Two Feet High and Rising

Finally, a real honest to god winter storm. This is what we usually get in early January.

Talk about a delay! The forecasters were spot on with it too. The flurries started yesterday afternoon right around 3:00p.m. The wind gusts were hitting close to 40 MPH and the temps stabilized at the mid 20's. I'm not gonna guess what the wind chill made it feel like, but at 4:00 both Gene and I went out to blanket up the mini's before they got too wet or cold. He baled and went back to the house, I stayed out to do last minute checks, feed and snug up my barn and tractor as best I could. It felt good having the new little stall barn close to the hay barn. Worse case I can hand carry hay to it, a portion at a time. Also it gives me great piece of mind knowing they have a fairly secure area to brave the weather. From the tracks around the paddock this morning I would have to say, they did stay in the shelter a fair amount of the time.

The view at 8:30 p.m. last night on the last out for the dogs.

This morning I was greeted by two feet of light powder. The high winds had laid down over night but they are still skulking around waiting to wake up and blow through the day. Bob the tractor was, as always, dependable even though we were going through drifts well over his chassis. On mornings like this his steady diesel hum is soothing and appreciated. He coos that we can get through anything should we have to and I believe him.

Stella is happy I had the foresight to go round up stray and lost Timmy's. When the snow is this deep we don't allow her to take them out. There is nothing so heart wrenching as seeing her cold and shivering, barking and crying in the snow looking for those damn balls. I learned that lesson last year.

Robin on the other hand is perfectly fine with a warm bed and nylabone. No human intervention needed.

Today, I'm going to hang out and watch the snow fly, a little weaving, a little sewing, a little cooking and certainly some ball tossing.

Parting shot: Look into my eyes. You are getting sleepy. Now toss the ball, toss the ball, toss the ball

Bias Binding, How Do I Dislike Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

It is a mystery to me why I would have picked a pattern to actually make that relied so heavily on bias binding. A classic, "What was I thinking????" moment. And then to follow through on making said binding and applying it while squinting through bloodshot, red and irritated eyes, only the Universe will know for sure. I am begging a cold and flu addled brain. Now you all probably think that all's well that end's well and my complaining is much ado over nothing. Well, the binding came out absolutely horrible.

My kingdom for a good technique as a substitute. Love's labour was not lost. The garment, a poncho of good hard tweedy wool, was specifically slated for wear around the house and barn.

If it had come out well I would have worn it to town until the hay became embedded in it, or the first smelly slobber stain. You may not have seen it, but I would know it was there. I will say it is quite comfortable and just the right amount of warmth for over a turtleneck in the house. So even if it was a comedy of errors, it is still a wonderful and useful addition to my working wardrobe.

Since I am feeling much better, I managed some towel warp weaving.

This lovely yellow is towel two, the first was the soft jade green I used on one of the pillowcase hems. The pattern a simple triple 4 shaft bird's eye. I am quite happy with it and can see these doing fine service in the kitchen. There is a fair amount of tracking on this, mostly due to the fact that my fine reed was still tied up on the pillowcases when I wound, threaded and sleyed this warp. I believe most of it will disappear after it's first wash in hot water and then the hot dryer. The second color of silk is half wound onto a cone and hopefully I'll get that done and be working on the warping board this weekend. I am going to do a fancy pinwheel design using the eight shafts on the Delta. I've found three different drafts and need to sit down and look at all of them for differences in the tie-ups and how they affect the pattern. They are all so close on a quick inspection as far as the woven pattern

Fabric has been cut for a second pair of pants. I have sized the pattern down to a straight medium.

This fabric is a cotton/poly blend twill left over from the slipcover for the large sofa. I have some lovely pants fabrics ready to go, but since I am playing with sizing and also new smaller pockets and placement, I figured I would use this.

They will make fine sturdy pants even if they aren't the prettiest.

A quick note about what's coming up on this blog and Michelle's over at Boulderneigh.

We'll be doing posts tomorrow about some wonderful products that are local to each of us. Michelle had the idea and I have often thought about mentioning all together some of the wonderful stuff available locally to me in one place. If any of you would like to join in on your respective blogs and tell us about local to you fab products, please, do!

And of course, there will be the yarn drawing winners posted on Monday.

Finally, the parting shot. Stuck or Not? That is the Question. And it needs some explanation.

