Tuesday, February 7, 2012
So.... Grey Again....
What a beautiful day yesterday. Teapot and I went into FSJ for a medical appointment... and the weather fully co-operated. The roads were totally clear and the sun was shining brightly... we got home at supper time. Before I left I had managed to finish the two samples... the one that I had partially finished the night before and the other one that I hadn't even started... and that was section 3 in the level 3 done. Last night I started on Yak. Now Yak is something I've never spun before so it was a totally new experience.... I had no idea what I was doing. I only had about 30 grams of fibre to work with which isn't a whole lot, so there was no room for screw ups. I started with the Yak blend first and worked my way backwards. Yak and Bamboo was first and it worked but I under-plied it so I will have to fool with it a bit today. Then I did Yak and wool and it tuned out just fine. Then I went to bed. I will have a go at fixing my mistake on the Yak and Bamboo sample today and then I'll get my plain Yak sample done and then I'm not doing another blessed sample until I catch up on my write ups... I swear... I'm not going to spin any more until every bit of book work is caught up!
Teapot and the girls went out the door a little while ago and it was getting light... but then they were late getting ready this morning. Teapot and I never use an alarm clock, but as we get older, I'm finding that we occasionally over sleep... especially at this time of the year when that memory foam mattress grabs on and just won't let go. This morning the river fog has rolled in over the land and everything is a shade of grey. Grey snow, grey frost, even the trees have a grey pallor to them. The hay bales are greyish green and greyish gold and even the alpacas have a coating of frost and have a grey look about them. Certainly not the beautiful day that we had yesterday.... mind you maybe the sun will burn off the fog later. Here's hoping.
I thought I would leave you with this....
Remeber back in the fall when our friends traveled to Switzerland and I showed this picture...
So picturesque... so lovely.... here's what it looks like this morning......
Now that's an ice sculpture!!! ... and not man made either...
I think they might need a little lock de-icer... : )
I'm off to spin Yak.... and do those flippin' write-ups.
Teapot and the girls went out the door a little while ago and it was getting light... but then they were late getting ready this morning. Teapot and I never use an alarm clock, but as we get older, I'm finding that we occasionally over sleep... especially at this time of the year when that memory foam mattress grabs on and just won't let go. This morning the river fog has rolled in over the land and everything is a shade of grey. Grey snow, grey frost, even the trees have a grey pallor to them. The hay bales are greyish green and greyish gold and even the alpacas have a coating of frost and have a grey look about them. Certainly not the beautiful day that we had yesterday.... mind you maybe the sun will burn off the fog later. Here's hoping.
I thought I would leave you with this....
Remeber back in the fall when our friends traveled to Switzerland and I showed this picture...
I think they might need a little lock de-icer... : )
I'm off to spin Yak.... and do those flippin' write-ups.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Well... I'll Be Knackered
Whoa....Nelly! What a day yesterday. I got down to it in the morning and finished that whole bag of alpaca/merino rovings.... spun.... and done! I'll do another bag sometime when I have a few minutes but that won't be today.... I have other things planned for today. After I had finished that, I had intended on getting the write-ups done for my silk samples which I didn't get done the day before... But I'll do those this evening and tomorrow maybe instead.... it's all because Daughter #2 wanted to do some work on the computer so I gave up my computer time yesterday afternoon and let her have at it. Instead I got my question sheet for the level 5 homework out and thought the next section should go fairly smoothly... was I right?.... Damn straight I was! Done thank you very much.... I finished all angora samples last night so I will have to write up those as well. Then Teapot needed to do some computer upgrades on some of the software we have and so while he was doing that last night after supper.... guess what!... I decided to get out the stuff for the next section in level 3..... Burn!!! I finished most of that too! Two sections in one day.... hello.... you are reading the blog of an Olympic spinning champion! (Hee hee... I love exaggerating!)
All fun and craziness aside... I am feeling pretty darn good about getting so much done. Five whole questions in one day... but now I am feeling like I have really fallen behind on the write ups. Today, I will finish the last sample for the 3rd section in level 3 and then I have to go to FSJ this afternoon for an appointment that I cannot get out of.... so the write ups will have to wait till tomorrow. Wednesday I should be ready for Yak! That's the fifth section in level 5. Woo hoo. I'm feeling really good. I want to get the Yak section done by Friday and all write ups done.... then I've got a section to do on weird yarns... spirals, snarls, marls, etc... I would like to have them done before I go to Blueberry... then when I get back I will be facing TPI in both levels.... that's a good way to start March right?
