9 am
I had been thinking rather haphazardly that I might send in an application to sell stuff at the SPA in Maine in Feb, but I just checked and the application has to arrive by Sept 1, not be postmarked then, so I guess that solves that issue. Many issues get solved by just waiting until it is too late to do anything……
I had just sat down to write when *sniff sniff* I caught a whiff of something awful and realized the dog had rolled in something while I was doing bunnies. Not enough for him to gorge on bunny poops, leading to gas issues, but he also has to adorn himself with revolting substances. So that meant a quick bath for him just now. And as soon as that was done, the fellow from CET (the Center for Ecological Technology) arrived to measure for insulation which they will install with a big state grant covering a large portion. Next week someone will come to do a sealant meaning I guess that they will seal any air leaks in the places where the insulation will go. For the sealing to happen I had to cut 12” square openings in the short walls in the upstairs bedrooms (we have a cape, and the upstairs rooms have short walls and sloped ceilings if that makes sense). I did that last night, well, one more to go. It was pretty tedious, but kind of fun too. Now I will have to figure out how I am going to get those openings closed back up when all is finished. There is actually quite a bit of unused space in those areas, and once they are insulated I wonder if they could actually be used for a bit of storage…. Meaning I would make the little squares I cut out be removable, make them little doors. I’ll have to think about that.
Our “leader” from the Webs spinning group sent a message about someone who wants 5# of wool spun up. I answered and asked about the quality of the wool. But even if it is really primo and lovely and easy to spin, we’re still talking like an hour an ounce, and I’m not so sure anyone would want to pay 16 X 10 x 5 =1600/2 = $800 to get their wool spun. I think they’d better send it off to Green Mountain or somewhere. Of course, once washed it will be < 5 #, and they could send it off to be carded. Still, I wouldn’t want to do it for < $10 an hour. Speaking of which I need to get going on the dog hair I have to spin.
Right now I am really hungry. What will the rest of the day bring? Oh, for one thing I must type up the minutes from last night’s 350 meeting. It was interesting and I’m glad the dd came. Maybe a bit of an education for her – how frustrating meetings of this kind can be. We will meet again next Monday. Not sure how it will all turn out. There were all kinds of interesting ideas thrown about, and a couple of sourpusses that didn’t seem to like anything suggested.
Ok, time to eat since I won’t meditate with this CET guy here.
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Best Friends
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
waffles
9:30 am
Better and better time wise. I very cleverly slept downstairs last night and even though I still took forever getting to sleep, and yes, I still woke up several times, it was better.
Yesterday I only plucked one other bunny and got started on Blizzard. He’s going to take forever because he has bad tangles on his sides. What the heck else did I do all day????? I wrote here. I meditated. I cooked ratatouille; I spun which was very nice. I guess that’s about it. Then in the evening I cooked some of the pork ribs from the meat csa. They were fabulous. And after supper I added lots of photos to my blogger pages.
It’s already 10. I need to meditate, then I want to do more plucking. And I really do have to pay bills. I think I’d better do that first. And eat some waffles after I meditate. I must cook the rest of the batter and then freeze them. The freezer is getting very full.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Better and better time wise. I very cleverly slept downstairs last night and even though I still took forever getting to sleep, and yes, I still woke up several times, it was better.
Yesterday I only plucked one other bunny and got started on Blizzard. He’s going to take forever because he has bad tangles on his sides. What the heck else did I do all day????? I wrote here. I meditated. I cooked ratatouille; I spun which was very nice. I guess that’s about it. Then in the evening I cooked some of the pork ribs from the meat csa. They were fabulous. And after supper I added lots of photos to my blogger pages.
It’s already 10. I need to meditate, then I want to do more plucking. And I really do have to pay bills. I think I’d better do that first. And eat some waffles after I meditate. I must cook the rest of the batter and then freeze them. The freezer is getting very full.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Plucking
10 am
I managed to pluck 4 rabbits yesterday,
quite an accomplishment. Only…11 to go…. Well, at least I like doing it.
Lousy night last night because mainly of dh’s cold. He kept coughing and hacking and getting up. It’s bad enough when there is nothing external to wake me up, I wake up plenty just on my very own, and every time I do it seems to take forever to fall back asleep.
Today I will pluck more bunnies. And spin. I spun half of the last batch of brown/purple. I’ve been looking up small project ideas from the stuff posted on Ravelry (I’ll put the link here again)
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/simply-simpleknits/364225/1-25#11
http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2008/03/500-patterns-to-knit-with-1-285-yards.html
and there are a few good ones that I must try. See if 1 ounce is enough – most of them are about 60 yards so I am focusing on projects of about that size.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
I managed to pluck 4 rabbits yesterday,
quite an accomplishment. Only…11 to go…. Well, at least I like doing it.
Lousy night last night because mainly of dh’s cold. He kept coughing and hacking and getting up. It’s bad enough when there is nothing external to wake me up, I wake up plenty just on my very own, and every time I do it seems to take forever to fall back asleep.
Today I will pluck more bunnies. And spin. I spun half of the last batch of brown/purple. I’ve been looking up small project ideas from the stuff posted on Ravelry (I’ll put the link here again)
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/simply-simpleknits/364225/1-25#11
http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2008/03/500-patterns-to-knit-with-1-285-yards.html
and there are a few good ones that I must try. See if 1 ounce is enough – most of them are about 60 yards so I am focusing on projects of about that size.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Ugly Hat, Adorable Bunnies and the usual griping
9:45 Slightly better than yesterday…..
We amazingly went to a movie last night, me who does not like going to movies and was not wanting to go anywhere. Kind of an involved story: I went walking in the afternoon with a friend who mentioned that she and her husband were wanting to go to see The Girl Who Played with Fire (if that is the right name) and I said I would probably not want to see it, not my kind of movie. She said something about not really wanting to see it either – kind of violent and all that. So I jokingly suggested that the husbands should go off to see it, leave us home. Well, the result of that was that at 6:25, about 5 minutes after dh got home, my friend called to invite him to go to the movie with them. I know her intent was to take him out, give me a nice break, but what she did not realize (I think she does now) was that he would no more go out to a movie alone with them than go out for tea with her. I think he thinks of them as my friends, so going alone with them would be just weird. Long story short (sort of) – we all went. And I had just finished making supper, was just putting it on the table. Damn. Ok, we’ll have that tonight and I won’t cook. And as it turned out, the movie we had planned for was not actually playing at 7, so we went to see Mao’s Last Dancer instead and it was quite a nice movie. I’m sure I liked it much better than I would have liked the other one.
Right now the camera is uploading all the photos from the OR trip
and a few I just took. It’s taking forever because of all the movies dh took of corgis. I’ll probably just keep those I actually want on my page, and then let him upload them again to his page.
I managed to take photos of: adorable baby bunnies,
the chocolate with the floppy ear,
my hat I don’t like
(I took it first on me, and boy did I look awful. I don’t look too bad when I’m smiling, but my “natural,” unsmiling look is really ugly ugly really ugly. I just look so dour and miserable), and the cowl.
So I will post those.
I honestly cannot think of anything else to say. Or anything at all cheerful. I guess I’m feeling pretty dour right now. Which is probably why I look so dour, because I feel that way so much. Just a miserable blah. I’m feeling very worried about money these days, anxious of course about work starting up, discouraged about fiber stuff, generally blah. And though in some ways I like Portrait of a Lady that I am reading, it is not exactly uplifting. It is laborious to read, and at least at this point in the story (if story there is) no one is particularly inspired.
I guess I’d better meditate so I can eat and get on with things – plucking bunnies is a big job for the next few days.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
We amazingly went to a movie last night, me who does not like going to movies and was not wanting to go anywhere. Kind of an involved story: I went walking in the afternoon with a friend who mentioned that she and her husband were wanting to go to see The Girl Who Played with Fire (if that is the right name) and I said I would probably not want to see it, not my kind of movie. She said something about not really wanting to see it either – kind of violent and all that. So I jokingly suggested that the husbands should go off to see it, leave us home. Well, the result of that was that at 6:25, about 5 minutes after dh got home, my friend called to invite him to go to the movie with them. I know her intent was to take him out, give me a nice break, but what she did not realize (I think she does now) was that he would no more go out to a movie alone with them than go out for tea with her. I think he thinks of them as my friends, so going alone with them would be just weird. Long story short (sort of) – we all went. And I had just finished making supper, was just putting it on the table. Damn. Ok, we’ll have that tonight and I won’t cook. And as it turned out, the movie we had planned for was not actually playing at 7, so we went to see Mao’s Last Dancer instead and it was quite a nice movie. I’m sure I liked it much better than I would have liked the other one.
Right now the camera is uploading all the photos from the OR trip
 |
| very nice waterfall |
and a few I just took. It’s taking forever because of all the movies dh took of corgis. I’ll probably just keep those I actually want on my page, and then let him upload them again to his page.
I managed to take photos of: adorable baby bunnies,
the chocolate with the floppy ear,
my hat I don’t like
(I took it first on me, and boy did I look awful. I don’t look too bad when I’m smiling, but my “natural,” unsmiling look is really ugly ugly really ugly. I just look so dour and miserable), and the cowl.
So I will post those.
I honestly cannot think of anything else to say. Or anything at all cheerful. I guess I’m feeling pretty dour right now. Which is probably why I look so dour, because I feel that way so much. Just a miserable blah. I’m feeling very worried about money these days, anxious of course about work starting up, discouraged about fiber stuff, generally blah. And though in some ways I like Portrait of a Lady that I am reading, it is not exactly uplifting. It is laborious to read, and at least at this point in the story (if story there is) no one is particularly inspired.
