Roses in the Snow

I once thought I hated pink. Actually, I thought it for many years. It stemmed from so many things - the Barbie dominant era of my childhood where pink came to mean a tiny waist, boobs bigger than Texas, and feet that were permanently fitted to dazzle all in 4 inch heels. And, as a brunette, pink poses challenges that, taken beyond a pale shade of shell or rose can quickly flood right on into trampish look. But, I suspect it has less to do with childhood icons, color palettes and how they flatter us, and a basic dislike for a color. I mean, I'm not crazy about yellow but, when found liking a shade of yellow, I rarely have moments of inner conflict and slight twinges of violent streaks. Part of the reason I have come to this conclusion is that I find so many other people who react to pink in the strangest ways ranging from utter hatred of anything pink to a tolerance of certain shades of pink to a rabid sort of attraction to all things pink. I have this on my mind, of course, because it's February and the month of love and so I figured it was the safest month of the year to do pink-ish (ducks in case pink haters everywhere are lobbing rotted fruit at her) for the Happy Hooves Batt Club. Meet the 'Roses in the Snow' batts - and a wild card month to boot. Woot!

Wild Cards are great fun, I think, and a concept that can quickly turn your stash into a goldmine. In these sets, a wild card means 3 batts - one of each colorway (shown here left to right: rose, roses in the snow, gold dust woman). The idea behind this was for a three ply yarn - perfect for socks that squish and bounce and live long and happy lives under the pressure of feet and shoes. But, that's only one way you can spin them. I toyed for a while with the idea of to plying each batt or 1/2 of each batt and then mix and matching the 2 ply from the other halves for a gradient lace wgt yarn for a shawl but, after frothing at the mouth with fevered confusion at ALL THE OPTIONS before me, I sat right down and made myself carry through with my original intention, and I'm very please with it. You can greatly extend your stash by spinning some 'plain' roving and plying it with a hand-dyed roving or a happy sparkly batt to get more yardage and plenty of color. Generally, my wild cards are about taking wild variations of color and blending them together in a yarn. You know, your basic eye popping contrasting colors sort of party. This time, though, we're playing with irony a little - making a wild card from lighter tones that, when blended, pretty much undulate and shift so subtly that the color becomes one. Only, that one color is chock full of magic because it shifts and changes ever so slightly throughout it's plying that is makes the eyes stand up tall and dance like they don't need the money. That's mostly due to the 'Roses in the Snow' batt - which has gobs of sari silk and glitz in it that sort of makes it come to life...really.
This little 3 ply - a light fingering yarn - is aglow with sparkle and dazzling color. She's a 400 yard skein at 4.2 ozs./120 grms - 16 wpi. I lurve her. Shhhh, don't tell...

It seems odd that a color that in color/gemstone therapy is used extensively to promote inner and social peace, healing, reverence and love can make people feel so, so, well, it's hard to explain how certain pinks make me feel. I'm definitely in the 'tolerate certain shades of pink' category and that just freaks me right out when I come to the conclusion that probably a big part of the reason that pink can instill such apathy, frustration, and even aggression in people is exactly because of the way it makes us FEEL - as in feel things that we're not entirely comfortable with feeling. And, you know, there's that prevailing notion that peace is weak. No one likes to be weak and I think the fear of that, alone, has fostered pink hatred for too long. So, a little experiment: look at this pink. I mean it, c'mon....really look at it for a minute. Take a few deep breaths, (exhale too!). Doesn't it make you feel a little, uhmmmm, happy? Then, do you look around to make sure no one's watching? Yep, fear of being caught loving soft rosy pinks is powerful.

Women certainly have reason to be troubled with pink (see above reference to Barbie) and to even have an aversion to the stereotypes that go along with something that is perceived as feminine. You know, it raises these very real fears of just how feminine it is good to be. And, what is the definition of feminine? A wisdom that is compassionate and/or a pretty, soft, and breathtaking beauty? It's hard to make the two mix - easier to steer away from something that can associate you with weakness or frailty. If we choose that path, sadly, we can lose sight of the beauty of unconditional love, of healing energy that makes you feel new all over again, of the joy of looking upon, smelling, touching and enjoying something so peaceful as a newly opened rose. I tend to go for overkill in banishing old views that you've outgrown and are ready to put behind you so, I recommend a full on embrace of pink....and go ahead and let yourself sparkle and shine shamelessly if you can. This 140 yds of 5 plied, beaded, petal adorned rosy loveliness sort of says, 'Hey, watch me - I'm not afraid to like pink' in a way that just makes me giggle. A little hint with spinning beads, I like to leave mine sort of dangling as I find that this bit of give is very helpful when knitting - so you can be sure to maneuver your beads to the front of the piece so they can be properly drooled over.

Yes, we have our wounds but, in terms of pink, you have to admit that guys are totally screwed. Remember in the late 80's/early 90's when pale pink polo shirts were being thrust on guys by their girlfriends? Poor guys. If they hate pink, they're accused of being totally out of touch with their own feminine aspects. If they like it, they're often accused of being too in touch with them. They really can't win and they certainly can't afford to be found liking pink which is a tragedy not only because I think it is so long since time that we stopped thinking women had to prove they are tough as nails to gain equality and men have to walk a tightrope of ridiculousness to avoid raised eyebrows and silly judgements but also because I don't know many men who don't look drop dead gorgeous in pinks or reds. Truly. A guy in a pale pink shirt? ... fans herself cuz she's either having a hot flash or a very inappropriate moment on the blog..... All together now, "All we are saying...is give pink a chance"...

And it was when I came to that that the inner rebel just screamed loudly for a while. I will not be programmed to despise something simply because it raises so many flags of vulnerability, of tenderness, of nurturing. To do that would mean that the world would continue to grow less forgiving, less playful, less open to the pains that loving brings. So, being a reformed pink hater and a proud flyer of my freak flag just whenever I can find the excuse, I went all the way with these rose petals and made a little trim that pretty much says, "so what, I like rose pink...shut up!" I'm working on the accepting vulnerability concept....it's a longer path than I'd thought. Perhaps I'll be reminded by these little curtain tie backs I made for my studio. A little daily vow to think crazy enough to believe peace can prevail and grow my roses in the snow.

Still, let the fact that the hooves have been out for only 11 days and, in that 11 days, I've spun some 200 yards of novelty yarns and some 400 yds of sock yarn and already sampled, swatched, and picked a pattern for the sock yarn and committed the novelty yarns to myself and Thing 1 for room decorations IN ANY WAY try to convince you that I like pink. Seriously.

Hoeing Your Own Row....

It's often been 'suggested' by people near and dear to me that, though I can be entirely practical and almost always empathetic and reliable (yeah, right), I often give the impression that I'm sort of living on my own cloud. I would generally dispute all of this and point to the more community oriented aspects of my personality but the truth is, I am a serious Hermit. Worse than just a physical Hermit, I'm a mental Hermit, too. It's the way I hoe the rows of life, ya know? Just a short 'mental vacation' here and there can do wonders.

While I do see the advantages of a firm grip on reality in life, I just don't see the necessity to choke it to death and engrave it's every etched nuance into my eternal ether. Consequently, it means I mess up.....alot.... Kind of like when, the other day, I posted a blog on the blog's birthday but still mentioned NOT ONCE that it was the blog's birthday. Sorry, blog. And, happy birthday.

For the blog's birthday I am giving it 3 things:
1. More time and attention over the next year
2. More farm/wool critter content - this hard winter's got my garden fingers itching so there will be more of that as soon as someone comes and magically takes away all the feet upon feet of snow in my garden plots.
3. More handspun - because that generally appeases anyone no matter how badly I screw up for them - LOL.