I do have to say that I was really pleased with the angora samples... they are terrific.... very consistent... even if I do say so myself... but my instructor will probably find fault... that's always the way. Still they do look pretty darn good.
So the sky is lightening... and off to the east, there's a lightish blue close to the horizon. It's 8:30 and I can safely say that the days are noticeably lengthening.... I love it. Spring is on it's way.... the birds are making more and more noticeable spring-like noises. Saturday was warm enough to sit out on the deck with a nice warm sweater.... I didn't do it because Pops and Mom showed up for a cup of tea... that's the first time Dad has driven that far since the scare of two weeks ago when his knee swelled full of fluid. It was good to see him mobile again.
It's the 6th of February.... and with all of the above.... things are looking pretty good! As I say that I think I should be knocking furiously on wood.... and I hope Murphy is still out living under the deck... since I kicked him and his plague of dust bunnies out from under the china cabinet he's been less problematic. Still I don't like to speak too loudly since he might hear me and trip me up as I'm leaving the house. One of those days I'm going to catch the wee bugger and get rid of him for good! then I can say all kinds of nice things and feel like I'm not tempting fate.... (Murphy and Fate seem to be holding hands and making out a lot in my neck of the woods!)
So today... I'm off to finish the wool and silk sample that I didn't get plied last night, and then I have one more sample of wool and silk and maybe a little cotton to throw in, and I'll have that other section of level 3 done. Then it's write ups till noon, and then I'm off to FSJ.
Here's hoping that your Murphy had a face plant in a snow bank and is leaving you alone while he nurses his bruises!
Happy day.... this Feb 6th day....
All fun and craziness aside... I am feeling pretty darn good about getting so much done. Five whole questions in one day... but now I am feeling like I have really fallen behind on the write ups. Today, I will finish the last sample for the 3rd section in level 3 and then I have to go to FSJ this afternoon for an appointment that I cannot get out of.... so the write ups will have to wait till tomorrow. Wednesday I should be ready for Yak! That's the fifth section in level 5. Woo hoo. I'm feeling really good. I want to get the Yak section done by Friday and all write ups done.... then I've got a section to do on weird yarns... spirals, snarls, marls, etc... I would like to have them done before I go to Blueberry... then when I get back I will be facing TPI in both levels.... that's a good way to start March right?
I do have to say that I was really pleased with the angora samples... they are terrific.... very consistent... even if I do say so myself... but my instructor will probably find fault... that's always the way. Still they do look pretty darn good.
So the sky is lightening... and off to the east, there's a lightish blue close to the horizon. It's 8:30 and I can safely say that the days are noticeably lengthening.... I love it. Spring is on it's way.... the birds are making more and more noticeable spring-like noises. Saturday was warm enough to sit out on the deck with a nice warm sweater.... I didn't do it because Pops and Mom showed up for a cup of tea... that's the first time Dad has driven that far since the scare of two weeks ago when his knee swelled full of fluid. It was good to see him mobile again.
It's the 6th of February.... and with all of the above.... things are looking pretty good! As I say that I think I should be knocking furiously on wood.... and I hope Murphy is still out living under the deck... since I kicked him and his plague of dust bunnies out from under the china cabinet he's been less problematic. Still I don't like to speak too loudly since he might hear me and trip me up as I'm leaving the house. One of those days I'm going to catch the wee bugger and get rid of him for good! then I can say all kinds of nice things and feel like I'm not tempting fate.... (Murphy and Fate seem to be holding hands and making out a lot in my neck of the woods!)
So today... I'm off to finish the wool and silk sample that I didn't get plied last night, and then I have one more sample of wool and silk and maybe a little cotton to throw in, and I'll have that other section of level 3 done. Then it's write ups till noon, and then I'm off to FSJ.
Here's hoping that your Murphy had a face plant in a snow bank and is leaving you alone while he nurses his bruises!
Happy day.... this Feb 6th day....
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Dull Grey Day Once Again
We've had really awesome weather of late. The January thaw was on us for the last few days of January and the first couple of days of February... but this morning I got up to grey skies overhead and what looks like snow ahead. Yesterday was such a beautiful day and then today is not.... but maybe snow is not the worse thing in the world... we could be having freezing rain which is what the forecasters are calling for in some of our areas.
