Trudge, trudge trudge. The tracks in the snow are quite distinct after two days of light snow flurries. I just got home from church and it was quite a peasant -10 degrees. The sun is shining and there are chickadees on the move. It is a nice reminder that at some point winter will be banished for another year. I love chickadees and think they are quite the nicest and cheekiest birds out there. Grey jays too are quite a fun bird to watch. This is a great time of the year to watch birds at the feeder. Coming soon to a forest near you Magpies, Crows, Red Polls, Snow Birds, more Chickadees, and Jays of all kinds. Then come the Sparrows and the Robins, later come the Warblers and all the air will be alive with song. A meriade of nature's music. It will sound like an orchestra tuning up for a concert. Living on a river is different from anywhere I've lived before. Our house is not far from the river but far enough that we actually don't hear the river/water birds but down in the river bottoms there are Pipers, Ducks and Geese, Kingfishers and any fish hunting bird that you might think of.
Hubby and I had a wonderful vacation a couple of years ago. I might have already talked about it some... (but with my memory it is hard to remember what I have written about with over 250 posts)... anyway, that trip was by far one of the most idyllic trips I've ever enjoyed. Our intention was to spend three days on the river paddling some 80 kilometres. The first day was spent enjoying the part of the river that Hubby and I canoe regularly, but after that it was a marvel. New sights and pleasures at every bend and turn. I see the river every day of my life as I drive into town but to see it from the river is to know it intimately. I watched fish below the surface sliding stealthily into crevices in rocks and boulders, and I saw herds of deer sipping their daily quota of water with velvet lips in the late pinks and golds of the sinking sun. Curious beaver would enter the river with a splash from holes in the banks of the river as they chased along beside our canoe in an effort to figure out what we were doing.... we even had one steal our milk one evening when we placed the bottle in the cold river water to chill it. There were banks of the river I never knew were there because the view from the highway is never as revealing as the view from the water itself. In the evenings after we had set up camp on one of the islands, Hubby would go fishing while I sat on the beach by the fire and spun yarn on my drop spindle. Idyllic actually doesn't begin to describe those few days of my life.
Tentatively Hubby and I will be making the trip again this summer. We are planning, toward the end of July, a trip down the river again with the hopes of going farther than we went last time. Up until now it has only been an idea in the back of our heads but we have finally concluded that if we don't go our lives will pass us by and it will only lead to disappointment so we will pack the canoe and head off for sure this summer. I'm excited.
Now a little news on the spinning front. I have finished all wool for the Jacket commission and have only to spin the alpaca. I have finished the silk sample for level 3 homework and to my dismay have discovered that the direction of my twist is not good for the actual woven sample so I have spent the weekend working on another sample with the direction of the twist going the other direction and it is working. I should have that finished today and then I will begin to warp the loom for the jacket commission. All goes well, and I am hoping to make great strides in the jacket commission this week.... we shall see.
In the meantime have a lovely Sunday afternoon filled with what you love best. Isn't that what Sunday afternoons should be about.... a day of thankfulness and ease....
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Lightly Snowing
It is -9 this morning and Hubby just left on an adventure of his own. His Rangers are going off for a weekend of winter camping and skiing by the full moon and he did find his boot. After tearing the shed apart yesterday he came in last night with a grin on his face and two boots in his hands. I asked him who was bringing the tent and he said they weren't bringing one!!!! I thought they would at least have some nylon between them and the elements. But no, the idea is to learn survival skills. As a result, they are off to the bush today, I think there are 7 of them, and they are going to ski to the area they want to camp in... which is a small lake in the back of beyond, they are going to dig ditches and fill them with bows and then shove saplings into the snow at a slight angle and cover it with more bows so the the bows covering the saplings will be their roof. Then they are going to throw their mummy style sleeping bags in the ditch, on top of the bows and that will be their shelter. I am quite happy to sleep on my $2000.00 dollar memory foam bed with plenty of blankets to keep me warm while Hubby proves his manliness with all the other weirdos... uh sadistic fools.... uh boyos.... well you get my drift.....
I've always felt that I was lucky to not have a man in my life that had to spend every waking hour staring at a bunch of men chasing on a set of blades, a small black disk, while taking every opportunity to punch each other in the helmet thereby breaking knuckles at every opportunity. There's something neanderthal (wow those neanderthals are really getting a bum rap from me this week!! I really don't have anything against the neanderthals...) about hockey and while Hubby is not unmanly for not watching this dumb (did I say that??) sport he does get his gronk times by pushing his wilderness skills to the extreme. Actually, I feel they have taken every precaution to make sure this weekend will be experienced safely and pleasurably. I hope he enjoys it.
So I will be filling those 9 wheel barrow loads of hay for the alpacas and sheep we care for and I will be heading off with Daughter #1 to see that Dreamer (the horse) has enough food and water for the day. Meanwhile it is snowing lightly and I am back to spinning for the jacket commission. Last night I finally finished all of the black wool and today I will carry on with the black alpaca. But tonight I will crawl into bed and think of Hubby in his cold bow bed and wish for a warm hand to hold as I know he will be thinking the same.
I've always felt that I was lucky to not have a man in my life that had to spend every waking hour staring at a bunch of men chasing on a set of blades, a small black disk, while taking every opportunity to punch each other in the helmet thereby breaking knuckles at every opportunity. There's something neanderthal (wow those neanderthals are really getting a bum rap from me this week!! I really don't have anything against the neanderthals...) about hockey and while Hubby is not unmanly for not watching this dumb (did I say that??) sport he does get his gronk times by pushing his wilderness skills to the extreme. Actually, I feel they have taken every precaution to make sure this weekend will be experienced safely and pleasurably. I hope he enjoys it.
So I will be filling those 9 wheel barrow loads of hay for the alpacas and sheep we care for and I will be heading off with Daughter #1 to see that Dreamer (the horse) has enough food and water for the day. Meanwhile it is snowing lightly and I am back to spinning for the jacket commission. Last night I finally finished all of the black wool and today I will carry on with the black alpaca. But tonight I will crawl into bed and think of Hubby in his cold bow bed and wish for a warm hand to hold as I know he will be thinking the same.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Around The Farm
When we moved out of town and came to the country we were so happy to have all this land around us with nothing other than a scattered deer drifting through the bush. We were in seventh heaven not having to hear our neighbour's dog bark, or the shrieks of the kids down the road, or the thump, thump, thump, of the newest teenager with his driver's license going by at 12:30 a.m. It really was like we had bought in to our own little slice of heaven.
People started asking us what we were going to do with all that land, and Hubby and I would look at each other and shrug. When Daughter #1 came home from school the year she finished grade 1 with her teacher looking for homes for chickens that her class had hatched from an incubator, Hubby and I got the brilliant idea that we would raise chickens for our own eggs.... along with the chickens came a batch of ducks as well. That was the beginning of turning this 8 acre piece of land into something more than a chunk of land with paradise written on it.
We have raised many chickens since that time and while we have none at this moment in time, I expect it won't be the last chicken we raise. We have since that time, become true farmers in every sense of the word.
We shovel sh-- in the summer into piles so that it can compost for our non-existent garden. (I will be addressing the garden situation this summer.) We give needles to animals so that they don't get nasty diseases and die. We shear wool for processing into delightful items of luxury. (And what is life without a little luxury?) We buy hay at $60 a bail right now which is twice the rate we paid last year due to drought at the wrong time and rain at the wrong time last summer during haying season. We cut and cure fence posts to be driven into the ground when the old ones rot. And then there are the daily chores of seeing to our animal's needs.
It takes Hubby about a half hour to fork hay into the wheelbarrow and roll it across to the animals three for each paddock and we have three paddocks... that's 9 wheelbarrow loads in all... not really an excessively difficult job. Once a month we haul in two 1500 lb bails in the back of our truck. And then we have to haul in all our water as we have not got a well on our land... (that is a future endeavour). It is a fulfilling life and we are grateful for it.
One thing we have noticed about farming though is that if you are not in it big you will never make a living off it. Hubby maintains a job in which he is successful and happy. Without it we could not meet the needs of our family.
We have decided that we do not want to have a big farm... we want to hobby farm and we do it for our own amusement. Each year we pick out several lambs that we butcher for eating. Lamb is nice if cooked properly and I know most people don't like lamb anymore but we like it and it is a nice change from deer and beef which are meats that are plentiful in our area. It also helps with keeping this farm small. My goal is to maintain a farm with less than 15 animals... right now we are at 18. Actually 10 animals would be better still... especially with hay at premium price.
Hubby has been investigating a new venture. We are seriously considering a Christmas tree farm. This is still in the exploratory stages though. Meanwhile I am anxious to get my mill working. There is a market out there for woolen products for spinners and my animals are the means to that end.
So Hubby and I will carry on with decisions for our farm and take pleasure in each sunrise knowing that we are happy on our little northern farm. Who knew back before we came here how satisfying life could be right here in the country. I'm glad we made the decision and came.
People started asking us what we were going to do with all that land, and Hubby and I would look at each other and shrug. When Daughter #1 came home from school the year she finished grade 1 with her teacher looking for homes for chickens that her class had hatched from an incubator, Hubby and I got the brilliant idea that we would raise chickens for our own eggs.... along with the chickens came a batch of ducks as well. That was the beginning of turning this 8 acre piece of land into something more than a chunk of land with paradise written on it.
We have raised many chickens since that time and while we have none at this moment in time, I expect it won't be the last chicken we raise. We have since that time, become true farmers in every sense of the word.
We shovel sh-- in the summer into piles so that it can compost for our non-existent garden. (I will be addressing the garden situation this summer.) We give needles to animals so that they don't get nasty diseases and die. We shear wool for processing into delightful items of luxury. (And what is life without a little luxury?) We buy hay at $60 a bail right now which is twice the rate we paid last year due to drought at the wrong time and rain at the wrong time last summer during haying season. We cut and cure fence posts to be driven into the ground when the old ones rot. And then there are the daily chores of seeing to our animal's needs.
It takes Hubby about a half hour to fork hay into the wheelbarrow and roll it across to the animals three for each paddock and we have three paddocks... that's 9 wheelbarrow loads in all... not really an excessively difficult job. Once a month we haul in two 1500 lb bails in the back of our truck. And then we have to haul in all our water as we have not got a well on our land... (that is a future endeavour). It is a fulfilling life and we are grateful for it.
One thing we have noticed about farming though is that if you are not in it big you will never make a living off it. Hubby maintains a job in which he is successful and happy. Without it we could not meet the needs of our family.
We have decided that we do not want to have a big farm... we want to hobby farm and we do it for our own amusement. Each year we pick out several lambs that we butcher for eating. Lamb is nice if cooked properly and I know most people don't like lamb anymore but we like it and it is a nice change from deer and beef which are meats that are plentiful in our area. It also helps with keeping this farm small. My goal is to maintain a farm with less than 15 animals... right now we are at 18. Actually 10 animals would be better still... especially with hay at premium price.
Hubby has been investigating a new venture. We are seriously considering a Christmas tree farm. This is still in the exploratory stages though. Meanwhile I am anxious to get my mill working. There is a market out there for woolen products for spinners and my animals are the means to that end.
So Hubby and I will carry on with decisions for our farm and take pleasure in each sunrise knowing that we are happy on our little northern farm. Who knew back before we came here how satisfying life could be right here in the country. I'm glad we made the decision and came.
Rats!
I had knit night tonight.... I really enjoyed chatting on the big comfy couch that our local library has seen fit to put in our knitting room. I was late getting there and so I entered the room where we have always had arm chairs, and low and behold two big comfy couches where the old arm chairs used to be.... cool!
My goal at knit night is to do one finger a night until I have finished these blasted lace gloves that seem to have been on my needles since Plato picked his nose. With glee, I finished the finger I was working on and started on the thumb. You would think that it would be easy to knit a thumb on a lace glove.... but I started knitting and soon realized that this is not so. The thumb that I knit tonight looks like a thumb for a pigmy while the thumb on the other glove looks like the thumb for a neanderthal. Clearly something is not right. I tried on the glove that I knit first, the one with the neanderthal thumb, and the thumb fits fine.... this is not to imply that I have neanderthal thumbs, however,.... I think that the glove with the pigmy thumb has such a small thumb that it just makes the other thumb look like a neanderthal thumb (did neanderthals even have thumbs?). So I raveled back the pigmy thumb and started again... finally I checked my progress after a number of rows, and it's not as pigmy sized as before but it is still quite pigmy sized.... so clearly I will have to ravel back the semi-pigmy thumb again and knit it once again to try and get a thumb equivalent to the neanderthal thumb... maybe then the two thumbs will look normal. Too bad they are not for me because I could have dispensed with the thumb altogether since I am neither neanderthal, pigmy (ha, not likely) nor normal. Relatively speaking, lace gloves should not be for neanderthals, pigmys or anything even remotely near the two. (and I am not discriminating against pigmys or neanderthals).
Next Thursday, once again I will take back the thumb and knit again. Just when you think you are making progress.... Rats!
