Good Food and Some Socks

Lately we have been eating well, thanks to my husband who is a wizard in the kitchen. First he found a recipe for leek and apple stuffing that he stuffed some pork chops with and it was incredible! I didn't take a picture since we devoured it so fast.
Next up are those peas that I planted, I am so giddy that they are alive and well and producing yummy peas!

The peas have been great snacks for me and the kids to munch on (not really enough for a meal coming off of the vine at one time).

About a week after the pork chops Brian decided he wanted to try the apple and leek stuffing as a dressing to be served with mashed potatoes, gravy and chicken, so he roasted some chicken breasts on the bone and used the drippings to make gravy. Now I must say that I am a fan of gravy, particularly gravy on mashed potatoes and I am pretty sure if I could choose only one food to ever eat again it would be mashed potatoes and gravy. I now know that it would be this gravy I would request. This has got to be the absolute best gravy I have ever had, hands down. The chicken was damned good too.

I don't even think he cooked this one with a recipe I think he just pulled it out of his head, it was spectacular.

Again I don't have a picture, but the meal we made with the rest of the chicken was chicken pot pies. I think that it was one of my better batches and I am getting a little better every time I make it (unlike Brian who seems to be able to hit it out of the park on the first try most of the time).

So, raise your glass to some good food!

Oh, and I finished my socks! I started these puppies in February but really took my time getting the second one done, but here they are:

Not much blogging - but there has been knitting!

I have been spending less time on the computer this last week or two and more time with the yarn and needles. I don't actually have any pictures to show y'all what I have been knitting on but I have indeed been knitting.

Mostly on 3 things. The first is that darned ol' black lace shawl that I started a year ago in May. I am determined to have it done before the end of the year. Also a beautiful knitted shirt that I can't wait to wear. It is found in the book French Girl Knits and is the pattern Anjou...I can't get a pic to upload so pop on over to Ravelry to check it out ifyou are so inclined.
The third thing (well set of things) is two teeny tiny hats and a pair of socks for my brand new nephew Mason Everett James Silvers. He came 10 weeks early on August 7th at 12: 57 am, as his mom was stricken with preeclampsia and had to be delivered but everyone is doing well. He weighs in at 2lbs 13oz and 15inches long.

I used one ball of Sublime baby chasmere merino silk and it was so deliciously soft! From an 11 dollar ball of yarn I was able to get two hats and a pair of socks that seemed impossibly small for a human being but I think will actually be to big for him for a little while (which is ok because I think that they have lines in his feet for now). The best part is that it is machine washable wich was awesome to find with someth that has cashmere in it.

I didn't have a chance to photograph them as I started knitting on them on Thursdsay and they went out the door the second they were off the needles on Friday afternoon so they could hitch a ride with Grandma and Papa to meet little Mason.

9 years

Brian and I have been married to for 9 years today. I love you baby, you are the best husband and father a woman could ask for. Here's to happily ever after.

Spinable Smoothies

Woo Hoo ! I finally got my smoothies posted on Etsy! Check 'em out on the side bar or hop on over to Etsy for more!

Into Gold

Well, here it is the finished 'spun gold' The ounce of locks yielded about 52 yards of worsted weight gold yarn. I am pretty happy with it even though it got less gold like and more '70's shag carpet' as I spun it. It's still all sparkly and that just tickles me to no ends.

Into Gold

I also finished plying my lacewieght and after a reality check with the spinning I realized I was still underplying (a chronic problem for me) and started being more patient with it and in the end I got the results I was hoping for. I am really looking forward to knitting with this yarn, I am thinking I will make something out of Nancy Bush's 'Knitted Lace of Estonia.'

Lacewieght with mini skein on top

Have you had your fiber today?

A while back I got this idea for my spinning fiber and I have finally got my crap together and did it! Introducing the Spinable Smoothie! These are 1/2 ounce servings of my hand washed, hand combed, diz pulled Navajo-Churro/Polwarth fleece hand dyed by myself in the wonderful colors provided by the Kool-Aid company. They should be up in my shop soon.

