The Lace Shepherdess

Why yes, I do knit socks.....

2011-11-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

I have been knitting socks for many years. Once long ago I read a pattern and when I got to the turn the heel instructions I balked. "Oh no, I do not think I can do that" went through my head. One day I saw and article in Spin-Off by Celia Quinn on knitting boot socks. With the article and the Elizabeth Zimmerman book that Celia mentions I decided to take the plunge. I figured if I got stuck I could ask for help.One step at a time is good in many situations. Go forward until you are at the end or get stuck and either figure it out, or ask for help. I managed to knit a pair of socks following the instructions even when I thought things did not look right. It worked! I was then on the path to being a sock knitter. I even had a pair of hand spun dog hair and wool socks published in Spin-Off. Now these many years later I always have at least one pair in progress so I have something to do while waiting in a doctor's office or at the auto repair shop, etc. I used double points for a very long time and finally tried two socks at a time on two circular needles and now also the magic loop on one circular. A few years ago I tried toe up and that is my preferred method. Three pair in progress in the picture are 3 ply hand spun BFL that I had blended with 20% nylon at the mill. I dyed the yarn in balls, sitting them first into one color and then turning the balls over into another color. This is a fun way to dye and I like the results. From top left the socks are; Jojoland Melody, (magic loop) Drops Fabel Superwash, (magic loop) and the other three are my hand spun. (double points) The first pair was done with peacock and old rose, second is a mix of color to cover up the screaming orange from the first dip into the pot. The last is done in purple and forest green. However, there are only a few spots of green showing, it turned into a nice gray where the dye mixed. Not bad, but not what I was aiming for either. I will be playing more with this technique, but first I must get more sock yarn spun.

More Dye results

2011-11-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

We went from this>

To this>

Spot dyed dark gray Coopworth roving from Mocha Blue turned into a Navajo ply yarn. What fun!

and then today.........

More of Sierra Silver dyed Myrtle Green. Straight from the dye pot, hung to drip.

This is also Sierra Silver. I think I am going to call this one Embers. It was a combination of orange, peacock and magenta. Mixed and added to the dye pot. Then the soaked roving was added. The colors split and I like the effect.

Another Great Retreat and improvisation

2011-11-07T16:01:00.000-08:00

The past weekend was spent with wonderful friends at our annual retreat. There was lots of spinning and knitting and some really great food. The weather was very cool and we had wind and rain. Perfect for wearing wool socks and woolies. Although a bit cool and damp for spinning on the deck. So many laughs that my sides are still sore. My cheeks hurt too come to think of it. My daughter in law tried her hand at spinning using a crochet hook to get the feel of twisting. I did not have my twisty stick with me nor did Cheryl. So I improvised with a tip from an oak branch tip that I found on the deck while Cheryl made some hook sticks from a coat hanger. It is from plastic coated wire and about 8 inches long.

Kelley soon decided to try with a spinning wheel. She borrowed a Lendrum and got the hang of things pretty quickly. In a short while she had a singles skein to take home. It is wonderful that my daughter in law wants to learn to spin. However, I may be creating a monster. She is a massage therapist and does massage during our retreat weekends. The gals may be upset with me if Kelley would rather spin than do massages. Ha.

Played with dye again today

2011-11-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

I dyed Coopworth wool that was originally pale to dark gray. First Sierra Silver is now dyed plum.

Next is Sierra again and this was a pot of some mixed roses and a bit of magenta.

Mocha Blue is a dark gray. This was done with dyes dropped in spots all over the damp roving and then steamed. I used peacock, teal and magenta dyes. The mix created some dark purple. All photos are of wet fibers, they will dry a bit lighter. This one was just playing around. I think it will make an interesting yarn.

Garry Coopworth is pale gray and this was done in the pot after Sierra had been dyed. Exhausting the dye.

This is also Garry done in a lavender pot. I think this one is my favorite.

All dye pots have come out with variations in the roving. I like it that way. A solid color all the way through is nice, but a bit boring.

More of the same

2011-10-27T14:49:00.000-07:00

The dyeing continues.

Close up of the skeins from the other day. They are drying in the house now.

The Jacob is dry and into a ball again.

Silk cap dyed with greens and a bit of yellow. Yellow and rose cap in the background.

Silk cap spotted with plum.

Dyeing has started

2011-10-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

The dyeing is coming along, although not much of a dent has been made in the stock solutions. Will do more soon. So far it has been wool, silk and a combination of wool and llama. I have more silk caps and roving planned as well as a lot of the natural colored Coopworth and Shetland. They make such lovely heather colors.

Hand spun 3 ply BFL blended with nylon sock yarn. I dyed in ball form. Half in purple and then turned the balls over and dyed in forest green. The green shows mostly gray.

Hand spun in various combinations.

Silk cap, silk, silk, baby alpaca and silk sampling. Jacob in the back.

Silk roving in shades of pink and rose before rinsing.

Color Color Everywhere

2011-10-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

Today I Made stock solutions. Will be dyeing on Monday. I have been putting this off for a while. Not as much fun to do it alone so I have asked a friend to come play. I had a lot of dyes on hand that are various colors. After these are gone I will only use primaries and can mix whatever colors I wish.

Will be playing on the back patio. This was taken when I had some of the dyes mixed. We are going to dye wool and silk. Hope to post successful results next week.

This is after all are mixed and waiting. Chopsticks work well for stirring. Lets you know what the colors are too.

New look

2011-10-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog.
I have neglected you for a while so today I gave you a new look. Hope you like it. I have been busy taking pictures and putting things into my etsy shop. http://etsy.com/shop/TheLaceShepherdess Here are just a few things.

This is a busy time of year with the holidays coming and lots of gifts to make. Looking forward to cooler weather and more spinning and knitting time.

Went to Lambtown USA on October 1st with some gals from my group. Had a great day and the weather was wonderful. I was good and only bought one alpaca fleece.

