Tag Archive | life stuff

Home again…

Jul20

We’re back home again after our two weeks on the road. It was a trip I really needed, I think DH did as well. After Black Seep Gathering we had a week before The Grazing hills event the next weekend so we spent the time wandering though NE Oregon and into Washington via back roads, avoiding the major highways as much as possible. We stayed in State or USFS campgrounds and on occasion just bushwhacking. Here’s our first encounter with an automated flagman!

Automated flagman!

Seafoam blooming at/in window!

It was still springtime up in the higher elevations and a nice wet winter has everything green and blooming. Warm, not hot, days, cool nights, no internet or phones… it was wonderful! By the time we reached Viola, Idaho, we were relaxed and ready for the next event. Katie, Christine, and crew did a great job with this new event. It was well organized, well advertised, well laid out, just an all around excellent fair, especially for a first time event! Lots of other vendors and very friendly people. We got to see new born alpacas taking their first wobbly steps, and chatted with lots of old and new friends. I had a class of 6 new weavers there and at Albany and I hope I was able to inspire them to continue with this fun craft. The grocery bag wind socks were a popular item and certainly put on a show on this windy hill top! Lovely rolling hills farm country!

Viola Booth

One row of vendor booths on Sunday morning. Sunday morning is a slow time at fairs. We had lots of people Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

So now we have a couple months to get ready for OFFF and Lambtown! Check out those events, too, if you have not already done so.  And the garden is into production. I will have to pick beans again today. Randy pulled his crop of carrots and has replanted. I dunno if they’ll do much this time of year but as I have failed at carrots, I’ve turned them over to him! I’ll need to harvent some turnips today, too, as I see there are leaf munchers enjoying those plants!

First harvest! Not bad for a first time! And my first zucchini didn’t make it into the photo!

Randy has gone off with a neighbor to work on the water works up Treasure Creek. The spring run-off took out both the Beavers Dam and his own control system. People down stream are worried about their fishes, most politely, one forgetting that having this water is not her “right” and wording her concerns is less than acceptable ways. Ah well, not everyone is a happy person. Too bad.

And I now have a new ‘toy’! A summer resident and friend has given me his late wife’s knitting machine. She was a beautiful lady and will certainly be missed by everyone who knew her. I hope to be able to learn how to use her classic machine. But I am still weaving, never fear! lol

New projects coming up!

Hope your summer is not too hot or too busy!

 

 

More Finished UFO’s

Jun6

Okay, I’m late posting again but it is June, busy weather as I’m sure you know. Got the garden Mostly in, but it keeps going from cold and wet to blazing hot, not good for gardens or people! Today is over cast but not raining. Yet. Forecast is for clearing and moderate temps. I’ll believe it when I see it…

…Like you do with my promised posting!  Ah well. I frogged the supposed shrug as it was a garment no one could wear. Now it’s just a plain tunic, comfortable but not very flattering for me. There is no shaping, I could not find a belt but as I have no waist, I’m not sure that would matter. I thought of letting Madelyn model it but it’s way too big for her.

But here it is laid out flat. The neckline was a picot, bind off. The sleeves an applied I-Cord.  The hem also Picot bind off. I picked up the stitches, knit around and then worked the BO.

 

12″ Alpaca squares woven in three colors

Picked up stitches, worked 3 rows of stockinet- knit side inside so it would curl to the right side and then the Picot Bind off.

Applied I-cord for the sleeve.

Picked up hem stitches then knit in the round one round and bound off with the picot stitch. I didn’t want this one to curl.

And I found an anonymous old lady to model it. I think I need some sleeves under but this yarn does not sit well over clothing. It sticks and refuses to drape as it should. Works like your old sunday school flannel board! lol But this yarn is soooo comfy! Even tho it isn’t really a flattering garment I might wear it a lot just because it feels so good! I am at least happy that I finally found a use for all those squares and that lovely yarn.  Now I just have a vast selection of demo squares to make into something. And as we are coming up in fair season again I think I should plan a bit better with yarn choice so that I have a better chance of actually using the squares I weave while showing folk how it’;s done.

