photoblog 1- yarn love

 just pics, folks. i'll caption them, but that's about all i've got time for at this exact moment...

our newest family member

my first attempt at edible-food coloring dying. the white is wool, the brown is alpaca, and the mesh bag holds angora.

the setup. used 2 sets of dye, just the green, blue and pink tablets. as the two sets were different brands, the colors were slightly different, leading to interesting color variations later.

all the dye has been added, and the yarn pressed into the dye. had to add some water to bring the level up to an acceptable point.

my drying rack full of dyed batts

a re-carded batt containing an odd  bit of dyed wool and the dyed alpaca  (the two skinny bits on the left of the photo above) plus some white wool. yes, i know it's a horrible looking batt. but as i'm planning on using it all myself, i don't worry about the slubs too much.

the batt above, spun fine.

the finished yarn, chain-plied into about 50 yards of tweedy gently-shading yarn.

two of the three matching batts i dyed, pulled into rovings

some of the same wool, spun up

the finished yarn, plied 1-dyed, 1-plain white wool. about 400 yards total, and should stripe wide stripes of color.

color is a bit off on some of these, but the best i can do what with the never-ending rain around here.

Of winter, and fleece, and all things indoors

hey folks.  Guess i'm not feeling very blog motivated these days. Sorry.

However, i have been keeping myself busy (of course!)

my daughter is doing better everyday with her home education. she's beginning to sound words out fairly accurately, when prompted, and is starting to learn about telling  time.

 

strawberry mead,  brewing right now! yum!!

my first knit sock. no, really! i'm using a sock loom. it's slow, but very interesting!

I've recently purchased some icelandic fleece, and have washed a pound of it...

 

Yup, that's what a pound of fleece looks like.

It washed really really easily, and i'm very happy with the result. i also washed an 'extra' bit the seller threw in. unfortunately, the grease had hardened, and i was unable to completely clean it. I will be trying to comb and spin it, but don't expect fantastic results.

Icelandic fleece is much different than your 'average' white wooly sheep's fleece. it has two different parts of the hair, a long coarse hair, and a much shorter, very fine hair.

this fleece is grey, however you may notice that the skinny ends are dark grey, while the fluffy thick bits are light grey.
I decided to test-separate some of the fleece, because as far as i can tell, they did that historically (the coarse hairs had one set of uses, the fine another set. makes sense to me. dual purpose fibers.

 

as you can see, the fibers are very different in color once separated. The fine hairs were actually nearly perfectly white if i take all the coarse hairs out!  However, i'm only going to pull the longest and coarsest, leaving a bit of grey in the softer fibers.

some yarn i've spun, drip drying after being washed and set.

a little yarn porn  ;)  my most recently finished yarn. it's 50/50 alpaca and wool

and this is my currently-being blocked super-crazy colorwork crochet project. (in case you're wondering, it's a row of running feegles, a la Terry Pratchett)

hope everyone is staying warm, and planning your gardens!

Returning from Hiatus

hello again. I'm back. I've been a busy girl, just not on the blogging front. I've been crocheting and spinning a lot, as well as baking, cooking, childcare-ing, and homeschooling.

i have been enjoying the 'bounty' of my window garden (thus far 6 hot peppers and 4 small tomatoes)

 i also took part in a swap on ravelry (the swap was for Imbolc, but i've opened it early) and i thought i'd show you what i got!

 that huge ball is wool roving from a rare breed of sheep called the Coburg Fox Sheep, and the wood box is full of charcoal and incense. Such lovely stuff :D

here's a peek at a couple of my ongoing projects:

a bat-wing style shawl made with some yarn i just LOVE!

100% alpaca, spun fine. to be plied with wool.

 in other news: um... no, not really any other news. am slowly starting to re-connect with old friends locally, which is nice and a real stress relief.

hope everyone is having a safe and warm winter... take it easy!

Yule and gift-giving

Over the years, my family has worked our way towards a more home-made, hand-made gift-giving tradition. This is in part financial (the Jones's we are not), but it is also because working on gifts through the year, putting energy into them, is infinitely more satisfying than going and buying some miscellaneous item (thoughtful though it may be) that happens to fall in your price range.

