the woolydaisy-a window into my world

yes, that time of year again!!!

2011-09-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

Dang! can you believe school has been in session for over 2 weeks now and i have not had the time( too busy making wild blackberry jam and starting new knitting projects!!!) to post my freaking out woman picture yet. it is customary on my blog to have a minor freak out when school starts again as i realize all my "good intentions" of catching up over the summer has fallen thru the wayside once again.

it's usually centering around math. who the hell wants to do math over the summer????? only the twisted and insane! so i post a picture of how i feel about this. For those of you that don't know- i homeschool. down to one child now. 8th grade math makes my brain hurt!!! have you figured it out? i am numerically challenged. have been all my life! during the school year- i have a math tutor to help us out. i attend these tutoring sessions as well- so that maybe just maybe my brain can grasp these alien unattainable concepts.

harvesting color!!!

2011-08-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

i normally use acid dyes when i dye my fiber but sometimes i like to experiment with natural dyes. i have this amazing natural dye book "harvesting color" by rebecca burgess. the book has recipes and knitting patterns!

i so love it that she didn't use capital letters in her title! kindred spirits!!! anyway-i don't want to digress on that issue. this book is a must have for anyone wanting to dye with plants. i noticed that she had a recipe for dyeing with french broom(genista monspessulana)- a non-native invasive plant species that grows everywhere by my house- yipee! i'm always thinking of uses for invasive plants but never really come up with much. i decided to try dyeing with the broom!

most natural dyes require mordant of some kind to get the dye to stick to the fiber and stay there. many of these mordants can be pretty toxic. i prefer to stick to mordants like alum and iron. i prefer the rusty iron water technique i learned from the book.
actually my first gallon of iron mordant water was gifted to me from my friends claudia and birdsong. birdsong has her own natural dye CSA called Nature's Cauldron. gotta go check out her website!

they put a couple handfuls of old rusty objects in a gallon jar with water and white vinegar.

i especially liked the old horse shoe. i then set it the sun for many weeks and the water turned cloudy orange.

after the iron water was strong enough- thanks to the power of the sun, i simmered my skeins of superwash merino in the iron water for about 60 minutes.

dang- sorry the picture came out so dark!! hope you get the idea! anyway i was amazed at the color of the mordanted yarn.

i thought it was pretty in itself! unfortunately my soft buttery merino became very dry and harsh feeling:( maybe that's why my own hair gets so dry and brittle- we have very high iron content in our well water. i let the skeins sit for over a week before dyeing them. rebecca states in her book that she achieves better colors this way.
then i gathered 2.5 pounds of french broom. i will definitely harvest in the winter/spring next time as the plant easily pulls up by it's roots in the wet weather-hence getting rid of the non-native invasive plant.

i cut the plant matter up into smaller pieces so it would fit in the dye pot.

i ended up having to use 2 pots as there was so much french broom. i boiled the chopped up plants for about 80 minutes. i then let the dye pots cool overnight and then reboiled the plant matter for another 90 minutes the next morning to fully extract the dye.
while the yarn soaked in hot water i strained the plant matter out of the dye and combined the 2 pots of dye. the yarn soaked for about an hour and then i simmered the skeins for about 80 minutes in the strained dye bath. the color came out a deep dark army green- my camera won't capture the color no matter what i do.

This is NOT the color in anyway. the color is more like color of old dark green army pants- remember back in early 80's when wearing army pants was hip? for any of you that henna your hair- it's kind of the color of the henna paste.

it's not like this either- i'll repost the picture if i can get a better one.

All in all the experience was good- much more work than my acid dyes but i like the idea of using the invasive plants for something. not too happy about the harshness of the yarn but i'm going to try a soak in some hair conditioner to see if that helps.

a bit of a catch up!

2011-08-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

dang things have been way to0 busy; can't even manage to get a weekly post in-so much for a lazy kickback restorative summer! thought i'd update ya'll on what i've been creating lately. i decided to a 12 in 12 sock challenge for 2011. that's knitting a pair of socks per month this year. i'm a bit behind.

here's my july handspun socks:

they aren't that bright in real life. i knit a sweater for my new darling niece Rory Mckenzie. my camera was having some sort of fit-the picture turned out horrid.

i actually finished a sweater i started 3 years ago. remember this?:

i dyed the yarn eons ago! it's my mr. green jeans! feels so good to complete something. i even got to wear it at a very special occasion- soon to be blogged about. stay tuned!

i love the sweater! it's one of those everyday kind of sweaters.

i spun an awesome roving i got at stitches this year from wool candy. I made a cowl from it. and now fingerless mittens.

here's another roving i got at stitches- from girl on the rocks. the hard part is what to make with it!!!!