I guess I’d better meditate so I can eat and get on with things – plucking bunnies is a big job for the next few days.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Friday, August 27, 2010
Grumpy
11 am!
Well. Let’s just chalk it up to the time difference east/west coast, the fact that I woke up at about 10 this morning! And I had nightmares all night, well, one ongoing one about somebody that murdered someone and was out to get me, and I was trying to call 911, all like that. Dh even said that I was singing in my sleep, but it was me trying to scream as this person was attacking me. Kind of creepy. Good news, we got him in the end!
Back to the pleasant home routine today. I don’t know how long it will last, once work starts. But I was actually able to do my stretches, and now morning pages, and soon I will meditate. I guess I’d better hurry if I want it to still be considered a morning routine. Man the flight back from OR was AWFUL! We took a “red eye” that left at 9:30 pm and got to Newark at 5 local time, then we waited there for a few hours and got into CT at 9:30 am. It would not be so bad if one could actually sleep on the plane, but they now pack so many people onto each flight that one can barely move. The seats go back about 2 inches, and the seat in front is so close that I could not even reach down to get anything from my bag without really annoying the person next to me. So I just sat there. I did sleep some, just not much and not well. Thus the late morning today. I did nap a bit once I got home yesterday, but it was one of those odd naps where everything’s kind of buzzing if that makes any sense.
So now, having seen Reed and Lewis and Clark, I’m afraid there is the decided possibility that we will be dealing with a daughter going to college across the country. She did not like Reed so much, but I think she did like L&C, an opinion I agree with, as far as the buildings and grounds are concerned, which is pretty much all dh and I saw. So does this mean that I will have to think about taking this lovely cross-country trip again? And again? Not that we’d have to go in order to get her there, obviously I would stick her on the plane and goodbye. But it would probably mean fewer trips home which is very sad to think about (well, for me, probably not for her). And it would give us an “excuse” to go back there which would please dh but not so much me. Ok so if we do go back out, I will insist that we take day flights and build in recovery time. Or else take the train…. Or the bus…. Or hitch-hike…. Or drive…..
Since I’m on such a grumpy note, I’ll add some grumpy fibrous news. I knit a hat while there; it was supposedly an “order” from a woman that came to my booth in Wellesley. She liked one hat, but not the color, so she wanted me to knit her one with different yarn, which she chose out. I told her she should contact me in a couple of weeks. I finally decided to knit it up, but it has been more than 2 weeks and I have not heard from her. That is not actually the thing I’m grumpy about, though it does reinforce my thinking that making stuff for order is not something I so much want to do. What I am grumpy about is the hat itself. I made the decision to start with a row of double thick angora to make a nice edge. It was also double number of stitches, since I was doing double knitting with angora lining inside. But that was a mistake (the double thick, not double numbers). It seems to have made that very edge really wide and impacted the whole shape of the hat. End result: I do not like the hat and I think I will just frog the whole thing (eg rip it out). Well it gave me something to do with my hands while driving around Oregon. And I did make another hat that I gave to my friend’s husband to take hunting. And I did a bunch more of the cowl which is getting close to finished.
Then when I got home, I found that one of the mixed color babies, the lovely chocolate one, has a droopy ear. It’s actually kind of cute, but is, after all, something of a defect. None of the others in the litter have the trouble.
So now it is time to meditate, then I will hang out laundry (lots of it!) and look over the massive ToDo list I made up yesterday. It includes a major cleaning of the bathroom, it’ll be interesting to see if and when that actually happens!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Well. Let’s just chalk it up to the time difference east/west coast, the fact that I woke up at about 10 this morning! And I had nightmares all night, well, one ongoing one about somebody that murdered someone and was out to get me, and I was trying to call 911, all like that. Dh even said that I was singing in my sleep, but it was me trying to scream as this person was attacking me. Kind of creepy. Good news, we got him in the end!
Back to the pleasant home routine today. I don’t know how long it will last, once work starts. But I was actually able to do my stretches, and now morning pages, and soon I will meditate. I guess I’d better hurry if I want it to still be considered a morning routine. Man the flight back from OR was AWFUL! We took a “red eye” that left at 9:30 pm and got to Newark at 5 local time, then we waited there for a few hours and got into CT at 9:30 am. It would not be so bad if one could actually sleep on the plane, but they now pack so many people onto each flight that one can barely move. The seats go back about 2 inches, and the seat in front is so close that I could not even reach down to get anything from my bag without really annoying the person next to me. So I just sat there. I did sleep some, just not much and not well. Thus the late morning today. I did nap a bit once I got home yesterday, but it was one of those odd naps where everything’s kind of buzzing if that makes any sense.
So now, having seen Reed and Lewis and Clark, I’m afraid there is the decided possibility that we will be dealing with a daughter going to college across the country. She did not like Reed so much, but I think she did like L&C, an opinion I agree with, as far as the buildings and grounds are concerned, which is pretty much all dh and I saw. So does this mean that I will have to think about taking this lovely cross-country trip again? And again? Not that we’d have to go in order to get her there, obviously I would stick her on the plane and goodbye. But it would probably mean fewer trips home which is very sad to think about (well, for me, probably not for her). And it would give us an “excuse” to go back there which would please dh but not so much me. Ok so if we do go back out, I will insist that we take day flights and build in recovery time. Or else take the train…. Or the bus…. Or hitch-hike…. Or drive…..
Since I’m on such a grumpy note, I’ll add some grumpy fibrous news. I knit a hat while there; it was supposedly an “order” from a woman that came to my booth in Wellesley. She liked one hat, but not the color, so she wanted me to knit her one with different yarn, which she chose out. I told her she should contact me in a couple of weeks. I finally decided to knit it up, but it has been more than 2 weeks and I have not heard from her. That is not actually the thing I’m grumpy about, though it does reinforce my thinking that making stuff for order is not something I so much want to do. What I am grumpy about is the hat itself. I made the decision to start with a row of double thick angora to make a nice edge. It was also double number of stitches, since I was doing double knitting with angora lining inside. But that was a mistake (the double thick, not double numbers). It seems to have made that very edge really wide and impacted the whole shape of the hat. End result: I do not like the hat and I think I will just frog the whole thing (eg rip it out). Well it gave me something to do with my hands while driving around Oregon. And I did make another hat that I gave to my friend’s husband to take hunting. And I did a bunch more of the cowl which is getting close to finished.
Then when I got home, I found that one of the mixed color babies, the lovely chocolate one, has a droopy ear. It’s actually kind of cute, but is, after all, something of a defect. None of the others in the litter have the trouble.
So now it is time to meditate, then I will hang out laundry (lots of it!) and look over the massive ToDo list I made up yesterday. It includes a major cleaning of the bathroom, it’ll be interesting to see if and when that actually happens!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Last Day in OR
I am not at all thrilled with this set-up, sitting at my friend’s dining room table to write on our computer. I would much rather sit outside, it is quite lovely out. But I should hardly complain, this is the first chance I’ve actually had to write anything resembling morning pages all week. And I have not hardly meditated at all, nor have I done my stretches. I haven’t really had much alone time at all. The dh went off this morning to get dd#2 from McMinnville. She spent last night in Corvallis with dd#1, and they are meeting in McM because it is closer and that is where dd#1 gets on the van to go to the Trask watershed where she will work for 4 days. Mostly our “vacation” here has involved driving around, which is what I was afraid it would be. We drove out to the coast, then came back to Portland so dd could see it and so we could go to Reed. Neither of them liked Reed. Then we drove out to Corvallis, then back here, soon we’ll go see Lewis and Clark. Oh, except that we decided we should go to the tour at 2 and info session at 3, so I don’t know what we’ll do until then. Well, the good news is that within about 24 hours I will be home! And more good news, my friend called just before we left and left a message about getting together when I get back. We’ll get back thurs morning, but I imagine Thursday itself will be a wash since I will be exhausted. The ds had talked about doing a KnitWits at the farm next weekend, I don’t know if that will happen. I did manage to email stuff to work, so that at least is getting started.
Once we get back I have one lovely week, minus thurs and Fri since those days I must go into work to start getting ready. Then Wed lectures start and the week after is the first lab. At some point I suppose I should reread To Kill a Mockingbird since that is the bookclub book. But I am really enjoying Portrait of a Lady, and there are many other things to read after that. Still, mockingbird will not take very long.
I wasn’t able to finish the cowl since I have the wrong yarn, but I did make a hat/neckwarmer out of the angora/alpaca/wool stuff for my friend’s husband. He seems to like it a lot. And I started the light orange hat that the woman ordered at Wellesley, but I have not heard a word from her, so I don’t know if she will actually buy it. Oh well, it’s pretty nice. I sat and knit on it for a long time yesterday while the girls were at the Goodwill in Corvallis. Finally dd#2 was happy! She found a whole bunch of things to buy. I guess I will finish the hat on the plane, and I can also start something else with the brown stuff since I have a couple of skeins of that.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Once we get back I have one lovely week, minus thurs and Fri since those days I must go into work to start getting ready. Then Wed lectures start and the week after is the first lab. At some point I suppose I should reread To Kill a Mockingbird since that is the bookclub book. But I am really enjoying Portrait of a Lady, and there are many other things to read after that. Still, mockingbird will not take very long.
