fibergarden

Just more evidence that we need to get out of suburban hell one of these days, soon. This is from a sad, true, but nonetheless beautiful article by Perry Mann, on the HuntingtonNews.net. I strongly encourage you to click the link and go read it in it’s entirety:

“Man’s first error was leaving the land, where no man was unemployed, where every child had a place from birth, where men, women and children and ox and horse and all the other domesticated animals comprised a unity of survival, in which they worked together, played together, rejoiced together and sorrowed together; and where they lived under sky and sun, labored in fields and meadows, watched the seasons come and go, stored up in summer against winter, sowed in spring to harvest in fall, honored mother and father and sat at the feet of aged, on and on from generation to generation, knowing in their hearts that even if heaven were a fiction they had known the fullness of living.”

I recently got the most wonderful email from a friend stating she had some big needles to send me, acquired on her recent trip to New Zealand (can you say jealous?), and would I like them? So, of course, I replied that I had recently bought large needles and didn’t know if I needed more. Well, I recently bought US 15’s, and as you can see, this fantastic bunch is WAAAAAAY beyond that…it’s a group that equate to US 19, 35 and 50–whoa! There’s a penny in the photo to show the scale. These will take on even my bulkiest bulk. I could knit fire hose with those 50’s (I think). Truth is that I don’t know what to do with them yet, but I will make it my mission to use them soon. And, in this lovely package with the gigundo needles, was a sample of the softest soft Kiwi merino wool I’ve ever felt! I think I’m saving the merino to spin up on my drop spindle, really fine. Thanks Chocolatte, you are the BEST enabler! Smooch!

Second note–new project. As per my new rules (complete something prior to starting new projects), I recently (almost) completed a project that’s been on my triangle loom for a year or more, so I could start using this gorgeous rayon-cotton Ironstone yarn that I purchased on vacation in Florida. I think I’m going to do 3 or 4 panels (if yardage allows) and join them along the short edges to make a long wrap. Haven’t decided on fringe or not yet, but I used every other nail for this one and already have one panel made, in an evening, hooray! Here’s a sneak peek at the corner of the tri-loom:

For those of you who haven’t ever seen or used one, a triangle loom allows you to weave the warp and weft at the same time, using one continuous yarn. No cutting, warp measuring or waste. It’s really a wonderful tool, a little limited as far as finished projects, but you can put the triangles together to make any number of gorgeous things, from blankets to shawls. There are also adjustable size triangles out there, as well as square looms that run on the same single yarn principle, and for what it’s worth, it’s easy to make your own using a frame and nails. There is a fantastic tutorial by Wayne. The tutorial was life-saving when I purchased the loom, got home and found out it had no instructions in the box. He also has great info on how to build your own loom, and tons of other interesting topics ranging from growing cocoa, to magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters to how to keep cats out of your garden…very cool!

Off to get ready to attend a local quilt show that a friend entered two of her quilts in…gotta support those other fiber fanatics, you know!

Aah…finally updating the blog. I’ve been busy, out of town on vacation in FL (which allowed me to knit and crochet a few little projects I’ll post another day, as soon as I weave in ends, add a button and take pics). Anyhow, I wanted to put this photo up, of a recently finished birthday gift, and my second knit scarf ever!!. Originally, it was not intended as a gift, but as often happens while I make something, as I worked on it, the fiber spoke to me and about halfway through knitting, the scarf decided it would be a lovely birthday gift for Niki. I don’t know if she would choose this color for herself, but I think it’ll look great on her!

The yarn is Lorna’s Laces “Glory” in the color Black Pearl–it’s a hand dyed Mohair/Wool Blend that I got from Christine at Now and Zen. I knit it on US11’s, 10 rows of knit stitch, alternating with a row of dropped (elongated stitches with 3 wraps). I carried along a thin strand of Rowan’s kidsilk ‘Haze’ for some very subtle stripes in areas. Originally I intended it to be a long scarf, but I ran out of yarn, so I decided to make it into a loop scarf/wrap instead, joining the edge with a 3 needle bind off, and adding in some randomly angled fringe of both yarns at the seam, with purply glass beads for sparkle. I think it looks best loosely around the neck, or wrapped twice for cold weather, though it can be stretched out a bit to pull as a wrap around the top of the shoulders too…

Aside from frogging issues (very hard to unravel this hairy yarn), I’m really happy with the yarn and the finished object. Add dropped stitches to my resume and I’m off to knit something else…I’m thinking a simple wrap or poncho on big needles, to teach myself how to increase at each end. I’d love simple free pattern suggestions! I saw a pattern and yarn while in FL, but the yarn was $47 a skein and I chickened out, plus the colors just didn’t jump out at me…oh well.

And a HANDSPUN SALE–just adding a quick note that I put all my handspun on the web site on sale–$5 off each skein originally priced at $25 or more. Just for a few days until the 28th. I also put some of the felt scarves on sale to clear out and get ready for some nice summery silk nuno felt scarves I hope to work on over the next few days. So go check out Handmade–thanks!

It’s been years since we bought this house, and we are in a constant state of renovation (or non-renovation, depending on how long ago you looked at any particular project and saw how little progress has been made). We have multiple projects in a state of semi-completion, and an arm’s length list of projects that need doing, some desperately.

So, what do you do when you already have half a dozen old projects lingering on, getting smelly and old, like a block of limberger under the living room couch? Start a NEW PROJECT, of course! After much discussion, debate and procrastination, we finally aborted the idea of gutting little A’s bedroom (and my fears of dispersing a cloud of lead dust into the house from old plaster with old paint). Instead, we finally just broke down and painted it. Who needs insulation, right? After 3+ years of having a primer-white bedroom, the girl finally gets a girly room, complete with fluorescent green and bright purple walls. I primed the baseboard trim and window frames two weeks ago, we bought some brighty-bright, low VOC paint, and this past weekend, we painted the room…with amazing results:

Then, last night, Craig installed brand spankin’ new baseboard covers over the heaters–the old ones were just nasty. Next is the wall border that I hope to do from a roll of wrapping paper I’ve been saving–if I can figure out how to adhere it without trashing the paper. I already bought the girl some sheets in matching purple and green, and need to figure out some other accessories like a bedspread, new curtains vs. some rit dye (orange, of course) on the old cream ones? A new light fixture and bedside lamp, another area rug. And I’ve also started browsing the catalogs, and am thinking about buying a ,Fairy Bower–the green or purple one–and maybe getting a small comfy reading chair, and bookcase, or putting her play kitchen stuff in it, or something like that…just thinking out loud here…ideas anyone? All she has is a very nice antique bed–dark wood, a $5 yard sale cabinet with clothes and some books in it, and a hand-me-down dresser my Mom got at a Church sale., so we’re looking to step things up a bit, though I have no real wish to stray far from the ‘eclectic-yard sale-chic’ style I’ve come to love, heh.

Anyhow, it’s a step in the right direction. It puts the other projects on hold for longer, but I feel good that my little girl has a decent room to sleep and play in, instead of whitey-white oblivion. It was so depressingly dreary, and now you need your sunglasses to go in there! Sweet colors…sweet progress.

A quote I saw today on a discussion forum, in somebody’s signature:

“In the 60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal”