Author: denisemor

Hoophouse Report

We got the rest of the groundposts driven this weekend, wrapping up phase 1 of the project. Doesn’t look like much yet, but hopefully we’ve laid a decently square and level base that will set us up for success going forward-

Phase 2 means getting the hoops themselves assembled and securing them in the ground posts. So that should be exciting.

Not much woolwork happening here today- all the sledgehammering really took it out of me yesterday. But I do have a little something going to keep my hands busy- I ripped back my garter stitch “meantime” cowl that I cast on a month or so ago and decided that brioche stitch would be a better way to show off the color combination

And out in the pasture the sheeps (and chickens) are still enjoying apples. I thought I’d be able to rotate this video in youtube, but apparently you can’t do that anymore. Sorry about that- but it’s still cute enough that I wanted to share 🙂

Such a cool bunch of critters.

That’s all I’ve got for now- have a good week!

Spinnin’ in the Rain

The weather hasn’t been favorable for hoophouse construction, so I’ve been channeling my energies into spinning.

This chunky version of the Polwarth/Silk blend in Tarnished Penny colorway was a fast and fun spin. Hadn’t made anything this thick and cushy for a while!

Then I moved on to some raspberry blends using some wool I had dyed over the summer

And finally I came back to basics with a natural color Griff light fingering two-ply. Comfort wool, like the mac and cheese of spinning.

So that’s me. Biding my time behind the wheel, waiting for my ballot to arrive in the mail. 🙂

Stay safe out there folks-

Baking Beneficiary

Today the Man and I watched the Seahawks from the kitchen as he made little pizzas. They are off to an amazing start- 4 and 0!

I helped prep toppings and such, but The Man is now the uncontested king of dough on the homestead, and makes a mighty fine crispy crust.

It started out a couple months ago with yeasted breads- ciabatta, baguettes. But he has recently developed an interest in sourdough-

And has even ventured into sweet territory with these killer cinnamon rolls

It’s such a treat to have fresh bread. I especially enjoy it toasted in the morning with eggs from my chicken friends.

Speaking of chicken friends, I wanted to give a shout out to Yellow Chig, who has finally stopped feeling broody and was up to coming out for a bit of a walkaround the other day.

She spent a little time checking out my work on the hoophouse site and enjoying some fresh grass, but is pretty happy these days just hanging loose in her independent living condo, away from the pressures of the pecking order.

I’m thinking that once we get the hoophouse constructed I will be able to find a nice spot in there for her to overwinter.

I did get a bit of knitting done this week- haven’t jumped into the big project (Alcott vest) yet, but am biding my time with another hat, Mountain and Valley (though I have to say I have taken some liberties with the pattern)

That’s Fiona yarn again, but this time paired with a polwarth and silk blend in a tarnished copper penny-ish colorway. The different colors aren’t coming through as clearly as I hoped, but it might be that I spun it too fine and the different shades got a bit muddled. I might spin the remaining 6 oz a bit thicker. But in any case it does still give a warm brown/gold contrast to Fiona’s light fawn. And it is marvelously soft.

Hope to have more hoophouse progress to share next week- take care, and stay safe!

After the Rains

Over the course of this past week we got 3.04 inches of rain! So we are now thoroughly dampened and out of any fire danger. Air is nice and clear too!

Now that the curtain of rain has parted, we find ourselves well and fully in Fall. Sheep seem pleased with the change of seasons-

And decided to take Goadldi’s suggestion and make a pair of fingerless mitts from my first Fiona skein

Just kind of winged it with the pattern, and initially they turned out a little too large, but the addition of a cable down the top and ribbing on the palm pulled them in just perfectly to make a snug fit

In hoophouse news, we’ve got the corner groundposts in! Been slow getting started because the site is a little challenging, but now that we’ve established the footprint and are confident that everything is square, I think we are on our way.

Hoping that we’ll have nice crisp Fall weather for a while so we can keep this project moving!

Ps. Go Hawks! 3 and 0! Woo Hoo 🙂