Trumpet Vine and Seed Pods

The trumpet vine that Jerry planted last year has really outdone itself with all the rain we've had this year..

I've never paid close attention to a trumpet vine before and I know they can spread like wildfire, but I didn't know they made seedpods. DH came in a couple of days ago with these. I find them very interesting... they look almost like they were molded with a form and the brown thing (whatever it's called..) at the top looks just like a tiny bell.

These were the only ones he found on the whole vine. I wish I had been there to watch him jump up and down trying to reach them...grin

Yarn Preparation for Spinning

It seems as I continue to work with my spinning wheel that the yarn preparation for me right now takes about 2 times as much time as the actual spinning. I strip the roving, draft it into the bowl and then spin it.

The yarn skein has about 52 yards and the niddy noddy has 48 yards of Navajo triple plied yarn. With the spinning and the plying, each set took about an hour apiece. The prep work on the other hand about twice that long apiece. hmmm.... Do you suppose watching Midsomer Murders during the prep work had anything to do with that?

As I am still very new to this, I find it a bit amazing that the spot dyed roving in the upper pic can turn into this yarn that I am calling Old Fashioned Candy. It really looks like the Old Fashioned Candy sticks that can still be found in the big jars at Cracker Barrel restaurants..grin

I Missed My Blogiversary!

They say it's blogging etiquette to link back to your first blog post on your blogiversary... Well, I made 3 posts that first time, so I will link back to the page they are on... That was August 13, 2005. I only missed it by 20 days or so...

This little embroidered sheep was done for the "Bags of Fun" denim purse challenge on Sharon Boggins blog in a minute ago. That challenge started my blogging adventures.

In the process of finding that first post... I had to read several early posts..(just had to... grin) Those short little paragraphs are just enough to jog the memory about things that were nearly forgotten. I started off making hard copies each month of the blog... then the big printer broke, so only have a few months actually on paper. I will eventually cough up the money for ink and print the rest of it off. I can't think of a nicer way to keep a "diary" than to share it with friends and family. And since it's shared (out there for all to see), you only blog the good things...then as you look back on a blahs kind of day there are lots of little thoughts that help put a little smile back on your face.

Just a thought---- Only 3 months and 23 days until Christmas! (I know you really wanted to know that...!)

My Kromski Spinning Wheel Is Here!

It came Thursday... It had included with the wheel an extra bobbin and a Kromski niddy noddy. (Ask me if DH didn't get a lot of mileage out of that name! grin) We spent the afternoon putting it together...a 30 minute job (grin) Anyway, finally got it together and you should see my first 10 yards or so of mess.. ( I won't be posting pics..grin)

Ask me if I love it! DH tells me I have to be able to chew gum and walk to use it..lol Finally got it semi figured out yesterday and managed to finish the 4oz. of practice roving that came with it. It's the blue that is on the niddy noddy. The yarn is triple plied using the Navajo technique. I ended up with just over 50 yards not counting the 10 or so yards that I messed up in first try.

The yarn is not so great. Too much twist. I've seen someone on the net trying to get the effect I got with the twist on the single making a spiral after it is plied...grin If I try to do it again, it'll never happen.

We had company yesterday morning, waited around for someone who never showed up and finally gave up and went to the book store. I found several James Patterson novels (Alex Cross .. only!) that I didn't have. I looked for anything spinning, naalbinding or yarn related... not a single book in the whole store! (Half-Price Books) Anyway, finally got to work on my spinning in the evening.. I think I have found a new passion...

Hello, Patti....

Hello Pattie!
It was really great to hear from you.. hope all the puppies are growing like weeds and eating you out of house and home! grin

What a great couple of days! Had a surprise visit from daughter and son in law. Went shopping, out to eat and just sat around visiting. Bev is crocheting a lovely afghan for her son and daughter in law. Made me want to drag out my crochet hooks..grin

Well, not feeling too well for the last couple of weeks. To the dr. yesterday and am now taking antibiotics.. Sooo... better soon!

