The Woolen Rabbit

Relaxing weekend...

As you can see, I finally found my knitting mojo with this sock yarn.  I took a few much needed days off for some R&R after a stressful few work weeks.  With a little extra time and a clearer mind, the knitting seemed to find it's way back. 

The pattern that seemed to work out the best for me this time was my friend Cassie's Fool Rush Sock Pattern.  I love the subtleties in the color changes with this yarn and thought that a simple pattern would work best showing off how fun this yarn is.

While the pattern is mostly stockinette, there is just enough of a pattern that helps to keep your interest as you are knitting.  If you look close, you can see the little diamond pattern that runs up both sides of the leg. 

Instead of the usual knit/purl ribbing, Cassie created this eyelet lace cuff, which really works up nicely.  Very feminine :-).

I did change the sizing of the sock a little as I knew that 60 stitches would not be enough for my leg and this finerweight yarn.  I used 65 stitches for the cuff and 64 for the leg....I was very happy with the fit this time around.

Garden hopping

This is the year that I am going to do some gardening.  I had so wanted to get back to it last year, but if you remember, I was so buried in work that there was just no way a garden was going to happen.  I did however stake out a spot last autumn and have contacted someone to till the soil for me this week.

In addition to the vegetable garden, I really want to have a flower/herb garden.  Lacking in ideas on how to go about setting up a special area, Ken and I ambled around town a bit for some ideas.  The garden on the left belongs to the owners of one of my favorite stores in Tuftonboro, NH and the one to the right is one I found online.  Somehow I want to incorporate a little from each into a special sitting area in one corner of my yard.

This picture says it all.......

I picked it up at the little shop in Tuftonboro and I love it.  If Spring ever stays for more than just a fleeting visit, I just may get these gardens in...LOL

Stumbling.....

Fog.....

Chill morning, stone steps.
The path to the temple is steep.
We may stumble at times,
But we must always get up again.
Deng Ming~Dao

This quote from my Tao book kind of sums up my week.  Stumbling .......

In my spare time this week, I worked on the Serendipity roving that I had dyed last week.  Each night I sat down and enjoyed watching the colors wind up onto the bobbin, but as I was spinning, I was struggling a bit. 

I quickly discovered that this blend really should be spun from the fold, but because I had predrafted the entire amount, I continued on, hoping for the best.  Unfortunately when it was all spun up and plyed, I was disappointed.

Disappointed in not only the finished product, but with my spinning in general.  It was sloppy.

Last week, I read on Sara Lamb's blog that spinning silk from the fold helps immensely in obtaining consistency, so  I will give this a try on my next go around with silk :-)

I was going to use this for my morning glory shawl, but once spun, I think that the shades of yellow are a bit too overwhelming, so it's back to the drawing board.  I will instead make a scarf from this yarn once I find the right pattern for it.

More Stumbling...

Ms Woolen Rabbit looks a bit dismayed, doesn't she?  Just look at them ears.....she is not a happy bunny!  If you look down at her feet, you will see  what has her in a tizzy...it's a disheveled Yellow Taxi...LOL.

Yep, that is my sock wrapped up in that ball.  I completed the sock up to the toe, but was just not happy  with the fit.  The sock was so loose on my foot and I knew that I probably would not wear it much the way it was. Washing this superwash would not tighten it up either, so you guessed it.........rippppppppppp.  Back to the drawing board again, looking for a pattern that is going to suit this great yarn a bit better :-)

  It has just been that kind of week......I think that I am not too sad to see this week come to an end.  Thank goodness there's always next week :-)

Serendipity!

Last week I saw a new shawl that Anne created on her blog.  The name of the shawl is Morning Glory and oh my.......I fell hard for it.  It is stunning!  I went digging thru my stash to see if I had something that would compliment the pattern, but nothing jumped out at me, so I turned to the dyepots.

I had been dyeing up various merino/silk rovings for the sheepfest, so I played with some colors and this is what I came up with......Serendipity!  I love it in the roving......I can't wait to see how the yarn turns out.

Finally....Spring in the Mountains!

