Pines Farm Spin-In

A sheep farm in the area had a fall festival, wool sale, spin in today. It was wonderful! Sam and Jen were there and none of us remembered our cameras. It was a foggy day, and we spent most of the time spinning outside. Fortunately, a small camp fire was built and that allowed us to stay at it longer than if we didn't have a fire. It was pretty cold out there today!

I took a class on kettle dying, or casserole dying. I got to make this caramel and brick color on light gray Romney fiber. Okay the gray bits are some alpaca I threw in the pot as well, and it didn't take the dye. Lesson to be learned, the alpaca needed something different than what I offered the Romney wool and mohair for dying purposes. Anyway, I'll pull the alpaca out when its dry, or leave it in, we shall see. There's about a pound and a half of fiber dyed before I added the alpaca.

I worked on 8 oz of colored top that I bought at village Tea and Yarn last Thursday. It's got a bit of firestar in it, which I have never spun before. It was a lot of fun to see the sparkle mixing in with the wool. I spun 4 oz at the spin in, and the other 4 at home. 175 wraps on the nitty noddy tell me I have about 300 yards of yarn to knit up into something special. Here's the lovely Missy flaunting the spun yarn. She's getting more relaxed in her role as top fiber model here on Wings and Strings :-)
I'll have to see about getting her an extra treat.

My left foot

Here's the left sock done :-) Working on the right, right now!

Looking for Fall

Wayne and I went on a trip, looking for fall colors this weekend. Where did we go? North! In to the North Cascades to Marble Mount, New Halem, and Diablo Lake.





We went up a road out of Marble Mount called Cascade Road. It started out paved, nice, great for the first 10 miles. The next 14 were gravel and they got more and more narrow and washboard textured as we went. It was a beautiful dive, but it was getting dark and we were in a hurry to get to the promised beautiful scenery at the end before dark.

Luckily we made it there with a little light to spare, and we got some great photo's of the trip. We were looking at Mt. Formidable (yep that's the name). As you can see, fall is indeed working it's way down the Cascades. We saw Bald Eagles along the rivers, and salmon making nests in the river for their eggs. It was a fantastic weekend. I almost finished the first sock in the pair I am making. I decided to add another colorway of Lisa's into the sock, so I'll finish up the big toe later this week. I've cast on sock #2 to keep the momentum up. I should have photo's of the sock progress for you soon. Here's a shot of the sock progress on Saturday night :-)

Button It!

I'm a sucker for socks, and for certain glass buttons. So, here's the start of a pair I'm working on. No pattern being followed other than my notes as I go. I wish I'd put the button holes up higher in the ribbing, but I'm going with these all the same. Next pair will be perfect :-) Keep in touch and I'll keep you updated on their progress. I'd say they are about 4" long right now in this photo.

That's Emerald City Sock! (from Lisa Souza of course) and Sheila Ernst buttons. I'm going for three buttons on each sock. I think we're going for a plain foot - but I might just get the toe sock happening. These are going to be fun! What do you think? Toe socks, thong socks, plain socks? I'll be a week or so before I must decide for certain. These are going to be for me, (just so the little voices that usually talk me out of socks know in advance). Version 1.0 of anything needs to be beta tested by the maker :-)

Wayne's sweater is coming along as well. I'm still working on the first skein of the handspun and working up the back of the sweater. Just 5 more inches and I'll start the moss stitch. It's going to be a heavy sweater.

Finished GGSS

Well the Gathered Garter Stitch Shawl is done. It's another one of those projects where I get to seeing things I'd like different in the design so I change them. I've added the peasant ruffle out of the Knitting on the Edge book to the bottom, and I also added a collar following the start of the GGSS and then adding the peasant ruffle to that. I crocheted the collar onto the shawl.

The yarn is from Lisa Souza, the body being a modified St. Valentines (I had her add some white to it) and the collar and bottom are out of Little Devil. I really love how the colors work together. The button is, of course, Sheila Ernst's work.