My man Dennett, now that he is about 18, hard of hearing and vision impaired (although not 3 legged which had been a requirement for being off leash on walks), has earned the right to be off leash in areas close to the house and under very close supervision. Face it, should he even see a squirrel, he can no longer out run me. Being still an independent cuss he takes off (really, imagine slowly wanders), towards the woods and into deeper snow. It looks like he's stuck, so I snap my photo and go to help him. Ah, he was just playing keep away! When he saw me come into range he plowed through that snow and into the woods trying to make a break for it, a very slow break but the spirit still burns bright. He also knows that there is less snow under trees! You go kiddo, I'm right behind you. And yes, I carried him back through the worst of it, while allowing him all the dignity he deserves. ;)

Running By

Well, it seems like that, actually I'm sitting with coffee to gear up and fortify myself for going out to feed. The thorough fall cleaning is in full swing. The parents arrive this weekend and there is still a lot to do on the punch list plus all the regular stuff.

Thursday I am going to treat myself to some time with my favorite riding buddy and Friday I will do a lick and a promise run through the house again. The open work linen and alpaca scarf has GOT to get off the Hollandia and it would be nice to wash a couple of the dogs. BEWARE FURBUTTS! You know who you are.

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to my patient and generous friend Linda who gave me a whole day of her time and use of her sewing machines to help me get the 8 cushion covers done in time. I NEVER could have done it without you. And thank you too when for standing firm when I got cranky about the whole dang project. I will say the zippers you put in where much better than the ones I did get in, but by the 4th one it wasn't looking too bad. I promised you pictures and pictures you'll get on blog Saturday morning. I'm waiting until the last minute to put those suckers on. They are almost too pretty to use....almost! ;)

It will be sporadic blogging for the next two weeks. I'm so looking forward to the visit and hoping for sunny skies for a good part of the visit. Oregon in October can be fickle but she usually brings us some beautiful days.

Parting shots. No one adores me quite like Charlotte.

Look, Up in the Sky, It's Some Nut!

It was a busy weekend around here. I was hoofing along alone while DH took off for a trip up to Seaside OR to go paramotoring. Oh yes, folks, there is a certain flavor of nut that likes to strap on a lawnmower motor and jet around the sky with their para wing on. And I have one of those. He had a blast and showed up back on the doorstep at 3:30am Monday morning just as I was getting all the house critters fed. There was a lot of noise and excitement at both the arrival of feeding time and "Papa's" arrival.

So while Gene flew the friendly coastal skies of Oregon ( and saw whales) I did a little weaving. Having finished up the first pillowcase, started in on the second.

This one I decided to do a pale green for the weft and stay in pattern for the hem area, then of course, the 20/2 cream for the body of the case. At this update I have about 10 inches of cream body woven.

Wrote out some prayers for the warp waiting on the Julia loom, knitted a bit on the vest and waited for hay to arrive. And arrive it did. 14 tons have been delivered and stacked in my barn and all I had to do was write out a check. Easy peasy for me, but Gene usually sheds a tear or two. ;) This year we went with all second cutting and all small bales. One bale fits perfectly in the front end loader of Bob the tractor and is just right to feed out each meal. MUCH nicer than wrestling those 125# bales from last year. I did a happy dance, the horses did a happy dance, the goats did a happy dance. Gene was gone flying and avoided it all together. I brought up buckets of loose hay for a little snack while they unloaded to an audience of 10 ( 5 horses, 5 goats).

I will admit that Sunday I did a lot of football watching and a fair amount of reading, so rather than go through scores, I'll give you a run down on the current reading list.

In process is "Rosa" By Jonathan Nabb and after a rocky start I am finally into the book and enjoying it.

Finished and enjoyed was "Death in a Strange Country" by Donna Leon and is the start of a series of detective mysteries set in Venice Italy. The second in the series is already on my Kindle waiting to be read. Also read are two period mysteries written by C. S. Harris, "When Gods Die" and "What Angels Fear". I enjoyed both these series mysteries set in the early 1800's (Regency period) in England and there are more to be read!

Stacked up either on the Kindle or on the wish list, are the following books:

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life by Steven Kotler

The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam by Eliza Griswold

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser.

All the books listed here are available at Amazon even though I didn't do individual links.

Before I forget (again) I wanted to show you all this little charmer of a knitting book, Whimsical Knits 2 by Ysolda Teague.

Since I do seem to be spinning a little more and have some wonderful fibers/yarns available in smaller amounts, these patterns really appealed to me.

Lastly, Parting Shots.

Colors of September in the Greensprings

Mostly green and gold here, with a little rust thrown in for good measure.