I've already begun with the skein above - 'Goblin Market' which was in the shop last week as this pretty little roving. That's what I absolutely love about spinning hand-dyed roving. No other way could you combine such an array of contrasting color and still have such a calm tone to the yarn. It is like color magic. The magic of spinning hand-dyed roving is that the colors are cooled and soothed quite a bit in the spinning. As a single, this yarn would have been a much more bright and shifty but happily drenched with color yarn. It would have been fun to do for a hat or something but I wanted sport wgt sock yarn so I went for a 2 ply(340ish yds) - also, I wanted easy peasy spinning and that pretty much either means sock yarn or singles to me these days. I keep meaning to spin something thicker for a quicker sweater but I tend to love a sweater that sort of hugs and smooths across the skin so, as it turns out, I not only like to spin this weight more but I like wearing the knits from it more. My hands just wish, from time to time, that I could knit fast and wild and worsted. Such.internal.conflict. Those of us who like to venture onto their own personal cloud from time to time tend to like the 'surprise' and 'adventure' of turning out a yarn that is an amazing mutation of the colors found the the roving. Give me a row, give me a hoe....and let me get to it.

In between those and my next spinning adventure, I whipped up a few 'light' batts (meaning I didn't have enough to make a full one left when I'd made batts so I generally opt to use up the remainder in a little batt for myself) of 'Big Sky' and 'Turkish Delight'. No thrills, no frills, here. Just blissfully smooth, singles spinning that enables me to visit my cloud for a special long stint because singles spinning is less about the head doing the work and more about the pedal, the wheel, and the hands working like a fine instrument with just a calm soul to guide them along. This is where you pop the recliner out on your own cloud and rest in the nether space a while.



Gripping reality should be brief and concise. This practice should in no way impede one's desire, fire, and fury of ideas to start vast amounts of projects and dream big dreams. It's all good, really, as long as you know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em (ewwwww - just made myself's spine tingle on that one!). This vest is obviously not going to be done by my proposed deadline (which is tomorrow) but that is quite alright with me. I'm finding I like working the modular sweater/vest but like it more as a side project, just picking it up from time to time and catching up with it. It will take a while, but it's all good. I've folded doing the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl Knit-Along because I have remembered my Spider Web Shawl WIP from Victorian Lace Today and I feel compelled to get back to it with some conviction because I want to wear it this spring. With that, my socks in progess (let alone the many pairs worth that sit balled up with their sketch/pattern on top of them waiting patiently for their day in the sun), a few patterns I'm working on, and the ever groaning WIP basket, I'll just have to do it late. The other good thing about having a mental cloud is that when you feel pulled in 4000 directions, a brief stint there can really help you sort things out.



The best place, for me (as if it's not already obvious) to take my little vacations is in front of the wheel. It's good to have a place. Only, I may have tapped too deeply into that place this time and it's gotten me in a real pickle. I.must.resist.knitting.this.yarn.right.away! I'm still in love with the Vardo handspun I've been waiting to knit and am narrowing in on a chance to do with a spin along but, this yarn was another result of my 'vacations' this week and, as you can probably tell or deduce by the yardage versus wgt (500 yds, fingering wgt, 3 ozs), I was really in spinning bliss. It was just one of those times, you know? When the wheel, the feet, the hands, the head, the mind and the Spider Weaver Woman Batts were working together and practically humming in unison. It came out so lofty and springy that I had to clutch it to my chest and sing it a song. She wants to be socks. Ask me how I know. We've talked quite alot, actually, and the urge to ball her up and ditch everything else is definitely difficult to resist. That's how fiber fetishes are, though, always tempting and luring you until you feel like you could just about do anything.....she's trying not to listen to the Spider Weaver Woman yarn and get back to work and maybe cursing the temptation that is a fiber mental vacation..........

On the reputation of singles.......

Singles always get a bad reputation, haven't you noticed? In yarn, I mean. I like to think the world has evolved enough that we, as human beings, are less quick to judge and measure based on things like whether or not we are 'attached' or, in the case of yarn, 'plied' to another. If such judgment is still rampant, I likely would be the last to know as I've not been single in some 16 years plus a dating period. So, if the world is still infantile, hateful, and selective based on the most primal need of human existence - to find only things that are like us and be terrified of anything or anyone who chooses a different path, please don't tell me today. I mean, I kind of know there's potential for it but, ahem, I am practicing ignorance (quite good at it, aren't I - LOL) for an attempt at inner peace at the moment. Or not.

It could be that I've just fallen so deeply into the pit of yarn lust that I am actually living and experiencing the world through the concerns of my yarn. Ahhhh, but that is so not surprising. I've long since been aware of the deepest levels of dorkdom that I can aspire to and, perhaps, even attain in this life. So, tell me, why do singles get treated with such disdain. At best, singles are passed off as an option for thick n thin yarn play for a squishy hat or scarf or, worse, labelled 'art yarn' and, thus, consecrated in the 'you only want a little of this because you can't really use it for anything' category. I mean, I took these batts and made them all into this pool of yarn love and, I've got to tell you, I'm itching to use them up in a project!

I've been loving singles for a long time so I've asked quite a few people why they don't love/trust/accept singles. Here's some of what I've heard in reply: Well, not here just yet because I need to type this sentence to tell you that I'll randomly be putting in some singles who need to be cuddled and loved and appreciated for their contribution to the fiber world and will note the yardage, fact stuffs, etc. after the reply they appear by in italics. So, again, here's some of what I hear and my response to the 'evidence against singles':

Singles always pill.
This is true and false. I've only been on this planet some 37 years so I'm no expert but one thing I think I can say with certainty is nothing does something EVERY TIME. Life as we know it is just too random and chaotic to allow religious repetition. There's always room for a heretic to bounce in and radically shift the scales of the word 'always'. Some singles do pill. Some plied yarns pill. The propensity to pill, in my experience, is more due to the quality/structure/blend of the fibers. If you've spun a yarn with a wildly varying mix of staple lengths, you know what I mean. When I blend my angora bunny into a batt, I have to be very careful. Angora, being a staple of less than 3 inches, generally speaking, likes to pill when carded with a 5 inch staple of wool. Still, when done carefully, it can be avoided. An addition of a stronger, yet, more slippery and less spongey fiber like silk or bamboo can significantly improve results. Likewise, breed differentiations, health of the animal, processing, etc. can greatly change the fibers that go into your spinning stuffs or commercially spun yarns. Singles don't determine pilling. Wool pills, sometimes....this one is credited to chaos - not singles. Life varies. Wool is alive. (This little skein is an 88 yard single spun from 1/3 of a jester batt that I had left over from another project. She is a silk/wool combo with some blingy stuffs in their and is included in the project pic above. Proof that singles make a great project as you can add little leftover bits from your stash together and make something fabulous)

Singles Bias
Again, the notion that something always does anything just baffles me. Yes, some singles will bias. This is mostly due to a common error that spinners make (especially when beginning) of over twisting the yarn. I've come to particularly despise this notion, though, because it really isn't fair. Some singles will bias. Some, though, like some of the popular lopi or noro style singles will fluff up and knit beautifully into a project. If you have a yarn that is mostly even but has a very few 'too tightly spun' spots, try going down a needle size or two and that can help correct a bias. Also, spin more. I don't like to waste anything so I don't advocate being a perfectionist or anything. I like plying when plying is appropriate but I also think that even to make a good plied yarn, knowing the first step - an awesome single, is the best start. As you improve your singles, you'll find that spinning them just a bit bulkier results in a gorgeously pillow soft yarn. It's the notion that the plying corrects the error of the over spun yarn in the first place that irks me, I think. Oh, who am I kidding? It's mostly just the lack of fairness in declaring all singles as 'biasers' that gets my goat. I knit with singles often. For the first few years that I was both a spinner and knitter in the wild and desolate area of Northern Maine - I was pretty much on my own. A group of other 'wannabe spinners' and I got together every few months to exchange ideas and have an excuse to pot luck but, beyond that, I was learning on my own, which is to say my errors were my teachers. I learned singles spinning and I never looked back. bows head in thanks to Paula Simmons..... I had no idea that the bias against singles was so strong until, at a fair one day, a woman picked up a hat of mine and remarked that she loved the yarn and how the heck did I knit those singles without a bias because singles always bias. I was astounded. I thought I must be knitting wrong (self taught knitters doubts, heh heh) or something because ALL singles bias and none of mine would do that. Really, I just look like I'm still bugged about it. I'm over it, promise! snork. The sparkling beauty on the left top of this ,rant paragraph('Jadis' batts - spun in a 265 yd./2oz. skein of cool bliss) is part of a duo that began this whole project. The skein to the right and her knew they were destined to appear in a project together on account of their story. That lovely periwinkle skein on the right ('Ice Queen' 350 yds./3/6 ozs.) is the yarn I spun from my sweet David's batts (ComeInSpinner on Etsy). They arrived at the same time as I was developing a new colorway for the coming week I was calling "Jadis" in tribute to my fave character in the Lion,Witch & the Wardrobe series. It was so weird because David called these beauties 'Ice Queen' and, together, they whispered and enchanted me, too, just like their namesake. See how they're sitting, together, here, closely chaperoned by that dark purple and bossy ball of jester batt yarn in the back?