My goal at knit night is to do one finger a night until I have finished these blasted lace gloves that seem to have been on my needles since Plato picked his nose. With glee, I finished the finger I was working on and started on the thumb. You would think that it would be easy to knit a thumb on a lace glove.... but I started knitting and soon realized that this is not so. The thumb that I knit tonight looks like a thumb for a pigmy while the thumb on the other glove looks like the thumb for a neanderthal. Clearly something is not right. I tried on the glove that I knit first, the one with the neanderthal thumb, and the thumb fits fine.... this is not to imply that I have neanderthal thumbs, however,.... I think that the glove with the pigmy thumb has such a small thumb that it just makes the other thumb look like a neanderthal thumb (did neanderthals even have thumbs?). So I raveled back the pigmy thumb and started again... finally I checked my progress after a number of rows, and it's not as pigmy sized as before but it is still quite pigmy sized.... so clearly I will have to ravel back the semi-pigmy thumb again and knit it once again to try and get a thumb equivalent to the neanderthal thumb... maybe then the two thumbs will look normal. Too bad they are not for me because I could have dispensed with the thumb altogether since I am neither neanderthal, pigmy (ha, not likely) nor normal. Relatively speaking, lace gloves should not be for neanderthals, pigmys or anything even remotely near the two. (and I am not discriminating against pigmys or neanderthals).
Next Thursday, once again I will take back the thumb and knit again. Just when you think you are making progress.... Rats!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
This, That, And The Other Thing
Today is January 28th, (I'm sure none of you knew that, tee hee) and if you count today, the majority of which is still ahead of us, then there are only four days left. Four days left to hibernation month. Where did this month go?
Hubby is off for a weekend of moonlight skiing.... cross country skiing, to be exact. He and his Rangers will be heading off Friday afternoon to do some back country camping and cross country skiing and it just so happens that they have been planning this to correspond with the full moon. I think he's nuts. Anyone who wants to go out in the bush and have nothing more than a nylon tent between him and the -18 degree temperatures, makes my head spin. Normal people want a nice warm building with central heating or at least a really good wood stove. On top of that... Hubby has lost a boot. There has been an ongoing boot search since November.... we know we put both of them in the shed when we moved everything out there last spring for the house renovation.... and Hubby says he saw both of them in October when he was looking for something else, but when he went to get them in November they were nowhere to be found. Actually we did find one boot but the other has disappeared. Hubby has searched through all the piles of stuff and moved things from one side to the other.... but no sign of the boot. He is not anxious to hit the cold temperatures in the great outdoors without them... so I'm not sure what he will do.I'm kind of anxious too as I don't want him coming home without toes!
Meanwhile, my foray into the world of silk weaving is coming along. Yesterday, I spent the day weaving and along about lunch time the electrician showed up. He fixed our tripping breaker by putting the fridge and microwave on its own breaker, he also put in a new outlet for my electric fireplace. So now our electricity problems are dealt with. However, that meant a long time away from my weaving, which I had intended on finishing. Though I managed to get one problem fixed, (that being the electrical problem), my weaving faced several problems of its own. I am almost finished the weaving of my silk 6"x 6" sample but, because I wanted to weave it without any joins I am having a difficult time with my weft. I had reams of weft but I did not want to cut it and a 6" x 6" weaving frame is just to small for a shuttle. So there I was with a weaving needle and piles of weft to pull through the warp.... let me tell you, there were more tangles than I care to think about... and my shoulders just couldn't handle it anymore, so at 9:30 p.m. last night, I gave it up when once more my weft became a huge knot. I only have two more patterns left though, to complete my square, about 12 rows in all. Not so bad. But I face the tangled mass again today.
Meanwhile it is the end of January and while I have a little reprieve on the jacket commission, (my deadline is February 13th), I do have to get back to it at some point here. So if I can get my silk sample done early today I will be back at the jacket commission this afternoon.
Meanwhile, here's a picture of my silk weaving including the current knot....
Argh!
Hubby is off for a weekend of moonlight skiing.... cross country skiing, to be exact. He and his Rangers will be heading off Friday afternoon to do some back country camping and cross country skiing and it just so happens that they have been planning this to correspond with the full moon. I think he's nuts. Anyone who wants to go out in the bush and have nothing more than a nylon tent between him and the -18 degree temperatures, makes my head spin. Normal people want a nice warm building with central heating or at least a really good wood stove. On top of that... Hubby has lost a boot. There has been an ongoing boot search since November.... we know we put both of them in the shed when we moved everything out there last spring for the house renovation.... and Hubby says he saw both of them in October when he was looking for something else, but when he went to get them in November they were nowhere to be found. Actually we did find one boot but the other has disappeared. Hubby has searched through all the piles of stuff and moved things from one side to the other.... but no sign of the boot. He is not anxious to hit the cold temperatures in the great outdoors without them... so I'm not sure what he will do.I'm kind of anxious too as I don't want him coming home without toes!
Meanwhile, my foray into the world of silk weaving is coming along. Yesterday, I spent the day weaving and along about lunch time the electrician showed up. He fixed our tripping breaker by putting the fridge and microwave on its own breaker, he also put in a new outlet for my electric fireplace. So now our electricity problems are dealt with. However, that meant a long time away from my weaving, which I had intended on finishing. Though I managed to get one problem fixed, (that being the electrical problem), my weaving faced several problems of its own. I am almost finished the weaving of my silk 6"x 6" sample but, because I wanted to weave it without any joins I am having a difficult time with my weft. I had reams of weft but I did not want to cut it and a 6" x 6" weaving frame is just to small for a shuttle. So there I was with a weaving needle and piles of weft to pull through the warp.... let me tell you, there were more tangles than I care to think about... and my shoulders just couldn't handle it anymore, so at 9:30 p.m. last night, I gave it up when once more my weft became a huge knot. I only have two more patterns left though, to complete my square, about 12 rows in all. Not so bad. But I face the tangled mass again today.
Meanwhile it is the end of January and while I have a little reprieve on the jacket commission, (my deadline is February 13th), I do have to get back to it at some point here. So if I can get my silk sample done early today I will be back at the jacket commission this afternoon.
Meanwhile, here's a picture of my silk weaving including the current knot....
Argh!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Great Intentions
For a while now Hubby and I have noticed that one of the breakers on the electrical panel is tripping for no apparent reason. It is the breaker that controls the electricity to the microwave, refrigerator, the TV, DVD player, and one of the ceiling lights in the kitchen. A lot for one breaker.... but not everything gets used at the one time, so why the breaker is tripping so often I am not sure. We called our electrician and for three days I have been waiting for him to show up. Still no sign of him though.
My intention yesterday was to complete one of the questions for my level 3 homework... if you recall I was going to spin Bombyx silk for the warp and silk hankies for the weft. Weeeeeelllll.... I ran into a slight problem.... my silk Bombyx was not in large supply and I hated spinning the silk hankies. So, instead I spun the silk Bombyx and came up with about 65m of singles.... I decided to spin Tussah silk for the other single and quite frankly it came out much nicer than I expected! So a little bit of a lesson on silk for the non-fibre enthusiasts who read this blog and might want to learn a little something about silk fibre.
Silk as we know, is the spit of silk worms... basically a silk larvae will eat leaves (mostly mulberry) until they are ready to go through their change to a moth (chrysalis). When they are ready the moth will enclose itself in a coccon made of one continuous thread that is mostly protein and is spit from the larva's silk glands. I think I have that right.....
When silk worms have done this the cocoon is ready for humans to harvest. It is a labour intensive and finicky job. The beginning thread has to be found and then the silk is reeled onto a reel and the idea is to unreel the whole cocoon without breaking the thread. Even though silk is one of the strongest fibres in the natural world it is still a very fine fibre and can break... though considering how tiny the thread is, breakage surprisingly doesn't happen as often as you would think. However, when the thread does break the broken pieces are set aside for spinners and is processed into what a spinner calls a roving..... the rovings are hundreds of thousands of the broken threads all lined up in a parallel manner so that spinners can spin the stuff.
There is also another way to process the cocoon. The cocoons can be boiled in a solution to remove the sizing (that's the stuff that makes it stiff) and the worm and poop are removed and then the cocoon is stretched over a form and left to dry. One of the forms is a square Mawatta made from a 1' square frame that basically has pins or nails pointing up at various intervals around the edes. A cocoon that is stretched over this form is called a hankie and surprisingly looks like a silk hankie that is easily unraveled.Here's a stack of about 80 or so with one pulled off to show how transparent they are....
There are several different kinds of silk worms but there are two that I am concerned with. Bombyx silk comes from cultivated silk worms and the silk is amazingly white with an awesome sheen (this has to do with what they are fed). Tussah silk comes from wild silk worms and has this glorious champagne colour that also has a beautiful sheen. I love Tussah silk because I love the champagne colour... but I'm also learning to love Bombyx silk as well.
Ok so back to what I was saying. My plan was to spin in a worsted manner, Bombyx silk rovings for warp, so that I would have a really strong and smooth warp thread for my woven silk sample. Then I was going to spin silk hankies (which sometimes spins up a little lumpy and bumpy) for the weft, giving the woven sample some texture. For you newbies again, the warp threads are the threads that go in one direction and are the base threads for the weft. The weft are the threads that you weave under and over the warp threads. Clear as mud?
I started spinning the Bombyx and realized that I wouldn't have enough for my 10m skein and the warp if I plied it. If I wanted Bombyx then I would have to order some more and I am not the type who likes to wait.... Then I was going to give up spinning the Bombyx and just spin the Tussah which I have loads of, but the Tussah was too dark in my opinion, to go with the silk Hankies which are white like the Bombyx.... but not quite as white. So I got the idea of blending Bombyx with the Tussah..... problem... I had already spun most of my Bombyx silk so I decided to spin all of the Bombyx into a single and the spin a Tussah single and then ply the two together. This would give me a slightly less white look but at the same time it would still be lighter than the champagne colour of the Tussah. It looks really nice!
And actually looks closer to the colour of the hankie. So then I sat down and started spinning the silk hankies..... I hate silk hankies.... the threads are unbroken... and they are strong and when you try to draft the threads they cut into your hands.... I hate that!
So after taking off enough of the Bombyx/Tussah yarn for a 10m skein I realized that I had lots, enough to do the whole woven sample....
and I can do a lace weave instead of a plain weave.... lace looks better with smooth threads and not lumpy bumpy stuff. So I got out my 6" x 6" pin loom and away I went. It looks really nice so far.....
I should get this finished today.... and I will post pictures at that time. What I have noticed is that the textured weave of the lumpy bumpy silk hankie with the smooth warp will have to wait till I get a chance to do that with something else.... but I still will have a textured weave because the lace will give me a textured weave.
Funny how great intentions change and develop as you go along.
Have a nice day.... I'm off to weave silk!
My intention yesterday was to complete one of the questions for my level 3 homework... if you recall I was going to spin Bombyx silk for the warp and silk hankies for the weft. Weeeeeelllll.... I ran into a slight problem.... my silk Bombyx was not in large supply and I hated spinning the silk hankies. So, instead I spun the silk Bombyx and came up with about 65m of singles.... I decided to spin Tussah silk for the other single and quite frankly it came out much nicer than I expected! So a little bit of a lesson on silk for the non-fibre enthusiasts who read this blog and might want to learn a little something about silk fibre.
Silk as we know, is the spit of silk worms... basically a silk larvae will eat leaves (mostly mulberry) until they are ready to go through their change to a moth (chrysalis). When they are ready the moth will enclose itself in a coccon made of one continuous thread that is mostly protein and is spit from the larva's silk glands. I think I have that right.....
When silk worms have done this the cocoon is ready for humans to harvest. It is a labour intensive and finicky job. The beginning thread has to be found and then the silk is reeled onto a reel and the idea is to unreel the whole cocoon without breaking the thread. Even though silk is one of the strongest fibres in the natural world it is still a very fine fibre and can break... though considering how tiny the thread is, breakage surprisingly doesn't happen as often as you would think. However, when the thread does break the broken pieces are set aside for spinners and is processed into what a spinner calls a roving..... the rovings are hundreds of thousands of the broken threads all lined up in a parallel manner so that spinners can spin the stuff.
There is also another way to process the cocoon. The cocoons can be boiled in a solution to remove the sizing (that's the stuff that makes it stiff) and the worm and poop are removed and then the cocoon is stretched over a form and left to dry. One of the forms is a square Mawatta made from a 1' square frame that basically has pins or nails pointing up at various intervals around the edes. A cocoon that is stretched over this form is called a hankie and surprisingly looks like a silk hankie that is easily unraveled.Here's a stack of about 80 or so with one pulled off to show how transparent they are....
There are several different kinds of silk worms but there are two that I am concerned with. Bombyx silk comes from cultivated silk worms and the silk is amazingly white with an awesome sheen (this has to do with what they are fed). Tussah silk comes from wild silk worms and has this glorious champagne colour that also has a beautiful sheen. I love Tussah silk because I love the champagne colour... but I'm also learning to love Bombyx silk as well.
Ok so back to what I was saying. My plan was to spin in a worsted manner, Bombyx silk rovings for warp, so that I would have a really strong and smooth warp thread for my woven silk sample. Then I was going to spin silk hankies (which sometimes spins up a little lumpy and bumpy) for the weft, giving the woven sample some texture. For you newbies again, the warp threads are the threads that go in one direction and are the base threads for the weft. The weft are the threads that you weave under and over the warp threads. Clear as mud?
I started spinning the Bombyx and realized that I wouldn't have enough for my 10m skein and the warp if I plied it. If I wanted Bombyx then I would have to order some more and I am not the type who likes to wait.... Then I was going to give up spinning the Bombyx and just spin the Tussah which I have loads of, but the Tussah was too dark in my opinion, to go with the silk Hankies which are white like the Bombyx.... but not quite as white. So I got the idea of blending Bombyx with the Tussah..... problem... I had already spun most of my Bombyx silk so I decided to spin all of the Bombyx into a single and the spin a Tussah single and then ply the two together. This would give me a slightly less white look but at the same time it would still be lighter than the champagne colour of the Tussah. It looks really nice!