Hard to get a lot of detail from the back of a horse and I was just content enough up there not to want to get down. The Talent Irrigation Canal that runs at the very top of the property is a bird magnet.

The bushes were a twitter and a pair of grouse popped out ahead of us at one point. Made for a real ears forward moment! Cooper, being Cooper, was just lazy enough not to want to spook and instead settled for swiveling those ears around and giving the hiding spot the hairy eyeball as we went by. The canal is a mixed blessing. We don't get any benefit from it, but it does attract a lot of wildlife. That can be good and bad. I prefer not to use that road early in the morning when it is most active. It's a beautiful ride though and goes on for miles. Much of it is sided by woods but there is a place where it opens up into high chaparral. Some great views up there and a lot of rattlesnakes. We stick to the road.

Pine Trees

Well, let me tell you that tying up 11 treadles on a countermarche loom with a puppy and cat as helpers is time consuming. Even without the "helpers" it took some time. My Dad puts his Louet Spring up on buckets to do the tie-ups and I think I'm going to try the same thing with Hannah Hollandia next time around.

Hey Baby Delta is just too heavy to consider it.

The towels are in process and so far, I'm pretty happy with the pattern.

I am only going to do the border on one edge. I want these to be working towels and I think the pattern at both ends with the floats might render it less sturdy.

We'll only know after a hot wash and dry how it all works out. The organic cotton shrinks like crazy, so while it appears sleazy right now, it won't be once finished. The only bummer is I have to share the temple between this warp and the pillow case warp. I need another temple in this mid-range 22-30 inch size. For now I'll make do.

Stella has graduated from the baby bed (crate) to the big girl bed (ours). She is not yet an accepted member of the Bed Tack Gang, but she's carving out her little niche inch by inch and bad acting growl by growl. She's a noisy little sleeper, lots of moans and little grunting sounds. It makes Gene and I giggle. I have also found a way to play ball in the morning without anyone having to hear the loud rubber ball bounce around.

While I was organizing the studio buffet, I can across two large felted balls that I've had since I took a dye class at the Webster's.

They are perfect and once I'm done with the game I pull them up and give Stella her little not stuffed zebra. It's just too slimy right now for a picture, trust me on this.

On farm news, the weather has been surprisingly cool. The highest temp this past weekend was 62 degrees F during the day. It RAINED yesterday, most of the morning and part of the afternoon. Temps never got any higher than 55F and Gene started Rube up to take the chill off of the house. Summer will be swinging back through later in the week, but it looks like cool nights from now on.

Dandy cut his left rear lower leg and while it isn't deep it's a pretty angry looking wound and we are flushing it daily with cool water, keeping it clean and applying antibacterial agents. It obviously stings. He holds the foot up tight while I'm working on it but has never offered to strike out with it, even when I had to give it a good cleaning out when first discovered. He's always the gentleman. Yes, the doled out treats are truly deserved.

No bear sign, but I am vigilant as we start moving into fall. The raccoon has visited once or twice and left empty pawed. We saw the most beautiful fox trotting down our driveway Saturday afternoon. He trotted into the barn to see if there was anything of interest and then trotted out in a typically foxy manner. It's sad to see my early morning dawn get later and later. I'm back to the hat and headlamp routine and have made a point of making a lot of noise when I head out the door.

Summer, like August, is waning. There is so much frost on the trees this morning that they look flocked for Christmas. I'm hoping for a long crisp fall, promising a good cold snowy winter. The dogwoods are already changing color. Stella's puppy summer is almost over. I've enjoyed it. So too, has she.

Pillowcases...Almost!

You would think I was using spider web silk for all the time it's taken me to get this pillow case warp on the loom.

Part of it was timing, part of it was puppy and part of it was simply I am not terribly fond of 20/2 natural white cotton. It stuck to itself, it was hard to get apart, it blended in with the white texsolv heddles and made me squint the whole time I was sleying.

I am doing treadle tie-ups now, 3 done 7 more to go.

It would have all been done but my newest helper decided to come in and lend a paw. When I started Stella was no where in sight, on my second treadle she had discovered I was sitting on the floor and felt that my cross legged lap was the perfect place to tuck in for her nap.

I got through treadle three that way and just gave into the force of the alluring puppy. People may be snake charmers but puppies are people charmers.

Also, after a week and a half of taunting, I have assembled a new to me Harrisville Warping Reel. I have wanted one of these for a while and when Dawn had a used one for sale, I jumped on it.

