Silent Sunday

The Velveteen Rabbit

No, no, don't worry. Crazy Esther is still happily munching hay in the barn this morning. Her worn out body, legs that don't work, tattered horns and shabby fleece with brown and white spots just make me think of the story of the Velveteen Rabbit and how a much loved stuffed animal becomes real.



Yesterday's cold was hard on her. Today, sitting in the sun, she looks pretty happy. Hospice care.



I spun up a goodly amount of her yarn Thursday.



Yesterday I plied it.

Sometimes I spin two bobbins full and then use my lazy kate to ply the two bobbins together. Since I didn't need much yarn, I just spun one bobbin, wound it off into a center pull ball and then plied it back onto the bobbin from the two ends, inside and out.



This usually works fine, but near the end the ball can collapse on itself and create a huge tangle. When it gets close, I pick the ball up off the floor, run a finger through the inside and keep everything straight as I finish.



This may fall into the category of too much information, but you typically spin the singles with the spinning wheel turning to the right to put twist into the loose fiber. When you ply, you then do so with the wheel turning to the left. As it winds back onto the bobbin, some of the twist you originally stored into the singles untwists and the plied yarn becomes a little puffy-er.

Notice how full the bobbin of two ply is compared to the same amount of yarn as a single ply in the first picture.



There are a couple steps between taking it off the bobbin and winding it off into yet another ball, but that's a post for another day. This is the finished yarn.

I cast on and started knitting the Crazy Esther cowl last night and am hoping to hit it hard this weekend and see if I can finish it - a challenge (for me ;-). I'm putting on a picot edging - another challenge (for me ;-). I try to learn something new with each project, big or small.

Enjoy your weekend!

If You Don't Like The Weather In Kentucky...

...wait an hour...or 10 minutes.

Yesterday Stella and I finally celebrated our birthdays. Hers is the 16th and mine is the 20th. Of August. Hey, it's been a long summer.

Every year we go to Evan's Orchard in nearby Georgetown, buy cider, spice donuts and most importantly, fried apple pies. It was warm and sunny and we sat out on their porch for over an hour.



I came home, headed to the wool house and around 3:00 heard thunder and it started to snow/soft hail. By 3:15 it was pouring rain.



Around 4ish it stopped, the sun came back out and the sheep ventured out...



And decided it was okay to go back to eatin'.



Next in the natural progression of things comes the Adventure Chickens, who, if it's raining, really aren't that adventurous. Miss Ewenice is a bit undecided as well.



The sky was still dark over Stella's, but the horses didn't care.



And as the sun set, the clouds rolled back in bringing a cold front that has us all wearing jackets, hats and mittens this morning.

Except for this last picture, all the shots were taken from inside the wool house through a window and screen. I kind of like the screen "filter".

So, Um, Have You Checked The Calendar?

Maybe because it stayed so hot for so long, I got lulled into thinking it was still summer. I'd forgotten what a dreary day looked (and felt) like.



Oh, yeah.

At least the sheep are happy.

And honestly, I don't really mind either. It's the perfect excuse to hang out in the wool house...



...which was 54 degrees yesterday. Time to fire up the Jotul stove!

Ah yes, much better.

So, winter is almost here and this is the time of year when most fiber folks thoughts turn to the holidays. Finally. I mean, there might be a couple of you out there who have all your holiday knitting done (and should just keep your mouths shut about it!), but while we've all maybe thought about it, we've just checked the calendar and the thoughts are quickly turning to panic.



After all that you might be thinking this knitted sample must be for a Christmas gift, but, alas, it is not. I finally took a break and spun some of Crazy Esther's wool. It's a little bit fussy to spin (getting old ain't for sissies - her, not me! ;-), but is so soft (she's always been finer than probably the breed standard would approve - Jacob wool should be pretty "medium") that I have zero concern about wearing it next to my skin.

My original idea was to make a fancy lace Esther shawl, but after I realized how soft, cuddly and warm it felt and how tough it might be to spin a perfectly even and, more importantly, strong lace yarn, I think that would be better left to some Cotswold. Maybe a Buddy shawl :-). So, I'm going to start with a quick knit lace cowl, move onto some cabled mittens or gloves, add a snuggy hat or headband and Esther can keep me warm all winter. I think she'd like that.

Luckily I think I've finally figured out the general idea for this year's Christmas card. I can fine tune it while I spin. Whew! I don't need a ton of yarn and I picked a pattern that I feel will knit up quickly, not be so lacy that it's not warm, be sturdy enough for daily wear and in case I don't finish it before Esther's no longer with us, will hopefully make me feel less sad. Leaves of grass.

Since the weather's cold and I'm officially back in the wool house, let's start up The Thursdays again this winter. Barring any national holidays, illness or other calamities, the wool house will be open each Thursday from 1:00 - 4:00 for anyone who'd like to come out and spin, knit, rug hook, weave or work on any projects, say, for Christmas.

Yikes!

Knit Speak

Many years ago - 18 to be exact - when I was in and out of the vet's office trying to save a little lamb's life, Dr. Cleveland told me I needed to talk to Mary Hal Davis. In fact, everyone told me I needed to talk to Mary Hal. "She knows all about sheep and what to do with their wool..."

Being too backwards and shy to call up an obvious local legend in not only the sheep, but also art world, I missed out. Several years later when our paths crossed at a mutual friend's house and I finally met the infamous Mary Hal, I quickly realized she would have been more than happy to help me out and probably even delighted I had called. If I had called. Lesson learned.



Mary raised sheep for many, many years and I used to pass her farm on my way to work. Big rolling "horse farm" fields full of sheep. The Elkhorn Creek runs nearby and she had a small wooded paddock nestled near a bend in the road. She had her rams in there and several rolls of hay were set along the steep hillside.

Frosted roll bales, much like painted fences, will steam as the sun comes up and the frost starts to burn off. As I passed by early one winter morning, with the sun just starting to peak through the trees, I found her toasty warm, frost covered sheep sleeping up on top of the big frosty bales. All steaming. It was so beautiful I had to pull over. Sometimes I wish I'd had a good camera with me that morning; sometimes I think maybe it's best in my memory. Regardless, it was a gift.



The gift most people receive from Mary is probably best summed up by "Show and Tell". She's always working and studying on something and is more than happy to show you and teach you what she's learned.



As soon as she pulled out her bag of goodies, the hugable sheep had to play second fiddle to the beautiful handspun hand knits. It was the highlight of the day!
























I wish I'd had the true video camera on hand and left it running the entire time. This short clip is a special treat for those of us who have gathered around Mary Hal like this for many years and a chance for everyone else to meet her.