i hope to get caught up in the blogoshere( is that a word?) soon.

sadness is an empty chair

2011-08-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

the wild animals have been well fed this week. sadly we lost both Kitzie and Pilsner to predators. it comes with the territory when you live on the frontier. i know their life span is shorter when they are allowed to come and go as they please-but they sure had a grand life here. Pilsner and Kitzie were very happy cats.

this is the chair that Kitzie napped and slept in every nite next to my bed. it's empty now.

we know the predators got them as they never ever stray. they are always right by the house and never miss a meal. first i noticed Pilsner hadn't been nagging me to feed him in the morning. then blue was viciously barking to get out in the middle of the night- liam heard a cat scream right outside his bedroom window. the next day we found a trail of blood(and no Kitzie) from the trail by the house going far into the woods- possibly a coyote bringing food back to her pups. the neighbor is also missing 3 cats.

it's the cycle of life, i know. i'd rather they went this way then a senseless death like getting hit by a car. They were the best cats- even thought Kitzie(aka luca brassi) drove me nuts sometimes. we will miss you! here's a tribute to the the little and not so little buggers!

Pilsner-born on this very hill- what a handsome fella. everyone who knew him was astonished by his size. he was our zen cat with a hint of devil in him- just a hint. like when you walked by a chair he was sitting in, he would reach out and snag you. then pretend he didn't do it!

Our little Kitzie.

Kitzie actually has 3 blog posts-possible more. you can check them out! her love of fiber, her lust for chicks, and her ability to tangle yarn.

thank you Pilsner and Kitzie for enriching our lives.

from snow to sand

2011-07-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

hubby got some time off so we decided to do some day trips close to home. one really neat thing about living in california is there is so much diversity of terrain. we happen to be very fortunate in that we live close to so many awesome and beautiful places. -after a very cold spring, summer is finally here and we spend most of our time outdoors which is why my posting is so lacking these days.

we began with a hike up the loch leven trail- a steep trail that always kicks my butt-we were sure shocked there was still so much snow.

the trail was hard to find at times, lots of falling down but we trudged on. a late lunch break in the snow gave us the much needed energy we needed to get to the top. i think i was verging on tears at this point- but we were so close i wasn't gonna give up!

we followed the footprints of Sasquatch when we couldn't find the trail.

when we finally reached the lake-it was still iced over! what a great color the lake was-a true ice blue.

can you see the snag(above) liam and i are standing by? check this out- i love snags!

wildflowers galore at the start of the hike. this was my favorite. pussy paws i believe.

we made it down before dark-soaked soggy feet, tired and haggard. took us 3 hours to hike up and 2 hours to come down-that was with lots of shoe skiing:)

WE MADE IT! my favorite tree on the hike- too awesome.

well, we didn't get enough snow hiking cause we just had to do another. after a day's rest we headed up 49 to the gold lakes region. our first trail attempt to round lake was just too snowy. so we tried the bear loop trail and it was perfect. breathtakingly beautiful.

where i'm standing below there were mountain lion tracks in the snow the size of my whole hand. tried to photograph them but they just wouldn't show.

it was a fabulous hike. and to think we live so close to all this.

we were on a roll-but we decided to leave the snow and hit the sand.

pescadero beach!!! we headed down to san jose to the national insulator show and decided to take the scenic route. this beach was full of drift wood shelters.

liam made one of his own.

doing some pondering.

the ocean soothes my soul and calms me deeply.

we spent the night in san jose and got to the insulator show at the perfect time. our boy collects insulators-since the National was so close this year we just had to attend. it wasn't as big as i thought it would be-but there were some awesome things to see. all kinds- we even saw a miller twin pin insulator that cost $32,000. yes, you read that right-it's not a typo- 32,000 freaking thousand dollars. my favorite booth was the $1 a spin wheel. you got to spin the wheel and what ever number you got coincided with an insulator. i was lucky-scoring this amethyst insulator.

after returning home from the insulator show- we got ready to go to the downieville classic- the most awesome mountain bike race ever!-right up the road from us. the finish line is right in town.

i was so inspired by the race i got the crazy assed idea that maybe i could do the race by the time i turn 50. if i really work hard. hmmm......since there is no local roller derby team to join-i thought maybe this would be a fun idea. maybe i'm nuts.

okay-okay enough of boring you with our vacation. i promise exciting fiber posts soon.

bluegrass camp2011

2011-06-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

liam and i just go back from bluegrass camp-at the grass valley fairgrounds. here's was our cozy home away from home.