Horrible picture BTW, we're cramped in my studio since that is where the old couch has been hanging out while I finish up cleaning the basement. All we need do now is muster the strength of Hercules to move it down there for storage.

Hannah the Hollandia has a new warp picked out and just about ready to be wound. Nothing earth shattering, just getting back to the animal shelter auction scarves. The Julia loom has a prayer flag warp beamed on and some threading. It is not a wide warp and I'm looking at some quiet and cooler time this weekend to get it ready for weaving.

It's been hot and dusty around the farm. I spent yesterday morning attacking thistle with the tractor. Literally scrapping it out. Every morning between 4:30 and 5:00 has been spent on Bearwatch ( like Baywatch, but no girls, beach or life guards). We certainly have a fair amount of wild life. The deer can be heard nipping shrubs and munching, one morning a skunk rolled right by the front steps, another a fox trotted up the driveway. Things too small to see rustle around, attracting cats and owls. Sylvie's bell rings out as she leads the flock around the paddock. The horses like to run and play. I can hear them as they race along well worn paths, occasionally striking a rock or branch. Snorting, likely nipping each other and then a minute or two later, they all race off again. I know when the early bird gets up and starts his day. No bold cock's crow here. Just a little twitter, half a stanza. "I'm here, I'm here!" and then an answer, "Me too, me too." and on it goes, the little voices growing louder and more numerous pushing the night into retreat. The dawn is filled with a hundred songs of welcome and gratitude.

No bear though. I keep hoping the surprise of those round pen panels crashing down on him did the trick and scared him off. Fingers crossed and hopefully NOT my warp!

Off The Loom and Gifted

I haven't said much about the scarf since it was decided that it would be the perfect gift for a wonderful friend that is moving far away. I was hoping if I took forever weaving it, they would just have to wait to leave. As we all know, that is never the case. It came off the loom Saturday and was finished and drying two hours later.

The Mountain Colors Winter Lace yarn is another I would use in a heartbeat. Wonderful to weave with. I wish I could do a blanket or coverlet using it, but it would terribly expensive. The novelty yarn provided a little challenge but I like the way it defined the squares and gave the overall piece a window pane texture.

It was stretchy and slippery and could have really been a problem once off the loom. In any event, I was sorry to see it go and my friend with it. Good luck Carol and Anyu on all the new adventures waiting for you in Idaho!

On farm news, nothing much to report. Some riding, some training, getting ready to shop for the years hay supply. With all the wet weather it has taken longer for first cutting to come in, but it looked like last week most of the fields have been cut and I'll bet baling is happening around the valley this week. The boys are getting rotated out one at a time to graze some of our over grown areas. I learned a very important lesson yesterday. NEVER put out Nick and Boo together. The two took off, through the woods and up the road. I could hear their hooves running up and down looking for our driveway. A slow moving logging truck spooked them enough to head back towards our driveway where they ducked in and met me as I was heading down with treats. Nick and Boo came running up like two long lost puppies. Snorting and hot and not realizing the disaster they had avoided. Needless to say, one went back in the paddock.

I was exhausted by 6:00 am yesterday after that self inflicted fiasco.

Lastly, some Stella contraband photos.

I did get my slipper back right after these pics were snapped. I couldn't tell if any real damage has been done. This pair is on its last legs as it is. The cat bed was rediscovered after it was put away since Rodger is too big for it. Fits Stella perfectly. She had a grand time dragging it outside and then someone, I don't know who other than male, peed on it ( fair game once in the pen proper). So it's in the wash at the moment.

Oh Heavens, Actual Weaving Content!

Sleeping puppy=Weaving time. Okay, so it's not Einstein. We're working on low levels of sleep here. Well, I am and maybe Uncle Smoochie, but Stella is certainly getting her beauty sleep and then some.

The scarf is in progress and frankly, coming out nicer than I expected. After round one with the sari silk I had very low expectations of how viable using a heavy novelty yarn would be. Pleasantly surprised. Of course it could still do some funky things once cut off the loom. The novelty yarn wefts that I'm using are being knotted at the sides.

No matter how it comes out, I am enjoying weaving it.

I'm also using a tiny temple I found at The Woolgathers. It's 8-10 inches and just perfect for scarves and prayer flags.

I like using a temple especially when I am doing twill and plain weave bands like in the prayer flags. It helps to maintain more consistent selvages and that's certainly help I can use.

