So many hobbies!

Seli 1991-2010

 

She got me through some really hard times in the past 19 years.  I miss her but now she doesn't have arthritis, she isn't deaf and her kidneys are working fine.  I'm sure she's reminding Bastian of who the real boss is.  I love you, my sweet. 

Ark building will commence shortly...

The rain we got Saturday afternoon!  OMG!  Reports say we got 10 inches of rain in one hour!  Holy cow!  The park kittycorner to my condo is flooded.  I've been here nearly 10 years and I've never seen that park flooded.  Oh, and so did my basement.  *&^%#@!  It didn't flood badly, just enough to be really irritating and to require me to cut the sopping wet area rug into strips so I can get it out.  It's nasty!  I HATE dealing with flooded basements.  <sigh>

On a brighter note, Mom gave me some peonies:

 

Aren't they pretty?  I went to my parents' place Saturday morning to build the second of my two potato boxes.  I'll post pictures just as soon as I remember to take them while the sun it still up.  The boxes will be planted with Rose Finn fingerling 'tatoes.  Yum!

The rest of the weekend, I worked on my first Project Improv quilt:

 

The front and back are both done; when it's completed, it'll be about the size of a lap quilt or a baby blanket.  I want to machine quilt this myself but I'll need to teach myself machine quilting first.  It's not as easy as it looks.

Finally, a pic of Seli in her "nest":

Maryland Sheep & Wool: Part 1

Do you know how hard it is to use the mouse with your non-dominant hand?  I have tendonitis in my right elbow and mousing hurts.  I moved the mouse to the left of the keyboard but I have crap fine motor control with my left hand.  Bear with me...

The girls and I left the Thursday before the festival and drove east.  The car was completely packed.  Sheri is a genius at the packing.  We camped at Patapsco Valley State Park which is a great campground. 

 

It was HOT and HUMID both Saturday and Sunday.  Notice Sheri's feet in the tub of ice water.  My feet were similarly treated.  Did I mention it was HOT?

 

One of the Jacob sheep breeders hosted a flashmob:  the goal was to teach 100 new spinners to spin.

 

Oh, Jessica.  You were ever so foolish as to declare that you just didn't have time to add spinning to your hobbies.  Didn't you realize that meant I had to put my enabling mojo into high gear?  Yes, I enabled!  Proudly.  She bought a beautiful turned spindle and about 12 oz. of roving.  And her spinning is pretty good for a newbie.  I'm so proud!

 

Because no photos from a fiber fair are complete without at least one sheep picture:  the Scottish Blackface.

 

I entered 3 skeins of yarn and 2 knitted pieces but only one item won anything.  My brown polwarth yarn won third place in it's class but won the special prize for the best spindle-spun skein.  Yay!

We saw some great t-shirts at the festival.  The best one said "If yarn were meth, I'd have no teeth."  I also saw more guys in kilts (7) in one place/event than I've seen since I last did medieval recreationism.  Oh, and I had my annual corn dog.  Yum! 

 

I'm incapable of resisting Seli sunning herself.  She is ever so happy the sun has returned to the couch. 

Much to tell

I had my Friday night buddies over today for a little dyeing party.  I remember the blast I had when I took a dyeing class a couple of years ago so I know how much fun they had.  Besides, they told me.  Here's a part of what we did:

 

This was my first time doing a group dyeing.  I gave us 4 hours and thought we'd get 3 skeins of yarn dyed.  This was really optimistic on my part.  We spent over an hour skeining up the yarn they brought and waiting for them to decide on their colorways, then more time letting the yarn soak and waiting for me to mix up the dyes.  Next time, when we meet Friday night, we'll skein and decide on their colors.  The dyeing day will be Saturday instead of Sunday, giving us stress-free overflow time if we need it, and giving me time to mix up the dyes before they arrive.

The one on the bottom is a colorway I'm working on.  It's the yarn translation of my Chocolate Hearts roving.  My thought is to come up with 5 initial colorways for yarn, of which I already have three.  If the girls come up with a colorway that really rings my bell, I've told them, if they let me have it, I'll name it after them.  They seemed to like the idea.

 

I ended up with about 300 yards of approximately fingering weight yarn.  Not enough yarn to knit a pair of socks but I've got an idea that I'm working on. 

 

I realized today that I haven't spun very much since the last Maryland Sheep and Wool.  If I want to enter the skein contest, I'd better get to spinning.  I think this one may be good enough to enter.

And finally, Seli snoozing on her favorite spot:

This is for Lucia

I'm in mourning

My beloved Singer sewing machine has given up the ghost.  It was acting up so I took it in for a tune-up.  The technician said I've worn it out.  Things wiggle that shouldn't and the feed dogs that should be sharp are worn down.  I love that machine!  I feel like I've lost a friend!  I've made valances with that machine, quilts, clothes, spindle boxes and even a doll (who still remains naked so don't expect any pictures).  They don't make Singers like they used to so I have to buy something else.  I need a heavy duty machine that'll sew through lots of layers and still hold up to lots of use.  The first thing they showed me was a Bernina that they happily said was only $799 on sale.  <choke! gasp!>  I told them an $800 machine was out of the question even though it would last me as long as my Singer.   They showed me the next one down, which was a Viking, that was much, much less.  It'll only last half as long as the Bernina but I'll somehow find a way to live with the $500 savings.  <Sheesh!>  I'll be picking it up Thursday after work. 

This weekend it's peaches!  On the agenda besides freezing are Peach Salsa and Peach BBQ Sauce.  Both recipes are new and I love trying new recipes. 

 

Seli decided hanging out on the rug by the front door was a good idea.  Personally, I thought the couch was more comfortable.

Good thing she's cute

 

'Cause I got nothin'.  The shawl still looks pretty much the same and I've done nothing else except knit.  See, nothin'.  I'll have more after the weekend.

Have a good one.

Nature rocks!

 

Starting seeds will never become commonplace for me.  It's the coolest damn thing to put these innocuous-looking morsels in the soil and a week later, seedlings push up from the dirt.  I was actually bouncing up and down I was so excited.  I'd say my neighbor thinks I'm nuts but she's known that for years now... mostly after the time she heard me sitting on my front porch giggling like a maniac at the thunderstorm going overhead. 

I caught this picture of Seli this morning.  She's a cave child and prefers to sleep under a blanket.

The sun is back!

 

Few things make Seli happier than baking in the sun.  She was very happy this weekend.

The 3-ply Cormo yarn became a 2-ply over the weekend.  The third ply would have taken too long to spin.  Naturally, I forgot to take a picture of it before dumping it in a bath.  I'll try and remember to take a picture tomorrow before I box it up.

I put my tent up yesterday which was no mean feat on a windy day.  It's a four-person tent which means when flat, the darn thing acts like a sail.   Even after it was completely up, it was blowing around the yard.  Definitely going to have to stake it or it'll end up in the next camp site. 

 

I've looked for biodegradable dish soap but the closest I've found was soap that, once dumped in a hole in the ground, can be broken down by natural bacteria in the dirt.  Maybe that's the stuff I'm looking for.  Anyone know? 

Seli in repose

 

Seli was half in, half out of the couch quilt today and looking so cute, I had to share.  Happy Wednesday!