And actually looks closer to the colour of the hankie. So then I sat down and started spinning the silk hankies..... I hate silk hankies.... the threads are unbroken... and they are strong and when you try to draft the threads they cut into your hands.... I hate that!So after taking off enough of the Bombyx/Tussah yarn for a 10m skein I realized that I had lots, enough to do the whole woven sample....
and I can do a lace weave instead of a plain weave.... lace looks better with smooth threads and not lumpy bumpy stuff. So I got out my 6" x 6" pin loom and away I went. It looks really nice so far.....I should get this finished today.... and I will post pictures at that time. What I have noticed is that the textured weave of the lumpy bumpy silk hankie with the smooth warp will have to wait till I get a chance to do that with something else.... but I still will have a textured weave because the lace will give me a textured weave.
Funny how great intentions change and develop as you go along.
Have a nice day.... I'm off to weave silk!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
I'm Dreamin' Of A Green Spring
What that has to do with anything I don't know because there is certainly no signs of spring around here.... well the alpacas are stating to fight again which means the hormones are on the air so maybe spring fever is not too far away but really it been -13 for days with light fluffy flurries falling and the deck is buried alive and I can't remember the last time I was out of the house except to go to the church AGM on Sunday which took three quarters of the day and I got elected to Church Warden even though I stepped down as Chair Person..... phew..... was that a real sentence? I'm not sure but I'm not going back to check either since it might scare me from ever blogging again.
Sadly the last two days have been days of stomach discomfort that basically knocked me on me a-- (whoops I'm not supposed to use that word on line). I'm feeling better today but not really wanting to eat much. Pops showed up yesterday for a visit and told me I looked like a sheet of paper.... well I'm not sure about being that white, but I certainly wouldn't mind being that thin! For two days I've eaten pretty much nothing except for bland food.... thanks heavens it wasn't a bad stomach flu.
Daughter #1 has had her first set of mid term exams.... she is finished today and has a few days of break before she goes back to school of Monday. She is looking forward to horseback riding with her friend for the next five days after several good long sleep-ins.
I remember exam week too but we never got three days off. We studied till the cows came home and our eyeballs felt like they were on the verge of dropping out of our heads. But then I never studied all semester the way Daughter #1 does... basically I was a whole lot lazier than she is..... or maybe we had harder courses. Either way she is done at 11 a.m. this morning. I wish I had enough money to take her for a 5 day shopping spree in Victoria.... there, it does look like spring. The apple blossoms will soon be coming out and dafodils will be poking their heads above ground.... ah lovely. Last year I was heading down to Victoria for a week of workshops with the JCR program around about this time.... not this year though.... it is someone else's turn.... not that I envy them since the workshops this year are being held in Winnipeg.... brrr!
It sure does make the winter go faster when you get to go on a little trip some time in January or February. I am looking forward to a retreat on the third weekend in Feb. though. That is when our spinners and weavers guild will rent a lovely log lodge out in the middle of nowhere and everyone congregates there for some laughs, work, fun, laughs, eating, and laughs. Laughing is an important part of the weekend and some of us actually complete particular projects. I'm looking forward to it.
As for an update on what I have accomplished the last few days... well due to the stomach thingy.... not a whole lot although I did spin 100m of plum silk and wool singles and plied them with black alpaca singles.
I think I'm finally ready to warp my loom.
But for today I'm going to get that silk done that I planned on doing last week and never got to. I've found my silk hankies and some bombyx silk 
so I'm ready to start and that is exciting. This is a project that I have wanted to start on for a while. I will weave a 6' x 6' lace square as part of these two kinds of silk and we will see how it looks in the end. I'm hoping it will be lovely. The Bombyx will be the warp and the silk hankies will be the weft. I'll take pictures as I go and post them here.
But in the meantime Hubby just kissed me with a cold wet mustache before he headed out the door to school. He had to go to the shed and on cold days like that his breath freezes in his mustache and turns to snotcicles.... ugh! But I'd rather get a goodbye kiss from him with a mustache than a kiss from him without! Anyway it is just one more reason why I am looking forward to spring. No more snotcicle kisses... at least till next winter!!!!
I'm off too spin silk!
Sadly the last two days have been days of stomach discomfort that basically knocked me on me a-- (whoops I'm not supposed to use that word on line). I'm feeling better today but not really wanting to eat much. Pops showed up yesterday for a visit and told me I looked like a sheet of paper.... well I'm not sure about being that white, but I certainly wouldn't mind being that thin! For two days I've eaten pretty much nothing except for bland food.... thanks heavens it wasn't a bad stomach flu.
Daughter #1 has had her first set of mid term exams.... she is finished today and has a few days of break before she goes back to school of Monday. She is looking forward to horseback riding with her friend for the next five days after several good long sleep-ins.
I remember exam week too but we never got three days off. We studied till the cows came home and our eyeballs felt like they were on the verge of dropping out of our heads. But then I never studied all semester the way Daughter #1 does... basically I was a whole lot lazier than she is..... or maybe we had harder courses. Either way she is done at 11 a.m. this morning. I wish I had enough money to take her for a 5 day shopping spree in Victoria.... there, it does look like spring. The apple blossoms will soon be coming out and dafodils will be poking their heads above ground.... ah lovely. Last year I was heading down to Victoria for a week of workshops with the JCR program around about this time.... not this year though.... it is someone else's turn.... not that I envy them since the workshops this year are being held in Winnipeg.... brrr!
It sure does make the winter go faster when you get to go on a little trip some time in January or February. I am looking forward to a retreat on the third weekend in Feb. though. That is when our spinners and weavers guild will rent a lovely log lodge out in the middle of nowhere and everyone congregates there for some laughs, work, fun, laughs, eating, and laughs. Laughing is an important part of the weekend and some of us actually complete particular projects. I'm looking forward to it.
As for an update on what I have accomplished the last few days... well due to the stomach thingy.... not a whole lot although I did spin 100m of plum silk and wool singles and plied them with black alpaca singles.
I think I'm finally ready to warp my loom.
But for today I'm going to get that silk done that I planned on doing last week and never got to. I've found my silk hankies and some bombyx silk 
so I'm ready to start and that is exciting. This is a project that I have wanted to start on for a while. I will weave a 6' x 6' lace square as part of these two kinds of silk and we will see how it looks in the end. I'm hoping it will be lovely. The Bombyx will be the warp and the silk hankies will be the weft. I'll take pictures as I go and post them here.But in the meantime Hubby just kissed me with a cold wet mustache before he headed out the door to school. He had to go to the shed and on cold days like that his breath freezes in his mustache and turns to snotcicles.... ugh! But I'd rather get a goodbye kiss from him with a mustache than a kiss from him without! Anyway it is just one more reason why I am looking forward to spring. No more snotcicle kisses... at least till next winter!!!!
I'm off too spin silk!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Poetry
I love poetry. I like reading it but I love writing it. It reminds me of a puzzle. You have to manipulate language and words to accommodate the technical aspects of poetry. So you just have to find the right piece that fits. It has to evoke a feeling and you can really lay your soul out on a page. It's awesome.
Daughter #1 came home this week with an assignment. They have been studying poetry in Language Arts. Her assignment was to write a Iambic Pentametre Poem.... in layman's terms she had to write a Sonnet. I remember studying prose and drama in school and I remember reading poetry but quite frankly, I never was taught the finer aspects of poetry. (I must have missed school that day/week)! As most of you know I play with poetry. I love writing rhymes and I love free style poetry where there are no rules but as the Daughters learn more about the technical side of poetry, so too do I.
Daughter #1 was in a pickle... she had been studying for exams all week and I think her brain was fried. She knew what she had to do but doing it was just not coming. I realize that writing poetry is not for everyone.... it's rather a bit like opera... either you like it or you don't. Daughter #1 is not a puzzle person. It makes her frustrated to try to fit those pieces into the right place so writing an Iambic Pentametre poem was not sitting well with her and that was her assignment on Thursday night. Write an Iambic Pentametre poem and pass it in on Friday. When she hit tears I knew I had to help. So together we got down to it. She explained to me what an Iambic Pentametre poem is (the technical side) and said that Shakespeare was the most famous for Sonnets.... aahhh, yes in the dredges of my memory I remembered my Shakespeare book had many of his sonnets and so out came the Shakespeare book so that I could read some of his before trying to help Daughter #1 with one. An Iambic Pentametre poem has to have 10 syllables in each line with the emphasis on every second syllable, there have to be 14 lines and every second line has to rhyme, with the last two rhyming too. This is the simple version of what a Sonnet is. Finally we felt we were ready and so we got down to it. Here is what we wrote...
The Sonnet Sonnet
In truth, there is no joy in bad sonnets.
I loathe the master of these dreadful rhymes.
Without my Mom, I could have not done it,
And write a verse like those of ancient times.
This is a sad and most horrific task,
With which to torture students and their brains.
How can we hope to prove our minds, I ask?
Our minds are just a bunch of crude remains.
So here I sit and waste my youthful years,
To try and write a useless, stupid rhyme,
When life around me begs for joy, not tears,
And asks me to enjoy these golden times.
I ask you not to teach this loathsome stuff.
It makes me want to scream and huff and puff.
I am sitting with a grin.... I hope her teacher gets it.... but I'm not sure he will... still, I can't see how we could be more obvious.... we would have to hit him over the head with a club.
Anyway, since Daughter #1 and I wrote that poem... well, Sonnets have been on my mind... I love to play with words and so I tried one out of my own...so if you are a poetry buff.... or you're just curious... check out the Sonnet that I wrote in Feathermist.....my other blog.
Daughter #1 came home this week with an assignment. They have been studying poetry in Language Arts. Her assignment was to write a Iambic Pentametre Poem.... in layman's terms she had to write a Sonnet. I remember studying prose and drama in school and I remember reading poetry but quite frankly, I never was taught the finer aspects of poetry. (I must have missed school that day/week)! As most of you know I play with poetry. I love writing rhymes and I love free style poetry where there are no rules but as the Daughters learn more about the technical side of poetry, so too do I.
Daughter #1 was in a pickle... she had been studying for exams all week and I think her brain was fried. She knew what she had to do but doing it was just not coming. I realize that writing poetry is not for everyone.... it's rather a bit like opera... either you like it or you don't. Daughter #1 is not a puzzle person. It makes her frustrated to try to fit those pieces into the right place so writing an Iambic Pentametre poem was not sitting well with her and that was her assignment on Thursday night. Write an Iambic Pentametre poem and pass it in on Friday. When she hit tears I knew I had to help. So together we got down to it. She explained to me what an Iambic Pentametre poem is (the technical side) and said that Shakespeare was the most famous for Sonnets.... aahhh, yes in the dredges of my memory I remembered my Shakespeare book had many of his sonnets and so out came the Shakespeare book so that I could read some of his before trying to help Daughter #1 with one. An Iambic Pentametre poem has to have 10 syllables in each line with the emphasis on every second syllable, there have to be 14 lines and every second line has to rhyme, with the last two rhyming too. This is the simple version of what a Sonnet is. Finally we felt we were ready and so we got down to it. Here is what we wrote...
The Sonnet Sonnet
In truth, there is no joy in bad sonnets.
I loathe the master of these dreadful rhymes.
Without my Mom, I could have not done it,
And write a verse like those of ancient times.
This is a sad and most horrific task,
With which to torture students and their brains.
How can we hope to prove our minds, I ask?
Our minds are just a bunch of crude remains.
So here I sit and waste my youthful years,
To try and write a useless, stupid rhyme,
When life around me begs for joy, not tears,
And asks me to enjoy these golden times.
I ask you not to teach this loathsome stuff.
It makes me want to scream and huff and puff.
I am sitting with a grin.... I hope her teacher gets it.... but I'm not sure he will... still, I can't see how we could be more obvious.... we would have to hit him over the head with a club.
Anyway, since Daughter #1 and I wrote that poem... well, Sonnets have been on my mind... I love to play with words and so I tried one out of my own...so if you are a poetry buff.... or you're just curious... check out the Sonnet that I wrote in Feathermist.....my other blog.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Arrrgggggyle Socks
Among my piles of socks that the Daughters gave me for Christmas was a pair of navy socks with wee Scottish Terriers and Argyle style diamonds on them. Yesterday when I went to put on my socks those were the pair that I pulled from my drawer. While I was pulling them on I started to think about Argyle socks and decided to look up a little bit about their history.
Beginning: I just Googled "Argyle Socks: a history". Since I knew that there was a Duke of Argyle, I thought that perhaps they were first developed, in part, due to him. Boy did I get an eye opener. Here's what I found out.
Argyle socks are a modern invention, since they weren't called that until around 1928 or so, but in actuality have been around in different forms since possibly ancient times. In order to give you a little information about them I have to back up a little and give you some information on the history of Scotland. Please know that I am not a Scottish historian and so there will be gaping holes in this brief history but remember we are trying to sort out Argyle socks, not the history and relations between Scotland and England which quite frankly is so tangled, it looks like a spider web that fell out of a tree and survived a hurricane! It would take someone better than me to untangle that mess.
During the 1700s there was an ongoing political battle between Scotland and England. The Stuarts, who had sat on the thrown in England since just after the death of Queen Elizabeth the first, and were of Scottish descent, had lost the thrown through conflict between the catholic and protestant church. Queen Mary and her husband William of Orange, took the thrown of England and king James who was a Stuart was ousted rather resoundingly.