It was suggested  I do a WAL for making pants. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea but I saw a pair this morning somewhere that I think just might work this way. I wonder if I could possibly find that photo again… What’s chances? lol

Up next is…

Apr9

It was supposed to be my new sweater but  was not working out for that. I bought this alpaca yarn on a good sale as it was being discontinued so I have a limited amount to work with. It’s Blue Sky, I’m sure I can get more. I think it was just the colorways that were being discontinued. Anyway, I think I found a way to use all these 12″ squares. It’s a knitting pattern but so simple that it will work for the squares. It’s just a matter of will it fit me?! I’m forging ahead and hoping for the best! lol

So here’s my layout. I have enough (I hope) Navy to knit the ribbing. If not I also still have some of the colors so it could be as colorful, almost, as the squares. Well, these are the blocks but I cannot get a picture of my present layout. It’s a camera issue. But this one is going to take awhile as I did not weave the ends in as I went. I’m sure I have advised you to do so, in the past. I guess this is another case of “do as I say, not as I do!’ lol It will be sewn together with an overhand stitch. Pinned each time to avoid stretching out of shape. It’s a very soft yarn. Soft and drape-y.

 

       

The other thing is that it is also getting toward gardening season. The rain (knock knock) has stopped and the sun is out. Water is quite high in streams and the lake. We’ll have a full lake this summer! Took a ride north yesterday and got a picture of Scott Mountain creek! It hasn’t run like this in years! I wish you could hear it as well. It was Roaring!! Love it! all the branch creeks and seasonal streamlets were adding to it and by the time it reached the Trinity River and on down the canyon to join Coffee Creek, that one was roaring as well! But CC does not seem close at all to flood tho a lot of people who have moved up here in recent years may be a bit anxious since they’ll never have seen spring run-off.

 

Another one done.

Mar24

This is some handspun, a soft fluffy yarn, cannot of course remember what. I really do need to label stuff, but finished assembling the triangle cowel and wanted to weave a hat to go with but didn’t have enough of that yarn left so I knitted a head band. Which, as you will see, does not really work for me. lol I need a pretty young model! But none the less, if you have long hair this may work well for you . The cowel consists of twelve 7″ triangles  sewn together with the faggoting stitch, in this case. Pretty fast and easy to make.

      

The headband is a reversible cable. I modified from a scarf pattern. Cables don’t show up very good here.

CO 12,

1. Seed for 4 stitches them k1p1 for 8 stitches, and 4 more seed for the border.

2. Seed for 4, knit the knits, purl the purls for 8, seed 4. Work 8 rows and cable the 8 center stitches.

Repeat as long as needed.

I’d suggest working just 4 rows before the first cable so as to be able to join away from the last cable, If you are good at kitchner that would make it truly reversible. I am not so just did the knit together cast off, making mine a little less reversible.

So today we are photographing the looms for the new web page but I’ll get to the next one once we finish this. meanwhile, hoping my cold is on it’s last legs– or I might be! lol

Happy New Year 2019

Jan6

All my resolutions to keep this blog regular have failed so I guess I’ll just promise to do it when I think of it this year!  sigh….

  

But today it’s snowing. Lovely! If we get enough of this stuff maybe we won’t have such a “hot” summer this year!

Elsewhere I have been busy in the shop, & I’m signed up to teach a pin weaving class at Black Sheep this year. I’m a little disappointed that they did not take my more advanced class but am happy to be teaching the beginner class anyway. That’ll be the 4″ Multi, if you are interested. I’m going to offer the advanced class to OFFF and Lambtown. Maybe one of them will take it.

     I got out the peg loom and my Pentdelton Mills selvages with weaving a rug in mind. However, my sample turned out way too thick for a kitchen rug, which is what I had in mind, so I guess I’ll make a set of chair pads instead. My sample is rather pretty, even dh said so.

   And today I baked my Windmill Cookies. I paid $7 for a little jar of Mace so I thought I’d better use it. And I’ll see if I can find some other uses for this fancy spice. I like the flavor but it won’t go with everything.

