Raw fleece...Thanksgiving dinner wild kingdom...and, ooh...shiny!

Massive picture-heavy post!


Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians today - I hope your day is full of turkey and family (for some) and sleep and rest (for the others). I personally spent last night sleeping at the hospital wired up to within an inch of my life for a sleep study to see if I've inherited the family apnea. So I slept terribly, was home by 6:30 a.m. and crashed for another three hours in my own (delightfully comfortable I will never complain about my mattress again promise) bed. After I got most of the cement out of my hair.


I shouldn't complain though - I've had two great dinners - one here at home with my parents, kids and niece and the other at a friends who is a gourmet cook...more on this in a moment...


First - I owe you a bit of old stuff promised earlier, starting with my trip to Toronto at the end of August.


I went down to visit Wanna-Baa of the comments, but stopped on the way to visit a farm in Port Hope - probably one of the few, if only, shepherds locally with Blue-Faced Leicesters. I have no pictures for you, but the farm was just amazing - there were turkeys wandering around my car in all different colours, a guard goat and the ugliest duck I have ever seen who thinks he is a person and insisted on following us to visit the sheep. Sara had brought out bags of fleece from her spring shearing and I ended up with two BFL fleeces - one is a first year and the other is a third year.


Both fleeces were relatively clean and so far the processing has been dirty but not horrifyingly so...

Raw fleece in the bag - aromatic!!!

Staple length of the three year old.

After 24 hours in a bucket of cold water it went into the hot water. This is the first washing.

And here is the second hot water wash - much better!

After 2 runs through the water. The bags took five days to dry out in the sun on my balcony.

So - not entirely clean but free of grease which means I can store it away for winter without worrying it will go rancid. There is still plenty of vegetable matter in there so hand picking will be a must. I still haven't decided if I will send it out for processing or card it myself next year. I guess I have some time to decide.

That same weekend, W-B, her kids Ava and Luke and her mom Ginger and I all visited a local alpaca farm. Luke was WAY more interested in the tractor...

...than the very adorable alpaca...





There was also a baby donkey and the most amazing dogs - Lori raises Leonbergers - enormous but incredibly gentle. It was a whole lotta dog let me tell you.

Luke, his grammy and a REALLY BIG DOG.

So that's it for the history although I should shout out a huge thank you to Chriss and Elizabeth for helping me skirt the fleeces and for their advice on how to get them clean.

And while I'm on the topic of fibre...


I seem to have acquired some more...


I participated in a fiber swap on Ravelry. Basically we were split into groups of four and each member of the group sent fiber to another member each month. This month I got a lovely 4 oz present from Lapoli...isn't it nice???





I've also made an early 2009 resolution - I think this will be the year I knit for me. I have been considering simplifying my wardrobe pretty significantly and would love to focus on having most blacks and neutral bases that I can cover with my own knitted sweaters, cardigans, shawls and jackets...


I was so taken with this idea that I promptly cast on some things a bit early...

February Lady Sweater in Mirasol Tupa.

Drops Cardigan in Manos Del Uruguay Classic Wool in Autumn.

Mystery Stole 4 in Misti Alpaca and size 8.0 beads - okay not part of the resolution but still...how pretty is that???

And work on the Susie Hoodie from More Big Girl Knits also continues. I am just about done with the bust increases and will be onto the arms soon which I am really looking forward too...shorter rounds!

Getting organimized...

Something had to be done. I couldn't pull out a project without having fourteen others fall out of the cupboard. So - big canvas bins for fiber - the white has fiber to be dyed and the blue contains fiber that is up on etsy right now...

And some nice wicker baskets for yarn from current and upcoming projects to show off themselves...

Is it a bad sign when your house and stash start to look more and more like a yarn store?

(Oh and just to revisit an earlier post...all this clean up meant that I took some stuff off the needles...which means I managed to find all those needles I was lamenting about losing...

...not that this stopped me from putting in a knitpicks order...no siree!)

Now last of all...

Wild encounters OR how I pissed off a mother cat and paid the piper for it

Warning - includes photos of my legs that do not include handknit socks.

So I'm at my friend's place for Thanksgiving and she has a formerly feral cat that arrived on her doorstep looking for handouts, got adopted and turned out to have gotten herself knocked up before they had a chance to spay her.

