship took place.
I love the ewes' moorit coloring and can't wait until March when they're sheared! I may just clip off a few locks to pet and play with to tide me over.
Their fleeces are a little rough right now as they've been feeding off of round bales, but that's ok. They're still gorgeous to me!
Steve has offered to shear them for free this spring as well as share his extra fleeces as he did last year. He also dewormed them today and clipped their little feeties. I'm so glad to have bought my sheep from someone so considerate and helpful. I'm starting with a pretty easy care breed but I'm still paranoid I'll screw something up.
I suppose I should get some sleep, I was in the barn from about 4 p.m. to 9, and then back several times. I keep wanting to go out to the barn and tell them one more time that they really will like living here, and that my kids aren't all that scary!

My Little Sheep

2005-09-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

There's not much wool on these girls, maybe the real sheep coming any minute now will have more to spin.
I've decided to name the ram Enoch, It's my Grandpa's first name & my brother Tim's middle name. I'm waiting until I see the ewes to name them as I'm having a hard time deciding.
I learned something new today, mineralized salt is brown! I always thought salt=white.
I finally totally finished both pens last night just in time for ER. Then I got a call saying our hay couldn't be delivered. Yikes! So my husband has to run to his cousin's to get the hay today on his way to the feed mill to get me some shell corn or oats for my sheepies, whichever is cheaper. We'll be cutting it close but hopefully I'll actually have something here to feed them when they arrive! We have tons of hay but it's all at least three years old.
I'm getting pretty excited! :-)

Latinus Scribo...

2005-09-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

I hope I got that right. I haven't studied Latin in oh, say, 12 years!
Sapphire & I are going to learn together using Minimus. We'll be supplementing with Learning Latin Through Mythology & Winnie Ille Pu. (Thanks to my mom & dad) :-)

The lessons are full of clever illustrations and juicy historic tidbits to keep Sapphire interested. If we ever go to Britain we'll have to visit Hadrian's Wall & Vindolanda.
That is of course after a trip to Lincoln. :-)

I Dream of Katamari...

2005-09-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

The past few days of no knitting due to major shoulder & back pain were made endurable thanks to Tim's surprise gift of Katamari Damacy :-)
I've been rolling through wonderfully absurd environments and picking stuff up like soy sauce packets, quail eggs, socks, and even children along the way in hopes of creating awesome celestial objects.
I cannot recall what I rolled up in my dreams last night, perhaps the hundreds of ponies on the kids' floor or the coyotes in the field soon to threaten my beloved sheepies.
I rolled up about 50 sheep so far in gameplay but my most favorite object to adorn my Katamari is the lovely circular rainbow. I can snatch that up at the sweet size of about 600m.
Definitely the funnest, strangest game I've played since Kingdom Hearts.

T-Minus 9 Days...

2005-09-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Until I'm a shepherdess!
I'm so excited and still have more to do to get ready. We decided to move the pen I've already built to the blue barn & expand from there.
Tim sent me some more wonderful sheepie goodies like pretty halters, a Colroy crook, and some really cool troughs. I never thought I'd be giddy about feeding troughs but here I am. One of the really cool things is pretty much choosing when the lambs will come. I'm supposed to figure 5 months from when the ram & ewes are put together. I'm thinking mid-April sounds good so I'll put them together on Veteran's Day, also my husbands birthday. I'm having a hard time naming them. If you know my kids' names you'll understand. :-) These are the first livestock on the land in nearly 10 years and will be the ancestors of the future Shetlands born here.
I want them to have strong, meaningful names and would also like to choose names reflective of their viking history. I'm such a nerd! :-)

If Only I Could Spin My Tribble...

2005-09-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

I'd have enough yarn to finish my Starfleet bag.
Yes I'm a nerd and I don't care! The whole thing is knit from my handspun natural color Shetland, Jacob, & Columbia. I hand carded all of it except for the Jacob. I can't take credit for the purply mohair, that goes to my stash of mystery fluff. I have nearly enough of the black Jacob to finish the strap but it isn't going to happen. I'll have to spin some more of that tomorrow. I'm not sure how the different wools will felt up together, should be most interesting.
The gob of gorgeous pinkness resting nearby is a full hank of Fleece Artist Goldilocks in the Raspberry colorway from my pal in Canada, Sadie.
I'll be knitting a companion to my Blackout Shawl as soon as I make some progress on the 50 billion other projects I have going.

