Wabbits, And All The Junk That Is My Life

Today is shearing day.... or hair cut day for the bunnies.  I've decided that I really can't leave it any longer. They will be so cold if I trim their fur and then we have a cold snap.  But I have checked the weather forecast on three different web sites and they are all calling for above freezing temperatures for the next week. That's good because even though I don't intend on trimming the bunnies down to their skin, I do want to get the best staple that I can.  But then I do want the bunnies to have enough fur grown back in time for the really cold weather.  I have learned that the best angora comes from keeping your animals trimmed every three to four months. The angora doesn't get a chance to get matted and they don't chew on it to rid themselves of those pesky lumps... too much fur means a sick wabbit.... and we don't want that.  Some bunnies can be combed and that will do the trick but I have read some real horror stories about bunnies ingesting their own fur and then dying from associated problems.

Yesterday I had intended on finishing up a spinning sample for my level 5 homework but life interjected and I ended up moving furniture around at Pop's house. Once I got him settled I came home in time to get supper on the table and then I was so pooped that spinning was too much for my poor tired back to handle.  I did card the fibre-blend that I am working on and it looks lovely... hopefully it will spin up just as nicely. I am hoping to get some of the book work done today as well. I have five samples now to go in my book with the next one being spun today. That's six samples... if I keep this up I will be finished in no time at all.... (snort!)

As for the loom... the loom is in the works.  I finally was able to get in touch with the lady who is selling it.  I have a friend coming for a spinning day tomorrow and hopefully if everything works out then she will bring the loom with her. However, I am not holding my breath considering how difficult this whole loom purchase has become. Still, October 26th I have an dentist appointment and I will pick it up then if it doesn't work out tomorrow.

So that's it. Not a lot happening around here other than the normal... though I do start Knit Night again tonight after a hiatus of five long months.  I am looking forward to seeing the knitting gang again.  Daughter #2 is staying home today as she has developed some odd sensitivity in her shoulder that is causing her quite a bit of pain... whether it is muscular or nerve related we are not sure but I will be calling the doctor today for an appointment since we have been trying to self treat for over a week now. October seems so mundane it hardly bares writing about it.  Hallow'een is coming and maybe that will provide fodder for blogging.... but then I shouldn't complain since who knows what excitement might come... and it might not be excitement I want!

I will wish you all a good day and I will wish you a sunset like the one that came and went as I was coming home from Pop's house last evening.

Marvelous eh?

Loom Issues Continued

So I still haven't been able to sort out the loom situation.  Obviously the lady who is selling it is not wanting to sell it very badly.  I have not been able to get in touch with her. I've left messages but she is either not getting them or just doesn't care. D-mn!

Well I guess it will require a drive to FSJ.... ; \

A Good Morning For A Little Of The Blogs I Love, Some CBC, And Some Spinning

I had a lovely comment this morning from that lady who got me started on blogging in the first place. So I responded in kind and wished that she would be more consistent in her blogging... (it only takes a couple of minutes to post... really!!! and I wish some of you would blog or blog more, as case may be). Then I sat here with the intention of catching up on some of my favorites.... Yarn Harlot this morning is worth reading. Oh how I hooted..... I can't believe anyone in their right mind would "dry" their sweater in the oven...
The House Of Edward was sweet too. (All men could do with reading that one).  I mean not every man gives cool gifts like, antique bronze kaleidoscopes, first edition fairy tales, hand painted lockets.


It is a blustery day and the wind takes the curtains in my room and blows them across our faces. Teapot dreamed that it was spruce trees as he walked through the woods. But I just woke right up as the curtain drifted across my face. It was lovely to know that the first Chinnook of the season is here and it is not even winter yet.  It would have been a good day for a canoe ride... too bad Teapot has to work.


I have been working on my level 5 homework. I have three samples done and I will be working on more today. It feels good to know that I am on my way.  So far the samples have been coming off the wheel with assurance that they will be just fine. Some of the nylon ones were under plied but this was quickly remedied and so, for the next one, I will know to put a little extra ply in it.

From left to right... Bamboo, Nylon, and Nylon/wool in 50/50%.

I am not overly gone on working with some of these fibres though I do have to say that there is a place for a little nylon in sock yarn.


