This is 1/2 of my Hope roving from Highland Handmades. It spins like a dream and the colors are amazing. 100% superwash merino.
At one point while spinning, I realized I was just sitting there smiling. All the stress has just fallen off me. Spin is Zen. Thanks Heather for making wonderful roving!
Approx 765 yards of lace weight. Spun from Scarlet Fleece – Wool Paint in Poodle Skirt.
First of all, I LOVE my new job. L.O.V.E. I’m starting to adjust to the new schedule too, which means I may be able to get back to blogging regularly soon. Also, I love that I get to see my family much more now. I’ve been alternating having lunch with my mom and lunch with my dad & grandma on my days off. I’m also starting to exercise in the mornings before I leave for work. Now that the heat has broke for awhile, I’ve been able to get out and walk again.
Ok, now on to the post…
Between adjusting to the new schedule and the sun trying to slow roast us for over 3 months, my plants aren’t doing so well. My oregano cannot be stopped though. The “apple bush” was loaded this year and the rose bush keeps randomly blooming one or two blooms. But, I seem to have been infested with lady bugs. I had a small pumpkin on the porch that was nearly devoured by them in a matter of days. They ate the honey dew plant just as it was about to bloom and they ate all the pumpkin vine and I’m assuming the rest of the pumpkins are going to receive the same fate.
Right now I have 3 really large pumpkins (larger than basket balls) but their stalks have been the entry point for bugs. This saddens me because, although I don’t eat the pumpkins, I do use them as my yearly jack-o-lanterns and I don’t expect these three to make it until the end of October. You can see in the photo of pumpkin #2 the hole near the stalk where bugs are coming and going.
I did have a random bush of poke berries sprout up near the pumpkins. I’m assuming that this was a gift from above (aka bird droppings LOL) since there aren’t any poke bushes near my house. When these ripen, I’m going to use them for some natural dying.
I’m still working through my Wild Thing fleece and last week I picked up another fleece that is a Dorset mix breed. I washed up a small sample of it and it is a lovely butter color and is pretty soft. I can’t wait to start washing it up too.
This is some of Wild Thing drying on the porch today. It’s not completely clean but what is left will come out when I card it.
I haven’t been doing much personal knitting lately but I have been working on a whole bunch of stuff for the shop. I designed this crochet stole/scarf as a pattern that is available with purchase of the yarn. I made it from one skein of sock yarn.
I’ve also been doing a whole lot of spinning. I spun CJ Kopec’s Indian Corn as part of the August SAL. When I split it in half, I thought I had gotten it pretty equal but I ended up with a whole bunch left on one bobbin after I plyed it. I spun up some black alpaca to ply with what was left. The two yarns I ended up with, I’m calling Withes Brew (which is photoed with the small pumpkin pre-lady bug infestation) and Bubble Bubble Toil & Trouble.
Right now, I’m spinning Poodle Skirt by Scarlet Fleece, crocheting a doily for my grandma, knitting two sweaters, a pair of socks, a shawl, a large tote bag, and I have some other things I’ve had to put on stitch holders like the Nightingale socks and the second La Vie de Bois sock. Also, I started buying yarn for my Christmas knitting/crocheting. I swore I wasn’t going to do it but, I came up with some really great projects and I’m starting early. I just hope the gifts are appreciated this year… sometimes I wonder if they are or not.
Check out Week One for all the details of how to the Wellness Challenge works and how to join in and be eligible for the monthly giveaway.
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“Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.” – Stephen Kaggwa
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Did you know that it takes an hour of walking 2.0 mph to burn approximately 225 calories but you can burn 250 calories in just 30 minutes of dancing or swimming.
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Don’t be a Debbie Downer. Keep a positive attitude to keep your dreams alive. If you think you can’t you never will. If you dream it, it will come.
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This month’s giveaway: One Crafty Kitten Recycled Mixed Paper Journal stamped with the word or phrase of your choice. (Try to keep it to letters only, I don’t own a number set yet.) Winner will be announced on July 8th.
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So, last week I became vegan… how did that work out you ask? Well it started out fantastic. I ate a whole lot of fresh fruit and veggies. I tried new vegan alternatives to meat that were fantastic. I love soy milk. I hate soy “cheese”. I had kept to it with only one slip up over the weekend… until Tuesday. I had been haunted by the thought of ice cream for days, then I let myself get too hungry, and then the “I want a heavy comfort food meal” feeling set in and I was done for. I caved and went to McDonalds. Yes, I know I could have picked something healthier but my tummy threw a temper tantrum and I gave in. I’ve done much better since then though.
That leads me to this week’s goal. I’m going to try adding back diary and eggs. I think that with those, I’ll still keep up the healthy veggies and fruit but I won’t feel deprived.
This week I’m thankful for the loving and supportive people in my life. My life is getting ready to change drastically and it’s all because there are people out there willing to take a chance on me. I love each and every one of them dearly.
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So tell me, what’s your small goal this week and what are you thankful for?
Oh, and please invite your friends and help spread the word 
Sunday I started spinning CJ Kopec’s Jester (2/3 merino and 1/3 colonial). It is incredibly soft and practically spins itself.
Monday I went stash diving and came up with a bunch of destash yarn and some other yarns that I want to knit but have been hanging around for awhile.
I cast on the Dandy Neckerchief in Summer Linen which is a cotton & linen blend. It’s been great to knit with since the summer has certainly arrived. It’s been far too hot to knit wool.
I also cast on a blanket in Cherry Tree Hill cotton/rayon bouclé in the colorway Winterberry. I have four 440 yard – 8 oz skeins. It’s not something I would make a garment out of so he only thing I could imagine making was a blanket. I love the colors! It’s basically a giant Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth.
I finished the Chopstick Socks and I am in LOVE with this pattern. I’ll definitely be making several more since I have a good stock of hand painted sock yarn.
I also finished the Murder Mystery SAL.
Not much on the needles this week. A pair of plain vanilla socks made out of Intentions yarn in Courage. The Nightingale socks haven’t been touched since last week.
A few weeks ago I was asked to be a demonstrator at the local 4-H center. I was an avid 4-H’er so I checked my schedule and said a quick yes! Last night I gave four 15 minute demonstrations on drop spindling and a speech on where yarn comes from. I was pleasantly surpised that the kids were interested and asked really good questions. My biggest surprise was the interest the little boys took in spinning. I got a few really good kid comments that made me giggle. I had the kids name off animals they thought would be good for making yarn from their from and one little boy insisted that elephant hair would be great. At least one kid in each group asked if you could spin and make a sweater out of cotton candy because that is what the wool looks like. I had a wonderful time and I think the kids did too.
I recently made another Ishbel shawl in the larger size. I made it in Alpaca Prima in a pretty heather brick red.
This was the last yarn I spun on a spindle. The fiber came from Cindy of Studioloo in my Monty Python swap package. I love the bright colors!
This Cranberry beauty is what I spun on Willow during an eight hour Dr. Who marathon on Sunday. 157 yards, 2 ply, wool but not sure what kind. Looks to be near sport weight.
I cast on for the Tappan Zee cardigan last week. I’m making it from Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in the color Roasted Coffee.
I’m also spinning through my Murder Mystery Spin Along fiber too.
She’s a Kromski Fantasia and she spins like a dream. I love her & I’m so happy to finally have a spinning wheel! I’ve spun a lot this week. Here’s my first spun yarn. The tan was dyed with tea and the silver was dyed with blackberries.
