In Snapshots: My Week Thus Far

~Early Sunday morning milking. I enjoy the cool quiet, the warmth of the cow, the sound of milk streaming into the metal pail, it is a lovely way to start the day.

~Fresh, foamy milk. Steel-toed boots to protect my toes, getting accidentally stepped on by a cow hurts!

~One of my cousin's new French Angora bunnies! Isn't she darling?

~Sunlight through the trees. It always makes me so happy.

~Handspun Painter's Palette yarn. Spun with Turquoise Owl Fibers roving from my shop, by my cousin.

~A spot of morning tea

~Knitting my Seaweed Stole and browsing through the most recent copy of Spin Off. 

~Picking a colander-full of fresh grape tomatoes.

~Chicken scratch.

~Bright pink Yarrow in the garden.

~Spinning a beautiful blend of 70%Polworth Wool/26% Alpaca/4% Silk.

Have a beautiful day!

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway if you have not done so yet. Only two days left!

Just popping in.

Today it is raining again. And I am not complaining. It is wonderful to have all this rain after our long dry spell. It feels a bit like autumn, like it did when I blogged this post. The house is quiet, so quiet that you can hear the clocks ticking, and the rain hitting the stove pipe outside the living room wall. 

Rainy weather always puts me in the mood for tea. I turned the electric kettle on, fished out my tea pot, wiped the dust out of a cup I have not used in awhile and made a pot of Rooibush Chocolate Tea. It is made by the Tea Gschwendner company, and oh so tasty. As the description says: "The creamy sweetness of chocolate combined with refreshing mind blend perfectly for a delightful cup!"

Things are going to be different around home for awhile. Grandma had surgery and Mother and I are switching on and off taking turns caring for her. The last two days I had previous commitments, and getting back earlier then planned, I had intended to dye fiber today  The rain put a stop to that and I found myself home this afternoon, with less to do then I thought.

So today I am working on my Etsy shop, blog and some knitting. Last week I picked up this lovely skein of Ella rae merino lace yarn. It is kettle dyed in gorgeous shades and I was so excited to start knitting it up.

I picked this yarn with my Seaweed Stole in mind, so as soon as I had found the right size of needles I got right to it. This is an easier pattern to work on then the other lace one I was doing. It works well for when I am sitting with my Grandma while we watch the Olympics. I kept losing my place in the other one, staring at the telly and holding my breath until a critical moment in the games had passed. Needless to say, I was not getting anywhere fast on that project! 
The Seaweed stole only has 4 rows to repeat, and just one of them is lace, so it is easy to keep track of while other things are going on.
I'm planning on selling this in my shop once it is done. Though that may not be for awhile, it needs another skein of yarn and the shop where I purchased it is across the state. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Of Coffee, Rain, & Spinning.

Having a snack while I blog. Coffee and cookies. Or biscuits, as they are referred to in the UK (and probably other places as well). 

 It is raining here. Hard. A good steady, pouring sort of rain. It is beating down on the metal roof and creating quite a cozy sound and feel in the house. We are having a bit of thunder and lightening as well. I do so love a good thunderstorm! We have needed rain desperately. I am not home this week, but thankfully it is raining at home as well. I was so glad to hear that. It will be interesting to see if anything looks different when I get back. When I left everything was parched dry, and brown as can be. Even the trees looked dry and thirsty.

 This week I finished spinning and plied both of these singles. Not together, they are separate skeins of yarn. 

 Here they are hanging to dry. A friend gave me some flip flops from Old Navy and I save the plastic piece that held them together. I thought it would work perfectly for drying yarn. And it did! Originally I set this yarn over the fence to dry. But the evening sun was low in the sky and soon moved, leaving the yarn in the shade. I ended up hanging the skeins from a branch in the mulberry tree. It worked like a dream. 

The completed yarn is a gorgeous 3-ply. I intend to keep this one for myself! It has such a nice feel to it. I love the way a three ply feels and knits up! I navajo plied my single to get this three ply yarn.

My lace design is coming along beautifully. It slowed a little since I have been gone this week. I am hoping to add an inch or two tonight when I am relaxing. It is such a fun pattern to work on, just enough lace to keep you occupied, but not such a complex pattern so that it makes your head hurt after staring at the chart for awhile. If my design progresses at all while I am here, I'll share another picture with you. For now, I shall close and go enjoy this lovely storm!