The kittens were born about 5 weeks ago - four adorable little ones - two black and two tabbies. Like all kittens they have sweet faces and short stubby tails and when they run it seems like their back ends go faster than their fronts.

I am helpless in the face of kittens.

So I am walking towards the kitchen behind a kitten and reach down to pick it up but clearly she doesn't want interference and takes off ahead of me. I keep going into the kitchen but as I hit the doorway I hear this horrible hissing and feel pain in my leg. I look down and its like a scene from Wild Kingdom. You know the one where the pride of lions is taking down a full sized elephant by coming up behind and attaching itself to its back, claws fully embedded in the skin?

And that's just one side and the picture is a lot prettier than my leg which is also pretty bruised and there is more on the other side. I WAS wearing pants by the way...

So a few bandaids and some peroxide later I go down to get some dessert. I walk towards the kitchen again and as I hit the door Phoebe attacks the OTHER leg (no kittens were around by the way). Talk about determined overprotective mother!

Those would be puncture marks from her teeth! For the rest of the evening she kept a close eye on me and everytime I moved my hosts had to step in to move her out of the room.

I am certainly none the worse for wear but certainly learned my lesson when it comes to mother cats!

Have a terrific week everyone - I am off for a workshop with Brandon Mably and an evening lecture by Kaffe Fassett at WoolNthings...I should pack my camera NOW so I don't forget it!!

Is that a bandwagon I see in the distance?

It's 1:35 a.m. and I am awake because I have cats - and these cats decided that midnight was the BEST TIME EVER to play in my room.

And I was going to post my mosaic of the meme with the twelve items you search on flickr and then choose photos and stick them in a mosaic just like Stacey and I totally did and then I didn't save it cause I am a dumb...well never mind.

So instead, here is a wall o fiber.

1:40 now and I shouldn't be allowed to blog after midnight. I did save it - just not in the usual spot...

So I give you the rulez:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What high school did you go to?

4. What is your favorite color?

5. Who is your celebrity crush?

6. Favorite drink?

7. Dream vacation?

8. Favorite dessert?

9. What you want to be when you grow up?

10. What do you love most in life?

11. One Word to describe you.

12. Your flickr name.

Damn it...I'm going back to bed.

Flying in...and out again

Beret out of vintage (1980's) alpaca...done!

Pattern? Basic Tam from One Skein Wonders

Needles? 4.5 mm Options DPNs

Yarn? Mousarde (I keep calling it "moutarde" which is French for mustard)

It was minus (insert ridiculously cold sounding number here) degrees this morning and this hat was a godsend. I look really dumb in most hats - anyone remember when the Yarn Harlot modeled the toque? I look worse than that. But I can do the beret/tam. So can Madeline as you can see. I particularly like the top.

Tomtem jacket - done! Pics don't include buttons but I will save that for when the jacket is modeled by its rightful owner...

Pattern? EZ's Tomten Jacket as described in Knitting Without Tears

Yarn? KnitPicks Bare DK Superwash - hand-dyed with Profast Acid Dyes in coordinating colours

Needles? Boye 4.5 mm straights

Sudden appearance of spacing between lines? Blogger.

Jacket back - love me some hood!

Lastly - a recipe...

Prepare 9x13 baking dish.

Turn to stove and begin to preheat.

Turn back to baking dish.

Voila!

Cassoulet de chat noir

I recommend a nice Pinot Noir.

Tagged! and my WIPs (shocking photos ahead)

First of all (and before I forget) - thanks to everyone for the great podcast suggestions. I also found a few from the CBC (especially Comedy Central!) to keep me amused.

Now...

Jeanne tagged me with a meme - I have to come up with 7 random things about me (and by the way...I'm tagging Leanne , Renee and Knitting Granny) ...so here goes...


1. I really only have one eyebrow - years of diligent plucking and waxing make is seem otherwise.
2. I dislike colour combinations for wierd reasons - black and blue (bruise!), yellow and black (bumble bee!)
3. I usually think I'm thinner than I really am...I have NO idea what this means.
4. I'm not dating right now because it seems like WAY too much hassle.
5. On my right foot, the two toes beside my big toe are the same length as my big toe. This was, perhaps surprisingly, not an advantage when wearing point shoes in ballet class when I was 13.
6. I hate housework...passionately.
7. I have a stunning number of knitting projects on the go right now...which brings me to...