I wasn’t able to finish the cowl since I have the wrong yarn, but I did make a hat/neckwarmer out of the angora/alpaca/wool stuff for my friend’s husband. He seems to like it a lot. And I started the light orange hat that the woman ordered at Wellesley, but I have not heard a word from her, so I don’t know if she will actually buy it. Oh well, it’s pretty nice. I sat and knit on it for a long time yesterday while the girls were at the Goodwill in Corvallis. Finally dd#2 was happy! She found a whole bunch of things to buy. I guess I will finish the hat on the plane, and I can also start something else with the brown stuff since I have a couple of skeins of that.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Still in Oregon
We are currently in Newport at a great place called I think the Sylvia Beach house. And spending time with both daughters which is lovely. Tomorrow will bring ever more driving and maybe some college visits and what-not. And finding places with ethernet is always a challenge. I'll write more when things are more stable.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Friday, August 20, 2010
Hello from Oregon!
I am currently in Powell's Bookstore in Portland OR. This will be a short post, just to let all my hordes of regular readers (...) know that I still exist, but have limited internet access while on this trip to see the dd #1, my excellent college friend, and to visit Reed and Lewis & Clark with dd#2. And on top of that, my MIL is not doing well and has gone into the hospital with an inoperable gall stone and a tumor. So that may make a sudden change in plans.
Meanwhile, Powells is very nice, and we had a great hike at a place called Silver Falls.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Meanwhile, Powells is very nice, and we had a great hike at a place called Silver Falls.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Difficulty of Being Human.....
It’s late in the morning 9:20 and late in the summer. And late in my life I suppose I could add, me about to be 54! Well that’s silly. But I don’t have much time today as I must go to work at 1 to meet with the Prof. I don’t need to cook supper since I made 2 quiche yesterday, which is good, but I’m actually thinking I might make 2 more quiche to freeze since we leave tomorrow for OR and I have all these eggs, milk and tomatoes. Also I’m thinking that I really should pluck some bunnies before we go, there are several that really are ready. I asked my neighbor yesterday if her daughters could feed the buns after my dd leaves on Fri. She said she’d tell me this morning after she figures out if they are going to see her sister. Boy I sure hope they can do it, otherwise, I don’t know who will and there is not much time to figure it out. My usual helper can’t because it is Ramadan and she is fasting and doesn’t want to take on anything that might be too hard (it is only her second time fasting). I could ask a friend’s son, but it is so far for him to come and it would mean my friend would have to drive him over. Well, I’ll keep fingers crossed about my neighbor. Of course, if she can do it, it still means I must show her what to do and then hope it all works out ok. This is one big reason why I do NOT like going anywhere.
I stayed up to watch The Apartment which I had rented on Netflix and it was kind of a waste of time. I think I am too movie-d out, since I also went to see Eat Love Pray with friends yesterday. I didn’t really want to go, not having really liked the book, and not wanting to take the time, but I felt pressured. My friend really wanted me to come. She loves movies. Another friend could not come because of work stuff. I feel sometimes like I get pressured into things that I don’t want to do, and me being who I am I give in when others hold firm. It’s really different because my friends love going out to things, but if it is something they do not want to do, they are much better at just not doing it. I guess the difficult thing is that, though I like and value my friends, I often do not want to do social kinds of things. I don’t especially like parties, I don’t love movies, I do enjoy going to get tea, to get together to write (except so often we don’t actually write). Oh brother. It is complex. Oh, and to add to the movie story, Sunday night the dh and I went to see The Other Guys which was the absolute dumbest movie I have seen in a very very long time. So no more movies for a long long time.
Which brings up OR and what the heck we will do there. If it was just me and the dh the whole time it would be easier. The day I am concerned about is Wed when it will be the 2 of us and the dd #2 since dd #1 will have gone off to work Tues. I think I will look up things to do in Portland, but I can’t imagine that she will want to do any of them.
I have said nothing interesting in a fibery sense. I finished the wrist warmers and they are very nice.
They took precisely 1 ounce. I have started the Knitty Calorimetry headband
lhttp://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTcalorimetry.html
and want to see how much that takes. It calls for casting on 120 stitches, but that is way too big and is based on a gage of 5 stitches per inch, while I got 4, so I cast on 96 stitches and hope that will work. I have also been working a bit on the scarf, and will add a photo. It is very nice, the only problem is that I must count as I knit so I can’t just do it anywhere. I think while I’m at it I will also take a photo of the baby buns – day 3
and of the display board I put together for my booth.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
I stayed up to watch The Apartment which I had rented on Netflix and it was kind of a waste of time. I think I am too movie-d out, since I also went to see Eat Love Pray with friends yesterday. I didn’t really want to go, not having really liked the book, and not wanting to take the time, but I felt pressured. My friend really wanted me to come. She loves movies. Another friend could not come because of work stuff. I feel sometimes like I get pressured into things that I don’t want to do, and me being who I am I give in when others hold firm. It’s really different because my friends love going out to things, but if it is something they do not want to do, they are much better at just not doing it. I guess the difficult thing is that, though I like and value my friends, I often do not want to do social kinds of things. I don’t especially like parties, I don’t love movies, I do enjoy going to get tea, to get together to write (except so often we don’t actually write). Oh brother. It is complex. Oh, and to add to the movie story, Sunday night the dh and I went to see The Other Guys which was the absolute dumbest movie I have seen in a very very long time. So no more movies for a long long time.
Which brings up OR and what the heck we will do there. If it was just me and the dh the whole time it would be easier. The day I am concerned about is Wed when it will be the 2 of us and the dd #2 since dd #1 will have gone off to work Tues. I think I will look up things to do in Portland, but I can’t imagine that she will want to do any of them.
I have said nothing interesting in a fibery sense. I finished the wrist warmers and they are very nice.
They took precisely 1 ounce. I have started the Knitty Calorimetry headband
lhttp://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTcalorimetry.html
and want to see how much that takes. It calls for casting on 120 stitches, but that is way too big and is based on a gage of 5 stitches per inch, while I got 4, so I cast on 96 stitches and hope that will work. I have also been working a bit on the scarf, and will add a photo. It is very nice, the only problem is that I must count as I knit so I can’t just do it anywhere. I think while I’m at it I will also take a photo of the baby buns – day 3
and of the display board I put together for my booth.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Monday, August 16, 2010
more FAQ's
I decided I should continue with the FAQ's so here they are:
12. What can angora yarn be used for?
Angora yarn is amazingly warm and soft. It can be made into fabulous hats, scarves, wrist warmers for example. It can also be used to line other knit items for added warmth. I like to add stripes of angora to projects to provide some special texture and interest.
13. Does it shed?
Angora yarn that is spun from plucked fibers sheds very little. Commercially produced angora yarn often sheds because when the fiber is clipped off the animal it includes short bits along with the long hair and those short bits are what sheds out.
14. Does it shrink/felt?
Yes, angora items will definitely shrink and felt if subjected to warmth, moisture and agitation. For this reason, I do not recommend pure angora for socks or for gloves and mittens (unless they are house socks – worn just to bed or around the house). It does make lovely lining for mittens.
15. How should it be washed and cared for?
Angora items should be washed in cold water with no agitation. Just soak them, squeeze the soapy water through a few times, rinse the same way and let them dry flat on a towel.
16. Is angora fiber hard to spin?
It can be tricky to spin at first, but once you get the hang of it, spinning angora is very easy! It is slippery, and the fibers do not “grab” as readily as wool, so it requires a lot of twist, and very little pull-in. One of the things I like best is that plucked angora can be spun right off the rabbit with no washing or carding. Now by that, I do not mean that I spin directly from the rabbit. It can be done, and you will often see that at fairs because it is such a novelty. I find it hard to get up any speed or be really consistent that way. Instead I pluck the rabbit, then I can take that plucked fiber and spin it immediately.
17. What does “prime plucked” mean?
Prime Plucked fiber has been carefully harvested from the rabbit by gently pulling it out when the hair is ready to shed. It is smooth, untangled and all the same length which makes it lovely and easy to spin.
18. How do you create your yarns?
Do you do your own dyeing?
Yes, I dye at all different stages of the process: raw wool, unspun angora, carded batts, or spun yarn. I love playing with color and I am experimenting with solar dyeing, as a way to eliminate the need for CO2 producing fossil fuels from yet another stage (all my carding and spinning are done under my own power!). I regularly use two main sources of natural dye – walnut for lovely rich browns, and lichen for eye-popping purples.
Where does the wool you use come from?
Most of the wool that I use (sometimes alone, more often in combination with angora) comes from local sheep. I either buy it directly from friends, or find it at one of the local fiber fairs in the area.
What is the difference between sheep’s wool and angora?
Angora from rabbits is softer silkier and much warmer (7 times warmer!) than wool. It also does not have the elasticity of wool, which is why I often combine the two.
What can I do with small skeins of yarn?
http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2008/03/500-patterns-to-knit-with-1-285-yards.html
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
12. What can angora yarn be used for?
Angora yarn is amazingly warm and soft. It can be made into fabulous hats, scarves, wrist warmers for example. It can also be used to line other knit items for added warmth. I like to add stripes of angora to projects to provide some special texture and interest.
13. Does it shed?
Angora yarn that is spun from plucked fibers sheds very little. Commercially produced angora yarn often sheds because when the fiber is clipped off the animal it includes short bits along with the long hair and those short bits are what sheds out.
14. Does it shrink/felt?
Yes, angora items will definitely shrink and felt if subjected to warmth, moisture and agitation. For this reason, I do not recommend pure angora for socks or for gloves and mittens (unless they are house socks – worn just to bed or around the house). It does make lovely lining for mittens.
15. How should it be washed and cared for?
Angora items should be washed in cold water with no agitation. Just soak them, squeeze the soapy water through a few times, rinse the same way and let them dry flat on a towel.
