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...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, May 02, 2010
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:
Saturday, May 01, 2010
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:
Sunday, April 25, 2010
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!
Monday, April 12, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Fun Weekend
Last week I didn't do much on the crafty side and certainly didn't finish anything. I have been working on combing, spinning and knitting but all of it is in progress stuff. Basically I am saying no pics today (sorry Alexis).
On Thursday with Andrew's help we got the house clean, laundry folded and van cleaned and vacuumed. Got clothes packed and when Brian got home we headed to the hospital to meet our new neice Ryan. She was born on Thursday shortly after 4pm, 8lbs 10oz. She has two big sisters who are very excited to meet her. Jacob was pretty excited too. After leaving the hospital we hit the highway for Portland, OR to visit Andrew's family. We got in fairly late like 12 or so.
The next morning after having yummy crepes for breakfast the grownups all went paintballing at an outdoor course. It was a ton of fun and while I have a couple of lovely purple/green/pink/yellow bruises today I would still do it again. I was in more pain the next day from carrying the gun than from getting hit.
We all hung out and enjoyed the day, Jacob got to feed the cows and later we all played cards and got our drink on.
Another late night but it was fun. Saturday we puttered around and eventually headed for Amy's house (Andrew's sister). On the way we picked up some barley and hops and lunch too. They boys finally got to brew a batch of beer together and Andrew will go back down this weekend and bottle it. It was fun to hang out with Amy and get to see her new house. I taught her Mother in law and her nephews a few basics on spindle spinning and I think her MIL genuinely would like to continue with it. Amy is very much an animal person and they have a puppy, a fish tank (I can't even keep my common gold fish alive), a parrot, a parakeet? and a rat. Jake loved getting to see all of the animals.
We left there around midnight and after swinging through Taco Bell and a stop to trade drivers/get gas we made it home around 2am.
Sunday we stayed at home. I washed wool all day and made a couple of meals but other than that I did nothing.
Yesterday I did not get caught up on my housework since Jacob woke up and asked for his usual snack (grahm cracker and juice). He drank the juice but hadn't touched the grahm cracker when he wanted to sit in my lap. I thought he was just tired but then he started puking over my shoulder. Poor kid. I don't think he knew what was happening. Got him (and me) cleaned up and then we ditched the juice and just tried water. That came up too about 15 min later. Poor kid was hungry but I had to make him wait. Later we tried some saltines and water. Also came up. He was just so hungry I let him go ahead and eat some scrambled egss but alas those came up too (he made it to the bathroom though). Then a grahm cracker came up. The last thing I let him eat before heading to the store for some pedialite and chicken broth was saltines and water. At one point he heaved, but nothing came up and he did fine for the rest of the day. We ran to the store got some pedialite, chicken broth soup and a few other things. I made him soup and he wolfed it down and kept it down. I don't know what it was that he had - only him, no one else but today he is just fine. I had a full load of clothes to wash after that morning but everything seems to be back to normal.
Today I have been combing wool, doing laundry and now I am off to do dishes (the bane of my existance).
On Thursday with Andrew's help we got the house clean, laundry folded and van cleaned and vacuumed. Got clothes packed and when Brian got home we headed to the hospital to meet our new neice Ryan. She was born on Thursday shortly after 4pm, 8lbs 10oz. She has two big sisters who are very excited to meet her. Jacob was pretty excited too. After leaving the hospital we hit the highway for Portland, OR to visit Andrew's family. We got in fairly late like 12 or so.
The next morning after having yummy crepes for breakfast the grownups all went paintballing at an outdoor course. It was a ton of fun and while I have a couple of lovely purple/green/pink/yellow bruises today I would still do it again. I was in more pain the next day from carrying the gun than from getting hit.
We all hung out and enjoyed the day, Jacob got to feed the cows and later we all played cards and got our drink on.
Another late night but it was fun. Saturday we puttered around and eventually headed for Amy's house (Andrew's sister). On the way we picked up some barley and hops and lunch too. They boys finally got to brew a batch of beer together and Andrew will go back down this weekend and bottle it. It was fun to hang out with Amy and get to see her new house. I taught her Mother in law and her nephews a few basics on spindle spinning and I think her MIL genuinely would like to continue with it. Amy is very much an animal person and they have a puppy, a fish tank (I can't even keep my common gold fish alive), a parrot, a parakeet? and a rat. Jake loved getting to see all of the animals.
We left there around midnight and after swinging through Taco Bell and a stop to trade drivers/get gas we made it home around 2am.
Sunday we stayed at home. I washed wool all day and made a couple of meals but other than that I did nothing.