UnFinished Objects (a photoessay)

Lizard Ridge - 1 1/2 blocks (out of...24...eek) in Noro Kureyon. The picture doesn't do the colours justice at all. Its a fun and quick knit and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something to knit that doesn't involve buying all the wool at once and who likes a nice sense of accomplishment even if the whole thing isn't done yet.

I'm flying to Toronto on Wednesday and needed something airplane friendly to knit...so bamboo needles. I decided to cast on toe-up socks from the most recent Interweave Knits. So far I'm really disliking 1. the needles which are grabby and rough and not really sharp enough and 2. the Eastern cast on which ended up being either too tight (I thought the needles were going to snap) or too loose. I left it loose and figure I can use the tail to duplicate stitch over the toe to tighten it up. Apple Pie yarn in the Best Friends colourway.

This is a fun and quick pattern from knitty - Sonnet. Its a neat sideways knit but I am a bit confused about how the photo shows a sweater with a boatneck and the way its knit is going to end up with a square neck? Either way it'll be nice...but its almost as though its a different sweater. The nice thing is that you use your stitch gauge and input the numbers into the pattern, calculate your cast on stitches and then just follow along. That's Phildar - a bulky merino that is quite lovely and lofty.

Sigh...I don't want to talk about this one...but I will cause I'm a sucker for punishment. Its My So-Called Scarf in Berrocco Calico. For some reason I keep forgetting how to knit the pattern. And everytime I do 10 or so rows I end up with the wrong number of stitches.

Two destined for the frog pond...Icarus because its been so long I need to start over. And a discloth that my cat decided to pee on. Good thing I was already unimpressed with it. Apparently he was not too impressed either.

"Someday I'll have arms...and a pretty dress...and eyes and a nose. I will be a real stuffed animal! And someone will love me and cuddle me!" (the guilt is gonna kill me). Stuffed bear for Madeline who needs something special to snuggle when she's at Daddy's house and misses me.

Felted clogs from FibreTrends in Patons Classic Wool - also for Madeline. The first clog was a breeze. The second one isn't cooperating as nicely.

Sock in SWTC's Tofutsies - very nice to knit...Yarn Harlot's sock recipe.

Fairisle from Dalegarn - I am very worried about gauge because my swatching was...um...questionable. Cross fingers. Thats Baby Ull.

Conceptual artwork: "Dropped Stitch" - I had to frog this sock for the billionth time a week ago. We are not getting along right now. Have been discussing this yarn's lack of commitment in therapy. I understand that this may be out of my control and must come to terms with the fact that sometimes you just have to let the yarn be a skein or ball and not try to shape it into something else.

Defiance (def.) - Doing something as stupid as jumping up onthe balcony railing just because you can.

Thank you Elizabeth!!

The most fantabulous Elizabeth from Sydney NS has proven herself a terrific swap partner on her first foray into a knitter's swap. Elizabeth and I were hooked up through the Knitter's Coffee Swap.

Want proof of Elizabeth's goodness? For one thing, she proved that in Nova Scotia, the coffee rocks...

As a point of information - the Just Us Guatamalan is amazing and I can't wait to try the Mills Mountain. Then, she confirmed what we all know...that Fleece Artist is one amazing company ...

The roving is Blueberry Mist and the Blue Faced Leicester/Mohair pair of skeins is a Baadeck Yarns exclusive colourway that is inspired by the Nova Scotia fall colours. Can't quite see it? How about another look...

Elizabeth explained all this to me in a wonderful card that explained how she chose all this wonderful stuff. I also got some bonus stuff...a dark chocolate bar (yum!), cat coasters, and some tea. Thanks Elizabeth!

And to close - don't you wish you were a cat?

Thanks (again!) and final blogiversary draw.

Well...blogiversary month is drawing to a close. Last week's winner is the sadly blogless Lo Sing who lives here in Ottawa and must have "blog begginers" luck because she just found my blog and entered and won!