Scotland became divided in their support of the new king. Most of the lowlands of Scotland slowly came to support the new king of England and protestantism (through the Presbyterian church mainly) while most of the Scottish highlands remained loyal to the Stuart king and catholicism. The Highlanders began to collect money among their people in the early 1700s in an effort to encourage the Stuart's return to the thrown. The ex-king's son, who we know as Bonnie Prince Charlie, was being supported by Rome and France and the monies collected in Scotland. There were great hopes that the Stuarts would re-invade England with the help of their supporters, called Jacobites. Jacobites could be found all over Europe and the Stuart cause was supported by many in the European community. But Bonnie Prince Charlie was no true leader and was in fact a drunken fool, spoiled and thoughtless when it came to his own desires. He had no regard for the people who followed him. In 1746 there was a horrific battle in the Scottish highlands at the site of Culloden following several successful battles on the part of the Jacobites. Here they were resoundingly defeated. The result of this battle had much to do with the subsequent affects on the dress of the Scottish highlanders.
In an effort to break the spirit of the highland clans the King of England instituted the Dress Act or de-kilting act where all dress of the highland and even the highland pipes were banned. As a result of this act much information has been lost as to traditional Scottish Highland dress. The kilts of today and the Argyle socks that are used now are actually a re-creation of the original, and like all clothing has developed to the point that modern science has influenced much of how the highland dress is worn.
So Argyle socks.... those who wear Scottish dress now wear kilts that are pleated with stitched pleats and knitted Argyle socks sporting a diamond pattern that matches the pattern of the kilt they are wearing. The first knitting machine was developed in the 1500s when the demand for hose was high. Prior to this, Argyle socks were knitted by hand and were not easily come by. By the mid 1600s knitting machines were much more common and so, knitted hose with diamond patterns were easier to come by. I imagine for warmth of the legs of the men who wore the kilts, these socks would have been knit with quite a heavy yarn from the typical highland sheep which was coarse.... (possibly the Scottish Black Faced which would have been the common sheep of the highlands at that time). After Culloden and the Dress Act or de-kilting act of the 1700s, traditional highland dress was not worn and so much was lost. It was only after King George IV in 1822, visited the highlands that kilts and hose were re-instated for military dress only.
The Duke of Argyle which would have been Clan Cambell made popular, modern Argyle socks, around 1928 when hunting grouse was popular. The greatest area for hunting grouse was on and around the Argyle estate in Scotland. Part of these hunting weekends would be the country's national sport of playing golf. The typical golfing outfit would have been knee length pants (trews)in a tartan pattern with socks (hose) of the same tartan. Thus the name Argyle became popular only after 1928 or so when hunting weekends among the elite were frequent.
Now I have to back up a bit because it was grouse hunting on fancy estates and golf that gave the typical diamond pattern that we know as Argyle its name, but in actuality they were around long before that.....
In ancient times the Celts were spread far and wide across the European continent eventually spreading to the British Isles. They brought with them a rich culture. But as Roman influence moved ever northward much of the Celtic culture was lost in mainland Europe. On the British Isles, however, Celtic culture remained in tact and unchanged especially in remote regions such as the Scottish highlands. The men of the highlands were shepherds, farmers and hunters. They would have been exposed to the elements since most of their activities would have been out of doors. From very early etchings the Celtic garb included short skirt-like garments over form fitting leggings. The leggings were probably made from leather originally, and were tubular in shape and would not have covered the nether regions... ; } thus the short kilt. I am not sure when weaving became the practice for clothing but it was relatively early as we have examples of weaving from as far back as Egyptian times and probably earlier. Perhaps the Celts brought the practice of weaving with them when they came to the British Isles, however, for whatever the reason, we know that by medieval times short woven kilts were being used over leather leggings. Perhaps because leather was stiff or perhaps because leather was harder to tan and prepare than was woven material, but eventually the leggings were made from woven fabric sometimes with leather on the upper inner leg area probably to help the material withstand the rubbing of the legs together, or horse back riding might have been a factor for the leather. These leggings were called truibhas (a Gaelic word pronounced trews I think) which were the precursor to trousers. They were form fitting by being cut on the bias so as to fit the form of the leg better, and they also were cut from the same material as the tartan kilt. Since being cut on the bias turned the grid pattern (sett) of the tartan on the diagonal it was the original Argyle pattern. For some reason the fashion of the kilt began to change and slowly the kilt became longer and trews became shorter. There seems to have been two types of trews at one point where there was an upper trew (which eventually were changed from form fitting to quite loose and are the beginnings of those God awful plaid golf knee length pants that we saw in the early years of the last century and are still around today as men's walking shorts) and a lower trew, (now known as Argyle socks) held in place by a garter either on the upper leg or the lower leg. Eventually a sock or foot was knitted and attached to the bottom of the lower trew, either plain or in the same pattern. This was the precursor to modern hose (now known as Argyle socks).
Ok so now we need to look at the kilt for a moment. By the 1700s there was in use the garment called the great kilt among clansmen and depending on which clan you came from the kilt could be worn worn in many different ways, I gather. There is no one way to put on a great kilt. The great kilt was actually a large piece of material usually 25 inches wide by about 9 meters long for a large man. sometimes this would have been cut in two pieces and sown together to form a rectangle 144" x 50". It would have been laid on the floor or ground and pleated or gathered by hand and then wrapped around the body and belted into place with a leather belt to which might have been attached a knife and sporran (leather bag for holding things). The upper part would have been folded over the belt or thrown over the shoulders or used to keep the upper body warm in some manner. It could also be folded in a way for the excess material to form pockets. We all know the joke about what a man wears under his kilt.... nothing! This may be true but the lower leg would have to have been kept warm and this was done with trews, cut on the diagonal.
You can see with the changes in trews over the years, how they led to trousers, short golfing pants, the modern day kilt, and eventually Argyle socks.
So there you have it. My navy socks with the Argyle diamond and the wee Scotty terriors are precious.... I love them.... who knew they had such a history.
Here are a few examples of modern Argyle hose...
Oh.. and by the way the kilt was worn by men only.... and there were hunting tartans for each clan that were drab colours to blend into the wild, and dress tartan that would have had brighter colours. Women could only wear the clan tartan as a shawl or shoulder throw, pinned with a brooch that would have had the emblem of the clan.
Hmm... maybe I should consider knitting or weaving some nice Argyle patterned trews... socks.... leggings.... or the like.
Arrrgggyle socks!!! Whose up for a round of golf??!!
Beginning: I just Googled "Argyle Socks: a history". Since I knew that there was a Duke of Argyle, I thought that perhaps they were first developed, in part, due to him. Boy did I get an eye opener. Here's what I found out.
Argyle socks are a modern invention, since they weren't called that until around 1928 or so, but in actuality have been around in different forms since possibly ancient times. In order to give you a little information about them I have to back up a little and give you some information on the history of Scotland. Please know that I am not a Scottish historian and so there will be gaping holes in this brief history but remember we are trying to sort out Argyle socks, not the history and relations between Scotland and England which quite frankly is so tangled, it looks like a spider web that fell out of a tree and survived a hurricane! It would take someone better than me to untangle that mess.
During the 1700s there was an ongoing political battle between Scotland and England. The Stuarts, who had sat on the thrown in England since just after the death of Queen Elizabeth the first, and were of Scottish descent, had lost the thrown through conflict between the catholic and protestant church. Queen Mary and her husband William of Orange, took the thrown of England and king James who was a Stuart was ousted rather resoundingly.
Scotland became divided in their support of the new king. Most of the lowlands of Scotland slowly came to support the new king of England and protestantism (through the Presbyterian church mainly) while most of the Scottish highlands remained loyal to the Stuart king and catholicism. The Highlanders began to collect money among their people in the early 1700s in an effort to encourage the Stuart's return to the thrown. The ex-king's son, who we know as Bonnie Prince Charlie, was being supported by Rome and France and the monies collected in Scotland. There were great hopes that the Stuarts would re-invade England with the help of their supporters, called Jacobites. Jacobites could be found all over Europe and the Stuart cause was supported by many in the European community. But Bonnie Prince Charlie was no true leader and was in fact a drunken fool, spoiled and thoughtless when it came to his own desires. He had no regard for the people who followed him. In 1746 there was a horrific battle in the Scottish highlands at the site of Culloden following several successful battles on the part of the Jacobites. Here they were resoundingly defeated. The result of this battle had much to do with the subsequent affects on the dress of the Scottish highlanders.
In an effort to break the spirit of the highland clans the King of England instituted the Dress Act or de-kilting act where all dress of the highland and even the highland pipes were banned. As a result of this act much information has been lost as to traditional Scottish Highland dress. The kilts of today and the Argyle socks that are used now are actually a re-creation of the original, and like all clothing has developed to the point that modern science has influenced much of how the highland dress is worn.
So Argyle socks.... those who wear Scottish dress now wear kilts that are pleated with stitched pleats and knitted Argyle socks sporting a diamond pattern that matches the pattern of the kilt they are wearing. The first knitting machine was developed in the 1500s when the demand for hose was high. Prior to this, Argyle socks were knitted by hand and were not easily come by. By the mid 1600s knitting machines were much more common and so, knitted hose with diamond patterns were easier to come by. I imagine for warmth of the legs of the men who wore the kilts, these socks would have been knit with quite a heavy yarn from the typical highland sheep which was coarse.... (possibly the Scottish Black Faced which would have been the common sheep of the highlands at that time). After Culloden and the Dress Act or de-kilting act of the 1700s, traditional highland dress was not worn and so much was lost. It was only after King George IV in 1822, visited the highlands that kilts and hose were re-instated for military dress only.
The Duke of Argyle which would have been Clan Cambell made popular, modern Argyle socks, around 1928 when hunting grouse was popular. The greatest area for hunting grouse was on and around the Argyle estate in Scotland. Part of these hunting weekends would be the country's national sport of playing golf. The typical golfing outfit would have been knee length pants (trews)in a tartan pattern with socks (hose) of the same tartan. Thus the name Argyle became popular only after 1928 or so when hunting weekends among the elite were frequent.
Now I have to back up a bit because it was grouse hunting on fancy estates and golf that gave the typical diamond pattern that we know as Argyle its name, but in actuality they were around long before that.....
In ancient times the Celts were spread far and wide across the European continent eventually spreading to the British Isles. They brought with them a rich culture. But as Roman influence moved ever northward much of the Celtic culture was lost in mainland Europe. On the British Isles, however, Celtic culture remained in tact and unchanged especially in remote regions such as the Scottish highlands. The men of the highlands were shepherds, farmers and hunters. They would have been exposed to the elements since most of their activities would have been out of doors. From very early etchings the Celtic garb included short skirt-like garments over form fitting leggings. The leggings were probably made from leather originally, and were tubular in shape and would not have covered the nether regions... ; } thus the short kilt. I am not sure when weaving became the practice for clothing but it was relatively early as we have examples of weaving from as far back as Egyptian times and probably earlier. Perhaps the Celts brought the practice of weaving with them when they came to the British Isles, however, for whatever the reason, we know that by medieval times short woven kilts were being used over leather leggings. Perhaps because leather was stiff or perhaps because leather was harder to tan and prepare than was woven material, but eventually the leggings were made from woven fabric sometimes with leather on the upper inner leg area probably to help the material withstand the rubbing of the legs together, or horse back riding might have been a factor for the leather. These leggings were called truibhas (a Gaelic word pronounced trews I think) which were the precursor to trousers. They were form fitting by being cut on the bias so as to fit the form of the leg better, and they also were cut from the same material as the tartan kilt. Since being cut on the bias turned the grid pattern (sett) of the tartan on the diagonal it was the original Argyle pattern. For some reason the fashion of the kilt began to change and slowly the kilt became longer and trews became shorter. There seems to have been two types of trews at one point where there was an upper trew (which eventually were changed from form fitting to quite loose and are the beginnings of those God awful plaid golf knee length pants that we saw in the early years of the last century and are still around today as men's walking shorts) and a lower trew, (now known as Argyle socks) held in place by a garter either on the upper leg or the lower leg. Eventually a sock or foot was knitted and attached to the bottom of the lower trew, either plain or in the same pattern. This was the precursor to modern hose (now known as Argyle socks).
Ok so now we need to look at the kilt for a moment. By the 1700s there was in use the garment called the great kilt among clansmen and depending on which clan you came from the kilt could be worn worn in many different ways, I gather. There is no one way to put on a great kilt. The great kilt was actually a large piece of material usually 25 inches wide by about 9 meters long for a large man. sometimes this would have been cut in two pieces and sown together to form a rectangle 144" x 50". It would have been laid on the floor or ground and pleated or gathered by hand and then wrapped around the body and belted into place with a leather belt to which might have been attached a knife and sporran (leather bag for holding things). The upper part would have been folded over the belt or thrown over the shoulders or used to keep the upper body warm in some manner. It could also be folded in a way for the excess material to form pockets. We all know the joke about what a man wears under his kilt.... nothing! This may be true but the lower leg would have to have been kept warm and this was done with trews, cut on the diagonal.
You can see with the changes in trews over the years, how they led to trousers, short golfing pants, the modern day kilt, and eventually Argyle socks.
So there you have it. My navy socks with the Argyle diamond and the wee Scotty terriors are precious.... I love them.... who knew they had such a history.
Here are a few examples of modern Argyle hose...
