Author: denisemor

It’s been a while, but I finally have a Candelaria update–

You might be thinking,,,, “it doesn’t look like she’s any further along with this than she was 2 months ago”

And you’d be right. Kind of.

The truth is, I had made about 4 inches of progress on the below the armholes, but I knew something was off. The pattern called for casting on 34 stitches under each arm after putting the sleeve stitches on holders, so I did that, thinking- well, it’s supposed to be a loose fitting garment. But then recently I took it of the needles and realized that the body circumference was just way too large. So I had to bite the bullet and rip back to the underarms.

But since that point, about a week ago, I have reknit about and inch and a half, and it is feeling much more reasonable (cast on only 14 stitches under each arm this time). But the going is a little slow since the stitches are small (size 3 needles)

Been pretty chilly here recently, but by cold weather veg are still hanging in there out in the hoophouse-

Peas are even flowering, but I don’t think there are many pollinators available right now. Oh well.

And it’s time to start thinking about seeds for garden ’25!

A new tomato that I’m excited to try is ‘Cou di Bue Albenga‘. Aren’t they gorgeous? (picture ganked from web) Should make for some fabulous cookin’!

This year I think I’m going to shop locally, from Uprising Seeds in Bellingham, and try out a couple other things that are new to me- escarole, and possibly radicchio.

Alrighty. I think that’s about it for now. Have a good week, folks-

–

A couple months ago I picked up about 4 ounces of SpinCycle mill end rovings at a spinning guild meeting- I should have take a picture of the mountain of wool. It was really something. It was all superwash, so I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy working with it, but it turned out to be a lot of fun watching the transitions of the colors. Kind of addictive, so it went rather quickly!

I think that the colors I picked were from the “Something Wicked” and “Poppies” colorways. I had just enough chain plied yarn to make a hat and mitts set

That was fun.

Only two weeks to the WSU Country Living Expo! I think I’ve mostly got my course stuff sorted, but in doing some wool washing research online, I came across a really interesting book, and was able to get ahold of it via interlibrary loan.

Am slowly making my way through it. Lots of technical info, but also interesting stuff on physical properties of wool, dyeing, fabric finishing, and lots of other topics. Makes me wish I remembered more of the chemistry I took in high school. But most all of that has fallen out of my brain.

Alrighty. That’s about all I’ve got for now. Perhaps now that this little colorful distraction has run it’s course, I’ll get back to my Candelaria sweater, which has been patiently waiting in it’s project bag.

More on that next week.

Just got back from delivering Cookie Monster to her new home!

Here she is enjoying the indoor cat lifestyle. 🙂

I’m so glad to have found her a new permanent situation, and expect I’ll get regular updates from her new person, who is a good friend of mine.

But i think that’s it for now, as I’m kind of pooped from the drive.

Have a good week folks-

It’s just so easy to put another warp on and keep rolling.

This week I discovered that if I don’t use the reed on my loom that I can get closer to a warp-faced band, by letting the warp threads sit as close together as they want. I’m still working on getting a consistent, firm edge, but hopefully will continue with practice.

For a change of pace with the last half of this warp I decided to incorporate locks and make a fleecy trim, and think it turned out pretty cool.

Then I decided to change things up a bit and use a smoother warp to see how that changed the result. I have a couple cones of really nice silk yarn in fun colors (bright orange and yellow-green) that I never knew what to do with, but they seemed just right for this- smooth and reflective, and not stretchy.

And I’m finding that it’s a lot easier to get a good warp faced band with the silk warp! I thought I’d taken some photos of the band on the loom, but can’t find any, but here is the first bit, along with an embroidered nametag that I’ve been working on this week. I might use the band as a lanyard for it or something. Not sure yet exactly how that would work.

I’ve been attending the Spindrifters meetings for the last few months, and have really enjoyed getting back involved with it. I’ve met a lot of nice folks, and am finally starting to remember some names. I’ve been meaning to make myself a nametag to wear at meetings and other events (like the spin-in) and finally got around to it this week- just in time for the St. Distaff’s Day event next Saturday-

There will be vendors, raffles, used equipment for sale, and lots of spinners practicing their craft. Lots of fun! If you’re in the area, do try and stop by.