Amber's Merinos

Wonder Years and Amazon Prime

2011-09-27T14:15:00.000-05:00

I went to my Amazon page this afternoon and this was greeting me:

Dear Customer,

I have big news for Amazon Prime members - we've just signed a deal with FOX to add a broad selection of movies and TV shows to our unlimited instant streaming service later this fall. The new additions from the FOX library include 24, Arrested Development, The X-Files, Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and - available on digital video for the first time - The Wonder Years. We now have deals with CBS, NBCUniversal, Sony, and Warner Bros, and adding FOX will bring the total to more than 11,000 movies and TV shows available for unlimited instant streaming.

Since launching earlier this year, we have now doubled the number of titles available in Prime instant videos, and there's still more to come. Prime membership remains $79 a year, and of course features our unlimited free two-day shipping on millions of products. Prime is one of the best values anywhere.

I loved the Wonder Years and never thought I would see it again because all of the issues with the music...you'll have to look that up, but here it is. Very exciting. We don't have cable, can't get satellite, and only receive 2 television channels, so I rely on the Internet for my TV viewing (which I do a lot while I knit, spin, and process wool). Amazon, to me, is a much better deal than Hulu Prime. I watch Hulu, but I won't pay for prime. It is more expensive than Amazon and Hulu Prime did not filter out adds, so you still have to sit through commercials. Amazon also has a lot of BBC productions that I love (Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice) and tons of movies (IP man and Ong Bok are even on there). So, I am loving Amazon. I also do the Bing rewards thingy, so I get $5 a month in Amazon gift cards which almost pays for the membership. Neato!

My Favorite IPhone Apps

2011-09-24T14:53:00.000-05:00

Since getting this little gadget, I have acquired a few apps that have made things simpler for me. Normally technology adds another layer of work for me, but this has not.
My top 3 favorite apps are :

Lose It!

With lose it, you set up a weight loss goal (if you have one) and it sets your calorie budget for the day. You then log what you eat. I have tried other things (a notebook, Spark) but this program is unique in that I have my phone everywhere I go. I don't have to log things in a notebook and then hunt for the book, I don't have to remember things I ate for when I get to log onto Spark. This app also keeps all of the foods I log in a different food search area so I do not have to search all over for foods I regularly eat. It will also store whole meals that I like to have. For example, most of the time I either have and egg and toast with some butter on it with my sweet and creamy coffee or I have a bagel with cream cheese with my sweet and creamy coffee. I don't have to enter each food, I can just pick the breakfast I normally have and it logs all of the elements for me. Another thing it does is log my exercise.
I think my favorite thing about this app is its ease of use. If it is a hassle or even a little bit of a nuisance, I will eventually stop doing it, but this is so simple.
Lose it! is a free app that I would pay for. After using it for a while, I see its value.

My other fitness / diet app that I love is from Nike

Nike Training Club is an app geared towards women, but I have no idea why. It has great workouts. I often watch Biggest Loser and wish I knew how to do circuit training. I know how to run, I can bike, and I know how to lift weights the right way, but circuit training has escaped me. This app has a lot of workouts to choose from and they are as difficult as you are willing to make them. I am very pleased. They are not boring, they do not have crappy music, you can actually use your own music you have stored on your iPhone. You can do these workouts anywhere and most of them only require your willing body, no extra equipment. Again, this makes staying fit / getting fit super simple. I take my phone everywhere. If I am at a hotel, I have a workout with me, if I am at my mom's, I have a workout with me. This is another free app that I would pay for.

And... Last, but another favorite, is Stitch Minder

Stitch minder is great for my knitting. I am currently knitting an Alice Starmore Celtic sweater and this app has been invaluable. It marks the number of rows I have completed, the pattern row I am on, the number of pattern repeats I have done, and the number of increase rows. Now, the one thing I wish they would do is allow you to edit the names of fields and add some fields. The sweater I am working on has charts A,B,C,D,and E. So, I would like to be able to label one of the fields Chart C and mark the row I am on on that chart because it is different than the row I am on with Chart B and A. Right now, I use the other fields to mark this, but if I could change the titles of the fields it would be much easier. Other than that, this is another free app that I would pay for. Without the added functionality, though, I would only pay $1.99.

Craft Fair

2011-09-21T08:36:00.001-05:00

One of the towns closest to me is hosting a craft fair. They want the focus to be on the craft and demonstrating how to do it, instead of filling space with pampered chef stalls. There is nothing wrong with Pampered Chef, but many craft fairs get overrun by vendors selling items they had no hand in making which makes people not want to attend.
This craft fair will have polymer clay jewelry and demonstrations on how to make it, stained glass with some demos, hardinger lace, rose malling, many other artisans, and it will also have me. I am trying to work out space. I have not been able to pin down what size space I will have, but, for sure I will bring my 2 spinning wheels. I will have the Reeves wheel for me to demo and the Joy for others to try out. My mother is learning how to use the drop spindle, so she will be there showing people how to spin with that. We will have 13 drop spindles for sale and for demonstrating. I also plan on having a basket of Suffolk wool and a pair of hand cards for children to sit and card, but that will depend on the space I have.
The other things I want to have, but I am not sure there will be space is my drum carder. My 2 youngest children know how to work it and would prepare special batts for people who want to try their hand at combining colors and fibers. I also want to bring my English Combs that I would bring our at the top of the hour to demonstrate how to comb fiber. They are too scary of a tool to leave out.
We will also have fiber, yarn, pelts, and noils for sale along with the spindles.

This is quite a project. I have never done this before, but I think it is a great opportunity to get people interested in spinning and wool. I have a ton of prep to do to get ready. I don't think I have enough fiber or knit items for display. I am looking forward to it and apprehensive because this is not only new to me, but, also to the people who are putting this on.

Missoni Comes to Target!

2011-09-13T14:26:00.000-05:00

Rosebud thinks this is soooo cool

You too can take credit cards

2011-09-11T18:06:00.001-05:00

I recently signed up for Intuit's GoPayment credit card reader. You plug the reader into the headphone jack on your IPhone or Android and you can swipe cards, or you can type in the credit card information. The reader is free and the per charge fees are really small (1.7%-2.7%).

People do not have to worry about fraudulent charges because credit card companies will refund the bad charges (actually they take the money back from the merchant). So, we, as merchants, should be careful the one offering the card is who they say they are.
Really, I do not understand why anyone who sells anything would not take credit cards. I was in an antique store this weekend (just looking, not buying) and I overheard the lady who takes the money tell someone they only take cash or check. How many sales do they lose?

I want my Project Runway back

2011-09-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

Seriously, do we have to have crazy drama on EVERY reality show?
I can not really do justice with how I feel about the direction of this show. Tom and Lorenzo are going to have to speak for me.

More construction projects

2011-09-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I stopped at the local home design store to ask if they knew anyone who could do small construction projects on a house. They gave me 2 names and I got a hold of one of the guys.

So far, going to the design center was the best thing to do. We got a guy who has a great work ethic, cleans up after himself, shows up on time, and knows how to do what I need him to do. I am pretty pleased. It isn't cheap, but he is $25 an hour cheaper than the guys who work for the design center.

We now have a

1.front entry walk- in closet framed in

2. bathroom to be framed in with a hall linen closet

3. the entire North West wall of the first floor has another wall right next to the old wall (now we have 7.5" thick walls)

4. the back wall of the living room is closed up better

5. He took out and covered a window in the kitchen, 2 windows in the front entry, and a window that was in where the bathroom is going to be.

All of that was done this week. I will call him back when our doors and windows come in (should be 2 weeks).
Total, (including materials) the bill is $1,200. We are paying cash for these projects, so it takes a little while to get it all done. We start and stop for a bit and then start again. Maybe I will have sheet rock before next year.

Old quilts

2011-09-08T15:52:00.002-05:00

Dear's mother gave me the quilt of Dear's paternal grandmother. It appears it was made from worn men's clothing, mostly suits. It was in pretty rough shape.
1. I took off all of the ties and the backing.
2. I removed the wool batting and tossed everything but the top.
3. I don't think it had been washed in 100 years. I washed the top by hand in the kitchen sink a few times and rinse a bunch more, until the water was clear (did I say it was dirty).
4. It is now hanging on the clothesline to dry and for the sun to kill what washing did not.
5.On the clothesline, I inspected it for holes and found 4 very small ones that will need some kind of creative patching.
6.Once it is dry it will get new wool guts and a new backing.

Wool

2011-09-07T08:26:00.000-05:00

Recently I purchased some wool from etsy. It was a 10 pack of 1 ounce each from different breeds of sheep. There was a discussion on ravelry about how much you can spin from 800 grams of wool and I weighed in on the different masses of wool and that it would be impossible for anyone to estimate how much a perfect stranger who is not an experienced spinner would be able to spin from 800 grams and it would be impossible to judge for even me (I tend to know how much yardage I get from merino) because the person in question did not know the breed of sheep. Some people did not think the breed would make any difference, so here is a photo of 4 of the tops I received to illustrate this fact.