Live Long And Prosper!

Don't Fence Me In...

2005-09-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with my new ElectroNet fence Tim bought me for my coming sheep. According to Premier 1 this fencing has been used to stop coyotes, bear, rabbits, raccoons, cougars, pigs, dogs, goats, sheep, pultry, monkees, and gorillas. If it works on gorillas why not a couple of little girls? :-)
Don't worry folks, it's not energized yet and the girls have been sternly warned about electric fencing.
They've been having a blast romping around in it and pretending to be sheep. Too bad they don't eat the grass too.

I want to get a few more support posts (I have some old steel ones but would prefer PowerPosts) and probably change the layout a little. I want the opening to stay near the big barn but have to leave room for the tractor so I can't extend it very far in that area. I have it coming around in kind of an L-shape. I really like the ease with which it went up and the fact that I can move it around anywhere the vegetation isn't horribly overgrown.

Heather Makes Me Smile :-)

2005-09-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my awesome pal Heather, I have a lovely new bag for my yoga mat! It's so pretty and soft and she added the personal touch of a fabric tie at the top. I love it.
In addition to my knitted gift she sent me a yummy assortment of Adagio teas, a wonderful candle, a homemade card, 2 beautiful stitch markers (currently assisting my ChicKami), an some yummy bamboo yarn leftover from Heather's ChicKami.
She also sent two balls of Sassy stripes to play with.

I'm so grateful for all the awesome goodies sent my way the past few months.

I need to knit & felt a bag.

2005-09-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is all of the feltable yarn I've spun this year, and I can't decide which to use. It seems all of my bright colors are superwash. I'm thinking of a smallish greyish/blackish purse with purply mohair detailing & lavendar satin lining. I have one hank of grey Shetland & three skeins of white, brownish grey & black Jacob I could combine.
I don't know though, I could go with dark blue wool & add the light blue alpaca for something different.

Warm Up America

2005-09-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

I've decided to knit afghan sections for Warm Up America & Katrina victims after reading this thread.
My dad has ever so kindly donated enough Simply Soft to keep me going for at least a month.

Thanks Dad!

My ChicKami Thus Far

2005-09-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

She may not look like much lying there on the table with only 60 rows complete, but I have confidence in the cuteness potential of that greyish yarnish thingamajig.
The Mayfair Color yarn is fun to knit with and has a cool sheen. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to go with skinny or wide straps.

Make Way For Pink Presents...

2005-09-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

I'm so overwhelmed by this first package from my new Knitty pal. :-)
She sent three kinds of Knitpicks yarn; Sock Garden, Butterfly Kisses, & Alpaca Cloud. Those huge balls are a cool cotton blend weighing nearly a pound from her stash. I'm envisioning turning those into a pink wrap for me or a pullover for Saoirse.
She also included that awesome Debbie Bliss Cotton Knits book, (Anna has already pointed out the must-knit items) Bee Naturals cuticle oil, unpictured Coldplay X&Y cd, (I had to put it in the cd player right away!) Hard Candy Lip Gloss, three kinds of Tazo tea, an unpictured Wolf Endangered Species chocolate bar,(it disappeared rather quickly) and of course the G3 Desert Blossom MLP! Callisto has her own from last Christmas and I've been planning on using hers as a model for another hank of MLP yarn, but now I have my own. :-)
Thanks, pal for the awesome loot!

Washcloth Exchange

2005-09-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

I joined Empresss Orchid's little washcloth/dischloth exchange and received not one but two pink dishcloths!
They came from the lovely Wendy.
I didn't get pics of the ones I knit and sent off to Indiana, I used Microspun in Turquoise & Buttercup to knit two round washcloths from the Annie pattern.

I Have A Furry Neighbor.

2005-08-25T03:18:00.000-07:00

From what my husband tells me this creature has been living behind the cow barn for a very long time, however I knew nothing fo his existence until last week. I imagined a woodchuck would be small and cute like a chipmunk.
Ummmm, No. This critter is bigger than two of our cats put together. He looks like a beaver without the tail. And what's up with those claw-like appendages? I knew they had digging-type paws but man, I'm glad he's an herbivore.

I'm going to keep assuming it's a "he"(until I see babies) because I want to call him Chuck.
Normally I don't hang out in the barn, but the impending sheep arrival has prompted me to engage in new activities.