Diz Debut

2011-08-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

Today I listed the cow horn diz (es?, what is the plural anyway?)in my etsy shop. The dictionary does not list diz, but it does list dizen: To dress a distaff with flax. Learn something new all of the time. ;-) Take a look if you have a wool comber on your Christmas list. Or just take a look. Thanks.

Wine and Wool

2011-07-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an adventure of wine tasting and wool spinning. A local winery was a great setting for demonstrating to the public and getting acquainted with some new fiber people.

Tivy Mt Vintners.

Cool in the shade.

Knitting and wine do go together.

Although it looks like the wine made her do it, she did not have a drop.

Using my Diz

2011-07-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

I wish I had taken a picture when I first opened the fiber bundle. Guess I was just too excited to get started! This is the Aqua Fresca colorway from Lisa Souza. Zen Top. 50% Merino, 25% Tussah Silk, 25% Bamboo. The fiber was a bit compacted from dyeing. I opened the fibers and then stripped lengths and opened them even more. I am using a diz that I made from cow horn.(available in my etsy shop soon) Can't wait to start spinning. I love this fiber.

After opening a bit.

Through the diz.

See how it smooths the fiber.

Fiber *nests* ready to spin.

I have only just started the prep. This basket will be quite full when finished.

Pictures of etsy items

2011-07-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

New on my blog is a slide show of items from my etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLaceShepherdess Hope you enjoy viewing. I am working on a variety of diz to add to the shop soon. Cow horn is traditional so that I what I am using. Messy and smelly, but I think it will be worth it.

Back from the fiber mill

2011-06-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

Six Coopworth and Shetland fleeces back from the mill. More coming. I am in the process of putting this mountain into manageable portions and then into storage. It feels so good in my hands. Cannot wait to sit and spin. I will be offering some of this loveliness in my etsy shop...keep checking.

New Shop

2011-05-31T14:33:00.001-07:00

I did it! Today I opened a shop on etsy. I am feeling my way and will be adding things as I go. I am sure that there will be some tweaking of things for a while. This is exciting and scary too. If you want to take a look the addy is http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheLaceShepherdess

Better I hope

2011-05-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

The first picture in the former post was pretty bad. The lighting was not so good coming from above. I also found out that black takes a lot of bandwidth? pixels? Whatever it is, it is not so good. Now I need to rethink some of the photos that I have taken for my etsy shop. One cannot just slap some pictures up and expect good results. Now let's see if this is any better..................
Hope to get the shop going soon.

More playing with photos

2011-05-10T11:29:00.000-07:00

These were taken indoors with light from above.

Coopworth X Scottish Blackface

Coopworth. Her name is Mocha.

Jacob wool. Felicia and daughter Amy combined.

Playing with pictures

2011-05-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

I will be opening an etsy shop. I am playing with pictures to show what I have to offer. So this is sort of a test to see how things might look. I will announce the opening when it happens. Please check back.

Taken indoors with light from above.

Taken outdoors using the sun.

Taken outdoors in morning sunlight. I think this gives pretty true color of the wool.

Shearing Day

2011-03-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

Before.

After.

Saturday was shearing day and we have been experiencing cold rain and wind. So happy that the rain held off until evening. About 70 sheep and half that number of angora goats were relieved of their wonderful fiber. Some of my fleeces have been reserved. The rest will be going to Morro Fleece Works to be prepared. I have Coopworth, Shetland, FinnXMontedale, CoopworthXScottish Blackface, Jacob, and Alpaca roving for sale. If interested, contact me for colors and prices. Spinlace@gmail.com or rislybear@aol.com.

Silk Cap Spinning

2011-01-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

I introduced the group to spinning silk caps from swifts at yesterday's meeting. Some preferred pulling the caps into roving and spinning that way. We spun the silk that was dyed at our Roc Day gathering.

K. is knitting a sweater from her Shetland hand spun. She is using all the natural colors from her flock. Lovely.

Color change

2011-01-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

I have dyed the cap and mitts with strawberry koolade. More to DIL's liking I think. The cap is on a hat blocker. Finished the baby feather and fan mitts for myself, but gave them to a friend, so it is back to square one. Good thing I have more of the yarn left.

I spent a few days with a friend while her husband was out of the country on a business trip. It was the most wonderful few days and as always, too short! We knitted and spun and had a lot of laughs. I got to try her lovely Alden Amos wheel and it spins smooth as buttah......for ever and ever. There are deer everywhere in the forest. Bucks, does and fawns of all ages and sizes. They come to nap and play just outside the fence. It was lovely to watch them as I sat knitting. We watched a lot of BBC DVDs and it was a bit difficult to pay attention when the deer were around. The moonlight in the forest was enchanting. Wonderful memories.

Roc Day Dyeing

2011-01-09T07:24:00.001-08:00

It was 36 degrees on the patio. A dozen very hardy gals we were! The day was spent dyeing, spinning, knitting, and getting warm with wonderful hot soups and chili. The focus was on silk cap dyeing with some wool and mohair in the vat. The silk was either steamed or done in a microwave. Having a variety of ways to set the dye gives choices and helps with time. Important when is is cold and foggy!

Two caps I dyed, rinsed and ready to hang to dry. These were soaked in water with vinegar added prior to dyeing. Laid on plastic wrap and the dye applied in random places. Wrapped and steamed for an hour. I have and electric roaster oven. Placed a rack inside to hold up a disposable aluminum 13X9 pan. Worked like a charm. I poked holes in the pan with an ice pick so that the steam could circulate the packages well. Many packages can be placed in a 13X9 pan.
The caps will be spun from a swift at an upcoming meeting. This will be a new experience for many of the group. Should be a fun and interesting day.