From left to right we have one ounce each of: Shetland, Merino, Falkland, and Gotland.
There are other properties of these wools that will determine how much yardage you can obtain. The most yardage will be from the merino because it will spin up the finest and next would be the Falkland. The Shetland is very airy but also coarse, so it would be third and make a nice woolen yarn. It too can be spun pretty fine. Now the Gotland is very dense. Trust me, it has the same mass as the Shetland. The gotland can be spun fine if you have patience, but it will want to be spun thicker than any of the others and because of the density, there just is not enough fiber, no matter how fine, to come close to the merino. I also doubt it would be even 2/3 of the Shetland yardage.
Having never worked with the Gotland, I would guess that it would make a great carpet yarn. It appears to have a very long staple (length of the individual fibers) and very little crimp.

New Wheel

2011-08-31T14:32:00.000-05:00

I stopped off at a semi local spinnery this weekend to pick up a used Schacht-Reeves 30" wheel in Ash. I had been looking for one and since this one was barley used, less than a year old, it was perfect.

I am amazed at how nice the singles are turning out. The extra twist this wheel adds makes a much nicer lace than my Joy.

I still have my Joy, though. It is a great wheel for travelling and it really does make a nice yarn, but this is so much nicer.

Sammy Six Toes

2011-08-27T10:08:00.000-05:00

Sammy Six Toes showed up at our house last week. She is a polydactyl cat (6 toes on each of her front feet). She also has 5 toes on each of her back feet.

Spring

2011-05-02T09:54:00.000-05:00

We found this little guy in the basement:

This family was in the driveway:

These beauties decided to stick around a while and are nesting:

and this is a LOT of water, we have had more water this year than we have ever had since we moved here in 2003.

New Babies, the human kind

2011-04-29T10:39:00.000-05:00

We have a new addition to our family, a little girl. Since Dear let me go wild in the closing yarn store, I had to look for something to make for the "new girl." My mother-in-law wanted me to make the same dress I made for another baby, but I wasn't really feeling it, I knit it twice before. So, I found a cute little hoodie called Roo by Kate Gilbert.
I decided to knit this in the round instead of pieces because I hate piecing knit projects. Here is the progress so far.

This sweater is made from Debbie Bliss Rialto. Rialto is a DK weight, 100% extrafine superwash merino wool. The yarn is very "squooshy" and feels nice on my hands. The stitch defenition is pretty good too. I chose this yarn because it is wool, so it will be warm, and because it is washable. I have some of this for sale in my etsy shop. It retails for almost $9, I am selling it for $8 and free shipping. I have a few more colors, but I am only adding new ones as the other sell. If you are looking for a specific one, convo me at etsy and I will see if I have it for you.

Socks? Never Say Never

2011-04-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

I never thought I would ever knit a pair of socks. I mean, what a waste? I can buy them cheap and they get holes in them and worn out really fast. Right? Well, with the closing of my favorite yarn shop, I bought some pretty sock yarn (Alpaca Sox by Classic Elite). Then I searched for a free sock pattern on Ravelry and found the Artichoke socks by Megan Humphrey. I went back and forth between the socks and Rosebud's Zauberball dress

and finally finished them in 2 weeks.

These are the softest, warmest socks I have ever worn. My toes are always cold, even in the summer, but yesterday, wearing these socks, my feet and toes felt as warm as they do burried in warm sand at the beach. Now, I am not the most consistant person in the world, probably the least, so the thought of handwashing these socks does not really bother me now, but a few weeks from now??? I don't know. Anyways, I loved them so much that I went back and bought the rest of the Alpaca Sox yarn and purchased a book by Cookie A. . She is famous for her sock designs, in the knitting world, and I have already begun the first pattern in the book.

It's been a long time

2011-04-01T14:23:00.001-05:00

A lot has happened since I last posted. This is what my downstairs looks like, minus some furniture. We have been living and doing school like this since last July.

We also had a run-in with the neighbor this fall. We told them that their dog seems to have an unhealthy interest in our sheep and they should make sure it does not roam here because we don't want our sheep hurt or our llama to kill their dog. We thought it was all worked out, but one night I was home alone without a vehicle and their dog was chasing and biting my ewes. All of my ewes were pregnant at the time. Well, I could not catch their dog, nor did the neighbors respond to my screams that their dog was over here. The dog split the flock, confused the llama, and had already seriously injured one of my colored merino ewes (Button, the one that gave the awesome banded fleece). My only option at that point was to shoot their dog and call the police. The neighbors never asked about the sheep, never paid the vet bills, and told me I should have just let their dog kill my sheep, they would have bought me more. Where in the world he was planning on picking up an ultra fine merino ewe, let alone a dark brown one, I have no idea. They started tearing down our fence and driving by our place slowly. They even screamed at my 12 year old daughter when she waved at them (H did not know who they were when she waved). Well, spring is coming. Hopefully they settled down.

We also had the roof of our sheep barn slide off from too much snow on one side and no snow on the other side.

So, we had to move all of the sheep outside while we worked on building pens and moved them to a new building. We got them in just in time.

27 also rejected her lambs again. This is the third year in a row. She had 3 girls, but one did not make it, its spine was blocking the birth canal and she had to be delivered, but she was too weak. These 2 Suffolk X Merinos are Pinky and Quiggles (standing).

We lost a few lambs early on because the barn the sheep were moved to did not have the bedding build up and it was too large of a space for them to keep warm (we had a very cold winter, colder than normal). We were being very careful about checking on the sheep and getting them into pens a day ahead of their lambing date and putting in heat lamps. We also coated every lamb with a polar fleece coat. Still, if we did not catch the lambing within 1 hour, we lost a lamb. Hopefully next year will not have those problems.

We also had a tragic death this winter, one of my husband's co-workers. It was very sad and confusing for everyone. He left a little boy without a father.

We changed churches so the kids could be a part of a larger pool of children; our old church only had a few kids in it.

Now? We are working with a general contractor to get our house lifted, a new foundation poured, add some bathrooms (we only have 1), new electric, new plumbing, and square off our house. We will have to pack everything up again, including the basement, finish tearing off all of the plaster upstairs and pull all of the plumbing and electrical, and move out. They hope to begin by the end of June and be done by September. We are excited to finally see progress in getting our house in order. This project is very expensive and we hope we can swing it all because this old house really needs it.

I also did some knitting.

This is 4' in diameter and 100% hand spun alpaca.

This last project was changed from a sweater to a sun dress, so no sleeves, and more shaping. I think I have ripped this apart about 5 times. My middle girl will look great in it, though. The yarn is Zauberball.

Signing off for a few days

2010-07-02T11:31:00.000-05:00

I did get a lot of work done this week. However, I am still behind. We are having our floors redone and Dear wants to tear off all of the plaster in the living, dining, front entry, office, and possibly the stairs before the floor guy comes on Tuesday. I hope we get enough helpers because I am a little concerned we will not get it all done. When dear was in Iraq I did a similar project in our bedroom. It took a long time. I carried plaster down the stairs in 2 five gallon buckets. It was heavy, hot, work. I like doing it, though. Even more exciting, we rented a 5th wheel camper for the week.

Well, my computer is is the office and we may move it to where it can still be used, but if not, I will be offline for about 10 days.

For those waiting for fleece, I will be working dilligently on them those 10 days. I want to get them all done before we move back in.

Too much work and not enough action

2010-06-25T12:40:00.001-05:00

I have so many things to get done. My garden is huge (about 1/4 of an acre) and it needs weeding. I sprayed it to kill the grass and that should help, but I need to get in there and pull the broad leaf weeds. I also need to finish burying the potatoes. I have 1.5 rows done and 5.5 to go. It takes me an hour to do one row! I need to put my netting up for the beans and peas, plant more peas, put in the stakes for the tomatoes, spread mulch around, and weed the grass out of the sweet corn areas. I can't do any of that, 3 days in a row I have been grounded from working in the garden, because we had a really heavy rain and the garden is still wet (I have heavy clay soil and it takes a while to dry out.) That is just the garden. There is also lawn mowing, packing up everything on the first floor because we are having the floors redone, and sorting through fleeces. I am feeling very lazy, I don't want to do any of it. I would rather sit here and work on my knitting.

This is my Lily. I am using Nashua Creative focus Linen. It is a linen and cotton blend. I wanted this to be a little more rustic and I want it done for early fall. This yard is rough like linen but, like linen, it will soften.

Amanda's swallowtail is coming along, but I ran out of the hand spun I was using. I picked up some more top to spin for this at the lamb and wool festival this year and I should get to finish it up after I get through all of the fleeces. Fleece first, spinning last. For the non-knitting / crochet crowd. This will look 100x more lovely once it is blocked. All knits look better blocked, but for lace, it is pretty much a necessity.

My reworking of Wisteria has gone really well. I will have to spin up some more yarn for it, but again, not until the fleece are all gone through. I added quite a bit of length to this sweater and knit a medium for the bottom and a large on top and it fits really nicely. It is comfy, not fitted, and I can hardly wait to finish it so I can wear it this winter. It will be a hot one. The top came from my sheep and it is so soft it is hard to believe it is wool. No itchy feeling with this sweater.

One of the things I really like about this sweater is the hand spun. It is more softly spun in areas and it creates a lovely texture. It definitely is not an off-the-rack look, nor does it look like a home ec project. I love it. I think it is my favorite so far. I have tried it on and every time I felt so snugly I did not want to take it off again.

I also have to fix No-No's sweater. It will only take me a couple of days, so I am holding off for a bit, hoping I finish some of my real work first.

