Monthly Archives: March 2009

Animals and Nature

My 15 Seconds of Fame

Posted on by Jean

So yesterday we went back up to the farm.

The Weather Channel came to do a special that will air around Earth Day next month.  Susan needed people for the background.  We couldn’t have asked for a better day.  It was a little crisp, but gorgeous.  We thought we were just going to be background props but they asked a couple of us if they could interview us.

Getting miked up.  That’s a showbiz term, you know… lol…
I’m so full of crap.  They probably call it, “putting the microphone on”
or something crazy like that.  Daniel was very interested in the camera.

Getting interviewed.  I have no idea what I said, if it made sense or how badly I’m going to embarrass my family but it was fun. 
 

But enough about me… I suppose you’d like to see the cute little buggers.  I tell you, I fall more in love with these goats every time I see them.  They are hilarious.  The sheep are pretty cute too, but I really heart the goats.  And the dogs. 

Weaving

Square Doodles

Posted on by Jean

The draft is here.

I finished the 2nd towel and wanted to try another weave pattern.  I decided on a different tie-up than I’d been using and scribbled in some squares in a pattern on some graph paper.  I imagine in the million or so years that people have been weaving, someone has come up with this pattern so, in the words of Elizabeth Zimmermann, let’s just say I unvented it.  It was fun to take it to the loom and see it form into this:

How much fun is that?!  It looks nothing like the graph.  You can see more of the graph here:

Another interesting thing is how my little threading error is more obvious in some weaves than in others.  Remember when you all said you couldn’t see it?  See it up there going up the middle of the fabric?  Here, have a closer look:

It doesn’t bother me since it’s my very first piece but I will be much more careful in the future.

Stained Glass, Weaving

Finishing Up

Posted on by Jean

With the big move to the Lone Star State only a few months off, I’m trying to finish off the various projects that I have.   This is a “stained” glass (what do you call it when the glass is clear textured?) piece I cut several months ago.  If I work on it a little each day I should have it done in a few days.

I’m not in a hurry to finish the towels on the loom.  I want them to last so that I don’t have too little time to warp another project and not enough time to finish up the towels so that I can get the loom ready to ship.   I’m on the 2nd towel.  I’m going to do a different treadling on each one to vary it up a bit.  This one is a really quick and easy treadling that came with the first towel pattern I did. 
 

Spinning

Spindling Progress

Posted on by Jean

I can’t believe that two weeks from now we’ll be in Texas looking at houses.  I’m starting to panic.  There’s so many choices and it’s so hard to decide what to give up and what we must have.  Part of the problem is that we could be in this house for a very long time if things go as planned, but we could also be moving in four years if they don’t.  We haven’t owned a home since before we went to Gemany the first time and I’m so excited and so scared all at once.  The real estate market in Texas hasn’t hurt like the rest of the country because houses there are already so reasonable, but taxes are very high.  Something will turn up and I know that when we walk into the perfect one we’ll just know it… I hope.

 When I’m not on the internet shopping for a house, I’ve been playing with the new spindle I bought at SPA. 

I started a simple Old Shale scarf and am knitting the plied yarn right off the spindle as I go.  I’m anxious to compare the beginning of the scarf to the end to see how much I improve.  I have to say, I saw huge improvement after the very first spindle full.  I was putting way too much twist in both the singles and the plied yarn at first.

Dan and watched a documentary called “Dear Zachary”  last night that left us in disbelief.  It’s easily the best documentary I’ve ever seen.  The story is so sad but it’s a wonderful tribute to a man that was much loved by his friends and family.  Truly unbelievable how crazy some people in this world are.  We’ve seen a lot of crazy with Dan’s career being what it is, but this is unbelievable because of the court system in Newfoundland protecting a murderer and letting her back out on the streets *and* allowing her to have custody of her baby.

Towels, Weaving

Just Go With It

Posted on by Jean

I finally had time to finish threading the loom for the towels.

Before I started weaving I noticed that I’d gotten three threads in one reed slot instead of two.  I thought, “Heck with it.  This is just to get used to the feel and learn.  It won’t make much of a difference.”  See the dark line that runs up the fabric.  And then I noticed that I had a threading mistake.  You can see it in the column of pattern that ends right in the center of the photo.  Dang it all.  That’s okay.  I’ll have something to progress from.  I still have my first handspun skein and I’ll hold on to these towels the same way.

Knitting

Something Blue

Posted on by Jean

I was going to title this post, “Mohair Hell”, but she was worth every swear word I uttered while knitting her… and unknitting her.  I did a lot more unknitting than knitting, that’s for sure.

Pattern: Cleopatra from the book Sensual Knits by Yahaira Ferreira

Yarn: Lana Gatto Mohair Royal from Elann

I hated knitting this in mohair, but now that it’s finished and blocked, I LOVE that it’s in mohair.  I can not believe how much this yarn softened up after blocking.  Love, love, love it. 

If I were to knit it again I’d knit both ends to the center and then graft it.  I followed the pattern and it’s grafted right after the lace at one end.  My neighbors all saw it this morning and assured me that I was crazy when I showed them the “line” where it’s grafted.  Are they blind?!  lol.

Friends, Knitting, Spinning, Travel

Best Weekend. EVER!

Posted on by Jean

I’m a little late on the report.  It’s been a crazy week with the snow storm and all.  SPA was greater than I ever imagined.  I think women owe it to themselves to get away once in a while.  Even though I had a screaming sinus headache the first couple of days I had SUCH a good time.  I didn’t realize how much I needed the break until I could take a nap and sleep in til 10:30, do what *I* wanted to do when I wanted to do it and the very best part, being able to share the love of wool with so many other women.  I had a great time hanging out with Kim, Kathy, Carole, Terry, Laurie, Martha, Lucia, Manise (who I finally got to meet!), Sharon, Di (and her GORGEOUS wheel) and I got to meet Dave from Merlin Tree who so kindly tried to help me with a wheel I wanted to sell.  Like so many others, I had my camera the whole weekend.  I have no idea why I didn’t take one picture.  I guess I was just having too much fun.

Here’s my loot:

A Forrester spindle.   She spins like a dream. I picked this one to remind me of New England when we move to Texas.  The roving is Kim’s (Woolen Rabbit) BFL in “Blues”. 

Ann Hanson’s Butternut Scarf pattern and Kim’s Alpaca in Chocolate Chambord.  YUM!

And evidently I like Kim’s Chocolate Chambord because I bought it in sock yarn the day before.  And I had to get something for Dan so I bought Burgandy Bean to make him some socks.  I know.  Thoughtful huh?  The colors are much darker than the photo shows.  It’s much more Aggie Maroon than it looks.