Singles break.
This is a totally understandable fear and,also, often true. It is tricky to find the balance between over-twist and spun so loosely that the yarn breaks with the slightest bit of tension. And, let's face it, no one wants to knit something that will unravel too quickly after the 'falling in love with your knits' process has occurred. But, finding that balance has grand rewards. I've found, most of the time, that singles are stronger than we give them credit for. A break or two in a skein doesn't necessarily mean that knitting that yarn is hopeless. Again, a slightly smaller needle than the project or yarn gauge would usually call for can do wonders to repair a weak yarn. I know it defeats the purpose to do so, but you could also knit two single strands held side by side if you're wanting to knit your singles, but worried that they won't wear or knit with the strength you need. And, of course, if you find your singles are continually 'breaky' - that means you probably want to add a little more twist. I am particularly smitten with this project - my conch shell vest from 'Dazzling Knits' spun with Cotswold singles and a thrill to knit. Who knew that the girl who lost her enrollment in the honor's program (and, thus, the scholarship) on account of the fact that, though she made straight A's in everything else and had a tutor, seriously failed Geometry, would be knitting modular? Proof that life laughs at you if you don't give in and giggle soon enough!

Singles aren't 'real' yarn.
I confess, I've only ever heard this once but it made smoke fly from my ears and took all the kindness and strength I had to smile and nod and button the opinion machine (aka - mouth) and say nothing. I just listened while a fellow spinner told me that thick n thin yarns were for people who couldn't care to bother with proper spinning and that no one in their right mind would spin a single for something like, gasp, a sweater. I had a sweater wip in my bag at the time and I swear I broke a sweat worrying about whether or not she'd seen me knitting on it earlier that day. I said nothing, but I haven't seen her in years. Singles are certainly REAL yarn. They are great yarns to use in a soft sweater that massages your skin while keeping you warm. I have, literally, worn my single spun sweater out. And, for the record, it outlasted two commercially spun/handknit sweaters that were 4 ply yarns. Seriously, though, if you think I'm still upset about this, trust me she's totally lying, I'm way over it. (Rolls eyes) Another shot of my vest in progress because I'm so darned in awe of how a pile of little shells - such as those mangled little shells on the top left - get tamed by the circular needle and begin to feed on each other to become something like this (pic on the right). Smitten may not be the word. Picture a 5 year old getting JUST WHAT HE WANTS on Christmas morning under the tree. That's more like what I'm feeling for this project at the moment.

All that said, I am taking the evening to spin up a skein of sock yarn that I've been dyeing to knit. She will be a two ply. Then, I'm launching into spinning a 3 ply sweater's worth of yarn so, clearly, I am not entirely devoted to singles. All I'm really saying is - give peace (and singles) a chance. Oh, that and that I have had this nagging 'you haven't done something you should have done by now' feeling for a few days and realized (smacks forehead in disbelief that the time flies so quickly) I hadn't drawn the winner of the December Great Giveaway. So, I did, and Lorraine has a surprise of yarn lovin' coming her way. Woot Woot! The next Giveaway will be announced Feb. 1st. Okay, who do I think I am? It will be announced sometime AROUND Feb. 1st. There. That's better. This whole 'be more realistic in 2009' gig is a challenge!

dizzing a batt...draped over a many layers casserole of stuffs

This will be one of those posts that hugs a central 'theme' but wanders comfortably around some chatting material all the while. Oh, and picture heavy to boot. If you haven't run away, screaming, just yet - hey! Welcome!

I'm up feeding the wood stove on what is only the middle of a very cold snap. You know it's cold when the single digits seem like an optimistic goal. I just went over to the online weather source and they clocked us at an impressive 1.8 degrees F. I mean, not zero, but just escaping it by the skin of our teeth. So, I'm glad to have these spicy skeins of yarn sitting by my side. These are the 'Red Silk Kimono' batts from this month's Happy Hooves club - all spun up and ready to be knit into a shrug for me....should I ever crawl out from under the pile of guilt holiday knitting. But, rest assured, this late in the game - we're not going to speak of holiday knitting, anymore. Nope, we're going to look away and pretend we don't see those two socks still sitting in the knitting basket - their little dpn's hopelessly strewn about them and making them look like mangled yarn violence. uh, uh, We simply REFUSE TO SEE IT and it, surely, cannot get the better of us. And, may our decorative card-stock (handmade - heh!) IOU's be a reigning in and sort of beacon of wisdom to help us see our lofty and errant goals for gift knitting in the future. Or, if not, just don't let the guilt and feeling of general desperation and hopelessness return until the same time next year - LOL! One of my favorite ways to spin a 2 ply from such bold colors is to mix and match the gauge of yarn. For this one, I made two of the three batts into a fingering wgt. yarn and then spun the other batt very fine. This helps to elongate the colors so that you get an even spread of boldilicious yarn. .So, from left to right we have: one little skein of 2 ply - dk wgt and 55 yds and to the right of it, a bigger skein of 2 ply (200 yds). Two little skeins of ends were Navajo plied and total 80 yds (they're hanging out all casual-like on the bottom right) and the 'mmmmmmmmm' skein on the far upper right is one strand of the 'red silk kimono' batts and one strand of a 'so sari' batt from the shop. Richy filled with sari strands and unashamedly BOLD. They are pairing up with that 50/50 wool/silk yarn I dyed red - waiting with my malachite wood knitting needles from Autumn Hollow Farm to be mine, all mine - should that thing we're not going to be talking about (gift knitting) ever be done with.....taps fingers restlessly on counter....

So, I get this question more and more and it generally goes like, "How do you spin from a batt?" Now, there are a million answers to that one question but no one really asks it because they want to be TOLD what to do. They ask for the same reason I ask - because they are formulating their own 'way' of doing it. You know, you find your jumping off spot and try to be well informed and then - $#@#splash$$#% - you swim your own way. Most of the time, I just pull the batt open and start spinning. But, in a certain situation, such as was the case with the bold color contrasts of these batts, I think dizzing the batt is the way to go. Note: the pics I will show you of dizzing a batt are MISREPRESENTATIONS. Seriously! They aren't really the red silk kimono batts AT ALL. I've long since missed the opportunity (read here, forethought) to include a pic of those batts being prepped. It was a primal thing that overtook me and they were on the wheel before I knew it. I did diz them, though, I just have no proof that I actually did so, you'll have to take my word for it. snork I began by laying the batt out flat and beginning to tear off a long strip of fiber down the length of the batt, stopping just short of severing it entirely so I can start tearing a noodle back down the other direction. It shouldn't provide me with some perverse pleasure to tear the strips and leave the entire mass connected so I can have one long, continuous ball of roving but, it does, so there you have it. I strive for it which makes me a genuine dork but, here is the whole shebang with not one really severed end.

