Monday, July 27, 2009

Busy Spinning Away

I've been trying to catch up on a lot of stuff lately, but it just seems the more I try to catch up, the more there is to do. I need 30 hour days to possibly accomplish more. lol

I didn't get all of my Tour de Fleece fiber finished. I managed 12 of the 16 ounces. This is really not a bad thing. If I hadn't been trying to finish it, I would not have that much done. My other goal for TdF was to finish some WIP bobbins. I managed to ply up 4 different fibers that have been languishing for weeks, months, and one over a year. It feels good to have them done. Now, I need to take them to the sink and set the twist in all of them.

Saturday was spent at the Foster Old Home Days with some spinning pals at a demo. I've been looking for something to decorate my Minstrel wheel with. A little angel with blue/purple wings and a flower now rides on the tensioner. Barbara and Polly were there with their sheep and were selling their fiber, yarns, and goodies. They also had the Rhody Warm blankets and yarns for sale. The angel was hanging in the shed along with lots of others with different colored wings and/or flowers.

I started a new pair of socks to go along with my Dragon Scale Shawl. I like the pattern picture, but, am not sure if I like the actual pattern as it works up. I might frog it in a little bit. Beads will not be going into the socks. Originally, beads were going to be used in the cuff and at the top of the diamonds in the leg if possible. After some consideration, I decided this might not be good for me since my legs tend to swell. Getting beads poked into me if I cross my ankles would not feel too good.

The garden is still giving me tomatoes, peppers, and cukes. The carrots are doing well. I will try to plant the new lettuce in the next couple of days. The rains have helped everything grow without too much work on my part. I do have to pull the weeds that keep popping up though.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Garden Developments, Spinning Challenges, Junebug's Fleece

There was a second harvest of cherry tomatoes a couple of days ago. Several more are still in the green stage or just starting to turn color. There are quite a few green ones on the big boy tomato plants as well. Sadly, the lettuce is not salvageable thanks to the rains we have had lately. The pot it was in didn't drain well, and the lettuce rotted at the roots. I've another envelope of seeds, fresh soil, and different pots to try again. The peppers are growing. I have one about 3 inches across, but, not quite ready for picking yet. There are a few small ones too. The cucumbers are about an inch long now. I do like the bush plants better than the running ones. I thinned the carrots a bit, but, will re-do that next week after they grow a bit more. The lemon thyme needs trimming again. I can dry that in the house and use it in some cooking. Pat isn't crazy about lemon, so I use it in dishes I make just for me.

It's great to have the canopy up in the back yard too. I sat under it the other day while we were cooking on the grill. It's very cozy under there with plenty of room. I need to drag my wheel out there soon to sit and spin.

Speaking of spinning, I'm still plugging away at the Tour de Fleece. I am just past the half way point with my Seawool fiber. I don't think I will get all of the pound done by next week, but, I'm trying my best.

Today, I went up to the Fibers4Ewe Mill to pick up my "Junebug" fleece. I'll try to take a picture outside in the sun tomorrow. The color is a lovely grayish brown with sutble color shifts in it. It's absolutely beautiful. I am thinking it will become a sweater at least. I might decide to dye a little and see how it looks. I also came away with 8 ounces of fiber dyed and processed by Liz at the mill. Of course, that has some sparklies in it. I took the scenic way home due to road construction on Rte 44. I was going to stop by Holidaze Glass, but, will save that for another day.

It's been a long day, so I think I'll go to bed now. It's after 1:30 a.m. Goodnight.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

First Garden Tomatoes and Tour de Fleece Spinning

I picked 4 cherry tomatoes from my garden Saturday. First Garden Harvest 2009
We washed them and just ate them still warm from the sunshine.

I've decided to spin for the Tour de Fleece again this year. I think I might have over extended myself with my project. I have a pound of "Cabot" Seawool from Creatively Dyed Yarns. So far, I've only managed to spin one ounce. It's definitely a challenge due to it's slipperiness and fluffiness. It tends to drift apart if you don't put extra twist in it. I'm using the smallest whorl on my Sonata for this. Here's a photo of how far I've got on Day 3 of TdF:

Tour de Fleece 2009 spinning seacell day 3

and a close up: Tour de Fleece 2009 spinning seawool day 3 close up

The original plan was to also finish some spinning WIPs on the Minstrel. I managed to finish the last of 4 ounces of Falkland from Into the Whirled. I think the seawool take precedence over any other spinning for this. Wish me good luck to get the whole pound spun. Tonight will be devoted to at least another ounce. I'll be spinning next to Pat who had rotator surgery today and is feeling no pain at this time. He is still medicated from the nerve block they gave him, and has pain medicine for later. Now starts the tough part for him - the recovery and not doing everything he usually does.