Yesterday the temperatures were in the 70's here.  The day was glorious, so Ken and I went for a ride.

Even though almost all of the snow in my yard has melted, there is still quite a bit on the mountain.

Looking down at the river from where I was snapping pictures however, I noticed just how much errosion the last bunch of storms did to the river banks.  Many of the roads that we traveled on in Jackson had bright orange cones warning motorists of the deep ruts on the sides of the roads.  Some of those ruts were close to 6 feet deep....YIKES!  Hopefully Mother Nature has calmed down a bit and we have seen the worst of the spring rains (and snows).

SHEEPFEST~ 2007

Today was the annual Sheepfest and it was as it always is, a supportive community endeavor, put on by the tireless Linda Whiting.

Every year I look forward to this event as it kicks off the spring sheep and wool festivals.  Tucked away in the tiny down of Denmark Maine, this little event has grown considerably over the last 9 years that I have been involved with it.

Today, even Bill Green from Bill Green's Maine and his crew came to visit with us.....and life was good.

Given that this was the first warm, dry weekend that we have seen in God only knows when,  everyone was smiling from venders, to the shearer...... from sheep to Alpaca.  Life in the sun today was good....as good as it gets!

We have been very busy here at the Woolen Rabbit getting ready for this show and for the upcoming Fiber Festival in June.  I apologize for not responding to comments, but this was one of those weeks that was plum full right to the brim with work.

The days have been spent dyeing and winding wool in the thankfully warm and breezy days.....labeling yarns, soaps and handcream.  For me, this is an indication that Spring HAS Sprung and I have been smiling big.  I bet it has been that way for you as well.

I think it was Thursday when I pulled the shade up, being blinded by the sunlight that I said......ah....Winter is over!  Life is indeed good!

Every day this week, I have wanted to sit down and chat with you all, but time just got away from me.  I find that I really miss my cyber friends on those weeks that I find myself too busy to chat.  I love this wonderful community that we all share and I miss it when I am away.

So in closing, I will leave you with a picture of the knitting that I have managed to squeeze in every night.  I am LOVING every moment of knitting this handspun sock!  Last week I mentioned that I was afraid I had spun the yarn too fine, but Teyani reassured me it was probably the right weight.  With all of the handling in knitting it, the yarn blossomed just like she said it would :-).  I have turned the heel and finished the gussets.  Next week I am going to share what I have learned with the pattern that I am using.... but for now I will say a very tired good night :-)!

Color Me Pink?

You know it's a strange day when I'm knitting pink and Margene is spinning green.....
I'm so not a pink person, but it has been fun stepping outside of my usual box....not only in the colorway, but the sock yarn blend.

It appears that the only flowers seen around in these parts lately are of the florist variety, but I thought this little Gerber Daisy looked so Springy against this finished silk stocking?  Of course the sock truly isn't silk, it's a tencel blend, but is surely shines like silk.

Last week someone mentioned to me that they thought of plastic when they thought of anything tencel, and I have to admit, I kinda felt the same way.  Having finished this sock though, I am rethinking that opinion.  The knitted sock is firm, yet very soft, cushy and very wool like in the way it feels on one's foot.  I can definitely see more socks being knit here in this blend.

Thank you for your encouraging words about my tangled mess.  A lesson in patience was learned once again the hard way.   Do you think that I was patient enough however to finish the second silk stocking before diving into this yarn??  Of course not...LOL.

For as many years as I have been spinning, I have never set about using my handspun for a pair of socks.  Seeing the beautiful socks on Crown Mountain Farms website, however lured me in.  I was concerned that I was not going to be able to get this superwash spun fine enough for a fingering weight sock yarn, but what I ended up with is a yarn that is almost too finely spun.  I will knit this pair of socks up, but with the remaining four ounces, I think I will aim for a bit thicker yarn, but still tightly spun for another pair of socks.

I love watching this sock evolve....the colors and the textures of handspun in a sock are wonderful! I'm thinking there will be lots more handspun socks happening here this year too.
What are your favorite types of wool to spin for socks?

