The Woolen Rabbit

Sister Act

You may have noticed I have been a bit quieter than usual, and you may have remembered that I was going to post pictures of a baby of a different kind.......

Well, here is what has kept me busy over the last few days.....<grin>.

I would like to introduce you to Benchmark Cosmopolitan.  We picked this little girl up at the airport on Sunday.  She made the long journey from Dallas, all by her lonesome and never skipped a beat.  She is fun, outgoing and may even give Maggie a run for her money...LOL!

What I could use some help with is giving her a name other than puppy.  She has her registered name and I was going to call her Stoli, but Hannah says.....ewww...."Mom, it sounds like Ravioli"  LOL.  She certainly doesn't look like ravioli now does she?

The other babies are growing in leaps and bounds.  I am absolutely amazed at how fast they grow.  In just a week, they have grown their feathers, their eyes are opening and they won't fit in this nest for too long.

It's been such a treat for us to quietly observe the developing lives of these little birds.  You have heard me say many times, how much I miss the birds in the winter and how much I look forward to them coming back in the spring.  This spring it's been even more meaningful. 

All this coming from a person who is terrified of birds flying around in a house...LOL!  That movie The Birds really made a huge impression on me as a kid.  I love the birds when they are outside, but bring them in..........not so much...

I have managed to work on a few fibery things.  Watching the puppy in the yard has helped me move along on my shawl (more on that later this week) and keeping the puppy off of the carpeted areas in the house...ggg... had me pull the dyepots  in the kitchen out again.  Thankfully this little puppy seems to "get" that potty business is meant for outside :-)

The Kick Off To Summer

I don't know about you, but Memorial Day weekend has always signified the beginning of summer for me. 

Not so much the Memorial days of my youth were living in a larger city meant big parades honoring our veterans......but more a relaxing weekend to get the yard in order, the garden chairs out and a chance to sit back and think about the summer that is ahead of us.

One of my favorite things to do this time of year when the day is finished, is to sit out in the yard with my project basket.  A little knitting, a little reading and perhaps a cold beverage to end the day.

I let the dogs out to putter around in their yard, chewing on what grass they can along the outside of their yards and  we all quietly listen to the peepers and the rhythmic honking of the Canadian Geese that make their summer home in the pond across the street...........It's these evenings that I love the best!

Our babies.......
With no litters of puppies this year to mother, we have instead adopted our little fledglings that are nested in the bush in front of the barn. 

As you can see, all 4 of the babies have hatched and have made their parents lives a bit busier.  It is so darn cute to peek in and see their little mouths just hoping for Mum or Dad to plop something in it...LOL

If you click on the bottom picture you can see that they are now contently sleeping in the heat of the day with full bellies and contented little faces......aahhh...the life of a baby.

Check back in a few days for a baby of a different sort and most of all, enjoy your holiday weekend!  If you think of it, as you should on this holiday...say a prayer for our guys and girls overseas who are defending our country.

The Princess and The Pea

Ok......I am not a princess and this is not a pea........but it IS a nice name for a yarn color, don't you agree?

I've been wanting to see how the merino/tencel sock yarn would knit up as a shawl, given it's almost silk like qualities, but I couldn't decide on a color..........until, I got a bouquet of flowers with this particular flower.  This is the second bouquet in just a few weeks that has contained this color and I just love it.  Most likely the flower was probably dipped, but it reminds me of early spring....very vibrant, yet soft at the same time.

With a pinch of this and a shake of that, I managed to get pretty close.  I wear alot of khaki beige in the summer and I thought that this would be a nice color to offset it.  I'm liking the fabric so much that I am actually contemplating doubling the yarn and knitting a sweater with it.  I think I will swatch it first though :-) (see...I'm learning)

Speaking of dyeing, I have been really trying hard to solve some of the pooling issues with yarn that I dye.  No one has complained about it mind you, but pooling is something that irks me.  I don't know why it does.......it doesn't bother me when I see it in other people's projects, but I get a little bummed out when I see it happening in something that I am knitting. 

I am very happy with the yarn that I have made the last 2 hand dyed socks with.  The funny thing with dyeing is though............I may have gotten it right with these 2 colors, but who knows what will happen with the next 2.  I think it is that puzzle that really keeps my interest in dyeing. 