Some people think that Bamboo is a new and lovely yarn with a renewable resource. Bamboo grows quick and therefore is a good alternative to some more natural yarns and certainly is better than acrylic which comes from petroleum based products.... but in the end Bamboo is highly processed and as a cellulose based yarn, is regenerated through an extruded process that is as highly manufactured and chemically nasty as any of the petroleum based products... in buying it... don't think that you are doing something good for the environment. It is not a green product. As a matter of a fact Soy silk and Bamboo and NGO (corn silk), and silk Latte, and Banana are all similar in how they are processed and as such are no better than any of the rayon type yarns.


(By the way the pink (yes pink) table cloth against which the previous picture was taken was a Thrift store find and  hand woven/hand made.... I can handle pink in that situation. )

So I am off to listen to some CBC while I spin a 80/20 nylon/wool blend yarn... I hope this one comes out as nicely as the previous two...


See ya.... (go have a look at Yarn Harlot... it will give you a good laugh.)

Loom Issues

After I sold the sheep I had intended on using the money or at least some portion of it for something of value so that the money didn't get dribbed and drabbed away in small increments for water and gas and lunches at school and so on... you know all the things in daily life that need a little extra cash and when you check your budget at the end of the months you've blown $300.00 and don't really know on what you have spent it. So I made the decision that it was time I purchased a little loom... not just the Rigid Heddle looms that I have which in the eyes of most weavers doesn't even rank as a loom. (Mind you having said that I will probably get poo for that statement from weavers that read here. And Ashford has come out with their version of the Knitters Loom (I have one) which is taken the weaving and knitting world by storm... if that's possible)!  Now, I have been eyeing up the loom of one of my instructors, a really nice little table loom that I had had a look at when I was in Olds.... and I have been diligently saving my pennies for it and if it is still for sale next June then I might... just might have enough money saved for it. So when the sheep sale went through, I started to sound out people in my guild about buying a wee floor loom.

Problem #1:
I don't have a whole lot of room in this house for a floor loom. I need a small floor loom.

Problem #2:
Finding a small floor loom is not the easiest thing to do.... since there are very few on the market.

Tackling these two problems has not proven easy. My dream floor loom is the Leclerc Compact loom in an 8 shaft. Or if I could find a 12 shaft Minerva.... which is virtually impossible since Leclerc doesn't even make the Minerva anymore... then I would be happy with either. The reason for these is that both of those looms are 32 inches wide.... which translates into 36 inches on the outside of the loom... the smallest floor looms on the market.  Perfect for under my steps here in the house.  But more importantly they are both Jack looms and that is what I want since I absolutely hate.... hate... hate.... counter balance.

So with a little money in my pocket the search was on to find a wee loom for the right price... and the right size and most importantly a Jack....

I have a friend who has this acumen for sniffing out spinning and weaving equipment when no one else can.  She had heard of an ex-weaver who had a little 32 inch loom for sale but she didn't know if it was a Jack or not. So Saturday we went to have a look at it. After digging through someone's shed and looking like the proverbial neighbourhood hoodlums (the lady who owned the shed was at work) we found said loom and dragged it into the daylight.  Looking closely we discovered that the reed was in horrible condition with rust basically ruining it... (this was not a terrific problems since if CLR wouldn't take the rust off then you can still purchase reeds to fit that loom) and it was the perfect size though only a four harness.  But then we noticed the pulley on top.... hmmm... it was a counter balance and I absolutely didn't want that. So back into the shed went the loom. That night I came home with disappointment in every fibre of my shoulders. "Pooy," I thought... "no loom."

Next morning I was up early as Teapot and his nephew (The Wonder Boy) headed off for a day of hunting... (still no moose or elk).... I decided to look online at Leclerc looms. And there it was, in all it's glory... the loom my friend and I had pulled out of the shed the day before.... and according to the website it is a Jack... hmmm!  It is an odd Jack as it turns out,  since it has some pullies on the top, thus our confusion in thinking it was a counter balance. Hmm!

So this morning I am calling the lady who owns the loom and I am confirming with her that I want to buy it. It is cheap.... cheap... cheap... for a floor loom... which is great... it is a little flimsier than a floor loom should be and it is no longer in production though the website confirms that you can still order parts for it. Still, I think it will do until I have saved enough moola to buy the loom of my dreams.... (actually looms since I still really want that table loom that my instructor is selling).

Have a look at the one I am buying....

I'm pretty sure it will work... at least for now.

Crazy Daughters And Their Crazy Friends On Crazy Sundays

The Chicken girl is here. And the Daughters are nuts. I have one that is up-side-down on the settee and the other is gurgling instead of talking. She is argueing that she is diagonal and the other is complaining about her cheap vinyl shoes from Jasper which she thinks are awesome and leather.  How do you know it is Sunday afternoon in the Nichols house.  We are all really bored and this brings out the crazy side of our personalities. The cat is now hanging over my head.