Love / Hate

2010-06-24T11:31:00.000-05:00

I have a love-hate relationship with people. I always knew I did not like most people and I never thought about why. There are so many fictional characters who I love. What makes them different from real people? I began thinking on this during a conversation with my daughter about her writing and how to make it easier for her. #1's biggest problem is she always wants to be perfect, never wants to hurt anyone (even unintentionally), and never wants anyone to think bad about her, including her parents. Most people would think that we are so lucky to have a child who is conscious of how her words and actions affect others, but it is not all that wonderful. When people desire to be perfect, when it is a compulsion, it is not real. When it is not real, we do not know these people. I know #1 pretty well, but, I do not know her passions, her sorrows, or her joys and that is what I most yearn to know about her. Who is she at her core? It is painful to know that she can not allow herself to be herself around me. I yearn so much to be able to love her, but this glass wall of perfection block me from getting to know her inner self. She is like so many people in my life. The desire to just get along with everyone is the thing I hate about people. I have realized that it is not the people who I hate, it is their lies. "Everything is wonderful, how is everything with you?" People dress up their outside to mask their inside and it is all an illusion. Yet, when we all sit down to enjoy our favorite TV shows or our favorite books, we love those people, I love those people. They are broken, their lives are bare for us, their joys and sorrows are clear to us, there is no wall. We love those people, mostly because they are living honestly. Those fictional characters are more real than our friends and family. I am truly convinced that when the lies and the small talk is tossed aside and people let us know who they are, we will love them. We will love their honestly, bravery, quirks, and flaws. We will be able to identify with their humanity and grow bonds. Hopefully, my talk with #1 helped her see how her restraints affect her self-expression and my ability to love her the way she needs me to. I want nothing more than for her to soar, to do that, she needs to free herself. She has 3 days to write her paper, I am praying she shines through it.

Internet

2010-06-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

My modem was bad and had to be replaced, so I was offline for about 4 days. Thank goodness it is back up. Today I will email everyone who tried to get in contact with me. Sorry.

Still gardenning

2010-06-03T21:33:00.000-05:00

I am still working on the garden, but I will take some photos of the naked sheep tomorrow. I had to give them a few days to not feel so bad about their hair cut before taking pictures.

A garden, piglet update

2010-05-29T19:40:00.000-05:00

First the garden: I got the squash, pumpkins, some beans, corn, collards, peppers, watermelon, onion sets, half of the onion plants, and all of the flowers in. I am nicely burnt. The kids helped with quite of bit of this stuff. I still have the rest of the onion plants, some herbs, the tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, celery, turnips, parsnips, radishes....and I think that is it, to get in. I have help coming on Monday for all of that. I have so much out there that I had to expand the garden.
I also decided to try the 3 sisters thing. I planted some beans with the corn and the buttercup squash on the edge of the corn so it will grow into the corn and shield the ground from the sun and reduce weeds.
I also have to begin mulching everything so the weeds stay under control.
Some of my potatoes are up already. I love that.

Now for the three little piggies: Peanut, Butter and Jelly are all doing well. they have adjusted to life in the outdoors and love munching the grass and "rooting" around. They also are such wonderful little piggies that I give them their grain mixed with milk. They are so happy to be here. I think they forgot about the over crowded, stinky barn they came from.

I was not able to work on sorting any of the fleece. I will have to reserve some time tomorrow to go through 2 of them. I will finish the gardening on Monday. School is done on the 3rd so I will be able to do a lot more work outside. Phew....

Peanut, Butter, & Jelly

2010-05-28T19:35:00.001-05:00

We normally raise about 10 hogs a year for selling and our own use. This year, however, they were too expensive for us to buy feeders ($80+ versus $20). We were fortunate enough to be given 3 runts. So, her are Peanut, Butter, and Jelly:

Just sheared

2010-05-28T12:14:00.002-05:00

We were able to get our sheep sheared. I have lots of fleece sorting to do the next couple of weeks so I can send off the fleece orders I have and get the rest ready for sale. So far, all of the colored fleece and one white one is sold. There are 7 other white ones and one suffolk hamp cross to sell. The white merinos will be micron tested and sold for $27 a pound (sorted into locks, not just skirted) and the suffolk is $5 a pound (as pictured, just skirted). Suffolk is a downy, medium wool. It works great as quilt batts. I have 3 suffolkX that I am sending to be turned into batts for either comforters or quilts. The quilt batts should run:
crib $10
twin $15
Queen $30
King $45
Comforter batts will be double that price because they have double the wool.

The suffolkX for sale has a very long staple and many colors. I will post pictures of the other fleece, but here is the suffolkX and the 3 batts (the rolled ones) I am sending for processing.

Article from JAMA

2010-05-22T10:59:00.001-05:00

Intellectualization of Drug Abuse
....
Here, I draw on my experience as a drug abuser who for years maintained a relatively successful career as a basic biomedical scientist studying the neuroscience of addiction and compulsion to present a cautionary tale regarding the extreme dangers of intellectualizing drug use. No matter how well versed one may be in pharmacology or the addictive process, the fact remains that severe problems due to drug abuse can arise almost instantly, and no matter how in control one may believe himself to be, these problems can lead to tragic and irreversibly life-altering consequences.

In my case, this intellectualization occurred on three main levels. The first related to my drug use patterns. I was a daily user of cannabis for most of the past decade, and an intermittent user of opioids, primarily via the intravenous route, for approximately three years. This use occurred while I pursued a career in basic science research, with a heavy focus on addiction. Consequently, I was intimately familiar with the drug abuse literature and psychiatric diagnostic manuals such as the DSM-IV. I was able to finish my doctorate and conduct research at a high level at the same time I was a regular drug user.

...
This is just a snippet from the article, the rest is equally interesting.

Garden count, so far

2010-05-20T17:50:00.000-05:00

300 feet of peas and 400 feet of potatoes
300 feet of sugar snap peas should yeild close to 60 lbs
400 feet of potatoes will yeild what they yeild. I am guessing about 500lbs.
I did not do it alone, I had 3 helpers.

My hands are dry and I am I going to soak in the tub as long as everyone is at Taekwondo.

Indiski times 2

2010-05-19T10:20:00.000-05:00

I am working on a traditional Russian shawl. These shawls are supposed to be so fine that you can pull them through a woman's ring. They are also knit on both sides, so they are reversible. I decided to do two at a time because working with the cashmere in cobweb weight yarn was very difficult. The pattern is not readily seen while you are knitting unless you pin it out as I have here. Mistakes can happen easily, so I wanted to make sure I was familiar with the pattern. I decided to use some hand spun merino, from my flock, in a light fingering weight. So far, I love working on the merino and I may turn it into a large blanket for my bed. The cashmere has not been enjoyable at all, but I look at it as an exercise in patience. I hope no one ever asks me to knit them a veil, or if they do, they give me 10 years to complete it. This is brutal. I know I want to have this as an accomplishment of mine and that is why I am working on it. Age will not make this any easier. Still, it is beautiful.

I have looked at this book and they have some good patterns for this type of lacework. The pattern I am knitting from comes from Piecework. This magazine is nice to look at, but I rarely find things I want to do. I picked mine up at the library and the pattern says you can photocopy the charts, so I did. The library is one of my favorite resources for patterns and ideas, second to Ravelry.

Rosebud's sleeveless Owls

2010-05-17T09:29:00.000-05:00

I took the standard "owls" pattern and omitted all of the decreases and increases and short rows. I cast on for the arm holes and left off the arms. She loves it. It is done in Blue Sky Dyed Organic Cotton.

The kids took pictures

2010-05-17T09:26:00.000-05:00

Rosebud took a picture of my "forget me nots."

and one of my prickly bushes that have great color and a name that slips my mind at the moment

little man captured the black locust trees

and a magnolia that came from a rare tree my mother bougt me years ago, it's name is "Pinky".

Rosebud got the best picture of Edith.

The little man got a great picture of the Oak tree in the front yard.

and I wish I had a better zoom on my camera so I could do our pelicans justice.

Otis

2010-05-15T16:31:00.001-05:00

I should get a cd of his music, maybe this one:

Walter and an Igor update

2010-05-15T16:27:00.000-05:00

The little dear was out taking photos and he snapped a few of Walter for me.

Igor is doing well. He has a little buddy to run around with named Tae (as in Taekwondo). I tried to get a good picture of him, but he was not cooperating, maybe later.

Do you see it?

2010-05-15T16:22:00.000-05:00

Knitting Problems and New Books

2010-05-13T11:15:00.000-05:00

Some people have problems with cats playing with their yarn while they knit. Not I. I have sheepy problems. His name is Walter.

I ordered a book from amazon in January and the publisher is finally done with it and I should have it in a week! I have one other stitionary from them and I really like it and since I like knitting lace I decided I wanted this one too.

"The Spider and the Fly" by Mary Howitt

2010-05-05T16:18:00.000-05:00

From the middle child's literature class

Silly lambs

2010-05-03T16:08:00.004-05:00

We were gone all day yesterday and when we got home our 2 bottle lambs were waiting for us. They were so ready to eat that they followed us up the stairs and in the house. We were carying things so we could not stop them.

I wonder where they learned that trick from?