Scottish Highland Knits

A couple of weeks ago I purchased Scottish Highland Knits from the used book section of our bookstore. I had been browsing the bookstore a few weeks previously and saw it, but couldn't quite make up my mind whether I should by it or not. To my surprise when I came back later, there it was! It was only $7.oo, but i still stood there and dithered back and forth trying to make up my mind whether to buy it or not. I thumbed through it and realized that I liked all the patterns in the book, save one. When you consider that just one pdf of a knitting pattern could sell for the same amount, well, it seemed like a good deal. Not to mention that the book itself is quite well-laid out and beautiful. More on that later.

But first let me show you the first project I am planning on making out of Scottish Highland Knits. These are the Felted Slippers by Catherine Tough. I have some handspun wool & llama yarn that I am hoping works for the pattern. The yarn that it originally calls for is Rowan Scottish Tweed DK. My yarn is a worsted weight. But the way the pattern works is you knit the general shape of the slipper, felt the knitted fabric, and then use the templates to cut out the exact shapes needed for the slipper. So I'm pretty sure I can make this yarn work. We'll see. I haven't started the project yet, other then winding one skein into a center-pull ball.
I have a few other projects I need to get out of the way first. And with spring just days away I don't anticipate that I'll need these slippers very much until this coming autumn. So its not a pressing thing that needs to get done soon. Just something I'd like to make up and have ready for cold weather. We have wood floors in our home and with the wind that whips over the fields around our hill it sure gets chilly at times.

Patchwork Throw

Here are some other projects from the book I would really like to make.

Doesn't that look so cozy?

Cabled Blanket Coat

I think this sweater looks simply scrumptious! So warm, cable-y, and perfect for layering during those brisk autumn days. I think this would look amazing in handspun yarn. Hmm, maybe I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for some appropriate fiber while I'm out and about at fiber festivals this summer.

Fair Isle Socks

Tie Shrug: by Wendy Baker

I think this around-the-shoulder shrug looks so cozy. Its perfect for curling up in the evenings by the fire with a good book. Or some knitting. It would also wear nicely to church or out and about as well.

Wrap Cardigan: by Sarah Dallas

The lace pattern is open and quite dainty, while the fabric of the cardigan seems to be substantial enough to keep one warm on a cool spring day. I also love the dainty touch the crocheted edging adds to it.


Not only does the book have great patterns, it is also a visual treat of beautiful scenery, textures, and gorgeous knitting photos.

I hope you've enjoyed this short little review of Scottish Highland Knits. I look forward to sharing the projects with you as I make them! 

I'm at my brother and sister-in-law's house today. We are having a big family shindig here later this afternoon. The house is sparkly, the food is prepped and we are now enjoying the sunshine, and the fact that we can have a few windows open letting in fresh air! 

 Lord-willing I'll be back here soon. Until next time, may you have a lovely day!

In which we speak of the Pumpkin Spice Stole

Hello my friends! Lately we have had quite a few grey, leaden days. For awhile it felt as if spring was in the air. We have certainly had an odd February! Lots of rain, very little snow, temperatures varying greatly...Last week we had another snow fall. It was a thick, heavy sort of snow that covered every little branch and twig.

Very pretty, indeed. I didn't take any pictures of the snow until the next morning. By that time the thick cover was gone, though it was still snowing and quite pretty. See what I mean by grey??

Snow covered field.

This was around 4:30 in the afternoon. I went outside to feed the alpacas and took my camera along in case there were any good photo opportunities. It was quite chilly so after feeding the boys I quickly snapped a couple of photos then hurried back inside. We get a good deal of wind on our hill and sometimes I feel like I'm about to blow away! It certainly makes cleaning up after the alpacas an adventure. 

Heading back indoors I'm greated by the heavenly smell of hyacinths in bloom. These gorgeous flowers just keep growing and growing. Their wonderful smell permeates the surrounding area. It is a nice touch of spring amid all the grey.

Last week I pulled out my watercolor supplies and did a small 5x7" painting as a birthday gift for a friend. The original is one I painted a few years ago when I was just learning to paint by studying various books. I painted my new "Clothes on the Line" with a hint of storminess to the clouds. It looks like a cool, autumn day with the wind picking up and a storm rolling in.

I was quite pleased with the way the painting turned out considering the fact that I painted it in the evening, when the lighting was not very good. I picked the brightest corner of the living room and set up station. Normally I do not paint in the living room, but it was necessary at the time. I am actually quite pleased that my set-up worked out. Now I know for future reference that it Is possible to get enough lighting to make a decent painting on a dark winter's eve.