what a fabulous time. liam took mandolin with john reischman. he really enjoyed it. i took beginner clawhammer banjo with wayne erbsen. i was very frustrated with my class as it was suppose to be clawhammer from scratch for total beginners-i was overwhelmed and felt like a total----better not use that word-i don't think it's politically anymore. but i still got a lot out of it. i'm really inspired to practice and i want to get my fiddle in working order and start playing old time fiddle.

the really cool thing about bluegrass camp is there are people just jamming everywhere! here's liam with friend thomas jamming a bit.

every morning we had our 3 hour intensive class. then all afternoon and into the night there are elective classes that just rocked. in fact it was really hard to pick which one to go to. i took contra dance, clogging, old time banjo-accompaniment for singing with debby McClatchy, another beginner clawhammer class by ivan rosenberg. jamming 101 with sid lewis was a hoot! very funny guy. by the end of the day we were pooped. i got about 10 minutes of knitting done the whole time we were there-and i thought i'd get a pair of socks finished-ha!

i want to give a big thanks to hubby who took care of the homestead while we were gone!

i leave you with a jam video of liam, thomas and his friends playing cluck ole hen.

i'm lovin it

2011-06-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

back in september of 2010-i joined a criminal minds mystery kerchief knit along. wow- that was a mouthful to say-or rather read. anyway, weekly clues were given along with a funny story involving the characters of criminal minds- a t.v. show i don't even watch-ha! i don't have t.v. but hubby streamed a few for me so i could at least understand the story a bit and see the characters.
i used a knit picks yarn -merino and silk blend which i kettle dyed a soft brick red. this kerchief or rather mini shawl was too fun to knit- i didn't know what the shawl was going to look like- it was amazing to watch it unfold from my needles. each week was a new and different lace pattern. what a great way to try new lace patterns. i loved knitting it and love the finished shawlette.
i didn't like my dye job though. i like semi-solid dye jobs- but this wasn't going to cut it. the parts that didn't take the dye as well were a horrid beige color. you can't tell by the photo -but take my word for it-it was ugly!!!! here's the shawl after binding off- before blocking.

i wanted to over-dye the shawl but was worried that simmering in a dye bath would felt all my precious efforts. advice from friend and master dyer sara.....she suggested i do it in the oven! yes, another oven post...but not as disgusting as my last oven post, i promise! i soaked the shawl in warm water.

while the yarn was soaking i preheated the oven to 250 degrees. after soaking for about thirty minutes i put it in a light dilution of the same color. don't ask me for details as i just winged it and hoped for the best.

i didn't want to contaminate my oven so i put the dye and shawl in an enamel pot. gee- now the whole world knows i need to clean my oven!!! i left it there all afternoon- several hours. then turned the oven off and let it cool completely before taking out. next came blocking time. i never blocked this way before- with the item folded. but that's what the directions said to do- i'm a sucker for directions-----most of the time.

i hid the blocking board from the cats-behind closed doors mind you. ah, they love napping and or scratching on a nicely blocked piece of wooly fabric- grrrr!!!! don't get me started. here's the end result. can you say "i'm lovin it?" and i'm not talking mcdonalds here!!!

a bit of a close up for ya! the color is more like the top photo-at least on my monitor it is.

yes, i still have a few loose ends to weave in-but yes, i finally finished it-hooray for me! stay tuned for more finished objects!!!

internetless on the frontier!

2011-05-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

where the heck has wooly been? i've been in the land downunder-the land of no interenet use. it was real scary for awhile. i had to come to terms with the fact that yes, i had developed a real addiction to my laptop. facebook, ravelry, surfing and checking the weather was taking up way to much of my time.

Now, this lack of internet was not by choice-it was a situation with a horrible satellite company-who shall remain nameless, caused me to go without and living life on the frontier(i live in a place not considered to be "rural" but rather "frontier", so i'm told)-there just aren't many options for high speed internet.
the first few weeks were pretty darn hard.....then i just let it all go and saw the ridiculousness of it all. i used to be fine without a computer-got along just fine in fact. i just engaged myself in new or old favorite activities.

my friend claudia taught my youngest and i to bake bread. liam is a natural. he's great at kneading it. here's our very first batch.

we now bake several times a week. Been knitting up a storm!

unfortunately i haven't had time to photograph all my stuff-but promise to very soon!!!! as soon as this crazy spring weather calms, i can get out a take some pics!

i've visited historic cemeteries-one of my favorite things to do. guess i like hanging out with dead people. feels so calm and peaceful.

also, adorned in buckskin and calico i learned to shoot a black powder pistol and a rifle....

yeeha hot damn! that rifle had quite the kick to it. yes, i must admit-life is never boring-even without a computer. Been so dang busy haven't had a chance to even catch my breath.

i also became an Auntie again-squee! it's a girl! Rory Mckenzie. can't get any cuter than that. i get to knit gurlie things-yes!!!!