Yesterday I did not get caught up on my housework since Jacob woke up and asked for his usual snack (grahm cracker and juice). He drank the juice but hadn't touched the grahm cracker when he wanted to sit in my lap. I thought he was just tired but then he started puking over my shoulder. Poor kid. I don't think he knew what was happening. Got him (and me) cleaned up and then we ditched the juice and just tried water. That came up too about 15 min later. Poor kid was hungry but I had to make him wait. Later we tried some saltines and water. Also came up. He was just so hungry I let him go ahead and eat some scrambled egss but alas those came up too (he made it to the bathroom though). Then a grahm cracker came up. The last thing I let him eat before heading to the store for some pedialite and chicken broth was saltines and water. At one point he heaved, but nothing came up and he did fine for the rest of the day. We ran to the store got some pedialite, chicken broth soup and a few other things. I made him soup and he wolfed it down and kept it down. I don't know what it was that he had - only him, no one else but today he is just fine. I had a full load of clothes to wash after that morning but everything seems to be back to normal.
Today I have been combing wool, doing laundry and now I am off to do dishes (the bane of my existance).
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Yarny Things
Lots of Yarn play this week. I finished spinning 'Captain Planet' from the PhatFiber box...here is the roving:
and the yarn:
Then I spun up the 'Pool of Tears' Bamboo also from the Phat box. Again the roving:
On the spindle:
and the yarn:
I finished knitting the handspun alpaca lace scarf:
Now I just need to block it...can't wait for it to be all done (so I can fold it up and put it away until I need it...scarf weather is pretty much over).
and the yarn:Then I spun up the 'Pool of Tears' Bamboo also from the Phat box. Again the roving:On the spindle:and the yarn:I finished knitting the handspun alpaca lace scarf:Now I just need to block it...can't wait for it to be all done (so I can fold it up and put it away until I need it...scarf weather is pretty much over). Also I have been playing on the loom some more. After some fiddling on graph paper I had my desing pretty much figured out. I decided I wanted to try warping the loom 'directly' by using the single post method. I started by setting up a post:
That post aligned with the loom so I could go from the warping bar/dowel to the heddle to the post and back.
The yarn on a makeshift TinkerToy 'lazy kate' of sorts so that it would unwind easier while pulling it from the cone to the loom:
After the warping was all done I started weaving - here is my very first plaid, designed by me! 
The pattern is quite simple and easily memorized. I did warp the edges with yellow when, if following the pattern, it should have been grey but I wanted a nice defined edge so hopefully it's the right call.
Next in line for the loom: Placemats!
That post aligned with the loom so I could go from the warping bar/dowel to the heddle to the post and back.The yarn on a makeshift TinkerToy 'lazy kate' of sorts so that it would unwind easier while pulling it from the cone to the loom:After the warping was all done I started weaving - here is my very first plaid, designed by me! The pattern is quite simple and easily memorized. I did warp the edges with yellow when, if following the pattern, it should have been grey but I wanted a nice defined edge so hopefully it's the right call.Next in line for the loom: Placemats!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
I'm totally Phat!
I am giddy/happy/excited that my Phat Fiber box arrived yesterday! I have been wanting one for 6 months and they sell out in minutes. This month they sold out in less than 60 seconds from what I gather.
For those who don't know Phat Fiber is a sampler box of either fiber and yarn, just fiber or just yarn. I got me a 'fluff' box (just fiber). It is packed full of yummy fiber!
The theme this month was 'The Elements' so earth, air, fire, water and aether (not tangible/transcendant/philisophical - like that moment when you see heaven through that ray of sushine in the sky or think you see a fairy fly past).
Here is my box:
And by element we have
Water:
Starting in the top left is a braid of corriedale cross in Koi colorway from Color Bug Yarns There is also an adorable turtle bead on the card that I am totally in love with. To the right of that is the long braid of superwash merino in From the Depths colorway from it's a colorful life. Under the Koi on the far left is a bat from The Critter Ranch of firestar, alpaca and llama in Sand and Sea colorwy. To the right of that in the center is a light blue braid of bamboo called Pool of Tears from Polyartgirl Designs. To the right and under that is a batt of romney/alpaca in Water colorway from Lucky Loungers. I also included the card from The Twice Sheared Sheep here because they included an 'Oil Slick' stitch marker - love it! looks like it wll not snag!
Fire:
The pattern on the right is from Katherine Vaughan Designs it is for a hair scrunchie and is totally adorable. It would also look great if I made it out of the merino next to it there on the left from Smoky Mountain Fibers in "Fire' colorway.