Oh.. and by the way the kilt was worn by men only.... and there were hunting tartans for each clan that were drab colours to blend into the wild, and dress tartan that would have had brighter colours. Women could only wear the clan tartan as a shawl or shoulder throw, pinned with a brooch that would have had the emblem of the clan.
Hmm... maybe I should consider knitting or weaving some nice Argyle patterned trews... socks.... leggings.... or the like.
Arrrgggyle socks!!! Whose up for a round of golf??!!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wool To Yarn.. What A Pleasure
I took a bunch of yarn off my wheel last night. It sure feels good. For two weeks I've been spinning and because the spools are so big, and I'm spinning so fine,... well it seems like I will never get the spool filled.... and then I have to spin another spool before I am able to ply the two singles together to get a nice stable yarn. The good thing is that the plying goes very quickly and all of a sudden, where I had an unusable mass of unstable singles on my hands, I'm now sitting there with loads of 2 ply yarn... to the tune of 650m.
The washed yarn is on the right and the kinky stuff on the left is what I am washing today.
Woo hoo! It makes you feel pretty good. Today I have to blend some purple rovings with some dark strawberry red rovings and spin them for the little bit of plum that the jacket commission requires for contrast. It's going to be nice I think.
Meanwhile my silk samples for my level 3 are calling. I've been searching through my supplies to find Bombyx silk. I have some but it is not enough I think to do what I want. I need it for my woven silk sample. It is going to be beautiful. And that's all I'm saying about that. Meanwhile, I'm going to spin today a knitting yarn out of Tussah Silk. That will give me a bit of a break from the jacket commission which I have been spinning for the last five days pretty much non-stop. Tonight is knit night and hopefully I will get the finger I'm working on,on my knitted lace gloves, and one more done. I would really like to get this set of gloves done before the end of the month. Then I have a request from Daughter #2 to, "please, please, please, finish my wristlets, Mom!" So that will be my next knitting project.
The last thing I have to say is this. When I decided to purchase cotton cards I had decided on a set from the Howard Brush Company so I ordered them and then afterwards, thought about all the cotton blending I would like to do and worried that the very fine and soft teeth on the Howard Brush cards wouldn't hold up to the other fibre I would be using. I panicked and ordered a set of Ashford cotton cards which have a much smaller number of picks per inch allowing you to use them on other fibres too with ease. I got the Ashford cards for Christmas and the Howard Brush Company cards a while ago. The Howard Brush cards languor in their box waiting for me to get my guts up to spin cotton. In the meantime I decided to try out my Ashford cards on some Alpaca fibre from my own animals. Boy am I glad I got that very brilliant idea. They are super on the alpaca. Far better than regular wool cards for preparing the alpaca.
See how wide the pics are on my regular cards on the right which is great for wool especially coarse wool. While the finer pics are great on my very soft and fine alpaca.
This picture shows the difference between my regular cards on the right and the Ashford cotton cards on the left.
I am so pleased with how it is working out, and I think I am going to be very happy with them all round..... what am I saying?!!! I already am happy with them. I'm looking forward to getting my silk samples out of the way so that I can try out my Howard Brush company cotton cards on my cotton samples (Hubby has them stashed away to give me for my Valentine's gift). The one thing that has come out of all my carder issues is that some time in the future, I'm thinking cotton blended with alpaca would make an awesome yarn..... I'm not sure if that will be something that I can try in my level 3 homework...(I will have to look more closely at the questions on blends and see if there is room for experimentation).... but suffice it to say that there is no worries with the Ashford cotton cards so far.
So there you have it.... I'm fired up for another day of washing skeins freshly off my wheel, blending and spinning a contrast colour for the jacket commission, and a little silk spinning before knit night tonight. A day of work??.... not a chance.... I call it a day of pleasure.
The washed yarn is on the right and the kinky stuff on the left is what I am washing today.
Woo hoo! It makes you feel pretty good. Today I have to blend some purple rovings with some dark strawberry red rovings and spin them for the little bit of plum that the jacket commission requires for contrast. It's going to be nice I think.
Meanwhile my silk samples for my level 3 are calling. I've been searching through my supplies to find Bombyx silk. I have some but it is not enough I think to do what I want. I need it for my woven silk sample. It is going to be beautiful. And that's all I'm saying about that. Meanwhile, I'm going to spin today a knitting yarn out of Tussah Silk. That will give me a bit of a break from the jacket commission which I have been spinning for the last five days pretty much non-stop. Tonight is knit night and hopefully I will get the finger I'm working on,on my knitted lace gloves, and one more done. I would really like to get this set of gloves done before the end of the month. Then I have a request from Daughter #2 to, "please, please, please, finish my wristlets, Mom!" So that will be my next knitting project.
The last thing I have to say is this. When I decided to purchase cotton cards I had decided on a set from the Howard Brush Company so I ordered them and then afterwards, thought about all the cotton blending I would like to do and worried that the very fine and soft teeth on the Howard Brush cards wouldn't hold up to the other fibre I would be using. I panicked and ordered a set of Ashford cotton cards which have a much smaller number of picks per inch allowing you to use them on other fibres too with ease. I got the Ashford cards for Christmas and the Howard Brush Company cards a while ago. The Howard Brush cards languor in their box waiting for me to get my guts up to spin cotton. In the meantime I decided to try out my Ashford cards on some Alpaca fibre from my own animals. Boy am I glad I got that very brilliant idea. They are super on the alpaca. Far better than regular wool cards for preparing the alpaca.
See how wide the pics are on my regular cards on the right which is great for wool especially coarse wool. While the finer pics are great on my very soft and fine alpaca.
This picture shows the difference between my regular cards on the right and the Ashford cotton cards on the left.
I am so pleased with how it is working out, and I think I am going to be very happy with them all round..... what am I saying?!!! I already am happy with them. I'm looking forward to getting my silk samples out of the way so that I can try out my Howard Brush company cotton cards on my cotton samples (Hubby has them stashed away to give me for my Valentine's gift). The one thing that has come out of all my carder issues is that some time in the future, I'm thinking cotton blended with alpaca would make an awesome yarn..... I'm not sure if that will be something that I can try in my level 3 homework...(I will have to look more closely at the questions on blends and see if there is room for experimentation).... but suffice it to say that there is no worries with the Ashford cotton cards so far.
So there you have it.... I'm fired up for another day of washing skeins freshly off my wheel, blending and spinning a contrast colour for the jacket commission, and a little silk spinning before knit night tonight. A day of work??.... not a chance.... I call it a day of pleasure.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Proof That I Finish Stuff
It seems like I do absolutely nothing... or at least finish nothing but I am happy to say that that is not true. Every now and again I surprise myself.... once in a while I finish something and make myself proud.My guild has looms that they set up for projects and every so often I decide to participate in those projects. Last year we were asked as a guild to donate shawls to the Transition House For Women so we got right on that and set up a 36" floor loom with a cream coloured mixed warp long enough to accommodate 15 shawls. We all chose different weft and started one after another to weave shawls and so mine was finished in August but I had to wait till two more shawls came off the loom. Saturday past, when I went to my monthly guild meeting, I was handed my shawl and I was so pleased to see it. So here it is...
With three fingers left to knit on a pair of lace gloves I'm thinking that I'll be able to show them soon too. Knit night is my only chance to work on them and most knit nights I don't get there till late so I only get an hour and a half to knit a week. And with any luck there will be a jacket done soon too.
With three fingers left to knit on a pair of lace gloves I'm thinking that I'll be able to show them soon too. Knit night is my only chance to work on them and most knit nights I don't get there till late so I only get an hour and a half to knit a week. And with any luck there will be a jacket done soon too.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
@$%%^$^#$^&*&^*%$
Ol' Parritch Muffins work a whole lot better when your oven doesn't give out in the middle of cooking them..... argh!
Good Ol' Parritch
I just made porridge for breakfast. And not that wimpy kind that you poor boiling water over. I just made old fashioned, rolled not cut, stick-to-your-ribs, pull-your-stomach-down-to-your-toes, porridge. I have been making porridge now for nigh on twenty years. Hubby likes it. I make it about once every week or so. This time I threw in some apples and a little granola and some pancake syrup to sweeten it. And you know it was really good.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes you can be eating something regularly for years and years and then suddenly you realize just how good it is. I mean porridge is fairly normal food, but I think I had forgotten just how good it is. I tend to think that a glutenous mass of grain is not necessarily the most appetizing thing in the world. But pop a spoonful in your mouth and mm... mm... mm... it's just delicious.
I realize that I'm starting to sound like an add.
Have you ever heard the story of the Magic Porridge Pot? Well my porridge pot this morning is a little like the magic porridge pot. I made waaayyy too much porridge! We'll be eating porridge hot, cold and nine days old at this rate. So I guess I'll have to make a few porridge muffins later on.
Porridge Muffins
2 cups porridge (already cooked)
1 egg
1/4 cup of oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 c milk
Mix all the above ingredients, add dried or fresh fruit... such as apples or bananas and pour into muffin pans that have been greased. Bake in usual manner at 350 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes depending on your oven. They are good for breakfast too.
Bon appetit!
Have you ever noticed that sometimes you can be eating something regularly for years and years and then suddenly you realize just how good it is. I mean porridge is fairly normal food, but I think I had forgotten just how good it is. I tend to think that a glutenous mass of grain is not necessarily the most appetizing thing in the world. But pop a spoonful in your mouth and mm... mm... mm... it's just delicious.
I realize that I'm starting to sound like an add.
Have you ever heard the story of the Magic Porridge Pot? Well my porridge pot this morning is a little like the magic porridge pot. I made waaayyy too much porridge! We'll be eating porridge hot, cold and nine days old at this rate. So I guess I'll have to make a few porridge muffins later on.
Porridge Muffins
2 cups porridge (already cooked)
1 egg
1/4 cup of oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 c milk
Mix all the above ingredients, add dried or fresh fruit... such as apples or bananas and pour into muffin pans that have been greased. Bake in usual manner at 350 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes depending on your oven. They are good for breakfast too.
Bon appetit!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Been There Done That
Life is pretty simple these days. It's pretty much the same old same old for the most part. That's why on Saturday I didn't blog. There isn't a whole lot to say when life is blandly normal. I have been reading other blogs instead. Mostly blogs that I follow anyway but then I have been surfing a bit too. And of course, I'm following along with all that is happening in Haiti.
I've been finishing the Christmas cleanup.... I know, I know.... that was weeks ago and we should be done by now.... but we had a little set back this week in the form of our new coffee table. It was bigger than we thought and so required some shifting of other things in the living room in order to accommodate it. We also moved our TV and computer and DVD player. This is no small feat since there are so many wires that criss cross our room either above or below, that it is a maze which is not easily untangled. I still have two speakers to hook up. I've also been organizing my studio. This too is no small feat since there are things I had forgotten I owned needing to be put away..... but of course with any stash you don't want to throw stuff out just because you haven't used it in a few years... (that would be horrible)!!! Hubby brought in some boxes from the shed and I have been sorting through that. I did find some rovings from New Zealand that are a blend of Possum and Polwarth ..... mmmm. Can't wait to spin some of that. Hubby keeps checking on me when something comes out of a box that I get excited about. He says I'm making weird noises..... any noise that signifies delight is ok with me!
But for today I'm back at the jacket commission...... and even though it seems like a never ending process, I am making progress.... that's good.... very good. But I do have to say, I will never take another commission again as long as I am working on the Masters... am I repeating my self??? You bet.... been there done that!
I've been finishing the Christmas cleanup.... I know, I know.... that was weeks ago and we should be done by now.... but we had a little set back this week in the form of our new coffee table. It was bigger than we thought and so required some shifting of other things in the living room in order to accommodate it. We also moved our TV and computer and DVD player. This is no small feat since there are so many wires that criss cross our room either above or below, that it is a maze which is not easily untangled. I still have two speakers to hook up. I've also been organizing my studio. This too is no small feat since there are things I had forgotten I owned needing to be put away..... but of course with any stash you don't want to throw stuff out just because you haven't used it in a few years... (that would be horrible)!!! Hubby brought in some boxes from the shed and I have been sorting through that. I did find some rovings from New Zealand that are a blend of Possum and Polwarth ..... mmmm. Can't wait to spin some of that. Hubby keeps checking on me when something comes out of a box that I get excited about. He says I'm making weird noises..... any noise that signifies delight is ok with me!
But for today I'm back at the jacket commission...... and even though it seems like a never ending process, I am making progress.... that's good.... very good. But I do have to say, I will never take another commission again as long as I am working on the Masters... am I repeating my self??? You bet.... been there done that!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Dawn Comes Sneaking Over The Horizon
Yesterday by mid morning the sun had come out and more welcome sight you have never seen. Suddenly the temperatures soared and I watched the snow melting off my roof.
Drip, drip, drip, it was a pleasantly warm afternoon.
Problem: with all the new changes with our house we have discovered that our upstairs is just too warm. I don't sleep well when it is warm and so I have been opening the window in our bedroom at night.... even in the dead of winter.... we don't even have all of our windows in our bedroom properly insulated and still it is too warm!
This morning I got up and came downstairs in a fog bank.... not the wet kind.... but the kind that muddles your head.... mostly because I took some pain medication for my bad back in the middle of the night. Hubby took pity on me (he's so sweet) and got me a drink of juice which helped to clear some of the fuzz from my brain. And so it was that the sun came creeping over the horizon with a bleary eyed me able to watch. Nothing is so heavenly as when that sun hits the top of our trees in our yard.