Final draw is this week and up for grabs are these two skeins of handspun. It is a wool/silk blend (sorry I don't have the percentages). I don't know the yardage but I can tell you there is 100 g (3.5 oz) in there and it is roughly fingering weight (give or take a bit of thick/thin here and there). This is spun from this roving. The colours are definitely watermelon-y and this picture isn't too bad. The sheen from the silk is lovely! If you haven't won already this month, send your entry email to me at ambergem1969 at hotmail dot com by Wednesday next to win!


Sienna is doing semi-okay - she's still iffy on the leg and I probably need more anti-inflammatories but we'll see how things go for a bit.

As for the Afghan from Hell...thanks for the excellent advice - you are all right of course...its just...well there's the never finished Mother's Day quilt guilt (it went un-built) of 1992 to consider...

I'll keep you posted on the ultimate decision.

Thanks...good thoughts helped!

Sienna seemed a bit rough still but a bit more alert when I got home from work yesterday. She still wasn't eating or drinking and when I brought her downstairs she couldn't seem to control that back leg on slippery flooring (now I know why she was staying upstairs where the carpeting was).

Madeline and I administered her anti-inflammatory (a nice way to say we botched getting the pill down her twice but finally managed it with a minimum of choking). An hour later she showed up downstairs in the kitchen. This morning she tried to trip me going down the stairs when I was going to feed them. I am so relieved! Thanks everyone for the good thoughts.

Now...I need some advice. Last spring my mother asked me to knit her a funky afghan for the back of her couch.

I hate it. I hate the colour. I hate the yarns I chose. I hate knitting it. I have about ten inches knit and every single row feels like torture.

Still they say that you should knit something for someone that they want.

But...my parents are back after four months in Florida on the 5th of May and there is NO WAY I'm going to be close to done. And frankly, I'm very pouty about having to do this. I don't tend to knit for others to a deadline. I tend to knit what I like and give stuff away if its appropriate.

So...should I suck it up and knit the damn thing? How should I explain why its not done? Should I just tell her there's no way?

Finally - how do I manage all the associated guilt?

Sienna

In the Fall of 1993 I managed to convince my now-ex husband that we needed another cat because our first cat had clearly decided that he was the favoured owner. I wanted MY cat, the cat that would sit on my lap and play with ME.

So after K’s first tentative yes, I called the local humane society and was told that they had a LOT of kittens. I wish I had had a digital camera because a LOT is an understatement. There was an entire roomful of little brown and black tabbies. That poor mother cat must have had 10 kittens – it was chaos in there. The receptionist unlocked the door and wished me luck.

I knew I wanted another girl cat and was fairly confident in my ability to sex the kittens but who to choose first? And how was I going to separate the boys from the girls so I could choose from them? I was wearing a jacket with long tassels that there were kittens jumping from all sides to play with them.

I had put my purse by the door on the floor. Out of the corner of my eye I saw this little head pop out of my purse and look at me with big green eyes. I scooped the kitten out of my bag…and promptly fell in love.

Sienna will be 14 this year and she is the sweetest and most loving cat I have ever known. I am hoping I will have her for a few more years. Unfortunately on Saturday she didn’t come down to eat (at her age, she may sleep a lot, but she NEVER misses the chance to witness the food hitting the bowl). When I did find her I prodded her a bit to see if she was just sleepy. There was definitely an issue with standing up and it appears that one of her hind legs is collapsing when she tries to walk. I took her to the vet on Saturday and she’s on anti-inflammatories but they don’t seem to be making a difference. She hasn’t budged from underneath the rocking chair since yesterday afternoon. She doesn’t appear to be eating or drinking.

I am worried sick about her.

Blogiversary month!

Today is it! I've been blogging for a year and it seems like a good time to reflect on the whole experience. So given my penchant for point form synopses...here are my blog thoughts in no particular order... (by the way, if you want to skip the stream of consciousness and go straight to the good stuff...scroll past the list)

1. Blogging takes on a life of its own -- although it seemed like a diary to start with, the blog itself became its own "thing" very quickly. Like about the same time people started commenting and I realized that I had a small audience out there.

2. Blogging can be a drag -- as in "I haven't blogged recently and no one is going to visit me anymore" Which makes me wonder if I am blogging for me, blogging for others, blogging just because or all three at once.

3. Blogging can be depressing -- when no one posts a comment and I wonder if I a) pissed everyone off or b) am so boring it isn't worth reacting to or c) comeon...it's your blog! who cares!