Yesterday I managed to almost catch up with my write ups. I even managed to get the section 3 in level 5 done since that was just writing up the Burn test results that we did in class way back in June of last summer. The funny thing is, I decided to use a picture at the beginning of each section of my binder and I got the brilliant idea to use one of the pictures that I took when I burned my level 3 books back in 2010 as the picture for the section divider of the Burn Test. It looks like this....
I will continue working away on them today and hopefully finish up before the day is over. Yesterday morning I was folding laundry in my bedroom and when I went through the odd sock basket I found a bag of alpaca/merino rovings
that looked so delightful that last night when I finished my write-ups for the night, I sat right down at my wheel and watched two movies while spinning almost the whole 100 grams.... well, I almost finished it... I have about 20 grams left. I will finish that this morning before I get down to the rest of the write ups. Ever since I sold some of my skeins of yarn a few weeks ago I've had it in my mind to spin for selling... I like the idea of selling my yarn so I will carry on doing a little here and there when ever I can. This is what I finished last night...
I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself, though I do need to finish up the merino for the 25 shades of logwood before I go to my retreat at the Blueberry on the 15th, and I should be getting that spun.
I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the Blueberry Retreat. I am hoping that I will be able to get cell service so that I can write short things here on my blog while I'm away... however the Blueberry is way out in the middle of nowhere and there may not be cell service.... that's a real possibility. I guess we'll see! I guess I will be taking some of my homework to work on while I'm out at the Blueberry. I was thinking of trying to get all the dye samples done for the level 5 homework... I have most of my dyeing done so it is just a matter of mounting sample and working on a small tapestry. Then there is the 25 shades of logwood.... if that turns out alright I will maybe bring along my loom and get that done too.... maybe not take my spinning wheel at all! I might actually have to go through detox though! Nope I'm already abandoning that idea. ; )
So today is peaceful and quiet and all is ready for me to go finish that bag of alpaca/merino rovings.... yup.... I hope you're having a nice Sunday too.
See y'all tomorrow....
Yesterday I managed to almost catch up with my write ups. I even managed to get the section 3 in level 5 done since that was just writing up the Burn test results that we did in class way back in June of last summer. The funny thing is, I decided to use a picture at the beginning of each section of my binder and I got the brilliant idea to use one of the pictures that I took when I burned my level 3 books back in 2010 as the picture for the section divider of the Burn Test. It looks like this....
 |
| Somehow it seemed fitting! Yup there are my level 3 book from my first effort going up in flames.... hmmm bright flame, some black and grey smoke..... smells like burnt grass and chemicals.... must be a little cotton, some silk, wool, hmmmm mohair... what else..... yup it's a burn test alright! |
I will continue working away on them today and hopefully finish up before the day is over. Yesterday morning I was folding laundry in my bedroom and when I went through the odd sock basket I found a bag of alpaca/merino rovings
that looked so delightful that last night when I finished my write-ups for the night, I sat right down at my wheel and watched two movies while spinning almost the whole 100 grams.... well, I almost finished it... I have about 20 grams left. I will finish that this morning before I get down to the rest of the write ups. Ever since I sold some of my skeins of yarn a few weeks ago I've had it in my mind to spin for selling... I like the idea of selling my yarn so I will carry on doing a little here and there when ever I can. This is what I finished last night...
I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself, though I do need to finish up the merino for the 25 shades of logwood before I go to my retreat at the Blueberry on the 15th, and I should be getting that spun.
I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the Blueberry Retreat. I am hoping that I will be able to get cell service so that I can write short things here on my blog while I'm away... however the Blueberry is way out in the middle of nowhere and there may not be cell service.... that's a real possibility. I guess we'll see! I guess I will be taking some of my homework to work on while I'm out at the Blueberry. I was thinking of trying to get all the dye samples done for the level 5 homework... I have most of my dyeing done so it is just a matter of mounting sample and working on a small tapestry. Then there is the 25 shades of logwood.... if that turns out alright I will maybe bring along my loom and get that done too.... maybe not take my spinning wheel at all! I might actually have to go through detox though! Nope I'm already abandoning that idea. ; )
So today is peaceful and quiet and all is ready for me to go finish that bag of alpaca/merino rovings.... yup.... I hope you're having a nice Sunday too.
See y'all tomorrow....
