The Woolen Rabbit

Sustenance........July 24, 2006

Sustenance for the Body......YUM!   

 Sustenance for the Spirit.........FUN!

Laceing Along Again....

I think that even I have had enough of orange for a little while.  Last winter, I pulled out some dyed corriedale top that I had purchased on Ebay.  I was very disappointed when I received the roving as it was almost felted and I came very close to tossing it.

Somehow those colors just called out to me, so I pulled the roving apart into little strips and then pre~drafted each one.

Imagine how pleased I was when I got this lovely yarn!  Goes to prove that sometimes a sow's ear, can turn into something nice...LOL

The pattern I am using is from Morehouse Merino and is called The LaScala Shawl.  It is a nice easy lace pattern and is working up quickly.

Hazy Summer Days.......July 20, 2006

 

Spinning

The summer days here have been unusually steamy.  Up here in the mountains, we do not usually get these long stretches of uncomfortable weather. Too hot for knitting, this weather has lent itself just perfect for the slow rhythmic turning of my big 28 inch spinning wheel.

A cool glass of lemonade and lovely angora blends..........who could ask for more?

(Hmmmm.........Are you noticing a little orange trend lately?)

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A Growing Pup

Maggie is growing in leaps and bounds!  She is already towering over the Cavaliers here...  What a fun little girl she is!  Very independent with a mind of her own, but such a love bug.  (Kind of sounds like a few redheads I know...LOL)

Hot Fun In The Sumer~Time.....July 15, 2006

Pattern:  Embossed Leaves Socks (Knits Winter 2005)
Yarn:  Opal Magic
Needles:  Size US 1

I would like to thank everyone who sent a note to me regarding Eddy.  Every now and then a little dog comes along that you bond with very closely and love dearly, he was one of those.  Because of dog club politics and possibly language barriers, Eddy had to be returned to Germany, even though it would not have been my choice.  My only hope is that he ends up in a home where he was loved as much as he was here.

And now on to more positive things..............a lot more felting has been happening here.  Pictures will be following very soon!

Good bye Little Prince.....July 12, 2006

Good bye my little Prince of New England and King of my Heart...

You are loved and you will be missed.

(Eddy left today for Germany.......it is still too difficult and personal for me to blog about, so I will say good-bye with some pictures) 

                                                                                           

Good Morning Starshine......July 11, 2006

Good morning starshine
The earth says hello
You twinkle above us
We twinkle below

Good morning starshine
You lead us along
My love and me as we sing
Our early morning singing song

Gliddy glub gloopy
Nibby nabby noopy
La la la lo lo
Sabba sibby sabba
Nooby abba nabba
Le le lo lo
Tooby ooby walla
Nooby abba naba
Early morning singing song

As I was taking Miss Maggie for our morning walk in the yard, and saw the day's beautiful sunrishe, this  song floated around in my mind.

Of course, the picture would be so much prettier without the electric wires, but it was the only view that I could capture the beautiful morning sun today.

What a difference a week makes in a puppy.  Little Miss Hellon Wheels has settled down considerably and I have to admit, either Cavaliers are not very bright (LOL) or this girl is extremely smart.  We've been dealing with some sad dog health issues, so Maggie has been a wonderful diversion :-)

Felting Again

This weekend, my husband offered to tend to the small zoo and I took off for a day of learning new felting techniques.

My friend, Michelle of Sunshine Daydreams Gardens, a talented girl in her own right, hosted a day of felting classes, given by Australian fiber artist, Julie Williams of Jaruleeli FeltART.  Julie has been in the US since march and is felting her way around the world.

Michelle's lovely gardens were a perfect back drop on a warm summer day for felting, lemonade and good company.

Someday, I hope to have a garden as lovely as this one!

This particular class is called the rose bag. It is a resist bag with a resist rose in the center.

Starting out with a plastic pattern and some cotton fabric, the merino and in my case, bits of silk are felted on to the fabric.  A separate little flap attached to the bag is also felted.  This flap will eventually become the rose in the center of the bag.

Now mind you, I am used to felting with a sander, so rolling the wool around on a bubble wrapped noodle was certainly a work out...LOL, but when it was finished, I have to say that I was very pleased with the results.

There are things that I think I might change when I do this again and a sander will definitely incoorporated, but all in all, it was a fun class and it's always nice to meet new fiber artists.  I love learning new techniques!

Blue Gifts
 This summer I have participated in Lynne's colorswap.  Summers with the all of the kids (and their friends) home is usually crazy busy with children activities and hopefully squeezing in some work.  I thought that it would be fun to give and receive treats......something for me to look forward to in the summer's insanity...... and I have not been disappointed yet!

Emily has sent me the most wonderful blue gifts.  Some Regia sock yarn, seeds for 2 of my most favorite flowers, some yummy treats (one of which is missing...LOL) and best of all some handmade paper, which is absolutely beautiful!

Thanks Emily!! 

Happy 4th of July!! ... July 4, 2006

Peacock iridescence in veridical shadows,
Violet blooms spread to noonday sun.
The world's beauty is a swirl of color,
But in the flower's center is bright stillness

Deng Ming~Dao

Do you see all of those little droplets? 

Yes.................

    rain,
           rain,
                  rain

and a little more rain is what we have had for most of our early summer here in the Mountains.  How about you?  Has your corner of the world been sunny and warm... or hot, muggy, rainy and miserable like it has been here.....ick!  Let's hope for better things in July!  Happy 4th!!

Color Me Orange

I have had a few comments from some of my favorite fiber people checking to see if I am still alive...LOL.  Working full time, if even from home, has certainly put a crimp in my blogging.  I have tried to spend what free time I have working on some different fiber ventures.  I take lots of pictures, but unfortunately, I run out of steam at night and opt to spin instead of blog.....but I do miss blogging, so I am going to try to get up a bit earlier in the morning.  Now,  I am not an early morning person, however, getting up early will not be as hard as it might sound for me.....I will explain a bit later...hehe.

I promise though, I am really going to try to be better with responding to comments, as I do appreciate and enjoy each and every one, even if I didn't have a chance to say so. :-)

I bet you are wondering what the heck those bright orange pictures are........hmmmmm..........

I had some balls of merino roving left over from this winter, so I thought that I would play with them, along with a few of the silk bricks I have sitting around here.

I have been participating in the Color Spectrum Swap, that Lynne has been hosting and wanted to make my swap partner a present with the 2 hands that the good Lord gave to me, so I though I would play with some felting and these 2 bags are what I ended up with

I have been wanting a bag for my double pointed needles, but haven't been able to find one that I liked.

Because I have a tendency to randomly grrab a dp needle out of the pottery vase they have been living in to pull up my hair when I get one of those damn hot flashes that visit me hourly, I am forever misplacing one, so I thought it was time to create a bag for myself. 

One of the things that I wanted to avoid was having to roll the bag up and tying it with a ribbon....call me lazy, but I just don't like bags that roll.  I made this one to fold in thirds and snap or button close.  All in all I am happy with it :-)

And A Little More Orange......

Remember I mentioned having to get up early in the morning??  Well, here is the reason...........

Meet Maggie, our Orange Belton English Setter puppy!  She comes to us from Bob and Francie Stevens of Fieldplay English Setters.

A bigger dog is going to be my new challenge.  Keeping her in show shape, is going to help my shape...LOL!

A big THANK YOU to Bob and Francie!