Air:
Top roving is kettle dyed romney in "winter storm warning" colorway from (RuLeOuT):fIBer AdDicTiOn, NOS I am not sure if a storm warning belongs with air or aether but I guess it could be both. Below to the left is 'Fog' wich is rambouilette carded fiber from Sandy's Palette . I guess fog could go in water or air but I decided it belonged in the air since it is much less tangible than water. Also not sure if this beautiful 'sunset' farm batt blend from Fleecemakers Fibers is air or aether but this is where my first instinct put it.
Aether:
On the left is 'Edge of Night' BL cross roving from Desired Haven Farm and it is a VERY generous sample in some of my favorie colors. On the right is recycled carded sari silk from WC Mercantile. I should have pulled it out of the bag for the photo but I assure you it is 10x as beautiful in person.
Earth:
Ok starting in the top left corner is one of my favorites in the whole box. It is a generous Foxyie Batt from The Fox Hop and it is a beautiful blend of wool, angelina, seacell, and rayon bamboo. It is super soft and the angelina fiber is coppery and so it looks almost as if it has embers or sparks in it when you move it. Directly below that is a bag of Gaia Green Tea from Goddess Tea. I will be drinking it today. To the right is a wool, milk, alpaca blend in "terra" colorway from The Fuzzy Bunny this is another one of my favorites because the color is so rich. On the top, far right is another from Sandy's Palette in 'Good Green Earth' colorway of gray corriedale that has been overdyed. The bottom row from left is: 'Captain Planet' blended batt from Crafty Puppy Lover - this one totally took me on a trip down memory lane. Center bottom is 'Moon Rock' Tumbleweeds Carded Batt from Desert Garden also one of my top favorites. I choose to put this in earth because it was 'rock' though it could go in aether as well since the moon makes me think of fairies. Last but not least on the bottom right is "Spring Fields" BFL from Hippie Penguin Fibers. Both the bright color and the shape of the sample remind me of a Troll (If you don't remember Trolls you probably were not a child of the 80's).
Oh and this pattern belonged with the water category but I forgot to put it in the pile, so it get's its own picture...written by Michelle over at Fickle Knitter:
I was chatting with Brian and Andrew last night and just could not let that fiber just sit there. So I reached over and grabbed my spindle and plunged my hand into the box. It came up with this:
That would be the Captain Planet batt. I am enjoying the color change but have been having the theme song run through my head ever since.
I was chatting with Brian and Andrew last night and just could not let that fiber just sit there. So I reached over and grabbed my spindle and plunged my hand into the box. It came up with this:That would be the Captain Planet batt. I am enjoying the color change but have been having the theme song run through my head ever since.Ok I am off to spin...and maybe eat something...either way fiber will be involved.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Stuff I've been doing this week
So a while ago I made a hat for Jake and he really liked it but did not like wearing it. Originally it was way to big so I frogged it and cast back on with fewer stitches...making it too small. It's cute and it sorta fits but it's a stretch.
It does however fit Abby perfectly and she loves it to the point that she screamed and had a fit the last time I tried to put it on Jacob. So now it's Not Jake's Hat.
I think the best part is that the ear ties are long enough they come to her knees with the tassels on them. It is really cute.
I finished up the yarn I was spinning on the Turkish and finally got started knitting the scarf I have been eyeing for a while. Here it is, almost done (keep in mind it is not blocked yet so it will look even better after that happens).
While I was on Orcas with the kids I brought my spinning wheel and finallly started spinning the Faukland fiber I bought from Jeannie. It was a real challenge to spin worsted after having spun laceweight but I think I got fairly close. If anything it is a little chunkier than I planned but it will still make a fun sweater for Abby.
The first fiber braid is all spun and plyed. One more to go. I think it's a total of 8oz.
Last night I pulled this off of the loom:
This morning I finished tying the warp threads. In about a week I have made a sampler. It is ugly as I am not hot on the color choice but it was free, what can I say. I tried out a few things and am glad to be over the initial learning curve. Here is a closeup of a couple of things I tried:
Now it's all about fine tuning. Next up will be a plaid scarf. We'll see how that goes.
I also learned about halfway through that the cardboard shuttles were simply not cutting it as they were snagging often enough to be so irritating I didn't want to weave. So I grabbed a balsa wood stick and got out the old Xacto knife and sandpaper and made myself some nice (smooth and lightweight) shuttles. I also remembered what a pain in the ass it was threading the heddle with a teensy tiny crochet hook that would only go into the heddle about 1 inch before it got too think not to mention the head being so small it would not work on anything thicker than laceweight yarn. So I made me a heddle hook to:
Ain't I crafty?
It does however fit Abby perfectly and she loves it to the point that she screamed and had a fit the last time I tried to put it on Jacob. So now it's Not Jake's Hat.
