Author: denisemor

The Wool Report

denisemor 2 June 12, 2011

Just over 3 months ago I sheared the first of the boys.

So, I thought it was about time to talk about how the fleece processing is going!

Today, I just finished washing up the last of Franklin/Felix (they got jumbled together).

So now I’ve got a whole smorgasbord of homegrown Shetland fleece to work with!

And I’ve already got some of it spun up-

Of the five fleeces, Griff and Edgar are the best for drum carding. Good length, but not super long, not much veg.

Chone’s fluffy texture is good for drum carding, but he’s the veggie boy, so I’ll probably have to flick card or comb most of it first.

Frank and Felix are pretty darn long. The length is good for combing, but it separates out the longer fibers from the shorter ones , and I’d prefer to keep them all together for the most part, so I’ve been flick carding and spinning from the lock. I really like spinning that way.

Realized after I took the other yarn picture that I was missing a two ply skein of Felix that I spun early on-

Frank has already made an appearance in the (primarily) Huey Oregon vest-

But he’s the only guy who’s made his way into a project at this point.

I may need to use a little bit of Chone to finish off my current stashbuster sweater (I’m getting really close!)

He’s told me that he’s ready to pinch hit if I need him.

What a swell guy 🙂

Scenes from a sunny (!) weekend-

denisemor 4 June 5, 2011

Finally got the tomatoes in.

This year we’re going almost exclusively with cherry tomato varieties (with the exception of one Cougar Red plant) as these are the only ones that ripen up reliably during our short summers.

We’re trying out a new thing this year- red plastic mulch. Hoping it will keep weeds down, and the yield up. Everywhere around here seems to be sold out of the red plastic tomato greenhouses (a perforated plastic bag that slips over the tomato cages), but we’ve got some of those on order too.

Also did some tractor-ing. High on the project list this summer is re-furbishing the north end of the sheep shed and turning it into hay storage.

Tractors are might good for cleaning out sheds, and digging post holes!

Love the tractor.

(yes it’s only supposed to be that tall) 🙂

It was pretty hot here by PNW-in-June standards- about 80, I think.

Here is Sadie cooling her jets in the sheeps’ water-

And here she is after exploring the pond (no action shot on that one… she knew not to try it while I was watching)

The poor goldfish are probably terribly traumatized.

And finally, once the lawn is mowed and I’ve washed all the pond out of Sadie’s hair, I find some time to sit and work on the sweater.

I love happy endings.

Works (still) in Progress

denisemor 0 May 31, 2011

I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, but I am always uneasy when I have too many projects hanging out unfinished.

Don’t get me wrong- The Stashbuster Raglan is going well,

Quite well, actually. That guy is the least of my concerns.

I still have ends to weave and zipper to install in the Huey/Franklin Oregon Vest…..

It’s lovely. And I want to wear it. But there’s that dang zipper to sew in.

And diving back further into project history is the PREVIOUS stashbuster raglan!

Dag. I love this sweater too. Its just hard to get back in the groove with that colorwork on the sleeves.

Then there is the “never was a clearly defined project in the first place, but I ought to turn it into something” category-

Its about 38″ long, 9″ wide strip of brioche stitch. I’m taking suggestions what it might want to be.

And also a bear without a face.

These little guys never look like much until they have eyes and a nose.
Then I have to do a little White Sox logo on his sweater.

Wish me luck.

Out and About

denisemor 2 May 22, 2011

Pups in motion-

Go Walla, go!

Fetch, Sadie, fetch!

Good girl, Sadie.

And sheep at rest:

Handsome Frank (sporting an almost all white face these days. Weird, eh?)

Edgar on the rocks (with a twist?)

Snuggle sheeps getting their chin schritches

Chone trying to nibble my earlobe

Stashbuster top-down raglan sweater marches on-

I really like how it’s coming together, but it’s becoming apparent to me that there is not going to be enough of the darkest color to finish up the sleeves, so I went back to the stash to formulate a Plan B-

I think I’ve got enough of Mariah, (of Little Country Acres) to pull me through
And it’s an amazingly close match for the Border Leicester I used at the neckline.

Long live the stash!