16. Is angora fiber hard to spin?
It can be tricky to spin at first, but once you get the hang of it, spinning angora is very easy! It is slippery, and the fibers do not “grab” as readily as wool, so it requires a lot of twist, and very little pull-in. One of the things I like best is that plucked angora can be spun right off the rabbit with no washing or carding. Now by that, I do not mean that I spin directly from the rabbit. It can be done, and you will often see that at fairs because it is such a novelty. I find it hard to get up any speed or be really consistent that way. Instead I pluck the rabbit, then I can take that plucked fiber and spin it immediately.
17. What does “prime plucked” mean?
Prime Plucked fiber has been carefully harvested from the rabbit by gently pulling it out when the hair is ready to shed. It is smooth, untangled and all the same length which makes it lovely and easy to spin.
18. How do you create your yarns?
Do you do your own dyeing?
Yes, I dye at all different stages of the process: raw wool, unspun angora, carded batts, or spun yarn. I love playing with color and I am experimenting with solar dyeing, as a way to eliminate the need for CO2 producing fossil fuels from yet another stage (all my carding and spinning are done under my own power!). I regularly use two main sources of natural dye – walnut for lovely rich browns, and lichen for eye-popping purples.
Where does the wool you use come from?
Most of the wool that I use (sometimes alone, more often in combination with angora) comes from local sheep. I either buy it directly from friends, or find it at one of the local fiber fairs in the area.
What is the difference between sheep’s wool and angora?
Angora from rabbits is softer silkier and much warmer (7 times warmer!) than wool. It also does not have the elasticity of wool, which is why I often combine the two.
What can I do with small skeins of yarn?
http://simpleknits.blogspot.com/2008/03/500-patterns-to-knit-with-1-285-yards.html
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Sunday, August 15, 2010
And the Winner is..........
First things first:
The way I figure it, there have been 5 separate folks commenting, so I have written the 4 names on slips of paper, folded them up, and put them (appropriately) into a feed bowl sitting here. I will now shake them up.... and randomly choose one.....OK.... now I will open it ..... (drum rolls, please).......
IT IS KATIE - THE WINNER!!!!!!!!!
So now, Katie, you must email me your address and I will send you your present. I will have to ship it special delivery and I hope you have a tiny cage and some sunflower seeds to feed it when it arrives...
no just kidding!!!! This pressie will not require any special middle of the night feedings. I think you can see my email address on the blog page, if not, let me know and we'll do it through ravelry or something.
Well that was fun and exciting. I think I'll do it again sometime.
On another note, I am going to use the pages today to write up something that I think I will put on one of the Pages that I just recently discovered (see “testing testing testing” above). My friend suggested this – a set of Frequently Asked Questions – and I will also try putting in on Etsy if I can figure out how. I already came up with a bunch of questions, now I just have to answer them. And I probably won’t get through them all.
FAQ
1. Does ”angora” always come from a rabbit?
Yes, angora fiber and yarn are from angora rabbits. There are also angora goats, but they produce mohair (go figure).
2. Must you kill the rabbit, or does it hurt the rabbit to get its hair?
No! The hair can be removed in several ways: by clipping it off with scissors or shearers, by brushing it out, or by “plucking.” When the hair is ready to shed it pulls off readily and does not hurt the rabbit.
3. How much fiber do you get from one rabbit?
That depends a lot on the variety of angora, and the individual rabbit, but I generally get 2-4 ounces every time I harvest it, and I do that four times a year, making a total of 8-16 ounces a year. That is certainly enough for a hat each time I harvest, and even a sweater once a year!
4. How big are the rabbits?
My rabbits are about 6 – 8 pounds. Giants can be 10 pounds or more, Jersey Woolies are much smaller.
5. How many rabbits do you have?
The number is always changing as rabbits have babies and babies go to new homes. Currently I have 13 adult rabbits, 3 “teenagers,” and 12 babies.
6. How long do they live?
I would say 6-8 years is a good life span for an angora rabbit. They are susceptible to problems and diseases – for example wool block and pasteurella which can shorten their life span.
7. What color are they?
They have a wide range of colors: pure bright white, fawn or orange color, brown, gray and black. Most get lighter in color as they become adults, so a black baby will end up being a dark charcoal gray as an adult.
8. Where do they come from/ where do they live in the wild?
Angora rabbits were bred from domestic rabbits. One theory holds that they originated in Ankora, Turkey, thus the name. The long hair is actually due to a genetic mutation that causes the hair to grow for a longer time before it sheds. This mutation was selected for by people who wanted the long hair, and animals with this feature would not be able to survive in the wild. The hair would get terribly tangled and caught in branches, and it would probably cause bad wool block in the rabbit’s digestive system, so angora rabbits are not found naturally anywhere.
9. Do Angora Rabbits make good pets?
They make wonderful pets for fiber artists who want to make use of their lovely fiber! In fact, they are the perfect fiber animal for people who live in the city or suburbs since they take up little space. I do not recommend an angora rabbit as a pet for children, or even for an adult who just wants a pet rabbit, since they do need to be groomed frequently to prevent terribly matted hair, and care must be taken to prevent wool block. That said, anyone who is willing to take that care and put in the effort, will be rewarded with a beautiful, unusual, and often quite affectionate pet.
10. Do you ever sell your angora rabbits?
Yes, certainly, I sell babies and adults for $35 each. A registered angora rabbit from a show breeding stock will cost more.
11. What kind of angora rabbits do you have?
My rabbits are mostly a mix of Giant and French breeds.
Time to stop for now. I will welcome any thoughts anyone has on these questions and answers, and write more later. Here's your reward for reading all this:
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
The way I figure it, there have been 5 separate folks commenting, so I have written the 4 names on slips of paper, folded them up, and put them (appropriately) into a feed bowl sitting here. I will now shake them up.... and randomly choose one.....OK.... now I will open it ..... (drum rolls, please).......
IT IS KATIE - THE WINNER!!!!!!!!!
So now, Katie, you must email me your address and I will send you your present. I will have to ship it special delivery and I hope you have a tiny cage and some sunflower seeds to feed it when it arrives...
no just kidding!!!! This pressie will not require any special middle of the night feedings. I think you can see my email address on the blog page, if not, let me know and we'll do it through ravelry or something.
Well that was fun and exciting. I think I'll do it again sometime.
On another note, I am going to use the pages today to write up something that I think I will put on one of the Pages that I just recently discovered (see “testing testing testing” above). My friend suggested this – a set of Frequently Asked Questions – and I will also try putting in on Etsy if I can figure out how. I already came up with a bunch of questions, now I just have to answer them. And I probably won’t get through them all.
FAQ
1. Does ”angora” always come from a rabbit?
Yes, angora fiber and yarn are from angora rabbits. There are also angora goats, but they produce mohair (go figure).
2. Must you kill the rabbit, or does it hurt the rabbit to get its hair?
No! The hair can be removed in several ways: by clipping it off with scissors or shearers, by brushing it out, or by “plucking.” When the hair is ready to shed it pulls off readily and does not hurt the rabbit.
3. How much fiber do you get from one rabbit?
That depends a lot on the variety of angora, and the individual rabbit, but I generally get 2-4 ounces every time I harvest it, and I do that four times a year, making a total of 8-16 ounces a year. That is certainly enough for a hat each time I harvest, and even a sweater once a year!
4. How big are the rabbits?
My rabbits are about 6 – 8 pounds. Giants can be 10 pounds or more, Jersey Woolies are much smaller.
5. How many rabbits do you have?
The number is always changing as rabbits have babies and babies go to new homes. Currently I have 13 adult rabbits, 3 “teenagers,” and 12 babies.
6. How long do they live?
I would say 6-8 years is a good life span for an angora rabbit. They are susceptible to problems and diseases – for example wool block and pasteurella which can shorten their life span.
7. What color are they?
They have a wide range of colors: pure bright white, fawn or orange color, brown, gray and black. Most get lighter in color as they become adults, so a black baby will end up being a dark charcoal gray as an adult.
8. Where do they come from/ where do they live in the wild?
Angora rabbits were bred from domestic rabbits. One theory holds that they originated in Ankora, Turkey, thus the name. The long hair is actually due to a genetic mutation that causes the hair to grow for a longer time before it sheds. This mutation was selected for by people who wanted the long hair, and animals with this feature would not be able to survive in the wild. The hair would get terribly tangled and caught in branches, and it would probably cause bad wool block in the rabbit’s digestive system, so angora rabbits are not found naturally anywhere.
9. Do Angora Rabbits make good pets?
They make wonderful pets for fiber artists who want to make use of their lovely fiber! In fact, they are the perfect fiber animal for people who live in the city or suburbs since they take up little space. I do not recommend an angora rabbit as a pet for children, or even for an adult who just wants a pet rabbit, since they do need to be groomed frequently to prevent terribly matted hair, and care must be taken to prevent wool block. That said, anyone who is willing to take that care and put in the effort, will be rewarded with a beautiful, unusual, and often quite affectionate pet.
10. Do you ever sell your angora rabbits?
Yes, certainly, I sell babies and adults for $35 each. A registered angora rabbit from a show breeding stock will cost more.
11. What kind of angora rabbits do you have?
My rabbits are mostly a mix of Giant and French breeds.
Time to stop for now. I will welcome any thoughts anyone has on these questions and answers, and write more later. Here's your reward for reading all this:
 |
| Peach-Fuzz Age (1day) |
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Saturday, August 14, 2010
LAST CHANCE!!!!!
