A Good Little Yarn To Be

 Next on the spinner is some superwash bare roving which I dyed when we had the swap.

 I split the roving down the middle the whole length and wound it into two bundles for spinning.

And away I go on the spinning!  

This will make good yarn for a pair of socks....

or a sweet little shawl!

Wool 'n Silk

 I started out the day with another few hours of spinning and it was very relaxing.

 I had plenty of company!  We all like the sunshine from inside!

 The bobbin filled up pretty quickly with the 2 ply yarn.

 The next step is to wind it into a skein from the bobbin.  

I can also count the rotations to figure out the yardage for the new skein.

 I then tie off four points  to keep the skein under control while soaking and drying.  

It also keeps it neat when it is skeined  until I knit with it!

I now have enough yarn for a luxury pair of socks!

On a funny note, I use string to tie off the four 'corners' of the skein--

string that I save from cat food bags and from the bird seed bags!  

Sunshine and a Sock Blank

 We had some errands to run in St Augustine but afterwards,

 we went to the little splash park by the beach with our lunch.

 The boys had just as much fun stopping up the nozzles as they did running in the spray!

 We moved on to the beach when their attention waned 

and found a wonderful bit of shade under the pier.

 It has been repaired after the hurricane damage last Fall.

 While the lumber is all new, the pylons are pretty flaky and bleeding rust!

 Will threw his ball and chased it in the surf for a long time.

 Ethan was more interested in engineering sand castles. 

 Look at the clouds building in the northern horizon. 

 It always does us good to have a visit to the beach!

 When we arrived home and emptied the car of all the beach duffle, 

I took a few moments to play with the knitting machine.

This is a skein of sock yarn, which I caked and then caked again so I could knit with double strands.

This will enable me to make two matching socks from one skein.

The sock blank is 16 1/2" square-I will eventually be able to fine tune the gauge 

to match that of the actual sock knitting gauge. 

I'm building confidence at the knitting machine-able to fix mistakes is a sign of progress!

It is definitely speedier and has a rhythm of its own which is pleasing.

 I will enjoy dyeing this blank in either a gradation or in a summer splash of  color;

  I haven't decided for sure yet!

Feeling Blue!

 Blue morning skies pale beside the electric wool and silk slipping through my fingers.

 Blue calm water cut by the knife of the speeding hulls.

 Blue black birds feeding their young in step to their raucous demands.

 Blue grey feathered friend eyes my work as I fill the bobbin in one continuous thread.

A Blue day's work ready for another journey.

The Frog's Last Leap!

 

I was able to do some spinning first thing yesterday morning...

it was so peaceful with Lena in the sunshine in front of me

chirruping good morning!  

Later in the day, I worked on the final row of the frog applique quilt!

When I was ready to shout a ta-da, 

I realized I had the four blocks to do that would go in the backing;

I almost tossed them in the orphan block pile 

but stuck it out and finished them as planned!

Now I am truly over the frog fingers !

(I did 552 frog fingers for this quilt--as in needle up, needle down, turn, needle up, needle down, turn...you get the idea!!!!)

 The beautiful Cana lily I received for Mother's Day is still going strong....

it is an amazing pop of color in the pool area!

Halfway

 I finished plying the second skein of the Southdown wool which measured out to another 150 yards..  

I plan to dye the first one in a few colors and the smaller skein in a solid color.

I don't know exactly what it will be used for yet.

 The flowers are loving the rainy season.  This Hibiscus measures 8' across.

 The knotweed bush is making a comeback-the freeze this past winter reduced the big bush to a few 12" stubs.  It is now over my head in height...butterflies are coming to dine!

 This little stub of cactus was 'picked' for me--the lifesaver was too real for some little boy!

It might well root!

It is pretty on my windowsill over the kitchen sink in the meantime!

 This used to be the pond--it is becoming a lake.

We can't drive around the pond-straight ahead on the left was the dam Bill had built.

The next three days are supposed to be dry so we will see if the water level drops at all.

I have been adding to the Persian Tiles blanket;  I think I am about halfway done now.

I ripped out the other blanket-I like this one better and I want it to be big enough.

I also have a pattern to my random colors!

It makes it easier to know what to use next!

Southdown Skein

 I wound this off the bobbin early this morning...it is balanced and beautiful!

This is a down breed and so the yarn is soft, super squishy, bouncy and lofty.

I have started plying the last on the bobbins.....another skein will follow later today.

We have had a relapse of the vomiting by the youngest--it makes for a bit of confusion and disruption but I am hoping for a nap time later today so I can do some work on the frame.

I do so like being home for a change!

Sunny Spinning!

 After I dropped off the boys, I went to do some spinning by the river.  

It is day three of the Tour de Fleece, you know! 

 I managed to ply the first bobbin full for skein number one of the Southdown fiber.

 This was my view of the river today.

On the way home, I took a picture of the construction going on at the Dunn's Creek Bridge;

it will be a four lane bridge in another year or so! 

 The boys enjoy spotting the construction vehicles each time we drive by!

(and because no one was behind me, I slowed down and took this pic out my windshield!)

Sweater 101 FO

 The sample sweater from the video class is off the needles and blocked!

 I had a good time learning some extra tips and feel pretty equipped to handle alterations to patters much better.

 This will fit a one year old child;  made with heavy worsted yarn from the stash on #8 and 10 needles.

I even added the yoke to the back.

I think I scored an A+ , if I do say so myself.

The Mighty has Fallen

 The men in the house have been down with a stomach bug so OJ has found a quiet place to hide.

(the skin people were sick not the fur ones....)

 This guy used to have a brother who was grey and white...and this is how they would sleep.

Sweet, huh?!

(He is cuddled with Ethan's KitKat)

 Nyki is always on the hunt-this guy was discovered by Nyki and reduced to naught by moi.

 And a little kntting has been going on--this is my progress on the Sweater 101 class.

 Bill, when he was feeling better earlier in the week, 

felled the great cedar growing just outside our pool area.

It was messy and when he began to dig it out

 discovered that there were tree sized roots heading into the house foundation

 and the pool - we are glad it is down.

 The boys thought it was a great adventure to have a 20' crater in the yard!

 And a little forest to play in, too!

These are some of the treasures we found 6' under the ground near the tree-most of the glass was broken but we found these bottle intact.  According to their manufacturing numbers, they are from the 1930's.  Pretty cool, aren't they?!