The Woolen Rabbit

Small Victories ~ Small Defeats

Remember the old saying from the Olympics...."The thrill of victory and The agony of defeat?  Well this week here has not been as dramatic as agony, but there have been little bouts of victory and little spells of defeat.

It would appear that my post from a few days ago regarding WIP's stirred up a bit of interest.  I will admit, that I was a little taken aback by the good natured jabs on numerous posts, feeling a bit defeated.... but then I smiled victoriously, for it seems that I am seeing more works in progress again and grrls..........part of why we knit is the process...so keep sharing!

The Agony of Defeat....
Ok.......I will start with my real life little defeats this week, so that I can end my post with the good things that have happened, as we all know life is a series of ups....and downs.

See that hand above?.........that is the hand of a daughter wearing a very tight mitten......sigh. 

This daughter has long thin hands, so I thought I was going to be ok with this gauge, even though that little voice in my head kept whispering in my ear... "Too small....Too small". 

Geez...when am I ever going to listen to that voice?  Well you know the end of this story.....ripppppppp.

Now my dilemma is....do I just bump it up a needle size as the stitch was a bit tight as well, but not so tight that I didn't like the fiber...or do I add stitches which means doing some math...and I think I told you how I feel about the math....I guess I will have to think on it some more...  Uggh

Today was a busy day of making soap, dyeing wool, working and making hand cream.  Tis' the season to be busy with the holidays right around the corner.

I was feeling pretty good about my pace until I opened the new bag of caps for the new glass jars that I use for handcream.  Slam on that brake sister....for the caps in that bag are much much too small.   

Frantic call to the bottle company with assurances that the new caps will be on their way tomorrow, but what do I do in the interim?  Hmmm...I wonder if wet papertowels under saran wrap will keep them happy....uggh...

Then there were the beads that I ordered for markers that were much smaller than I envisioned when I opened the package.  (note to self, learn measurements in mm's)....and then the 4 oz of lavender essential oil I had chilling in the freezer for soap that daughter #3 with the long thin hands spilled all over the freezer and floor....ugggh

...and the Thrill of Victory...

But thankfully there were small victories as well!

I am working with Kirsten on setting up a kit for her Belvedere socks and for once I came up with colors that I loved almost immediately.  Colorwork can be wonderful when it clicks and ..well...lets say I have given some yarn away to the children on more than one occasion when it didn't.

This week it worked.  The yarn is a new blend for me.  An 80/20 merino/nylon superwash yarn that is extra soft and extra cushy, so I am excited about that.......yay (more about the yarn when it is ready to be sold)

...and my website....  I was thinking to myself this week...."thyself, if you are paying for this website...then don't you think you should learn how to utilize it?"

Well, after much digging around in the various help folders, I finally figured out how to send a newsletter.  With lots of new things happening on that site, I was pleased that I was finally able to figure out how to utilize this feature, so .....yay again!

...but the biggest yay came today when #2 daughter stopped over for a visit and a chat.

She told me that she had been discussing what "success" is with some of her co-workers..and then contemplated on it some more.

She told me that her idea of success is doing what makes her happy.  Working with the land and learning about self sustenance in a natural way.  She wants to learn how to work with herbs, make tinctures..... and garden. 

She wants to build her own home..... and spin.

She wants to help our earth..........and learn to knit. 

How much do you want to bet she is going to want bees too......buzzzz!

...........and I smiled for yes........I have raised her up well.  A victory indeed!

Pendants N' Pumpkins

How was your Thanksgiving?

Even though the day was busy with activity here, it was enjoyable just the same.  Don't you just love the smells of Thanksgiving?  MMM...pumpkin pie, apple cider and roasting turkey.  YUM!  Hard to believe we will be moving on to that next big holiday in 4 short weeks.  Yikes!

Scottish Lamb Jean came up with her family to spend the holiday with her NH relatives and we managed to squeeze in some visiting time with her as well.  Jean made the beautiful silver pendant especially for me....isn't it wonderful?  On the flip side is a picture of our little Skyy-baby!  Thanks Jean!

I was thrilled to meet, Lucky the newest 4 legged member of Jean's family.  What a dear sweet dog he is and so lucky that he was rescued from the puppy mill that he nearly died in.  Go take a look at the blog that Jean put together for him.....too cute! 

Thank goodness for the dedicated rescue people who work tirelessly for our breed!  You can read more about Cavalier rescue here and here .

...and a little knitting....

Remember the little pumpkin hats that I made for the Fryeburg Fair?   Well, this summer when I was working on them, Ashley's boyfriend, Brian had mentioned to her that he would love to have one for himself.

I had to chuckle as not too many adults have inquired about having one made...in fact not a one has, but Brian really wanted one, so on the needles it went.  This was his birthday/Thanksgiving gift :-)

He promises that he is going to wear it hiking, so if you see a pumkpin headed hiker, say Hi!