Let's try this again

2011-01-09T07:06:00.001-08:00

Since the last heart mitts caused a Princess and the Pea syndrome........(the dog hair makes her hands itch), I have used a different yarn. This is hand spun FinnXMontedale with Mohair, plied with a tiny, skinny glitz thread. It reminds me of sparkling snow. The Horseshoe cap pattern is from Spin-Off magazine.com. I like them just as they are, but she wants the same strawberry pink, so into the pot they will go......

I have knit another pair of fingerless mitts in the baby feather and fan pattern and will do another hat to go with them. Perhaps for Moi. These will remain un-dyed.

Before and After

2010-12-11T07:32:00.000-08:00

I needed a birthday gift for my daughter in law. These are knit with hand spun Finn/Montedale and Samoyed dog hair. She likes pink, (and hearts) so I thought I would dye them pale pink. I needed it to be quick and did not want to mix up dyes. Kool-Ade was the choice. I had one package of pink lemonade. That probably would have given me what I wanted, but I was impatient, thinking it would be too light. So.......I opened a package of strawberry, removing the mitts first I sprinkled in a TINY amount. Put the mitts back into the pot and let it simmer until the water was clear. The result was less than spectacular in my opinion because I was aiming for PALE pink. I was disappointed. However, she loved them and the color too.

Another wonderful retreat

2010-11-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

13 attended my group's third retreat. This time we had a class in Nuno felting. Had a great time and learned a lot. More scarves have been ordered so we can do it again. Once again we had the services of my daughter in law, the massage therapist. The weather went from hot to very cool in one day with a few sprinkles. That did not hinder our fun. Much spinning and felting and knitting going on all weekend both inside the three level house and on the porches and decks. There was great food and wine. Good friends and lots of laughs. What more could anyone ask?

Vicki wearing my first attempt. It needs some tacking and embellishing.

My second scarf before felting.

Where did everyone go? Must have been lunch time! Wonderful view.

Cute little bag

2010-11-15T06:18:00.000-08:00

Just finished a little bag. It is handspun Cotswold that has just a tiny bit of copper firestar added to it. Bought the fiber at Morro Fleeceworks. Spun on my Suzie Pro. I like the pattern, although it is a bit fuzzy to see all of the detail. (both picture and bag) I added some beads to it just to make it a bit more jazzy. It is for a friend and I know that she likes red.

Ah ha!

2010-10-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

I had a light bulb moment when looking at a rear view mirror part. You know, the one that makes objects appear closer than they are? I added a clip and it just sits on the wooden crosspiece on my Susie Pro. Now I can keep an eye on how the bobbin is filling.

A Challenge

2010-10-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

The vest is finished. Two actually. The first one is handspun Coopworth from my girl Sierra. I have The Swearer Wizard software program. I can create patterns to fit. I used it for a vest pattern and added some lace stitches around the bottom and up the fronts. I am happy with this vest.

The second vest is from wool yarn that I picked up at an estate sale. I once again used the software to generate my pattern and added the cables and lace on the front from another pattern. It took some concentration to get it right. I used stitch markers and row counters for each section as the patterns each had different row counts in the repeats. You can see that in the previous blog entry. I had to rip back about four times. The fact that I was waiting for my knee surgery and on medication probably entered in to the difficulities. After the vest was finished and blocked I tried it on and I really do not like the fit. It is too square in the underarm area. Not the software's fault. It is my fault. I generated a pattern for a vest and should have used the choice for a shell. I was envisioning a nice curve to the underarm area. I do have more of the yarn so I can make another vest that I will like better and either rip out the first one or put it up for sale. See, you really can use those lemons. ;-)

Life gave me lemons

2010-08-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

No, not the yarn or the knitting..........I am suffering with a torn meniscus and waiting to hear when I will have surgery. To keep my mind off of my problems and the discomfort I have been knitting this vest. 100% wool. It is called Glengary. It is one that needs a bit of gray matter and so far I have gone to the frog pond three times. I am on the right track now. My stitch markers help along with three row counters. The patterns are all different row counts. During this down time I am doing a lot of knitting, reading, bobbin lace,and listening to books on tape. I finished a vest that had been lingering a while, and have three pair of socks in progress. Could be worse. The most aggravating thing is that I cannot go down the hill to see my animals. Really makes me appreciate being whole. I will be that way again soon I hope.

Lady Fern Targhee

2010-07-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

I was gifted 8 ounces of hand painted Targhee top at Christmas. I divided it into thirds by weight. Then stripped the top down to thin pieces. I spun three bobbins and then plied them together, resulting in two skeins of lace weight. One has 339 yards and the other has 358 yards. I had a bit left on a couple of the bobbins so I Navajo plied that and got 30 yards. Came out pretty close by weighing and I tried to spin consistently. I was pleased with the way it came out. I thought it might become a shawl, but I may have to just look at the yarn a while. Any Suggestions?

Color Coordinated

2010-06-02T10:32:00.001-07:00

See how nice the color of the Targhee I am spinning goes with the wheel on my Suzie Pro?

Do you think I should get a Majacraft Alpaca if I wish to spin black wool? :-)

No Wonder it took so long.....

2010-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Just off the needles are a pair of socks for my son. He and his family are Civil War reenactors so they need wool socks. Thought the comparison is pretty funny, with my socks in progress. I wear a size 5-51/2 shoe and my son wears a size 9 1/2. His socks have 10.5 inch tops. Mine will have 8 inch tops and will have a much shorter foot.

2010-05-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sable by Tahki Yarn. 70% Merino and 30% French Angora. Lovely and soft. The pattern is one that I found on Ravelry. It is called Checkerboard Lace. This was a fun knit.

Wool Breeds

2010-04-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

I finished the 46 samples in the Wool Breed Study box. I just worked on the samples as I had time in between other projects. This was a fun learning experience. See the February 3rd post for more information on how I processed and mounted the samples. I also made small skeins and hung them on a metal ring, so that people can handle them. They are tagged with the year and wool breed. This box will be invaluable to my local group of fiber enthusiasts. Now people can see and feel the various wool breeds and that should help with making decisions about what to purchase for their projects.