Nostepinne

2010-05-03T16:06:00.000-05:00

A nostepinne is an old tool used to wind balls of yarn into center pull balls. They cost around $20 and up. A wooden spoon is a common household item that can be used as a great substitute. I got this idea from a You Tube video, but for some reason I can not get the code from that video to load here.

Here are the results of my nostepinne:

a little more than 850 yards, 165g, 5.8oz of handspun, 2 ply, merino from my flock.

I think the spoon worked well, slow, but well.

Women's rights

2010-05-01T21:48:00.000-05:00

The country that rapes their women before they execute them (they will not execute a virgin) and also places "tanned" women in prison was just elected to the Counsel on Women's Rights for the UN. The US was silent, they did not protest.

In case you do not know, it was Iran. Yup, Iran is in the top 3 countries that come to mind when I think about killing women's rights.

Politics over, back to happy things next post.

Vintage

2010-04-28T09:43:00.002-05:00

Periodically, I like to check out what kind of vintage dresses etsy has listed. Here are a few. My oldest gasped when she saw the brown velvet one. I think that means she really liked it.

More lambs and some gross stuff

2010-04-27T07:57:00.001-05:00

Last week, #2 had a lamb and I could tell she was not done having lambs, so I hung around. The first one was a beautiful, mottled girl who we now refer to as Mable (marble without the R, Dear named her). As I was waiting, I could see she was having difficulty and I was concerned it would be another Gigantor and #2 may not be able to handle delivering it. I could see a nose and a hoof, but not the other hoof. It is normally best to let them lamb unassisted, so I waited some more. A head popped out, but still only one hoof. I called the vet and he told me I needed to reach inside and grab the other leg and bring it forward. My arm and hand was clean and I needed to do this pretty quickly, so I removed my ring and slipped my hand inside. (Note to self, keep elbow length disposable gloves on hand and close by.) I was up to my mid forearm and I still could not find the leg. I felt her pushing and with each push I loosened "stuff" and slowly slipped my arm out. I must have done something right because the lamb came out. I called the vet to let him know all was well and the lamb looked healthy and to ask him if I should start giving her antibiotics since I had my arm inside her. He thought that was a good idea and told me the dosage. So, for three days we gave her an intramuscular shot of penicillin. She is looking great and so are her two lambs.
This morning, Dear went to the barn to give Igor and Tae their bottle and almost missed a new little guy. Yes, another merino ram lamb, ugh! Princess had a healthy boy. She looks like she is a very protective mother. We locked them up in their own pen so they would not be disturbed and we gave her some fresh water. Water is very important to a ewe that just lambed. (Do I say, "a ewe that" or "a ewe who"? Ewes are not people, but they are not things either.) They are pretty thirsty right away and they need the water to help with their milk flow. I will check on them again in about 15 minutes.
We also picked up our chickens and turkeys last Thursday. The chickens are not doing the greatest. Some of them are very strong, but we have lost a lot of them. It is pretty annoying. I will get some pictures of everything later.

Igor

2010-04-27T07:37:00.000-05:00

Igor has lived a blessed life so far. He is currently living in the barn, but before that he was our "dog". He has oddly sweet behaviors. When he lived inside, he would curl up on the floor next to my desk. He does not like to face you when he pees and will often find a corner. He always makes noise when he has to pee and poo so we knew and he did not want to lay on a towel he had peed on. He likes to be held and will nuzzle your neck. He is still odd looking and definately not a breeder, but he is very sweet. I gradually got him used to the barn and the other sheep, but before that he would travel with me, even to Pilates. He has found a friend in Tae since they both get the bottle and he has learned how to hide himself from the big sheep. Thankfully, he no longer thinks the turkey will give him food, but he is very curious about everything. We banded his tail and his testicles yesterday. He did not like the feeling at all, but he was not in pain. In a few days he will need to be vaccinated.

Brand New Ones

2010-04-20T22:59:00.000-05:00

I went out to the barn to give Tae his bottle (my oldest named him and his brother, Kwon, because she is in Taekwondo) and I found these two new ones.

Kanga gave us a sturdy and huge boy (the brindle face white one) and a normal sized girl. I am very pleased with this outcome because I wanted a suffolk X merino ram to breed my suffolks to. We chose two suffolks to breed to Pee-Wee. Kanga was chosen because I thought breeding to a merino would give her a smaller lamb since she had the problems with retracted tendons. She had the largest lamb I have ever seen, though. I felt bad for her and I hope the lambing was not too bad. For her first time, she is doing fabulously. She has a ton of milk. We will have to check her regularly so she does not get mastitis. So far, they will not let her get away, they are very agressive about getting food.

Igor (eye-gore, as in Young Frankenstein)

2010-04-20T17:43:00.002-05:00

Igor was born a few days ago to Evie. Evie was a first time mom and, although she loved her little guy, she did not know it was her responsability to feed him. He also liked to play dead. He did not lay like normal lambs, more like dead ones. He was taken into our home and given the stomach tube with colostrum and electrolytes every four hours Sunday and he drank from a syringe on Monday. He has an odd look to him, one side seems smooshed and his eyes are not even, but he is strong and curious. He now drinks from a bottle, although, he did think the turkey might feed him milk. The turkey just sat on his head and he was stuck. He wiggled for a little bit, and then gave up, waiting to be rescued. Igore likes to take naps at our feet and follow us around outside. He is very docile. Obviously he is not a breeder, but we still enjoy him.

Lambs

2010-04-20T17:29:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday the kids had to go to the "big" town to take some tests for school. I got up early to take Dear to work, fed the sheep, and made breakfast for the kids. Before we left I checked on the sheep and noticed there was a new lamb. I saw she was standing and looking strong and everything was fine. I did not have time to investigate further. The kids' test is a requirement for the school and unless they are hospitalized they are to be there. They could be kicked out of the school if they fail to show for these tests. So, we left. I got back home 6 hours ater to find a very weak ewe lamb, so weak she would not get up. I felt terrible and responsible. I tried to get some milk in her and finally got her to stand. She was very weak and I did not have any colostrum at home or electrolytes. We left so the kids could finish their last day of swim class and test. While they were testing in swimming, I went to the vet to pick up a few things for the ewe lamb and any others that may come along. We were home about 90 minutes later. Dear and I put a tube down her throat and got some colostrum in her and we monitored her. After about 30 minutes of near death, she stretched and stood up. She was baaing forcefully so I brought her to her mother. I gave it about 15 minutes and she did not try and nurse. We took her back inside and made sure she got the required amount of fluids, but after 12 more hours she would no longer open her eyes. I waited until Dear got home to take care of her and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.
Meanwhile, another ewe, Na-Na, lambed and had twin ram lambs. I had been watching the barn and checking ever 1-2 hours for signs of lambing, still feeling terribly guilty. When I saw the one lamb I quick got her into a pen with the help of all of the kids who were on a vacation from school because of the testing. She looked like she was taking good care of her little guy and she had another lamb. The lamb still had its hindquarters in her and she looked tired and as though she was done pushing. I tore the sack open and cleared the lambs throat, grabbed the lamb and carefull pulled him out when I could tell she was having a contraction. The umbilical cord of a lamb gets severed when it exits the birth canal so it is important to get to them quickly and get their mouth cleaned off so they can breath. After I got it out of her I laid it next to her other lamb and noticed he too was a boy. It is also important to get the lamb where the ewe is focused so she accepts it right after she gives birth. If you do not, she may not reckognize it as her own and can even try and kill it. Our merinos have never been rough with a foreign lamb, but the Suffolks are brutes and can be quite mean. I then iodined their navels because bacteria enters there easily, stripped the waxy plug that protects bacteria and infections from entering the ewe's teats, and attempted to show the new guys were to go. The ewe needed some quiet, so we left her in the barn for a little while. When we returned, we noticed that the first ram lamb (easily identified from the iodine that spilled on his leg) was not nursing. We turned him around so he could find the food and he turned back around to her front legs. He was quickly given colostrum through a stomach tube and we hoped he would figure it out. Nope, he is stupid. Even after a few days, he still goes to the front legs. Obviously we have been feeding him, every 4 hours.
The little girl was put to rest that evning. It took me a while ot get over the feeling of guilt, but I decided to focus on the lives saved. I know we will have more lambs and some will die, I have to learn to deal with that.
We also had another ram lamb two days ago, but that is another story.

Wait, wait, wait

2010-04-12T11:18:00.000-05:00

Our ewes are overdue. Well, not all of them, but a few of them have gone past the 154 day mark and bagged up over a week ago. 2 of our ewes have dropped significantly and they all grunt and roll back their top lip when they sit. Last night we even had 2 restless ewes licking their lips. So, with all of the signs, where are the lambs? I am getting alittle impatient, especially when everyone asks, "Any lambs yet?" Oh well, they will come when they are ready, hopefully I will be here because it is the first time for 5 of them.