This is your LAST CHANCE (shouted loudly to the world) for all you hoards of avid readers to add a comment and get in on the BIG DRAWING. I will give it until whenever I write tomorrow morning, then THAT IS IT.
DON'T MISS OUT!!!
ONE TIME ONLY!!!
BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL!!
yadda yadda yadda and all like that.
Now the dh and I are going out to a movie.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
DON'T MISS OUT!!!
ONE TIME ONLY!!!
BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL!!
yadda yadda yadda and all like that.
Now the dh and I are going out to a movie.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
The Usual Ramblings, and NEW BABIES!!
I am sitting outside again which is lovely. The dh loaned me his work laptop so I can sit out here. It is actually a laptop meaning it is small. But I have zoomed the page so I can actually read what I write. And it is cool out here! How nice. Soon enough I will be longing for warmth…. I already did my stretches, and even though I was feeling lazy I managed to do all 80 crunches and all 25 push-ups (the woosie kind) so I feel accomplished as far as all that goes. And I fed buns, but for some reason was distracted enough that I didn’t do their waters. Well, I will do that after I write. Yesterday a girl and her mom came to look at the bunnies because her rabbit died and she wants to get another one. She’s never had an angora, so I was trying to be very honest about the difficulties. She was enamored and all set, but Mom insisted they think it over and look up some info on line overnight. I won’t be at all surprised if they decide an angora is not for them. And that is ok because really, I usually discourage kids who just want a pet. They told me that they had looked at the pet store, but that there is a new requirement that rabbits must be neutered, so the pet store no longer sells them. I don’t even want to find out if that is supposed to apply to someone like me. Well, too bad. Oh, but part of where I was going with all this is that, in showing her the rabbits, I rechecked the fawn “female” baby of Amber, and surprise surprise, “she” is really a “he.” I checked long ago and haven’t checked since and obviously got it wrong long ago. He’s about 8 weeks. So then I felt I needed to check the other babies, who are still young, but I feel pretty confident about the black and brown babies. I didn’t recheck all the white ones, because I have so many that I assume some are male, some female. I think that was why I was so distracted and forgot the waters.
Mousy is back! Oh so cute and all. And – here’s some good news – he seems capable of eating from a little dish and so no longer needs to be fed every 2 hours. The dd is very pleased about that. He may even be ready to be released (far far from the house) by the time she leaves for OR next Fri.
Yesterday involved a lot of dull work – paying bills, entering checks, balancing the account – and a bunch of errands – to the library (which was not dull, I got several new books on cd), to the bank, to the Salvation Army, to the CSA (Next Barn Over, I really hate the name, so I call it things like Barn Farm, Food Farm, the Barn) and, which to be completely honest was dull also, lunch at the French place in town. I had calves liver and it was delicious, but the conversation kind of lagged. We do better conversation-wise when we are walking or hiking, rather than when we are sitting there waiting for food. Anyway, it was good to do. We’ve been wanting to check it out, and decided lunch would be far more economical, which I’m sure it was. Dh had Bouillabaisse, as it turns out, because he had to compare it to his memory of the fish soup he had in Tunesia. It seems such a snobby thing to do, very typical. Well, I suppose one has to have reasons to do anything, and that is as good a reason as any. Why did I choose calves liver? I suppose because it is something I don’t have at home, because I have had trouble with anemia, because I assumed it would not be spicy (it was not).
Today I really should type up those notes for work and then email the prof to find a time when we can meet. I don’t know if we’ll be able to before we leave for OR, if not then we’ll have to hop to it as soon as we get back (if he is around) because classes will be starting soon very soon. It will be good to have classes start up – it will help me get away from my own brain and neuroses for a while.
Besides writing up those notes, I must do a bunch more laundry work. It should be an ok day to hang laundry out, which yesterday was also, so perhaps I can get through the pile that has accumulated for days and days. I have about 2 more groupings of 4 one ounce skeins of the stuff I’m spinning to get through.
Oh, and here’s more exciting news. I can’t believe I waited til last, I suppose because it has become pretty commonplace. New babies!!!
Cream finally had a successful litter, after several where it didn’t take, and one that produced just one dead baby. She had 8, 6 survived. They appeared yesterday and seem to be doing fine. Blizzard is the dad, so they are all albino. That is it for this year. I do not need to breed any more.
Ok, time to meditate – I got up really really late today – it was 9 o’clock, so now it is after 10!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Mousy is back! Oh so cute and all. And – here’s some good news – he seems capable of eating from a little dish and so no longer needs to be fed every 2 hours. The dd is very pleased about that. He may even be ready to be released (far far from the house) by the time she leaves for OR next Fri.
Yesterday involved a lot of dull work – paying bills, entering checks, balancing the account – and a bunch of errands – to the library (which was not dull, I got several new books on cd), to the bank, to the Salvation Army, to the CSA (Next Barn Over, I really hate the name, so I call it things like Barn Farm, Food Farm, the Barn) and, which to be completely honest was dull also, lunch at the French place in town. I had calves liver and it was delicious, but the conversation kind of lagged. We do better conversation-wise when we are walking or hiking, rather than when we are sitting there waiting for food. Anyway, it was good to do. We’ve been wanting to check it out, and decided lunch would be far more economical, which I’m sure it was. Dh had Bouillabaisse, as it turns out, because he had to compare it to his memory of the fish soup he had in Tunesia. It seems such a snobby thing to do, very typical. Well, I suppose one has to have reasons to do anything, and that is as good a reason as any. Why did I choose calves liver? I suppose because it is something I don’t have at home, because I have had trouble with anemia, because I assumed it would not be spicy (it was not).
Today I really should type up those notes for work and then email the prof to find a time when we can meet. I don’t know if we’ll be able to before we leave for OR, if not then we’ll have to hop to it as soon as we get back (if he is around) because classes will be starting soon very soon. It will be good to have classes start up – it will help me get away from my own brain and neuroses for a while.
Besides writing up those notes, I must do a bunch more laundry work. It should be an ok day to hang laundry out, which yesterday was also, so perhaps I can get through the pile that has accumulated for days and days. I have about 2 more groupings of 4 one ounce skeins of the stuff I’m spinning to get through.
Oh, and here’s more exciting news. I can’t believe I waited til last, I suppose because it has become pretty commonplace. New babies!!!
Ok, time to meditate – I got up really really late today – it was 9 o’clock, so now it is after 10!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Friday, August 13, 2010
Solar Dyeing
Well my attempted contest on the blog seems to be failing, probably because only one faithful follower actually reads it. Well, I guess that is ok. After all, if it is kind of a morning pages thing, then I don’t really want anyone to read it. And the fact that I have made only 2 sales on etsy is ok too, since the idea was to have it there so people that saw me at a fair could find me on the internet. Maybe there will be more activity once I am at more fairs. Meanwhile, I will post about solar dyeing. But first I will talk about Mousie, who has gone on an overnight to a friend’s, and I feel like when the girls went on their first overnights… I hope he is ok. I hope she can figure out how to feed him ok. Hmmm. I guess I have gotten kind of attached to the little bugger.
I’m feeling pretty dull and unsuccessful today. I suppose it will be better once school starts because I will have all that stuff to keep my brain occupied. I am enjoying reading Balzac, just the short novels. I will have to return the Chaucer since it is over due. I’m also enjoying listening to Dr. Ellis lecture about the American Revolution, and I hope to get it some solid spinning and listening today. And I have nearly finished the brown/purple wrist warmers.
Now to something more interesting: SOLAR DYEING! And I cannot take credit for this, I hear about it from a workshop long ago at Nutmeg Spinners in CT. I wish I could remember the name of the woman who presented it, but I can’t.
Here’s what I have done:
I bought a black bin at a hardware store. It is designed for collecting oil when changing oil in a car. I looked up bussing bins in restaurant supply stores, and they looked very nice (probably tougher), and not very expensive, but the shipping was a lot, so I went with local.
Next I got an old storm window out of the basement where they all have sat since the new multipane windows were installed here before we bought the house. Any pane of glass the correct size would work fine. We happen to have these old storms.
I put water in the bin, added a big glug of vinegar and a small squirt of dish soap, swirled it together, and added the clean wool to that, to soak for a while (without the glass cover). The wool was wet, but not completely covered by the liquid
I have a bunch of wool dye, most of which I got from Pro-Chem, some from other places. I took one, mixed it in a jar with very hot water (maybe ½ cup), then I poured that over the wool in the bin (still with its vinegar and soap). Some sections got really saturated with the dye, some had just a touch, some none at all. I did squish it around a little.
Then I put the glass cover on, and left it in the hot hot sun. I think I left it for 2 days. It got pretty hot – but certainly not boiling. Maybe to 150 degrees or so. And at night it cooled down, but I didn’t worry about it. In the morning, after a couple days, when it was cool, I poured off the liquid (saved it in a bucket), rinsed the wool (put the rinse water in same bucket), and let it dry. I used the not-yet-exhausted dye water again by putting it back in the bin, adding more vinegar and soap, and adding more wool. This time I didn’t bother presoaking it. Back went the glass cover and I left that for a couple of days. Voila!
Now the wool in yesterday’s photo was another batch where I used red and yellow dye in the same way so it came out more variegated. I like the results!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
I’m feeling pretty dull and unsuccessful today. I suppose it will be better once school starts because I will have all that stuff to keep my brain occupied. I am enjoying reading Balzac, just the short novels. I will have to return the Chaucer since it is over due. I’m also enjoying listening to Dr. Ellis lecture about the American Revolution, and I hope to get it some solid spinning and listening today. And I have nearly finished the brown/purple wrist warmers.