well, i must admit. i'm not internetless anymore. as of 6:28pm this evening-Houston, we have contact! but it has been a lesson well learned. it's okay to step away from the computer. it's amazing how much more there is to do. try it sometime-just unplug!

i'm a north fork gurl

2011-04-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

bad internet connection and my busy life has certainly gotten in the way of my blogging. i swear i write daily blog posts in my head but they rarely make it to the computer. don't know how you regular folks can keep up with it. i have major fiber related updating to do-but can't dive into it right now. hopefully this week i can catch up. instead, i have a mini post about my favorite river.

i live by three amazing rivers and i must admit the north fork is my favorite. my boy and i woke this morning and decided to take the dragon on a spring hike at the north fork and check it out after the storms and raging waters that carve thru the canyon all winter.

big tree across the beginning of the trail. lot's of storm damage but most of it was cleaned up already. liam was scoping out the trail for future mountain biking adventures.

a few of the big trees still stand! see the bridge below? we almost lost the dragon today. he went down for a drink under the bridge and fell in and couldn't get out. this is a creek that flows into the river-we were very scared as the creek was raging full force and there were bigger falls further down that eventually

end up dumping into

MAYTAG! a rapid named by the river rafters!!! what a relief that Blue was able to get out before reaching the dreaded washing machine! glad you're still with us buddy! even though you can be such a pain in me arse!!!

"what? who me?"
wild flowers were blooming.

the succulents are always my favorite.

video of the river and MAYTAG- you will see why we were worried about the dragon ending up at MAYTAG!

how fortunate we are to live in such an incredible and beautiful place -everyday i am so thankful of this.

Planting Placenta

2011-04-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

i can't believe after 13 years we finally got Liam's placenta planted. for 13 years the placenta was housed in this salsa container in the freezer. It survived 4 moves and many many power outages. i can't imagine how many times it has thawed and been refroze. look-the plastic has finally started to deteriorate! just in time i'd say.

we always wanted to plant the placenta under a fruit tree and it finally happened today. anyone who lives in these parts knows that digging holes is no easy feat. the ground is hard, rocky, and full of clay. maybe it's a good thing we waited 13 years as liam was very helpful with the shoveling and picking! note the pick in the background! a must in these parts.

of course the dragon always right there helping!

liam picked a self pollinating skeena cherry for his special tree.

check out the placenta! it's totally molded in the shape of the salsa container.

gee it's a bit frozen still. but the dragon was trying desperately to get a little taste- we had to start burying it.
we planted other trees today as well. let's see, we planted an o' henry peach, a royal blenheim apricot and a mystery fruit tree. we won't know till it grows more! here's the peach tree:

after a day of shoveling, picking, and hauling wheel barrow loads of soil my boy is snoring on the couch and i'm sure feeling it as well. gonna sleep good tonight-i just hope the placenta doesn't attract bears!

INSPIRATION

2011-03-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

this week i was inspired by two women in scotland. these women are on my blog roll. i love reading about their lives and what they are creating. the first one is magnusmog. she's traveling to america to visit a friend. look at the photo of her handknit socks she is packing for the trip. can you say awesome? this picture brings a smile to face. she is inspiring me to be diligent in my 12 in 12 challenge for 2011. yes, i am attempting to knit a pair of socks each month of this year and keep up with other knitting projects. i'm on my 3rd pair. i will post pictures of the socks soon. i hope to have a nice line up like that in year!

the second woman is Saz. here's her blog. i've always wanted to learn to quilt. she just finished this amazing quilt she named the pink pansy.

go to her blog and check out the other photos-it's super cute. i just love the colors! she also knits up a storm! prolific people amaze me.

well, that's it for now- short and sweet.

stitches west 2011 part 2

2011-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dang, i better wrap up my stitches west trip-before it's ancient history. we spent the entire day friday till 6pm on the market floor. oh the intensity!!! i found a few new vendors that i just adored and thought i'd share them with you.

there was WOOL CANDY from san carlos ,ca. adrienne had beautiful colors and ultra soft fibers. sorry, i didn't get a photo. i bought some roving from her-couldn't resist.

BECOMING ART was a definite must! Lisa was super sweet. here's rhodi and i modeling with our favorite colorways-merino and cashmere roving- buttery soft!

of course there was SANGUINE GRYPHON. amazing-about sums up their booth.

here's another booth photo- the photos don't do it justice. they had some awesome steam punk stuff too! i wish i'd gotten some photos of the gals working the booth-their costumes were amazing.

we spent a lot of time at the SUNSHINE YARN booth. dani put up with our weirdness and out came the credit card....shhh!!!!