Blue skies, nothing but blue skies......
For Christmas I had moved the computer under the steps and there is no window there so it is good to be back where I can look out the window and see the goings on of the world around me. I love to watch the sheep and the alpacas, and even the deer that drift across the yard in their ongoing search for food. (They always stop at our hay bails.) It is a peaceful scene laid out before me. The sheep are gathering at the fence posts for their morning scratch while the alpacas are still lying in for a chew on their cuds. There's a deer at the bails licking up seed on the ground. And behind me the sun has risen golden, changing the blue of the snow to a pinkish gold. Oh happy morn...
A nice cup of tea and a wee spin before I head off to town...
Hope your day is a golden sunrise too....
Drip, drip, drip, it was a pleasantly warm afternoon.
Problem: with all the new changes with our house we have discovered that our upstairs is just too warm. I don't sleep well when it is warm and so I have been opening the window in our bedroom at night.... even in the dead of winter.... we don't even have all of our windows in our bedroom properly insulated and still it is too warm!
This morning I got up and came downstairs in a fog bank.... not the wet kind.... but the kind that muddles your head.... mostly because I took some pain medication for my bad back in the middle of the night. Hubby took pity on me (he's so sweet) and got me a drink of juice which helped to clear some of the fuzz from my brain. And so it was that the sun came creeping over the horizon with a bleary eyed me able to watch. Nothing is so heavenly as when that sun hits the top of our trees in our yard.
Blue skies, nothing but blue skies......
For Christmas I had moved the computer under the steps and there is no window there so it is good to be back where I can look out the window and see the goings on of the world around me. I love to watch the sheep and the alpacas, and even the deer that drift across the yard in their ongoing search for food. (They always stop at our hay bails.) It is a peaceful scene laid out before me. The sheep are gathering at the fence posts for their morning scratch while the alpacas are still lying in for a chew on their cuds. There's a deer at the bails licking up seed on the ground. And behind me the sun has risen golden, changing the blue of the snow to a pinkish gold. Oh happy morn...
A nice cup of tea and a wee spin before I head off to town...
Hope your day is a golden sunrise too....
Friday, January 15, 2010
Walk Through The Woods
This is a hard time of the year to get through, there is no doubt about that. It is dark till quite late in the morning. When it is 9:30 before it gets light (on a sunny day) and dark again by 5 p.m., you have a tendency to want to sit by the fire and read or just veg. Yesterday was a day for vegging out by our fireplace. The forecast has been calling for warm temperatures all week and while warm temps are generally good this time of year, it sucks since it doesn't come in the form of a chinook wind with glorious sun to perk you up.... no, this warm is coming and carrying with it, freezing rain. My poor sheep are looking bedraggled and sad. Yesterday I sat and read and looked out at my sheep and listened to the radio news coming out of Haiti... and then around late afternoon I couldn't take it anymore, I felt I would sink into mid winter blues, so out the door I went for a walk.
Usually this time of the year, I stick to road walking but yesterday, the bush was calling to me and so after checking to see if the trails were packed with snowmobiles running over them, I felt I could handle a short walk through the bush. I entered the woods where thick pines and spruce border the trails in quiet solitude. I instantly noticed the peace and tranquility of the forest silence. All around me the pines and spruce brooded in their dark green garb. The only noise I heard was the sound of Duff galloping past in pure joy of getting out to sniff new scents, and Tootsie yapping after Duff in an effort to keep up. Shortly they disappeared into the bush ahead and all went silent again.
It was only after about 5 minutes of walking that I had this weird sensation that something was watching me.... I looked up to the right and I am not sure why, but there in all it's wild silent beauty, was a Great Grey Owl. He flew through the tops of the pines seeking a new branch from which to get a better view of me. I of course, stopped dead in my tracks as I watched him/her beat her wings and slip between the trees like a ghost. The thing that amazed me was the quiet of its flight. I could not hear a sound. The wings were beating but it was amazing how silent the beat of its wings were..... and it was huge. I would have to say that if it stood on the ground next to me it would have been about 25 inches tall. Awesome!!!!
I quickly found a fallen tree trunk to sit on, and there I sat watching that owl while the owl watched me too.
In the back of my mind I hoped that Tootsie (the Shi-tzu) would stay away for a while and stay with Duff as that owl would easily pick up wee Tootsie and fly away with it's daily meal. The owl watched me and I watched it for a while... I'm not sure how long... but probably no more than ten minutes. Then silently, and with more dignity than I would have thought possible, it spread its wings and jumped off the branch and carried on it's silent way winging through the branches of the pine and spruce.
Such moments renew your pleasure in just being alive. (And Tootsie didn't get eaten....)
Wow I'm glad I went for a walk.
Usually this time of the year, I stick to road walking but yesterday, the bush was calling to me and so after checking to see if the trails were packed with snowmobiles running over them, I felt I could handle a short walk through the bush. I entered the woods where thick pines and spruce border the trails in quiet solitude. I instantly noticed the peace and tranquility of the forest silence. All around me the pines and spruce brooded in their dark green garb. The only noise I heard was the sound of Duff galloping past in pure joy of getting out to sniff new scents, and Tootsie yapping after Duff in an effort to keep up. Shortly they disappeared into the bush ahead and all went silent again.
It was only after about 5 minutes of walking that I had this weird sensation that something was watching me.... I looked up to the right and I am not sure why, but there in all it's wild silent beauty, was a Great Grey Owl. He flew through the tops of the pines seeking a new branch from which to get a better view of me. I of course, stopped dead in my tracks as I watched him/her beat her wings and slip between the trees like a ghost. The thing that amazed me was the quiet of its flight. I could not hear a sound. The wings were beating but it was amazing how silent the beat of its wings were..... and it was huge. I would have to say that if it stood on the ground next to me it would have been about 25 inches tall. Awesome!!!!
I quickly found a fallen tree trunk to sit on, and there I sat watching that owl while the owl watched me too.
In the back of my mind I hoped that Tootsie (the Shi-tzu) would stay away for a while and stay with Duff as that owl would easily pick up wee Tootsie and fly away with it's daily meal. The owl watched me and I watched it for a while... I'm not sure how long... but probably no more than ten minutes. Then silently, and with more dignity than I would have thought possible, it spread its wings and jumped off the branch and carried on it's silent way winging through the branches of the pine and spruce.Such moments renew your pleasure in just being alive. (And Tootsie didn't get eaten....)
Wow I'm glad I went for a walk.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sometimes You Just Have To Be Gross... Sorry
(I give you warning.... if you have a weak stomach or are sensitive to all things disgusting then you may want to forgo reading this post!)
Our old dog has been giving us trouble for months.... every so often she will have a period of time when her gaseous bowls rear their ugly head by clearing a room in less than 10 seconds flat! I have put her problem down to age and an inability to deal with some types of food. We have been trying to see if her problem stems from what she has been eating and this is not easy since most dogs will have trouble whenever there is a change in their diet. But quite honestly the last food that we have been trying is the worst to date. She is not any less energetic but when her bowls gurgle I know that I have to get her out in short order!
Yesterday our wee dog came into the house and ooh la la... the hum was just plain nasty..... so with a clothes pin attached to my olfactory protuberance, I tackled one of the nastiest jobs ever. I don't have a weak stomach at all, but that butt cleaning job put even my hurling urges to the test. So you can imagine my dismay when the wee pooch entered the house this morning with once again the same problem attached to his hind quarters. Hubby took pity on me and cleaned the horror from the wee pooch's bum and gave me a reprieve, but I am seriously disturbed with what is happening in the canine end of our family.
The current dog food that we are using is Purina Dog Chow dry dog food. I think I will visit the deep freeze today and see if I can find some old deer meat from last year's kill and see if they do any better with that stuff. One thing is for sure... there will be no more Purina Dog Chow in this house.
You have to wonder what the dog food companies put into dog food when your animals are experiencing such horrible results. It can't be nice to have your stomach gurgling and growling all the time and what those poor dogs are suffering when they go out the door and out of my sight.... well I wouldn't want to be them that is for sure. Poor dogs.
So I'm sorry about being gross but when you run a farm sometimes gross things happen... and I guess this is one of them.
Our old dog has been giving us trouble for months.... every so often she will have a period of time when her gaseous bowls rear their ugly head by clearing a room in less than 10 seconds flat! I have put her problem down to age and an inability to deal with some types of food. We have been trying to see if her problem stems from what she has been eating and this is not easy since most dogs will have trouble whenever there is a change in their diet. But quite honestly the last food that we have been trying is the worst to date. She is not any less energetic but when her bowls gurgle I know that I have to get her out in short order!
Yesterday our wee dog came into the house and ooh la la... the hum was just plain nasty..... so with a clothes pin attached to my olfactory protuberance, I tackled one of the nastiest jobs ever. I don't have a weak stomach at all, but that butt cleaning job put even my hurling urges to the test. So you can imagine my dismay when the wee pooch entered the house this morning with once again the same problem attached to his hind quarters. Hubby took pity on me and cleaned the horror from the wee pooch's bum and gave me a reprieve, but I am seriously disturbed with what is happening in the canine end of our family.
The current dog food that we are using is Purina Dog Chow dry dog food. I think I will visit the deep freeze today and see if I can find some old deer meat from last year's kill and see if they do any better with that stuff. One thing is for sure... there will be no more Purina Dog Chow in this house.
You have to wonder what the dog food companies put into dog food when your animals are experiencing such horrible results. It can't be nice to have your stomach gurgling and growling all the time and what those poor dogs are suffering when they go out the door and out of my sight.... well I wouldn't want to be them that is for sure. Poor dogs.
So I'm sorry about being gross but when you run a farm sometimes gross things happen... and I guess this is one of them.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
How Horribly Scary
One of the problems of thwarting the media form of TV means that when disasters hit there is almost a sense of unreality. When the Tsunami hit a few years back it was many weeks after the event that pictures started to filter through my email... pics of the aftermath. I have noticed since then that any kind of catastrophe really doesn't touch me in the way that it touches people who are inundated with pictures on the evening news. Now when catastrophes hit, I seek information rather than waiting for information to come to me.
Today I have sat here trying to find out as much as I can about Haiti. It is hard to know what is real and what is not. I've listened to CBC mostly and can only imagine the devastation.
Two years ago Hubby and I started supporting a child through World Vision. The child we support is from Port au Prince, Haiti. Her name is Rosa de la Cruz. We of course will not know for a while if Rosa is alive. We can only pray that she and her mother have survived this horrific event and that she is safe.
Please, I ask you, if you have a moment, say a prayer for this little girl and her family and all the children who are and will be so affected by this terrible event.
And if you can..... donate.... this very poor country will need so much help.
I will go now to look again at the World Vision site.
Today I have sat here trying to find out as much as I can about Haiti. It is hard to know what is real and what is not. I've listened to CBC mostly and can only imagine the devastation.
Two years ago Hubby and I started supporting a child through World Vision. The child we support is from Port au Prince, Haiti. Her name is Rosa de la Cruz. We of course will not know for a while if Rosa is alive. We can only pray that she and her mother have survived this horrific event and that she is safe.
Please, I ask you, if you have a moment, say a prayer for this little girl and her family and all the children who are and will be so affected by this terrible event.
And if you can..... donate.... this very poor country will need so much help.
I will go now to look again at the World Vision site.
The Jackie Chan Version Of Tai Chi
Daughter #2: Mom, what are you doing?
Me: I'm following this Tai Chi video.
Daughter #2: Why?
Me: I've always wanted to learn Tai Chi.
Daughter #2: Cool!
(silence)
Daughter #2: Mom Tai Chi makes you look like you are Jackie Chan in really slow motion.
Me: Har de har har!
(more silence)
Daughter #2: Hey Dad, Mom looks like Jackie Chan in slow motion.
Hubby: (with a large grin on his face) You do look like Jackie Chan in slow motion.... I think it's the hair.
Daughter #1: (coming down the stairs) Why are you watching Mom.... hey Mom did you know you look like Jackie Chan in slow motion?
Me: (sigh)
Me: I'm following this Tai Chi video.
Daughter #2: Why?
Me: I've always wanted to learn Tai Chi.
Daughter #2: Cool!
(silence)
Daughter #2: Mom Tai Chi makes you look like you are Jackie Chan in really slow motion.
Me: Har de har har!
(more silence)
Daughter #2: Hey Dad, Mom looks like Jackie Chan in slow motion.
Hubby: (with a large grin on his face) You do look like Jackie Chan in slow motion.... I think it's the hair.
Daughter #1: (coming down the stairs) Why are you watching Mom.... hey Mom did you know you look like Jackie Chan in slow motion?
Me: (sigh)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Gone To The Great Beyond
My heart is so sad tonight. Wee Reece, our small lamb died this afternoon. If only we understood why......
Wee Reece in finer days....
Wee Reece in finer days....
Random
I catch myself talking to the computer a lot. Especially when the computer does something that I don't want. (Hubby says talking is a mild word for what I do) I have a mouse with a mind of its own and the thing is.... it does things that make me really confused and slightly p.o.'d. Maybe I'll be working on something and all of a sudden there's a totally different page from the one that I was working on... It's like I'm walking along and suddenly I trip up and when I look back to see what I tripped on , there's nothing there. Hubby says that I type too fast and I'm not really that good.... harummff! I do type fast but, 'not being that good?'.... well really! Every now and again I'll be typing away and right out of the blue I'm typing in all caps... like how did that happen?!!.... I tend to think that there are little pixies that live in the keyboard and every so often they think it is... har, har... funny to trip me up mid sentence and screw around with what I am doing in an effort to convince me I'm crazy. Sometimes I think it is working.....