4. Blogging can be enlightening -- those rambling posts that no one really wants to read through? Those are the ones that seem to feed my soul the best.

I guess that it comes down to the fact that blogging is an inherently social exercise - and like all situations where you put yourself out there for others to see, it contains the same anxieties and successes.

Okay...I've bored you all to tears...now the good stuff. I am going to celebrate my 1 year blogiversary with a cool stuff give-away - some stuff will appeal to knitters, some to spinners and some to everyone. Every week this month I'll post a nifty gift. Anyone who wants in on the draw for it will need to send me an email at ambergem @ hotmail dot com by the deadline. You'll be assigned a number based on the order I get the emails and then I'll use this nifty tool to draw randomly.

First up - for the spinners or felters...50 g of Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester roving and Knit Scarves!

Email by Wednesday, April 11th for your chance to win this fantastic prize pack worth...okay never mind ;-)

And we'll end this post with pure bliss...sometimes I wish I could be a cat...

100th POST! Randomness

1. Roving porn - absolutely gorgeous wool-silk blend from Fleece Artist.

2. I have a new obsession – teddy bears. Specifically, teddy bears from Sandra Polley’s The Knitted Teddy Bear. I’ve looked everywhere for this book – and then FINALLY checked my library (love you library!). I can’t recommend this book enough. The best part is that none of the patterns have gauge to stick to. You are knitting it all on the same needle in whatever weight wool you use (she uses DK or fingering throughout) and unless you really can’t keep a consistent gauge – the pieces all end up fitting together nicely. Since I have been struggling mightily to get gauge on a fingering weight fair isle, it is nice to throw caution to the wind and end up with something lovely and antique looking after only a few hours of knitting. Meet Nicolas:

Yarn: Briggs and Little Regal (its a bit heavier than a DK - its a rough wool with a bit of vegetable matter still thrown in) in Forest Brown
Needles: 4.0 mm bamboo

And Oliver:


(He needs some work)

3. I have another new obsession: Heroes. OMG. How addictive is that show? I had heard it was good but now…well, my on again, off again ex-bf is holding the downloads hostage so I can only watch at his place. They saved the cheerleader and I’m pretty sure I’m not on the list although I have seen an increase in my knitting speed (that would be my superpower – faster knitting and always getting gauge – I’m not sure how this would benefit humanity but we’d all be warm and cozy). I have an increasingly complicated relationship with my ex-bf now made more so by television. Evil evil television.

4. I’m pleased to announce that my very belated handspun arrived in Singapore. I think Chrissie is the all time swap champion!

5. I have also heard from my SP10 pals – both my spoiler and spoilee…I am plotting! I have a policy to send along as much Canadiana as possible (no, not Patons Canadiana although it does make nice mittens and such – it just isn’t good spoiling yarn) – Jeanne got Laura Secord chocolates and Smarties for the Spin Roving Swap. Chrissie got some Blue Faced Leicester roving to spin from Fleece Artist for the Spin to Knit swap.

6. The weather. I hate to whine (not true I love to whine but I pretend I don’t for the benefit of others), but this warm-cold-thaw-snowstorm thing is really hard on my psyche. I know, it happens every single year. I’m always ready for spring way before it is ready for me.

7. Daylight savings. Three weeks early. What’s up with that? Everyone around is dragging themselves into work because its so bloody dark in the morning. All for what – its not like we’re actually saving daylight or anything. Apparently I am not the only one having waking up problems:


Back to Oliver...he needs your good wishes...assembly can be tricky.

Lots of news...none very interesting but pretty pictures ahead

I went kinda nuts with the camera this morning in preparation for el gigantico blog post about everything and my dog (okay I don't have a dog so my three cats...2 1/2 really but more on that later). But first...some blog sustenance to energize the creative mind required to entertain all five or six of you (HI!). We have tea in the super amazing spinning mug (I really wanted one of the "Spinners for Whorled Fleece" mugs but they aren't making them anymore) and Cookies and Cream Cheesecake. This is NOT low fat since my take on cheesecake is go big or go home. However, if you must try to upgrade your cake there is a note in the comments to alter the recipe and it sounds pretty good too.