I had a dream last night that they all lambed at the same time and the 2 neighbor dogs were guarding pigs in the woods next to us (there are no pigs there in awake life). One of hte dogs jumped the fence and took a lamb back to his side and ate it, I could hear the bones crunching. I freaked out. Then, I saw the neighbors walking towards me and I told them about it and told him how much it would cost them and he seemed OK about it and hugged me. Then he asked if my husband was ready to give him his hir cut? (I have had some really weird dreams lately) I said he was up until 2AM with me observing and caring for the sheep (that part is true) and he said he would get his hair cut later when Dear was rested. Then, I went to check on the sheep and their lambs. The sheep were the size of rabbits and their lambs were the size of newborn bunnies. I had to keep picking up the bunny sheep and move them closer to their moms because the moms were stupid. After all of that, I woke up.

Nifty inventions

2010-04-01T09:28:00.002-05:00

Last Christmas I bough a set of cake strips with a gift certificate from Williams and Sonoma. I have always had a problem with my cakes having a dome. When you want to layer the cakes, domes are not fun. So, I thought I would try the cake strips. So far I have baked 2 cakes with them and both have turned out perfect. I love these things.

This Commercial Bugs Me!

2010-03-30T10:50:00.002-05:00

Watch this and see if you can spot what drives me up the wall.

Do you think she will remember how to find the area of a triangle? Do you think this is really tutoring? How about telling her WHY the area of a triangle is 1/2 bh? HMMM??? This is how I explain to my kids:

How do we find the area of a square? Base times height, right (we already went over how to do this and why it works)? Please draw a line from one corner to the other corner of the square. What shapes do you see? 2 Triangles!!! So, the area of one of those triangles will be 1/2 of what the area of the square was, right? Right. If they are confused about other types of triangles have them take 2 of the triangles and cut one in half and arrange it on either side of the whole triangle to make a rectangle. Still it is 1/2 the area of the rectangle. Now they will remember. If I just tell them the formulas, how will they learn? How will they figure out how to explore problems on their own? Hmmmm? I hate that commercial.

The 3 Day Baby Shrug

2010-03-22T14:14:00.004-05:00

Whirligig (12-18months) was made using Cascade Ultra Pima cotton yarn in tangerine (my son picked out the color). It was a very fast knit with easy instructions. The photos are of the back side.
Shoulder. A lot of times I do not use stitch markers, they can be a pain, but this time I had to use them because I got lost where I was supposed to increase and I had to rip it out.

Bottom ruffle detail:

I really like the Cascade yarns. They are reasonably priced and come with great yardage. This yarn was comfortable to knit with, but very slippery. I have no idea how they got the cotton to shine like that, but it is very pretty.

The 4 Day Baby Sweater

2010-03-18T19:56:00.002-05:00

I quick finished this sweater. I wanted it done by Sunday for a new addition to Church. Sorry the picture is not the greatest.

8 Year Old Son's 1st Crochet Project

2010-03-17T21:16:00.001-05:00

My son has been working on a pink scarf for his cousin, he decided to add long strips as a neat design feature. I almost died laughing when I saw it. It is a thong! I told him we can not give it to his cousin, but I will save it for his future bride’s wedding shower.

I want one of these

2010-03-11T12:52:00.002-06:00

We plan on getting this in April. My old piano is in very bad shape and not really fixable because it has plastic pieces inside that have degraded. I have not seriously played in over 10 years. Everytime I sat down to play I had little fingers messing with the keyboard. Now my kids are old enough and I should be able to play some. My middle child wants to learn as well.

Planting time

2010-03-10T12:59:00.003-06:00

I received a package from Johnny's. This weekend the little man and I will clean out the back of the garage, chop wood (for the wood stove to keep the seedlings warm), and pot up flowers and vegies.

That large 5lb bag in the back is snap peas. We have a lot of shelling to do. Last year we tried a sweet shelling pea because they have more peas per pod, but they were not anywhere near as sweet as the snap peas we have grown in the past, so back to the snap peas. 5 lbs will plant about 400', but not all at once. I will stagger the planting by about 2 weeks 3-4 different times so I can get the shelling done. I will have help this year which should be lots of fun.

Friends of Knitters

2010-03-08T15:15:00.004-06:00

When you are a friend of a knitter you can ask the friend to make a scarf to match the new coat you just bought. You may even get them to finish it in a week and with the pattern of your choice. If you are a particularly good friend you may get your friend to do this for the cost of the yarn.
My dear friend, I will have this with me for you at Pilates tonight. I hope you like it.

The home

2010-03-04T14:34:00.003-06:00

This is an aerial view of the lake I live on.
And here is an older picture of the main farmsite.

Fiona

2010-03-03T15:18:00.002-06:00

Fiona had her first night in the barn last night. Dear fixed her a pen and put Princess and Mary, our two gentlest merinos, in with her so she would not be lonely. She is a little confused and wants to hang out with her "real" flock but this is better for her. She needs to learn how to be a sheep. Mary and Princess are being pretty nice to her. Mary is the ewe who let any lamb nurse from her, a great ewe to have.

Knitting

2010-03-03T15:03:00.005-06:00

Wisteria is reworking nicely and it looks plenty roomy. I am using hand spun from my sheep.
After making one of these for a niece, Amanda said she wanted one. I am doing hers on larger needles so I will get a larger shawl. I may also do another few repeats in the pattern so it is large enough.
This yarn is a hand spun that I made from Ashland Bay 100% merino top in cranberry.
I had a load of Moda Dea Tweedle Dee Acrylic and wool yarn. I do not really like using acrylic, it hurts my hands, but I wanted to use this up. I decided to turn it all into scarves. I learned how to block acrylic in the process which was very cool. I have a few more to go. I am making one fat and one skinny version of each color. I like the way the scarves turned out and I may sell them on etsy, not sure. I would probably list them for $18-$25.

This one is my favorite.
A niece is having a birthday soon, so I decide to make her a sleeveless, mini dress version in Blue Sky Alpaca's organic cotton. This is very soft stuff and has a lovely sheen, but I think cotton is a lot more tender of a yarn than wool.
I may have to knit up a little purse to match, I'm not sure yet, though. I got a pale pink in the same yarn in case I wanted to make an accessory.

Gossip

2010-03-01T13:14:00.000-06:00

Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extracurricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused Elmer, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told Elmer (and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know exactly what he was doing!

Elmer, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny... he said nothing.

Later that evening, Elmer quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house... walked home... and left it there all night.

Fiona

2010-03-01T13:10:00.002-06:00

Fiona is still in the house. We tried bringing her outside, but #27 wantedher dead, so, in the kitchen she will stay, for a little bit longer.

She has graduated to doing barn chores every day. She goes out with us while we water, grain, and feed the sheep hay. She seems to enjoy it, but, when she is done, she knows exactly where she is supposed to be and follow us back to the house, bouncing along. By the time she gets back inside, she is a little hungry and a lot tuckered out.

More lambs

2010-02-18T22:51:00.003-06:00

#27, AKA Amanda, had two girls tonight while we were at Taekwondo and Pilates. Dear returned home, went to water the sheep and found the lambs. Last year 27 rejected one of her lambs, Buddy, and this year she did the same. Dear found Fiona by the waterer, unlicked, and alive. She is a strong little thing. The other girl is hanging close by her mom and 27 is taking great care of her. Dear held 27 while I held a foot and let Fiona nurse. The first few days of milk are very important for lambs, just as they are for humans. They need the first milk, colostrum from their mom. Fiona got a good feeding in and is now asleep in a laundry basket in our house. Dear has to build a pen for 27 and Fiona can not be left to roam the barn alone with no other bottle lambs to snuggle, not the first few nights. Our kind neighbor, Dan is stopping by to lend us some milk, lamb milk, since the stores are closed. We also have 2 Norwegian soldiers comming to stay with us this weekend. We are not sure what they will be thinking about all of this.

This is the best photo I could take of her. It is difficult to take a decent photo of an all black lamb.

Cute and slightly off color

2010-02-17T10:23:00.000-06:00

On the farm

2010-02-14T12:40:00.004-06:00

My camera did something weird to this photo, but I kind of like it.

I watched a documentary on Messner and I think Rosebud is practicing for Everest.
Here is our new mama for the year, 64. She is a great suffolk (with a little bit of hampshire) mom. She delivered 3 full breach lambs at about midnight on Friday. We stayed with her from 10-3. It was a long night but we wanted to make sure it all went the way it was supposed to. She had one ram lamb and two ewe lambs and they are all hopping around.
The heat lamp is nice and warm, so sometimes the chickens steal the lambs' spot for themselves. This time the lamb was able to sneak under it.

Here one is, hiding under mom.

A few weeks before 64 lambed we vaccinated her for entertoxemia and tetanus. We do that close to lambing so the lambs get the benefits of the vaccine through the ewe's milk. Later we will give them their own dose to strengthen their immunity. We will band their tails tomorrow. We already cut their umbilical cords shorter and iodined them. It is important to disinfect the navel because illness and disease is easily passed through the navel. Many people iodine the navel twice.

We will try a partial castration on the ram at 4 weeks. We usually just band the scrotum and it falls off, but this time we are going to push the testicles up into the lamb's body and band below that, right at the body line. The body heat kills the sperm and sterilizes the ram, but because he still has his testicles, his body still produces male hormones that help with the growth of lean muscle tissue. This kind of banding needs to be done at about 1 month of age.

Waiting

2010-02-08T20:59:00.003-06:00

This week 64 is due to lamb then 27 (Amanda) a few days later. We have some barn work to do. I will post pictures as soon as I get them.