I think the best part is that the ear ties are long enough they come to her knees with the tassels on them. It is really cute.I finished up the yarn I was spinning on the Turkish and finally got started knitting the scarf I have been eyeing for a while. Here it is, almost done (keep in mind it is not blocked yet so it will look even better after that happens).
While I was on Orcas with the kids I brought my spinning wheel and finallly started spinning the Faukland fiber I bought from Jeannie. It was a real challenge to spin worsted after having spun laceweight but I think I got fairly close. If anything it is a little chunkier than I planned but it will still make a fun sweater for Abby.The first fiber braid is all spun and plyed. One more to go. I think it's a total of 8oz.I also finally got my ass in gear and ripped back the socks I made for Brandi for Christmas (they were too long). and got them sorted out. Hopefully they fit now. If not I am just starting from scratch.
Ok, so we all know I need a new hobby like I need a hole in the head but....
Ok, so we all know I need a new hobby like I need a hole in the head but....At the monthly spinning guild meeting one of the ladies was giving out free weaving yarn - the only catch was that she wanted to see something woven with it by I think June...Well I have had a loom in my craft closet for about 6 years now and have never taken it out of the box. I figured that if the yarn was free and the loom was free, I really didn't have anything to lose. So I checked out a book on Rigid Heddle Weaving from the guild library and brought it home. That was Tuesday night. By midmorning Wednesday I learned that I needed a way to wind my warp. Since I don't have a warping board I improvised:
The only complaint I would have about the Tinker Toy method is that now they make the darned things out of plastic (great if you need to block your yarn...)and so the 'dowels' started to bend a little as I got close to the top (wouldn't have happened if I wasn't using as much tension) which caused the warp to be slightly shorter on one end - live and learn. Next time I am definitely using the single post warping method.
By Wednesday evening this is what I had after teaching myself to warp the loom and making myself some shuttles out of cardboard:
The only complaint I would have about the Tinker Toy method is that now they make the darned things out of plastic (great if you need to block your yarn...)and so the 'dowels' started to bend a little as I got close to the top (wouldn't have happened if I wasn't using as much tension) which caused the warp to be slightly shorter on one end - live and learn. Next time I am definitely using the single post warping method.By Wednesday evening this is what I had after teaching myself to warp the loom and making myself some shuttles out of cardboard:
Last night I pulled this off of the loom:This morning I finished tying the warp threads. In about a week I have made a sampler. It is ugly as I am not hot on the color choice but it was free, what can I say. I tried out a few things and am glad to be over the initial learning curve. Here is a closeup of a couple of things I tried:Now it's all about fine tuning. Next up will be a plaid scarf. We'll see how that goes.
I also learned about halfway through that the cardboard shuttles were simply not cutting it as they were snagging often enough to be so irritating I didn't want to weave. So I grabbed a balsa wood stick and got out the old Xacto knife and sandpaper and made myself some nice (smooth and lightweight) shuttles. I also remembered what a pain in the ass it was threading the heddle with a teensy tiny crochet hook that would only go into the heddle about 1 inch before it got too think not to mention the head being so small it would not work on anything thicker than laceweight yarn. So I made me a heddle hook to:
Ain't I crafty?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Blogging
I have not been blogging a lot lately not because I don't have stuff to blog about but more like I feel I need to be more 'together' about it. It is a public forum after all (even if I have no real audience). I guess I get caught up feeling like I need to be organized and have nice pic's like Alexis or witty like Stephanie or funny like Franklin.
I am not really any of those things (at least not consistantly) and I don't really want this to be random stream of consciousness crap either.
I realize I do this more for me than anyone else and that really should be enough for me to go ahead and just throw it in here as I will but another part of me wants to have followers and that I need to 'dress it up' for anyone that might happen along.
Soooo I dunno what I am gonna do about it. I guess I'll try to get my crap together more often but who knows...
I am not really any of those things (at least not consistantly) and I don't really want this to be random stream of consciousness crap either.
I realize I do this more for me than anyone else and that really should be enough for me to go ahead and just throw it in here as I will but another part of me wants to have followers and that I need to 'dress it up' for anyone that might happen along.
Soooo I dunno what I am gonna do about it. I guess I'll try to get my crap together more often but who knows...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Time flies
I can't believe it's been a whole week since I posted. This week (and weekend) went by really fast.
Craft stuff:
I have been spinning on my Turkish some more and last I posted I had 2 completed hanks. As of this morning I have 3 complete hanks and another cop of singles almost done. Before I go to bed tonight I hope to have finished plying and setting this yarn (hopefully it will be the last hank - I am enjoying the spinning but I am really ready to start knitting with it).
