COUNTDOWN TO RETIREMENT

The countdown begins. 

In about a year from now I will be able to stop the day job and have more time to practice my crafts more consistently. Meanwhile I spin, knit, weave and sew whenever the opportunity and energy allow. Working 8-12 hour days leaves me tired and a little cranky at the end of the day most of the time and I usually fall asleep after dinner.

On the needles: A sweater for Clara
                          A blanket for Elizabeth

On the Loom: Two at a time long skinny Scarves-1 cotton-1 wool.

On the spinning wheel: A blend of merino and silk

On the sewing machine : a crib rail cover
                                         a pillow for Elizabeth
                                         a dress for Clara

Once the sewing machine is fixed I'll get back to finishing these.

Back at it!

Time has flown by so quickly.

In June 2012 our daughter married her boyfriend, Ian, in a lovely church in Ipswich Massachusetts. It was a wonderful day for us all.
We adore our son-in-law and his family and they love our Elizabeth.













In September of 2013 Elizabeth and Ian gave us the most beautiful Granddaughter, Clara Jeanette.

She is wonderful, smart and charming. And she is of course she is very smart. Clara is growing and progressing every day. I am so grateful.












Clara's 1st Christmas Eve,



                                                                 
                                               

















Clara's 1st Christmas,

                                                         


 Clara's Christmas hat,





















    Clara's 1st New Years Day!

A NEW YEAR


I know I'm almost a month and a half late with this post but December and January have passed quickly.


At the end of December I joined a group on Ravelry  call 12 in 2012. It's a group that has the goal to spin 12 pounds of fiber in the year 2012. Each month has a challenge.  The January challenge was to spin a single yarn and for February the challenge is to spin a larger quantity of fiber than I'm used to spinning.

January went pretty well! I started with a fiber that I purchased from Southern Cross Fibers; a color way called Storm on Falklands fiber. Falkland is fiber that is not a specific breed of sheep but fiber that is grown on the Falkland island and not anywhere else. The wool is grown mostly from the merino and polwarth breeds.

I spun 4 ozs. of this fiber last year but still has 8 ozs. left to spin for this year. I made a 3 ply yarn that is both under spun and under plied. It is a balanced yarn and also soft and smoochy. I will work on making a slightly tighter yarn next time.

My second January spin was one that I've started in December as a spinning demo at the Charles River Smockers December meeting. I spun 2 ozs. there and had six ozs. to spin.

It's Spunky Eclectic Tuxedo Rose on Romney a September 2010 Club fiber. I didn't think I was going to like this yarn but when I was finished I was excited. I turned out to be the best looking yarn I've ever spun.  I n-plied  to keep the colors together. This yarn makes me happy!!

Romney is a course fiber and is usually spun for outer wear as it could be itchy for next to the skin wearing. Staple length is about 6 inches. I raffled this yarn off to the Charles River Smockers who attended the January meeting and it was won by our President Vera.

Next, I spun 8 ounces of super wash corriedale from Spunky Eclectic in the Davids Gift color way. Bright vibrant color made this a fun spin. I split the top down the center and spun from one end to the other.  I ended up with 325 yds. of navaho ply yarn.

Lastly, another Romney.

Again, it another Spunky yarn. I purchased this one shortly after I started spinning.  I loved spinning this top, it practically spun itself. I ended up with 360 yds. of 2 ply, very lofty yarn.

Total for January - 30 ounces.


February 4, 2012-Did you know? It was national EAT ICE CREAM FOR BREAKFAST DAY!!


My husband,myself and our granddaughter, Grace, headed out a 8:00 am to Cherry Farm in Danvers for an ice cream breakfast.

Grace had a waffle Sundae with strawberry and cheerio topping. She was very excited to eat ice cream for breakfast and couldn't wait to tell her Dad.  She texted her Dad the above picture of her before breakfast and the one below as her after breakfast. She does have her mothers sense of humor.

20 in 2012

For my first spin in February I decided to take the challenge to spin more than my usual amount in a spin (I usually spin 8-12 ounces at one time). I decided to do the 24 ounces of a sweater spin I have left of a 2 pound mixed BFL. This is taking f-o-r - e-v-e-r.  It's lovely fiber and is spinning up nicely but........the natural color, while beautiful, is not very interesting for long term spinning. I'll be glad when it's done.  I have about 8 ounces left to go before plying.

Another Hat


Here is the hat I made for the husband. This is yarn that I spun from organic merino top from Souther Cross Fiber. The color way is called Sturt.It is lovely fiber, soft and warm and the colors are just right. It is the same pattern that I used for Ian's birthday hat but I added several inches so he can turn it up for extra warmth.  I finished it last month. 

Currently, I'm working on a woven scarf from a linen yarn that I purchased at Marden's.
I took these pictures at night with my phone so the colors are really yellow but you can get the idea. The finished picture will be better.

I want to share some new yarn. One of my local yarn stores Cranberry Fiber Arts had the brillant idea for some special edition hand painted yarn from Spunky Eclectic. And it is gorgeous. 

Lucky girl that I am, my friend Sande rushed to Cranberry and got me 2 skeins of this lovely sock weight yarn. I don't what I'm going to make with the "Salsa" yet but I'm thinking a woven scarf just might be real nice.

Giving Thanks

Well, Thanksgiving is over for another year but it will remain in pleasant memories for a long time to come. There were a few "firsts" this year. The 1st first was the apple pie that I made. It wasn't the first pie I've made but it was the first one that looked pretty.

I was told it was very good. I don't really like apple pie that much.

We went to Elizabeth and Ian's house for dinner and they cooked their first turkey and it was excellent.

Turkey before:

Turkey after:

Everything was so good and everyone had at least 3 favorites on the table. Nobody left hungry.

The beautiful weather continues here in eastern Massachusetts. Today the temperature reached 65 degrees. After we returned the grandchildren to N.H. and did a few errands I brought the spinning wheel out on the porch and finished up a progression BFL that I started a few weeks ago.

I had just finished when the mail lady delivered the November fiber club from Souther Cross fibers.
The fiber is falkland and the color way is Storm. I just grabbed an empty bobbin and started spinning.

This fiber is spinning up beautifully. It's the first time I've spun Falkland but it won't be the last. I only have 4 ozs. so I will try and get another 4 ozs. on Thursday in the update. I would like to do a 2 or 3 ply yarn.

Fall 2011

As much as I hate to see the summer gone, I do love the fall season. Somehow fall evokes in me a sense of renewal, of new beginnings. Probably its a throw back to my youth when, each September, starting back to school in a new grade left me feeling excited for the year ahead.


The about hat was knitted for my daughters  boyfriend from some hand spun. The yarn is Targhee wool hand dyed by Amy from Spunky Eclectic  in the Flannel color way. Targhee produces a very soft and smoochy yarn. Its a delight to spin and to knit.


The pattern that I used is called A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend by Stephanie Nicole. I love the decreases on this hat and plan to knit another hat that is fit for my husband from another hand spun yarn.

I love this yarn!

Almost a year later!


How times flies. The past year has flown by quickly. The grandchildren are growing taller and stronger and smarter all the time. My daughter Liz has purchased her first house and seems very happy.  I continue to knit, spin, weave and sew.