Melting

Posted in Fun on the farm, Fun with fiber, Gardening by 4theloveoffiber

Day by day the snow is quickly leaving.

Birds now go out during the day

While two dogs keep an eye out for winged and four legged predators

Garlic is popping up through the soil

And several rows of potatoes have been planted.

The trampoline has been put up after weeks of begging

Repairs have happened to the out door coop and I will say, it was nerve wracking with high winds, to not only be in it holding on to the roof while the sides were getting screwed in, but also to watch my husband up high during those winds. Though I think the dogs chasing each other while Toph was on the ladder was worst of all, I definitely took a dog head to the knee when I stepped between Runa and the ladder and she ran into me.

I piled my first yarn on my new wheel,

It had been spun up on my Edam, but I was wanting to play on the kiwi. I know awhile back people commented that my older wheel was not a Wernekinck Edam, however a spinning group I am in has confirmed that it is indeed an Edam.

As I am getting ready to sell it I wanted to know for sure.

This isn’t at all the colorway I was going for but it has grown on me and now I’m trying to find the perfect pattern for it.

Late last summer a friend asked me to spin the hair from her doodle, the fibers are short and they shed when spun, but I blended them in with some Romney wool and I wasn’t sure how much yarn I would get from this dog, but I’ve hardly made a dent in the ziplock bag.

Have a great day folks!

13Mar2019

Some people like to build legos, I like to build…

Posted in Fun with fiber by 4theloveoffiber

When I said the other week that I had ordered something to help me along with my crafting, I never expected the reveal to take this long.

My package arrived last week….well sort of, the mail person suddenly decided that they were no longer driving boxes up to the house. I can understand that and respect their feelings now that we have two dogs, one being a jumper, I probably wouldn’t want to deal with that either.

Instead of a package I was left with a “Sorry we missed you, you can pick up your parcel after three” note 😭 a very sad not to get at 11:30 am when you are anticipating something magnificent.

So I picked up my package, gazed at the lovely wool and started putting the pieces together, but then something happened…a duplicate piece.

Uh oh. I got in touch with the dealer who had never before seen something like this and contacted Ashford straight away! Within a matter of hours it was settled, Ashford was sending me a new treadle. Friends said “why not flip the treadle and drill holes and use it in the meantime?”

Because this is built from the bottom up! No way I was going to build it and take it apart again….well now that it’s together I doubt I could anyway.

I waited and waited and waited for my new treadle, trying to occupy my mind on something other than a package coming from New Zealand.

Behold! Yesterday when I got home there was my correct treadle!!! There was also a note from Kate at Ashford apologizing, THANK YOU KATE!

I started building….and then stopped because there was food to cook, people to feed, and dishes to wash.

After dinner I went back to it

Here she is, the new Ashford Kiwi 3. I am in love.

Have a great day folks!!

15Apr2018

New babies

Posted in Farming, Fun with fiber, Gardening by 4theloveoffiber

We have been hit with the flu, school has been missed, and house work has been ignored. We’ve spent our time cuddled under blankets with books and “pizza”

Or consuming large amounts of coffee to get us through the day

We won’t let it get us down, there is far to much to do.

Despite the freezing rain coming down outside, we have flowers popping up

We have veggies of all kinds making appearances in our indoor greenhouse

and we have 150 new babies

Making friends with old babies.

My wheel has been fixed and the cake batter romney yarn has been plyed.

Wool combs have arrived

and I can already see a large difference between combing and carding, also carding already combed fiber is softer than regular carded fiber.

The merino for instance. Combed vs carded. Not perfect as I am realizing this merino was picked out when I had no idea how to pick wool and I have a lot of second cuts it appears. I know better now.

Look how nice and clean the romney looks, free of dirt and neps.

Combed and carded together.

My mind is racing with different ideas for this wool. Will I stick it on Etsy, will I dye it and spin it? I’m just not sure. I can say that I am very excited for the fiber festival in a few weeks.

Have a great day folks!

30Mar2018

The wheel isn’t turning

Posted in Fun on the farm, Fun with fiber, Gardening, Sharing is caring!, Uncategorized by 4theloveoffiber

And that is because my spinning wheel broke today, I am hoping that it is an easy fix because I was in the middle of plying this gorgeous romney I blended together.

I have been having so much fun blending batts lately, I wanted to finally spin some up to see how they turn out….I’m also trying to keep myself occupied spinning these batts while I impatiently await my recently purchased wool combs from Susan’s fiber…I won’t lie, the fact that she allows sheep to roam around her shop was the reason I choose to buy from her 😂

I have so much merino waiting in my basement to play with, but it does not turn out well when I run into through my drum carder….the one I spent almost two years researching…the one that claimed it was for fine fiber like merino (it was written right in the description!!!)

I am excited to try out these combs and see how well they work (Hopefully better than my handmade combs 😞 not very pretty & it’s just tetanus waiting to happen)

The snow is starting to melt, the chickens are laying over 80 eggs a day, we have 150 chicks arriving any day now (I hope) & seeds have been started for this years garden.

We have been making plans for when the snow melts. A wattle fence is on the list, more fruit trees & berry bushes (Elderberry Jam anyone?).

The fiber festival is happening soon, because of course the 60lbs in my basement just isn’t enough, one must try out all wool options before choosing a breed of sheep.

Another big trip will be to Fedco in Maine, for their annual tree sale, lots of fun planned for the year!

Have a great weekend folks!

27Feb2018

Learning

Posted in Fun with fiber, kids by 4theloveoffiber

When my kids take interest in a hobby I enjoy, I am always tickled pink!