You know it's Spring when...............
Look close......a bit closer and  you will see the beginning of a new little life.

Sometime during the night, this little baby robin started his journey on the road we call life.  You can't see his face, only his little butt with some cute little butt feathers....LOL. 

Hopefully his siblings will join him soon and help keep him warm :-)

Pomp And Circumstance

Reach for the stars my dear one!

Our weekend was one of family and pride.  Ashley my middle child is the first of our children to graduation from college.  She worked very hard this year, carrying a full boat of difficult classes and we are so very proud of her!  A little bit of sadness was mingled in with the joy.....as much as it's exciting to see her move onto the next chapter in her life, it is also bittersweet to see her say good~bye to childhood.

Of course the day would not have been complete without the martini toast to the new graduate.  Ashley although very laid back becomes a very determined young woman when challenged....this trait will carry her far in life. 

This is the child when asked what she wanted to be when she grows up would answer...."A couch potato".....

You've come a long way baby!

A little fiber.......
Not much time over the weekend was dedicated to fiber for the obvious reasons, but I did manage to squeeze in a little knitting time.

Not one to usually jump on a band wagon, I just could not resist Cara's enthusiasm over the Knitty Monkey sock.  She is right....the pattern consisting of 10 rows keeps you moving right along and keeps you interested.  It's very easy to follow along and is fun. 

I have wanted to knit up samples using my sock yarns, so I have been a bit more focused on socks than I have ever been in the past.  I don't know if I will ever be able to crank them out like some can......but I'm thinking I'm going to meet my sock goal for this year pretty quickly :-).  My feet are going to be happy next winter!!

Walk With Me

From a bud, only a promise.
Then a gentle opening:
Rich blooming, bursting fragrance,
The fulfillment of the center.
True beauty comes from within.
Deng Ming~Dao

I couldn't say walk with me on Wednesday as these pictures were taken on Tuesday........and today is Thursday...LOL.

Spring is finally in full bloom here in the mountains.  The days have been delightfully warm and the evenings have been cool with very little humidity. 

Knowing that it was going to rain and then cool down, I thought I would take a walk around the property on Tuesday to take a few pictures.

The flowering apple trees here are all in bloom.  Looking out my windows it looks as though the trees are painted with black raspberry icecream...yum!

We are having a graduation party for my middle daughter, Ashley who is graduating from college this weekend and raspberry cream pie is on the menu to match the blossoms from the trees and the lilac bushes that I will make flower arrangements from.

I love this time of year.....the birds are all home, twittering away and when you open up your door, the fragrance from the trees and bushes is the first thing that greet you.   

And the best part..............the black flies are still sleeping!

With the warm breezy days, a little dyeing has been happening too :-).  I think my spring yarns will all have flower names.  Send me some of your favorite flower names and I will see if I can match them with a yarn color....it will be fun!

A Trip To NH Sheep & Wool Festival

Most every year, my dear husband brings me to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival for Mother's day and this year was no exception.  We have attended it when it has been hotter than hot, and cold and wet.  This year we were treated to the most picture perfect day you could ever want to have for a fiber festival.

Now you have heard me complain about my growing stash and how I am trying to weed it out a bit, so like my friend Laurie, I was trying hard to be "mindful" of what I purchased.  I almost thought that I was going to walk away completely empty handed............but it WAS my mother's day weekend, right?

I was relatively well behaved though.  Some lovely taupe colored polwarth silk/angora roving from Woolybuns started my downfall.  Very hard for a Woolen Rabbit to resist such lovely roving.  While I was visiting with Chris, I managed to guess the answer to her silly quiz and my prize......Angora...haha!  This is extra lovely angora, so something special will have to be planned for it.

My next purchase was some gorgeous roving from Friends Folly.  This was my mother's day present :-).  A pound and a half of scrumptious wool that will become my new favorite vest :-). 

The last purchase of the day was this Golding Spindle.  I know, I know......I say I don't like spindling, but yet, here is another beauty. 

Just to prove that I actually do spin on them, I took a picture of this one this morning...with fiber I actually spun on it...LOL.  I have to say, this spindle could convert me.  No matter how bad I am, this baby just keeps spinning and spinning.   I love it!

One of the best parts of any fiber event is the opportunity to visit with the fiber friends I have made along my journey................but did I get any pictures of my fiber friends?  Nope.....too busy yakking, as usual.......but......