I also finished the body of one of my teddy bears and now I have to stuff it and call my friend to come and pick it up.
Food stuff: We tried a new recipe this week (on Wednesday) - Brian made butter chicken wich is an indian dish made with onions, tomato sauce, diced tomato, a bit of cream, roast chicken and some spices (those are just the basics) all together in a sauce and served over basmati rice.
On Thurday Andrew and Eldon came over and Andrew cooked - he had some left over smoked Turkey and made us enchilada's it was quite good.
On Friday Brian made hollandaise sauce and we had eggs benedict with crab instead of ham - it was fabulous. Totally worth the time to make the sauce from scratch and shell the crab. The kids did not have any crab (shellfish, young kids, yada yada) but they seemed to enjoy it also.
Family stuff:
On Friday Jacob went with Julie and Ron for his weekly Grandpa Day. Normally it's on Thursdays but Julie had Friday off and wanted to spend some time with him too. They also had Eve (Jake's cousin) so the kids got to play together. Fridays are the start of Brian's weekend as well (damn economy...4 day weeks for quite a while, but he still has a job thank god and he gets to spend more time with the kids). So we puttered around the house until after Abby woke up from her nap and headed to Red Robin for lunch (gift certificate from Christmas - it only cost us like 10 bucks out of pocket). Then we thought it would be fun to take Abby to the 'baby animal playground' at the mall. So we wandered in there and let her run around. This place is really great for the smaller toddlers out there. All soft and cushy but still firm enough to climb on. Then we wandered into Victoria Secret and I ended up buying a new bra. I am so happy I did - I forgot how comfortable VS bras are (they damn well better be for 40+ bucks a pop). Then Brian went and picked up the tabs for his truck and we met at the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner.
On Saturday we woke up and were hanging around the bedroom with the kids and Brian asked what I wanted to do for the day. I said, "I don't know, it looks like a really nice day, let's do something with the kids, like NW Trek or something." After a few minutes in his office (at the computer I assume) he came in and said "ok, let's go. They open at 9:30, lets try to leave the house by 9" I am thinking 'awesome!!!' So I got the kids ready to go and then I made a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese with some english muffins. 20 minutes later we were there. Now I had never been to NW Trek so I didn't really know what it was going to be like and I had a ton of fun. First we saw a golden eagle, and through the trees we saw the bald eagle on our way to the tram station. While waiting for the tram Jake kinda freaked out and decided he didn't want to go because "the moose has big eyes" (which I thought was weird because he has never seen a moose before). We told him that he would get to see a squirrel if he went on the 'bus-train' After we started seeing animals he started to get less afraid and more excited when he realized they couldn't hurt him. Let's see we saw: Moose, Bison, Elk, Mountain Goats, Big Horned Sheep, Deer, Swans, Geese and Duck. I may be missing some but I think that is most of it. We got really lucky - because these animals are basically free-roaming in a natural habitat they are not always close enough to the road to see...Brian said he has been on the tram and only seen 1 or 2 things. The tour lasts a full hour and by the time we were done Abby was asleep and Jake was starting to get a little cranky. We plopped them in the stroller and went to see the animals in 'exibits.' The first one we saw was the black bear - at wich point I dropped the camera, breaking it - so that is why no pics (the brand new one we got for Christmas).*
I was surprised that the animals were not behind glass, or even a fence. You stood in the covered viewing area and looked into the fenced habitats. I have only been that close to a bear once in my life, and last time it was NOT FUN - we were just getting out of the car at my Grandpa's house in Glacier National Park. Needless to stay we all got back in the car and waited until Grandpa fired the gun a few times (not at the bear - we were in a park) and it went away. Also a black bear now that I think about it. Anyway the ony thing between you and the bears is a ditch and a single line of electric fence on their side of the ditch. After the black bear was the grizzly bears. Large and impressive - reminds me of an old joke: "how do you know if you are being chased by a black bear or a grizzly bear? - The black bear will climb the tree - the grizzly bear will knock it over" (ba-dum-cha!)
After the bears we say gray wolf, red fox, and coyotes - they were RIGHT there only yards away. it was really neat. Then there were the bobcat, cougar and lynx. Holy crap those cougar were HUGE! there were two of them and for obvious reasons the viewing area was elevated much higher and the 'ditch' was actually a rather wide, deep moat (cougars can jumb 20 feet vertical). I am fairly certain there was no way they could jump that high from floating in the water.