Yesterday was a great day to catch up on reading and rest.... having been up half the night meant that I was in no fit state to do anything. However, along about 7 p.m. I got my second wind and suddenly I was full of vim and vigor. I worked away on my Jacket commission and got a nice bit of spinning done and will carry on today on that, but in between it all, I did manage to get my silk skein of my midnight hours of spinning, into my book with a write up and so that is question 2 done. I will carry on working today on the jacket commission, as I said, but as soon as it turns dark out will come my silk rovings and I will start on a silk knitting yarn and I have the perfect idea....
One of the blogs that I follow is my level 3 instructor's blog and recently she posted a picture of a divine sweater that I adore so I am going to try to copy the cabled yoke or come up with something that is close as my 3" x 3" swatch. It is just too pretty. If I have to ad lib then I will, but my 3" x 3" sample will have been inspired by something that is just lovely. I also have an idea for my silk 3" x 3" woven sample..... but more about that later....
I have discovered that my couch is a great place to sit and spin. Perfect height, perfect slope, perfect depth for my back, perfect all round. I get to be with the family for spinning while they do homework, or work on the computer. It is great and meanwhile I still have my studio space for storing all my spinning stuff and keeping it out of sight.... that's great. We are keeping the office in the main room and putting the dining room out in the new room along with my studio and it all works out. I'll have to post pictures by and by when I can.... (my batteries need recharging again).
Well I am looking out on all my sheep and alpacas and they are having a quiet morning.... they are milling about yomping down pins from the Christmas trees. My ewes are all impregnated I hope.... there's only one that I'm not sure the ram got. So we will be expecting lambs in the spring again. I did have to fall back on my black BFL (Blue Faced Leichester) which means that I'm sure there will be a bunch of black lambs.... not something I wanted, (I wanted more white) but my white ram was just a little too young to do the job. We will be downsizing the flock as we are having trouble keeping up with all the hay they need. This summer past was a bad year for hay crops and so hay has doubled in price since last year and unfortunately the price of lamb has not gone up nor has the price of wool. I will pick out a variety of different fleeces and the best fleeces with interest and then the rest will meet their maker. I have a couple of old ones that are ready to keel over anyway so they will be on the butcher block for sure, not so much for their meat since it would probably taste strong and be tough, but I will have a look at getting their skins tanned. There is an old native lady who lives in a town not too far away who tans in the old way so I may possibly try her first. We will keep all of the alpacas.... and we are still debating on the llama... we will see.
We will definitely have to build another paddock this spring. I want my garden back. We are also thinking about changing our driveway and so that will open property up that we never used before for animals..... more pasture type land and not quite so marginal as what the animals are on now. Meanwhile Hubby is seriously looking into the Christmas tree farm idea, so we will see where that leads us.
One last random item..... sox. Ahhh! My favorite pair from the stock that the girls gave me for Christmas are by far the Angora/wool/nylon ones from Wal-Mart. At $4.00 a pair how can you go wrong? I just wish I knew if they were sweat shop made.... I hope not. Mine are black and grey striped.... I feel like the wicked witch of the west.... Nicholsville West that is.... (a good wicked though... my eyebrows are going up and down now) all I need are the red shoes.... who says you need sexy lingerie when you can have wicked witch sox..... scary thought indeed! (Sometimes it is not good to have a visual mind...)!
Well I'm off to spin, spin, spin,... hope your having a lovely mid-winter day. I have my girl Diana (Krall) playing.... how inspiring is that?
Yesterday was a great day to catch up on reading and rest.... having been up half the night meant that I was in no fit state to do anything. However, along about 7 p.m. I got my second wind and suddenly I was full of vim and vigor. I worked away on my Jacket commission and got a nice bit of spinning done and will carry on today on that, but in between it all, I did manage to get my silk skein of my midnight hours of spinning, into my book with a write up and so that is question 2 done. I will carry on working today on the jacket commission, as I said, but as soon as it turns dark out will come my silk rovings and I will start on a silk knitting yarn and I have the perfect idea....
One of the blogs that I follow is my level 3 instructor's blog and recently she posted a picture of a divine sweater that I adore so I am going to try to copy the cabled yoke or come up with something that is close as my 3" x 3" swatch. It is just too pretty. If I have to ad lib then I will, but my 3" x 3" sample will have been inspired by something that is just lovely. I also have an idea for my silk 3" x 3" woven sample..... but more about that later....
I have discovered that my couch is a great place to sit and spin. Perfect height, perfect slope, perfect depth for my back, perfect all round. I get to be with the family for spinning while they do homework, or work on the computer. It is great and meanwhile I still have my studio space for storing all my spinning stuff and keeping it out of sight.... that's great. We are keeping the office in the main room and putting the dining room out in the new room along with my studio and it all works out. I'll have to post pictures by and by when I can.... (my batteries need recharging again).
Well I am looking out on all my sheep and alpacas and they are having a quiet morning.... they are milling about yomping down pins from the Christmas trees. My ewes are all impregnated I hope.... there's only one that I'm not sure the ram got. So we will be expecting lambs in the spring again. I did have to fall back on my black BFL (Blue Faced Leichester) which means that I'm sure there will be a bunch of black lambs.... not something I wanted, (I wanted more white) but my white ram was just a little too young to do the job. We will be downsizing the flock as we are having trouble keeping up with all the hay they need. This summer past was a bad year for hay crops and so hay has doubled in price since last year and unfortunately the price of lamb has not gone up nor has the price of wool. I will pick out a variety of different fleeces and the best fleeces with interest and then the rest will meet their maker. I have a couple of old ones that are ready to keel over anyway so they will be on the butcher block for sure, not so much for their meat since it would probably taste strong and be tough, but I will have a look at getting their skins tanned. There is an old native lady who lives in a town not too far away who tans in the old way so I may possibly try her first. We will keep all of the alpacas.... and we are still debating on the llama... we will see.
We will definitely have to build another paddock this spring. I want my garden back. We are also thinking about changing our driveway and so that will open property up that we never used before for animals..... more pasture type land and not quite so marginal as what the animals are on now. Meanwhile Hubby is seriously looking into the Christmas tree farm idea, so we will see where that leads us.
One last random item..... sox. Ahhh! My favorite pair from the stock that the girls gave me for Christmas are by far the Angora/wool/nylon ones from Wal-Mart. At $4.00 a pair how can you go wrong? I just wish I knew if they were sweat shop made.... I hope not. Mine are black and grey striped.... I feel like the wicked witch of the west.... Nicholsville West that is.... (a good wicked though... my eyebrows are going up and down now) all I need are the red shoes.... who says you need sexy lingerie when you can have wicked witch sox..... scary thought indeed! (Sometimes it is not good to have a visual mind...)!
Well I'm off to spin, spin, spin,... hope your having a lovely mid-winter day. I have my girl Diana (Krall) playing.... how inspiring is that?
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Complete Dummy's Guide To Whiling Away A Few Hours
When sleep is elusive and you are lying by your snoring Hubby and you just can't get your body to cooperate, get up from your warm cozy bed, go downstairs where the furnace hasn't cut in for a while and your toes begin to solidify in the cold and do something you enjoy. For me that is spinning... what did I spin.
TA DA!
My silk sample from a commercial silk hanky, spun, plied, washed, dried and ready to mount and label.
One more question from the level 3 done.
I am carding more wool for the jacket commission and about to watch one of the Harry Potter movies.... or Mad Max... or something as I rip my fingers to pieces again. Rolags here I come.
TA DA!
My silk sample from a commercial silk hanky, spun, plied, washed, dried and ready to mount and label.
One more question from the level 3 done.
I am carding more wool for the jacket commission and about to watch one of the Harry Potter movies.... or Mad Max... or something as I rip my fingers to pieces again. Rolags here I come.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Where Next Do I Go? What Next Do I Do?
Right... I'm ready for spring. It all looks so bare around here. Sometimes I wonder what all the hullaballoo is about when it comes to Christmas, and sometimes its a dread getting all the decorating done, but when the lights come down and the decorations are stowed for another year, there is simply a sense of loss. It's all rather anti-climatic... I look around me today and I feel rather directionless.
With all the decorations down, there just seems to be a lack lustre, non sparkly, drab kind of, pffsstt in the air! I mean, everyone likes a little sparkly in their lives, right? If your Hubby hands you a diamond ring you don't just look at it like it is mud! Well it's like that with Christmas lights... they bring a little cheer into our lives when sunsets and sunrises are drab at best and non existent at worst. Our house is getting back to normal... well as normal as it can be anyway (see annual family Christmas pic in previous post) and while that is nice... you do miss those shiny things dangling all over the place. We have wrapped and boxed the decorations
and we have shoved and pushed furniture here and there and this evening it looks like Santa never made his debut at all. I have one lonely wreath sitting on a wall with a cardinal which will come down tomorrow when Hubby stops off at the grocery store to rummage through their stock of boxes for one large enough to pack the wreath in and then that too will face the darkness of the storage closet for another year. This all means that I am ready for the snow to melt, the temperatures to turn balmy, and for my deck to start to produce pleasurable hours of vitamin D intake. Har! Not likely for another month yet and then only on a sporadic day when the sun forgets it is winter and shed rays in an effort to encourage the hibernators that something better is coming. That's me.... I'm a hibernator... I'm waiting for that sunshine to reach me and ripple my skin...
Meanwhile Hubby put the three Christmas trees out in the paddocks. Now the alpacas are proceeding to munch on them.... how they manage those sharp little pins is beyond me!
I have been spinning today. Not for the jacket commission but for my level 3.... I am working on a silk sample
from a silk hanky.... 'argh' is how I would describe my progress. However, I shall persevere. I'm not sure I like silk hankies and what's more is they hurt! Drafting out the fibres rips into your skin because, of course, the fibre is one of the strongest protein fibres there is, and when it cuts into your skin as you draft the fibres it actually cuts... like bleeding cuts.... like, "oh d-mn that hurts," cuts! That's not a pleasurable thing you know... but I will get this done and by Wednesday too thank you very much!
So what does the void of Christmas leave me with??? Well here's my list..
Things I don't want to face on..
1. Losing my extra Christmas weight to the tune of 10 lbs... hmmm... : {
2. A jacket commission that I am down to the wire on.
3. Level 3 which should have been much farther along if I want to be honest.
4. A house that needs a good clean. (well that always seems the case)
Things I do want to face..
1. Learning Tai Chi
2. Level 3 homework which I'm actually excited about.
3. Courses to pay for and apartments to book for my week in Olds.
4. Teaching a friend to drop spindle.
5. A really good book to read that I am only allowing myself a half hour before bedtime.
6. Ever increasing daylight. That's a really happy one. Keep an eye to the right.... look at that we are up to 25 mins..... woo hoo!
To all of you who are old bears too..... here's to the sunshine... I'm off to drink some wine. So much for the weight loss. (sigh)
4
With all the decorations down, there just seems to be a lack lustre, non sparkly, drab kind of, pffsstt in the air! I mean, everyone likes a little sparkly in their lives, right? If your Hubby hands you a diamond ring you don't just look at it like it is mud! Well it's like that with Christmas lights... they bring a little cheer into our lives when sunsets and sunrises are drab at best and non existent at worst. Our house is getting back to normal... well as normal as it can be anyway (see annual family Christmas pic in previous post) and while that is nice... you do miss those shiny things dangling all over the place. We have wrapped and boxed the decorations
and we have shoved and pushed furniture here and there and this evening it looks like Santa never made his debut at all. I have one lonely wreath sitting on a wall with a cardinal which will come down tomorrow when Hubby stops off at the grocery store to rummage through their stock of boxes for one large enough to pack the wreath in and then that too will face the darkness of the storage closet for another year. This all means that I am ready for the snow to melt, the temperatures to turn balmy, and for my deck to start to produce pleasurable hours of vitamin D intake. Har! Not likely for another month yet and then only on a sporadic day when the sun forgets it is winter and shed rays in an effort to encourage the hibernators that something better is coming. That's me.... I'm a hibernator... I'm waiting for that sunshine to reach me and ripple my skin...Meanwhile Hubby put the three Christmas trees out in the paddocks. Now the alpacas are proceeding to munch on them.... how they manage those sharp little pins is beyond me!
I have been spinning today. Not for the jacket commission but for my level 3.... I am working on a silk sample
from a silk hanky.... 'argh' is how I would describe my progress. However, I shall persevere. I'm not sure I like silk hankies and what's more is they hurt! Drafting out the fibres rips into your skin because, of course, the fibre is one of the strongest protein fibres there is, and when it cuts into your skin as you draft the fibres it actually cuts... like bleeding cuts.... like, "oh d-mn that hurts," cuts! That's not a pleasurable thing you know... but I will get this done and by Wednesday too thank you very much!So what does the void of Christmas leave me with??? Well here's my list..
Things I don't want to face on..
1. Losing my extra Christmas weight to the tune of 10 lbs... hmmm... : {
2. A jacket commission that I am down to the wire on.
3. Level 3 which should have been much farther along if I want to be honest.
4. A house that needs a good clean. (well that always seems the case)
Things I do want to face..
1. Learning Tai Chi
2. Level 3 homework which I'm actually excited about.
3. Courses to pay for and apartments to book for my week in Olds.
4. Teaching a friend to drop spindle.
5. A really good book to read that I am only allowing myself a half hour before bedtime.
6. Ever increasing daylight. That's a really happy one. Keep an eye to the right.... look at that we are up to 25 mins..... woo hoo!
