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Loom-ing Improvements

denisemor 3 August 21, 2011

First, I repurposed a quilting frame-

Then I rigged up a pedal thingee to control a heddle bar below the frame-

And finally, I found a shuttle lurking in a kitchen drawer-

(actually works better as a shuttle than it ever did as a spatula)

The treadle-operated thingee and shuttle are really speeding up my progress. So far I’ve got about 12 inches of fabric from my handspun leftovers.

And I think they look pretty cool. Mighty good use of spare bits. Maybe I’ll turn it into a handbag or something.

Handsome Frank says “Better get busy. I’ll have another 6 inches of fleecy goodness for you in no time!”

Looks who’s Nekkid Again!

denisemor 10 August 14, 2011

Yep.
It’s Egger (Edgar) 🙂

It all started because I was trimming some wool around his neck that was really matted.
Then I started looking at the rest of his fleece, and it occurred to me that it was already almost as long as it was back in March. And I figured, if I sheared him now, he’ll certainly have regrown enough by late Fall to be comfortable when the weather turns cold.

So I went for it.
I don’t know if he was looking for some quality time with his maaaaa, or if he just likes bein’ nekkid, but the boy was really relaxed and cooperative.

It happened kind of spur-of-the-moment, and I didn’t have anything handy to put the fleece in, so I piled it up on top of a wheelbarrow on the other side of the shed as I went along. Think I managed to keep most of the straw bedding out of it.

The other guys were a little surprised to see the shears out again so soon, and are wondering if they’ll be next-

I’m not sure if I’ll do anyone else. Maybe Egger will be my one experimental Fall guy.

We’ll just see how it goes.

In other news, I’ve recently gotten inspired to weave.
This hasn’t happened since back in 2008 (man, how time flies!)

I think it was the rug/import shop in Langley that did it.
I just love kilims.

So I think I’m going to try and learn how to do tapestry weaving.
I’ve gotten my frame loom back out

And I’m going to start playing around.
Maybe I’ll have something to share by next week.

Wish me luck!

Back from the Island

denisemor 8 August 7, 2011

Langley was wonderful, and I actually got quite a bit done-

Three new skeins:

About 5 inches of progress on The Shepherd’s vest:

Found a really cool pattern at Knitty Purls, the local yarn store, and managed to get a start on it-

I also took along a couple of skeins of thick and cushy yarns I’d spun on Hank- thinking I’d do a cowl,,, but the cowl had other plans, and started turning into a poncho. So there you go-

But I’m happy to be back home now with the man and the critters.

It’s the weekend, and the sun is shining.

And I’m hangin’ with my sheeps. 🙂

Have a good week!

Hey Howdy Hay!

denisemor 7 July 31, 2011

Got me some nice local grass hay yesterday!

2nd cutting. Just over a ton.

And I’m so pleased to be able to put it in the sheep shed this year.

We finally got the roof done, and separated the sheep half from the hay/people stuff half.

Here is a view of the hay/people half from the sheep side-

And vice versa-

Here’s Edgar, having just approved the new placement of the mineral feeder-

And Felix and Griff enjoying our unusually lush late-July pasture.

Guess all this rain is good for something!

I’m still working on getting a bunch of fiber ready for my annual Langley crafting retreat this week.

I’ve got three batts of Chone all worked up (on the right), some shetland/dyed mohair blend (center), and some misc leftovers that might come along too (left).
Hope to still do some more carding tonight.

So hard to decide what to take!