These aren't the best photos since they were taken at night, but they will give you an idea of the shawl and how it fits.

Fiber Factory

Take a look at this sweetheart! Tina found this lovely creature, and they have bonded. Bunny should be coming home to Tina's house sometime this weekend. Keep an eye out on Tina's blog for more updates!

Fleece on the Hoof

Meet Jazz. She is a Shetland ewe that I met at OFFF this year. I couldn't bring her home, but her owner let me buy her fleece! Jazz is a very sweet girl and I got to lead her and hold her as we waited for her hair cut. Here is a photo of the hair cut in progress. She was very good in the show ring and getting her first ever hair cut. I am so happy with my new wool, and I think Jazz feels much cooler and ready to grow her winter coat now.

Tina bonded with Savannah! They weren't really planning on passing over the wool to Tina at first, but the more she held Savannah in line waiting for her turn at the clippers, the more she fell in love with the soft dark locks on the Savannah. Tina was smart to request her fleece before others could see what a beautiful one it was off the sheep.

Can't you just see the bond forming with the wool for both Sam and Tina?



Meet Ruby Jewel. She's is Sam's new buddy and they met at OFFF this year. Sam think's Ruby Jewel looks pretty warm in all that wool, so she is taking her for a hair cut. Ruby is just so excited, she's telling everyone. I think this was the least expensive haircut I have ever seen. $2.50 for a full body shave :-). To top if off, the shearer spoke back to Ruby in her own language. It is a beautiful fleece that came home with Sam.

Fiber Reminder

Just a reminder for me - I've got plenty of colored fiber to spin yet, and a look at a much happier little Missy. Just wait till I get a photo of the natural fiber closet to show you! Even TINA was amazed :-)

Better and Better

Just a quick note. Missy is feeling better. We did go to the vet, and we think she pulled a muscle or did something to her shoulder area/back. She's on some doggie pain medication, and she's obviously feeling better.

Two more work days until Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival! I'm so excited! We are going to be camping at the fair grounds. I hope the weather is nice, it is supposed to be according to the weather man. I'm packing for warm weather, but bringing a sweater and long pants as well since it gets cold at night. We will have the camp trailer so we will be toasty regardless. I hope to get lots of photos to update you on Sunday night or Monday.

A day to rest

Missy is feeling sore today. She's limping a bit and seems sad. She's curled up next to me on the bed (we helped her up) and she is resting now with a little aspirin to help her pain. It seems to be muscle pain (no cuts, or spots she's worrying over) and it's in her right front leg, or shoulder. Poor baby. She's just not herself today. We will take her to the vet tomorrow if she's not feeling better. I'm supposed to go into work today (Sunday), but I really want to stay home and care for her. She'd like me to stay and knit with her. It helps her relax, and me as well. Wow, I just got a phone call.... just as I was writing this, the work computer system is down and not expected up until later tonight. So my boss agrees that going in today is not happening. I'm glad, I get to care for my puppy dog.

Next weekend is the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. I am looking forward to seeing friends and all the animals and learning more about spinning and knitting. It's also nice to be looking at a four day work week next week, having Friday off. I hope to sell my Schacht single treadle wheel while I'm at OFFF as well. It would be nice to find Goldy a good home where she will get more spinning time.

The shawl has progressed nicely from the last blog I did about it, as well as WS. I had to start over a couple times on WS but I'd rather make adjustments now than when I'm further along with the project. The size 6 needles I needed to use to get to gauge were making a very compacted, hard, fabric. I've went back up to the size 8's and am adjusting my stitches down so the fabric is soft and feels like a sweater should. Oh, you will have to see that in progress. The last photo of my WS project had Sheila's Amber Passion needles in size 6, and now the size 8's are needed. Yes, you know I had to have them... the project is now on Sheila's green size 8 needles. I'm thinking the green color were some she was able to do in a small batch, I don't see them listed on her site but they are, "me" colored. I love the fall colors and green especially calls to me. Don't ask me which of my Sheila needles are my favorites because they all are.