Grape Sheep Special (includes combed mohair too:))

Icee colorway

Orange Smoothie

I have been working on some spinning on my Turkish drop spindle that I have finallly named "Dolly" and have finished a sample I got in my Phat Fiber box. This was a wonderful superwash wool from it's a colorful life. It has been an absolute DREAM to spin. I will be buying more from this seller once I have worked through some of the mountain of unspun wool I already have.

I have also been spinning on some roving for the Tour De Fleece. I challenged myself to 4oz of laceweight. I have the singles done, now all that is left is the plying and I should be able to make it with time to spare (assuming the children cooperate).

A few weeks ago I was surfing around on Etsy and came across this:

And since it was only 5 dollars and shipping was free I HAD to have some! So it arrived about a week ago and this is what it looked like all shiny outside, with the surprise free Ravelry pin!

THANK YOU craftypuppylover! I have gotten fiber from her before in my Phat Fiber box and love her colors. I had to card it all up as soon as the children allowed and I started spinning it as soon as I finished my laceweight singles last night. I didn't get to bed until after midnight because I HAD to finish! I'll ply it later today and try to post a pic. This fiber has been so much fun to play with.

I'll probably do something for my dad with it since he has been asking me since the day I got my spinning wheel when I am going to learn to spin gold.

I have also been getting caught up with my fiber notebook. I don't remember where I got the idea to keep a notebook of my spinning (one website or book or another) and I am SOOOO glad I have been doing it. I think it will help immensly with remembering things like "Gee, where did I get that fiber I really wish I could remember now that I want to buy some more" and "how on earth did I draft that?, I love the end result and want to do it again'."

Oh, and I finished knitting a monkey for my unborn nephew that I will need to get boxed up and sent to Chris and Sarah in Ohio. My mom thinks it's creepy. I happen to like it. I added a tail too...I don't know what the designer of the pattern was thinking making a monkey without a tail.

So for now that's what I've been up to for the most part (you know, aside from the torture laundry).

Husband

I have an awesome husband. Not only is he a permanant fixture in Awesome World, but he cooks too (and his cooking is awesome too)!

New Sidebar

Check it out ... I gots me a new sidebar to my Esty shop, Grape Sheep - now you can see my featured items right here on my blog!

Tablet Weaving

Those that know me well, know that when I try something I usually try all of something, and usually all at once (sorry Brian, I know this can be hard to live with sometimes). For example the newest fun craft in my house is weaving. It started with the little rigid heddle loom that made a couple of scarves on, then I picked up a cheapo kids toy square 'loop' loom or a potholder loom that comes with those little nylon rings for making utterly useless potholders. I used it to make 4 squares that I then turned into a teddy bear (sorry, no pics, gave it a way as soon as it was off of the loom). Then I got my floor loom and I currently have a project going on that as well as another scarf on the rigid heddle. Then I came across this website called the Society of Primitive Technology and they have a cool page on how to do Tablet or Card weaving. It's pretty simple and utterly complex at the same time. So for a while I also had 6 feet of string and whatnot strung across the dining room.

Basically you make square cards (though the don't have to be - there are many patterns that call for triangles or octagons or...well, you get the idea) and punch holes in the corners and then label them. Then you measure your warp, string it through the holes, tie knots in each end, tie one end to something (I used a dining room chair) tie the other end to your belt (or another chair, whatever gets you tension)

 and start weaving your weft back and forth through the shed that is made by the space between holes on the cards:

The pattern is born when you rotate the cards towards or away from you in accompaniment with the warping pattern. I basically used 4 turns away and then 4 turns towards myself and got this pattern:

The back of the strap creates another pattern:

After it was deemed long enough I hemmed the ends (trial and error will be a big part of my learning curve on this one...this strap is pretty thick and so that means the hems are too....I will eventually figure out how to remedy this) and sewed in a couple of D rings and made a belt for Abby.

