The Woolen Rabbit

A Thankful Moment...............

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Today as  I was munching on a fabulous salad with some fresh butterhead lettuce from my garden and listening to the soothing sounds of Cherish the Ladies while my stove was steaming with newly dyed yarn, I had a moment……a moment of feeling incredibly fortunate and thankful.

The days have been pretty rainy here, but I have been content to meander out to the garden after I have tended to the dogs early in the morning with my umbrella and clogs to make sure that everything out there has been ok.

From there it’s up to the barn to feed Daisy Jane and Beeatrice and to look at the progress Ken has been making on my studio.  Yes………it’s finally going to become a reality, but I will save that for another post.

After the animal and garden duties are finished it’s time for a cup of coffee, morning news and some knitting.

Most recently I have been plugging away on my Kuekenhof Soks done with my Bambino yarn.  Up until now I have only knit mitts with this yarn, but I really really love how it works up in a sock.  Perfect for spring, summer and autumn.

After the morning news program, I put my knitting away and get to work.  The dye pots are fired up along with my computer.  While I work at creating pedigrees for registered Cavaliers, I stir the pots and let the dogs in and out, all the time listening to the soft folk/celtic music that I love.

Yes…….I am incredibly fortunate that I get to do the things that I love most.

What about me???....

Daisy Jane was a bit jealous of her younger friend Beeatrice's debut on the blog, so I'm letting her announce our Spring into Summer winners.....

Most weight lost:  Michelle
Not only did Michelle lose over 40 pounds she is getting married this week...Yay Michelle!!

Most inches lost:  Julie
Julie too has lost a lot of weight and 17 inches since February!  Great job!!

Random winner #1:  Grace  Thanks for joining along with us. :)

Random Winner #2:  I.D.D.A (please email Kathy at

knitigator@yahoo.com so that she can get your email and information.)

I received so many emails from people who like me may not have lost much or any weight, but had become more conscious of what they were eating and have been trying to maintain a more healthy lifestyle.....so this is a good thing. 

Myself, I actually gained a few pounds during the contest...eeek, but this last week I have managed to get myself back into a better life~flow, so I'm banking on some black boots baby for Rhinebeck!

Thanks grrls for joining along and congratulations to the girls who did such a great job!!

Good Luck.........

Ok ladies...........you have until Sunday evening to send either Kathy or myself your weight and or inches lost and we will post the winners on Monday. :)

The prize for most weight lost is 3 skeins of Opulence in the Mama Mia colorway.  900 yards is enough to make Oh!Canada or a shawl.

Most inches lost........this lovely shawl kit from Elann.  The shawl is Flower Petal and the yarn is Camila, a 50/50 linen~cotton blend in a soft shade of blue.

and for the 2 random winners.......absolutely lovely Artyarns Ultramerino 4 which is a very soft luxury merino wool.  This beautiful sea green is colorway 122...

....and this scrumptious blend of pinks, purples and greens is colorway 105.

Good luck!!

Cables and Twists......

Gah.........it's been raining for days on end here in the Northeast.  Normally I don't mind rainy days but here in New England we are used to the weather changing frequently....not days and days of the same old, same old.

One of the good things however about the rain is it gives one a good excuse to sip tea and knit, which I have been happy to do.

Pattern:  Cable Twist Sock
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Harmony ~ Chiquitita
Needle:  knitpicks 2.25mm

This pattern was written for a heavier weight yarn, so a few modifications were needed.  I worked a 6 stitch pattern with 2 purls in between over 64 stitches and rearranged the pattern to keep the P2 going down the side after the heel was completed.

The heel is an eye of partridge heel :).  I found a good set of instructions for this heel here.  I worked the first of his pattern instructions. :)

All in all it was an easy and enjoyable pattern!

Next on tap......Keukenhof Sok.

Anne wrote this pattern for my Bambino sock yarn and it is a delightful pattern. 