Gently pull the roving through the diz, after loosening the mass behind the diz - it's a hand to hand rhythm that you'll polish with your own technique once you've done it a time or two. Just don't tug too hard or you break the magic noodle and, well, actually nothing really happens other than the roving is broken into smaller noodles but, I'm all for drama so I like to pretend it's really important! Then, you wrap your noodle (or noodles)into a big ole ball and you feel rightly proud of yourself. Let this linger a while if you can because you just never know how quickly that satisfaction can transform into growling should the wheel and fiber be out to play tricksey and make you spin all wonky in spite of yourself.


Now, the topic shifts wildly to a little Solstice Spin-In that we're partaking in in the Ravelry group. Do join us - the only rule being you must make something for you. You heard me right and I know it is truly scandalous to think of doing such a thing when those things that we're NOT MENTIONING here are still not finished. The gift socks are talking to me - oh nooooooos! These batts will become a vest. Really, they will.

I've been talking to many of my friends, lately, having realized a while back that I had become far too focused on only the family and not necessarily giving the friendships the time they deserved - because they are the well from which I drink and they are so very important. It would seem that many of us have had a rocky road to walk in 2008 and the holidays, for some of us, just don't have their usual magic and warmth to them this year. So, I just wanted to be sure to send out some loving cyber/fiber hugs and say thanks to the many people who've been kind, open, and every steady friends from the ole blog-thingummie. Ya'll rock.

In the rocking department, I always place Susan. Susan is one of those beautiful people who always says something that makes you feel great - even if you thought yourself too sad or glum to believe you could. So, I got this card from Susan the other day (mwah! thanks, Susan) and it was just so beautiful. I've read it every day and only after the first few did I finally stop choking up and getting all teary-eyed. Once, I bashed myself for being such a goober that I didn't even send out Christmas cards this year....but I stopped that right away because that was just silly and also not a credit to the beautiful sentiment of the card. So,without further ado, I leave you with this and a glass of fire whiskey to keep you warm on the inside!

a card from Kathy Davis Studios:

The Greatest Gifts:
May we break boundaries, tear down walls, and build on the foundation of goodness inside each of us. May we look past differences, gain understanding, and embrace acceptance. May we reach out to each other, rather than resist. May we be better stewards of the earth, protecting, nurturing, and replenishing the beauties of nature. May we practice gratitude for all we have, rather than complain about our needs. May we seek cures for the sick, help for the hungry, and love for the lonely. May we share our talents, give our time, and teach our children. May we hold hope for the future very tenderly in our hearts and do all we can to build for a brighter tomorrow. And may we love with our whole hears, for that's the only way to love.......

Bulky is not a bad word!

I have to admit that I tend to think of merino in terms of lace and fingering spinning. Okay, sometimes I go really wild and spin a dk wgt for the softness. But, it hasn't always been that way. I used to love spinning a softie, bulky single with my merino. Truly, there is nothing like it for that squishy soft knit project. The urchin I made last week was well received but also, Thing 1 really loved it. So, that got my brain to thinking. I don't have the approximately 26 knitting hours left to finish her rogue but, I did have 6 hours this week to do the following.

Firstly, I spun up three skeins of bulky merino - none of which I have a picture of....just in case you thought I'd gone and become reliable on you! It took about an hour to spin each skein a 2 ply bulky except for one skein that I left a single. You'll see them, soon, though, because they are last minute 'quickie' gifts. For this project, I took one jester batt (approximately 2 ozs) and spun it in a medium wgt single. Then, I spun the 2 ozs. of 'sari' roving that I had into a bulky strand. I plied the two together, all except for 40 yds. of singles in the merino roving that I plied together, leaving me with a 20 yd. skein of super soft 2 ply. Note that, to this moment, we're talking about a mere hour's worth of spinning, here.

I used the 2 ply to make another urchin, which is a quick knit but took me a little over 4 hours due to the hacking, sneezing, and periodic bouts of flinging my arms in the air and begging for mercy or merely to be put out of my misery for good. Gawd, I love the flu, don't you? By the time I finished the urchin, my hands were shaky, the fever was boiling, and I was doomed to bed for a few hours. But, when I woke up, I started right in on that whopping 20 yds. of bulky wgt. yarn. I know, you were probably skeptical when I said only 20 yards. Truth be told, I was a little skeptical, too. But, I just dug in and improvised this little 'I'm not a scarf' collar to match Thing 1's hat. It has to pretend not to be a scarf, you see, because I have recently been informed by said recipient that she loathes scarves and doesn't like things wrapped around her neck. Like or not, we live in central Maine so the neck does require some warmth and attention. So, I decided to go for something REALLY, REALLY SOFT and also kind of 'cool'.

The best part? Just a little yarn, just a little time (about 40 minutes), and just two buttons and all finished. I took about 3 yards of the yarn I'd used for the urchin and made two i-cord loops for buttons. Then, I cast onto the edge of one with 3 sts. I added three stitches or so every other row until I had 10 sts. On the 4th row, I cast off two sts. in the middle of the row, which I replaced by casting them on the next row, again - resulting in a loose button hole for the other i-cord button loop to slide into. So, at 10 sts, I just started knitting garter stitch until I was at a right length for the next width. Decrease in the same pace you did the increases with (3 sts every other row until you have only one stitch left) and attach the other i-cord button loop. Viola! Pick out some cool buttons to accent your yarn and sew them on and you have a 'I'm not a scarf' present.

All totaled, we're talking about 6ish hours, here of spinning and knitting time. Of course, if you're a fast knitter or not afflicted with the flu, you might go even faster. See, I told you, there's still time. Of course, I couldn't pass up passing on a too cute and quick gift idea that Lisa pointed out on the ravelry thread. These would be cute little gifties, too.

Things I've learned....

Usually, when I find that life is unusually rough and tumbly, I step back to take a longer look from a different angle. Not really. Let me start that over and be more honest. Usually, when I find that life is unusually sucky - I freak right out and try to run and hide. Then, when that doesn't work, I generally take a step back and look at the bigger picture from as many different angles as I can to try to find a bright spot, or just to learn what the Universe is trying to teach me and move forward. The last few months have been real eye openers, to be sure.

Firstly, I have learned what I already knew. I've learned that spinning can change your life. It can make you a better person, it can help you find refuge in a long storm, it can be done while grieving, crying, laughing, eating chocolate, or even after a few hard apple ciders on a cold night. You can wear hats. Different hats. You can change your name. You can be completely somber or silly as a bouncing clown. And still, you can spin. I've been doing a bit of that. Only, the fiber on the left, from my dear loving friend the Spindling Scot hasn't been spun yet. And, the lovely pumpkin juice at the top is a gift from David, who, if you don't already know - I adore. So, I have named the skein 'pumpkin' and continue to creep out my people by carrying pumpkin around and talking to him. The dark skein at the bottom is from our merino/corrie X sheep - a natural dark chocolate with excellent crimp and luscious spin love. The middle three skeins are a mix and match spin of the lovely and talented Amy of Spunky Eclectic. The colorway is 'estuary' and, trust me, the colors and the bfl combined are definitely on the euphoric side of spinning bliss. I plied it with the 'galaxy' series of dark bfl and will use the three of them, the other yarns, and the roving yet to be spun, in this lovely sweater for me (should the holiday knitting ever cease, that is).

While spinning these lovelies (with noted exceptions of someone else's lovely spinning and the obviously unspun roving), I've been learning. I've learned that I'm much stronger than I knew I was. I figured that out when I had to cut about 1/2 ounce off the bobbin because I was spinning with my mind on too many far away things and knotted up the bobbin in a manner that I cannot explain but was horrific and called to me to muster the most of my courage to not cry and hide under the covers. I learned about strength of other sorts, as well. And that strength, as it would be, came in handy. Isn't it tidy how life works out that way?

I learned that denial is a river and I vacation and picnic on it as frequently as possible (that's why I can fantasize about spinning sweaters and actually knitting them for myself when I am currently over my eyeballs trying to make a pair of Christmas/Yule socks and a sweater for each of the Things). It didn't help that November seemed to evaporate in an afternoon and December looms like a troll over me. What? You don't think I can do it? Shakes head at your obvious lack of belief in the power of the river of denial.