There is just nothing like freshly combed fiber. I have the first shearing from Seth, one of my Coopworth triplets to wash and then I will be combing it with my five pitch John Meck combs. That will be a good summer project. That is not all that is on tap for summer. I have a list as long as both arms and one leg. Of course the list will grow once the fleeces that I took to the mill are finished.

Trades are like Christmas!!!

2010-04-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

Oh my! A box just arrived from Gypsyspinner. (Thank you Jody!!!) It is like opening a Christmas box. I sent Coopworth,and told her to surprise me. That she did! In return I got 1/2 pound of cria alpaca, 50 gr.rose grey cria and bombyx silk carded together, 1/2 pound of New Zealand Polworth, 75 gr. cria alpaca and tussah silk, a skein of alpaca/bamboo, and a sample of Gotland wool. Everything is so soft and lovely! I cannot wait to spin it. Think I will go pet the skein a while............

2010-03-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

I am spinning Coopworth. So far I have approximately 600 yards of 3 ply. I have one more bobbin to finish for the second half, so should have around another 600 yards when finished. This is sport/worsted weight and may become a vest. This wool is from Sierra's brother who belonged to the man that had my ewes. He died last fall so there will be no more fleece from him. (the ram died, not the man).

2010-03-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Shearing day was yesterday and the weather could not have been better. Great company and potluck. Everyone pitched in and the day went really well. Fifty head of sheep were shorn by 2PM. Hauled my sheep and a friend's in the trailer that B. had fixed up just for this. It was his dad's car trailer and he had a wire cage attached with a gate in the middle and double gates in the back. Here are the sheep loaded up after shearing. And I must say that mine walked into the trailer like obedient children. They are so good. Made this shepherdess proud.

I have fleece for sale as well as processed roving. Email me for prices and availability. spinlace@gmail.com or rislybear@aol.com. Thank you.

Click on all of the pictures to make them bigger.

2010-03-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is Sequoia. She is Sierra's mother and Garry Coopworth's grandmother. This fleece is sold. Reserved 2011

This is Sierra. Garry Coopworth's mother.

This is Garry Coopworth.

2010-03-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

This is Jeremiah. Reserved 2011

This is Seth.

This is Timothy. Fleece is Sold

I have not skirted the fleeces yet so everything shows. This is the first shearing for the Coopworth triplets, Timothy, Seth and Jeremiah. They are so different. Seth is white, Jeremiah is very dark and Timothy is spotted on his body with fleece of several shades.

2010-03-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is Ian. A Shetland.

This is Cedric. A Shetland.

This is Mocha. She is Coopworth.

Making a little progress......

2010-02-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

Here is the way I am processing the wool breed samples. Wash with Kookaburra Scour after teasing a bit and picking out any vm. After it is dry, place a lock on the sample card. Comb or card the fiber. (I am combing most of them.) After I have spun the sample, I wind some of the single onto the sample card and then wind the rest off the bobbin onto a tp roll as you would with a nostepinne. I start with chain ply and then after putting that onto the sample card, I finish up the ball by plying from the inside and outside, making the two ply. Then it is ready to weave a sample and knit a sample with the balance put into a small skein. I am able to see and feel many wool breeds this way and it will help with decisions in the future for purchase or project.

Weaving a sample of the two ply with the Weave-It two inch frame.

Spinning the CVM. I think I am in love! It is wonderful stuff. I combed it with my Alvin Riemer fine two pitch combs and spun it on the Mitzi.

Here are some of the samples drying in the studio. The swift is good for more than holding skeins.

Wool Breed Study

2010-02-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

I have started washing samples of wool breeds for my group to use as reference. There are 46 one ounce samples and so far I have washed a dozen or so and mounted three. This is great because it gives me an opportunity to see and feel the breeds. Some are surprising. I had notions of what they would be like and of course I was wrong about some. I am opening the fiber and getting rid of debris and second cuts. Then putting it into cheesecloth squares and tying in a bundle. See the little tags on the table? They are cut from milk cartons and labeled with a permanent marker. I am placing them on one corner of the bundle when tying to make it easy to identify each sample.

Unfortunately this sample of BFL was not sound and I was not able to selvage much. One of the samples was full of moth eggs and casings. The samples came in Ziploc bags and one out of 46 was not too bad I think. That was a good opportunity to show my group what to look for when we had a *Washing 101* lesson on Sunday. It re enforced the notion to check your stash often. You never know when those little critters are going to get in.

This is how I am mounting the samples. A lock, spun singles, plied, a knitted swatch, a woven swatch and a small skein. I am labeling with wool breed,washing information and if the fiber was combed or carded, knitting needles used, etc. I do this for my own sample box when spinning. No, not every project gets in there, just when I think about it. ;-)

Meet my grand puppies

2009-12-25T20:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Last night I got to meet my new grand puppies. Stonewall is on the left. He belongs to my oldest grandson. The female does not have a name yet. There is something wonderful about puppies. They are so cute and cuddly. Puppies smell good. (most of the time) It is even better when you can send them home and do not have to be involved in training. My family said that I came *this close* to having one of my own for Christmas. Thanks, kids, but I am happy with my other gifts. Had a wonderful time with the little ones. (two legged).
I am about partied out. Have attended and hosted several this season. One more to go. What wonderful memories are swirling in my head.
I am looking forward to a new year filled with promise.
Wishing you and yours all the best for 2010.

Close

2009-12-14T20:30:00.000-08:00

When I bought my Suzie Pro from Lisa Souza, I received four ounces of Tropical Mist. 90% superfine Merino and 10% Tencel. I weighed the fiber, dividing it into three and spun it on the Suzie Pro. I plied it on my Rappard Mitzi and got one 366 yard skein. I managed to come pretty close to ending all three bobbins at once. I two plied what was left on the last bobbin and made a small sample skein. It was a fun self-challenge. I usually two ply, but I think I will start doing more three ply. Maybe with more practice I can come out closer at the end.