All in all other than Thanksgiving Day, it was a pretty quiet weekend here.  My MIL was here visiting, so alot of time was spent sitting and talking, which gave me time to work on Bee.

I am working on the hive portion and really enjoy the rhythm of this lace.  Even though the lace is worked on both the knit side and the purl side, I have found Bee easy to follow along.  It is a treat working with pure merino yarn instead of sock yarn for a change.........an enjoyable knit all around!

In addition to the stole, I have also been working on some new dye colors and my next to the youngest daughter made me promise to start her mittens now that it is getting cold out here.

The yarn that she chose is some handspun from some CMF roving that I received last year in a swap.  While pink is not my color, Courtney claimed it the minute she saw the roving....so hers it shall be! 

I think I have a few things to keep me busy... :-)

Exciting Possibilities....

Ok....Terry got me good on her post the other day, so you can be sure I will be posting WIP here..haha!

You see that yarn above?  It's a familiar colorway to some of you, but the yarn is different.  This is a lightweight 100% superwash merino yarn that I purchased this summer. 

When I first opened the box, I wasn't sure that I was going to like it as has a very high twist, so I sat down and did up a swatch.  Lo and behold the yarn created a very very soft fabric, but the added twist gave it good durability.

Now, it is no secret here that I have been shamefully fascinated with bees, since the reading of one good book and the creation of a beautiful shawl....so I spoke with Anne early in the fall and asked if she might consider creating a bee sock for this yarn.  I sent the sample to her with some yarn to be sure that she felt it was a suitable yarn and she agreed...a bee sock it would bee :-).  Anne has been working on the design, so go take a peek.

I will be offering it as a sock kit when it is finished and if I can get my butt in gear, I may tuck a little bee-u-tiful surprise inside :-) 

Can you tell how excited I am?

Yep....very excited, because there is more.  Tonight, Susan emailed me a peek of what she has been doing with some of the lace yarn that I sent to her.  Susan originally had asked if I was sick to death of the Tupelo yarn and if I was not, she had a design in mind that she wanted to try with it.  Silly girl.........it's no secret, that colorway is my favorite, so I told her to go for it and go for it she has.  Her swatches and bead colors have truly piqued my curiosity....I can't wait to see what she comes up with.  You can take a little peek here.

 

If you can stand it....there is even a little more excitement here at home as well.  I have been gently hinting for the last few years how much I wanted to turn the downstairs of our barn into a studio that would fit my big loom.  A studio that could also be a casual storefront.

Imagine my surprise when Ken told me this weekend that perhaps we could slowly work on getting the lower barn redone for a fiber studio. He says that he will work on what he can over the winter and we can finish it up in the spring....whoo hoo!

Ken, God bless his soul, has seen me through my various obsessions.  He has helped me with the dogs, frequently hauling crates and doing the early morning walk at dog shows.  He has helped me pack and unpack spinning wheels and looms.  He has lugged the bags of bunny poop to the dump and empties them in the organic dump piles (can you believe it?) and just this weekend he actually walked the grounds with me contemplating where the bees will go, even though he thinks I have lost my mind.

My husband...........I think I'll keep him :-)

Designing Ladies

Remember when I came home from Rhinebeck and I had no pictures to post of fiber goodies purchased?  There was a good reason for that..........a big chunk of my allowance went towards that large wheeled purchase.  There was one fiberish item however that really grabbed my attention.

This stunning rectangular shawl that was hanging in Chris of Briar Rose's booth, jumped out at me.  Whilst it was hanging up on the wall and I couldn't reach out and touch it, I knew how highly Chris's yarns were held in regard by another friend, so I took a chance and ordered the kit as it was already sold out by the time I noticed it.  (yep, we all loved that shawl it seems!)

Given that my house is always full of yarn, it is really hard for me to justify a yarn purchase, but this one needed no justification, it was stunning all on it's own!

Well....the yarn and pattern arrived this week and it truly exceeded my expectations which were already quite high.  The yarn is absolutely divine and the pattern is exquisite!

As I was reading the pattern, I did a Google search on the designer of the pattern.  Lo and behold it was a woman who had recently purchased some yarns from me.  Susan and I emailed each other a few times once I discovered who designed this beautiful shawl and she agreed to design a few patterns for my yarns as well  I can't wait to see what she comes up with as she is VERY talented!  Go take a peek!

I am now into my 4th year of blogging and I feel that as a fiber artist  I have truly grown because of blogging.  I  have been incredibly fortunate to meet and become friends with designers that I hold in high esteem such as Anne Hanson, Mim Felton, Susan Lawrence, Kerstin Kapur, Kate Gilbert and now Susan Pandolf.