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Black Out
I had started to write here yesterday but then I decided to keep working on my silk embroidery and get it finished so that I could post a picture. Things didn't quite work out the way I planned. It's not that I didn't get my silk embroidery finished.... I did.... but the problem was that I finished it in the dark last night. I had been working away at the embroidery pretty much all day because I had finished all the spinning the night before and I had washed the embroidery yarns and hung them to dry. I knew they would be ready for yesterday morning so that I could get going with the embroidery part of the embroidery.
Diligently I worked away on it all day, starting with the Muga silk and getting the branches of the trees done. I had next used the Bombyx silk and worked the moon but somehow the moon looked like crap and so I took it out again and tried making it bigger. It still didn't look right and in the end I decided not to put the moon in at all. the face of the owl was the trickiest part but I managed it and as a result it does look like an owl. The cinnamon silk was the last and it was used for just a few stitches on the body to give the owl's feathers some definition. I think it look pretty darn good even if I do say so myself. Have a look and tell me what you think....
It still needs to be pressed because there is a natural crease in the background fabric but for all intents and purposes It is finished and I think I like it just as well as the original Chickadee that I did way back when... Honestly I can't tell you how pleased I am with it.
Meanwhile as I was working on the body of the owl last night there was a very loud pop and everything went black. So for the next three hours we had no power. I had to finish the owl embroidery by the light of my head light.... (you know... I had one of those flash lights that is attached to an elasticized strap and you wear it on your head.)Finally at about 10:30 last night just as we were heading back to bed on came the furnace and the power and lights came back on in very short order.
So except for the silk Mawata which I will do next week after I get some more silk cocoons... (finally found them among my stash but there were only six left so not enough for my Mawata)... the silk section for the level 3 homework for all intents and purposes is finished. Today I will do all the write ups and then I will move on to the next section.
It feels really good to move onto another section. I feel like I am making real progress. So I will end here and I will head off for a day of write-ups and I might even get started on some more stuff for the levels tomorrow.
Have a great weekend...
Diligently I worked away on it all day, starting with the Muga silk and getting the branches of the trees done. I had next used the Bombyx silk and worked the moon but somehow the moon looked like crap and so I took it out again and tried making it bigger. It still didn't look right and in the end I decided not to put the moon in at all. the face of the owl was the trickiest part but I managed it and as a result it does look like an owl. The cinnamon silk was the last and it was used for just a few stitches on the body to give the owl's feathers some definition. I think it look pretty darn good even if I do say so myself. Have a look and tell me what you think....
Meanwhile as I was working on the body of the owl last night there was a very loud pop and everything went black. So for the next three hours we had no power. I had to finish the owl embroidery by the light of my head light.... (you know... I had one of those flash lights that is attached to an elasticized strap and you wear it on your head.)Finally at about 10:30 last night just as we were heading back to bed on came the furnace and the power and lights came back on in very short order.
So except for the silk Mawata which I will do next week after I get some more silk cocoons... (finally found them among my stash but there were only six left so not enough for my Mawata)... the silk section for the level 3 homework for all intents and purposes is finished. Today I will do all the write ups and then I will move on to the next section.
It feels really good to move onto another section. I feel like I am making real progress. So I will end here and I will head off for a day of write-ups and I might even get started on some more stuff for the levels tomorrow.
Have a great weekend...
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Ground Hog Day....
I think Groundhog day is stupid. I've tried to get into the fun of it but somehow weather forecasting rodents don't do it for me. Shoot the stupid bugger and make him into a pair of slippers, I say. At least then the damn fellow would be of some use. Actually I love Groundhogs... they are so cute.... but to have them coming out of their burrows on the second of February to predict when spring will be here, is down right dumb.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
A New Month
I thought I would be heading off this morning with Teapot and the Daughters but it is not to be. I had planned to go to the grocery store to do a little shopping since when I look int the pantry the shelves are looking decidedly bare. But Teapot has need of the truck today so I am staying home which is not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination. I have all kinds of plans for today. I need to a little book work on my level 5 and level 3 homework to catch everything up. But my first priority will be to finish the woven sample on the pin loom. for now it looks like this...
As I was heading off to bed last night I discovered that a load of laundry that I had forgotten about earlier in the day had been taken out of the dryer and dumped on my bed for folding... it was not what I wanted to see when I was ready and prepared for bed... however, I folded it and put it away. And then carried on with my bed going task. I slept really well but then this morning a most unexpected thing happened.