Next...a few weeks ago I received a fabulous package from Chris Dalziel at Joybilee Farms who stepped up to be my pal in the Spin to Knit swap after mine fell very ill (Jo - if you are reading, I hope things are getting better!). Not only does Chris spin a great skein, she also makes her own soaps and I was lucky enough to get on big one scented with anise, and two little ones that also smell pretty great.

The green on the left is wool plied with silk - a 67 gram skein with 80 yards on it. The red skein is 100% wool in a Fire! colourway - 48 grams and 64 yards. Thanks again Chris!

I will also be sending my own stuff off to my pal who is owed two months worth of handspun after some miscommunication. It will be in the mail this week after payday.

And now...knitting update. There have been some basic socks knitting around. If you had told me two years ago that I would have THREE pairs of socks cast on and many more waiting to be knit I would have ... well I don't know what I would have done but the words laughter, disbelief and coma jump to mind. Work has been so busy that knitting mindlessly around in circles with exciting breaks (partridge heel! turning heel! picking up stitches! kitchener stitch!) seems soothing. Having three on the go means I can choose a sock to work on colour (I need soothing blues!) or state of completion (I just wanna sock done by tomorrow!). So without further ado:

Party time sock - second sock working on the gusset decreases and then down the home stretch to the toe...whee... I love these so much I wear the first sock sometimes while I knit the second one for inspiration.

Fleece Artist - sixth-time is a charm sock (long story - but I may have to frog these AGAIN)

Pretty pastels for Madeline (my attempt at pattern dying some Knit Picks bare fingering weight merino) - these are pretty enough but I was hoping they would be brighter. First sock, heel and decreases done so just working my way down the foot now)

The last of the current knits is the Icarus shawl which I am knitting in Misti Alpaca lace weight - bought last summer and has been patiently waiting for me to either commit to the Print o the Wave stole or try something else. I'm not awarding points if you spot the glaring error I am currently ignoring.

Next up...wanton consumerism/enhanced stash/project understudies waiting for their big break

10 butter soft skeins of Mission Falls 1864 Wool in a deep raspberry colour that is begging for me to stop be such a weeny and just commit to a design for a cabled sweater for Madeline. For some reason when I go to design something - and I mean really, its mostly just math folks (which I happen to like) - I hit a creative wall of insecurity. Not sure why - if the wool was $25 a skein I could understand it!

And speaking of $25 dollar skeins - this is 875 yards of exquisitely soft gossamer weight wool. Someday I will win the lottery and buy it a friend and after that I'm going to try a shetland shawl. There, I said it. Publicly. Now I want to run and stick my head in the sand.

Some more handdyed knit picks merino - I just could not get the colour to work on this but the tones are actually much deeper and more jewel tones with blues, greens and purples. Someday these will be socks for me!

And more socks. The small balls are leftovers from projects - mostly the Charlotte's Web Shawl. I picked up more Apple Laine in black and want to do some kind of mosaic up near the cuff with some of the leftovers - and maybe a heel and toe in an contrasting colour.

And this was just a silly retail therapy purchase - more sock yarn. That is actually a deep purple. More sporty socks with a bit of a white stripe maybe?

Today's project is a perfect one-day knit (I hope). This teapot is chilly. I painted it at one of those paint your own ceramics places a few years ago. I absolutely love everything about it except that 1. it really leaks when you pour your tea so you have to put a tea towel under it but and 2. it doesn't have a cozy to keep the tea warm so I end up with cold tea all over the table. There is nothing I can do about 1. so today's mission is a felted tea cozy worthy of my hard labour...

And last of all...I leave you with the possibly cruel but necessary plight of my poor ragdoll Amber. Let me begin by explaining that ragdolls do not shed as much as other long haired cats. Or at least this is what the breaders will tell you. This is patently NOT true. All cats shed. Long haired cats just shed in clumps which makes it a bit easier to clean up. Ragdolls have very soft "bunny-like" fur that is very fine. So when Amber sheds it often gets caught up in her own fur and in the spring especially she gets a ton of mats in her ruff. This year was so bad, I resorted to drastic measures.

Before (Madeline likes to capture "cat stuck in the [insert object here]" pictures. Yes that is me in the background knitting and glaring at her.)

After

I'd say I'm sorry...but I'm not.