Jacob is begging for one and I have already picked up the 'more manly' shades of blues and will be making new cards shortly (the ones I made from card stock barely made it through this project  - need thicker ones that don't have bendy corners). I have already got the wooden squares and sanded them, now I need to drill the holes and label them then I can start. Oh, and finish those projects that are ongoing on the looms too...

Happy Birthday To Me! (a month ago - finally catching up)

So I had my (cough)30th(cough) birthday on May 5th and I had a GREAT day. Well actually I had a great couple of days. My mom came down for a visit and brought my big birthday present....a 4 harness Leclerc floor loom! I am giddy.

The only bummer was that I didn't get to warp it right that instant. That was on Monday night. Tuesday we went shopping and I only bought one thing - some cups and domed lids like you get when you have a smoothie - I am going to sell some fiber in them.

Wednesday morning bright and early we got up and got ourselves out the door to head to Orcas Island. On our way we stopped for breakfast and then the used bookstore (actually two used bookstores) I bought at least a half a dozen books on either dyeing or weaving. Next we headed to a yarn shop where I bought two skeins of sock yarn and 4oz of fiber to spin...wwwweeeeee!

While on Orcas I visited Maria at Warm Valley Orchard in the studio where we talked about the upcomiing sheep to shawl and I bought some more fiber and yarn with my birthday money. As I was leaving I told her about my newly aquired loom and she out of the blue just gave me a couple of cones to practice with. After I got home I realized that the fiber I had bought was identical to fiber I already had...I guess I was drawn to it for a reason. I may sell it I may spin it and sell it, who knows at this point. 

I got a couple of  wonderful Mother's Day cards from my kids and husband and all in all had a fabulous weekend.

On the way home we stopped at the Weaving Works in Seattle and OMG was I in HEAVEN! I'll be making the drive for that place again for sure! I have more stuff than I know what to do with at the moment but I know where to go if I need anything for spinning, weaving, knitting, basketmaking, etc. While there I bought some bamboo yarn to weave into a shawl/stole and some BFL fiber in a natural off white color for a scarf I have in mind. Mom bought me a boat shuttle as another birthday gift (like the loom wasn't enough....sheesh. I love my mom. She spoils me when she can).

Since then I have been doing a bunch of spinning and weaving. The first thing I put on my loom was some cotton carpet warp that I used to weave some mats for the kitchen, using scraps of fabric as the weft. I love how they came out but they slide all over and are more hazard than help for now. I will be getting some spray on rubber at some point to coat the backs in to hopefully solve the problem.

Currently on the loom I have some cotton that was intended to be 12 placemats that were to be 11 inches tall and 18 inches wide. That did not work out. I didn't know how to figure the 'sett' of a given yarn and it didn't really occur to me to do something with it. Live and learn. After a bunch of trial and error I have finally got it strung and tied on and have begun to weave. It will much to narrow to be any sort of placemat but since I have tons of yardage on the warp I will have more than enough for a table runner (and we have a nice long table). I was bummed at first that the pattern I had strung for a plaid was not coming out.

I realize it is because it is still set to wide to give me a balanced weave but as I stood up to stop weaving and decide to continue on, try something else, or use what I had as a sample a different pattern caught my eye. It shows up pretty well in the photo but in person you can only see it at the right angle. I am still unsure of what to do - to keep going as is, or to scrap it. I'll probably just keep going.

I planted some pot peas that will bush out instead of climb and I am very excited to see them growing. The peas only took about a week to germinate and almost all of them have come up. I think only 2 or 3 did not. Looking forward to making a fresh pea salad in a couple of months!