I got the book!

2009-12-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

I received Respect the Spindle, Abby Franquemont's book just out from my Secret Santa. My local group had the annual Christmas party Thursday evening. Great foods, fine friends and lots of fun.

Christmas Knitting

2009-12-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

I have been knitting for Christmas gifts. Over two dozen pair of mitts and a scarf or two. This shows part of them. Some have been given and everyone loves them. The pattern is Baby Fan Mitts by Morgan Wolf. Ewedaimonia.Etsy.com

Retreat

2009-11-12T07:17:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was wonderful! First ever fiber retreat held locally. Three level Victorian home with a great wrap around porch. Spinners and knitters everywhere. Wonderful food and lots of laughs. It was a mega fun weekend and no one wanted to see it end. At one point I was challenged (triple dog dared in fact) to a blindfolded spinning contest. We both spun well with no breaks or problems so it wound up being a tie. I think everyone's stomach hurt from so much laughing. If you have a chance to do a weekend with a bunch of crazy and wonderful women..........do it! We are already thinking about the next one. My daughter in law is massage therapist and was kept busy most of the time. Massage, spinning, knitting, laughs, what better way to spend a weekend?
Don't you think the pillowcase rather looks like a giant sheep head?

The boys have names

2009-10-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

I sat with the sheep this morning while they were having breakfast. For better or worse, some names came to me. Jeremiah, Seth and Timothy.

In June I bought a Majacraft Suzie Pro. I love this wheel. I have added the high speed head. Did some trading for the lace kit, so I can spin a vast range of yarns and fibers. The wheel had been making some noise and I noticed some *play* in the drive wheel. Not a good thing. Upon investigation it was discovered that the shaft bearing was bad. I called the dealer (wheel is under warranty) and sent pictures of the problem. My dealer is Lisa Souza. WWW.LISAKNIT.COM. Lisa's husband was great. He and I discussed the issues and he called Majacraft which resulted in my being shipped a new drive wheel. Great service! I am a happy spinner. I do have other wheels and spindles, so it was not a total hardship being without Suzie for a few days. But you know how it is when you have a project going.............

Comings and Goings

2009-10-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I said goodbye to the twins, Slate and Nubbin. They went to live with a guy that raises Scottish Blackface and trains working dogs. His ram was the one that had his way with Sequoia and that resulted in the birth of the cross bred twin boys.
In their place are triplet wethers that were born this spring. They are Coopworth. I need to name them. Any suggestions?

This and That

2009-10-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

RAIN! I emptied FOUR inches of liquid sunshine this morning from last night's storm. I do hope this is a start of a wet winter. I harvested the cotton bolls a couple of weeks ago. (a bit early) I got about 140 bolls from five plants. I have a large zip loc bag full of brown cotton with seeds. I may gin it or just spin from the seed. That is a fun thing to do.

This is a bit of a catch up post. I just cannot seem to find the time to sit down and write often like a lot of you do.

September 26th was National Alpaca day. Four spinners from my group went to an alpaca farm about an hour away.

http://www.alpacas-porterbraypines.com

We had lovely weather and a lot of people came to see the alpacas and things that were offered for sale. I came home with two bags of alpaca wool. One is a lovely almost black and the other is cinnamon. This is the sire just before he broke out of the pen. He wanted to be back with his girls so he put his head under the rail and lifted the side of the pen and then went to the barn! Good thing that there were other alpaca on display. You cannot believe how black this guy is. One gal said that he looks like negative space. It was the first time that we visited the farm and I think we will go again next year. The alpacas are such lovely creatures and those large liquid eyes.............oh my, I am in love.

The first Saturday of the month was the annual Art and Craft in the Park. It is sponsored by the local garden club. There are many vendors with handcrafted items and some really good foods. There is music and dancing too. And of course there are all of the plants for sale by the garden club. One of the gals in our group has a bear that she used as a knitting bear for display. Her son carved some knitting needles for the bear. It did get a lot of attention and kids had their picture taken with the bear. It was a fun day.

cotton

2009-09-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

The cotton is coming along.............

2009-08-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

I just came in from watering my cotton plants. Planted brown/rust this year and five came up. They have been blooming and setting bolls for a while now. I thought this second day bloom was pretty. Too bad that the blooms do not last longer. First day it is creamy white and the second day it is pink and then it falls off. I love the little *hands* that the plant makes. They hold the boll that forms. I do not, however like them when they are dried up and I am picking the cotton. One has to be very careful not to have them crumble and get all over the fibers.

2009-08-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it is not exactly like making a silk purse out of a sows ear.......but.. I have twin CoopworthXScottish Blackface wethers. The wool is not next to the skin soft, so what are my choices? I thought maybe something felted would work well. Yesterday I whipped out a Mesa bowl. Took no time at all to knit. This morning I felted it. Washing machine, hot wash/cold rinse/extra rinse. I did two cycles with old jeans and towels. I like the results. I am thinking that some embellishment is in order. Beads maybe. I think there is enough yarn for at least one more bowl, perhaps two. This is the ball of yarn that was in a previous post about dyeing. I like the shape of the bowl and the name. Mesa. Also that it looks like turquoise. All came together happily. I love it when that happens.

Bobbin Lace

2009-08-08T08:25:00.001-07:00

Thought I would show a bit of bobbin lace. Really hard to photograph when it is behind plastic.That is why it only shows part of the ruler. (reflected flash) This is a book mark that I elongated to fit into a ruler. I have been making bobbin lace since 2000. Not a lot of experience yet. I really enjoy exploring it when I have the time. So far, I have only done Torchon and a bit of Bedfordshire. There are so many laces to try and so little time!