From there we saw the smaller wetland animals - raccoon, rover otter, beaver, wolverine, porcupine, skunk, badger, and fisher (I had never heard of nor seen a fisher before - really cute little things). Then we saw the barn owls, horned owls and snowy owl and headed to lunch. The cafe had a lodge type setting - the booths were wood and it had high open rafters and a nice large fire place with a fire blazing. It was great - we picked the booth closest to the fire and had a darned good lunch before heading back to the van. Jake fell asleep before we were out of the park driveway. We got home and put the kids down for naps (I had one too - all that walkng made me tired).
So that was our weekend so far. It was a ton of fun...now I have to go do laundry and pack some bags because the kids and I are headed up to Orcas for the week tomorrow.
*camera fixed now...no worries
Craft stuff:
I have been spinning on my Turkish some more and last I posted I had 2 completed hanks. As of this morning I have 3 complete hanks and another cop of singles almost done. Before I go to bed tonight I hope to have finished plying and setting this yarn (hopefully it will be the last hank - I am enjoying the spinning but I am really ready to start knitting with it).
I also finished the body of one of my teddy bears and now I have to stuff it and call my friend to come and pick it up.
Food stuff: We tried a new recipe this week (on Wednesday) - Brian made butter chicken wich is an indian dish made with onions, tomato sauce, diced tomato, a bit of cream, roast chicken and some spices (those are just the basics) all together in a sauce and served over basmati rice.
On Thurday Andrew and Eldon came over and Andrew cooked - he had some left over smoked Turkey and made us enchilada's it was quite good.
On Friday Brian made hollandaise sauce and we had eggs benedict with crab instead of ham - it was fabulous. Totally worth the time to make the sauce from scratch and shell the crab. The kids did not have any crab (shellfish, young kids, yada yada) but they seemed to enjoy it also.
Family stuff:
On Friday Jacob went with Julie and Ron for his weekly Grandpa Day. Normally it's on Thursdays but Julie had Friday off and wanted to spend some time with him too. They also had Eve (Jake's cousin) so the kids got to play together. Fridays are the start of Brian's weekend as well (damn economy...4 day weeks for quite a while, but he still has a job thank god and he gets to spend more time with the kids). So we puttered around the house until after Abby woke up from her nap and headed to Red Robin for lunch (gift certificate from Christmas - it only cost us like 10 bucks out of pocket). Then we thought it would be fun to take Abby to the 'baby animal playground' at the mall. So we wandered in there and let her run around. This place is really great for the smaller toddlers out there. All soft and cushy but still firm enough to climb on. Then we wandered into Victoria Secret and I ended up buying a new bra. I am so happy I did - I forgot how comfortable VS bras are (they damn well better be for 40+ bucks a pop). Then Brian went and picked up the tabs for his truck and we met at the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner.
On Saturday we woke up and were hanging around the bedroom with the kids and Brian asked what I wanted to do for the day. I said, "I don't know, it looks like a really nice day, let's do something with the kids, like NW Trek or something." After a few minutes in his office (at the computer I assume) he came in and said "ok, let's go. They open at 9:30, lets try to leave the house by 9" I am thinking 'awesome!!!' So I got the kids ready to go and then I made a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese with some english muffins. 20 minutes later we were there. Now I had never been to NW Trek so I didn't really know what it was going to be like and I had a ton of fun. First we saw a golden eagle, and through the trees we saw the bald eagle on our way to the tram station. While waiting for the tram Jake kinda freaked out and decided he didn't want to go because "the moose has big eyes" (which I thought was weird because he has never seen a moose before). We told him that he would get to see a squirrel if he went on the 'bus-train' After we started seeing animals he started to get less afraid and more excited when he realized they couldn't hurt him. Let's see we saw: Moose, Bison, Elk, Mountain Goats, Big Horned Sheep, Deer, Swans, Geese and Duck. I may be missing some but I think that is most of it. We got really lucky - because these animals are basically free-roaming in a natural habitat they are not always close enough to the road to see...Brian said he has been on the tram and only seen 1 or 2 things. The tour lasts a full hour and by the time we were done Abby was asleep and Jake was starting to get a little cranky. We plopped them in the stroller and went to see the animals in 'exibits.' The first one we saw was the black bear - at wich point I dropped the camera, breaking it - so that is why no pics (the brand new one we got for Christmas).*
I was surprised that the animals were not behind glass, or even a fence. You stood in the covered viewing area and looked into the fenced habitats. I have only been that close to a bear once in my life, and last time it was NOT FUN - we were just getting out of the car at my Grandpa's house in Glacier National Park. Needless to stay we all got back in the car and waited until Grandpa fired the gun a few times (not at the bear - we were in a park) and it went away. Also a black bear now that I think about it. Anyway the ony thing between you and the bears is a ditch and a single line of electric fence on their side of the ditch. After the black bear was the grizzly bears. Large and impressive - reminds me of an old joke: "how do you know if you are being chased by a black bear or a grizzly bear? - The black bear will climb the tree - the grizzly bear will knock it over" (ba-dum-cha!)