SOXCHIK and i had the opportunity to meet ALI MacGRAW!!! OMG! she was so nice and sincere! ALI just loved my fraggles. she still looks fabulous! she was there promoting the ali hat from "love story."note her hand on my shoulder!

about half way thru the day-i was overcome with waves of intense nausea and faintness. oh no! i was beside myself-i just couldn't get sick at stitches. then my mom's instant cure popped into my head:

works every time!!! there's nothing like a cold icy coke when you need one. i was feeling refreshed and ready to walk the floor again, breath in more yarn fumes and spend more money.

found some awesome buttons- my computer has decided the picture should be sideways-????

this is the first year i took a class at stitches. i have realized that my knitting knowledge hasn't really deepened or expanded in the past years so, i decided to take a class- a real class. not a "fun" class but a "brain" class. i had to leave all my friends in the market place and head to my classroom. i was feeling a bit anxious. of course i was the last one to arrive to class-i wasn't late, but i wasn't there early getting all set up like a good student. i came in with fraggles, wearing a vintage apron, dropping all my stuff like the total geek that i am -at least i remembered my homework. but forgot my calculator-! i was taking J.C. BRIAR'S slick set in sleeves-seamless!!! after 5 minutes of the class i was ready to bolt. thinking about all my buddies having a gas in the market-and me sitting at a table in the back of the room, completely confused with a brain that was really hurting. wow! i realized- you haven't worked the old noggin in awhile. having a major conversation with myself-i talked myself into staying-mainly cause the class was not cheap. i'm sure glad i did. i ended up learning tons and J.C. was a great teacher. i'm hoping she can come and teach this class for our guild. i want to take it again!

after my class, i headed back down to the market to find my cronies. i had a fabulous surprise waiting for me. i had won one of the daily drawings-i felt like ed mcman just knocked on my door!

check it out:

i effin won a skein of BUGGA from sanguine gryphon!!!! blessed be! i chose a stormy ocean color, the name really got me too! potato leafhopper.

i plan on making the clothilde shawl with it. chomping on the bit to start-tying to be good and finish up some projects first.

needing a break, i sat at a table for needle felters... tatoos. right on!

here's the gals from girl on the rocks and pigeonroof studios. got some sock yarn and roving....wanted more.

saturday evening rhodi and i had to head back up to our hill before we turned into pumpkins- we said our goodbyes and sadly left the convention center.

as promised, my stash enhancement:

have a closer look!

the colors make my heart sing!

i reserved the fleece last year at stitches from judy gunn of judy's novelty knits in utah. the fleece is a from one of her merino sheep named "darlin." it's her 4th shearing. she has wonderful fleeces. last year at stitches judy taught us locker rug hooking.

nice! i also got many cool patterns. nice to see stuff knit up in real life before buying a pattern. another fabulous time at stitches...still floating!

stitches west 2011 part one

2011-03-04T10:36:00.000-08:00

okay, i know it's been forever since i've posted-but i have good reasons. i went to stitches west(the most amazing knitting convention evar!!!) a few weeks back and was very excited about posting immediately. BUT- when i returned home the "courier" had to be done. for those of you that don't know , i do our monthy town newsletter. all my waking hours were spent doing the courier to meet my deadline. once that was finished-that very night,when i was about to start blogging- we had a major winter storm which knocked out our power, phones and internet.

i was S.O.S. what a bummer. finally the power has been restored(only 5 days this time!) internet still not quite right-but i am attempting to catch up today.

as usual, rhodi and i left the security of our "hill" and headed to the bay area in the blinding rain. as we hit sacramento we saw the coolest thing-a shuttle bus that said "The Llama Limo"on the back. we figured it was a chartered bus headed for stitches- when we passed ready to wave at the knitters we were met with a bus full of llamas!!! it was awesome.
unfortunately i didn't have my camera ready when we were right next to the bus-but there it is. the limo is from fallen oaks ranch. the journey continued and i got a lot of knitting done.

no, i wasn't driving! we arrived at the santa clara convention center around 2ish and had an immediate 'fraggle' party in luci and vail's room while waiting for soxy sue aka soxchik to arrive. luci is a hair braider extraordinaire. she always makes us look great at the celtic fest; so we figured braids were a must for this event as well. fraggles are my favorite braids-thanks luci!!! all the small photos courtesy of soxy -not sure how to make them bigger.

soxy arrived shortly and the party really began. we all got ready for the thursday nite market preview. it's my favorite part of stitches. the crowds are manageable and there are special deals to find and you get first pick of all the luscious fibery goodness. squeals of delight can be heard from around the market floor.