Not a Morning Person

2010-02-03T08:25:00.003-06:00

I have never been much of a fan of getting up early, but sometimes I must. This morning was a must and by the time I got back home, this is what was there to great me:

I had to get a little closer.

and closer still. I love sun rises. I wish I woke up every morning to see them.

Another purse

2010-02-02T14:37:00.005-06:00

I finished working on the 2 owl sweaters and I had enough of the Cascade Eco Wool to make this purse. Since I prefered the look of crochet to knitting in these felted purses, that is what I did here. This will be up on etsy sometime this week.

Truely interesting yarn shop

2010-01-25T20:50:00.003-06:00

Yarnia, in Portland, is a place I would love to visit. You pick out a combo of threads (wool, nylon, sparkly, red, green, gold, whatever) and they will ply it into a unique yarn just for you. You get 1 lb cones, so there are not as many ends to weave in.

Beginning Running

2010-01-22T15:14:00.002-06:00

Runners World has some great articles on how to begin running. One plan that I am using along with my running plan is helping me to go faster.

With this plan, I am running faster than I normally would on the running times and resting until my heart rate gets down to at least 69%. That is about the same time as they have for the walking recovery. I neglect the walking days because it just is not enough and I run instead.

You can buy a Runners World subscription through Amazon.com for about $1.25 an issue. I am thinking about doing that. Their articles are always interesting. It is one of the few magaizines that I will actually read instead of look at the pretty pictures. I get full use out of this magazine since I read it almost cover to cover whenever I get it.

More bands

2010-01-21T10:56:00.003-06:00

Osip, Button and Kodiak's little one, has also shown a fleecy sensativity to feed changes. You can see there is a grey-brown section at the tip. That was fleece from when he was eating hay in the barn after he was born, about 4 months. Then there is a creamy section that is when he was on pasture, about 6 months, then there is a new grey section from now, in the barn, eating hay again. Strange sheep I have!

Reworking Wisteria

2010-01-20T12:47:00.001-06:00

I am almost done with the yoke. This is looking even better than the first time I did this.

Dyeing

2010-01-20T12:33:00.002-06:00

For Christmas my mother got me 2 dye kits:

I am excited to get going on this new project soon.

Think on these things

2010-01-16T10:15:00.003-06:00

I was reading another blog today (linked from a favorite of mine). This blog reveled in anger and sarcasm, nothing nice to say at all. I kept thinking about Philipians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (NASV) That got me to thinking about how addictive anger and sarcasm is. I ended up leaving that site to go find some good words to dwell on.
"So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say,
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.”
Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.
I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too." Romans 14:10-18 (New Living Translation)

There, I feel much better now.

Prayers

2010-01-15T12:34:00.002-06:00

One of the blogs I visit daily (her work is gorgeous) has need of prayer. Her son has a benign tumor, but it is still dangerous and he will need to have surgery to remove it. Well, if you are a praying person, visit her site, read more about it, and pray.
The Fairy Godknitter
Thank you.

Frogging, Running, and Venting

2010-01-15T12:11:00.004-06:00

KNITTING

I decided to quit vacillating and make a decision. I frogged my Wisteria sweater. It was a perfect fir for my hips and waist, but the bust was too small. I am in the process of redoing it using 1 size larger for the top, adding a bunch more decreases for the waist and doing the same size for the bottom.

I am also spinning the yarn for Oblique and altering that pattern as well.

(photo by Veronik Avery with Genevieve as the model)

This is a free pattern offered by Knitty and made by Veronik Avery. I will do the same as the Wisteria, a larger size on the top and a smaller size on the bottom. I will also knit it in the round because all of that matching up seams looks like a pain to me. I may have to stitch a seam in it after it is knit to add some structure, but that will be easy enough. I have also read that many people thought the arms were way too long, so I will pay close attention to that as I knit it.

WORKING OUT
Now for the watch update. I have run a few times with this watch already and uploaded the data to Pro trainer 5 and I really like it. I can tell I am getting better. One of the biggest challenges in exercise is to know how hard you can push yourself. By watching The Biggest Loser, I know I can push myself pretty hard, but I still wonder about how to push myself effectively. My goal is to be able to run faster and farther. Weight loss is always secondary. If I accomplish the first, then the second will happen.
Since I am not very good at stretching out, I decided I had to sign up for a Pilates class. I actually love Pilates,but getting myself to take the time and do it is another thing entirely. I am very excited to start this class and triply excited because #2 daughter and my closest friend will be taking it together. I tried to get a few others to join because I think it would be fun if we all got together and did it, but everyone has such varied schedules.

BARN
The animals are wet in the barn. All of the moisture from them and the lack of air circulation is making a very damp environment. We open a few top doors, but this does not seem to take care of the problem, it helps a lot, though. All of our windows that are not covered are cracked as well. I think next year we will have to take all of the siding off so the rest of the windows can be opened. We may also have to shear in December because less fleece will help cut down on the moisture and make it a much healthier environment for them all. We may break down and put a fan in there to help ventilate it durring the day.

Collections

2010-01-08T16:52:00.004-06:00

I collect trivets and for a couple of years they have all been packed up in the barn. I took them out and put them back up today. It is nice to see them all and remember who gave me them. I only purchased a handful of them. Most of them have been gifts.

Little Owls

2010-01-08T11:30:00.005-06:00

After I completed my Owls sweater I had a little more than one skein left of the Cascade Eco Wool (color shown is 9451) and my middle child wanted a sweater just like mine. So, here it is.
I finished this at about 11:30 PM, folded it, and put it by her bed. She found it in the morning and promptly put it on. I made it long so she could wear it for a couple of years. The sleaves are extra long as well, we just folded the cuffs over for this year.

For approximately $45 I purchased 3 skeins. I was able to make the XL (42" bust) version of this sweater and the XS version. I still have enough left over for either a felted clutch or as my favorite second cousin says, an ear brassier.

It is cold and windy

2010-01-07T13:07:00.003-06:00

Check out the blowing snow! This was a rough day to be out working.

I also had my first run with my watch and the foot pod. I really must calibrate the foot pod. It was a long run. According to the tread mill I ran 6.31 miles but the watch said I ran 5 miles. I know tread mills can be a little off, but not that much off. It was a good run. I was able to watch Persuasion (a Jane Austen flick) without anyone talking and I had the subtitles on because half the time I could not understand the British accents. I think today I will watch the BBC production of Sense and Sensability (it is the superior version). I have yet to see Emma and I noticed there is a newer version of Persusion I think I would like to see. The Sense and Sensability video that I have has the added bonus of Miss Austen Regrets, a movie about Jane, and a recording of some more background of Miss Austen.

Christmas was good to me

2010-01-05T14:05:00.003-06:00

I have been saving for a Polar 800CX and I found one for a great price from an authorized Polar seller on Amazon. I wore it for barn chores yesterday and it gave me a graph of what my heart did during the chores. It also listed how long my heart rate was in various training zones and how many calories I burned. 53% of the time was spend at 70-79% of my max heart rate and I burned 204 calories. I could see on the graph how long it took my heart to react when I did something strenuous, like haul 80lbs of corn on a sled.

So many neat gadgets out there. I will have my first run with the watch today.

It is so cold here that many vehicles are having difficulties, ours included. This morning it was 20 below. I do not think it has gotten over 0 in 4 days.

Heating our house

2009-12-27T16:55:00.004-06:00

Since we live in cold North, and have limited home heating funds, we have to be creative about how we heat our house. We had a new furnace and heat pump installed. The heat pump heats our house as long as it is above 20 degrees f. When it dips below that our furnace kicks in. However, if we heated our house with the furnace, our heat bill for the below 20 timeframe would be over $2000. That is a huge expense, so we also have a corn stove. Corn stoves are definately not for the mechanically challenged. It is important to clean them our really well and often. This requires taking a lot of it apart. However, our living room is now over 80 degrees, and the rest of the house is about 70 degrees, this room is 75. We have a Bixby corn stove and it is very efficient.

These "hockey pucks" are the result of about 3 bushels of corn that went through the stove. There are about 8 of them and they are 3/4" thick and about 4" in diameter.

The other chore with the stove is the lugging of corn into the house. We fill this sled almost once a day (a little less) and that is all the corn our stove requires for a 26 hour heating.

Unlike ethanol, corn grown for home heating does not take much land at all. We use 1 acre of corn each year. It is not the most idea of heating solutions (geothermal being our favorite choice) but you do what you can when you have an old house. My mother hates it. It is HOT in the living room, and it is NOISY. The heat is very dry and you can not put pots of water on it to increase the humidity because the outside does not get hot enough. But, it paid for itself the first winter. Before we had it, we had our old fuel oil furnace (they put out a lot more heat than propane ones but it is dirtier) and it cost us $500 a month. That was about 4 years ago. It has been a savior for our pocket book, seriously. I guess I should add that we get the corn for free, but even if we paid for it, $4 a bushel per day is a lot less than most people pay for heat here.

The other thing to consider about corn stoves is the smoke, it is not like a wood fire, it is not pleasant. I can not see ever having one if I had neighbors close by.

Winter view of the garden

2009-12-27T11:20:00.001-06:00

Birds

2009-12-27T11:07:00.003-06:00

Every winter, after the first snowfall I put out seed for the birds. This year I have black sunflower seeds, peanuts, and safflower seed. I am always rewarded with many constant visits. These pictures will all taken in 10 minutes about 30 minutes after putting out new seed.