Pumpkin Spice Stole

Speaking of winter evenings, this is what I am often working on by the stove late in the evening. A cup of tea and I am all set to go for a while. This is the "Tibetan Clouds Beaded Stole" by Sivia Harding. I started my stole shortly after Christmas. The yarn was gifted to me by my sweet sister. I was so excited to have this large lace project to work on. I've been taking my own sweet time knitting it up, savouring the process so to speak. There were about 3 weeks total where I did not pick it up and work on it. For awhile there I just needed a change of pace, and then at one point this month I was so sick that I did not want to knit. But other then those few delays the Pumpkin Spice Stole (so named because of its lovely, rich pumpkin-y color) is growing steadily. I do find that the beading is sometimes rather tedious. But this is my first big beading project and its taken me awhile to get good at it. I was so slow in the beginning, but now I feel like I can fly along at a fairly good pace. If it were not for all those little beads I'm sure the stole would be done by now. But the beads really make the project, and despite the slow process of individually placing each bead, it is fun to do and the finished results will be well worth it!

Only last week I finished the first "wing" of my stole. Chart E is repeated eight and a half times so by the time I got near the end I felt like I had it memorized. It should make knitting the second wing a breeze. Chart E does scrunch up a good deal, and the ending charts are all puckery. But I am sure it will all block it beautifully in the end. That is the beauty of lace, taking a scrunched up piece of knitting, blocking it and then seeing it transform into a delicate  and gorgeous work of art.

That is all I have to share for this evening. I have a busy week ahead, what with my sister-in-law hosting a gals get-together for the ladies of the family, traveling I need to do later on this week....whew it is making me tired just thinking of what needs to be accomplished in the next day or two. However I am looking forward to the times of fellowship ahead, as well as the opportunity to be a blessing. 

In the last month and a half we have been able to get together with many friends, as well as make some new friends, we have had some wonderful times of fellowship and have been blessed, refreshed and encouraged. Family and friends are truly a precious gift from God!

May you have a wonderful and cheerful  week, wherever you are!  

Summertime

 Greetings! I'm glad to be back with you. I thought we would start with a garden update before plunging into all the knitting and fiber. I've been gone the last few days so when I went outside to take pictures for my blog I also looked at the garden and snapped a few photos.

This year I planted lots of flowers from seed. Though they did not come up as I would have liked, we still have quite an abundance of flowers that are just beginning to bloom. The zinnias were one of the first flowers to bloom. Zinnias are such a sturdy, cut flower. I like to plant scads of them if at all possible, to use for bouquets and such all summer long.

 The garden is doing well. We didn't plant as great a variety this year as we did last year. But what we do have is doing well indeed. We have 12 butternut squash plants and they are simply loaded with tiny squash! We love to make squash soup in the cold months, and having a good supply of squash on hand will be wonderful. When autumn rolls around I'll have to remember to post our squash soup recipe for you.

 Our tomatoes are flourishing nicely, though they are all still green. We got the garden in later then expected and it is slightly behind. Last year we tried fried green tomatoes and they were surprisingly delicious. 

The soybeans in the field next to us are growing so high, and they are now blooming.

I prefer to have soybeans next to us as opposed to the corn fields. We are not so boxed in with the soybeans.

That is it on the garden update. Now on to fiber!

I've been doing a bit of lace knitting this week. Right now I am in the midst of figuring out a new shawl design. It is past the "frog-it-and-scrap-the-whole-project" stage, which makes me happy. I'm fairly certain that I am on the proper track with this pattern right now. I'm still debating on what to do with the edging though.

Because of my shoulder injury, plying still gives me some grief, though spinning is not as difficult. So my plying projects are piling up right now. The yarn in the back of this picture is all ready to knit with. The two balls in the front still need to be plied. I'll just take my time and do a little here and a little there until they are done. My problem is once I start plying I want to keep at it until the skein is complete.

This single is ready to be wound off into a center-pull ball so I can ply it later. This yarn is part of 5 ounces of alpaca seconds that I purchased at a local alpaca farm earlier this summer. I washed the locks and am working on carding them up a little at a time. I'm considering making a cowl or perhaps another helix scarf out of this yarn.

Speaking of the Helix, here are some updated photos of the my Chocolate Mint Helix!

Currently I've used up all the yarn I had spun for this project. So now I am spinning up my last two ounces as fast as I can because I really want to finish this project. The Helix is such an easy project! It is a repeat of 3 rows the whole time, so it is easily memorized and perfect for take-along knitting. I've been putting it in my purse and taking it to church to work on between services.

I hope you all are having a lovely summer! What projects are you working on? What do you like to knit for easy take-along projects during all the busy summer goings-on? I'd love to hear what you are doing!

Have a blessed day!