What a Morning Surprise!!!

Liz you are so delightfully generous in creating such a special package of goodies for me! Not only did she provide some wonderful teas such as Moroccan Mint, but she also sent along two kinds of sock yarn ,one of which is Cherry Tree Hill in a sparkling colorway. I love the mini-bump of Iowa Wool and the mohair accent locks. The teddy bear in her college colors is soft and cuddly.

This morning I used the Badger Balm to soothe my dishpan hands and they feel wonderful!

Tomorrow: I'll be brewing my loose tea using a People's brew basket; measuring my projects with a Kitty tape measure; eating luscious chocolate .

Thank you once again, Liz!

Rock Gardens

I've decided that I must explore rock gardening more thoroughly. I fell in love with some container rock gardens at the Farmer's Daughter nursery in Wakefield,RI. It dawned on me that I had a wonderful aged cement container that I could fill with some dwarf perennials.

Eye Candy Friday

Birthdays and Flowers

Yesterday we celebrated my mom's birthday with a cookout and two birthday cakes. Can you believe it! My niece send along a Pastiche marscapone birthday cake that was to die for.............

Enjoy the False Indigo as well as the roses.

Fiber on Film

I belong to many fiber lists. Thanks to one of its members I can provide this list of fiber related short films. Enjoy!

African Hand Weaver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPG7252dD0E&NR

Moroccan Weaving: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK8-SwWBPXM

Berber weaving : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJglfjET3Jo

Dundee Mill Works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y0mFEf59FE

Silk Show : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQkHntwTGig

Fatty Silkworm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dyDkTpvjUo

Cocoon spinning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee12FgxL4G4

DreamRibbon/ Harvesting Silk Cocoons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWjQCsI2BCE

More Cocoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKN_z-f_5Qg

Silk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCgZvTdQWEU

Indigo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XjydU1p-KA

Carpet (Turkish knots): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffMmYWauJa0

Breaking the Silence

I can't believe I haven't posted for 10 days!!! I kept thinking that I have things to post, but I never got around to it. Here are the 10 days in pictures which include Saturday Spin In. I managed to spin up the cashmere and silk into a singles:

8 Random Things About Me

Can you believe I got tagged by two bloggers at once! Here goes:

1. I love eating 85% dark chocolate...especially with a cup of tea!

2. I own two cats that always wish to be near me but not held by me.

3. I love the smell of raw fleece ( well-skirted of course).

4. The ocean is one of my favorite places.

5.The only gloves I have knit are sideways gloves; a wrist to finger glove is in my future.

6.I abhor doing kitchener stitch, but I do it anyway :).

7.I'm dazzled by the morning moon in the sky;I'm stunned when others never mention its beauty to me.

8.William Blake in one of my favorite poets.

RI Sheep and Wool Festival

Yes ...it was small, but it was our first festival!!! I was pleased to be there to witness it all.

Saturday Spin In

Persistence!!! That's what spinning teaches us. We take small steps to achieve a goal. I have spun one pound of Kona from Ashland Bay...a delightful blend of merino and mohair. The pic does not do the color justice. The green and golden browns are not seen here. I have spun a bulky weight yarn. Thanks to Jenny Bakriges's class at Webs last fall I learned how to create a bulky yarn that I love. Check out her post on hand carding ;she gives a great tip on carding long locks.

Today I plan to attend the R I Sheep and Wool Festival at Coggeshall Farm in Bristol, RI. It's the first sheep and wool festival in RI. There will be demonstrations and vendors and more.

The Daily Bread

We do not live by bread alone! But it helps!!! Thanks to DD and DSIL I received a beautiful dutch oven. It enabled me to bake the No Knead bread you see. It's so easy a 6 year old can make it.
Bread links: UTube Video on the No-Knead method. Check out A Rustic Loaf.

Of course...I began a new felted bag in charcoal Bartlett and I have been reading Rumpole ( a favorite of mine.....dear Leo Mc Kern was the perfect Rumpole!).

I thought the marriage of two worlds...the aquarium and the family room was worth a picture.

Saturday Spin In at Watson Farm

Lavender Loves Lavender

Two of my favorites are Lavender Stoechas and Wisteria.........................

Birth Announcement

We are the proud parents of a baby Swordtail . Follow the arrow to an orange baby fish that can be hard to see among the small pebbles....................Click on the pic to enlarge for better viewing.

Back in the Saddle

It appears that springtime and family reunions have caused me to be remiss in posting this week. The lovely weather is coaxing the blooming trees to reveal their splendor in my neck of the woods. The one container pot that I have filled with hardened off plants is delightful in its display of Rosemary, Hen and Chicks and Violas.

On the Knitting Front: I'm pleased to announce the finish of one pair of red variegated socks in Ellen's Half Pint Farm Yarn. I also am working on the second sock of the my hand dyed sock yarn using Ashford dyes from RI Handspun's shop.