After the bears we say gray wolf, red fox, and coyotes - they were RIGHT there only yards away. it was really neat. Then there were the bobcat, cougar and lynx. Holy crap those cougar were HUGE! there were two of them and for obvious reasons the viewing area was elevated much higher and the 'ditch' was actually a rather wide, deep moat (cougars can jumb 20 feet vertical). I am fairly certain there was no way they could jump that high from floating in the water.
From there we saw the smaller wetland animals - raccoon, rover otter, beaver, wolverine, porcupine, skunk, badger, and fisher (I had never heard of nor seen a fisher before - really cute little things). Then we saw the barn owls, horned owls and snowy owl and headed to lunch. The cafe had a lodge type setting - the booths were wood and it had high open rafters and a nice large fire place with a fire blazing. It was great - we picked the booth closest to the fire and had a darned good lunch before heading back to the van. Jake fell asleep before we were out of the park driveway. We got home and put the kids down for naps (I had one too - all that walkng made me tired).
So that was our weekend so far. It was a ton of fun...now I have to go do laundry and pack some bags because the kids and I are headed up to Orcas for the week tomorrow.
*camera fixed now...no worries
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Some Productivity
I have been rather addicted to my little turkish drop spindle. Ron (Brian's step-dad) noticed and made me a couple more! I am impressed and I am ready to start spinning on them...For now I don't have pics but I'll take some soon.
Also I finished the singles on my second skein of the alpaca on Friday and yesterday I plyed and set the twist so this morning I have more yarn! 
I have also decided what I am going to do with it...I will be making a lacy scarf by Nancy Bush. The pattern is called A Stork's Nest Scarf and it can be found in the Knititing Traditions special that was recently put out by Interweave Press.
I have also decided what I am going to do with it...I will be making a lacy scarf by Nancy Bush. The pattern is called A Stork's Nest Scarf and it can be found in the Knititing Traditions special that was recently put out by Interweave Press.I have been really inspired by Nacy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia that I got for Christmas and will be knitting several of the patterns from there as soon as I finish the Fountain Pen Shawl that I am working on for Julie. I had set is aside for a while and getting this book has really inspired me to work on it again.
I also decided to make some socks for Abby with the yarn leftover from my Soxual Persuasion socks...I am using the same pattern with one less pattern repeat so they are 40 stitches around instead of 60. They should fit her just right.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Lots of stuff because I'm catching up.
Things I've recently learned:
My children have learned:
Some in progress singles
and the 2ply center pull ball that you get when you take the spindle apart from inside the ball (neatest trick ever I tell ya!)
After I finished plying the singles back on themselves to get that center pull ball I then skeined it onto my swift so I could a: get approximate yardage and b: set the twist in the yarn. However I love this little ball so much I am thinking I might just wind it back onto the spindle rather than using my ballwinder before using it.
Here is the hank drying in the window...hopefully you can see the halo the yarn has:
It also has a lovely luster that is not showing up in this photo.Beyond the spinning has been the knitting. More socks. Shocker I am sure. I am halfway through the 2nd pair for Iron Knitter. I am officially 'out' of the competition because I did not finish the whole pair on time, but I will continue to particpate in subsequent rounds for fun. So here is the first finished sock - first from the front/top with the vine/leaf pattern:
And from the side with the diamond pattern:
This is the first time I worked a picot edge (the top of the sock) and I really like the way it works...I need to figure out how to turn the hem as I go though because I am really not in love with finishing the sock and then having more finishing up to do. I kinda like that once you are done grafting and weaving in the end you can wear 'em out the door.
This pattern is called Wishing for Spring and can be purchased via Ravelry. I will say though that I did find numerous mistakes in the pattern and hopefully some of them are fixed by the time the pattern is published.
1. WinCo has fabulous quality meats.
2. I can use my drop spindle while simultaneously making tea and pouring cereal.
3. When a toddler is having a tantrum and slamming her hand on her highchair tray - she can cause it to 'rain' macaroni and cheese in brief spurts.
4. Macaroni and cheese sticks like napalm and dries like concrete.
5. The beans that you and your toddler are making sprout (to see things grow) that 'don't take' ferment.
6. No matter how hard you wish for it dishes don't do themselves (wait, I think I've said that before...ok well, maybe this time I'll learn it for real).