2009-08-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

As I said, Christmas is coming. This year a lot of people will be getting something to keep their hands cozy. Wonder how many I can finish before December 24th? They are hand spun. Left to right, silk plied with angora rabbit, Merino, Merino and the one in progress is BFL. I have started another pair with mohair. Pictures later if I remember or someone reminds me. ;-)

2009-08-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have been busy making things for the annual sale/trade day. I will be adding earrings this year that look like drop spindles and have used hand spun on them. Mostly silk. Sale/trade day is a lot of fun. This is an annual event and people come for the day. We spin and knit, shop, eat, and have a lot of laughs. The local group is very talented. Fiber, yarns, soaps and lotions, jewelry and all manner of spinning, knitting and weaving related things are available. If you belong to a group this is a wonderful way to trade or sell things that you have created or no longer use.

Gifts for Sheep Mommies

2009-07-13T07:54:00.001-07:00

The hat is two ply ColumbiaXSufflok. Here name is Spreckles. This is a gift for her owner who does not spin, so I got the fleece. I also got a Dorset fleece from another friend called Honey. The ewe, not the friend, although I do not know what her husband calls her. ;-) I dyed the yarn with koolade. I had it on hand for dyeing with kids. Needed something in a hurry and no stock solutions made up. Pink lemonade for the mitts and cherry/black raspberry for the hat.

It has been a while...

2009-07-13T07:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry Blog..............
It has been a lo-o-o-ng time. I have been so very busy. Keep thinking everyday that today is the day to update. So TODAY is the day. Will try to do better,really I will.
Now on to a small update. The group had a dye day recently and the few of us that were there had success with dyeing in skeins, roving and balls. It was fun to inject the balls and see the results when after dyeing they were wound into skeins to dry. It was about 108 degrees that day so they dried quickly! The lower picture is of the yarns after drying and rewinding into balls. Two are hand spun and two are KnitPicks Bare sock yarn. The dye did not penetrate well into the interior of the Bare so the insides of the balls are lighter. When I divided the dyed balls for sock knitting you could see the difference. I will have to knit socks two at a time from the inside and outside of a ball going as far as it will and then use the lighter ball to finish the socks, A bit of a pain to do it that way, but it can be done. The ball of greens in the lower picture is Nubbin, one of my CoopworthXScottish Blackface twins. They are a surprise as we did not know that Sequoia was bred when I bought her.
The balls below it are hand spun BFL with nylon that I had blended at the mill especially for socks. It is three ply. I used lavender/purple/emerald and injected the ball. We used Jacquard dyes.

Bag

2008-11-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

Why is hindsight always 20/20? I forgot to take a picture of the bag before felting. It did look a lot different. The mohair parts had not bloomed. I did not know they would bloom as much, but it does add interest to the bag. This is for a Christmas gift exchange. This years theme is anything felted. Just some odd balls of yarns that I had and ta da. The beads are carved and I only had two of each so they went on opposite sides. I hope the recipient likes it.

Blending for Spinning

2008-10-12T10:39:00.001-07:00

Here you can see the homemade hackle that is actually made from metal hair picks from the dollar store. They are mounted on a scrap piece of 2x2. I found directions on the Internet and they were easy to put together. I made them for a class on blending. These are really fun to play with and to see if one is interested in purchasing a professionally done hackle. These are okay, but if one is seriously doing a lot of blending this way I recommend something more sturdy. Two rows of tines would be nice as well.

2008-10-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

I was given some fleece from Sequoia's first ram lamb. This shows the steps that I am using to card and spin it. The locks are a bit sun bleached on the tips but they are sound so I left them on. You can see in the drum carder tray how the tips are lighter. It just makes the yarn a bit more heathery. Is that a word? Heathery?

Sale/Trade Day

2008-10-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

Last month I hosted the annual sale/trade day for my local group. It is a lot of fun. People come for the day and we spin and knit and shop. Several of us have sheep so there is wool and roving for sale. This year I offered knitting bags. I make them with lots of pockets inside and two on the outside. Three sizes. It is fun to see a lot of my bags come in to a meeting. We had mini booths set up in the front yard and in the carport. Used the front and back patios for spinning. What fun! I also make stitch markers and soap. One of the gals in the group makes soaps and lotions and bath salts, etc. This was the third one and word is getting out so we had new people this year.

2008-10-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

I am going to try several posts in one day to get caught up a bit. I did have the knee surgery but will not bore you with that stuff.
My flock is growing. I had sheep and angora rabbits years ago in another life. Getting back now to having animals again and loving it.
I did a bit of solar dyeing this summer. Here is some as it is being combed. It shows up in the lower picture as a skein in the basket. It is the second from the bottom. I am showing off a couple of new spindles. The Golding was a birthday gift from a very dear friend. I love it!!

llamas

2008-10-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

In April a llama came to live here. His name is Archie and he is nearly three years old. Dark Brown. Then in August and little girl llama came. She is four months old. Her name is Veronica. (I did not name them) ;-) She is lovely with wonderful eyes. She is white with a brown tail and has black around her feet that looks like little velvet slippers.

Sheep

2008-10-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Way back when, I asked Rocky if he had done his job. He did. Two of my friend Kathleen's Shetland ewes had lambs. Twins for both. I got a boy from each ewe. Sir Cedric was born on April 23rd. He was a lovely taupe and that is what attracted me to him. As he aged and it was time to pick him up he had changed. He is now very light. Ian was born on May 1st. He was black and now is a lovely cinnamon brown with dark brown underneath. Here is Sir Cedric then. If you look back at the post titled Sheep Babies you will see Peaches (light mother) with her twins. Ian is the dark one. Also there is a picture of Blossom the darker ewe with her twins. Cedric is one of them.

Sheep

2008-10-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

Then on June 26th Sequoia Silver had twin ram lambs. These boys are half Scottish Blackface. Sequoia is Sierra's mother. The ewes were bred when I bought them and this was a surprise. I named them Slate and Nubbin. Here they are with their mom at about a week old. Slate is the one standing.