I was slightly nervous sharing my wheel, silently cursing at myself for giving my other wheel away. Biting my tongue and trying to keep myself from interrupting with a “hey, you are holding that wool too tight” or “you are too close with your hands, back up”

Then we moved on to sewing by hand, did you know that “sewing by hand is actually super easy.”, as someone who dislikes sewing by hand, I wish I took to it as easy as he has.

Even mom is learning new things

Dying wool in mason jars for one, I don’t own a microwave and lacked the patience to dye one color at a time.

Reminds me of Easter.

Have a great day folks!

13Nov2015

Birthdays and Moving days

Posted in Uncategorized by 4theloveoffiber

Last week my baby turned SIX

Insanity right?? He’s now starting to read small books and spell words and do one digit addition. Holy moly!!

We celebrated a day early and he went on his merry way with his sister to spend the weekend at his grandparents house while Toph and I finished packing up the house.

We made a quick job of packing the uhaul and scrubbing the old house clean, loaded up the critters and headed on out.

Everyone say “bye old house”

We have been in our new house since Sunday night, we are mostly unpacked…. My craftroom will most likely be the last room unboxed

I’ve been getting a little help from the organizing queen.

You might have noticed something in that top picture, something I didn’t previously have (because I sure the heck would have posted something about it.)

That’s right folks!! Thanks to the sellers who left this for me, I am now the proud owner of a second spinning wheel.

It appears to have the original flyer, I did a little research and it appears that this wheel was made by a wheelwright named Jeremie Ouellet, who was from Canada. I need to read up on it more…..and buy a drive band….and test it out lol.

Moose has made a new friend since moving to our new home

This is Amy, she is sweet, cuddly, and friendly. She lives down the road and comes by to visit every morning.

We are very excited to be starting this new venture, we’ve been walking around the fields, envisioning what critters will go where, where we will have our garden, how many chicken wagons we will build, and what breed of sheep we will get 😉.

Mostly, I am looking forward to canning all the yummy veggies and fruits we will be growing (did I mention we have three kinds of fruit trees, grape vines, raspberry bushes, and ever so many blueberry bushes?), I already found the perfect place for storing our canned goods

Have a great night folks!

30Apr2015

I know why silk yarn is expensive

Posted in Uncategorized by 4theloveoffiber

It’s because it’s hard to ply

I tried so hard not to waste any of it, but after thirty minutes of struggling, I lost about half a foot (finally untangled the part I cut after I finished plying)

14 wpi (wraps per inch), and the yardage is not long, about 47 yards. However I had a one oz roving, so the yardage isn’t surprising.

The ears aren’t sewn on, but I swear they are the same size!!! Leif’s hobbes is finally looking like a tiger, and despite my sudden disinterest in anything to do with yarn this week, (it’s cold again, and I don’t want to remove myself from the confines of heavy blankets.), I will continue until this project is complete.

Yesterday we looked at farms, only two stood out, but alas one was in need of a big upgrade for heating issues, so that leaves us with our front runner (for now, looking at a few more next week). So folks of NH, if this fireplace looks familiar

Congratulations, we are seriously considering making you an offer on your beautiful home (also, I saw a gray dear while walking the property, I’ve never before seen a gray deer!). If this your farm is for sale, and this isn’t it, fear not we are still checking out a few other options before we make our final decision.
Have a nice day folks!!

15Sep2013

So I bought something today

Posted in Uncategorized by 4theloveoffiber

Yes, you read that right! I am now the owner of my very own wheel!

This wheel is called a Wernekinck Edam made by Richard Wernekinck in Holland.

A woman who is preparing to travel to Indonesia, popped by our guild meeting today. She brought with her this wheel, and several enormous bags of wool.
As soon as she gave her asking price for the wheel, I claimed it. This wheel was meant for me!

It is beautiful and smooth and sigh, it will make long winter days pass by quickly!

I’m currently looking for a finish for my wheel, I’m torn between Red Mohogany & English chestnut

Have a great weekend folks!

21Jun2013

Someday…..

Posted in Uncategorized by 4theloveoffiber

I will finish my sweater, I am hell bent on it. The sleeves are the only thing I have left to do, you’d think it would be a breeze as I just need to seed stitch until I reach twelve inches, unfortunately I continue to find little mistakes here and there that get under my skin.

I’ve taken a step away from knitting for a few days, I need to finish the sandals & sewing a linen work shirt for my husband, then I will finish the bartók tunik, so I can continue on with my Jane Austen project.

In other news for a guild project, I have washed & cleaned fleece. I am now waiting for my hand carders to arrive in the mail so I can move on to the carding, spinning, & creating something special. What am I going to make?! I’m not sure but I’m sure something in these books will inspire me

Now those are not all of my books, however they are the ones that my husband gave my for Christmas, so it would be fantastic to use a pattern in one of these books.

I’m very excited about the carders, my husband was debating back and forth about it as he did not want to pay the shipping ($13), orders over $100 are free. I casually mentioned several hundred times, that we could just add the spinning wheel I want into the cart and bypass shipping all together, that solution was declined. Oh well, such is life.

Carrack likes to free range with the ladies.

Have a great weekend folks.

10Jun2013

Tick tock

Posted in Uncategorized by 4theloveoffiber

Well, I still have to finish the sleeves. My deadline was yesterday, however I was having fun learning how to spin yarn on a spinning wheel!! I joined a spinning guild and met a lot of awesome people, who welcomed me into their guild and taught me how to spin on a wheel. I also learned the correct way to spin on a drop spindle!

Have a nice night folks!