Category: Blog

New spinning project for Elsa! Octavia roving from Marietta Shetlands. Plan is to turn it into a three ply worsted weight yarn, then a new vest for shepherd John (pattern TBD).

In garden news, our chicken wire and netting setup seem to be keeping the bunnies at bay-

Little peps, especially the Aji Cristal guys, are looking really sharp-

Runner beans are starting to run (and flower)-

This little watermelon is venturing into his designated sprawling zone

and this is kind of fun- last year I saved seed from the zinnias that did so well in the hoophouse, but earlier in the spring when I tried to start them I got zero germination. I’d all but given up on having zinnias this year, then recently noticed that I had little volunteers popping up all over the place in here. They didn’t always choose the best places to grow, so I’ve scooped some up and potted them for relocation to other garden spots. So glad I’ll get to see their cheery blooms after all!

At the intersection on wool and garden projects, we have the dye plants that I started from seed this spring. The marigolds are coming on like crazy, and are so intense- like burning embers.

I’m going to dry the blooms for future dyeing. Is they keep on blooming like this all summer I will probably have a pretty good bunch of material to play with

and speaking of color- an update on the Dottie JUiST project-

It’s coming along pretty good now, just a couple inches until I separate the sleeves from the body. After that it should really pick up. Not sure The neckline sits quite right, so I might go back and futz with that a bit later. But I just love the feel of the fabric- and the flashy stripes.

Ok, I’d better head out to visit with the sheeps and get them some evening treats. Have a good week everyone-

It’s been a tough couple of weeks, chicken-wise.

A couple weeks ago, for the first time ever, we had a chicken killed at night in the shed.

Then it was two.

Then three and four, despite our attempts to lock down any entry points.

And after the fourth, I decided that I needed to rehome the rest to get them out of harm’s way.

I am grateful to the Schoonovers who agreed to take in the gang on such short notice.

The only chickens remaining here are Yella (who is unavailble for comment as she’s hunkered down pretending to sit on eggs) and the Speckled Sussex girl who was attacked by an eagle on Tuesday and is recovering from her wounds in the safety of the shop.

It is very strange to not have chicken friends boppin’ around the pasture. I was very sad to see them go. But I am also relieved that they are no longer living under threat of attack by (most likely) racoon.

I have taken down the chicken cam, and brought in the “honk for eggs” sign.

As Forrest Gump would say, “And that is all I have to say about that.”

At least for now.

Last weekend I was down near Lilliwaup, on the Olympic peninsula with some knitting friends for our annual retreat. It was a beautiful spot, right on the Hood Canal

I didn’t think to take many photos, but this gives you an idea of the view from the deck. Just gorgeous. And a fair bit of wildlife activity- lots of eagles, an otter, seals and a couple of Minke whales, which I’d never heard of before.

On the way down we stopped off at The Artful Ewe in Port Gamble. It’s such a treat to see what she’s go going on there, and I always come away with some spinning fiber in a fabulous colorway. I should have taken a picture of the braid, but I was in vacation mode and not really thinking about documenting stuff. But I think it was this one- which is called “Autumn Leaves”. My seasons are out of synch apparently, but it called out to me.

I chose to chain ply it to get a nice squishy chunky yarn and preserve the color changes.

And, I made (another) start on the JUiST sweater project. For some reason I’ve had a hard time getting this one going properly. Between the gauge adjustment, new cast on, new increases and such, I’d been struggling to get it launched. But I think I’m on the right track now

Since that photo, there was progress made, un-made, and re-made.

Today I did a quick soak and block of the inprogress yoke to make sure that the shoulder shaping is in the right place (because it’s hard to tell when it’s all scrunched up on a circular needle). And i think it’s ok.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to rip back again at some point. That seems to be the theme with this project.

Meanwhile, out in the pasture, Dottie is actively resisting being sheared. She’s being very elusive, and hasn’t given me any opportunity in weeks to lay hands on her. Looks like I’m going to have to get sneaky and set a trap to catch her up in the shed. (Just tried to get a picture, and she wasn’t up for that either)

Things are really heating up in the hoophouse-

Eggplants (+zucchini)

Melons (+zucchini)

This little jalepeno is probably the biggest success of the overwintering experiment- really coming along nicely

The overwintered tomatoes seemed to be off to a pretty good start early, but have been suffering from some powdery mildew of late. I’ve pulled one of them, and been trimming leaves and spaying with neem oil. Trying to keep it in check, but might have to yank the others if it threatens to spread to the new plants. Also just pruned the tomatoes and pulled some of the self-seeded chamomile to try and ensure that there is good airflow.

I’ve still got two Ananas Noir tomatoes to get in the ground, but I think they’ll have to hang tight in pots until the snap peas have done their thing.

I’ll sign off today with a short video of a cool waterfall that we visited on the trip back from Lilliwaup- If you’re ever in the Dosewallips area check it out- it’s quite scenic, and not too far a walk from the road

Have a good week folks-

I have a plan- and just in time for my upcoming knitting retreat!

JUiST (pronounced “Yoost”) is a top-down, seamless pullover with a slanted contiguous shoulder construction.

I’ve spent some time this week familiarizing myself with the pattern and doing some swatching to practice some new-to-me things that are in the instructions: Crochet cast-on, German Short Rows, and a new kind of increase. Here is my (2nd attempt) little increase swatch

Feeling pretty good about that. Also did a dry run of the collar area, to make sure my gauge calculations worked out (working a larger size to adjust for my gauge being significantly different from the pattern).

And yesterday morning I dyed the Dottie yarn that I’ll be using for the project

I especially love how the peachy orange shade turned out

It was one skein short of a home run- I’d kind of forgotten how the Wilton’s blue dye can split, and I did have some of that happen on that one color

So I think I’ll do something lese with the blue- perhaps overdye with red to go violet on the whole thing, or some sort of speckle effect, but it will likely sit out this project.

In other news, garden is coming along well- I’ve got almost all the veg in the ground, with drip and soaker hoses in place. With the heat of the last few days everything seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. But these temps really wear me out.

I think this afternoon I’ll be hiding in the shade, eating a rhubarb (+ a bit of ginger) pop.

So much rhubarb this time of year! Next batch is Rhubarb/Cherry+ hint of almond. Like rhubarb cherry pie on a stick.

Have a great week everyone-