I've started building sheep pens in the hay barn, and it's actually kinda fun when I'm not whacking myself with the hammer or losing nails in the hay. I started the first pen right next to the door to the blue barn so I'll have easy access in case I bring them into the blue during a storm or some such. I still need to put the smaller door on this first pen. It will be able to open by either the wide or narrow doors in front. The fun part was trying to level out ten years of hay build-up with Saoirse running around in there. I was afraid I'd poke her with the pitchfork! Not cool. I still need to build at least one more so I can separate ladies from gents.

In knitting news I sent my knit preemie donations off to miss Laura today. The next time I go to Walmart I need to pick up some cute fleece & flannel and get crackin' sewing her some blankets.
I also won some wonderful goodies in Clothesknit's blogiversary contest.

I received a gorgeous ball of Trekking XXL #91, a pretty Louisiana postcard, 4 stitch markers, and some awesome pralines. The pralines unfortunately didn't last long enough to be pictured. :-)
Last but not least I received a wonderful package this week from miss Tabbytuxedo.
She knows I love anything My Little Pony and sent me an adorable coloring set as well as this little cutie.

This is G3 baby Hula Lula, an awesome little Target Exclusive. The girls keep trying to talk me out of her, (as they have done successfully with nearly every pony I've acquired) but no way. This is the first MLP anyone has purchased for me aside from childhood, and pristine she will stay.
The coloring set did find its way into chubby little hands, but that's o.k. :-)

Pretty Purple Preemie Project Progress

2005-08-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

Say that one 5 times fast!

This is the burial gown and blanket I recently completed for TPP.
It was a little tricky getting the hat & socks/booties knit to match the 2-3lb size. Those are some tiny socks! I have an aversion to seaming footwear so will be knitting teeny socks to go with whatever else I produce for preemie donations.
I have some ideas swirling in my head for preemie knit designs. Hopefully I can hash some out before school is in full swing.
Speaking of school, this morning Callisto said she missed doing math every day and wanted to practice addition. I gave her a missing addends sheet to complete and she went to town. When she was done and asked me to correct it I noticed in one section instead of figuring out the missing addend she had instead put together the present addend and sum, ending up with a two-digit total.

This was supposed to be just a review of single digit stuff so even though she didn't follow instructions (which I spoke to her about) I'm tickled she gave her brain more of a workout and enjoyed it.

I Love My Blackout Shawl :-)

2005-08-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

This was such a pleasure to knit, the Fleece Artist Goldilocks yarn is scrumptious. It's about a jillion yards of 56% kid mohair, 24% silk, & 20% nylon.
The finished shawl measurements are about 35" deep by 70" wide. It's so darn big I can't get the whole thing in a picture!
Much thanks to my awesome pal Sadie for sending me this yarn. :-)
Playing with it helped me keep my sanity during an unexpected power outage, hence the strange finished object name.

Oh yeah, pay no attention to the 2 year old in the pink dress!

Fun At The Fair

2005-08-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

The fair was pretty cool this year, we took the older girls yesterday to check out the 4H exhibits & animals.

We saw some real cuties. :-)

Callisto really liked petting the sheep. The donkey was totally cool too, I think his name is Rufus.

There were some very impressive 4H entries, like these snowshoes made by a 12 year old girl.

I searched high and low for knitted items, but found none! I did find some cute crocheted stuff. (consisting mostly of Fun Fur)

This winning afghan is very pretty.

We loved looking at all the rabbits and picked out two adorable purebred bunnies to take home.

This is Esquilax Coffeebean, a Mini Rex belonging to Callisto.

This is Oreo, a Silver Marten belonging to Sapphire.

Lastly we have the girls and their Food Guide Poster entries.

They only received Participant ribbons this year as the fair commitee decided to only award prizes in certain categories and age groups. That's o.k. though. I'd rather the kids have fun than win first prize.

Basic Sock Chart PDF

2005-08-08T00:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you who love sock knitting, and usually end up tweaking the pattern to your own tastes, check out the Basic Sock Chart authored by Linda Peck and reformatted into a PDF by bruxknits.
This awesome two page reference is what I turn to frequently when using my handspun for socks.

Childhood

2005-08-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

5 things I miss from childhood.