I'm starting the Weight Watcher's program this coming Thursday. They have started a group at work that will go through the end of January. It will get me through the holidays and hopefully I'll have myself well into a new life style by the end. I can continue on with a local group if the work group decides to wrap up for good at the end of January. I'm not even setting my sites on a weight loss number, I'm setting my sites on changing my eating habits to make healthier choices, and getting exercise back into my life.

Wayne and I decided to have a nice dinner out tonight before we get to worrying about our food choices and learning the ropes of the WW plan. We went to Ivar's in Mukilteo for dinner. Here's a photo of our view at dinner.



One last look at what the GGSS along with it's button. I plan on doing a collar with the Little Devil that Lisa Souza created, with the peasant ruffle around the top, and adding a button hole as well to accommodate this piece of art that Sheila made for me. You'll have to see it in person to really see how special it is, but if you double click on the photo you can get a closer look :-) Enjoy!

WS Cast On

Wayne's Sweater hereby known as WS has been cast on. How cool is that!

Also I have for you a mystery knitter who joined me this evening. I'll let you ponder who's knitting these lovely socks - though she says they are not her color. These are for one of her children. Hint - there's her coffee cup, and she's drinking it at 9:30 PM.... a woman not afraid of the coffee at night :-)





You will find your answer in the comments area. I'm sure someone will figure it out very quickly. You know I don't go knitting until 10:00 at night with many people.... well not in person. I'm sure many of the FT list people are knitting at 10 PM, so we're knitting at the same time, together - just across the country together :-)

Shawl Progress and Ramblings

Missy has granted us modeling for the fiber minded. Here we have her displaying the progress of the Gathered Garter Stitch Shawl. It is knit in Lisa Souza's St. Valentines - in a modified version that has more white in it. I have added a strip of Little Devil towards the bottom. The bottom ruffle will be all Little Devil colorway. I've also modified the pattern and used a Peasant ruffle pattern at the bottom. I've only got a couple rows completed of the ruffle, so you can't see much of it yet. It really feels good to break out of the garter stitch marathon that was the upper portion. I am thinking of adding some Little Devil around the top as well. Check out the cobalt glass circulars from Sheila. These are size 5's and I just adore them.

I noticed Sam saying fall was starting to show up around here. I caught a photo of some of it's progress today. There were sprinklings of leaves under a lot of the trees that we saw on our walk today.

Missy got her hair cut today, so here's a photo of her in all her glory. We go to a trail in the business park on the weekends. It goes around a wetland area that has lots of fun smells for a dog to smell. She just loves it. Best of all, it's not a crowded or a popular bike trail, so Missy goes all over the trail without having anyone shout "on your left!" She enjoys being a relaxed mannered dog who almost always obeys the rules of the trail.

I am talking Wayne into making me a diz for drawing my wool fiber into roving form. Wingnut is going to be so fun to work with, but I broke my last diz, and Wayne and I have come up with some ideas for making our own, hard to break and, not so pretty, diz. We're going to use some washers and Wayne's going to weld them together to get the larger outer diameter I want with the small inner diameter I want. It should be just the ticket. I may see if he'll punch a small hole towards the edge and I'll find a way to clip it on something so I don't loose it in the bottom of my fiber equipment box.

Okay - couldn't resist one last look at Missy - she likes the GGSS! I think red is her color. Too bad the Emma cat doesn't want to model for me. Tina, Sam, Sheila, and Lisa have cats that don't get upset at a little camera flash. Their cats look absolutly relaxed. One flash and Emma is outta here!

All Work and No Play...

All work and no play leads to one boring blog! Expect a proper update this weekend. I do have some progress on the Gathered Garter Stitch Shawl. I've popped a little of the Lisa Souza, Little Devil, colorway into it for a few rows, and I'm back to the last bit of modified St. Valentines now. I borrowed one of Sam's books - Nicky Epstein's, Knitting on the Edge, and am picking out a little something special to finish up the bottom of the shawl. I want more of a pronounced ruffle effect.

