I’m participating in a swap on Ravelry, where I send a package of yarny stuff off to one person, and someone else sends me something. I think there are almost 150 people participating… I’m glad I didn’t have the idea and then have to organize it! Our theme is “shop local”. SO EASY to do here… I already purchased a few things at BSG and am going to finish up this weekend.
I received my package on Saturday, all the way from London! One of the gifts inside was 2 oz. of fiber made of a blend of recycled plastic bottle caps & rouge de l’ouest from Moonspinning. I’ve never spun with anything like it. I decided I needed to make a deliberate art yarn.
(When a person first starts spinning, they very often end up with what we fondly call “art yarn”… but it’s not deliberate!)
Here is my end result. About 82 yards:
The fiber itself was very lumpy and full of little bits of fluff. I kind of let it do its own thing while spinning, then I plied it with a heavy blue thread and a metallic white thread. The image above can be clicked to see a larger photo with more detail.
Now what to do with it? Thinking of making a small pillow with this as the front and a solid knit back… maybe in red?
Filed under: Cooking, Crafts, Shop Local on July 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »
A series from the front yard:
Filed under: Photos on July 1st, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Taking inspiration from Erica’s great photos of her fiber stash from Black Sheep Gathering last weekend, I snapped a few shots of my own haul. This was my first time visiting the annual festival and I only went for the vendors (and to see the sheep!), but there are workshops, fleece judging (& sale!) and a sheep-to-shawl contest.
Anyway, on to my new pretties:
From Crown Mountain Farms, 4 oz. of alpaca/tussah silk (70/30) in “fawn”. I’ve already started spinning this one and am attempting lace for the first time. This stuff is like wispy clouds… I think I’m wearing as much as I’m spinning.
Also from Crown Mountain Farms, 4 oz. of green cotton. The color in the above photo doesn’t do this justice.
Here we have 4.2 oz. of merino/tussah silk (80/20) from Dicentra Designs — one of my local faves! The colorway on this is called “Bouquet”.
I don’t remember which vendor had these mohair batts. I picked up these two to use in blending with other fibers using my drum carder. A pink and a lilac!
From New Hue Handspuns, 2 oz. of Bunny Patch Fibers merino/angora (80/20) in the colorway “Joseph’s Coat”. They really sold me by having knitted samples of all their fibers. Glad to find another nice local (Portland) seller!
Last but not least, 4 oz. of bamboo/wool (50/50) from Creatively Dyed.
All in all, it was a really nice day and I’m definitely going to go back next year!
Filed under: Crafts on June 28th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
We’ve started doing a little bit to the kitchen to get it ready for the changes we want to make. Step one was tearing out the false ceiling:
Step two was tearing out these cabinets:
So, now it feels much more open from the kitchen through to the dining room and beyond into the living room:
All the photos can be clicked to see larger images with more detail. Including our slightly sloppy counter tops & dining room table!
The plan is to get a new stove, and put that in the breakfast nook. In here, on the left side behind the curved wall… that’s where the fridge is now:
In that photo above, the floor-to-ceiling cabinet will be coming out too. That’s another false wall between the kitchen and the dining room. The fridge will be moved over to the wall that is to the right of the current stove. The unit where the stove is now will come out, and we’ll probably put in an island, so there will be kitchen entrances on both sides of that.
We’re going to get some metal cabinetry to put down in the basement to store food, keeping only the day-to-day items upstairs. We’re considering open shelving for everything else, but we have to plan that carefully now that we have these two cats.
And that’s been our Saturday!
Filed under: The Homestead on June 13th, 2009 | No Comments »
Hey, baby.
I put a little chicken update over on my other blog, please check it out!
Filed under: Backyard Chickens, Nostalgia, Photos on June 10th, 2009 | No Comments »
Filed under: Nostalgia, Photos on June 6th, 2009 | No Comments »
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!
Filed under: Photos, The Homestead on June 1st, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Filed under: Gardening on May 31st, 2009 | No Comments »
I love this item from the Gazette-Times crime watch section today:
OSU Department of Public Safety
Tuesday, May 26
ANNOYING FLIRT: 2 p.m., Valley Library. Library staff complained that a male student was flashing the laser light from a computer mouse at other patrons, annoying them, despite being asked to stop. The student said he did it to get the attention of a girl he liked. He was advised to try another tactic.
He was advised to try another tactic… oh, honey. Try chasing her around the playground at recess!
P.S. Crime watch section. NEWSPAPER. Yep.
Filed under: General on May 28th, 2009 | No Comments »
Filed under: Photos, The Cats on May 22nd, 2009 | 2 Comments »
