Heceta Head Lighthouse

Editing… I wanted to add this photo, taken just now:

10 Minutes in the Back Yard

]]> http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/2010/09/01/four-years/feed/ 2 http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/2010/08/31/etsy-updates-two-new-yarns-some-stitch-markers/ http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/2010/08/31/etsy-updates-two-new-yarns-some-stitch-markers/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:09:07 +0000 Kate http://allhailsuburbia.thewanderingwolf.biz/?p=1679 I’ve updated my Etsy shop in the last couple of days. I’ve got two new skeins of yarn and some little beaded stitch markers. The new yarns are the two shown below on the upper right, the dark Polwarth and the pink BFL. They were both from Portland based Abstract Fiber and I loved spinning both of them. I’m working on another of their Polwarth tops now. They’re hard to give up once they become yarn!

The stitch markers are just something I’m trying out. I use them myself for the little bit of knitting I do, but I’m not sure about them yet for the shop.

FXCamera - Toy Camera

Retro Camera - The Bärbl

They both have their charms.

I also took this shot, which I mainly like for the composition, using the Retro Camera app and the Little Orange Box setting:

Retro Camera - Little Orange Box

All of these were taken at the Finley Wildlife Refuge, south of Corvallis.

Giant Lily Pads at the Oregon Garden

Whoo hoo!

My fuzzy little cloche hat won a blue ribbon at the county fair! This was in the crochet category, and I honestly was not expecting to receive a ribbon. After reading a story in the paper about some of the exquisite fiber arts, I almost didn’t even take it in… but, yay!

So, that was a nice result for my first time out. Will probably try again next year, if I can make something nice by then.

Here’s a scarf I started with some of my handspun:

"Arachne's Tears"

I spun this yarn during Tour de Fleece and started to make something else with it, but just wasn’t loving it. I think this pattern is showcasing the yarn nicely, though.

closer... closer...

Here’s what I started to knit with that yarn:

Age of Brass & Steam Kerchief

My knitting is so crappy. This pattern is really nice (and easy for someone like me who hasn’t really honed her knitting skills after all this time… derrrr…), but I think I would like it better in a thinner yarn. Still I am determined to finish this one.

I know I neglect my two blogs fairly often. I’ve often been sucked into that microclimate of Facebook and it’s easy to forget that not everyone is there.

Anyway… not much going on here, just chipping away at the house, organization/improvements/getting rid of stuff. This article in the NY Times really inspired me, at least as far as getting rid of stuff… it’s hard to cut down totally on spending when you’re trying to make improvements to a house, but I am at least working on not accumulating new stuff. (Exception: an occasional book.)

Trying to get out and enjoy our open spaces this summer… at least on the days where it’s not a million degrees. Or, what, 90 degrees. Whatever. After 85, it’s just hot as far as I’m concerned. Yes, I am a weirdo who likes clouds and rain. Anyway, we headed out to the Finley Wildlife Refuge one afternoon & I took this shot with my Android phone. I’ve been playing around with a free  app called FXCamera. This is the “toy camera” setting and I love the square format and the way it handles color. It reminds me of old photographs from when I was a kid.

Finley Wildlife Refuge

Here are a couple more shots taken with the same color settings:

Downtown Corvallis

My Morning View

These are obviously intended to evoke a mood, rather than be fine photography.

Well, guess I’d better go and do some chores or something. Ta!

I finally settled on a name for our new kitty… Mei Mei.

Now, if only I could get all three cats to become friends. *sadface*

unexpected peahens are unexpected

Well, that’s new.

They flapped down into the yard and proceeded to spend the entire day there, freaking out the chickens and the cat and just generally being weird. Actually, at some point they both settled down on the deck in front of our sliding door and didn’t budge for a long time.

And then they just disappeared, some time before it got dark, and we have never seen them again. I still wonder where they were going, where they belonged, and if they’re okay. They were beautiful… but I’m glad they didn’t stay.

Now I love it! Thanks to my friends at Ravelry for helping me figure out what to do with this fiber.

Also wanted to share this… I was randomly drawn for a prize on one of the days of the tour, and this is what I received:

I can’t wait to spin this! It is 4 oz. of South African Fine Wool from Yarnadoodledoo called “Orange Blossom Special”. I’ve had my eye on her Etsy shop for a while, so when I saw that one of the prizes available to select from was from her, it was my first choice!

So, I figured I should go ahead and wrap this up. Had fun, won a prize (more on that in the next post), and got lots of yarn spun! Without further ado, here are my final photos from this year’s Tour de Fleece:

Days 18-19 – No photos. Day 18 was a frustrating day and I didn’t really produce anything I wanted to take a photo of. Day 19 was officially a rest day, though I still spun. More frustrating stuff. Moving along.

Day 20

50/50 Merino/Bamboo from Creatively Dyed - corespun

I could not figure out what to do with this fiber for the longest time. It’s absolutely gorgeous, I love the colors and the shine of the merino/bamboo, but the color repeats were so small and it was so slippery that trying to spin straight-up yarn with it was not working out for me. Muddy yuck. So, finally, I thought of trying corespinning. This is only my second attempt and I thought it was going pretty well…

Day 21 – Hilarity ensues!

Corespun - way, way, way spun

Whoops.

Day 22

I seem not to have taken a photo on day 22. I started spinning something new, and the finished yarn is shown on the last day. But for day 22, let’s take another look at that corespun:

twiiiiiist!

So, so, pretty. But so, so twisty. I despaired.

Day 23

Merino/Tussah Silk from Dicentra Designs

This yarn was so shiny and bright, it was hard to photograph. It’s not my best… think I was getting a little tired of spinning by this time.

So, that’s everything for this year! Here’s a little collage of everything I worked on:

Thanks for following along! A couple of these are up for sale at my Etsy shop if you see anything that interests you.