If you want to participate the chain-letter part works like this: remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog's name in the #5 spot; just check to make sure the links are still attached if you copy and paste.

1. dynamiteknits
2. Sassy Stitchess
3. Stitch
4. Cooknknit
5. Wool Is Wonderful

#1. Chicago Summers. I grew up in Cicero, Illinois and miss the picnics in Grant Park, Sox & Cubs games, taking the EL to visit my dad at work, and the awesome sound of the ice cream truck coming up the block.

#2. Liz. No, not me. My best friend Elizabeth Campbell. My oldest daughter's middle name is Elizabeth because of her and we were pregnant with our first children at the same time. We were inseparable in fifth grade and then she moved. I was visiting her in '90 when she was told of her father's death and will never forget helping her through those days, her family went through so much pain.
She still lives in Illinois and I'm way up here in the wilderness of Wisconsin. We've seen each other once every few years but I have never met 2 of her children.

#3. My Little Ponies. Big surprise there, right? I know vintage ponies are availabe on eBay and such. What I miss is the wonder of a pony-full Toys 'R Us aisle and taking my time to choose the "perfect" pony with my b-day money. The G3 ponies are great and there is a wide assortment, but I much prefer the vintage packaging. The full pony visible through the bubble of plastic. The ribbon, sticker, and brush that would accompany her, the wonderful silky hair that I learned to braid on unrestrained by that horrid folded plastic and annoying wire twisty ties.

#4. The Corner Hot Dog Stand. At the end of our block in Cicero was an amazing little hot dog place. It was so cool with upright video games, great fries, and awesome gravy bread. I love living in the country but miss the easy accessibilty of good eats in the city. Second to the stand on my block was the Scatchell's next to Cicero Bible Church. The Best Fries Anywhere!!

#5. The Candy Store. Across the street from my elementary school in Cicero was a little family owned store. The road would be blocked off every day at lunch to allow for children to play at recess and this meant easy, safe access for 5 year olds and up to the store. The lady who owned it was a real thinker. She set up a huge candy counter in front and made a killing. I went there nearly every day and so fondly remember the nummy treats we kids would eat instead of filling up on our school lunch. My favorite candies were Swedish Fish, Gummi Bears, Jolly Ranchers, Lemonheads, & Redhots. :-)

If you'd like to do this one, please feel free to tag yourself. :)

ChicKami Will Be Mine. :-)

2005-08-05T23:39:00.000-07:00

A little sooner than I thought, thanks to the yarn donation from the lovely miss GretchenX.
I've been gifted with 5 balls of Austermann Mayfair Color.
In other knitting news I completed one preemie burial gown today and am working on the hat & booties to go with it. This was the first lace pattern I've done that I could actually memorize. Totally cool.
It is however not totally cool that this pattern is necessary. As I knit this gown I thought of the mother who will suffer first the shock of premature delivery and then the untimely death of her infant. I thought of the precious little child who will go back to God so quickly, for reasons only he knows. I'm so blessed to never have suffered the loss of a child, during pregnancy or otherwise.
Thank you, Laura for motivating me to knit this gown.

Summer Fluffin'

2005-08-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

These lovely goodies arrived today from miss Susie. I love the little pattern card for the Princess Poncho from the Yarn Girls' Guide to Kid Knits. I own the book but really wanted the pattern cards to have in my bag. Thanks, Susie! On the left is some scrumptious raw Angora and to the right organic cotton. I had never worked with either of these fibers until today, so much fun! I didn't get to the cotton yet, but I did play with the bunny fluff during Oprah. I had my camera nearby so if you're a fiber nut, enjoy.

Here's the Angora in its raw state, soft and fluffy on the edges but a little clumped together and not spinnable.

I charged the first card wishing I had another pair with a finer tpi count, the only pair I have are designed for wool.

All went well though and the cards did a nice job of aligning the fibers.

I like to roll up my carded fiber up along the narrow length of the card instead of from the wide bottom edge.

After rolling I pre-drafted just a tad and twisted clockwise. I ended up with a nice 8-10 inch rolag type length of fiber, ready for a spindle.

This is spinning up nicely so far, I plan on dyeing the singles different shades of pink (big surprise) and plying it back on itself. Too fun!