i bought some patterns from the fabulous designer rock star rosemary hill aka Romi.
she was so genuine and she blessed me with her magic wand-look closely at the photo below and you will see her wand and her tiara.
tiaras were big this year.normally we try real hard to have some sort of organization when walking the floor- so nothing is missed. this year-i had major ADHD and was willy nilly flitting all the over the place. i could barely contain myself, i wanted to run madly down the aisles shrieking with joy and delight. the colors, the fibers-the yarn fumes. it's all too much.

we headed to one of our all time favorite booths: VERB!
hey, look it's rock star podcaster, wonder mike of fiber beat running the register! nice view of the back of his head. at least we know he's not going bald.

the lovely proprietor, Kristine loved our braids so much, luci braided her hair as well.

you gotta see the back!

after an exciting market preview we headed to the ballroom for the ravelry party. here's soxy and i- not much happening here.

but i did manage to get a fiber rock star line up photo.

from left to right: mystery woman(so sorry! anybody know her?), rainy day goods(from ravelry), adrienne (verb), kristine(verb), cookie a., wonder mike, and dani from sunshine yarns(a new favorite of mine).

I need to get this posted before my internet goes out again. stay tuned for the next episode......photos of new favorite vendors, a movie star, and yes, embarrassingly so-a photograph of my new swag!!!! ta ta for now-

So you want to raise chickens?

2011-02-06T10:12:00.000-08:00

So, you want to raise chickens? The first step in this fun adventure is having shelter ready and prepared before you get them. It’s easy to rush out and buy those cute little balls of fluff at the feed store and think- they can live in a box while the coop is built. Been there done that and the end result was very sad. Many of you faithful readers will remember the dog attack-large box was on the porch. Only one of the 8 survived. We still have her. Lucy the Lucky. she used to love hanging out on my shoulder. i had to put an end to that. click here to see why.

First you need to decide how many chickens you want; be sure to think of the future in case you want to expand your flock. Find a nice shady spot to build your coop. Chickens do not do well in the heat. Shade is a must! The coop includes the chicken yard and the hen house.

Lets start with the chicken yard or run. It’s important to fence your chicken yard in due to predators-wild and domestic. The idea of free-range chickens is wonderful and great for your birds but the reality of where we live is another story. Stray dogs and wild animals are a constant threat. We free-ranged in the beginning but couldn’t keep a constant eye on them and neighboring dogs were always showing up and coyotes would appear at all times of the day. We had one come up to our front porch at noon while the girls were out-luckily we scared him off before damage was done.

Chickens love to run around, stretch their wings and dig in the dirt. A good rule of thumb is giving your girls at least 4 sq. ft. each in the yard area. I know fencing is a pain but done right will help keep those predators out. Bury the bottom of fence line 8 or more inches to keep diggers out. A six-foot high fence should be tall enough. Lucy is the only one that can fly over-we let her have a little freedom when she does this. Bantams need a taller fence as they are lighter and can fly better. Covering your yard is up to you. It will keep your chickens safer and healthier. Wild birds carry parasites and disease. My yard is not covered. It’s too big and I guess I’m just too lazy to do it. Wild turkeys and neighboring peacocks find their way in occasionally, wanting that delicious organic chicken feed.

The hen house is for shelter, safe sleeping and egg laying. There are many ways to build a hen house. Get creative. There are plans on the web and many books that can be checked out of the public library to assist you. Hen houses that you can stand up in are easier to clean. Here’s the basics: Plan on no less than 2 sq. ft. per chicken-more is better! Not enough space stresses the flock out. Bad habits can form: pecking, biting, feather pulling, egg eating and cannibalism. Bantams need half the measurements.

the photo above is a picture of the building of our bantam coop.

Chickens like to roost at night. It keeps them warm and makes them feel safe. Roosts should be at least 2 feet off the ground. I use 1X2 wood - seems a little easier for them to grip than the rounded wooden rods. Be sure to paint or linseed oil the roosts as this helps with mites/lice that like to live on the roosts during the day then climb on board the chickens at night for a tasty dinner. The egg boxes should also be at least 2 feet off the ground. I make mine about a foot square. One nesting box per 3 birds is sufficient. They all seem to want to lay eggs in the same box. I have 2 nesting boxes that never get used. I do not have tall hen houses that you can walk into; our nesting boxes protrude outside the house and you lift the lid for easy egg gathering and cleaning. see the girls trying to lay in same box! there were open boxes to use but they have their favorite.

here you can see how i built the nesting boxes so i can easily gather eggs and clean the boxes from the outside.