I was a wee bit swamped when the pattern was released which is why I did not put a kit together, but once I finish these I will definitely be doing that.....so check back later. :)

Spring into Summer..... a seasonal contest!

Yikes............ Kathy and I missed the first day of summer.  Of course it hasn't felt much like summer here in the Northeast yet.  Lots of cold damp weather....how about where you live?

Anyhoo, it's time ladies.  Time to take those weights and measurements and get them into us :).  We will post the prizes being offered during the week and we'll let you know three winners -- best percentage weight loss; best percentage inch loss; and a random winner. 

Here's to summer....yay!!!

Beach Glass.............

Don't be afraid to explore;
Without exploration there are no discoveries
Don't be afraid of partial solutions;
Without the tentative there is no accomplishment.
Den Ming~Dao

 
Pattern:  Beach Glass
Yarn:  Woolen Rabbit Muireann (linen/silk blend)
Needles:  US 5

What a delightful pattern this was to knit.  Perfect lace for both beginner and experienced knitters.  Another shawl I was sad to see come to an end. 

When I was a young girl I lived very close to the ocean and the trinket I loved most on those lazy long days at the ocean was beach glass.  It was one of my most prized collections back then.

As you probably have guessed green is my favorite color and the glass I was most drawn to in those young days was the pale washed glass from discarded old coke bottles.  I loved that soft,worn, cool green glass and it was this color that I tried to capture in my yarn color.

The yarn that I used is a blend of silk and linen.  It is a tricky yarn to wind as it breaks easily, but it is worth the effort.....it is very soft, but has wonderful stitch definition. 

I blocked this shawl hard and the yarn held up well, so over all I am pleased enough that it will be listed in the store later next week.

Thank you Susan for such an enjoyable knit!

For my friend......

Before I went to bed last night I felt moved to put this song up for a friend.

It is a song that embraced and comforted me when I needed it............such a beautiful song for a free spirit.

Rainy Days.................

Not much has been happening around here the last few days.  It seems as though the rain is never going to end.  Pitter, Patter, drip, drop on the rooftops......

Not great for the garden but certainly a good excuse to spend time knitting....right?

I have spent the last week working on Susan's beeutiful Beach Glass Shawl pattern.  It really is a joy to knit.  Just enough lace work to keep it interesting, but lots of mindless garter rows in between.  My favorite kind of knit. :)

I am loving this yarn too.  It has lovely drape and a very soft hand. I am waiting to see how it blocks before I put it up in the store.

I am nearing the end so hopefully when the sun decides to make an appearance I will have something lovely to show you. :)

Isn't She The Beesknees?

Meet the newest member of our family..........Beeatrice.  Isn't she adorable?

It's been a while since I have had a baby bunny here.  A good number of years ago I stopped breeding rabbits as my fiber business started to grow and my time to devote to them decreased.  There are only so many hours in a day and grooming rabbits does take up a lot of time.

At the height of my bunny days about 6 years ago I had 19 rabbits and whew...it was a lot of work keeping up with the poop and the hair....time that I just don't have any longer.

 As the years passed my numbers dwindled down to the last 2 bunnies.  The oldest(8)....and the youngest (3). 

The oldest was a bunny named Copper.  He was a fine looking redhead in his day and sired some of my friendliest bunnies.  He himself was one of the sweetest and most gentle bunnies I have ever owned.  (Somehow I managed to erase my older bunny pictures, so I don't have one to show you.)

At 8 years old I knew his time to leave us was nearing.  He had become very thin even though he was still eating a good amount...which is not a good sign.  Over the last month I started asking a few of my bunny friends if they had any upcoming litters as I knew I wanted to keep 2 rabbits in my studio for my own fiber needs and because I just enjoy their quiet company when I am working.

I contacted Chris and she told me that she had a few rabbits available.  Her girls were older girls though and I decided that I wanted a baby here again as they are just so darn cute when they are little....and I missed that.