Wayne decided against the Salmon Run sweater. His loss, my gain. I'll be knitting that one for myself, later on. Instead Wayne is getting a more basic cardigan sweater. It's going to be modified already so much I hesitate to name what it's started out being. We're going with moss stitch instead of the trinity stitch, so stitch count will have to be modified, etc. to make it come together. Anyway it's started out as the Trinity sweater, except it won't have the trinity stitch, so it's sort of the moss stitch sweater I guess. It will be nice judging by the swatches I've done so far with the grey superwash I've spun for the project.

My friend Jen came to knitting with an assortment of Lisa's colorways. Wow- talk about knitter's candy! I LOVE the Mars Quake. I will be needing that in fiber later on, I can tell. Lisa has come out with some beautiful yarn called Fat Bunny, which I think would get me into the larger needle sizes - thus a trip over to Sheila's new circulars with the Gypsy glass would be in order. Oh I have to knit and spin faster here so I can get more "supplies". I suppose working all this overtime is good so I'll hopefully have some spending money to buy more supplies. The only problem with it is that I have less time to knit and spin!

Fair Photos

We had a wonderful day at the fair at the spin in. Take a look at these wheels and see if you know who "we" were. I'll let you know at the end of this post.

The spin in was lovely, and we got to visit and spin and visit and spin and visit! Yeah!

The door prize is always a big hit at this fair spin in. People are all asked to bring a door prize and then there is usually enough prizes for every participant to win something. Actually at this event it is common to go through all the names in the drawing and many people get to be drawn again so all the prizes are given out. People get to select what they want from the table which is really nice because many have a preference if they'd like more fiber to spin, or would not like more fiber. There's plenty of selection in both categories. This year I choose a wrapped box, since I decided I wanted a surprise. Well I got one! Inside the box was a alpaca fleece from Idaho that is a grey and black combination of colors. It's shorn by the owner of the alpaca and Ms Alpaca is of pet quality the note said. I'll have fun playing with her fiber and seeing what I can make out of it.

Here are some of the other things we saw at the fair:

This is the biggest pigeon I've ever seen! He's bigger than Tina's chickens! What a cool, regal looking bird.

We had to capture a photo of the Utility Kilt! This fellow looks like he's feeling cool in his snappy wardrobe.

Below we have one very pretty bird who was hanging out with his hen. These are such pretty creatures, but man are they loud when they call to one another. I think the flashy colors are like a warning for the noise potential packed inside. This one didn't have any of the flashy tail feathers. I think they harvest them since would be damaged when hauling the bird to the fair in box or crate.

We were dissapointed that no turkeys were at the fair. They are really fun birds to watch, and they seem to enjoy watching people. Maybe next year there will be some.

This last photo is my favorite of the day. There were about 20 of these little guys running around in the pen with two mommas. (2 litters were combined). Their proud mothers were Copper and Penny. So some of the babies were 23 days old and others were 20 days old. They sure were cute. You really have to wonder if there might be a spider web somewhere saying, Nice Pig" for these little guys :-)

Now, who were the "we" that were spinning at the fair? Well from right to left we have Sam's Journey wheel, my Frickie wheel, and Tina's Joy. The wheels and the spinners all had a wonderful time.

Spin In at the Fair

Today is the last day I will be attending the Evergreen State Fair this year. There is a spin in this afternoon so I'm loading up the wheel, fiber, and snacks for a fun day with friends at the fair. I'll try and remember the camera.

