Category: Uncategorized

Wednesday night’s topic last week at my Livestock Adviser class was sheep (!) and llamas. Yea!

Mother Hildegard George, of Our Lady of the Rock on Shaw Island was our speaker.

Mother Hildegard runs the sheep operation at the convent. They keep Cotswolds, selling breeding stock and wool products through their website. She brought a lot of wool-related materials (roving, yarn, books, magazines) because she’d heard that there were a bunch of fiber folks in the class. Sounds like they’ve got a really nice setup there on Shaw Island. 300 acres, no real predator problems.

During her class I started a swatch. About 4 inches wide. A nice smooshy corriedale (navajo plied). And I liked how it felt so much that I just kept going. Pretty soon I had 20-something inches of swatch, and I thought, “I should really turn this into something.”

First I made it into a band. Picked out the cast-on, and kitchenered the two ends together.

Here is Bruno, somewhat reluctantly modeling the band:

(Poor Bruno. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But he’s a good sport. Gotta love the sweet Bruno.)

Anyway- it was a nice band,, but the edges rolled under like crazy. It needed something more. So, I picked up some stitches behind one edge (so the edge itself is visible on the front) and knit a hat top out of some lovely soft emsket Shetland. Then I did the same on the other edge, but knit about an inch or so of 2×2 ribbing.

And here ’tis- from the side:

and from the top:

I do like the cross-directional interest, especially since the yarn is kind of self-striping.

In other news, we have a mountain of fresh and fruity wool muffins from my last KoolAid dyeing adventure:

Yum.

The weaving report: I finally got about 13 inches woven on my handspun sampler, and decided that was enough for now, so I cut it off the loom, and now rather than the project itself being a loose end, the project is a mess of loose ends! I’m sure there is a better method for finishing it, but for now I’ve tied all the little ends in pairs so it doesn’t unravel itself.

My first weaving. It’s simple, and certainly not perfect, but it’s fabric. Cool, eh?

Didn’t quite finish sock #2 this week,

but working with those bright fruity colors has motivated me to dye up another batch of sherbet-y goodness:

Kool Aid is so much fun.

Very little woolwork to show for this week, though I did manage to finish sock #1 thanks to bus rides and lunch hours.

Sporty, eh? A nice thick, warm sock.

Just my standard sock formula- lots of ribbing, modified Dutch heel, wedge-type toe, kitchener stitched to close. Here’s a closer look at my preferred heel- so easy to work, and fits a narrow foot very nicely.

Toe is little squarer than I’d usually make, but that’s because I kept on with the foot a little too long. Still a good fit.

Sock number two is newly cast on, and will be worked in the same yarns, with whatever striping scheme that occurs to me while I’m knitting it.

Still have to ply the rest of the purple haze

Which means I’d better keep this short. Gotta get to bed early tonight. It’s been a hard-workin’ weekend around the homestead.

Denise out.

Combing:

Shetland of many colors-

Spinning:

Purple Haze from the stash (b-day gift from thoughtful co-workers!)

Knitting:

Tilly, from A Fine Fleece. Finished. Just needs ends woven in.

Finishing:

Zipper arrived, and I’d better buckle down and finish the Urban Aran before it gets really cold out.

Casting On:

Purple Haze and Tangerine Blaze. Match made in heaven?

& studying up!

Very exciting- I’m taking the Livestock adviser class in Everett this Fall. This week was Poultry 101. Next week is Grass-fed beef. Hopefully we’ll get to sheep sometime soon.

Denise out.