Author: denisemor

Changed the clocks weeks ago, but feel like I’ve finally turned the corner on spring things over the last few days.

Finished up shearing! All three girls are now sporting their pixie cuts, and I have fleeces to wash. 🙂 Here are Daphne and Fiona using the tractor mower deck as playground equipment.

With The Man’s help, I was also able to extend Dottie’s private accommodations in the pasture to include some fresh grass. I’m hoping to be able to reestablish grass in those heavily worn areas on either side of the previous fenceline now that they’ll get less traffic.

In the hoophouse, I’ve been busy managing seedlings-

Things are pretty well on track with these guys, but I think that my first attempt at getting carrots started outside might have failed. So will probably be taking another crack at that soon. Not sure if it’s birds eating the seed, or disruption of the seedbed by voles, but something is up. Maybe a floating row cover would help my chances….

I also got quite a bit of spinning done this week- hopefully these skeins will be in the ballpark weight-wise for use in the Bea cardigan project. Will get the yds/oz specs once they are washed and dried.

The garter stitch fabric is so lovely and squishy, and I am enjoying just knitting without having to think much about shaping and charts and such. I’m about to the underarm on the back piece, and so will soon be picking up stitches for the front bits. Then we’ll start to see the how the garment comes together.

Will sign off with a couple little things that made me happy this week. Tiny breba figs on the Desert King fig tree

And tiny violets in the lawn

Brave, hardy little violets.

Today Dottie was very sweet and friendly as I got her back end tidied up 🙂 Here she is looking all cute and springy

But I was unsuccessful in talking Daphne and Fiona into giving up their heavy coats. They didn’t want to be anywhere near the shed today.

I sat out in the pasture a while, trying to talk them into it, but finally gave up and headed back to the garden. As I turned toward the shed I saw that they had worn a little curvy path through the pasture that I thought was kind of cool.

Anyway, while I’m waiting for the Daphne wool harvest, I’ve been processing some of her fleece from my stash for my new project- the Bea cardigan. I had spun a couple of bobbins while away at the Spindrifters retreat, and so I’ve got about 300 yards of two-ply ready to go, and this week I generated another batch.

I’m kind of in love with how soft and squishy it is, but it turns out I can’t use it for this project, as I misjudged the weight, and it’s about 1/3rd heavier than the first batch. So it’s back to the carder for me!

Daphne has a really interesting fleece. Different colors, different textures, always with the sun-bleached tips. I have tried separating the colors and processing them separately, but I think that the most pleasing effect results from blending it all together. A lovely melange.

With many yards left to spin, I have gone ahead and cast on.

It feels like it is going to be a very satisfying knit.

Will sign off with a picture of the seedlings coming on strong int he hoophouse-

Take care, folks-

Spring projects continue apace.

More seeds sown: zuchinni, green beans, cukes, melons, winter squash!

Little tomatoes are looking pretty robust!

And I’m kind of excited about some precocious little sunflower sprouts that I found in the hoophouse. Going to let them develop just a bit then transplant to a more suitable location.

Yesterday I got a start shearing Dottie-

and washed the first bits of Fiona and Daphne fleeces.

In Inkle loom news- finished one band

and got a start on another-

Spent a bit of time shopping around for a new knitting project, and I think I’ve settled on Bea, by Emma Marinescu.

But will be planing on making some modifications to refine the fit. I’m thinking that my new Daphne 2 ply might fit the bill, but will have to do some swatching to make sure.

So that will be fun. It’s always exciting to start a new project. I like the sampling/swatching stage.

Just keep knitting. Just keep knitting.

This time of year we get a little bit of everything, weather wise. This past week has held both summer-like temps and crazy thunderstorms. It makes me very thankful that the last two days have been mild and suitable for garden work, because there’s always a ton to do!

Seedlings are on heat mats and under lights in the hoophouse. Tomatoes have popped, but peppers are still incubating.

Yesterday I planted out beet, carrot, and parsnip seeds and started cabbages in six pack trays.

Today I spent some time trying to tidy up the hoophouse- addressing the accumulation of scum (pollen?) on the exterior.

It’s a messy business, and you can see clearly in the photo exactly how far I can reach up the sides without a ladder. I think that if I take a stepstool out there I can probably get a couple more feet before it curves away too far. So that will be phase 2.

Around the garden- daffodils are looking pretty and perky

And out in the pasture, the sheepy girls are as well-

Haven’t had a chance to do any more shearing yet, but hopefully soon.

And- wonder of wonders- I finally have gotten my Esther Candelaria blouse off the needles!

But don’t get too excited yet 😉 – I think I might have screwed up the split cuff on the last sleeve. Hard to tell right now, but the placement of the opening might be off. If it’s too obvious or annoying when worn, I might have to do a little re-knitting.

Even if that is the case, though, I need to start planing a new project. The dark Daphne yarn is kind of calling to me. Will have to take a look at some patterns and see if I can find a suitable candidate.

In the meantime, I’ve got another band going on the inkle loom. A combination of embroidery floss and pearl cotton warp, and silk weft.

Also just started looking into card weaving, and happened upon this cool technique called speed warping. Video link here for future reference (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjpiYF4DAbE)

Alrighty- I’m off to browse patterns and contemplate my yarn stash.

Take care, folks.