Sunday, March 31, 2013

Tradition

I just had to do it. I couldn't keep walking past the egg dye displays and not bring any home.



I also found a bag of Cormo leftovers in the fleece shed. They are not the best quality but they would be good enough for an afternoon of washing and dyeing bliss. Read all about it on Woolly Wednesday.



While I was loading up on the egg dye, I also couldn't resist picking up a few of these mini daffodils I found in the Walmart garden center. Next Easter I won't have to tramp through the woods to find the rogue clumps that spring up here and there. Now I have my own.


 Oh, and I did get around to also actually dyeing some eggs with all that dye.

Happy Easter!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Caught Cha!


The only thing interesting about this post is that I finally figured out why all of a sudden I am posting on the wrong date all the time lately. It's not me. I set this post to publish on March 28 and I watched it switch to today's date all by itself. If you don't hit the DONE button soon enough it seems to want to switch all on it's own. At least it does on my computer.

Now that all this is cleared up I can tell you about these Easter egg dyed Corriedale socks-the last of the ones coming off the needles for a long while. The locks were dyed last Easter with Paas egg dye and I couldn't ask for prettier colors although I recall being very disappointed in them last spring.


 These locks to be exact. You can read about all about it here.


I have been avoiding making eye contact with the egg dye displays in the stores because I really don't have anything out in the shed worth dyeing this year. Having wrote that, I am more than sure I will out digging in the fleece shed before the day is out seeing if there is something I may have overlooked because it has become something of a tradition to dye fleece along with the eggs and I am such a creature of habit. Sigh. What I really should be doing instead is finishing this other dang sock.


Friday, March 29, 2013

Almost Bed Ready

The giant puddle of fabric I have been machine quilting for months is finally done-the quilting part that is. I still have to trim it and bind it. Getting pictures of anything I want to show off is hard this time of year. I now have a deck that is half in the sun and half not. Not bad for socks and skeins of handspun but as you can see it's just not working for things as big as this quilt.

 I really love this quilt. It is nothing to be proud of-technical wise, but I love the colors and the crazy pattern.



The best thing I can say about my free motion quilting is that it was free. Dragging that material around trying for the look of a carefree meander was hard work. I sure wish I had the money for one of those fancy long arm doo-hickeys. This was torture.



All things considered it wasn't too terrible for my first try at something larger than a table runner but I certainly would think twice about doing something this big on my little machine, in my teeny tiny craft room ever again.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Eyeballing It

 My spinning adventure continues with the Elven Woods BFL/Silk. The adventure has not been with the spinning. It has been with the plying. I have tried various, ever complicated methods of splitting a bobbin of the same color into two so I can keep the color definition. This time around, in a grand funk due to Miserable March, I just took my best guess with a very large bobbin of the green. This is how much I had left on one bobbin. Not bad. I need to trust my instincts more often.


I used up this last bit by adding it on to the end. I staggered the cut ends then spit spliced them while using both ends of the little center pull ball. This is the second time this has worked like a charm so I think I am finally over the 2 ply leftover syndrome.

This is going to be the top part of the shawl so as soon as I finish the Arietta I can cast this one on. I should be more excited about that but the March funk is still on me and all I want to do is lie about with my nose in my Kindle or start insane projects that have nothing to do with the million things I already have going on. I really need to get a grip.


There are also two more small sections that need to spun of the cannibalized fiber I began with. I am not sure where they will fall in the color scheme but I suppose I will figure something out.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Second Try

My second try at this rug hooking thing went a little smoother than the first time around. I am starting to figure out how to make the hook do what I want to do but I was still starting on the outside and working inwards which is a big no-no if you want the center to work out right.


It becomes harder and harder to pull the wool through as the material grows tighter and tighter.


What I have also learned is that I need a new type of hook and the good ones aren't cheap. I am looking at about $40 for one that will make this whole thing even easier by making a bigger hole so I don't have to do so much pulling and tugging to get the fuzzy wool through the narrow holes in the stiff burlap.


 You really think I would have given this all up as folly by now but playing with all those brilliant colors of fuzzy wool fabric is just too much fun.


 I also keep reminding myself that $40 for a hook is nothing compared to the thousands of dollars in tools I have to make my own yarn. NONE of this stuff is cheap.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Spring Interrupted


At around 3:30 am I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I could hear the rain we were expecting on the roof so when I peeked out the window an hour or so later I was more than surprised at what I saw.



