Category: Blog

Spent some time this morning picking and carding Esther fleece that I dyed last summer-

Felt a bit like visiting with the girl herself, which was kind of bittersweet. So glad I still have some of her fleece to work with. I think that I’m going to use these (and other) colors to build back up my stranded colorwork yarn stash. So, small batches (1-2 oz) in a wide range of colors, at about 80-90 yds/oz.

I just wrapped up a custom chiengora (dog fur) spinning job for some folks I met at the St. Distaff’s Day Spin -in, so it will be fun to change gears and do some color blending.

Will take a bunch of dyed batts and my handcards with me to the Spindrifter’s Retreat next weekend and just play 🙂

Going to close out this post with just a little quiet spinning with Elsa. I thought the light in the wool room looked so pretty on her dark golden finish-

Have a good week, folks-

Esther and Daphne’s Pluviae Vest is complete!

And it’s a good fit! I expect I’ll be pulling it into service right away. The colors are more true in this try-on photo.

I really love how the colors work together, and the weight of the doubleknit button band. Despite the fiddly-ness of intarsia in general, and all the ends, I did enjoy the process on this project. And the end results was definitely worth the time and trouble.

Other good things that I’m trying to focus on- beautiful weather this weekend giving me the opportunity to do some garden work- yesterday organizing and cleaning in the hoophouse-

which reminds me- I got some exciting new seed starting equipment the other day! Check out these lovely trays from Bootstrap Farmer!

They are flashy- but don’t let the pretty colors fool you- they are really thick and sturdy. Will hopefully hold up to a lot of use.

Today I tamed the raspberries. These original plants, no idea what variety (came with the house- so over 20 years old) have been so productive for us. It always feels good to get them tidied up and ready for another season.

And here are a couple of sheep in the sunshine photos for good measure. 🙂

Because sheep in the sunshine make everything a little bit better.

Take care folks-

I really thought I might have all the finishing work done on my Pluviae vest by today, but it is taking a bit longer than expected.

That said, I am finding it rather satisfying. I’ve had to learn a few new techniques to finish up this project: double knitting, tubular cast on, and italian tubular bind-off.

Now that I think I’ve got a handle on them, I can say that it’s been rewarding 🙂 I was having a really hard time with the tubular caston until I discovered this video tutorial by Roxanne Richardson.

and this Brooklyn Tweed one is pretty good for the Italian Tubular bind off-

Took me a couple of tries to successfully execute it in reverse, but now this old dog has a couple new tricks in her repertoire.

I’m not quite halfway through the buttonband-

Lots of rows, and lots of turning the work back and forth, but it’s developing nicely. Really like the feel- substantial, but soft and squishy. have to start thinking about buttons!

I’ve also been reading a cool book that I received as a birthday gift last month (thanks Mom)

Lots of good info in there- and many plants that I’d not thought of using for dyeing. Apple leaves and bark, for instance.

Apparently apple bark will produce color, and doesn’t require a mordant. We have lots of apple prunings this time of year, so I went out with my trusty garden knife and harvested some bark, which is now soaking in a bucket in the hoophouse. Some of the bark has a variety of lichens on it, so don’t know how that might affect my results, but will be exciting to give it a go sometime this spring.

Alrighty folks. Hope you all have a good week-

It was glorious in the garden today. Perfect for pruning work, which is progressing nicely-

We were mostly out back today, reining in the big cherry tree and thinning out the smaller cherry as well.

Prunings are piling up fast,

Amazing how much new growth these trees put on each year!

Sheep seemed to enjoy the beautiful weather as well. Here they are cheering us on from the sidelines 🙂

Other pre-garden season garden work involves taking stock of the seed inventory and establishing a seed starting schedule

Here are this years selections, all snug in their seed cozy, awaiting their planting dates

which are recorded in my 2026 garden plan spreadsheet

And in wool work, I’m excited to report that I’ve got my Pluviae vest assembled, and am now working on finishing.

Bottom twisted ribbing first, then armholes, and then…….. a doubleknit buttonband, which is a new thing for me. Was having a little bit of a hard time envisioning how it worked, so I did a little sample in scrap yarn earlier in the week to try out the technique

It is really slick. Results in a nice, substantial fabric that lies flat, and has a nice edge. And the buttonhole thing is so simple that it is kind of genius. I’m really excited now to get to that bit.

Perhaps I’ll have a finished object to share next week!