I did a google search for German angora breeders in the New England area and came upon Spinakees Farm.  Betty told me that she had 2 babies available and one of them was a doe, which is what I wanted, so up to Maine I went Friday.

All the way up there I kept thinking that Spinakees sounded familiar to me, but in looking at Betty's website I didn't see anything that struck a memory........until she opened the door.

Wouldn't you know it.....I had sold Betty a baby bunny a number of years ago when were both vendors at the Fiber Frolic.   The amazing coincidence is that the little doe that I sold to her was one of Coppers's daughters.  Betty told me that she was one of the nicest and friendliest girls she had ever had.  It made me smile.....Copper was indeed a grand bunny and had passed that on to his children.

Sadly we lost Copper last weekend.  I was sad to lose him, but I knew that he had lived a long and happy life here with us which made it a bit easier to say good~bye.  Sleep well my little one and munch lots of dandelions over the rainbow.

**footnote....  Beeatrice is not a descendent of Copper.  Beeatrice is a full German angora from a different line.  Copper's daughter lived with Beeatrice's breeder and it's this daughter who Betty said was her friendliest bunny ever....sadly she has passed away as well.

  I will say though Beeatrice is pretty darn friendly too. :)

The Raising of the Beds.....

It's been a very productive week here at the Woolen Rabbit!  You may remember this garden bed from last year.  It's a nice big 16x18 foot plot, but I have to admit as I am getting older, it is getting harder and harder to be working on my hands and knees.

Over the winter I read the books, Lasagna Gardening and Square Foot Gardening.  I decided to go with the SFG plan for a few reasons.  The biggest being that I could buy the ingredients for the beds, fill them and get planting right away.

I have to tell you, Mr Woolen Rabbit is a pretty good guy. A number of years ago I had him make raised beds for me and then a few years later we dismantled them and planted grass as life was just too busy for gardening with the kids and all of their activities and all of my hobbies.

Last year the gardening itch returned and he obliged me by rotilling the garden bed and putting up the fence to keep the local Moose out.  This year when I told him that I really really wanted to use raised beds again to help my aging knees....he groaned, but didn't complain.  Yep............this guy is a keepa for sure!

We purchased the wood to make (4) 3x6x12 beds and one larger 3x12x12 bed (for corn or strawberries). The weekend before last Ken cranked out the beds, we installed them in the garden....then I had to wait for our local compost man to bring me a bucket load.

I waited and waited and waited.....grrr........finally almost a week later he delivered the compost.  I will be starting a compost pile of my own this year.....just sayin'.

During the week, I filled each bed with an equal mixture of Peat Moss, Vermiculite and compost.  Whew........those big bags were heavy but I was determined to have these beds finished before the anticipated 3 days of rain began.

Don't these greens look good?  I am going to LOVE these beds, I can already tell. :)

Next it was on to the perennial bed on the side of the house.  I think that I picked THE buggiest day to weed and plant....OUCH....damn black flies!

Unfortunately Mr. Woolen Rabbit managed to catch the same stomach bug that kept me in bed for a few days, so I was on my own to lug all of the heavy bags of earth enhancer for the perennial garden and the 15 big bags of mulch for the vegetable garden paths. (yep...Mountain Mama as Ash likes to call me...LOL)

  Poor guy........this bug is NOT fun.  Thankfully he is feeling a bit better tonight.

In between all of the digging, planting and scratching bug bites, I have managed to get a little quality knitting in.....yay!

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I am knitting Susan's lovely Beach Glass Shawl. 

Susan's pattern is such a pretty way to sample a new yarn that I will be carrying in the store.  An incredibly soft blend of silk and linen lace yarn.  I am dyeing up a few colors so that I can get them listed over the weekend in the online shop.

It's a bit fragile to wind, but so worth the effort.......I have not been disappointed as it is knitting up.

Susan's pattern is very well written and easy to follow along with.  I was smitten with this shawl from the very first time I saw her.  Thank~you Susan for a beautiful design!