Now to something more interesting: SOLAR DYEING! And I cannot take credit for this, I hear about it from a workshop long ago at Nutmeg Spinners in CT. I wish I could remember the name of the woman who presented it, but I can’t.
Here’s what I have done:
I bought a black bin at a hardware store. It is designed for collecting oil when changing oil in a car. I looked up bussing bins in restaurant supply stores, and they looked very nice (probably tougher), and not very expensive, but the shipping was a lot, so I went with local.
Next I got an old storm window out of the basement where they all have sat since the new multipane windows were installed here before we bought the house. Any pane of glass the correct size would work fine. We happen to have these old storms.
I put water in the bin, added a big glug of vinegar and a small squirt of dish soap, swirled it together, and added the clean wool to that, to soak for a while (without the glass cover). The wool was wet, but not completely covered by the liquid
I have a bunch of wool dye, most of which I got from Pro-Chem, some from other places. I took one, mixed it in a jar with very hot water (maybe ½ cup), then I poured that over the wool in the bin (still with its vinegar and soap). Some sections got really saturated with the dye, some had just a touch, some none at all. I did squish it around a little.
Then I put the glass cover on, and left it in the hot hot sun. I think I left it for 2 days. It got pretty hot – but certainly not boiling. Maybe to 150 degrees or so. And at night it cooled down, but I didn’t worry about it. In the morning, after a couple days, when it was cool, I poured off the liquid (saved it in a bucket), rinsed the wool (put the rinse water in same bucket), and let it dry. I used the not-yet-exhausted dye water again by putting it back in the bin, adding more vinegar and soap, and adding more wool. This time I didn’t bother presoaking it. Back went the glass cover and I left that for a couple of days. Voila!
Now the wool in yesterday’s photo was another batch where I used red and yellow dye in the same way so it came out more variegated. I like the results!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Contest!
So here's the official contest, as I started to think about yesterday: between now and Sat night (eastern us time) anyone who leaves a comment will be entered, Sun morning I'll draw a name randomly and send that person a nice fuzzy gift. It won't be yarn, so you don't have to be a knitter. And I promise it won't be anything made from the brown/purple stuff.
Is this entirely lame? Extremely possible, but when did that ever stop me from anything??
Here's some photos to keep things interesting:
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Is this entirely lame? Extremely possible, but when did that ever stop me from anything??
Here's some photos to keep things interesting:
 |
| Adorable little Mousy snoozing |
 |
| orange solar-dyed |
 | |
| red and yellow solar-dyed |
 |
| the solar-dye set up |
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Comments!
Hey, I got another comment on my blog!! I came up with an idea as I lay in bed this morning not wanting to get up….. I think I should run a contest. A commenter contest. So here would be the deal. For the next 3 days, anyone who leaves a comment would be entered in a drawing. Then I would draw a name, and send a small giftie to whichever name is drawn. The trouble is that the commenters would have to identify themselves somehow – I think you can come up with a quite innocuous name that maintains your actual anonymity. But then, the winner would have to be willing to email me your actual address so I could send the thing. Hmmmmm. It is an idea. Just a way to find out if I actually have any readers. I’ll write a whole post dedicated to just that.
I am doing very well with my attempts at solar dyeing. A few days ago I set up some white wool with some yellow and red dye poured on, I rinsed that yesterday and put some wool that was pink from exhausting the previous dye bath into what was left, and that is now a nice orange. The original stuff is nicely variegated. Only bad thing – I broke the glass I’ve been using over the top. I think I will try mending it with duct tape.
I spent a good part of yesterday – guess what?? - spinning more brown/purple stuff!!!!! I’m enjoying it because I like the variegation. I like the way it changes as it moves through my fingers. I also like listening to my cd books – I now know all about The Wars That Shaped the Western World (as in Peloponnesian, and Punic, as in ancient Greece and Rome. And I am learning about the American Founding Fathers. I’m getting terribly educated while doing “useful” work. Well, we’ll see if anything ever comes of these skeins. I will probably have enough for an entire sweater, but doubt anyone would buy a full pound of it. I did start knitting a nice pair of loosely knit wrist warmers with it.
I am knitting straight from the spool, so it is a bit coarse. When I am done I will wash them in HOT with a bit of agitation to bring out the softness.
That brings up a concern I have. I am worried about when I will need to go back to reality in a few weeks – when classes start up and I must be teaching. I won’t be able to do much spinning, but what I am worried about is getting myself up earlier. I guess it will mean getting to bed earlier. No more staying up to watch the Terry Jones series on People of the Middle Ages that we discovered on Netflix. That won’t be such a loss. It’s just that going to bed at 9 does not mean I go to sleep at 9. Well, after several days of getting up earlier maybe I will manage to get to sleep earlier. It’s just that I have so much to do before I can leave for work. Or rather so much I want to do: stretches, write, meditate, feed the buns. And if things return to the usual, feeding the buns may be all I end up doing.
I think I had better feed this wee beastie of a mouse. Every 2 hours gets kind of tedious.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
I am doing very well with my attempts at solar dyeing. A few days ago I set up some white wool with some yellow and red dye poured on, I rinsed that yesterday and put some wool that was pink from exhausting the previous dye bath into what was left, and that is now a nice orange. The original stuff is nicely variegated. Only bad thing – I broke the glass I’ve been using over the top. I think I will try mending it with duct tape.
I spent a good part of yesterday – guess what?? - spinning more brown/purple stuff!!!!! I’m enjoying it because I like the variegation. I like the way it changes as it moves through my fingers. I also like listening to my cd books – I now know all about The Wars That Shaped the Western World (as in Peloponnesian, and Punic, as in ancient Greece and Rome. And I am learning about the American Founding Fathers. I’m getting terribly educated while doing “useful” work. Well, we’ll see if anything ever comes of these skeins. I will probably have enough for an entire sweater, but doubt anyone would buy a full pound of it. I did start knitting a nice pair of loosely knit wrist warmers with it.
That brings up a concern I have. I am worried about when I will need to go back to reality in a few weeks – when classes start up and I must be teaching. I won’t be able to do much spinning, but what I am worried about is getting myself up earlier. I guess it will mean getting to bed earlier. No more staying up to watch the Terry Jones series on People of the Middle Ages that we discovered on Netflix. That won’t be such a loss. It’s just that going to bed at 9 does not mean I go to sleep at 9. Well, after several days of getting up earlier maybe I will manage to get to sleep earlier. It’s just that I have so much to do before I can leave for work. Or rather so much I want to do: stretches, write, meditate, feed the buns. And if things return to the usual, feeding the buns may be all I end up doing.
I think I had better feed this wee beastie of a mouse. Every 2 hours gets kind of tedious.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Wellesley Fair Article Link
The Wellesley Fair may have some unforeseen benefits. A reporter was there from the local paper, and he took a photo of me and put it and some info into his article. Here's the link:
http://wellesley.patch.com/articles/the-massachusetts-marketplace-festival#c
So maybe some folks will visit my Etsy shop, and maybe even this blog because of it. Here's a request - if anyone does visit this blog, found by whatever means, send me a comment!!!! I kind of feel like I write to nobody..... Of course this morning will be a bit disappointing, as there is little fiber or bunny news. Sorry.
My schedule is all messed up this morning. After sleeping poorly because of being awakened in the middle of the night by a howling dog (yes, you Tigger) who we finally found under the bureau – what he was howling about we’ll never know – I had to get up early to feed the adorable wee mousie. It seems somehow less adorable very early in the morning…. I tried to go back to sleep but was just lying there with my brain going a mile a minute, so I got up, and rather than do all the stuff that needs doing, like stretches and feeding the buns, I decided to just write and perhaps thus cool my brain.
Speaking of cool, it has been hot hot hot (how ya feeling? Hot hot hot) and I am tired of it. It is hard to be outside spinning. I suppose next year, after our basement is all finished, I could sit in there and spin, though I hate being down in a stuffy basement instead of out in the lovely air. It rained last night, so maybe it will be cooler.
We watched a really dumb Netflix thing about the Universe. The label said it was made in 2006, but it really had been filmed in 1989 and was really dated. So we turned it off and watched a Terry Gillium thing about medieval peasants. I knit on the scarf for Ally, but the trouble is that I must count with that scarf so it is hard to knit it while listening to my French Literature tape, or while watching a video.
Ok, I guess I’ve rambled enough. Today I will spin more purple/brown – I will be spinning that for quite a while. The new technique of spinning one full bobbin, then another full one with ½ ounce bits separated by a contrasting color, then plying 1 ounce at a time seems to work well.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
http://wellesley.patch.com/articles/the-massachusetts-marketplace-festival#c
So maybe some folks will visit my Etsy shop, and maybe even this blog because of it. Here's a request - if anyone does visit this blog, found by whatever means, send me a comment!!!! I kind of feel like I write to nobody..... Of course this morning will be a bit disappointing, as there is little fiber or bunny news. Sorry.
My schedule is all messed up this morning. After sleeping poorly because of being awakened in the middle of the night by a howling dog (yes, you Tigger) who we finally found under the bureau – what he was howling about we’ll never know – I had to get up early to feed the adorable wee mousie. It seems somehow less adorable very early in the morning…. I tried to go back to sleep but was just lying there with my brain going a mile a minute, so I got up, and rather than do all the stuff that needs doing, like stretches and feeding the buns, I decided to just write and perhaps thus cool my brain.
Speaking of cool, it has been hot hot hot (how ya feeling? Hot hot hot) and I am tired of it. It is hard to be outside spinning. I suppose next year, after our basement is all finished, I could sit in there and spin, though I hate being down in a stuffy basement instead of out in the lovely air. It rained last night, so maybe it will be cooler.
