Sometimes life gets busy, and my to-do list really begins to weigh me down. When that happens, my tendency is to lengthen the list even further by adding craft projects. I retreat from the things I have to do and settle in with what I'd rather do. Whenever I have a prolific craft week, is is safe to assume it is the result of procrastination at its finest.
The Owlie socks were finished this week as well! I love how they turned out. The Southdown fiber made such an elastic, bouncy yarn, the socks fit wonderfully. Speaking of the yarn, there was plenty left. It seems the skein for the first sock was a little thicker, which made for less yardage. I'm not sure why there was such a difference. I purposely spun all six singles, 3 plies for each skein, and plied them at random specifically to mitigate that problem. Regardless, the socks are finished, so all's well that ends well.
I have a full Dorset fleece, also a down wool, given to me this summer. With how well the owl socks turned out, the Dorset fleece, or a portion of it, may also be destined for socks. I made a small sample from the fleece, and it washes up beautifully — very white with a bit of luster, which gives me hope it will will take dye nicely.
My other spinning projects received a bit of attention, but are still a long way from finished object status. There is finally a plan for the sweater spin, which feels good. While I would love to have the whole sweater finished by Shepherd's Harvest, it's more realistic to get as much yarn spun as I can. As the festival gets closer, I can ply what singles I have, which will give me a good idea what the yards per pound actually is and how much fiber is needed. If I need more fiber, the hope is the shepherd will once again be at the festival with another fleece from Bonnie, a moorit (medium greyish-brown) Shetland sheep. It's a gamble, but Bonnie was there last year, so there's a chance!
I cast on two knitting projects this week. The first is a pillow with a leaf motif climbing the right edge. The wool for this project came from my grandpa and his wife, Phyllis. They used to keep sheep, and the wool was from one of their flock. Phyllis gave it to me, washed and ready to go. Hallelujah!
The yarn was spun this summer at the Lakehead Harvest Reunion. I was there carding and spinning all three days. The finished yarn I later dyed using Black-eyed Susan. I have used the plant to dye before, separating the flower from the leaves and stems. This time, I used the entire plant to make one dye-bath, which made for a nice medium green with a yellow undertone. I really like the way it turned out, and hope to have the pillow done in time to give it to Phyllis for Christmas. She is one who really appreciates things done by hand, and being sourced from her farm would make the gift extra special.
While the weather has been phenomenal, winter is just around the corner. We have woken to snow on the ground once already, so mittens for Oliver were a must. I have one down, and one to go. They are being knit from a striped yarn I spun from a Jacob fleece. I was able to get four distinct colors from a single fleece, which makes for some great natural stripes. His response upon trying the first mitten, "Nailed it!"
It's always gratifying when someone loves something you make. Of course, his next comment was on the scratchiness. Ha! Perhaps I should have done a better job of picking out all the hay.
On the fitness front, I am still working through the Beast UP calendar, which is a four week adaptation of Body Beast. I love the workouts, but food is a struggle with this program. I find myself very hungry and needing to eat pretty often, but I don't have the time to be eating all the time. Better food prep would go a long way in fixing the situation. It's definitely something I need to work on.
The Dance Off Challenge group is into the second week. I invited a friend and fellow coach to run the group with me, figuring it would be a nice way to increase participation and learn from her at the same time. It's been a lot of fun, and one of the challengers is down three pounds! The best part of being a Beachbody Coach is seeing your people succeed.
One thing I could not put off was cooking more pumpkin. When it is time, it is time, so we made another run at the pumpkin patch pie. This time, I kept things nice and simple, and we were pleased with the results.
Roast Pumpkin Dessert
Small pie pumpkin(s)2 large apples (honeycrisp or Braeburn are good)3/4 cup brown sugar1/4 cup sugar1 tsp cinnamonPinch of nutmegWash small pie pumpkin(s), cut off the top and remove the seeds. Peel and slice apples, toss with sugar and spices. Spoon the apple mixture into the pumpkin, replace the lid and bake at 350° F for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until pumpkin and apple are soft. Scoop out and serve. Would be delicious topped with ice cream or whipped cream.