When designing your hen house keep these things in mind as well. Make sure your design is set up for ease of cleaning or you will not want to clean your hen house. I have plywood floors covered with linoleum for easy cleaning. You will need a little pop hole for the hens to come and go as they please during the day but will lock at night. The structure should be weather tight and draft free. Damp conditions are dangerous for your chickens’ health. Ventilation is important as well, especially in the hot summer months. We are fortunate to have mild winters that require no heat source. Chickens actually tolerate the cold better than the heat. Elevated houses keep moisture out. If you have space under your hen house be sure to attach hardware cloth so the space under the house does not become a breeding ground for rodents and skunks- also, you may find that the hens want to their lay under the house and that makes for difficult egg collecting.

We keep the food and water in the yard not the house. This will keep the hen house drier and keeps rodents out. I built a little feeding shelter so the food stays dry when it’s raining. If you choose to keep it inside be sure and take the food out every night. Often it is the chicken feed that attracts predators in the first place. Hanging food and waterers should be at least 6 inches off the ground.

I think that about covers shelter for your chickens. If you start planning and building now you will be all set for baby chicks this spring. Good luck and happy building!

get away!

2011-02-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

i just returned from a quick trip to pacific grove. i was fortunate to accompany hubby on a business trip. He was attending the ecofarm conference at asilomar. fabulous!!!! i love little get a ways with my man! especially to the coast. we always stay at borg's motel, right on lovers point:)

here's the view right out our motel door.

there are little beaches and a long trail that goes in both directions. you can walk to cannery row! i was enjoying the view when all of a sudden:

some eejit decides to eat their breakfast right in my view!!! yes, i could see them clearly- adding half and half to their coffee, letting the dog join them at the table, etc. total bummer. luckily it was only 2 hour parking and they did not extend their stay. i did manage to finish my thuja socks knit from orange flower yarn waiting for their departure. i used size 3 needles- my favorite for socks these days!

then i realized- OMG! the only other knitting project i brought was lace. nothing wrong with that but i can't knit lace with other folks around. i need something basic. like socks. an addictive knitter without a project is like a junkie without smack. you just gotta have it. my fingers were itching and beginning to sweat. my stomach was beginning to tighten. withdrawal symptoms were setting in. clearly the only thing to do was get a fix. forgetting my oath, i got my fix at 529 central avenue.

a skein of madeline tosh dk-settled my nerves and i quickly cast on 44 stitches and started another sock- i can quit anytime i want, really!

there's so much groovy history in the area that really fascinates me. remember our trip last fall? you all learned about my interest in Steinbeck and my fondness for Ed Rickets-. well, on our last night in pacific grove i was laying in bed looking at the local "things to do" rag and something grabbed my attention immediately. Ed Ricketts' Pacific Biological labratory was to be opened to the public!! a dream come true for me. i've seen the outside of his lab many times on Cannery Row- and always wanted to get inside.

they were giving hourly tours all day. there's no way i could miss this event . bare with me friends; i just gotta share some of the tour with you.

i entered into the living room area.

unfortunately none of this stuff is Ed's. the list of folks that used to hang out with Ed is quite amazing(Henry Miller and Joesph Campbell to name a few-and all the colorful locals!!!)-wish i could have been a fly on the wall! we were fortunate to have Frank Wright at the tour- he actually knew Ed back in the day and he told us stories.

That's Frank on the right. on the left is Michael Hemp author of "Cannery Row- the History of John Steinbeck's Old Ocean Avenue." we own that book-if i would have i was going to meet him i would have brought it for him to sign.

Author Scrap Lundy was also there.

i had to get his book, "Real Life on Cannery Row."

i can't wait to reread Cannery Row and then read Scrap's book. he researched for ten years to find out the truths behind Steinbeck's Cannery Row. here's more photos of the tour:

snacks were provided. too bad i just had a huge breakfast! here's Frank sharing more stories.

next we went out to the back of the lab. This piece of equipment was what Ed used to render shark liver oil.

the next photo was taken at the end of the pier looking towards the back of the laboratory.

next we got to go down below where Ed gassed cats and other "sciencey" things to get specimens ready to mail out. guess you'll have to read the book(s) if you don't know what i'm talking about. these filing drawers are supposedly the real deal- i just had to touch them! i'm such a geek!

if we hadn't had to hit the road i would have stayed all day-the folks putting on the tour are awesome! their love and passion for Ed, Pacific Biological Laboratories, Steinbeck and Cannery Row is phenomenal. they will be offering more tours in the future so check their website if you will be in the area. One more photo in honor of Ed. courtesy

it was a whirl wind trip but so worth it. i had a wonderful time. the ocean replenishes my soul.

i forgot- here's a piece on NPR for you listening pleasure!

beaver like!