Sheep

2008-10-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Thought it was time that I updated this blog. Here are some pictures of the happenings around here. A ram lamb was born on June 2nd. He is Coopworth. He was born to Sierra Silver and is her first lamb. I have named him Garry Coopworth. The first picture is when he was about three days old. Isn't he the cutest thing?

Spinning

2008-05-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

I sent some fleece to Spinderella's mill for the first time. www.spinderellas.com I had a BFL fleece blended with 20% nylon to spin for sock yarn. So far I have one bobbin nearly full. I am going to make a three ply yarn. My sample came out the way I planned. (love when that happens). The single is 40 wpi and the three ply is about 24 wpi. Can't wait to get it all spun up and then on to playing with dye. I am very happy with the processing that Jim and Lynn did and will be using them in the future. I must have hit it just right because the wool was back in two weeks.

Washing Wool

2008-05-26T11:33:00.001-07:00

I wanted to process the fleece myself from my ewe's clip. Not the first clip from them, but the first now that they are mine. I washed up one fleece in small batches and the other two I kept the locks aligned and wrapped in cheesecloth and then placed that into some plastic containers. This is great for dunking up and down in the wash and rinse water so no need to touch the fiber. Keeps the locks neat in a row or rows depending on which container I use. Some are large enough to hold two rows, but only one can fit in the sink at a time. I placed the locks into the cheesecloth lined container and then folded over the four sides of the cloth. Fill the sink with very hot water and put in enough dish washing soap to make the water slick. You do not want suds. I used Ultra Dawn. Let the wool soak for at least 20 minutes and then lift out the container and fill the sink with water the same temp as you just let out. I add a *glug* of vinegar to the first rinse. Put the container back into the sink and after a minute or two dunk it up and down gently. It may take one or two more rinses to get the soap out and the water clear. Then I take the whole thing outside and place the locks on a cheesecloth lined wire shelf that is set up on saw horses in the patio. Cover the locks with another piece of cheesecloth to prevent the birds from flying off with the wool and let dry.

Sheep babies

2008-05-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

On April 17th (my birthday)Terri's ewe Judy had twin ram lambs. Both born black, but as of now it looks like they are going to be gray. (Now? Yes, I am behind in posting to my blog. Life seems to get in the way. I have been distracted by knee pain,but that should be resolved soon with surgery.)
These lambs are Shetland. If you read previously, you know that Rocky is the ram and that we took three ewes to the breeder in November. The other two ewes had their lambs on April 23rd and May 1st. Out of the three sets of twins only one is a ewe lamb. Blossom is the brown ewe with brown babies and Peaches is the white ewe that has a black and a white baby. It will be interesting to see how all of these lambs turn out. Most will lighten up quite a bit according to the wool next to the skin.

The Girls are Nekkid!

2008-03-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was shearing day. Six of us trailered our sheep to a central location to be sheared. It looked like a circle of wagons more or less as we waited for the shearer to arrive. He was hours late because his first stop of the morning took longer than expected as he had to round up the sheep. Silly woman did not know that she had to have her critters in a pen waiting for him. What was she thinking??? The weather was cold and cloudy, and very windy. The rain did hold off so I guess the shearing gods were favoring us. We stood around for a long time while waiting, throwing sicks for some of the dogs and visiting. Finally after 2 PM we got started. There were about 40 sheep sheared and by the time we left to come home the shearer was starting on the angora goats. Some of the people do not spin so did not want the fleece. I came home with seven fleeces besides my three. Today I went to get the mohair as the lady where we had the shearing does not spin either and throws it all away. There are three gray angoras there and I think it will be nice to blend some with my Coopworth. As you can see from the picture, the girls look much different then they did when I got them last month. We had heavy frost this morning so I put extra bedding in their pen in the barn. Good incentive for that wool to start growing again!

New Toy

2008-03-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

My Will Taylor 6-ply kate and distaff arrived yesterday. UPS left it in the driveway. Good thing no one saw it before we got home from town! It is oak. Here you can see the pieces and the way it looks when all together. Very clever. Obviously plying is done without the distaff attached. It just slips into the center. Very easy. It even came with a ribbon for tying up the flax. I will change it however since it should match the spinner's eye color or station in life. Hmmmmmmmm, what color does one use for *crone*? Can't wait to use it.

Bags

2008-03-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a spindle bag that my friend Yvonne made. Jeans leg and pockets, trimmed with some of her bobbin lace, antique buttons and a small guardian angel I used a candy tin that slips inside to protect the spindle. The strap is long enough that the bag hangs at my hip making it convenient to spin right out of the bag.

Plying and playing

2008-02-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the ball being plied, then I wound off three skeins. Two are 100 yards and one is 50 yards. I thought I would play with some Kool-Aid to see how the silver gray would turn out. I like the heathered appearance. The smaller skein is done with Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade, then we have Mango, Blastin' Berry Cherry and the unspun fiber in the basket is Grape. Click on the picture for a close up look at the colors. I put some water into a pot and then the skein, heated it a bit and added the Kool-Aid. I simmered each pot about 20-30 minutes until the water was clear. Playing with small batches is fun, but if I were going to do a large amount of fiber or yarn, I would use commercial dyes. It did make the kitchen smell good.

Coopworth wool

2008-02-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

I have washed up some of the wool that was trimmed from the legs and belly of Sequoia Silver. She has an 18 month growth and the sheep guy (Hi Bill) thought she needed trimming so she would not be a sponge when it rained. It is not prime, but not too bad. I love the silver sheen of the ball ready for plying in the first picture. Here it is Washed and some has been combed and skeined.

Alpaca

2008-02-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

I am combing some alpaca that is so soft and wonderful. Hardly any vegetable matter but it does have some very fine dust. It looks beige, but once it is washed it is really cream. I think it will become scarves and perhaps a wimple. It is yummy! If you click on any of the pictures they will open larger.

Sheep!