I finished two projects this week, one of which was totally spur of the moment. My aunt stopped by to drop off a fleece she had been given, which, I'm almost certain, was of an Iceland sheep. The Texture issue of, Ply Magazine, detailed a project, which used Icelandic fleece to make a funky, tail-spun yarn which was knit into an edgy, hooded sweater. I'd been really interested in that project, so having an Iceland fleece, almost literally, land on my doorstep was the perfect excuse to try tail-spinning.
Having read a few tutorials on tail-spinning, I thought I was good to go, but watching a few videos before diving in would have been a tremendous help. I learned pretty quickly, a thin lock gave better results than a thick one. Once I got a rhythm down, it was pretty enjoyable. The process itself is a lot like core-less corespinning, just with loose ends. It would have been a wonderful spin on a wheel better suited to art yarns. I love my Kromski Minstrel, but it does not love yarns with a lot of personality. I had to wind everything on by hand, because there was no getting those locks over the little flyer hooks.
The Owlie socks were finished this week as well! I love how they turned out. The Southdown fiber made such an elastic, bouncy yarn, the socks fit wonderfully. Speaking of the yarn, there was plenty left. It seems the skein for the first sock was a little thicker, which made for less yardage. I'm not sure why there was such a difference. I purposely spun all six singles, 3 plies for each skein, and plied them at random specifically to mitigate that problem. Regardless, the socks are finished, so all's well that ends well.I have a full Dorset fleece, also a down wool, given to me this summer. With how well the owl socks turned out, the Dorset fleece, or a portion of it, may also be destined for socks. I made a small sample from the fleece, and it washes up beautifully — very white with a bit of luster, which gives me hope it will will take dye nicely.
My other spinning projects received a bit of attention, but are still a long way from finished object status. There is finally a plan for the sweater spin, which feels good. While I would love to have the whole sweater finished by Shepherd's Harvest, it's more realistic to get as much yarn spun as I can. As the festival gets closer, I can ply what singles I have, which will give me a good idea what the yards per pound actually is and how much fiber is needed. If I need more fiber, the hope is the shepherd will once again be at the festival with another fleece from Bonnie, a moorit (medium greyish-brown) Shetland sheep. It's a gamble, but Bonnie was there last year, so there's a chance!
I cast on two knitting projects this week. The first is a pillow with a leaf motif climbing the right edge. The wool for this project came from my grandpa and his wife, Phyllis. They used to keep sheep, and the wool was from one of their flock. Phyllis gave it to me, washed and ready to go. Hallelujah!
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| Dye-bath prepared by boiling Black-eyed Susan stems, leaves and flowers. |
While the weather has been phenomenal, winter is just around the corner. We have woken to snow on the ground once already, so mittens for Oliver were a must. I have one down, and one to go. They are being knit from a striped yarn I spun from a Jacob fleece. I was able to get four distinct colors from a single fleece, which makes for some great natural stripes. His response upon trying the first mitten, "Nailed it!"
It's always gratifying when someone loves something you make. Of course, his next comment was on the scratchiness. Ha! Perhaps I should have done a better job of picking out all the hay.
On the fitness front, I am still working through the Beast UP calendar, which is a four week adaptation of Body Beast. I love the workouts, but food is a struggle with this program. I find myself very hungry and needing to eat pretty often, but I don't have the time to be eating all the time. Better food prep would go a long way in fixing the situation. It's definitely something I need to work on.
The Dance Off Challenge group is into the second week. I invited a friend and fellow coach to run the group with me, figuring it would be a nice way to increase participation and learn from her at the same time. It's been a lot of fun, and one of the challengers is down three pounds! The best part of being a Beachbody Coach is seeing your people succeed.
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