I have such an incredible admiration for the women who design patterns for us as I can not fathom having the ability to design.  The minute I even consider giving it a try, my brain takes a siesta.  "Looks like a math word problem, sounds like a math word problem, therefore it must BE a math word problem". You know what I mean......remember that question.....if a train is traveling 200 miles an hour, how long will it take.........see you DO know what I mean!

Perhaps it is one of those right brain/left brain kind of things, but I am grateful that the designs that these ladies come up with inspire not only me, but many of the women and men who dye the yarns that the designers and then ultimately you knit with.

Lately I have sensed a slight wind of change in blog land, where it may not be considered politically correct to show knitting in progress on blogs, but rather wait until you are finished and unveil the newly knitted item in it's finished glory. 

This makes me a bit sad, as I really do enjoy watching the process.  I enjoy watching the designers show us how they create and I enjoy reading about the process of your knitting.

Yes, perhaps some of it does not turn out the way that we hoped it might, but I believe that we all learn not only from our successes, but from our failures as well.  While I would hope that no one delights in someone else's failures, I do think that we all can learn from it.  So for now, I will continue to discuss both my success and failures on my fiber journey and I hope that you will too :-).

Here and There.....

A moving door hinge never corrodes.
Flowing water never grows stagnant.
Deng Ming~Dao

It always amazes me how quickly the days pass by.  Perhaps it is part of growing older or maybe just a very busy life, which I can lay claim to both. :-).  In the few short days since I have last posted, I have lots to share with you.........nothing important or special, but I feel as though I have been away from my friends and I need to catch up. 

I think that Carole and Margene have the right idea with posting daily, but I can never quite get my butt in gear to do that, so I will share a little bit today and perhaps a little more later in the week. :-)

First the knitting.........

I finished the first of my Belvedere socks and let me be the first to tell you, it is a fabulous pattern! Busy enough to keep my attention, but not so difficult that it would be discouraging.  Kirsten is a very talented designer!

Even Hannah, my sock model was pretty impressed with the design.  The colorway that I used was Raspberry Lime Rickey.  As I tend to knit on the loose side, I dropped down to a 2.25m needle instead of the recommended 2.50m.   I love this sock so much, that I am actually 1/2 way down the second sock which for me is an accomplishment.  No single lady here..........her mate is on his way :-)

A Special Swap

I have mentioned Lynne's special swap in the past as being one of my favorite of all swaps and this swap session was no exception.  My swap partner this time around was Keri of Knitty Gritty Thoughts .

Keri sent me some FABULOUS gifts.  Pictured above is some absolutely gorgeous Blue faced wool from Gale's Art in a colorway that could not have been more perfect for me, if I had picked it out myself.

Also included is some scrumptious Sockenwolle sock yarn that is very hard to come by as well as a sock knitting bag that I have wanted very much after seeing a similar one owned by my friend Terry.  Keri also tucked in some edible goodies of chocolate and shortbread....Yum!  Thank you Keri!!

...and finally the dogs ......

Now if you remember......the reason I was away was a dog show.  While we didn't win any major ribbons, both girls did well.  Cleo placed second in a tough class all 3 days and little baby Skyy placed 4th Sunday in a very large jr. puppy class.

Of course if MIss Cleo had not been chewing on her ears, I am sure she would have done better, but given those ears, I am very pleased with her placement.  She is just the dearest dog that ever was.

Can you tell how much she is enjoying the bed that a dear friend of mine made for her?  Well....hmmm......it is supposed to be for all of the dogs, but Cleo has made it clear that the bed belongs to the princess and a princess she is!  LOL!

Driven To Distraction

Without too much trouble,
One can keep to the main road.
But people love to be distracted,
And perspective is difficult.
Deng~Ming Dao

Wow........this kind of sums up today's post.  So far I have been pretty good about staying on task with my knitting and devoting myself to one project at a time.  Well, not totally devoted as I do have those single ladies still looking for a mate...but that's a story for another day :-).

I have also been very busy, updating my store website.   With winter heading our way, I have ordered some new yarns that will be posted in a few weeks, listed some patterns and I am working with a few designers on kits that may be ready over the next few weeks.  If you have any suggestions for what interests you as a fiber friend, please don't hesitate to give me a shout, as I am in the baby stages of updating the site :-)

Test Driving.....

Currently I am test knitting this absolutely beautiful sock, Belvedere for Kirsten.  It was hard to capture the wonderful detail in this sock in the dull November light, but trust me..........it is just lovely.  As I am hoping to finish up this sock tomorrow, I started contemplating my next project, and this is where I have become incredibly distracted.

......and the distractions.......

This beautiful shawl pattern has been sitting in my office on my file cabinet quietly winking her beautiful eye at me as I work.  Today I opened up the package and oh my.......the colors are just beautiful.

I had the lucky fortune to actually watch Mim knit this as she was testing the pattern.  Mim is an incredible knitter!  To be able to knit lace as you are walking around a fiber festival and talk to people all at the same time.......well, what can I say, other than the girl is just amazing!