How could I resist this picture of the ever patient Dale, holding his lovely wife's bag....heehee!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Mom's out there......Happy Mother's Day!

Fraternal Twins

Sheesh.....it is really hard to get a picture of socks on your own feet early in the morning when the dew is still heavy on the grass.

I have to say that I have had more fun knitting these socks than any other sock I have knit to date.  I can not believe that I waited so long to knit a pair of handspun socks!

I know I have said this before....but I love Cassie's pattern.  The lace rib at the top is ultra feminine and the lace panel that goes down each side is just enough lace to keep you interested.  The 10 rows of lace really help to make the pattern go quick....I'll just do 2 patterns...um...maybe one more....and before you know it you are done.

We are heading down to NH Sheep and Wool festival bright and early tomorrow morning.....I'm looking forward to seeing friends and buying fiber :-).  Yep....this is one of those fairs that I am a happy spender instead of a vendor.  I hope to see you there!

Cleo
Before I sign off today, I will leave you with a few pictures of Miss Cleo.  As she was lounging on her usual couch corner last night, she reminded me of a famous Landseer painting.  It's hard to believe she is going to be a year old next week.  She and Maggie will have a joint birthday party :-)

Teosinte Sock

Do you not love this pattern??  Anne calls it man~lace, but I think it is pretty darn nice girly lace too.  Another Anne came up with the name for this sock....it is a term for  a type of corn plant.  Can you see the little ears of corn on little stalks?

This is the first time I have ever worked on a sock that is done from the toe up and the first time I have done short row toes and heels as well.  My heel came out much better than the toe, thanks to all the great tips you gave to me. 

I am going to have to rework the cast off as it is a bit tight.  This has always been a concern to me in the past whenever I had contemplated knitting from the toe up, as my calf muscle is not small.  Anne gave me a few tips, so I will rip it out and give it another try, as I would hate to break the cast off edge putting them on or taking them off.
~~  All in all, I LOVE this pattern!
Pattern:  Teosinte Socks
Needles:  2.25mm
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Superwash Rosemary & Thyme

I am going to do another pair when I finish this one's mate, but this time I am going to work them from the top down, but still keep the short row heels and toes.  I will have to fool with the pattern to get the ears going in the right direction....or maybe I will just have upside down stalks...LOL.

Because I wanted to help Anne get her pattern proofed so that she could offer it for sale, I really pushed myself hard to get the sock done.  Too give my tired arm a rest (I am a tense knitter), I have spent the morning working on my CMF roving.  Have I mentioned how much I love spinning this stuff?  The funny thing is, one of my middle daughters who is a tomboy for sure, absolutely loves this roving and is begging for some socks...LOL!  I think that there will be enough for both she and me :-).

Pleasant Mountain Fiber Arts
Linda Whiting and some of her friends from Maine are offering a fiber arts workshop the weekend of June 22-24th.  Go take a peek at some of the fabulous classes that are being offered.  I know that there is one or 2 that I think I just may have to attend!

Sloppy Toes....

Anne asked if I would like to give her newest sock pattern a test drive and I was very happy to do so, as I LOVE the pattern.  This is a new challenge for me in a few ways.  Even though I have been knitting socks for a very long time, I have never attempted to do one from the toe up. 

Last night I sat quielty while the girls were watching tv...knitting and ripping....knitting and ripping....knitting and ripping...sigh.  I was determined I was going to figure this out.

By about the third time around, I got up and started looking on the internet for some photo or video instructions, as I am much more of a visual learner than a book learner.  I found a few sites, but the tutorial that Wendy has here on knitty.com helped immensely.

When I finished, I noticed that one side came out nicely and I was happy with it, however the one pictured above to the left looks different.  It's a bit bumpy and not as clean looking as the one to the right.  Any ideas as to what I may have done wrong?  I think I have a few ideas where I may have erred, but I am not really sure.  I was going to rip it back again, but it really isn't that bad and I can practice on the mate. :-)

Anyoo.............in spite of my sloppy toes, this pattern rocks!  It's very easy to follow and the lacy texture is very pretty.  My next challenge is going to be the short row heels.  Nope....I've never done those before either, so wish me luck!

I love knitting a pattern that forces me to learn new techniques :-)