Pretty Little Preemie Blanket

2005-08-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

This is the basketweave blanket I started on July 17th. I know it's simple but I love how the knits & purls combine and create such fun texture. It measures about 17x17 inches so will likely go to a 1-3 pound preemie. The Microspun yarn wasn't as tricky to work with as I was anticipating, there were only a few splitty moments. I'll likely use it again, there are some nice bright colors available.

Teenie Preemie Hat, Modeled by Mr. Golden Lion Tamarin

2005-07-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

I was having a bad day yesterday (among many other incidents Saoirse dumped an entire bottle of acrylic paint all over the table, herself, etc.) and thought what better way to cheer myself up than start a little fun project. My dad had just gifted me with 5 balls of Softee Baby for The Preemie Project on Monday, so I grabbed the blue and cast on for a hat. It's so teenie and adorable, I just couldn't have it hiding away in my fiber cabinet until I send it to Laura.

Baby Sock Parade

2005-07-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad these are done, and I'm also glad Kim had a boy. I had my needles crossed because you just never know 100% until that baby shows up. Techs can be wrong. Anyway, I have this weird idea that any family baby born *must* have a knitted gift made from my handspun yarn. I didn't have enough spun up for a blankie so opted for a sock trio. The light blue are knit from an 80/20 merino/silk blend and the dark blue & black from superwash lambswool merino.
These should keep little Craig's feeties toasty this fall.

I've been tagged!

2005-07-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

A meme from the lovely miss Tabbytuxedo.

id.i.o.syn.cra.sy
Pronunciation Key
n. pl. id.i.o.syn.cra.sies
A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.

Write down five of your own personal idiosyncracies. Then, if you wish, tag five people from your live gerbil or friendslist to do the same.

O.k. here goes.

#1 - I never, ever read the back cover of a book until the entire book is finished.
I need to experience every detail within the book on the author's timeline. When I'm done I read the back and count how many things I'm glad I didn't know beforehand.

#2 - When I knit I have to feel every stitch being formed or I'm uncomfortable.

#3 - I won't eat macaroni & cheese unless it's covered in ketchup.

#4 - I've collected Star Wars & Star Trek Figures since I was 17.

#5 - Blood & injuries totally freak me out but E.R. is my all time favorite show.

I guess I'm not quite as weird as I thought. All right, I'll pass the torch on to Jane, Helen, Miss Monkee, Urbanpagan, and Laura.

Warning: First Felted Object Ahead

2005-07-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

This is unofficially called the "Bow Echo Bag" as It was knit during a bow echo storm that hit Northwest WI last night. (Hurricane force winds and all!)
I grabbed some Colinette Point 5 in Jay from my stash yesterday and went nuts. I knew I wanted to make something for my Blogger SP5 pal, but didn't really have a clue what. I just cast on and with my honking size 15 double points and this is the end result. I'm sure more experienced knitters could point out obvious design improvements, but it was liberating and exciting creating this. I had so much fun once I got to the top of the bag trying to figure out what kind of handle/strap to knit, whether it needed a flap and if so what stitch, you know the good stuff. It ended up measuring about 6 inches long by 5 inches tall and is about 2.75 inches wide.
This only took a few hours to knit and used about 1.5 skeins. There's no "before felting" pic because I was so excited (first felt, ya know) that I ran right to the washer when the knitting was done. The flap looks uneven but that's just the pic. I didn't have the left side pulled down. I'd keep this bag if my conscience would let me. It began its life as a gift and a gift it shall remain. *sigh*

I do realize I'm giving my identity away posting this, but I figure if my pal searched through the 600+ participant blogs for me she deserves a little reward. :-)

How To Ruin Your Favorite Brittany Needles

2005-07-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

This morning I was distracted by the London news and somehow (still not quite sure) I sat on my knitting. Ouch, yes considering it's a sock, but I was more concerned with the needles than my hindquarters. I managed to split one needle nearly in half about 1.5 inches from the end.
I freaked out, slathered wood glue on it and clamped it. I thought I had better clamp it tight. Ummm sure. So now I have a needle that could possibly have been repaired to back-up status by my husband smooshed, stained by a clamp, still split and fugly.

I tell ya though it's hard to rant hearing my 2 year old singing along with Veggietales in the background.

Secret Pal Goodness!