I learned that hope springs eternal until it suddenly doesn't - and, then, you have to learn how to go on without hope. Only after I trudged through the ugly muck of trying that for a while did I learn an easier and much better way. You can actually share your yearning for hope with others and, get this, they will GIVE you some of theirs. Ya'll are a veritable bank of hope and good feeling stuffs and the road has been much easier since I learned the hope sharing thing. Thanks with big hugs and nearly creepy slathering kisses....and please, do let me return the favor!

I learned that I am, and I know this is quite shocking to ya'll - a fartist (sadly, dictionary.com refuses to honor my creation and so the ACTUAL meaning of the term 'fartist' is a farmer-artist thingummie). Seriously, I had started to wonder for a while. I'd even started to think beyond the day when I'd be a fartist and tried to forget I was, even. And, I'm not the only one. There was a sufficient lack of hope for fartism abound here. Fortunately, I learned that, if you get lost, and you cannot find the way - sometimes you can just wander aimlessly around, learning and taking it all in and, all of the sudden, you'll find you're at home, again. Of course, that sort of journey generally changes you. As does spinning a shawl's worth of laceweight of this lovely 'fern' color -or, in this case, part of a shawl's worth - there are two additional skeins but, as they all look just like this one and have yet to be photographed, I beg you to trust me on the matter. 450 yds. for 3 ozs. of batts with greeny stuff and sparkles to boot......not such a bad journey after all, eh? The three will total over 1500 yds. I found, after wandering aimlessly for a bit and pretty near giving up hope, packing a little hobo bag on my back, and disappearing into the mists of a fartist-less life, that that part of me is forever, now - permanent, and something that, no matter how trying it gets, I cannot bear to change. I learned that about a few things, actually.

So, we picked ourselves up (which, by the way, ourselves has been expanded to include that cute kitty and a few others who had wandered away for a spell), dusted ourselves off, and proceeded to fart to our heart's content. Thanks for bearing with me during what I jokingly refer to as the 'recluse' months. Me thinks I'm back, now......though still subject to bouts of long swims in that denial river until the impending reality of my knitting limitations is impossible to escape. What did you expect? I changed a little- but only a little! LOL....


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Oh, on the salve. The 'parts' are by weight. So, 5 parts infused oil to 1 part beeswax would go like this: 5 ozs. oil to 1 oz. beeswax. You could most certainly use a pure beeswax candle in a pinch - ask me how I know! The beeswax makes the salve solid so, if you want a sturdier, less 'oozy' salve, add a little more beeswax. For a more spreadable, softy oozy batch, less beeswax. Play, have fun. You can't mess it up. IF you add too little beeswax, melt a bit more in a couple of tbsps. of oil Don't re-heat your whole batch too much or you'll destroy the properties of the essential oils. If you need to reheat it to add more beeswax, or, if it is too stiff and you want to add more oil to make is smoother, just add more essential oils because, you know, heat destroys their healing properties.

It's like riding a bike.....

My horoscope for October said many things and most of them I am still scratching my head about. Like, the part about being magnetically attractive all month. Hmmm.....I turned around in my cape to see if the inner Wonder Woman was just going to burst out, boobs and all with a 28 inch waist but, alas, it didn't come to be. And, there were other things like the mention that I'd finally be able to take some time to collect my energy. Was the fact that I'd have to stop sleeping and find a way to not need bathroom breaks in the fine print? LOl! Phewy! It's just still kind of not so happy times on the farm. It happens more than most farmers would mention but, you know me, all gloomy and such so I would!

One gem of advice did lay in the ole stars and predictions - the advice to get out more and have some fun. Gloomy people, surprisingly, only become more gloomy and crusty the less they have fun. I seem to remember knowing that but, as you know, knowing something and acting on that knowledge can sometimes be worlds apart. Sometimes, you just know it and carry it around like a hump on your back. So, fun was advised and, very shortly after, I heard tell of a spin-in at Spunky Eclectic. It was a rough morning and I thought I might not even go because I was looking everywhere for my smile and it was just hiding somewhere, I'm sure of it. Still, crazed as I felt from it all, I packed up the wheel and headed down. I'm so glad I did. Firstly, because I lurve Boogie. Every time I get a chance to visit with her, I just wish I had the chance more often. I think I want to be like her when I grow up. I scored some 'Galaxy' bfl and some 'estuary' bfl from her. They spoke to me a little on the way home and they really want to stay together forever in a project. And, you know, I'm a sucker for true love so I agreed.

My favorite part of the day was also the second reason why I'm so glad I did go. I would have cried big ole crocodile tears if I'd missed a rare chance to sit and spin and laugh with David. There are some people in this world that, when they smile at you or hug you, or, in this case, bring you some of their treasured handspun Pumpkin Juice yarn and chocolate - they just make you feel like the happiest person alive. David is like that. I miss him already. And, no, it's not just because of the chocolate and yarn love! I just hope I didn't creep him out by coming back for hugs over and over again. I do have that natural talent, you know, for creeping people out. I'm choosing, with age and exhaustion, to look at it as a sort of 'yet to ripen to its true purpose' gift. Perhaps, someday, all the world will need is one harmlessly creepy woman and, with her help, all will be set right and whole. It's not the Wonder Woman gig, but, I guess it will have to do.

True to form, I just plopped down to spin and started talking to everyone in the room like I know them so, of course, I had a great time and met some fascinating people but don't know their names. It is the only antidote I know to the nervous reaction that I'd otherwise have of thinking far too much about what to say, what not to say, hoping the nervous ticks didn't show up, and trying not to tell a story that was totally inappropriate. Let's edit that, shall we - to try not to tell too many stories that were inappropriate. I think a few slipped out anyway. This learning how to have fun, again, thing can be tricky at times, non? I mean, riding a bike is just, well, balance, pedaling and, for the less inclined to adventure, the ability to look ahead of you.

In other news, uh....let's not talk about the news. I do have to acknowledge, though, that I've fallen behind on the Great Giveaway. Hmmm. I don't want to stop it but I think I've just lost my ability to feel really creative in it. So, I think we'll change it. Let's do it every other month - make it a more expansive 'give away', and allow me to just come up with a surprise package. Silly, I know, but I think the task of assigning the prize is kind of depleting the fun of being a 'giver' and a 'receiver' - I think adding a little surprise back into it will be just the trick. This month's give away goes to Becky - hope you love it! The next Great Giveaway will be Dec. 1st.

So, I'm off to spin and, hopefully, become human, again. After about thirty to forty five minutes of that, I will be transformed into a Halloween costume making goddess that has 9 arms (4 sets to get everything done and one to carry the cup of coffee) and, even when the machine jams, she smashes her fingers in the foot, or the yarn just disappears into the abyss - she doesn't flinch, groan, or otherwise foam at the mouth. If I pull that off, I'm having a pumpkin beer and sitting around in my flashy cape whilst knitting until I fall asleep!

I have discovered banging your head into a wall is actually therapeutic.......

I was supposed to be here days ago but as the Universe seems to be bowling right through my carefully laid plans - I, as you know, was not. Fasten your seat belts, my pretties, because this Mercury retrograde thingie coming up at the end of the month promises NON-STOP ADVENTURE! Supposedly, it will be the biggest of the year. This would be great if it was a time of endless pleasure, non? Or, maybe even a time of maximum efficiency - so that you have that brave sense of accomplishment when done with it? Uh-oh - but this is the one where chaos rules the day, arse-backwards happenings will be happening, and the general sense that banging your head into the wall MIGHT actually bring relief! Lucky me, I got a 'pre-taste' of it yesterday.