The same day I planted the peas, Brian was in the mood to cook so we headed out to Tacoma Boys and picked up some things for dinner...We ended up making some sirloin steaks in a red wine, shallot and currant reduction sauce and served that with some oven roasted potatos and steamed green beans. For some reason ALL of my photos are washed out and have this weird greyish tint to them so when you see the pic know that the sauce was a deep purple and the the beans a bright fresh green, not the sickly color that they are appearing (try to adjust the color in all of these photos to be brighter and less grey if you can do that on your imaginary color adjuster thingy). Needless to say dinner was superb, especially with the glass of wine and because we got to eat it out on the back patio.

This Thursday I plyed the yarn I have had on the wheel for about a month and I am very pleased with it. The colors are wonderful and they shift into eachother so wonderfully, I don't know if I will sell this one or keep it for myself but I am smitten with the colors and thier progression. Again try to imagine all of the colors brighter.

Well, that is all for now (yes I am finally done). Off to put the kiddies to bed...

1 Thing About Me

No that is not a typo. It is NOT in fact meant to be a '100 things about me' meme. So here it is:

1 thing about me:
I hate meme's. I wont do them. If you would like to know something about me, please by all means ask.

That is all. carry on.

Yada Yada Yada

Yes I am alive and all of that...Just doing my usual "waiting until I have pics to post" thing...I guess I don't have to, but I feel like I do...so anyway that means I have to find my camera. Then take pics. Then upload to the 'puter before I can upload to Blogger so I can post.
So today I guess I will be looking for my camera...
Have lots to post about (just all of the fibery goodness I got for my birthday) and all of that but I will do that after I get some pics...

Just Tinkerin' Around

So yesterday afternoon after I got the scarf all photographed and blogged about I HAD to start another project since I was aching to use some of my handspun on the loom. I have been playing with this 'carnival' yarn for sometime and I was just bored to tears with the project I was working on so I reclaimed the yarn and warped my loom.

In my excitement I took absolutally NO in progress photos! I was just having too much fun.

I warped the loom with a little help from Alexis and got started weaving. After getting the header in and a few rows woven to eaven things out I let her son Cole weave for a while. He did a GREAT job and listened very well to direction. I wove off and on a little throughout the day and then really banged it out after the kids went to bed. Here it is:

So for Jacob's Birthday he got a set of TinkerToys. While we were bummed to discover that they were plastic instead of wood Jake didn't care and everyone has been having fun with them...especially me! In addition to building Jake fun things like robots and 'helicopters' I have borrowed them occasionally to use for crafting purposes. So can't afford a slew of knitting/spinning/weaving tools? get yourself a set of TinkerToys! Here are some of the ways I have made use of them for my crafting needs:

1.) A Niddy Noddy

2.) Better yet a swift:

3.) A lazy kate or spool holder:

4.) A warping board:

5.) And the finale - a functional spinning wheel. No, it is not efficient and frankly you would be farther ahead (much farther ahead) to make your own spindle out of some stuff lying around (a dowel and couple of old cd's is really all you need) but still, I had to try it:

Fresh off the Loom

My first 'real' project off of the loom last night is a plaid scarf I designed myself. Ya'll have seen it before while on the loom but here it is, all done, ends cut, fringe trimmed all that hoopla.

The new scarf will now Vogue for you:

Shop Open!

With some wonderful encouragement from my husband I have finally gotten some of my handspun together and posted for sale in my Etsy shop. I have called the shop Grape Sheep and hopefully I will be able to sell some of my homemade yarns there. Eventually I'd like to post some of my bears as well - but I have to make a few first. So even if you are not interested in buying, please check it out and let me know what you think! I have a link on my sidebar ---> so give it a go!

Behind

Got a bit behind with the posting...have lots of pics and things but I need to get them off of the camera and all of that...plus I think I need to wipe my laptop completely to rid it of this stupid bug it has.
Just letting everyone (both of you) know that I am still alive and have some fun things to post about (new knitting - yay! more spinning - woo hoo!) but want to get pics up and stuff first.