My children have learned:
Abby: How to remove one's diaper but also how to give kisses and to wave/say bye bye
Jacob: Selfishness but also kindness and very early math skills
My husband has learned:
It really is possible to pick up a 7-10 split (go ahead, ask him how he knows) :)
Ok and now for the crafty shit that you are either 1: waiting for or 2: skipping over...
Last Thursday Abby and I attended Madrona Fiber Arts Festival. I wish I could say it was to take one of the incredible classes that were offered, but alas, I was just there to shop (gee darn).Next year I do hope to get into a couple of classes though.
I purchased some fun stuff but did not go totally insane like I did last year.
I bought:
- a set of dpn protectors so I can stop gouging myself everytime I reach into my purse.
- a diz and pull hook for pulling my combed wool into roving (yay!)
- a handy little project bag that I can't believe I payed 22 bucks for when I could have made it myself for 87 cents.(but now I can make myself a couple since I have something to refrence).
- a packet of 'exotic' fibers that include 1/4 each of cashmere/silk, baby alpaca, yak/merino, silk/rayon, baby camel/merino and cashmere. all of these I would consider to be luxury fibers and it's a great way to 'try out' a bunch of fibers without committing to a larger purchase. I can spin these and know if I would like to make the commitment to buy more yak or camel...
- 4.5 oz of alpaca in a sorta white color...it's the natural fiber (no dyes, etc.) and I am really loving how soft it is and how fine it is spinning up on my new...
- Turkish spindle. this was my most expensive purchase but well worth the 45 bucks. It is a Turkish Delight from Jenkins Woodworking and my oh my am I in love! It is lightweight (.9 oz) so I can spin nice and fine. It is made of beautiful Purple heart wood with a maple shaft. Here she is...don't have a name for her yet, but she truly is a delight.
- Turkish spindle. this was my most expensive purchase but well worth the 45 bucks. It is a Turkish Delight from Jenkins Woodworking and my oh my am I in love! It is lightweight (.9 oz) so I can spin nice and fine. It is made of beautiful Purple heart wood with a maple shaft. Here she is...don't have a name for her yet, but she truly is a delight.
Some in progress singlesand the 2ply center pull ball that you get when you take the spindle apart from inside the ball (neatest trick ever I tell ya!)After I finished plying the singles back on themselves to get that center pull ball I then skeined it onto my swift so I could a: get approximate yardage and b: set the twist in the yarn. However I love this little ball so much I am thinking I might just wind it back onto the spindle rather than using my ballwinder before using it.Here is the hank drying in the window...hopefully you can see the halo the yarn has:
It also has a lovely luster that is not showing up in this photo.That is the fun I have been having with my new spindle. Just before Sock Wars started I finished plying and setting this yarn:
I am currently vacillating between loving it and hating it. Here's why:
1. It was supposed to be a sock yarn and when all was said and done it came out bigger. On the wheel it was fine, but it bloomed so much during the setting process that it is too big to use for socks (or the socks I had envisioned anyway). This bums me out because it is the first bit of spinning I had a complete vision from roving to final product in my head for.
2. The colors gradate from red to orange to yellowish green to blue and back again. I like this but am not sure I love the colors overall. They are kindof cartoony. I think half of you were lying when you said you loved it. Now keep in mind when it's knit up the red won't fall next to the blue or green so forth...it will progress from one color to the next.
3. It turned out super soft and squishy. would make a lovely sweater but there is certainly not enough yarn here for that (and then there is the color issue)...
Anyway so that is that.
I am currently vacillating between loving it and hating it. Here's why:1. It was supposed to be a sock yarn and when all was said and done it came out bigger. On the wheel it was fine, but it bloomed so much during the setting process that it is too big to use for socks (or the socks I had envisioned anyway). This bums me out because it is the first bit of spinning I had a complete vision from roving to final product in my head for.
2. The colors gradate from red to orange to yellowish green to blue and back again. I like this but am not sure I love the colors overall. They are kindof cartoony. I think half of you were lying when you said you loved it. Now keep in mind when it's knit up the red won't fall next to the blue or green so forth...it will progress from one color to the next.
3. It turned out super soft and squishy. would make a lovely sweater but there is certainly not enough yarn here for that (and then there is the color issue)...
Anyway so that is that.
And from the side with the diamond pattern:
This is the first time I worked a picot edge (the top of the sock) and I really like the way it works...I need to figure out how to turn the hem as I go though because I am really not in love with finishing the sock and then having more finishing up to do. I kinda like that once you are done grafting and weaving in the end you can wear 'em out the door.This pattern is called Wishing for Spring and can be purchased via Ravelry. I will say though that I did find numerous mistakes in the pattern and hopefully some of them are fixed by the time the pattern is published.
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