While in town I managed to get into the Websters and found this skein of lusciousness begging for a home. Utah by Interlacements.

I'm hoping to find a suitable weft yarn in my stash. The summer crowds have started arriving in Ashland and it was very busy all over the plaza.

On farm news, we got another trailer load of hay. The wet weather is causing concern about hay and hay prices. If it's always wet and raining, you can't cut and we really need that first cutting to come in.

As you can see, Buzz looks quite well fed for a barn cat. He and Juno have been doing a great job of keeping the barn rodent free.

And last but never least, a Stella moment.

Growing and gaining strength, I see a little terrier attitude here and there. She dug her very first hole out in the pen. I sat and watched her work. Even at this young age her breeding shines through. Determination and an economy of movement. Every bit of her young body focused on the task. She's going to be a game little terrier indeed!

It Could Go Either Way

I've started a new scarf warp to put on Hannah. I love the fibers, I love the colors but even with that great start I'm not to sure about how this will look once done. The combo is Mountain Colors Winter Lace and Frabjous Fibers Sari Ribbon. The sari ribbon might end up being a little to ragged and uneven in the scarf. Of course it could be really fun and interesting too. Guess we'll all find out soon enough!

While I was winding the lace yarn ( all 1200 yards of it) I had supervision as you can see.

Jack wants to get to know all facets of weaving. He really does intensely watch what you do. I love those little flopped triangle ears, they speak to me.

Pogo quit the little dog bed once the swift got going and went and hung with his peep Gene.

Smoochie and his cat couldn't be bothered with our goings on. They were happily curled up together on the comfy chair.

The sofa was similarly occupied with the rest of the four legged household Everyone spent our dreary rainy Tuesday just as they pleased.

Happiness is..

Well, yesterday it was a batch of homemade Cheddar Cheese Biscuits.

A big pot of hot chili.

All on a snowy cold day in May.

We had plenty of warm puppies too.

What's on Which?

I think it's time for a loom update and of course some pictures. When I last updated, Hey Baby had the pillow warp in threading mode and we're still in that stage. A little progress but even turtles might be tapping their feet at my speed. I could say I was savoring the threading, but I would be lying through my teeth. 20/2 just isn't my favorite and it isn't so much how fine it is but it's lack of body.

The single prayer flag warp is off the loom, and I think I got about 15 flags.

This all needs to be cut, hemmed, bells and fringe knotted but they were a very fun weave. Julia is bare at the moment and I'll use this time to make some adjustments and clean the lint off her.

Hannah the Hollandia is waiting patiently for a new scarf warp although it may not happen until next week. I have some painting I want to do and this weekend looks as good as any to get it done.

Gene's sweater is moving along at a steady pace.

I'm not knitting as quickly with this one since it's obvious I have a whole summer before he's even going to think about wearing a sweater let alone a heavy wool one. The other factor is the smaller needle size. I had to make adjustments with the heavier yarn and now I am knitting true to the pattern. I still love this pattern and I adore the color on this yarn which I wish like heck I could get a decent picture of! The colors are so rich, along with bottle green is a hint of teal, nubs in sienna color and streaks of natural grey just hinting in the plies.

It's beautiful yarn.

For posterity's sake I've included a picture of the lovely Cotswold wool I want to get spinning on and two books I'm pretty excited about.

The 60 Scarves for 60 Years book has a lot of great ideas and I'll be pouring over this one as I get my warps ready for more shelter scarves.

This was purchased in MA at Loom with a View. Since I swoon looking at most Scandinavian weaving it was a given that I order Tina Ingell's book

Favorite Scandinavian Projects to Weave: 45 Stylish Designs for the Modern Home.

There are some wonderful projects in this one and as always the colors and sensibility grab me.

The weather has been pretty decent ( of course snow and rain predicted this weekend) and I have gotten at least one horse out and worked each day. Dandy was his typical hot little redhead self for the first 5 minutes and then settled down to work handsomely. Boo who turns 5 this spring surprised me. I was waiting for the bucking and snorting on the lunge line, the silliness and got none of it. He went right to work and while a little fast in his paces he was focused and smooth. I was very pleased and told him so frequently. Nick was Nick, curious, gregarious and a little lazy. Imp has yet to be taken out and worked. It will be interesting to see what he's remembered and what he hasn't.

Other than the horse work, I've gotten out for two walks everyday, early morning and evening after dinner. Both with Dennett and sometimes two in hand depending on my mood. Sometimes even this little devil! ;-)