Promptly at 7:14 a.m. I crawled out of bed and headed downstairs to let the rabble out and get breakfast for the dear ones. I was busy frying eggs when Teapot entered the kitchen and began to laugh. He was staring at my hair.... I figured that it was probably a mess on the back with a bit of a hens arse going on but no... when Teapot finished cracking up he came over and pulled a Bounce Sheet from my hair.... !
Teapot: Trying to deal with mid-winter static.... are you?
Me: Ooops... (hee hee)!
Well, it's a new month.... the month of pink and red... of hearts and romance. For me the most important thing is that we are definitely noticing the change in the amount of daylight. At half past eight... when Teapot and the Daughters head off to school, the sky is certainly lighter.... almost daylight. It is wonderful to know that each day is now adding at least 6 minutes of extra daylight. In one week that is 42 minutes of extra light. Now how can one not notice that! Yesterday I heard a Chickadee make a distinctive mating call... Now I know it is too early for them to mate and starting hatching their young but I do wonder if they start looking for this season's mate so that they can have a head start when spring actually comes. Perhaps Valentine's is for the Chickadees too!
I hardly ever think of the sheep but I do have to say that I will miss lambing season.... not that it didn't have it's disappointments and heavy work... especially if you had to bottle feed a lamb.... but I will miss those little wee soft lambs bouncing around the yard. But lambs grow up and become demanding pains in the ass.... I don't miss that.
Already Teapot and I are starting to think of summer plans. He has been asked to go on two trips so far with the JCRs. While I love the money he receives when working with JCRs in the summer, I do miss those weeks of beautiful summer weather when we could be camping together as a family. But then I expect that the girls will want to get work this summer... not really sure what will happen from here on in. With Daughter #1 now 16 yrs of age.... she has been wanting to work... we just been having a bit of a show down on where. Daughter #2 is 15 yrs of age and is also starting to want to get a job.... on that one we will see.
Anyway, the day is moving forward and thee are bread rolls waiting to be shaped so I guess I had better get to my day.... the 1st of February..... aren't you glad that the worst is over?!
As I was heading off to bed last night I discovered that a load of laundry that I had forgotten about earlier in the day had been taken out of the dryer and dumped on my bed for folding... it was not what I wanted to see when I was ready and prepared for bed... however, I folded it and put it away. And then carried on with my bed going task. I slept really well but then this morning a most unexpected thing happened.
Promptly at 7:14 a.m. I crawled out of bed and headed downstairs to let the rabble out and get breakfast for the dear ones. I was busy frying eggs when Teapot entered the kitchen and began to laugh. He was staring at my hair.... I figured that it was probably a mess on the back with a bit of a hens arse going on but no... when Teapot finished cracking up he came over and pulled a Bounce Sheet from my hair.... !
Teapot: Trying to deal with mid-winter static.... are you?
Me: Ooops... (hee hee)!
Well, it's a new month.... the month of pink and red... of hearts and romance. For me the most important thing is that we are definitely noticing the change in the amount of daylight. At half past eight... when Teapot and the Daughters head off to school, the sky is certainly lighter.... almost daylight. It is wonderful to know that each day is now adding at least 6 minutes of extra daylight. In one week that is 42 minutes of extra light. Now how can one not notice that! Yesterday I heard a Chickadee make a distinctive mating call... Now I know it is too early for them to mate and starting hatching their young but I do wonder if they start looking for this season's mate so that they can have a head start when spring actually comes. Perhaps Valentine's is for the Chickadees too!
I hardly ever think of the sheep but I do have to say that I will miss lambing season.... not that it didn't have it's disappointments and heavy work... especially if you had to bottle feed a lamb.... but I will miss those little wee soft lambs bouncing around the yard. But lambs grow up and become demanding pains in the ass.... I don't miss that.
Already Teapot and I are starting to think of summer plans. He has been asked to go on two trips so far with the JCRs. While I love the money he receives when working with JCRs in the summer, I do miss those weeks of beautiful summer weather when we could be camping together as a family. But then I expect that the girls will want to get work this summer... not really sure what will happen from here on in. With Daughter #1 now 16 yrs of age.... she has been wanting to work... we just been having a bit of a show down on where. Daughter #2 is 15 yrs of age and is also starting to want to get a job.... on that one we will see.
Anyway, the day is moving forward and thee are bread rolls waiting to be shaped so I guess I had better get to my day.... the 1st of February..... aren't you glad that the worst is over?!
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