This doesn't mean we don't buy items. Honestly, about half our gifting in any one year is purchased, particularly items within our household, but i think this is in part because the handmade goods get given within the house throughout the year.

one gift some of our family and friends can expect this year is pictured below:

orange and cherry fondants, with the small centre bits of chocolate covered candied ginger

candied ginger and eggnog fondant

coffee, peppermint, and chocolate flavours

this was all made with one batch of filling, and the recipe for it is on joybilee farm.

all told, i made over 3 pounds of chocolates!!!

one recipe i improvised was for the coffee flavored filling. i used the following:
1tbsp Kahlua
1/2 tbsp instant coffee

to note with many of the filling recipes: some are too dry, and need extra butter (or a few drops of water)
and the rest are too moist, and need extra icing sugar. but they all taste wonderful!


oh, and one more thing:  here's the finished super-secret gift for you to see:

asymmetrically striped dogswool/wool mitts

and for music today, here is a page with a number of songs, most containing an audio file. lots of nice variants on old standards!
http://www.odins-gift.com/mp3/suiteofyulesongs.htm.

yuletide and still random :D

this years tree... still waiting on popcorn strings and the like

yarn for super-secret project. it contains suint-ferment cleaned wool and detergent washed dog hair.

the skein. it should work up as striping. we shall see.

(words below and more can be found at http://www.odins-gift.com/poth/L-Q/otannenbaum.htm, as well as an mp3 of their version of the song!) 

O Tannenbaum       
German traditional, transl. by Diana L. Paxson:

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
With faithful leaves unchanging;
Not only green in summer´s heat,
But also winter´s snow and sleet,
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
With faithful leaves unchanging.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
Of all the trees most lovely;
Each year, you bring to me delight
Gleaming through the Solstice night.
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
Of all the trees most lovely.

                                             O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
                                           Your leaves will teach me, also,
                                          That hope and love and faithfulness
                                        Are precious things I can possess,
                                         O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum,
                                       Your leaves will teach me, also.

 

 

 

 

Wool stuff

Okay... lots of things happening on the fibre front in my life:

Mom and i recieved a drum carder from another family member. it's pretty old-school, and for medium/coarse carding... but SO SO much a step up from hand carding everything!

We also took advantage of a local arts studio selling off unused items, and picked up a picker (that'd be a super-scary tool that picks open the wool and lets the bits of vegetable matter fall out) and..... (drum roll..)

my new toy!

spinning wheel!

originally made in Winnipeg!

okay. it's not new... in fact, it's 20-30 years old. and it was in need of a lot of love when we picked it up. we'd been told it had been in storage for at least ten years. It showed.

after lots of tightening of bolts and screws, about a half cup of lemon oil, some machine oil, and a new belt, it's now running pretty nicely...

a very full plied bobbin...

on other fibre notes:

been crocheting up a storm. some of my recent FO's:

my dapper little gentleman

stocking from a KAL/CAL

warm neckwarmer

other odds and ends:
suint fermentation wool process similar to detergent washed wool.... still has a spicy/earthy smell when dry... and probably smells a bit like sheep when wet. overall, seems like a decent way to process. next year, i plan on having a number of fermentation tubs set up to process the wool (um... about 6 fleeces) sitting in my porch. then, i get to spin it all! (whee!)

Catching up 1.0 - sheep and fibres

Well, i got out of the house yesterday.... mom and the 4 of us went to the 'gathering of the flock' sheep and fibre event in Neepawa.  it was the first year for the event, and considering the crumby weather, i thought the turnout was pretty good.  the monkeys were pretty good, and i was able to look around at everything and buy a copy of Fiber Gathering straight from the author (her blog is here)! it looks like a pretty informative book, even though it's geared towards american festivals. i definately want to try making some hand-dyed yarn, like that in the book.  I also had a chance to briefly chat with her and one other spinner  (whose name i completely forgot. sorry!) about wheels, fibres and the like.... it was actually pretty nice to talk to other like-minded folk.

During our chat, i brought up fermented suint wool cleaning...  i'm currently testing the method. i'm not sure i 'love' it, but i've got a small section drying to test out how well it works. we shall see.

Spinning fun

I am quite enjoying Spinning these days, and thought  i would give you a peek at what i've been working on.

Here is a pic of the one-tone wools i have spun recently. most of it will be used for naalbinding (which i will hopefully be doing a post on soon, for all my vike and non-vike friends alike!)

This is my current WIP (work in progress)... a multitonal two-ply. I'm in the midst of plying it right now. i'll take another pic once it's all skeined up. it's going to be used for a kids hat... should make for interesting colors, i think. I plan on doing another similar one, with slightly different colors, for the other child (no need to get them fighting over just one hat.... there's enough of that already!

I have to say, using my one commercial spindle for plying, it feels HUGE compared to the viking-sized ones i have been using lately (and looks huge too) yet it didn't feel unwieldy when i was using it originally... just now. Hm. All a matter of perspective, i guess.

Hope everyone is having a fun friday!