No sooner had I thought that I might start working on this shawl, did I receive an email from Knitty with their surprise patterns.  Go take a look at this!  Go ahead, I will wait.  OMG............I was nearly drooling on my keyboard.  So...hmm....maybe?

.......but then this ever patient siren has been quietly buzzing in my ear as she too has been sitting in my office, patiently waiting.  Twice I gave her away to a kindred spirit, yet here she is again......bzzzzzzzz and bumping me.  After petting each skein on it's lovely head, I could not walk away from the golden amber shades of Tupelo.  It is she who will go on the needles next. 

Speaking of bees, I have been doing some dyeing work for Lark of Skylark Fibers.  With the box of yarn she sent to me this week, she included a stunning book for me. The book is called The Life of the Bee, by Maurice Maeterlinck.  Originally published in 1901, the version she sent to me is the 1912 issue, filled with the most incredible bee artwork I have seen to date.  How can you not fall in love with these pictures?

...........Thank you SO much Lark for sharing!!  I am heading out tomorrow to a dog show, so the bee shawl and the bee book will be snugly packed in my bag...bzzzzz!

Felt Along With Me

Wow.........It's November!  I am still having a hard time getting my head wrapped around the fact that summer has come to an end.  It's amazing to me how the weeks have just marched on by, and how I have so not been keeping up with them..  Last week just whooshed past me....how did that happen? 

I have managed to get some knitting, spinning and a little felting in between putting the gardens to rest and work of course.

Finishing up with my first Cardigan Sock, I quickly cast on the second one.  If I get that second one on the needles right away, it's a sure bet the pair will be finished......but if I don't, well, I don't have to tell you the end of that story, do I?  Lot's of single ladies kicking around here :-)

Anyhoo, I have had a few people ask me how I felted my Red Maple Scarf that I posted a few weeks ago, so I promised a tutorial.  This is is going to be a picture heavy post, so I apologize in advance to those of you who not have fast connections.

Getting started:
This truly is something that anyone can do at very little cost, other than the sander. 

As you can see, I am starting with one of my 2 oz angora/silk braids of roving.  In addition you will want some sort of counter protection, a bottle of warm soapy water, a piece of flexible screening (bought in any hardware store) a big towel and a palm sander. 

It is very important that the sander is not an orbital palm sander, but rather one that moves back and forth.  An orbital sander will move the fibers in the wrong direction (ask me how I know this?)

You start off by tearing very thin, wispy lengths of roving and laying them in one direction, slightly overlapping each row.

Once you have finished the first direction, you will start again, covering the first layer with the same thin, wispy strips of roving in the opposite direction.  It is important not to be heavy handed with the fiber as you want your scarf to have nice drape, but you probably won't want it to be full of holes either, unless you are striving for a more lacey look. 

Check the scarf over for bare spots and once you are satisfied with the coverage, gently lay the screening on top of the fiber.  Take your soapy water and start wetting the fiber, making sure to get the edges good and wet.

Once the fiber is completely wet, you will want to very very gently rub the screen, moving the fiber ever so slightly.  (just a minute with this type of fiber is plenty).

Gently again, lift the screening off of the fiber.  The wool at this point is not felted, so you want to be very careful not to disturb it too much.  Gently pat the wool, checking again for bare spots and gently push the edges, both sides and ends to give the edges a little bulk.

This is where the fun begins!  Making sure that you have rubber soled shoes on and your outlet is one of those protected types (I can't think of the name off the top of my head), fire up the sander!

As this fiber is very feltable, you only need to keep the sander in one spot for a second or two.  Move your sander up and down the length of the scarf, making sure that you get it all.  Do the pull test, to see if the fibers are felted (pull up on the fiber...if felted it will come up together, if not, it will separate).

My working island is only about 60 inches long, which is not long enough for a complete scarf, so I did this in 2 long sections. 

After the first section is firm enough, I then very gently folded that section into an accordion type fold.  I then layered the dry roving on the edge of the wet section and repeated what I had previously done.

What the sander has done was prefelt the wool, making it workable, but it is still fairly fragile at this point.  Gently start working the scarf, rolling it in one direction, unrolling and then rolling again in the other direction.  Pay attention to your edges...you will want to use the palm of your hand to add extra friction there, giving a little extra firmness. 

Again, as this type of fiber is highly feltable, you will not have to spend too much time working it.  I usually toss it in the microwave at least once for a minute as the heat aids in felting items faster.

Once you feel the scarf is felted to your liking, fill up the sink with some very cold water and let the scarf soak for a few minutes.  (cold water finishes the felting)

Let the scarf dry over night and voila....a warm, soft angora, silk scarf to hug your neck on those cold days that are coming your way soon!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and have a fabulous weekend!