And I read that modern mother’s like sleep sacks for their babies rather than blankets. I have to admit it makes sense. They were talking about babies smothering in the blankets. That seems unlikely to me, I never heard of a baby smothering in it’s blankets and the only problem I’ve ever found with them is keeping the baby covered. They sometimes kick them off in the night so that’s why I think the sleep sack is a good idea. It’s kind of like the old gown with the ribbon tied at the bottom, Kind of an extra long sweater with the hem sewn shut. I’m going to make one for my niece’s girl, due in April. Still trying to decide on the yarn to use.  The snow is so pretty, but I’m not wading out to the yarn shed today. I’ll wait until it’s done and not quite so cold and wet! But I have some alpaca squares I wove for a sweater for myself but found that I am not going to have enough. Maybe I’ll make one using those. Not exactly baby colors but maybe modern mother’s don’t do pink and blue anymore, either.

And I’m in a KAL with the doll knitters. That’s for movie evenings. Well, That’s about it. I think tonight will be comfort food. I’m thinking something featuring macaroni and tuna. Hope the power stays on….

Hope your new year is getting off to a lovely start!

 

Photgraphy lesson: “Architecture” ,

May20

  

  

The Jays know how to keep their young families safe from cruising ravens. They build under, usually under an overhanging roof if they can find one. We’ve been raising Stellar Jays for many years. I like to think it’s great great grandchildren returning every spring. The one on the tree branch is really a squirrel nest but the Jays play around in it, too. We raised two families this spring. I think they’ve abandoned the one in the rose bush that they used for years because we use the deck out there now at that time of the year and they feel that’s a little close, I suppose.  But the other two are on opposite sides of the house. The first one is the newest nest. Randy put up the shelf brackets and strung chicken wire between them as a platform. It was in self defense as they wanted to build in his supply of fence panels and we were going to be needing them!

But the subject is architecture. They build rather free form but it is a tight and sturdy nursery. And safe, as I have mentioned. We have other birds around but these are the only ‘house’ birds. I had a house wren build a nest in the pocket of a pair of my pants which were hanging on the clothes line. By the time they were done with it the pants were pretty faded but I could not bring myself to oust them.

Water..

May11

Anther blog photo lesson. Water is an important subject now days. Seems like there is either not enough of it or there is too much of it. This year we appear to be edging onto not enough here. And it’s spring with summer not looking wet at this point. But immediately water to me means Treasure Creek, the stream running though my garden. Not very big but a pretty stream, it’s my “white noise”, masking traffic on the road and loud talking neighbors. Dog can get a drink, I can dip my watering can in there to refresh any dry looking plants and local wildlife take advantage of it too. We see frogs and some little trouts.

 

And last summer we had a family of raccoons wading up steam. Not unusual to see one or two but these were 4 babies and I got some fuzzy pictures. I spooked them and they hid behind an alder and peeked around at me. Of course, the camera focused on the maples leaves in front of me where I wasn’t paying attention. Still a cute, if fuzzy shot, I think. And one with Water! 🙂

 

Bliss..

May10

The next lesson in blogging is a photo explaining what Bliss is to me. How far back to we need to go?  Five years old and seeing the tree lighted christmas morning?  My first bike? Falling in love? Holding my first baby, my first grandchild? All of those and more. Bliss been, for the most part scattered throughout my life. There are many more instances of bliss in my life, but I think these days bliss is the first snow, coming with a full wood shed and a full pantry. Add a couple nice yarn projects, a kitty in my lap, Himself keeping the wood stove stocked and that pretty well covers bliss. Well, I could just add that the cookie jar might be full of brownies!

First snow on Dorleska Court

The next theme is to be “connection”. I’ll have to think about that for awhile.

Home Sweet Home

May6

The next stage of my learning to blog properly has to do with taking and posting photos. I don’t think I am too bad at photography, tho I have never made a study of it ‘for arts sake’. But the subject for today was “Home”.  I took two pics and grayed them into one. This is home to me. Billy’s Peak and my deck with the roses growing over it. They are red and white as I have shown many times before but am using this occasion to do Art. More or less. Our place is almost directly under the peak, well, about 5000′ under it, but not way out in front as in this shot, but to me it still contains the two most important parts of Home.