Random thoughts

First of all, i have to say: OH MY GODDESS! I just won an ice cream maker!!!  it was on  the blog Passionate about Baking, which i've been following because it has SCRUMPTIOUS looking recipes. They recently had a give-away for an ice-cream maker and i was the randomly chosen winner! YAY! *does happy dance* I am so psyched.... i don't think i've won anything 'free' since high school!

 (via )

i think i've found my perfect 'base recipe' for baking bread. Of course, it'll never turn out the exact same twice, but this recipe is pretty simple, and unlike most 'whole wheat' recipes it actually IS 100% whole wheat (some of those recipes are so.... misleading. I hate that.)

The recipe i've found is from CDKitchen and the link is here. I have made it twice so far, and while i'm following the ingredients exactly (for now at least!) i'm using different instructions, as i'm making it all by hand. if you'd like to try it the way i have, just print out the recipe, then follow along here:

tools needed: large bowl, wooden spoon, flat surface (optional), measuring cups and spoons, tea towel, bread pan(s)

In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let stand 10 mins then stir in.
Dump in all flour EXCEPT 1/4 cup (per batch), as well as the salt and honey. stir until evenly lumpy.
Add the milk, oil, and eggs. Mix thoroughly. This dough is very sticky.
Dump in the reserved flour, and mix it in.
If using a flat surface, flour it, and dump out the dough onto it. If doing it my way (less mess = better) sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour on top of the dough, as well as getting it around the sides and to the bottom. Put a little extra in the bottom of the bowl (to do this, pull the dough away from the sides one side at a time, and sprinkle flour down the crack. turn and repeat.)
Using either method, knead for at least a minute, adding more flour as required.
Place bread back into bowl (if necessary). Pour about 1tsp oil on top, and spread it around on all exposed surfaces (this prevents it from drying out!)
Cover with tea towel, and set in a warm place (i have a cold house, so i use my oven with just the light on.)
When the dough has risen to double its original size, punch it down. (I do this a second time as well... it seems to make a lighter loaf)
Grease all bread pans with butter. Shape bread and place into the pan. cover again with towel.
Let rise once more to double, while heating oven to 375F.
Place dough in oven, an bake for 35-40 mins.

To test done-ness for bread, dump out of pan onto a cookie rack. Tap the bottom with your knuckles. If it sounds hollow, it's cooked.
Turn bread out onto racks, and cool. I like to spread a little butter on the top while it's still warm, as it gives a chewier crust.

Please note: this recipe makes a LARGE loaf.  When i tripled the recipe, i had to use three large pans to fit the dough in. if you are using 'medium' pans, there may be extra dough, (i'd use 4 medium pans for a triple batch, i think)


Other randomness: i've been doing a lot of spinning (both at last weekends' trainer and otherwise) and if anyone is interested in handspun wool, or drop spindles, drop me a line. i'm always willing to barter!

my seedlings are growing by leaps and bounds... going to need to repot some this week, and take some to their 'final homes' (the ones i'm giving to family)so i can have more room on my window sills.

for the love of spinning

One of the things i enjoy most about my Living history hobby is the time i get to spend taking wool 'from sheep to sock'... that is cleaning, combing, spinning,dying and finally naalbinding it.

one of the mid-weigh spindles and some yarn spun from it

i finished my WIP drop spindles, and did some 'test spinning' on the different weights. here are some of the results

 light weight on the left, then medium, and heavy

at a guess, the first is lace weight as a 1-ply, the heaviest is perhaps a sport weight.

 close up of the same

 i have this crazy idea that i want to save all of the light weight that i end up spinning, and eventually buy/make a loom (preferably a viking-style warp-weighted loom) and test my hand at weaving. I think the light wool would be perfect for weft, and would make a nice mid-weight fabric.

 a light spindle, full of thread-like yarn

 i'm slowly taking bites out of my BAGS full of raw wool, washing, carding/combing and spinning it. i still have.. oh, at least 15lbs of wool to go though! (yikes!)

i would love to get a carding machine. that has to be the one step i like LEAST about getting the wool ready. hand combing/carding/flick carding is just not the same. it's okay for a show, or small batches, but i'd like to be able to do more, and larger batches!

After Finishing my first set of drop spindles, i decided that i would make further medium and small ones, as i know i want more than one weight of each for myself (one way to make 2-ply yarn is to spin onto two same-weight spindles, then ply (reverse spin) them together onto a third (often heavier) spindle)

I'm also mid-packing and preparing for our next event. it's a trainer (not open to the general public event) in SK and it's this weekend. i still have so much to pack!

on another note, my seedlings are growing by leaps and bounds... have had to transplant my acorn squash into larger containers, and will be doing the same with some of my other seedlings in the next day or two