I was really going to come here to say a big ole teary-eyed 'thank you' to the Sheriff of Knittingham for giving me the 'I love your blog' award. Thanks, Lorraine! In addition to being a stellar knitter after my own heart, and the designer of Guinevere, my greatest winter knitting passion (it will be mine this year!), Lorraine is just one of my treasured knitterly people to know. It helps that she has a most fabulous sense of humor as I regularly stick my foot in my mouth (just to taste it, sometimes!) and she never seems phased by it....gotta love a friend like that! I'm not good at picking people and blogs so I'll just say that the award goes right back at ya cuz, let's face it, you're always on the list when I have to cite a blog I lurve! Oh, and hope you are feeling better, soon! Cruddy ole flu, I wish it would go away and leave you to knit in peace!

So, I was also going to show you this. I know, I know, I was supposed to be knitting the 'curved shawl' from VLT with the handspun treasure chest yarn. We will walk through that process in a bit. I was going to show you this yesterday but I woke to the sound of one of my kiddles asking Dad if he was 'okay' in that worried tone. I scuttled into the room to find him bleeding - apparently he was cutting a bagel and stabbed the palm of his hand. The man needed pressure and a towel and it was not the 'right' time for me to study with perplexed thoughts how the dog spit he could have made such a deep cut with a bread knife. Only, both of the bread knives were STILL IN THE DRAWER! Hmmm. I thought about it later and would have asked more on the subject except he was so helpful to offer to cut the base for me and the Things 'exhibit' for the fair so I dropped it....until I heard the sound of 'oh crap, that hurts' coming from the studio. Scuttled again and found that he was so busy cutting through the base that he failed to notice his finger was actually the thing that was making the cutting hard. Fortunately, the base is covered in fabric so no one will notice the blood all over the naked material. Towel, pressure, silently shaking head and biting tongue VERY HARD, I let it go. Later that evening, when he was taking a pot of hot water off the stove and spilled it on his foot (near boiling it was), I scuttled even FASTER to the horrible sound someone makes when they are burned. You know, that AAAAHHHH! squeal that makes your insides churn as you hurl yourself toward such unpleasantness? He's okay, though I may not be saying that for long. After securing the promise that he 1) will not ever cut anything again as long as he lives and 2) will stay away from every conceivable danger and 3) that he's really okay - I offered to put a pillow over his head and relieve him from this obviously slow and wretched process of self-destruction. The short story (right!) is that the bread knife seemed all too practical so he forewent that option and opted instead for a sharp steak knife. When he got to the 'crusty' tough part, he just wrenched it real hard to cut on through....which, it did! Urgh - Bread Knife - it's for bread - who knew? she's banging her head again!

I was working on the shawl when the last mishap happened and, because I jumped and ran with no thought for the knitting at all, there were some injured stitches, hence, I am a bitter woman. I left the pattern in question after many head-banging-into-walls sessions that basically consisted of this:

1)I like the shape of the shawl, not the stitch. And the shape, as you all know, is not very complicated. The stitch? My gosh - when do I have time to sit down and knit lace that has no cheating 'purl all' stitch side? I wanted something I could carry around and knit when I'd otherwise be biting my tongue and hissing 'bread knife' at everyone!

Solution: Designing a simple shawl in the half-circle shaping that I like and ditching the maddening holey stitch pattern.

2) The stitch pattern is holey. And, no, we're not speaking in a spiritual sense here. It has lots of holes. Lots of holes for a Mainer means I could wear it maybe one month a year. Sometime after black fly season leading up the the 'no one told me summers in Maine would be this stifling and hot' season that others casually call 'summer'. Holes, as you know, let air through - which is in direct contradiction to the supremely cold air that I'd be wearing the shawl for protection from. I poo-pooed this excuse, at first, and chastised myself for being too lazy to knit the hard stitch. Until, I went and looked at the shawls I have so far. Aside from the black poncho I made years ago and have since worn to a state of frizzed out lint-collecting that it really is for 'around the house' or I'd probably need a dust bunny permit to wear it in public, and my 'barn shawl' that I crocheted years ago and wear during lambing season (so, it's in pretty rough condition as it has been used once or twice to wrap a cold and failing lamb in to rush them inside for CPR by the wood stove), all of my shawls are excessively holey. Not that a shawl can't have some lace and some holes, understand. I mean to say that my natural inclination is to pick a stitch that is very 'open'. And that is wholly (gawd I love a pun) inappropriate for Maine weather. Hmmm. Let's recap - the two shawls that are not holey are near worn out - implying they are used regularly. The 3-100 holey shawls that are collecting dust in the closet are in prime, nigh brand new condition. Really freakin' demanding stitch for another holey shawl????

Solution: Designing a simple shawl in the half-circle shaping that I like and ditching the maddening holey stitch pattern.

And, finally 3) After denying the inner wisdom that propelled me through this thought process, (I mean, I'm surrounded by such vast intelligence that it is obvious to everyone how I might feel overwhelmed and incapable of meeting such competence - Bread Knife!) I cast on and kept on stitching anyway. Stitching, drinking coffee, ripping, cursing a little. Okay, by the third time, the coffee was cold so I was cursing ALOT. Still, I got about 5 rows in, stretched it out to block the stitch pattern, and felt that the way the color shifts in the boldly adult rainbow yarn was going was, well, kinda boring.

Solution: Designing a simple shawl in the half-circle shaping that I like and ditching the maddening holey stitch pattern.

Are we seeing a pattern, here? Guess what I did? No, really, guess? I ripped it - again. Then, I put it down and went on with the day's work. I'm a glutton for punishment because I managed to convince myself, again, that I lack the discipline to knit a good shawl and that I might also lack the talent to devise my own pattern. So, I cast on - again! And, this time, I knit 10 rows before I realized I hated how the yarn looked knit this way. Bread Knife!

I ripped, I laughed, I threatened to stab myself through each fingertip with a sharp, aluminum sock needle if I tried to cast on this shawl in this stitch pattern again.....and I'm working on a simple half-circle shawl that will have a dazzling border chock full of holes - so that it keeps my neck, back, shoulders, and chest warm. With the holes that low, only my butt will be frozen and maybe if that happens - some of it will fall off. Bread Knife!

Great giveaway winner will be announced next time, promise!

On the importance of enjoying cheap thrills....

Many, too many years ago, when hubster and I were first starting our long crash course in maniacal living journey together, we were what is commonly referred to as 'starving students'. I had quite my sane, stiff office job to go to school full time and (finally) finish the degree I'd been puddling through at a community college whilst working full-time. I took a waitressing job so I could work nights and 'immerse' myself full-time in my courses. Unfortunately, the waitressing job was at a country/western bar. I should have known better by the first day, when we were instructed in how to 'wear' our uniform. An off-shoulder ruffle blouse (how did these people expect us to carry trays of beers around a dance floor with our blouse ruffles off the shoulder I don't know but as you read on, you will see that a pants wearer MUST have dreamed this costume up!) with a super short black mini-skirt (as in, don't bend over and, fps, wear underwear!) and high-heeled, fringed leather cowboy boots - cowboy hats optional but encouraged if you had slick hair and were incapable of wearing the preferred 'big hair' do.

After about a week or two, this and many other aspects of the job started to wear on me. Like, there was the time that a guy who insisted on trying to reach up my too-short skirt while I was filling their table. The first time, I shamed him properly and instructed him never to do it again. The second, I was mean. The third, I put down my empty tray, grabbed him by the collar and brought his head down as if to slam it into the table just until it was almost there and pushed him back up. That was the time that worked.....and permanently earned me the reputation of being the kind of waitress that you look but NEVER touch.....that's me, the cowboy bar whacko!