To all of you who are old bears too..... here's to the sunshine... I'm off to drink some wine. So much for the weight loss. (sigh)
4
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Is It Really 2010
Sorry about not blogging yesterday. I actually sat down and started to write but somehow what I wrote seemed boring.... (well I can't always have scintillating things to write about!) All day I kept thinking, I'll get back to that later, but my brain was on Rodent mode and we all know how small a Rodent's brain is.
Mostly I was spinning yesterday. I didn't blow through my rolags as I thought I would. But I am almost out of them now. I have a spool of spun singles that I am happy with. Today I may do some more work on preparing more rolags or I might actually get out some silk hankies and try to do my level 3 homework. We'll see.
Today is our last day with the Christmas decorations. We will be taking down our trees and all our decorations and settling back into our regular household scheme.
It is hard to believe that 9 days of 2010 has gone by so fast. As I get older I realize that time moves more quickly than it used to. 1 week out of ten is done and then we will have March break. I realize that wishing your time away is not good so I try to live in the moment as much as possible. There is one thing I am looking forward to and that is the NPSW annual February retreat. The third weekend of February I will be heading off to a log lodge for a weekend of laughter and fun while spinning and picking wool with others who are of a like mind. For a while I thought that I would have to bring the Daughters with me as Hubby was scheduled for a trip to Victoria at the same time, but that has changed. Yesterday we received an email notifying him that his trip would be postponed to a later date due to a conflict with the 2010 Olympics. That's about the only good thing that came out of the Olympics (oops! did I say that out loud?!!) So I will be traveling to the log lodge of my dreams with no children attached for a weekend of pure pleasure.
This week has been a shock in more ways than one. Daughter #1 had a terrible shock when she got back to school.... it was a rough week with two tests and a major power point presentation for homework. She made it through though, and I am happy to say that she did quite well with her marks. We still don't know what her mark is on her power point... that will come next week. She is starting on her first set of mid-term exams in a couple of weeks... we hope that goes well for her, as she stresses over these thing a lot.
So there you have it a little bit of an update on life here on the funny farm. Last night we took our annual family portrait in front of the Christmas tree. After taking lots of pictures with one camera and then the other when the battery went dead on the first, and this one's hair being slightly askew, and that one's smile not being right, and Hubby not making it back to the seat before the timer went off on the camera,and my nose looking like Rudolph's, we all agreed that this was our favorite.
Ahhh! Now you all know why we call this the funny farm!
Mostly I was spinning yesterday. I didn't blow through my rolags as I thought I would. But I am almost out of them now. I have a spool of spun singles that I am happy with. Today I may do some more work on preparing more rolags or I might actually get out some silk hankies and try to do my level 3 homework. We'll see.
Today is our last day with the Christmas decorations. We will be taking down our trees and all our decorations and settling back into our regular household scheme.
It is hard to believe that 9 days of 2010 has gone by so fast. As I get older I realize that time moves more quickly than it used to. 1 week out of ten is done and then we will have March break. I realize that wishing your time away is not good so I try to live in the moment as much as possible. There is one thing I am looking forward to and that is the NPSW annual February retreat. The third weekend of February I will be heading off to a log lodge for a weekend of laughter and fun while spinning and picking wool with others who are of a like mind. For a while I thought that I would have to bring the Daughters with me as Hubby was scheduled for a trip to Victoria at the same time, but that has changed. Yesterday we received an email notifying him that his trip would be postponed to a later date due to a conflict with the 2010 Olympics. That's about the only good thing that came out of the Olympics (oops! did I say that out loud?!!) So I will be traveling to the log lodge of my dreams with no children attached for a weekend of pure pleasure.
This week has been a shock in more ways than one. Daughter #1 had a terrible shock when she got back to school.... it was a rough week with two tests and a major power point presentation for homework. She made it through though, and I am happy to say that she did quite well with her marks. We still don't know what her mark is on her power point... that will come next week. She is starting on her first set of mid-term exams in a couple of weeks... we hope that goes well for her, as she stresses over these thing a lot.
So there you have it a little bit of an update on life here on the funny farm. Last night we took our annual family portrait in front of the Christmas tree. After taking lots of pictures with one camera and then the other when the battery went dead on the first, and this one's hair being slightly askew, and that one's smile not being right, and Hubby not making it back to the seat before the timer went off on the camera,and my nose looking like Rudolph's, we all agreed that this was our favorite.
Ahhh! Now you all know why we call this the funny farm!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Twelfth Night
Epiphany is over. Christmas season blew through our house so fast that we are still wondering what has actually happened.
We have a tradition in our house of honouring the old Christian traditions of Twelfth Night and Epiphany celebrations. Most people around this neck of the woods don't even know what Twelfth Night is let alone Epiphany. Hubby and I have always taken down our decorations on Epiphany. It is also known as Old Christmas Day home in good old Newfoundland. Epiphany is the day in the Greek Orthodox church that is set aside to celebrate the coming of the wise men to the stable where Baby Jesus was born. It marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the work of Jesus as the Messiah.
As a child growing up my parents never took down the tree until January 6th, but even then the Christmas and New year celebration continued on well into January. Every weekend Mom and Dad would invite people in for dinner on the weekends or would go out to someone's home for dinner because you didn't stop until you had celebrated with ALL your friends. It was exhausting but it also was so much fun. Every weekend there was something to look forward to. It made January pass in a blur of activity. You didn't have time for the mid winter blues!
When I moved away from Newfoundland, all of that came to a resounding halt. Here people put their trees up the first of December and go till Boxing Day and suddenly there is hardly any sign of Christmas at all. But Hubby and I maintain our old tradition of taking down the tree on Jan 6th. However, we do make seldom exceptions.
Our lives are greatly affected by school schedules since Hubby is a teacher. Some years Christmas break fluctuates one way or another so that Christmas break starts a few days before Christmas itself and ending directly after New Year's. Some years it goes the other way and there are no days before Christmas and a few days after New Year's. This year was the former, which means that Twelfth Night and Epiphany are hard to celebrate on the actual day since it falls in the middle of the week and school and homework, tests and other obligations make any celebration virtually impossible.
Hubby and the girls finish school for the Christmas break on the 17th of December (which I loved as it gave me three extra pairs of hands at home preparing for the Big Event) and went till the 4th of January. With Hubby and the girls in school on Epiphany, we have decided to wait till Friday to have our Twelfth Night celebrations and Epiphany dinner. Friday night we will sing carols and watch Christmas specials and hang our Old Christmas Day stockings up before going to bed. Then the next morning we will get up and open our stockings and have a Epiphany mid day dinner and then the afternoon will be spent taking down the decorations and putting them away for another year. We didn't always celebrate that way but when the Daughters got too old to believe in Santa anymore Christmas seemed to drift off into the January blues and it seemed more depressing than anything. Now we have another celebration to look forward to and hanging stocking is always fun.
A couple of years ago I got it into my head to do something nice and so I bought from a local craft lady stockings that were specially made with Old Christmas Day in mind. We now have two sets of stockings for our Christmas celebrations. We have the set we use on December 25th,
and a set that are rather Victorian in design for our Old Christmas Day celebrations.
This one belongs to Daughter #2
This one belongs to Daughter #1
This one belongs to Hubby
And this one belongs to moi!
I've also heard an old wife's tale that once long ago on Twelfth Night, farm animals would bow down at 12 midnight in obeisance to the New Born King. I remember as a child being told that it would happen again the same way when Christ came again. I dearly wanted to live on a farm so that I could watch to see if this would be the year that the animals would bow down again in the barn. And so you see there is a little bit of Christmas magic that lingers until Twelfth Night... and so we celebrate.
I hope you had a wonderful Twelfth Night and a lovely Epiphany Day and if you haven't celebrated it, it's not too late....
We have a tradition in our house of honouring the old Christian traditions of Twelfth Night and Epiphany celebrations. Most people around this neck of the woods don't even know what Twelfth Night is let alone Epiphany. Hubby and I have always taken down our decorations on Epiphany. It is also known as Old Christmas Day home in good old Newfoundland. Epiphany is the day in the Greek Orthodox church that is set aside to celebrate the coming of the wise men to the stable where Baby Jesus was born. It marks the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of the work of Jesus as the Messiah.
As a child growing up my parents never took down the tree until January 6th, but even then the Christmas and New year celebration continued on well into January. Every weekend Mom and Dad would invite people in for dinner on the weekends or would go out to someone's home for dinner because you didn't stop until you had celebrated with ALL your friends. It was exhausting but it also was so much fun. Every weekend there was something to look forward to. It made January pass in a blur of activity. You didn't have time for the mid winter blues!
When I moved away from Newfoundland, all of that came to a resounding halt. Here people put their trees up the first of December and go till Boxing Day and suddenly there is hardly any sign of Christmas at all. But Hubby and I maintain our old tradition of taking down the tree on Jan 6th. However, we do make seldom exceptions.
Our lives are greatly affected by school schedules since Hubby is a teacher. Some years Christmas break fluctuates one way or another so that Christmas break starts a few days before Christmas itself and ending directly after New Year's. Some years it goes the other way and there are no days before Christmas and a few days after New Year's. This year was the former, which means that Twelfth Night and Epiphany are hard to celebrate on the actual day since it falls in the middle of the week and school and homework, tests and other obligations make any celebration virtually impossible.
Hubby and the girls finish school for the Christmas break on the 17th of December (which I loved as it gave me three extra pairs of hands at home preparing for the Big Event) and went till the 4th of January. With Hubby and the girls in school on Epiphany, we have decided to wait till Friday to have our Twelfth Night celebrations and Epiphany dinner. Friday night we will sing carols and watch Christmas specials and hang our Old Christmas Day stockings up before going to bed. Then the next morning we will get up and open our stockings and have a Epiphany mid day dinner and then the afternoon will be spent taking down the decorations and putting them away for another year. We didn't always celebrate that way but when the Daughters got too old to believe in Santa anymore Christmas seemed to drift off into the January blues and it seemed more depressing than anything. Now we have another celebration to look forward to and hanging stocking is always fun.
A couple of years ago I got it into my head to do something nice and so I bought from a local craft lady stockings that were specially made with Old Christmas Day in mind. We now have two sets of stockings for our Christmas celebrations. We have the set we use on December 25th,
and a set that are rather Victorian in design for our Old Christmas Day celebrations.
This one belongs to Daughter #2
This one belongs to Daughter #1
This one belongs to Hubby
And this one belongs to moi!
I've also heard an old wife's tale that once long ago on Twelfth Night, farm animals would bow down at 12 midnight in obeisance to the New Born King. I remember as a child being told that it would happen again the same way when Christ came again. I dearly wanted to live on a farm so that I could watch to see if this would be the year that the animals would bow down again in the barn. And so you see there is a little bit of Christmas magic that lingers until Twelfth Night... and so we celebrate.
I hope you had a wonderful Twelfth Night and a lovely Epiphany Day and if you haven't celebrated it, it's not too late....
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Plug Away
The other day I mentioned that I would have to work till my hands bled in order to get my work done on my Jacket Commission and I pretty much did that yesterday. I flicked and carded fibre well into the evening last night. When I finished for the night, I had pricked my finger with the teeth on the cards so many times that it was quite sore. I have a bunch of rolags prepared for spinning today. 
I'm sure that the spinning will go much quicker than the carding did and I will probably blow through my stash of rolags pretty fast. That's the worst fault with carding.... unless you are using a drum carder it goes REALLY slow. I have a drum carder but I want to have a more hands-on control of the fibre processing so that I get a more refined finish.
I finished a question the night before last, on my level 3 homework! I'm ecstatic! I was looking for my lost dpns in my studio room that night, when I happened upon my support spindle samples from back in the fall which were hanging there, not mounted in my book. So I took the best of the three skeins and got down to it. I did the write up first, checked the skein for balance and did a little fiddling with it, then I tied off the skein and labeled it, printed off the write up and got it in my book, and I was still in bed by 11:30 p.m. It is good to see my work going into my binder.
I always feel so accomplished. : )
Even though I have to work on the jacket commission... I am going to plug away at my level 3 in the evenings I think, that way I won't feel like I'm cheating on anything. I might even take one day a week to work on it so that I am making some progress. And as for knitting,... there's alway knit night... and my gloves...
It's a good thing to be able to plug away at my work.
I'm sure that the spinning will go much quicker than the carding did and I will probably blow through my stash of rolags pretty fast. That's the worst fault with carding.... unless you are using a drum carder it goes REALLY slow. I have a drum carder but I want to have a more hands-on control of the fibre processing so that I get a more refined finish. I finished a question the night before last, on my level 3 homework! I'm ecstatic! I was looking for my lost dpns in my studio room that night, when I happened upon my support spindle samples from back in the fall which were hanging there, not mounted in my book. So I took the best of the three skeins and got down to it. I did the write up first, checked the skein for balance and did a little fiddling with it, then I tied off the skein and labeled it, printed off the write up and got it in my book, and I was still in bed by 11:30 p.m. It is good to see my work going into my binder.
I always feel so accomplished. : )Even though I have to work on the jacket commission... I am going to plug away at my level 3 in the evenings I think, that way I won't feel like I'm cheating on anything. I might even take one day a week to work on it so that I am making some progress. And as for knitting,... there's alway knit night... and my gloves...
It's a good thing to be able to plug away at my work.