2008-02-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

I have not updated in a while. Health scare. That took up time and focus. On Sunday the 17th I bought three Coopworth ewes. The one one on the left is the mother to the one in the center and the dark one is unrelated. Mama is four years old and the girls are two years old. I am trying to come up with some names, but so far I am thinking it will be Sequoia, Sierra and Mocha. Mocha is actually dark charcoal underneath. According to color genetics these gals are Silver/Blue with teardrops. See the light teardrops and the white on the noses? Perhaps I should get fancy and call them Sequoia Silver and Sierra Silver and Mocha Blue. In the end they may end up with totally different names. If you are so inclined, please leave a comment with suggestions. Click on the picture and it will open larger where you can really see those teardrops.

Okay girl, you owe me big time.

2008-01-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at the Bear Mt. Fiber Friends group meeting we put T.'s new plying head on her Lendrum. She was using it for the first time and near the end of her plying one of the treadle connectors broke. "Waah...........now what do I do?" As you can see from the picture, I spun the wheel while she finished plying. What are friends for? right? Slow, but better than nothing! Notice how yellow the connectors are. We had just been discussing cloudy or frosty drive bands a couple of days before and thinking it might be time for new ones.
It is snowing as I write this. Lovely out. Glad that I do not have to go anywhere today.

I did not get a lot of time to do anything at the meeting. Hopping around the room all day helping people with warping, weaving, spinning, and knitting. Good turnout in spite of the weather. Good friends and fiber and food to share in a warm room. What more could one ask?

Merino/Silk

2008-01-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

I am spinning some Merino/Silk from The Dizzy Ewe on my Rappard wheel. Pretty fine and it is taking a while. No plans for the yarn at this moment, I am just enjoying the spinning. I keep jumping from one thing to another and perhaps that is why it is taking a while to spin it. I have several knitting projects going, and the cotton to gin. Then there is bobbin lace and beading. There are three meetings a month of the group that I started a couple of years ago. Bear Mt. Fiber Friends. Trying to keep up with many fiber lists on the Internet, and RAVELRY. Oh my, one can loose days there! There is SO much to see. I tried to ad a link to it on this blog, but I have not figured it all out yet. Thought I was doing pretty well getting pictures to show up. [grin] You can find me on Ravelry as SandySpinsLace

2007 Pima

2008-01-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a shot of my Pima of 2007. I planted 12 seeds, but only 3 came up. One plant grew to over six feet tall! I have started hand ginning it and so far I have a basket full of fluffy fiber.

Socks in Progress

2008-01-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pair of socks in progress. The pair on two circulars is Wildfoote. I put a staggered fern stitch pattern on the insteps. The other pair is out of an unknown yarn from my stash. I am using the Options double points from KnitPicks for the first time and find that I like them. One sock is being held on a tin needle holder. Birthday gift from a friend. Thanks T.!

My doll

2008-01-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

I made a knitting bag for a friend and she made this doll in return. She is stuffed with lavender and smells so good. She is living among some of my little knitted bears. They are hand spun from various fibers. Dog hair, camel, llama, silk, angora and wool. They are happy that she has come to live with them, but I cannot introduce them as she does not have a name. Anyone have any good ideas here?

The vest in progress

2007-12-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

As you can see this is going to take a while to set up. It starts with knitted squares that are joined and then more are added. There will be six rows before the main body of the vest is knit. That should go much faster. There will me a multitude of ends to work in too. [sigh]It is a bit of a challenge, but that is what keeps the gray matter young, no? Knit on size 6 needles and my gauge was spot on so I think the Trekking will work out well.

A little bright spot

2007-12-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

It has been foggy and dreary for a few days. So here is a bit of a bright spot.
I have been trying to keep off my feet as I have a knee injury, so not much computer time. It is not my treadling leg, so I got the BFL spun up. Two bobbins full and now need to ply it. I also started a vest. It is a June 2001 Knit'n Style and of course the yarn is not to be found. No matter I am using some Trekking sock yarn.

So Rocky, have you done your job?

2007-12-16T12:35:00.001-08:00

I took some friend's three Shetland ewes to the breeder about a month ago. First is Rocky the Shetland ram. Then there is Diane and Kathleen getting the ewes into the pen. We had a great day trip and wonderful lunch at The Wildflower Cafe in Exeter, CA. Then on to Three Rivers for yarn shopping. Fun day out with friends.
I have spun some fleece from local Shetlands and it is soft and very nice. Perhaps if any of the ewes have twins in the sping there will be a new critter at my house.

Bag Exchange

2007-12-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I had my annual christmas party for a dozen friends. This year we did a bag exchange. This has been going on for years and years and in the past we did cookie exchnages. A few years ago it was decided that we should do one item for excnage rather than 12 dozen cookies as people are busy AND we did not need to be eating all of those cookies. Do not know why *they* did not share with loved ones like I did. ;-)
I have been lax with my picture taking, so there is no picture of the bag that I made. Here is the one that I received. It is lovely and the center square on each side is embelished with beads. Like it? I do.

Spinning BFL

2007-12-14T16:12:00.001-08:00

Thought I would share a picture of some BFL that I am spinning. Got the roving from a friend.(thanks Patty!) It is the first time I have spun BFL. It is coming in at about 32 wpi. This is from a sheep called Buttercup or Butterscotch, I cannot seem to remember. I am spinning on my Rappard Mitzi, one of several wheels I own.

I have some Merino/Tencel from http://www.ChameleonColorworks.com in "Sunflower" going on the Lendrum. I won it from Spindlcity when it premiered. The fiber is spinning up at 40 wpi. These are not my colors so I think it will wind up as a scarf for a friend.

Sorry the picture is not as clear as I would like.

Step onto the path with me

2007-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Come wander down the path with me. We will play with fiber and talk about the animals and I will show you pictures sometimes. I do not know where the path will lead, but I hope we can have some fun along the way.