It is important to continue feeding the birds until spring if you begin.

Merry Christmas From the Barn

2009-12-25T18:50:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas says the poofy head (Silver laced polish)

Merry Christmas from the Auracanna (blue egg layer) and all of her little friends.

Merry Christmas from Kanga, the rescued lamb.

Merry Christmas from 27

Princess kind of says Merry Christmas. But Na-Na (right) wants to know where her food is.

Merry Christmas from 64, our very first mama ever on the farm and a great mother she is. 27 is her little girl.

Merry Christmas from Meadow, the most adorable girl. She love us even more than her sheepy friends and follows us everywhere.

Merry Christmas from Bam Bam, the fleecy winner of the Lamb and Wool festival. (We need to clip around his eyes so he can see better.

Baaaaaaaaaa, where is our food?

Not all of the critters are pictured.

Snowed In

2009-12-25T18:47:00.003-06:00

This makes for a much better workout when doing chores!

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-25T15:38:00.006-06:00

I made a couple of purse for our middle child. I love how the felted yarn looks like sandstone.

Here is the middle child making Christmas breakfast for us. Notice the pancake in her mouth. Such a cutie.

I received a Pulse SmartPen from Dear this year. It looks really neat. I wish I had it when we went to the Lamb and Wool Seminar last month. Paper for it is fairly expensive, so I will have to be very careful about using it and make sure that each notebook is being used for a good purpose. I plan on getting the small flip note pads to keep barn information on. This will be very nice for us. It also records up to 400 hours of audio! Amazing. Here is a page I wrote and how the pen loaded the page to the computer. This is not a scanned image.

I hope you all had a great Christmas. We will be snowed in here for a few days.

On and Off the Needles

2009-12-18T15:46:00.003-06:00

Owls, I am working on a sleeve and have the body complete to the point of cabling. The yarn is Cascade Eco Wool, very economical.
Wisteria, completed, knit from Mary, Na-Na, and Cindy Lou roving processed by Zwool and spun by me. This is sooooooooooooo soft. The softest wool I have ever touched.

Another purse for felting. This one will have lots of pockets and compartments. The yarn is hand spun by me from Ashland Bay merino roving in Daffodil bought at Paradise Fibers.

My Orenberg lace shawl. I decided to switch to my one ply hand spun. I pinned it out so the pattern was more visible, but when I block it, I will not stretch it as much. I really like this pattern, but at the rate I am going it will be done by the time my last child moves out and gets married. He is 8.

Lots of projects, but I have found that I need to have a variety of things to work on. The purse is pretty much just knit in the dark in the passenger seat. It is amazing what one can get done in short drives and waiting rooms. People who tell me, "oh, I could never find time to do that, I am far too busy." are so wrong, they have no idea how much time they waste just waiting and doing nothing. The Owls sweater is really for me, but it may fit my daughter better, I will have to see. It is a very simple pattern that can be knit while having a conversation. I think this will come with me to Christmas parties. The lace, however, take a lot of concentration and focus (for me, at least).

Too Funny

2009-12-18T10:56:00.003-06:00

My husband was out of town for work with a group of guys and one of them asked him, "I have driven by sheep farms and the sheep have different colored butts and I can not figure out why the farmers would paint their butts. Why do they paint their butts?"

For those who do not know, at breeding time, the rams wear a harness with a color crayon on their chest. Every day we go out and check which ewes have been bred by which ones have a colored butt. Sometimes we will change the colors to see if the get rebred or we will put a different ram in there with a different color. This helps us know when they are going to lamb and which ram bred which ewe.

My wonderful husband

2009-12-16T09:11:00.002-06:00

My dear works very hard and is often gone. He returned home yesterday after a 3 day work trip. Helped us get our cats to the vet for their shots, came back home to drop hem off, and went out again to go eat. We went to the restaurant our pastor gave us a nice gift certificate to (thank you, it was nice). On the way back to town we had problems with our vehicle. It actually stalled. We knew what the problems was, fuel filter needed to be replaced, because it happens every year. Finally we made it home and the eldest and I took care of the animals while my dear fixed our vehicle.
I am not sure what we would do without him.

3 degrees F and mosquitos!

2009-12-16T09:09:00.001-06:00

I spilled the corn

2009-12-15T09:57:00.004-06:00

We heat our home with corn and I often spill the corn. The birds really like it.

I tried to catch the 2 wood peckers, but they were too quick. I did, however, get this cute little guy.

Orenburg lace part 2

2009-12-14T14:26:00.002-06:00

OK, so here is the knit so far...

I em really enjoying it, but I can see it will not be fancy.

I have put a request for "do you think I should continue" on Ravelry. I think I will keep going unless someone says, "NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will be totally embarrassed by it!!!! Stop it NOW!"

Finished purse

2009-12-14T10:24:00.003-06:00

This purse was knit and then folded over in the opposite direction of the knit. I do like the results that crochet gives much better, but this is really cute too.

Orenburg lace

2009-12-14T09:48:00.004-06:00

Orenburg lace is a fiber craft from Russia. Traditionally these lace shawls are made from goat (cashmere) fibers. Many people in the English world referred to them as wedding ring shawls because the knitting was so fine the entire shawl (normally quite large) could be pulled through a wedding ring.

I decided to try my hand at a warmer version of the Orenburg lace shawl and knit one in light fingering yarn. I found this shawl in the 2009 May / June PieceWork magazine (an Interweave Press periodical) at the local library. I spun some of my merino and after I plied it it was a light fingering yarn, not really suitable for most of the sweaters on my list. So, since I now have a suitable yarn with the correct yardage, I decided to go ahead and try this one. Wish me luck.

The photo above is from Interweave press. They have great magazines: Spin Off, Hand Woven, Interweave Knits...so many to choose from.

Felted Purses

2009-12-12T23:00:00.004-06:00

After knitting my scarf, I had 3/4 of a skein left of my hand spun. I decided to play around with it and I started crocheting a rectangle. I thought, "this might make a cute purse and I know a little girl whose birthday is coming up..." So, I made the purse and it sat, and sat, and sat. Months later, this week to be exact, I decided to felt it. My little man threw it in the wash twice and this cute little thing popped out.
I added a glass bead so it could button closed and then I had another thought, "Oh my, her birthday is long gone and she has a sister, I can't give it to her now and not give her sister something." I told my husband my dilemma and he said, "you better get knitting you have 1 week."
So, today I found a skein I made from 2 half skeins and I began to knit. 11PM and I am done. It looks very sad, but I know this ugly duckling will have a new life from the washing machine.

For those wondering how I did this...

Take a skein of wool (or a little less). Fine wool felts the best (I used merino). [Wool is not: mohair, angora, alpaca, cotton, acrylic etc. Wool is a product of sheep.]

Knit or crochet a rectangle.

With the same yarn, sew up the sides leaving a visually pleasing amount of knit fabric to flop over and be the flap of the purse.

To make the strap you can crochet a chain or braid it.

Make sure you make everything large enough to allow for at least 30% shrinkage.

Toss the purse in the wash a few times until it looks pleasing and is stiff enough to be a purse (it took my crochetted version 2 washings).
Do not worry about the type of stitch you use. A plain garter or single crochet works the best. The felting has a tendancy to make any design disappear. Some will stay, but for the most part, you ill not see little fancy stitches.

After it is felts, I cut off the unwanted strings, sewed a bead on, and cut a hole for the bead to pop through (don't cut this hole too big or it will not hold the purse closed).

My it is cold here!

2009-12-11T15:23:00.005-06:00

The kids went to the Christmas train this week. It was -3 degrees F. Being the wise lady I am, I stayed home and spun my merino. I did not let them leave until I had hot cocoa in a thermos for them and I outfitted Hannah's boots with new inserts. It took me less than 5 minutes to measure, cut, and insert her new fleece inserts.

One of the cars opens up on the train and performers sing Christmas songs. I am sure they had a nice time, but they came home frozen.

Bam Bam won his first prize!

2009-12-09T13:32:00.004-06:00

While at the Lamb and Wool conference we had the opportunity to enter in the fleece contest. All we needed was a small sample and they would micron test it for us for free and the finest sample won. Well, out of all of the samples, BamBam won. He had a 16.8 micron sample with very little variation in fiber diameter. The next best was a 21.7 micron. His prize was $50 (about what his feed costs are for the year) and the honor of being the finest. We congratulated him as soon as we got home. It was dark, but I think he was pleased.

Unfortunately, the tester's printer was not working. I will have to wait for him to print off the data and mail it to me. Untl then, here are his parent's tests results from this last shearing:

The CV is really just the amount of variation in diameter of fiber. It should be under 22% or it will be downgraded. Mary's CV is bigger than PeeWee's because she had a pregnancy, birth, and lactation cycle. Even so, her fiber remained remarkably consistant.

The comfort factor is the percentage of fibers under 30 microns.

I will have one or more new lambs from this pair in April. We are very excited.

Minnesot Lamb and Wool

2009-12-07T08:09:00.003-06:00

We just got back from a 2 day seminar put on by the Minnesota Lamb and Wool. I will go through my notes and post some of the things we learned in the coming weeks.