I went to the fair yesterday and spun in the sheep barn for 4 hours. It was a lot of fun with people coming up and asking questions and kids grabbing a chair and sitting down to watch me spin. I think people got more excitement out of seeing me card wool. I had brought some uncarded wool and my cards to show if asked, but I ran out of the prepared fiber I had (okay - I gave a handful to a 9 year old boy who came back three times and his Mom asked where he could get a drop spindle. He walked away with the Romney fibers all excited, saying "Oh my Gosh!" to his mom - one happy camper there!) so I was left with my washed fleece and cards to get through the end of the day. People were great, to see their reaction when I put a little bit of wool on the combs and it exploded into a big fluffy puff of wool.

So, hopefully more blog and photos later today for you.

Nuts sleep with these chickens

You'd have to be a nut to sleep with these birds. That's because these chickens sleep in the trees!
There is a Sesame Street song about chickens in the trees. If you know the song, there is a line in the song that goes, "won't you tell me please if there are chickens in the trees?" Well the answer is, yes.

Family Farm

Tina and I went shopping and visiting this weekend.

We had a wonderful time shopping in Fife at Morning Sun factory outlet, and in Lacy (Olympia) at Shipwreck Beads. Then we got a bite of lunch and headed to my parents to visit and see what was happening around my ol' stomping grounds. I am feeling badly because I can't remember this cow's name. She's a descendant of Buttercup, who had Annie, and I believe this is Annie's daughter... but I can't remember her name tonight. Stacy - can you help me out here!? Anyway, this cow is on the family farm, and she's responsible for some wonderful cheeses and butter. I gave her a corn stalk and a apple which she seemed to appreciate greatly. Isn't she a beautiful cow? I love Jersey cows. We also got to raid the gardens on the farm and scored some wonderful corn, onions, beans, beets, pears, parsley, carrots, spaghetti squash, zucchini, cucumbers, turnips, apples, and pumpkins. Mom sent us home with eggs from the chickens too!

I got a photo of Tina inside Shipwreck Bead store. It's a huge place, and even this photo doesn't do it justice. I went a little crazy at Shipwreck Beads. They were having a sale, and wow I "saved" a lot on things I didn't go in there thinking I'd need. It all started with the magnet beads. I've bought magnetic necklaces at the fair two years in a row because I really like them. Well I found the magnetic beads and I thought I'd really save some money this year and make my own. Hahaha - well a basket full of beads later - I'd have saved money if I bought my necklace again at the fair. Then again, I wouldn't have these new creations that I made today.

This is a necklace I made out of coral fish shaped beads, lace agate stone beads, and a variety of natural small round beads. The necklace is on a Romney hide that I have, and it's really a dark wool but it's so shiny it looks silver in the photo. I found a small chunk of coral as well that I will be making into something. It is so smooth and bright - it needs to be added to something special.

This other necklace is a lanyard that you use to carry your office badge around with. It's got small glass beads that look like butterflies on it and some crystal silver lined beads. It is always nice to have different lanyards to wear from time to time. They get sort of boring otherwise. I haven't made my magnetic necklace yet. I'll let you see when it's done though :-)

While I was off playing, Wayne was home giving the fence a much needed oil finishing. It looks wonderful - he did a super job. We're still working on the pond project as well. We know the pump is working (tested it out) and the small fabricated liner pond is leak free, so we just have to level out the area and get the thing fired up. It's going to require a shovel and a wheel barrow though, so it may be a week or two before she's up and running.

Wingnut is coming along nicely. She's all dry and I'm setting her aside until I get through some of my other projects now. It's going to be a full week at work this week and actually the next week too. Hopefully I'll have some time to work on the DFS and some spinning for Wayne's sweater!

Fair Friday!

I had such a wonderful time today. I went to the fair and spun in the spinning area to demonstrate the process tonight. It's great fun to show others how it's done, and to answer questions. Kids have the greatest questions. I had one little girl ask if I had a break yet. I was puzzled by this, and she went on to clarify, "have you gone on any rides yet!?" LOL! I do believe I may have picked up the new craft bug. I came home and told Wayne what I learned from a hooker tonight- how to make a locker hook rug that is :-) Now I want to be a hooker too! Check out her work - these rugs are so soft! They make great horse blankets as well. The lady who makes these has used them for horse blankets for years. She said they work great and she actually has a horse that prefers this blanket to a fancy purchased blanket she's got. I may just have to give this craft a whirl. I've got the fleece, now all I need is some carpet mesh and a hook with a eye for yarn and I'm set.