Tangled up in Blue..um...Yellow

Patience is a virtue
Aspired by many
Acquired by few.....

I don't know who wrote the above quote, but it is one that I say to my kids and husband frequently.  Ironically, I am probably the most impatient one in the house...LOL.

Spinning 8 oz of superwash merino at a fine weight takes longer than I thought it would.  I had weighed out the balls so that I knew I had equal amounts to ply with....however, once the first bobbin was filled, I became impatient.  I wanted to ply now!!

Grabbing my ballwinder, I wound off the 4 ounces that I had spun on the bobbin.  As that center wound ball grew and grew, I got more and more nervous.  Crap....I am probably going to end up with a tangled mess!  Why did I do this, said thee to thyself?  Impatient.....I'm just plain old impatient   I was praying that this impatience was not going to land me with 4 ounces of wasted spinning. 

As lady luck would have it though, I managed to ply all of the yarn without one snag.  The snag came in the washing....sigh.  Silly me, I only tied the yarn in one spot and unfortunately that tie did not hold up well when the yarn was soaking. 

Can you guess what I will be doing this afternoon?

Unexpected Beauty.........

Seek silence.
Gladden in silence.
Adore silence.
Deng Ming~Dao

What unexpected beauty we arose to this morning.  It's hard to be bummed out about the snow, when this is what you see....

I know that this will melt quickly today, so I took some pictures as the sun came up.  I thought that you might enjoy the beauty of my morning as much as I did......

and a little knitting :-)

Not Again.......

Here we are a week later and a week closer to May and yet another major winter storm has descended upon us and if you can believe it, another one may be on the way this weekend......sigh.  Yesterday the temps were so warm that most of the remaining snow had melted, but another 10-12 inches due to replace it today..aagghhh!

Ok....enough lamenting about the weather :-).  All of this snow, usually makes for a good excuse to pour a hot cup of yummy Peets coffee (thanks Marisol!) and pick up the knitting needles.

A few days ago, I showed a picture of this yarn along with a glimpse of a pattern.  The pattern is a Heartstrings pattern, called Heart Socks .   I thought that the heart shaped lace pattern would be perfect for these hot pink socks.  Unfortunately the pattern was written for a sock weight yarn and larger needles.  I tend to knit on the loose side, so I took a chance at it, but quickly found that it would be too small once the first set of decreases took place, so I decided to change gears and look for another pattern as I really didn't feel like fussing with making this one work.

I managed to find a pattern that called for the original amount of cast on stitches that the cuff had already been knit with, so I started again, using this cuff.  The pattern is
A childs fancy silk stocking from Knitting Vintage Socks.  This pattern does call for a different cuff, but given that I had already knit 2 inches previously and fell in love with the cushy feeling of the 2 x 2 ribbing, that I decided to just leave this cuff on and continue on with Nancy's lace pattern.

The sock yarn is my hand~dyed Merino/Tencel.  I wasn't sure if I was going to like this yarn, in fact I was convinced that I would probably prefer the bamboo blend, but I am finding as I am knitting with this that I may actually prefer the tencel blend.  Of course, the true test will be the "on the foot" test. :-)

Stay warm and dry....where ever you are :-)

Elusive Spring.....

When I lived in Massachusetts, March was always a hard month for me.  Winter grows old and Spring seems miles away.  Up here in the mountains, April has become my March.  Many times we skip right over spring, which is sad as spring always holds so much promise.  With snow expected this Thursday, I think that this may be one of those years that we may just miss Spring.

Since I have come home from Georgia, I've been having a hard time finding words for the blog, so today I will leave you with some pictures of what's happening in my corner of the world.....:-)

Rockin' Robin

He rocks in the tree-top all a day long
Hoppin' and a-boppin' and a-singin' the song
All the little birds on J-Bird St.
Love to hear the robin goin' tweet tweet tweet
(This is the only kind of robin seen around these snowy parts....)

This pattern was a fun knit!!

Yarn:  My hand~dyed Merino/bamboo blend.
Needles:  2.25 mm
Pattern:  Marguerite's Basketweave Socks