I think this is enough stupidity for one afternoon...

Hope your day is not as boring as ours and that craziness is only minor in your house. 'Cause it's really taken ahold in ours!!

Simon and Garfunkel

Most people will look at this photo and will know who these two gents are. I can't remember a time when Simon and Garfunkel weren't a part of my life.  As a girl my sister learned how to play piano (I couldn't or didn't because I had no thumb on my right hand) but I could sing and did I! When my sister turned 12 she was given a songbook of Simon and Garfunkels hits. She learned how to play many of them but the one I remember the best is Bridge Over Troubled Water. She would play and I would sing and my grandfather loved it.... so much so that he recorded us on a really bad cassette player and we still have that cassette (but no player to play it on).

I was tickled this morning to learn that Paul Simon has just turned 70 years of age.... and he keeps on truckin'.  He has just come out this year with an original album and recently he has come out with an album of previous hits. That to me is just awesome.  Now I realize that a lot of people out there will say that Graceland was Paul Simon's best album ever but I disagree... I just love Rhythm Of The Saints. The Daughters and I will groove out in the living room listening to that album fairly regularly.  So I am looking forward to listening to these new albums.

The other evening I went for a walk with Teapot and on reentering our driveway I was truly impressed with two trees standing sentinel over the driveway and house in the full moon's glow. One tree is a Pine tree that so far has been able to withstand the onslaught of the Pine Beetle and the other is a twisted and gnarled spruce tree. They have been standing over the driveway since we first moved into this house and somehow in the moonlight of the other night they made me feel like I was coming home to two good friends. So I named them.... they are... you guessed it... Simon and Garfunkel.

Teapot thinks I'm nuts....
I think you should just "Slow Down You're Movin' Too Fast...."  and check out the trees or smell the roses... it's all the same.

"Feelin' Groovy"

Tick Tock... Time Goes On

Tomorrow morning will mark the third anniversary of Ye Olde Batt (the blog). I have been looking back on the last few years through the many posts that I have completed.  A year ago I had decided to remove the Followers List since I knew that the list was not a true reflection of those who were following along with the blog (it all seemed to add to the idea that blogging was a popularity contest and I certainly wasn't interested in that).  As time goes by, I have gained some new followers and I have lost some of the old ones. Meanwhile there are a few who remain steadfast and true followers.... and to those I give a heart felt thank you.

I have enjoyed, over the years, writing for this blog, and while sometimes my writing has been funny and entertaining, sometimes the mundane parts of life have affected me and my writing has reflected that. Through it all, this blog has remained a way for me to keep track of the events of my life and the lives of those around me. It has given me an outlet to talk about and keep track of this little farm and my business which waits patiently to become one.  It has also given me a way to keep track of the joys and anguishes of becoming a Master Spinner. Always it has been a reference for my life.

While I don't share everything in my life (sometimes things are just too close to the heart to share with anyone, let alone with everyone) I have tried to share the more interesting parts. In this fast paced life where Blackberries and iPhones rule, where staying "in touch" is the norm, where computer screens rule, and social media have become the foundations for relationships, where face to face conversations seem to be on the decline, blogging has provided me an opportunity to meet new people and connect with old friends and family with whom I have lost contact. Through it all, my blogging has allowed you, the reader, into a part of my world.... and I hope you have found something to enrich your world too.

When I first started my blogging life I had heard from a friend that she had started a blog and I thought, well, if she can do it so can I. I wasn't really sure though if I could write about interesting things enough to make it worth my while. I had no clue about how to actually work a blog and the whole thing seemed a little daunting. So I decided to jump in and treat it like it was a journal with entries as often as I could manage. And so here I sit three years later still trying to write cohesively, coherently and responsibly.  I hope that I have managed to achieve that....

I hope most of all that my life will continue to offer a little humour, a little knowledge, and a little bit cheer into your life and I hope you will stick with me as I try to continue to do that.

The one and only thing that I would add,  is that I would ask you, the reader, to occasionally drop me a line in the comments as it really is encouraging to get an occasional comment and I do try to respond when I can...

Oh and by the way... here's a statistic or two for you... I have written 742 posts over three years which works out to approximately a post every second day.

In the meantime stay tuned as tomorrow I will be back with an update on my level 5 homework which I once again am attacking. (I have a really awesome Bamboo sample that I just took off the wheel...)

And so it goes.... tick tock... time goes on.