On the Saturday Spin In Front: I continue to spin the Ashland Bay Kona you saw in the last post. I also picked up my Forester spindle last night and spun more of this fiber.
Cathy is sporting a skein drying rack above her new laundry tub. Laurie is hiding in the garden, but has a picture of her next spinning challenge. Kathy bought a lovely Cormo fleece with wonderful crimp at the CT Sheep and Wool Festival. Margene is spinning another luscious spring roving of Amy’s Corriedale Strawberry Fields ,and it she's washing a fleece as well. She also knitted a wonderful baby hat with her handspun!

More Saturday Spinning

I'm a day late, but not a dime short in the spinning world. I continue to spin the Kona Ashland Bay fiber into a bulky yarn.

My spin buds also had much to show.

Paula used her woolee winder to ply some commercial camel and wool.
Carol M displays her lovely blue wool.

Sue displays her own handpainted sock yarn.









Out and About:

Elizabeth got the blue silk wound off her spindle. Lovely sheen..................

Sylvia's hit the jackpot with her "Pretend Saturday." Go see the wonderful fiber she got from Carol Lee.

Judy's sporting "more tools in her belt." She's spinning some textured silk.

Cathy caught the spinning everyday attitude from Sylvia.


Check out Margaret's spindling efforts and her wonderful Wisteria Shawl.....another Evelyn Clark shawl.

Sock Dyeing Experiment

A little sock dyeing goes a long way. After perusing the Internet, I discovered some sites to help me make some striped sock yarn. It's a bit bright. The blue color you see is not accurate. It's really a teal color. Thanks, DD, for buying me some sock yarn to dye as a holiday gift. I used the Ringwood pattern from Knitting Vintage Socks to break up the monotony of the stripes.

Knitty. com has a wonderful sock made from koolaid dyeing . Check out the tutorial there as well.

Glorious Weekend to Garden, Knit and Spin

What a spectacular weather weekend. I just had to get outside and work in the garden. Much to my supreme happiness I spied my Poppy plant. Readers you need to know that I have been trying for years to grow Poppies!!! I also am thrilled to see my Mallow plant has returned. The English Thyme has appeared only in small clusters, but that gives me an opportunity to try a new plant. My Siberian Iris looks very good ;I divided it nicely to transplant it further down the driveway garden. DH bought me some mulch so I better get the weeding and new plant selections done in the near future......

I realize I forgot to post my Saturday Spin In, but it's just more of the same merino and mohair that you saw here. Of course,I did spin some Montedale on my Spanish Peacock spindle. Carol R on the other hand did skein her wonderful dark purple yarn here. Judy started washing her fleece which reminds me I'd better get going with my fleece as well. She's reminding us that the hummers are coming. Elizabeth skeined up her spinning; she spun a lovely rag yarn.

You have to know I finished the Tasha, but with an alteration to the pattern. I crocheted a look alike edging to the two sides after the long drawn out knitted edge along the top. I used Jamieson and Smith's DK Shetland wool. I only needed 6 skeins to complete the shawl for my height. I added a lovely sterling silver pin from Celtic Swan Forge. You'll want to check out their wonderful knitting needles and spinning hooks.

Today's another lovely day....perhaps I'll dye some yarn and wash some fleece....................

Birdsong

The birdsong struck me this morning while I quietly woke from a restful sleep. Peering through the lace curtained window I saw one of the small birds that often grace the front yard shrubbery. Twittering away with its piercing song it raised my dampened spirits.

For too long the dismal forecast created a brooding atmosphere when springtime should have emancipated my mood.

Homage must be paid to such a bird.

The picture above is of a wren taken from Wikipedia.

Saturday Spin In Meeting

I have the great fortune to be a member of the RI Spinning Guild. This Saturday we met for our monthly meeting. We had a great time spinning, socializing and, of course , eating the many goodies that we bring.

At this meeting Judy gave us a challenge. See the raw Border Leicester fleece in the picture above? We have the task of deciding how to process, comb and spin the two colors. I need your collective wisdom. Any ideas about what you would do with my bounty? The usual thoughts come to mind.....wash preserving the lock structure and spin from the lock, spin in the grease using the wheel, wash then card and spin on a spindle. Then there are all the color questions such as blending the two colors using hand cards or spinning each color separately and to make a rag yarn. By the way, the fleece comes from Barbara T at Seldom Seen Farm.

Give me your thoughts.......................

Out and About:
Cathy's mixing roving that look interesting.

Laurie's got 1700 feet of sweater-worthy Coopworth spun on one bobbin.

ELizabeth's working on spinning silk on her spindle and pale beast on the bobbin.

Margene's whipping up a War of the Whorls