The seminar was worth every penny. We had classes with veterinarians and were able to ask a multitude of questions. We had vendors who we could discuss issues with. Pipestone Vet and Sydell were there. They brought some of their products and were available for questions.

At the end of the weekend we had the opportunity to tour a 1,000 ewe "farm" (do I say farm or ranch? I usually say ranch.) The owner spent a lot of time and money trying to get as many thing automated as he could. We saw many things we would like to try and implement here.

Some of our classes included: Scrapie, Bio security, Industry Challenges, Wool grading, and even wool dying.

There was a contest on who brought the finest fleece sample from their flock. They micron tested the samples and our little Bam Bam won. We did not have a long enough sample to bring from anyone except for our 2 ram lambs because we sheared a few months ago. We decided to bring a lock from Bam Bam because he is so soft. His sample was 16.8 microns and was so consistent. He won $50. We are so happy for him. Unfortunately, there were no other breeder there who had the fleece and breeding characteristics we need, so it looks like artificial insemination will be a must in a couple of years.

My mother and grandmother took the kids to a hotel and came back to feed and care for our animals. They did a great job. It was nice knowing that everyone is cared for.

Sweaters

2009-11-15T22:33:00.003-06:00

I now have 9 sweaters in my queu at ravelry. I am also working on wisteria by Kate Gilbert. I am about 45% along on this sweater. I have made the decision that I will complete at least 6 of these sweaters by this time next year. I tried to add a few things that I have never done and also vary the plain knit with the cables and lace and color work instead of doing it all together. I also tried to choose different styles. I will also have to get a few other projects done in additon to these. Daughter 2 wants a skirt, Daughter 1 wants a cape, and son wants a fur hat. I know that with all I have to do, this seems a little ambitious, but I really am in need of sweaters. I only have a couple and either they are too old, don't fit, or I just don't like them anymore.

Diamond lace scarf

2009-11-13T15:42:00.002-06:00

This scarf took me FOREVER!!! First I spun lace weight singles and then I knit right from the bobbin. I love it, though. It is for sale in my etsy shop.

Etsy

2009-11-13T15:36:00.003-06:00

I just added items to my new Etsy shop. Some of them are on the side bar.

I was procrastinating about it, but a lady from town asked me to bring some of my hand spun to her home last weekend because she was participating in the town wide craft / boutique fair. Well, I had to get everything labeled and in a hurry. Procrastination, over. I will add new items in a few days, but I am testing the waters right now.

Etsy has pretty fair listing policies. You pay $0.20 for each item listed and when it sells you pay a percentage of the sale to them. If it does not sell, you owe them nothing. Let me know what you think.

New combed top!

2009-10-09T14:33:00.002-05:00

I sent off 4 of my girls' fleece to Zwool to be turned into combed top. I chose Zwool mainly because they do top. I have a spinning order at Spinderellas as well.

Flower Identification Needed

2009-08-21T10:55:00.004-05:00

I found this flower while going to feed the animals and I do not know what it is. It has an orchid-like quality to it.
Here is the leaf:
front:

Side:

Thanks to Ravelry and the DNR, the answer is: Impatiens pallida, pale touch-me-not or jewelweed. This is the yellow version, the orange one is Impantiens capensis.

Some Pigs

2009-08-20T12:22:00.005-05:00

Since I posted last we have had a lot happen. Our sheep were sheared and we are in the process of skirting our last 2 fleece. We skirted and shipped out all of our white merino fleece. There was a lot of illness. I lost feeling in my pinky and ring finger for a few months, my pinky is still numb. My mom and her husband both had heart issues, one of them major, and the other somewhat serious. So, sorry I have not kept up here.

One Thing we did accomplish was a home for our pigs. We get rejects from the hog "factories" about once a year and this year we wanted to give them a better home. So we set to building an enclosure that we hoped would contain them.

We chose this location for a few reasons: it gets a lot of shade so the pigs will not get sunburned, it is shaded by oak trees and pigs love acorns, it does not get a lot of grass so it will not take valuable pasture from the sheep, and it is not going to stink up the house or yard (not that they are really al that stinky when they are outside.)

We had to dig a lot of holes for the posts and then tamp them in carefully. We also put a line of barbed wire about 1" from the ground to discourage them from digging under the fence. Dear liked to give them a large mud puddle (it is sunscrean for them and keeps the flies off of them).

But, a nice storm, like we had yesterday, turns the whole thing into a mud puddle. It will be dry in a day, so the pigs better have their fun now. They loved the storm.

We throw them apples, cabbages, tomatoes, weeds from the garden, and watermelons. They love it all. We only have 2 weeds that are dangerous for pigs and we all know what they look like. The pigs are pretty happy and dirty, but at least they are muddy dirty, not poopy dirty.

Feed and Fleece

2009-05-11T07:49:00.005-05:00

Button is a colored merino with a very fine fleece. From the top of the photo down you can see the results of different feeds and minerals. At the top she was getting a grass hay from Colorado and I am not sure what minerals she received. When she arrived at our farm she was placed on pasture that has a higher legumes and she was given a mineral block. We did not like the block as much so we switched to a mineral that comes in a tub and has molasses mixed in. When we bred her we moved her to a different pasture that is mostly grass. As winter set in Button was moved to the barn and fed an alfalfa hay and given the same mineral tub. When the tub was emptied and she was ready for grain, we fed her a grain mix that is fortified with minerals and also has molasses added to it because the sheep really like molasses. All of the changes, although gradual, had a huge effect on her fleece color and it is heavily banded. My mother said it looks like tree rings and I have to agree.
I have begun to be careful about what I put into my body. I buy organic dairy now because I do not want the growth hormones in my food. But, all of this makes me wonder. Button's fleece shows clearly what happened to her feed throughout the year. It is a good, strong fleece, but you can see the color variations. If switching feed like that causes those changes on the outside, what is going on inside? What is the food I eat doing inside of me? We have problems with obesity, we have much higher cancer rates, more acne, and other odd illnesses. We have salmonella poisoning in our food and come to find out that many of our grains and seed have salmonella at the DNA level of the seed. Who put it there? Monsanto is probably the largest contributor to the genetic modification of our feeds and seed. Unfortunately they are allowed to continue to play with our food and sue anyone who has their seed even though the Monsanto poison seed actually infected the other person's crop through natural pollination. Now Monsanto wants to plant seed that has a "termination" gene in it. It would grow one season and all seed produced from it would be sterile. They said we don't have to worry about that seed crossing with other seed, but is that really true? Would this planet go through a massive famine because the Monsanto seed crossed with other seed? So far our government has allowed Monsanto to sue farmers and backed Monsanto's "right" to patent their seed. Something needs to be done. Imagine if Monsanto patented a grass seed and your neighbor, 10 miles down the road, planted that seed. When your grass was ready to be pollinated, wind and animals carried the tainted seed pollen to your grass. Now you have Monsanto genetics in your yard. Those genetics are patented and they can sue you for patent infringement. That is exactly what is happening in the farming community.

Asparagus

2009-05-07T20:20:00.004-05:00

Asparagus is my favorite vegetable. Fresh, pickled, canned, or frozen, it is always my favorite choice.

There are a few things to keep in mind when preparing this vegi. First, in order to have the best you have to grow it or buy it from a local farmer who hand picks it. Asparagus should always be hand picked. When you snap it, it breaks at the woody point. Store-bought asparagus is most often cut by machine under the soil. Because of this people recommend pealing the ends or cutting them, but even that is not good enough. The best method is to break it off. The problem with doing this on store bought asparagus is it is very expensive and you can lose as much as 2/3 of the stem because they did not pick it properly. It is very easy to grow asparagus and the roots are inexpensive if purchased from a place like Indiana Berry Company. The other thing to keep in mind when cooking asparagus is that the base and the tips cook at different rates, so an asparagus pot is the best method to cook it. Asparagus should be cooked until it turns that beautiful bright green and is al dente.

I have seen famous chefs say to pick the thin asparagus because it is more tender....wrong wrong wrong!!! Do they even eat the stuff? Asparagus should not be picked if it is thinner than a pencil and it is most tasty when it is nice and meaty. The moderately thick asparagus is the best (another reason not to get it in the store, store asparagus all seems to be on the thin side). Asparagus should also have a very tight and smooth head. You should not see any "sprouting" of the head.

I grow 2 different kinds of asparagus, purple and green. Purple asparagus has a higher sugar content and is better raw than green asparagus. It cooks up green and does not taste a whole lot different from plain old green asparagus.

This photo shows a huge asparagus spear (it is more than 1" in diameter) and another spear that is a little too thin and starting to sprout.
About 10 minutes of picking yielded me this:

How do they get white asparagus? White asparagus is just normal asparagus that is kept from light. Occasionally we get a spear that was hidden under the leaves and is white, but, I find white asparagus to be a little bitter.

Asparagus also grow wild in a lot of places. Look for tall fern like plants on the sides of the road, make note of where they are and then in May go back to the spot. If it is along the ditch of a person's home, ask permission to pick it. I have had people wander 30 feet into my property to pick my wild asparagus and I would prefer they asked. I have my own plantings and do not need the wild stuff, but I like to be asked.

I will most likely eat all of that asparagus and can some for eating this winter.