As you can imagine, this was a very short lived career move. I soon decided that, at least as an office worker - there was some enforced civility involved. I look back on that experience, though, and I think I learned so much more than I was willing to admit at the time....about people, about beer, and about how much and truly and deeply I despise Brooks and Dunn. But, there was one other thing. Our head waitress was this amazonian red head for whom I can recollect no name but I want to say it was something like 'dolly' or 'donnarae' or something. Anyway, one night, maybe the same night as the three times head-smashed-in-the-table guy, I was pretty exasperated about the skirt. I conceded that the shirts were cute, if impractical. I accepted that, though tennis shoes are a far more safe and logical form of footwear for a waitress to don - the fringed boots were essential to the desired 'atmosphere'. But, the skirts, as I complained to 'dolly', were just barbaric. I was going off in the break room about how they must be dry cleaned with pheromones that attract pigs and started to describe some of the horrors of my night. She shifted her gum, smiled, and informed me that my problem was that I'd forgotten the virtues of cheap thrills. She went on to say that I should be glad for that kind of attention, for there might be a day when I was her age that I would find the greatest cheap thrill I'd get out of a day was when one of the kids dripped popsicle down my legs.

Now, I know ya'll can't tell because of the atrocious grammar and flippant style of the blog - but I used to be a writer. This phrase, so beautiful and perfect, just implanted itself in my brain.....I have never forgotten it. And, whenever it re-visits me, I seem to have a different take on it - or a hidden revelation. Who knew? Amongst high powered lawyers at a top law firm, working for the Senate, and generally feeling pretty proud of myself to be so young and so 'successful' and, yet, my pearl of wisdom came from a head waitress in a cowboy pick-up bar!

I've been delving in the 'natural' and not so natural aspects of natural dyeing....been getting ready for our show on the weekend of the equinox, and generally working like a little doggie. But, last weekend, I decided enough was enough - it was time to break out of the subtle plant dye tones and get myself some cheap thrills....and I knew just where to go for that. These are the September installment of the Happy Hooves Batt Club - Treasure Chest. A deep red background with some well blended color surprises. Only, mine is a cheap thrill with a little 'accent of trampness' on account of a mistake. Seriously, it was a mistake. I had my recipe all set and was jumping in to make this month's batts when I read my directions wrong (true genius, eh?) and accidentally put three times the angelina in them. Serioulsy, it was an accident! Why are you looking at me like that?

As with all 'mishaps' in my studio, the batts HAD to be rejected from the pool and go to - ME! (tries to look very disappointed about that) Just wanted to say so because if you're getting ready to spin yours up and you're looking at mine and thinking, 'dang, that's trashy' - rest assured all the others will be more tasteful and subdued. I was going for trashy - cuz, let's face it, I live off the grid and haven't a freezer big enough for popsicles!

This near 700 yds. is begging to be this shawl....Cuz, you now, I think I'm rounding a corner in my life wherein big hair doesn't seem such a silly thing after all! I'm thinking 'curved shawl' from Victorian Lace Today - whatcha think?

Fertile Myrtle

For the last few years, we've been honored to have a very special hen. Well, that's not entirely true. Around August/September we feel honored to have her. The rest of the year? We all try to avoid her! The rest of the year, she pecks and hisses when you try to collect eggs.

Broody is so named because she has defied modern intervention and husbandry by establishing herself as the brood hen every year. Brood hens are rare, most breeds having been so bred apart from those instincts that is is totally something to celebrate when a hen takes back her mother role and refuses to let a hatchery take credit for the monumental task of bringing up smart chicks. And, her chicks ARE smarter. Unlike when we've bought day old chicks from the hatcheries at our local feed store, these chicks need no special care. No heat lamps, no medicated chick feed, just Broody and her sharp, pointy beak to keep all right and proper in the world. Her chicks learn to scratch for food hours after they are hatched. Here she is, showing them that there are excellent opportunities for bugs and grass and seed under the wood pile. In no time, they learn to scratch the small bits of bark back and delve into the ants and beetles beneath.

After that, (one thing I've noticed is a natural hatched chick gets LOTS of exercise, their moms taking them all over the farm before, like a wise mother, having worn them out and takes them back to the safe barn for a night of roosting) there is a need for shade. And, for bugs, shade, and general fun - the squash leaves are a real thrill. Don't they look like they're having fun?

Last year, Broody hatched a clutch of chicks. We were excited to see that her hatchling, Hedwig (who, we might add, has her mother's temperament and was formerly called 'barfy' by the Things until I forced them to find a more appreciative name. One cannot allow a woman with her own mind - and really sharp beak - to be dissed in such a way) set a clutch of eggs this year as well. It would seem that Hedwig's first attempt didn't turn out a smashing success as the eggs have not hatched. Still, it took Broody a year or so to get it right so I think there's hope for Hedwig after all. And, because I am so partial to the overall health and intellect of the hen hatched clutches - I am all about trying to help these mamas be the beaky, opinionated women that their natural instincts are compelling them to be.

In other news, we are all recovering from the nasty little cold that seemed to descend upon our domain with a vengeance last week! In that time, there has been a bit of spinning done - this one being my personal pet. 'She sells sea shells' batts that were out last week and the week before. I got 420 yards of fingering wgt from the four ounce set, plenty to make socks but, then the mind starts playing trickses with me and saying, 'yeah, but one more skein like that and you'd have a great shoulder shawl'. Clearly, I am out to deceive AND torture myself.

Tomorrow be the first of the month and I will be celebrating it by doing some special dyeing of some Cotswold/mix yarn I had spun up at Stonehedge Fiber Mill. I can't say enough about this mill....the yarn was spun spectacularly and I will send my wool to them again and again! But, being the first of the month, that calls for a new Great Giveaway. This time around, I'll be giving away a skein of single spun handspun yarn. To be entered into the pool of randomly drawn people, you just need to leave a comment in the comments of this post. Winner is announced in the middle of the month. Oh, and the comment? I'm all sweater lust these days....but I have to wait until the Common Ground Fair is over to start on a project of that stature (three weeks to go!). So, what about you? What sweater pattern has you organizing the stash, searching for needles, and generally living for an afternoon of uninterrupted knitting?

As if on the very edge of doom....

Do you smell that smell? That sweet aroma of rose oil and mint and a clear, cool breeze? That, my friends, is the smell of freedom. But, just as with many other advantages gained, it did not come without some cost - like angst, fury, and accepting the dork within. The freedom of which I speak is the freedom from the 'rules' and 'projects' that was Ravelympics 2008. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with ravelympics. It was quite a fun ride but, just like you get tired of the same ole roller coaster (I mean, how many times can you go down that drop-off and still have a flutter in your stomach before you just think, why am I doing this to myself?) what begins in great fun and excitement can just as easily end in near panic. So, after I practice setting goals, achieving goals, missing the holes in my path by just a hair, and generally going at it like failing at it would be life threatening, I really kinda need to go with the flow for a while. To spin whatever looks good to me. To knit whatever my crazed mind can imagine, it is a time to consider knitting something totally funky if there ever were.

It's not like I didn't know my goal was hefty and possibly totally naive. I did spin over a lb. of these gray skeins. Yeah, I said it - four big ole skeins of gray. I like gray. But, uhm, alot of gray kind of ends up looking to the eyes and hands like alot of gray. Where's the sparkle, the luster, the shine? One can begin to get desperate. I admit that more than once (or ten times, even) I resorted to taking batts out of my basket and petting them, cooing to them even - thanking them for being so beautiful and NOT GRAY. Then, there was 8 ounces of white. Okay, it was here that I sort of puppy shook myself and thought, wtf? Are you mad at yourself? Why all white and grey when you KNOW you need a lotta color? There was more petting of pretty, sparkley batts, and a good deal of hunger to throw all my commitments out the window and spin like a rebel.

Somehow, I got through it. It is, after all, a beautiful, white, lustrous Cotswold X fleece but, still, I just nearly got through it and mostly on account of my 'bribe' I made with myself at the very last minute, wherein I added some Esmaralda roving to 'sweeten the pot' and get me through the gray and white. I must say, she did her job splendidly but was quickly and flippantly tossed aside for a little evening with Black Magic Woman batts. Looooook at that dazzle - can you blame me?

So, all around, my spinning goals were fairly painless to achieve. Knitting, on the other hand, turns out (again!) to be my nemesis. Firstly, the socks I made were just sort of 'not me' so finishing them held none of the lusty joy that usually ensues when I kitchener the toe, tuck in the ends, slip the new sock immediately onto my foot, and wiggle it around in delight.