Don't Use Downy!

When I knitted this shawl last winter, I loved it and wore it continually all winter. So .. early this spring I hand washed it in the sink and used a little Downy to make it soft and have a delicious smell... Well, I won't do it again. The back now reaches the floor and the stitches are much larger than they were before.. sagging a bit instead of the close warm feeling ones of before. I did not know that Downy will loosen the fibers...ughhh.

Well, before I found out, I knitted this scarf with the first hand spun I did that was usable Blue Faced Leicester wool.... When I hand washed it after I finished it and then blocked it... well, you can see how widely spaced the stitches become. I won't do that again....

My Bossie...

I'm a little rushed today...errands to run.... On with the saga of my hand spinning adventures...



This is my first smaller sized yarn. I am working toward the size that when plied will be sock yarn, then I want to do sweater yarn. Well, what a trial and error...grin After this was finished using the homemade spindle, I thought perhaps I could (maybe) do better with a professionally made spindle. Sooo.....

This is my Jonathan Bosworth Bird's Eye Maple spindle. This is what the lace weight yarn was spun on. Ask me if I love it...!!! In the background of the picture is a wrist distaff I made by braiding the first hand spun yarn (Hobby Lobby stuff...ughhh). I had wondered about them and thought..."How could that help?"... Well, it's wonderful. I have to make a real one now with some weights on the ends because I have to stop and unwind the roving, but still... it keeps the roving from swaying in the air conditioning and getting caught in the spinning. It also keeps plenty on hand...

Gotta run...

Finished Lace Weight Yarn...

I finished spinning the small sample of roving that came with the BFL roving that I ordered from funky carolina... Carrie always adds a bit of another kind of roving or something in another color. I'm not familiar enough to know what this roving was, but it is so soft and blissful that I will have to find out! This yarn is triple plied (Andean) and measures at 1mm in size. I have no idea what I will do with it...

We have rain in the forecast for today, but then we did yesterday too but the clouds divided and went around us. The minimal cloud cover didn't do much for the humid high 90's we had, but have to admit it was better than the low 100's we've had.

Edited: .. This is not Andean plied.... It is Navajo plied!

I'm Finally Back...

Hello again after the longest blogging pause I've had yet. There is much that has been going on, but will take a while to get it all up here.

These are the lovely fabric postcards received from the Art We Mail group of very talented ladies. These are from different points around the country and a couple from New Zealand. Mine have been sent and alas, I did not think to get a picture of them before they were mailed.

This is my dowel rod and wooden toy car wheel spindle. With a little help from my wonderful DH (drill press for starter hole in the cuphook end), it was done in about 15 minutes or so. A little sanding along the sides and voila! we're off! Well, the first roving (needle felting roving from Hobby Lobby) was pretty bad, but it was good enough for me practice the basics. Took a little while to figure it out, but is much easier than I thought it would be. This is the 3rd usable yarn that I have spun, the other two being a bulkier yarn that is being knit into scarves. The current roving I am spinning and the previous roving (now being knit into scarves..grin) are Blue Faced Leicester wool that I ordered from Funky Carolina Etsy shop. (What great service and wonderful roving!)

More tomorrow....

The Sun Is Out!

The sun is actually shining for the first time in a week. The unending gray days seem to have had an effect on everyone's mood... mine included. It has been several days since I have blogged. I guess it was just brain blahs... I have not worked on any crafting, sewing (or much of anything), but this sunshine seems to have lifted our spirits. And all the rain forecasts for next week have been totally changed to sunshine...wowww!

Our plans have changed and it looks like we will not be going to the LRRP/Ranger Reunion this year. It seems the older we get the more little health issues come up and "the best plans of mice and men are often set awry." We will miss seeing everyone this year... the laughing, the camaraderie.. but there will be next year in San Francisco.