Blog

First off, many thanks to the presidents that made this long weekend possible.

Meant to post sooner, but the weather has been beautiful (amazing, even), so we’ve been mighty busy. This was pruning weekend. Time to get the fruit trees and berries all tidied up and ready for another growing season.

Pruning is a lot of work (as is hauling away the prunings), but is awfully rewarding- and is actually fun in a creative, artistic kind of way once you get a handle on the basic principles.

This is year two in the rehab program for our big apple tree, and he’s looking pretty good:

The other little trees out back are coming along as well. We are doing our best to keep them open and spreading- discouraging any straight upward growth.

I hope this will be a good fruit year. We’ve got apples, pears, plums, peaches, cherries and raspberries. And a little quince I planted a couple years ago that hasn’t fruited yet. Nothing better than fresh fruit right out of your backyard (unless it’s fresh fleece right out of your backyard!)

Anyway- I am still making good progress on the new sweater project- It’s starting to look like it might be something, but inches come slowly when I’m working on size 5 needles.

That’s ok, though. I’m going to love this sweater. It will be light and smooth and drapey and warm and soft and go with almost everything I own. That is the plan, anyway. Here’s the latest pic (with valentine flowers):

And next to it a small mountain of freshly washed wool .

I’m still waiting on those wool combs that were supposed to be here for Christmas, but have come to the conclusion that thinking about them is not going to make them get here any sooner (apparently, the Indigo Hound people have had some weather-related difficulties this winter and are terribly behind in production of the combs).

So, I’ve asked the man to put his super-genius builder/fixer-guy mind to the task of making me some combs. I have no doubt that he is up to the challenge. However, this time of year, the projects start coming pretty fast and furious, so I hope we can turn them out before they get pushed way down the priority list.

Wish me luck.

Knit Denise! Knit!

Yes, I have finally cast on for something other than a sock (not that there’s anything wrong with socks, mind you). In fact, I am still making progress on the second unmatched pair (“Sock of Destiny” and significant other):

But it is kind of a relief to have cast on for another project.

So, without further ado, may I present the new project:

I know it doens’t look like much now, but before long, it will take shape into a lovely (albeit simple) tunic-y vest. Mostly stockinette,  just a bit of cable interest in the front and at each side, and some shaping at the waist.

I had been undecided for quite a bit about what kind of sweater to start, and then it finally dawned on me; I should knit what I need in my wardrobe. Fairly obvious, I know. But these things don’t always occur to you at first when you are planing a project. You can sometimes get swept away on the wings of  clever techniques and glossy magazine photos.

This vest is mostly about the yarn and it’s natural variegation. I love this yarn:

This wool came from a guy who lives just north of me in Acme. He’d placed a craigslist ad for wool. $5 a pound for shetland, $1 a pound for all else. So how could I resist?

I called, he gave me directions, and I drove on out there to check it out. This guy has a lot of wool, but it’s all packed in feed sacks up in the loft of his barn, so he goes and gets a ladder, and I climb up there to evaluate his stash by flashlight. There’s a lot of scottish blackface, and some romney, but then I came upon this yummy stuff.  Ah- there’s the shetland! What I didn’t realize right away was that there was two years worth of fleece on this sheep.  But once I got if home and spread it out on the driveway to see what I had, I basically separated the first years bleached dreadlocks from the silky brown and gray underneath, and still walked away with a lot of really nice wool. It is very convenient in this type of situation that a lot of shetlands naturally shed (or partially shed) their coats each year. The break in the wool between the two coats was easy to pull apart by hand.

Wish I’d met the sheep.  She must have been a beauty.

Here’s an update on that blue ribbon romney fleece that I was given a month or so ago-

I decided to spin it up as a three ply, so it would be nice and squishy aran weight, and I am so happy with how it’s going. It is heaven to knit with, it’s making me rethink (again) my next sweater plan.

I do love cables, and this yarn might be just the thing to get my creative juices flowing again. It feels so nice. And I’m finding that this February gray and cold is making me run for my tried and true comforts- hot Tang, down comforter, wood fire, and of course, wool– soft, sweet smelling wool.

Whatever it takes to get me through to spring.

It’s about this time every year that we think “Surely this icky weather must come to an end soon”. But it persists, and we are left to browse the seed catalog as we sit by the woodstove and plan for what we might do once the cold and rain abate.

This year, (much to my delight), it seems that we are going to tackle the pasture fencing issue! The man, armed with his knowledge and contact info from the fencing seminar in Stanwood a few weekends back, is making plans, and hopefully once the weather improves we will be re-fencing (as opposed to the un-fencing we’ve been engaged in for the last couple of years!).

This, of course, is very exciting because it puts me lightyears closer to bing able to have some sheep out here eating our grass and growing beautiful fleeces.

Right now, our fences look like this:

And that is one of the sturdier posts. In certain light, they look pretty cool, all green and furry. But of course, what is picturesque is not always functional. Here is a close up of the lichen:

Quite an interesting assortment of colors and textures, eh?

I’ve heard of people dying with lichens, so perhaps there is a wool tie-in here, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go exploring that avenue quite yet.

I think at least the lichens are enjoying the our dreary winter days.

They’re likin’ it. Get it? heh heh heh