Then, there were the puppets. The puppets were meant to be the highlight of my journey but, by the time I got to them, Thing 1 had been away for four days and I was missing her terribly. Things 2 and 3 were just the medicine I needed so we ended up playing alot of games and generally trying to amuse ourselves without 'sister' to tell us what to do and when to do it. Time, shall we say, sort of evaporated? In addition, I think I can safely say this month has been the sort of epitome of depths to which this partnership between the penis wearer in my house and myself has been void of any semblance of partnership, meaning I've just about ready to dig a hole, run a trip wire across it, and put a freshly opened beer and steaming rare steak on the other side of it, savvy? So, making a puppet at that point kinda seems like one of those scary clown dolls in Poltergeist or something. Note to self: put a scary clown doll in the hole for added effect! We did the best we could. First year sheep puppet was joined by this Fairy Godmother Ewe made out of our 'galadriel' batts and sporting a handspun 'peacock' shawl. Here's a back view.

Last but not least was the Pumpkin Juice Scawl. I've long since learned to love spinning peach, orange, and red (all thing 1's faves) but it is really no secret that they are not my first choice. I had one WIP Wrestling project in the whole bunch and this was it. I mean, come on! How hard could it be to finish a scarf in progress? Yeah, you guessed it. It was this arrogance that drove me to place this project LAST in my queue. Easy peasy, right? Not. Firstly, the other needle to my pair went missing. I don't know how it happened, but it was under the mattress. My mattresses are still on the floor because SOMEONE wouldn't let me buy a bed frame years ago because he really wanted to make one out of twig. I like twig and I though it a special sentiment. 16 years later, I wonder why my mattresses are still on the floor. Anyway, you see where this is going. Found the needle. Ahhh! Ready to jump in and get this puppy finished with 4 days left to go and plenty of desire to fulfill my promises and get on to spinning some buckets of color. That might have happened if the last remaining ball of pumpkin juice singles hadn't gone missing. I looked everywhere! For days! I went through totes, baskets, the underwear drawer, my bookshelves, under my pillow. Everywhere. Trust me on this. Then, I had an apostrophe on the morning that Thing 1 was to come home. I suddenly remembered taking the pic of First Year Sheep and thinking his skinny little body was too flat so I shoved something INTO it to plump it up for his photo shoot. Oh, never mind, I found it! Thing 1 was home, all was chaotic, and it took another day or so for me to get it together and start to work on it. That would have been Saturday. I would have gotten up before 6 am. on a Sunday morning to finish the darned thing.....and I did. Just shy of the closing ceremonies by 1.5 hrs.

This ordeal says alot about me, non? Like, firstly, that I am a total dork. That, when I promise to do something, I take that promise as sort of a do or die declaration. That, while some other confident persons might sensibly see that setting limitations on one's ability is necessary for both sanity and survival and would not shiver a bit over not finishing their goal, another total dork would be getting up early on a weekend feeling compelled to do nothing but knit as fast as they can even if it means missing breakfast and lunch. So, well established is that I am a total dork.

At least I am free, free, free now and I have most likely delved into that luscious and tempting fiber and/or started knitting something totally wild and crazy. Not really. I guess I'm just a little worn by the weeks a bit because, even when faced with my limitless possibilities for cheap thrills and fun stuffs, I started working on a lace shawl that's been in my knitting basket for an eternity. That's me, beaten and worn so by WIP trauma that that's all I seem to be able to imagine doing. Told you, total dork!

Jelly

Such a vulgar sounding word for something so sweet and innocent, isn't it? The canning season is under way and the first to make its debut this year would be lemon balm and mint jellies. Prepared separately, of course. Actually, you could combine the two as well but since I made two batches, I kept them separate, not sure how the hubster would like jelly made from weeds and sometimes he's a downright freak about all things minty though I seem to have tweaked that with this little batch of sweet, slippery delight. There's not much bread around these days because when you cook with a wood stove and the dog days of summer are long and lingering with 80+% humidity, baking bread is really not a sound option. Still, some flat bread in a skillet (made on the grill outside) is an option, or some good whole grain store-bought bread when we have it. Last and most always over-looked and under-appreciated, the cracker makes a suitable substitute because, you know, when you've gone to the trouble to make some jelly, you're not willing to wait until the next trip into the grocery to taste it!

This year's batch came out delightful. I tripled the strength of the tea and the lemony flavor really packs a punch this time. Same with the mint - as I'm finding that if you follow the recipes that call for, say, 2-3 cups of chopped herbs, the full flavor of them gets so diluted that your jelly really ends up tasting like sweetened grass. Oh, and because I'm including the recipe below I just wanted to note that I don't make 'low sugar' jellies. Jams hold much more potential for 'tinkering' with the sugar content but jellies are a little more stubborn and runny jelly is not worth all of the work that goes into filling the jars. It's not like we eat it by the gallon and not everyday so I've chosen to ignore my inclination to lower the sugar and just make a well-set, delicious, organically home-grown jelly that will make people smile and try to get on my good side so they can find my hidden stash(wink). We settled for the only thing we had, toast and crackers to go with the delicious lunch we shared today. Peach slices and lemon balm jelly on crackers (toast for some who don't like crackers) with a mozzarella/pasta salad dressed with fresh basil/thyme/lemon juice/olive oil/crushed garlic salad. We were stuffed because, as we often do with our meals that are held around enjoying our own grown and preserved food stuffs, we ate like pigs! OInk, oink.

Here's the recipe I've created by merging some I've found in books and on-line, and then tweaking it to make a jelly we all love. You can use any herbs, a combo of herbs, or some hot peppers to make a minty jalapeno jelly (use vinegar in place of lemon juice then)
5 cups chopped and packed fresh herbs (I used lemon balm for batch 1 and mint for batch 2)
1 1/2 packages pectin powder (sure-jell or the ball brand both work fine for me)
5 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

Boil 6 cups of water and pour over the herbs, covering, and steep until water is cool. Strain liquid and squeeze the herbs to release all the flavor. Add lemon juice and pectin to herb tea and bring to a rolling boil, stirring regularly. Add sugar and return to boil, stirring, boil for a minute or two. Remove from heat, pour into jars and seal - water bath for 10 mns. at a boil.

As the Tour De Fleece is drawing to its end, I seem to have gained some spinning momentum yet again. The Esmaralda batts from last week practically FORCED themselves on me so I had to stay up late last night spinning them up. The peacock (last month's installment for the Happy Hooves Batt Club) was a dream to spin and I harvested near 400 yards of dk wgt yarn from the 5.6 ozs. of batts that I spun - that dazzling pile of beauty will be pooled with some of the other black batts I've been spinning (Black Magic Woman, Blue Jay, etc) and, someday, be made into this. The singles of 'Galadriel' and 'Gold Dust Woman' are so squishy and soft and I am grateful to have re-captured my ability to spin a solid, soft, and great single. I'd been warned that when you learn to spin sock and lace wgt. yarns, it is hard to go back to a smooth, lofty, healthy single. 'Pfft!,' I said to that. Only, it was true. It took much practice and a replenishing of my favorite singles fiber - Cotswold - in the stash to get me back on the singles wagon again.

I started a new pair of socks (I know, I hear the 'big deal' and loud sighs) but this one really is news- as I have wondered from my beloved dpn's to try the circular knitting method in Cat Bordhi's sock book. I fell in love with the Tibetan Long Socks. Funny thing is, I'd also fallen in love with the Chai yarn. I was all set to selfishly knit it for myself when SOMEONE with really big ole feet and a birthday the day after x-mas, mentioned ever so casually that he loves that colorway the best of all my hand-dyed sock yarns. Urgh (bangs head on cabinets) it is so hard to be good! But, good I will be. I look at it this way....the socks will be a gift....on loan. If I don't feel they are being properly loved, I will sneak them into my sock drawer and nary a word will be said about it, right? Bwah ha ha ha!