We panic at unexpected snows because we are at the bottom of a long steep driveway. I had to get Daddio to the doctor's in a few hours so I drug The Mister out of bed to move the vehicles before we got snowed in.



 We have only had a dusting in several years so it was impossible to return to bed and ignore what was happening outside.



 Still in my pajamas, I put on my Crazy Corriedale sweater and had as much fun as my ancient self could have that early in the morning.




 I am happy to report that on it's maiden voyage, the sweater was lovely and warm. I had just woven in the ends the night before and have still yet to block it.




As the sun came up, it all started to get soggy and wet.



 It was time to head back in. A big breakfast was in order.


It was pure bliss snuggling back under the covers with a full tummy for a quick nap while still watching the snow continue to fall. It was nice to finally have a little winter. By late afternoon it was almost all gone.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Swamp Thing

I fell in love with these Owlie Mitts when I saw them on Wandering Cat's blog a while ago so when they had a sale on their yarn last week I couldn't resist.


I thought these swampy colors might be prefect for a handful of owls.


 So far, so good.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Out

I drug the ladybug out for a spin in the sunshine for the first time this year. It could have been warmer but I'm not complaining. It has been a crazy spring so far considering it was 70 degrees in February. Getting the wool out in the fresh air before the mosquito plague descends upon us is always a pleasure. Cleaning out the shed I store my fleeces in all winter is not-but that's a sorry tale for another day.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

In the Loop


I worked up the courage to hook some wool strips into my burlap. This is the result of try number two. Number one was awful.


This one is not so great either but I am fond of it. The loops are supposed to be in rows and sort of straight and you can see that is not happening.

One reason is that I am starting on the outside of the shape I am trying to fill. You should start on the inside and work out but I am not brave enough to try this yet. I need those lines to help me get things situated. Maybe I will give it a go on the next petal because if it is one thing I have learned, those loops are really easy to pull out.
I am using this video series to figure this all out.
 



Friday, March 22, 2013

Undine!


My lovely Undine socks are done. Even the ends are woven in.

As usual, all my fretting about the stripes was for naught. They look perfect without any fiddling about on my part.

I am particularly in love with the heels and toes as they look like a completely different but coordinating yarn. Look at the lovely rainbow that emerges as the diameter gets smaller. Brilliant.


Same with those heels. I can't thank Wandering Cat Yarns enough for this lovely gift. If you want to see some of their beautiful hand dyed yarns over on Etsy go here. I'm waiting for some that I picked up this weekend on their March Break sale myself.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Loopy

I bought a bag of 100 already cut pieces of wool fabric from someone on ebay so I would have some colors to play with when I begin to hook my first little rug.


Now that I can see what the pieces are supposed to look like, I went and cut up some large pieces we had picked up in Rhinebeck.


These to be exact.

In no time I had a few piles ready to go.

What I still didn't have was a design on my canvas so I gathered some inspiration as I was completely out of it at the moment.


It's not terribly creative, but I am not really sure what I am doing just yet. If this is a success then I will put a little more effort in the next design. Until then, I am just going to go play around and try to figure out how to use that hooky thing to turn all that pretty wool into little loops.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Spring Fling

I took the camera out yesterday to see if there were any signs of life. In the woods, I was happy to see my favorite clump of fairy flowers had made it through the winter.  Aren't they adorable?


Also in the woods were these pretty crocus. The underground critters grab the bulbs and replant them in the strangest places.



 This yellow blossom was over on the sunny side of the house in a dreary patch of mud.



Of course my pretty pink camellias were blooming all over the place. The two red ones are still sleeping.


The roses are enjoying the sunshine through the leafless trees. In a few weeks they will be in too much shade for any more that a bloom or two all summer.


The hydrangea is coming back to life. I hope we have as many blooms this year as we did last year. The old thing out did itself.


The rhododendrons are in bud but they will stay that way until May. The poor things were all but destroyed by Snowpocolypse. The Mister wants to replace them but I haven't the heart.



Last but not least, the vinca that grows up against the house has begun to bloom and put out new runners. They will be a giant pain in a few weeks but for now I appreciate the reminder that winter is over.
Happy first day of spring!