We watched a really dumb Netflix thing about the Universe. The label said it was made in 2006, but it really had been filmed in 1989 and was really dated. So we turned it off and watched a Terry Gillium thing about medieval peasants. I knit on the scarf for Ally, but the trouble is that I must count with that scarf so it is hard to knit it while listening to my French Literature tape, or while watching a video.
Ok, I guess I’ve rambled enough. Today I will spin more purple/brown – I will be spinning that for quite a while. The new technique of spinning one full bobbin, then another full one with ½ ounce bits separated by a contrasting color, then plying 1 ounce at a time seems to work well.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Monday, August 09, 2010
I am not especially happy with this situation. The other computer has died – perhaps due to something about the power cord since it just loses power shortly after turning on. So I am writing at the big computer and I do NOT like it. I am spoiled by sitting outside in the nice cool breeze. And I prefer to write on my lap, which I have just discovered I can do with this, too, why not?
Well, after swearing off fiber forever yesterday, I still managed to spin up 3 small skeins of the purple/brown stuff. I wound off 2 of them, and will knit the third right from the spool. Wrist warmers? A headband? Something small just so I can see how it comes out.
Tiny Mousito is still alive and going strong and acts starving every time we go to feed it. It is also getting a bit more rambunctious, scrambles about all over its box. I think it will need an actual cage of some sort soon. It is unbelievably cute and so so so tiny!
Oh, here’s something exciting: I made another Etsy sale!!!!! I spent quite a long time yesterday putting up a few more things – just skeins.
Boy, it is time consuming. I need to streamline it somehow. For one thing, I take a mazillion photos of each skein, then go through them all to choose the best 4. And fix them all in various ways. If only I could just take one photo and that was that. Then it takes time to write up a blurb for each one. I have saved the blurbs I’ve written so I can use them as a template of some sort, changing details as needed. Today I must go to the po to mail off the purchased skein.
But first, I can't resist including this little montage of the T-boy and I sharing a treat. Note the drool strand in the 1st photo...
Ok, it is nearly 9, I’d better get a move on.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Well, after swearing off fiber forever yesterday, I still managed to spin up 3 small skeins of the purple/brown stuff. I wound off 2 of them, and will knit the third right from the spool. Wrist warmers? A headband? Something small just so I can see how it comes out.
Tiny Mousito is still alive and going strong and acts starving every time we go to feed it. It is also getting a bit more rambunctious, scrambles about all over its box. I think it will need an actual cage of some sort soon. It is unbelievably cute and so so so tiny!
Oh, here’s something exciting: I made another Etsy sale!!!!! I spent quite a long time yesterday putting up a few more things – just skeins.
Boy, it is time consuming. I need to streamline it somehow. For one thing, I take a mazillion photos of each skein, then go through them all to choose the best 4. And fix them all in various ways. If only I could just take one photo and that was that. Then it takes time to write up a blurb for each one. I have saved the blurbs I’ve written so I can use them as a template of some sort, changing details as needed. Today I must go to the po to mail off the purchased skein.
But first, I can't resist including this little montage of the T-boy and I sharing a treat. Note the drool strand in the 1st photo...
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Utter Failure
Bad title. I should not focus on the failure part, rather on whatever lessons I learned, whatever enjoyment I had, whatever good may have come from it. I speak of yesterday’s complete waste of time and energy at the Horticultural Fair in Wellesley. I made two sales of <$100. Not as bad as that fair at Look Park several years ago where I sold absolutely nothing… This was not a particularly good venue for me (ya think??) since it was more of an agricultural fair, and people were not so much on the lookout for handcrafted items. Add to that the major malfaut on the part of the orgqanizers of hiring a very loud rock band to play Beatles covers right in front of me. I couldn’t hear myself think let alone talk to anyone about my stuff. It was a good thing I had the display so people could see photos and not have to ask me as much. A lesson: I should more carefully check out a fair before I pay good money and go to all the effort to sell at it.
I did get rather majorly depressed: “Nobody wants my stuff” “Why do I bother working so hard at this?” “I am wasting my time and energy which could be put to much better use fighting global warming” “I pretend/think/imagine I am a ‘fiber artist’ when really I am just a dilettante.” That last hits a nerve since I’ve felt like one ever since learning the world in Mr. Walker’s English class junior year. and G’s little mouse is an even smaller example of this misspent, ill appropriated energy. Here’s the story: Friday night I get a call from G at Cumbie’s on rt 9. She and K had biked there and found a tiny baby mouse in the parking lot. What should they do with it? I suggested many options including leaving it there (let nature take its course), putting it out of its misery, feeding it to Snakey, and trying to care for it, which would be very hard and time consuming. Of course they decided on the latter, apparently mainly at Katie’s insistence. So we now have a tiny baby mouse, probably a week or so old (eyes not yet open) that every few hours must be fed kitten milk replacer with a tiny syringe, sometimes by G and sometimes by me. And what will we do with this mouse when it is grown? Probably catch it with a mouse trap when it ends up in our kitchen…. I have suggested that we invite K over to teach her how to feed it so that at least they can take turns. And when we go to Oregon, maybe she can take it. And maybe her new kitten will find it and dispatch it….. Well, one thing I can say is that it is adorably cute, voracious, and must be hardy to have made it this long.
It brings back memories of hours spent caring for the girls’ tamagotchies (?) when they were little.
One may notice that I have no interesting fiber news, things I’m working on, and all like that. That’s because I am so discouraged that I don’t even want to think about fiber today.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
I did get rather majorly depressed: “Nobody wants my stuff” “Why do I bother working so hard at this?” “I am wasting my time and energy which could be put to much better use fighting global warming” “I pretend/think/imagine I am a ‘fiber artist’ when really I am just a dilettante.” That last hits a nerve since I’ve felt like one ever since learning the world in Mr. Walker’s English class junior year. and G’s little mouse is an even smaller example of this misspent, ill appropriated energy. Here’s the story: Friday night I get a call from G at Cumbie’s on rt 9. She and K had biked there and found a tiny baby mouse in the parking lot. What should they do with it? I suggested many options including leaving it there (let nature take its course), putting it out of its misery, feeding it to Snakey, and trying to care for it, which would be very hard and time consuming. Of course they decided on the latter, apparently mainly at Katie’s insistence. So we now have a tiny baby mouse, probably a week or so old (eyes not yet open) that every few hours must be fed kitten milk replacer with a tiny syringe, sometimes by G and sometimes by me. And what will we do with this mouse when it is grown? Probably catch it with a mouse trap when it ends up in our kitchen…. I have suggested that we invite K over to teach her how to feed it so that at least they can take turns. And when we go to Oregon, maybe she can take it. And maybe her new kitten will find it and dispatch it….. Well, one thing I can say is that it is adorably cute, voracious, and must be hardy to have made it this long.
It brings back memories of hours spent caring for the girls’ tamagotchies (?) when they were little.
One may notice that I have no interesting fiber news, things I’m working on, and all like that. That’s because I am so discouraged that I don’t even want to think about fiber today.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Friday, August 06, 2010
Getting Ready for a Fair
What will today bring? Much work I fear. I did a lot of spinning yesterday to get ready for tomorrow – I have 3 new skeins of light (Lucky) gray, and the three of white. I still have a lot to do since I need to put labels on all the unlabeled skeins, which includes all the angora/alpaca/wool stuff, and the pink stuff, as well as the new angora. I also, yesterday printed up a bunch of photos that I will use for the informative display at my booth. I’m not yet sure how I will hang it. I also really hope the tent support part comes today. Well, I think I will set up the tent and think about it. I think I could hang the display from the metal supports. My other idea was to hang it on the wooden shelves, but I think I will bring that big mirror that I had last Christmas Fair and hang that on the shelves. Well, I still have to actually put the display together. I need to get double stick tape and I’m hoping Hastings has some. I’m thinking I will go (maybe walk, maybe bike) into town to get the tape, return the cd booklet to the library, and get a dowel to fix the wheel. The flier broke yesterday (it’s been loose for a long time), but then – I have the flier from the wheel I bought (and immediately regretted buying) in Maine. I no longer regret it! I need to now drill out the broken dowels, and glue in new ones and clamp the whole thing (the old one) to fix it. In town I must also get cash for the fair.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Computer Issues
I got the computer to work better – I did whatever it is called where you put it back in time a few days. I ought to run some virus checks and all that on it now. Well, after I write. And IF it stays running. I managed to upload yesterday’s blog and decided I would start writing now while it is still on. I’ll have to continually save. But I have it inside which is not that nice, the computer itself is unbearably hot, the noise from it is much louder here, and besides that I have not yet fed the buns and I stopped my stretches in the middle to deal with this. An upset to my routine!!!!! And I don’t like writing on the table like this. I want the thing in my lap, but it is crowded at the table and the damn thing is so hot. I’ll try anyway. Ok, maybe this will be better. Wouldn’t it be great to have a real true laptop? One that one could actually carry around and use on one’s lap. Well, maybe one day. After we get one for Geneviève. After they are both done with school. By then Kent will decide that he has to move to Hawaii and then who knows what the hell will happen.
Religion and faith. Why do I have no interest in writing about those? Much more compelling to write about mundanities. Oh, by the way, good news: my cancer sore is getting better. It was really annoying all day yesterday. I realized that if I were very busy (as in at work) I would be distracted and would not notice it so much. Or if I had nothing to do and could just relax and read it probably would bother me less. But as it is, I am trying to keep myself motivated to do things – spin the angora, get ready for Sat, get other not very exciting things done, and in that situation something seemingly small like a canker sore is really distracting. I suppose, in part, because many times when I have trouble staying motivated I’ll take a small break to eat something. But with the canker sore that becomes its own ordeal.