So, my sweater got a second place ribbon, and so did a skein of Romney I put into the fair. I'm please with the placing, and I have to show you the first place sweater too because it is awesome. Of course I think "mine" is better - but that's because it's mine and it's knit for me. Anyway - it gives me room for improvement and I know I will enjoy getting there.

I did either remove or smudge last names from these pictures. I know some people want more privacy and other don't really care. That's just my attempt to make it okay for everyone that I put photos up of other's entries.

Shhhh... Fiber is sleeping

I think the extra effort of pulling apart the muddy tips and then re-washing is well worth it. Check out Wingnut now! Oh, dang, I should have taken a before photo of the first washing and how it looked. I've got another two batches of picking and washing to do yet, perhaps you'll get to see it after all. Not tonight though!


Hopefully the wind doesn't pick up tonight or tomorrow, and/or the cat and/or dog doesn't think this is a great mattress for them before I get home from work tomorrow. Actually I have jury duty tomorrow but I suspect I'll be back to work by noon - at least I'm hoping that's the case! They never seem to like me for a jury since I worked for a lawyer for my first job as a receptionist. I called and found out I can't take knitting needles, but I can take a crochet hook! So, it will be a good chance to work on that purse I started over a year ago. Heh - forgot to put that on the list, didn't I?! LOL!

By the way - the fleece does feel as fluffy and soft as it looks ;-) Still trying to find out what varity of sheep she is.

Going Great

The shock has worn off about adding more to the wool stash in such a big way. I am very happy that I got this fleece. It is lovely. I came home from work and errands and started going though Wingnut to see how she was doing. She's doing awesome. She's going to be white and sparkley, but she's going to take some more washing. I didn't get enough of the grease out to suit me. I spent some time on the deck opening up her more stubborn tips. The muddy ends will clean up nicely in another bath. I think I'll go with some Dawn or Joy to see if it will take the grease out better for me. I love the smell of the Kookaburra Woolwash and it's done pretty good, but not quite where I want the fiber to be for spinning.
In the mean while, I've been spinning superwash grey fiber for Wayne's sweater. I got my Salmon Run pattern from the Needle Beetle, hooray! However it won't get started for some time yet. I also received a pattern I ordered from Sivia Harding. I got the Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl pattern and I'm really excited about knitting it. However it's going to have to be added to the list of want to knit projects.

First I want to get Wingnut washed and dried - then she can wait until I'm ready to move on with her. Meanwhile I am working on the DFS, I'm into the 5th repeat. I'm working on spinning the fiber for Wayne's sweater. I'd say I've spun 2 pounds of the 6 pounds I have to spin. I won't need all 6 pounds spun, but I might as well get it all done up and ready to rumble.

Hmmm, I notice I never moved from First to Second on my list of to do's. That's the A.D.D. in me. I want to do it all at the same time. Oh yeah, I'm still knitting on the Gathered Garter Stitch Shawl as well right now. Sure would be nice to have Wayne's sweater done for Christmas, I guess I'd better get moving and focus on one project at a time! So, here goes the lineup: DFS is first, DH sweater second, GGSS is third. Wingnut needs to be clean to prevent attracting moths... she's taking precidence for a little while.

Speaking of Wingnut, I took a break and went out and dunked the fiber that I had opened up the tips, into another bath. This time with some Joy. This looks much more like what I'm wanting. The tub was dirty with the muddy tips coming clean. I did my chores and came back and drained the water and did a rinse on the fleece. It is MUCH better. She'll go out to dry tomorrow and I'll keep at those tips on the rest of it and wash that as it gets opened up in batches.