2005-07-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Literally ten minutes after finding out that James Doohan had passed away, I heard the mailman pulling up with a package. I crossed my fingers and toes (kinda hard to walk that way) and hoped it was for me. I know I've been blessed by the Gifty Gods lately but I was depressed and needed a pick-me-up.
Boy did this ever pick me up!! It was just one shriek and Oh My God after another as I uncovered my loot. I haven't tried Knitpicks yarn yet, but instantly recognized the two skeins of Color Your Own. I had no clue there were four more balls of yarn in store! I received two balls of Simple Stripes in "Vinyard" and two balls of Dancing in "Ballet". Man, I never would have thought a few years ago I'd be grinning this much about sock yarn!
Now on to the other goodies, The Sock It To Me chart has been on my list of "Needful Things" for awhile. Awesome! I also got a whole box of Tazo Zen Green Tea (mmmm), chocolate mousse mix,(yummm) and the most adorable wooly sheep Pez dispenser! (sugar!)
Everything in the package smells soooo good thanks to the Bath & Body Works "Coconut Lime" loot! I remember saying I like citrus somewhere, but I never mentioned that I love coconut! How did she know? I'm so overwhelmed.
On top of everything else the card she sent is handmade and gorgeous.
Eveything is awesomely wonderful and came just when I needed it, thank you so much my Secret Blogger Pal!!

The Humble Beginnings of a Cocktail Bag...Modeled by the lovely Moonstone.

2005-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, hemp hurts my little digits! The knitting isn't quite so rough as picking up the stitches to start knitting in the round. Major ouch factor. My gauge is off but I don't care since it's a bag. (and there's no way I'm starting over!) My measurements are still matching the pattern so bonus there. I increased on both sides after picking up the stitches as I was only able to pick up 18 instead of 23. It's looking wonky as heck, and the hemp goes from thin to a little thicker and has lots of poky bits. I can't wait to be done with the knitting and block this thing! Then I can sew on all the girly bits and attempt to keep my own girlies from stealing it. Oh yeah, I also only have 4 size 7 metal double points, so before knitting off of each needle I have to slip in a number 5 to hold the stitches, and then knit with the needle I just yoinked out. Fun. :-)

WIP Roll Call....

2005-07-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

In response to Tabbytuxedo's recent question of what I shall knit first from my SP haul, here is your answer. :-)
This is my Blackout Shawl. The yarn is Fleece Artist Goldilocks and uber-gorgeous.

I'm anxious to get more wooden & bamboo circs, the size 10 aluminums I'm using for the shawl are driving me nuts.

This is a dress I'm working on for Saoirse. The main yarn is some mystery cotton/nylon blend stuff procured in a large eBay lot. I'm using the dress pattern from The Yarn Girls' Guide To Kid Knits

I've had to alter the heck out of the pattern with this yarn, and hope my calculations will be correct. This stuff has little shiny wormy like portions that weird me out, but in a good way. As soon as this dress is done those double points are destined to create a Cocktail Mermaid Bag.

Now we have my poor, sadly frogged I Do. She was halfway done as the small size, and now must be re-knit as a medium because I'm fatter than I thought I was, apparently. The Karabella yarn sure is divine though.

Here's Nana's Tie One On

As you can see, I haven't made it much farther than the first drop-stitch pattern repeat. This is my "I Must Concentrate" project, meaning I do not knit this around hyperactive little girlies, adoring husband, or distracting t.v.

R2's like, "Man, if I could just roll over to that shady spot." and my Luke's face seems to be melting off. They both like the Kidsilk Haze as much as I do.

Here we have yarn destined to be pet and loved by Tabbytuxedo, spun in gratitude for the awesome cd she sent me. While not a knitting project, this is a work in progress. The fiber content is 50/50 cashmere/merino and is like spinning kitten fur.
I have both hanks spun but only one plied so far. These should be going in the mail Monday.

This is the beginnings of a sock for the yet unborn (and overdue) Nielsen baby boy. I feel so bad for Kim in this heat.
The yarn is my homespun superwash lambswool merino, in a cool dark blue shade with flecks of forest green. They're being knit to go with these socks:

I knit these from the Louet roving spun up last week, and am short about 30 yards to make a matching hat in the same 6-9 month size. I've decided to knit a total of three different pairs of socks to send for him then instead of a sock/bootie & hat combo. The third pair of socks will be black superwash lambswool merino.

Wow, was that everything? I'm sure I have more lurking around here somewhere...