Today- I really have to do stuff like pay bills. I want to spin 3 more ounces, this time of Lucky fiber. On a more fun note, I started working on putting some photos together in a kind of montage to use in my booth. I think we need a new color cartridge in the printer, so I will need to do that today early on.
I guess the thing to do right now is feed the buns, meditate, then spin up the gray stuff. Oh and I have the solar-maybe-dyed stuff to rinse out and see how it did. Maybe I’ll do that first. I imagine there will be lots of dye left over so I’ll need to find more wool to exhaust it. I guess I’ll wash the rest of that fleece.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Religion and faith. Why do I have no interest in writing about those? Much more compelling to write about mundanities. Oh, by the way, good news: my cancer sore is getting better. It was really annoying all day yesterday. I realized that if I were very busy (as in at work) I would be distracted and would not notice it so much. Or if I had nothing to do and could just relax and read it probably would bother me less. But as it is, I am trying to keep myself motivated to do things – spin the angora, get ready for Sat, get other not very exciting things done, and in that situation something seemingly small like a canker sore is really distracting. I suppose, in part, because many times when I have trouble staying motivated I’ll take a small break to eat something. But with the canker sore that becomes its own ordeal.
Today- I really have to do stuff like pay bills. I want to spin 3 more ounces, this time of Lucky fiber. On a more fun note, I started working on putting some photos together in a kind of montage to use in my booth. I think we need a new color cartridge in the printer, so I will need to do that today early on.
I guess the thing to do right now is feed the buns, meditate, then spin up the gray stuff. Oh and I have the solar-maybe-dyed stuff to rinse out and see how it did. Maybe I’ll do that first. I imagine there will be lots of dye left over so I’ll need to find more wool to exhaust it. I guess I’ll wash the rest of that fleece.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
I decided to get this litter of babies out of their hutch and give them some socialization time. Because they are in the hutch, they spend most of their time hidden away, kind of cowering in the back of the enclosed part. I’m sure most of the time they do not cower, they just sleep all snuggled up, but when I open the door they cower. I want them to get more accustomed to people. Unfortunately, it being summer, I don’t have all those lovely students to socialize them for me. Right now they are at the completely adorable stage.
I picked up Ophelia Speaks from the 25 cent shelf at the library yesterday, and have been reading some of the essays written by teenage girls, pretty interesting. One started out saying that she got a journal and wrote in it every day, mostly about religion and faith. Hmmmmm. And here I write mostly about things like how well or poorly I slept and (which I was thinking this morning I would say and so I will) how I have a canker sore on my tongue. I guess these are the things that occupy my mind. I guess I am just lame. Oh well.
Last night was spinning at Webs. I finished a skein of grey angora and started one of white. I want to get several more spun up for the upcoming fair in Wellesley. I’ll add the link to it here.
http://www.masshort.org/component/option,com_events/task,view_detail/agid,106/year,2010/month,08/day,07/Itemid,1000002/catids,25|19|24|30|18/
and the dh agreed to come with me – miraculous! It will sure make the set up and take down a lot easier.
I started a bin of solar dyeing yesterday. Unfortunately I missed the best days for that, when it was so so so hot in July. And it got pretty hot (125 degrees inside the bin) yesterday, but it looks like today will be cloudy. Well, I will just leave it there until it gets sunny again and hope for the best.
And now I am really hungry (and I have a canker sore on my tongue) so I will meditate and then eat!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Some more photos - yarn and bunnies!
I actually spun and plied and washed my first one ounce skein of the purple brown!
Oh, and yesterday I took a bunch of photos of adult bunnies (some of which I posted) and some of adorable babies
And I started to organize the bunny photos. Just a start, it will take quite a while to really get it functional. I want it easy to access individual photos of each adult. That way I can post them with the appropriate thing offered for sale on Etsy.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!!http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Oh, and yesterday I took a bunch of photos of adult bunnies (some of which I posted) and some of adorable babies
 |
| adorable baby (2 weeks) |
 |
| adorable baby AND lovely wrist warmer |
 |
| baby and Papa (Blizzard) |
And I started to organize the bunny photos. Just a start, it will take quite a while to really get it functional. I want it easy to access individual photos of each adult. That way I can post them with the appropriate thing offered for sale on Etsy.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!!http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Monday, August 02, 2010
Parental Photos
Here are photos of the parents of the baby buns that I showed a few days ago:
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
MOM (APRICOT) WITH ONE OF THE BABIES
DAD (BART)
Exciting News!!
Here’s some exciting news: I SOLD SOMETHING ON ETSY!!!!!! I have to look more closely at the email to see which wrist warmers it is, then send it off pronto today. How terribly exciting. And someone has requested that I reserve the brown new baby bunny. Not sure how I will get it to her.
On other fibrous news, I am finally spinning the purple/brown stuff. I will take a photo.
I want to make 1 ounce skeins, so I have thought up a great technique. I am spinning one bobbin of 2 ounces. Then on the next I will spin ½ ounce bits, and separate each with some obvious bit of some other color. Then when I ply I can do each ounce separately. Much less taking on and off of bobbins this way.
And final fibrous news – I decided to try knitting the cowl for my niece using a pattern I found on Ravelry. I will have to link to the blog that has it.
http://knitsnthings.wordpress.com/simply-knit-one-stitch-lace-scarf/
It is lacey and pretty cool. I’m afraid, though, that I’m going to have to put it aside this week while I spin and knit up some stuff for the fair in Wellesley this weekend. I hope the part for the Easy-Up tent comes in time, otherwise I’ll be doing some creative duct tape work.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!!http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
On other fibrous news, I am finally spinning the purple/brown stuff. I will take a photo.
I want to make 1 ounce skeins, so I have thought up a great technique. I am spinning one bobbin of 2 ounces. Then on the next I will spin ½ ounce bits, and separate each with some obvious bit of some other color. Then when I ply I can do each ounce separately. Much less taking on and off of bobbins this way.
And final fibrous news – I decided to try knitting the cowl for my niece using a pattern I found on Ravelry. I will have to link to the blog that has it.
http://knitsnthings.wordpress.com/simply-knit-one-stitch-lace-scarf/
It is lacey and pretty cool. I’m afraid, though, that I’m going to have to put it aside this week while I spin and knit up some stuff for the fair in Wellesley this weekend. I hope the part for the Easy-Up tent comes in time, otherwise I’ll be doing some creative duct tape work.
Visit my new Etsy Shop!!http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
Sunday, August 01, 2010
I got a comment!!!!!!! That means that someone has read or at least glanced at my blog!! How exciting! But uh oh, it also means that people might actually be reading this and maybe I should watch what I write. I have a deep-seated fear (that comes, I believe, from being the youngest of 4 sisters) of annoying anyone. I assume by blabbing away I will eventually annoy someone. Too bad.
I am a bit concerned about this late rising thing and what will happen when works starts back up in a month. It might mean that I have to give up a lot of my morning routine, and probably what will go first is MP’s. Or maybe I can try to get myself to bed earlier. We watched a rather lame NOVA video from Netflix about “the invisible world” and then I messed around for quite a while trying to get a photo to post on Ravelry to advertise bunnies for sale. Then when I did get to bed it took forever to get to sleep. Perhaps that’s what comes of having regular tea AND a chocolate cookie late in the afternoon. How lame is that? Tea after noon means I cannot sleep??
Before the nova thing, and after a quick and late supper of toasted cheese sandwiches and Barn Farm salad, I carded more!!!!! I am finally doing the final card – combining all the different fibers that I will spin up into this purple/brown stuff. It will not be perfect, but I am ready to be done with it.
I let a few bunnies out to runs this morning. It’s been so hot I haven’t done that in a while. I think they will enjoy the munching and I hope not do too much digging. I’ll probably switch them when I’m done writing to give another group a chance.
Once again, I have not really written anything that I can reasonably put in a blog. So maybe this idea will not work very well. I certainly won’t have the time to write morning pages AND a blog. One will have to give.
Hmmmm - but look, I did decide to put most of it up anyway. well, happy reading world!!!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
I am a bit concerned about this late rising thing and what will happen when works starts back up in a month. It might mean that I have to give up a lot of my morning routine, and probably what will go first is MP’s. Or maybe I can try to get myself to bed earlier. We watched a rather lame NOVA video from Netflix about “the invisible world” and then I messed around for quite a while trying to get a photo to post on Ravelry to advertise bunnies for sale. Then when I did get to bed it took forever to get to sleep. Perhaps that’s what comes of having regular tea AND a chocolate cookie late in the afternoon. How lame is that? Tea after noon means I cannot sleep??
Before the nova thing, and after a quick and late supper of toasted cheese sandwiches and Barn Farm salad, I carded more!!!!! I am finally doing the final card – combining all the different fibers that I will spin up into this purple/brown stuff. It will not be perfect, but I am ready to be done with it.
I let a few bunnies out to runs this morning. It’s been so hot I haven’t done that in a while. I think they will enjoy the munching and I hope not do too much digging. I’ll probably switch them when I’m done writing to give another group a chance.
Once again, I have not really written anything that I can reasonably put in a blog. So maybe this idea will not work very well. I certainly won’t have the time to write morning pages AND a blog. One will have to give.
Hmmmm - but look, I did decide to put most of it up anyway. well, happy reading world!!!
Visit my new Etsy Shop!! http://www.etsy.com/shop/twistedmysteries
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