2011-01-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

dang i've been busy. eased back into schooling after the hollydaze-that was a feat in itself. sometimes i wonder if the breaks are worth it. seems so hard to start back up again.

let me start this post by showing you what i had to buy myself the other day:

"oh cute"-i can hear you saying. but that's not the point! (note the word bolded above) well. i'm not very happy about this purchase. these are not prescription glasses mind you. i don't wear them-athough maybe i need to be- but that's another story. these are freakin reading glasses. yes, magnified reading glasses-the kind you get at the grocery store. you know-the kind for "aging" eyes. yes, i've come to realize that i can't read the ingredient labels on food, medicine or supplements and i've shied away from books with small print. yep. age happens. sigh. at least i was able to get some fun ones! daisies how appropriate. and only $3.99.

i was amazed how much easier knitting was while wearing my new spiffy lenses. especially when i started the lace on my Fairwind Cardigan.

it's a fabulous pattern and my gurls and i are doing a knit-along, which we started back in November. okay as you can see i'm not very far-but hey the holidays hit and all good intentions flew out the window. i'm knitting mine out of cascade 220 heathers in a honey mustard colorway. the picture doesn't do it justice. out of the 5 that are participating you can check out the blogs of birdsong and mama spider to see their progress and yarn choices. i love seeing everyone's color and fiber choices.

i also finished my boy's holiday socks. they were supposed to be a gift for the Winter Solstice but now they were finished for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

these are made from cascade 220 superwash wool in his favorite color: grey. they were thuja inspired. but i used size 3 needles, casted on 48 stitches and did the k3, p1 pattern every round.

my dear friend anne always sends me yummy luscious yarns for xmas. waiting to open her gifts is excruciating. i can barely stand it. this year among the skeins was some Malbrigo Rasta-OMG! heaven in a ball i tell you!!! soft chunky squishy merino!!! this stuff rocks. with one skein i made this awesome neck warmer. knit on size 15 needles-i knit this in a day!!!

been doing a wee bit of spinning lately. not as much as i would like though.

within the last year i've decided that pink isn't so bad after all. i have a strong growing attachment to it. wow! life is stranger than fiction sometimes.

Darn It!

2010-12-31T09:00:00.000-08:00

now that the hollydaze are nearing a close-ahhh! yes! maybe i can get back to my regularly scheduled life. always relieved when this happens. all in all in was low key and mellow-so i can't complain.

all you sock knitters out there know and understand the horrors of:

yes, that's right-holes in your precious beloved socks. all the hours of work spent knitting and bam-it happens. and like most of us sock knitters, darning socks is a dreaded chore. i hate it. let me repeat myself: I HATE IT!(yes, that statement deserves capitol letters!!!) until now! recently, while discussing this with a friend, she said- why don't you do what cat bordhi (sock knitter rock star extraordinaire) does? needle felt them baby!!!!! really? never thought of that. so here is my post about needle felt darning.

supplies: styrofoam ball or egg.

felting needles: be careful! extremely sharp torture devices!!!

felting fiber: preferably in a color that matches the socks. make sure your fiber is NOT superwash. you want this stuff to felt!!!

okay- so my fiber doesn't really match the sock but hey- when have i ever been a "matchy" type girl? go with the flo!

stuff a ball into your sock and grab a needle.

lay a piece of fiber over the hole and just start stabbing. if you have a 12 year boy around-this will become his favorite past time. stabbing stuff with sharp implements what more could a boy ask for? my boy was so excited about this project i couldn't get him to do his math-he just wanted to darn socks. in fact he said he'd darn all the socks that needed to be done. yes!!!!

we turned them inside out and did it on the other side as well. keep stabbing till the fabric is real dense and flat.

note math book in back ground!

wah-la! you're done in no time!!!! so quik and easy- and fun!!! great stress reliever too. stab stab stab stab!!!!!! i will keep you updated on how they wear and hold up. one thing i didn't like was using styrofoam-yuck! plus you get little pieces in your sock that you have to clean out. will work on finding an alternative(sponge?) any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

this is my last post of the year. i look forward to the new year. may 2011 be all that you want it to be. be careful what you ask for!!!!

OOPS!

2010-11-27T12:48:00.000-08:00

OOPS! yes, with capitol letters!!!!!! Horrors of Horrors as i was paruising(my word) the net this morning it came to my attention i made a big blunder on my last post-which i have since made good. it was not the "lime and violet" gurls attending the grand opening at "VERB" but the STASH and BURN gurls. then my friend Luci emailed me and confirmed my blunder-gads how could i be so lame. like i said-i don't keep up with such matters-i'm fairly luditey (another of my words)-and must admit i have never listened to a podcast in my life. i don't really know how...despite WonderMike's many attempts to help me with this issue.

my apologies to Jenny and Nicole!

A VERB..............

2010-11-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

saturday morning rhodi and i planned to leave the security of our hill and head to oakland. why? you ask why would we leave our nests of comfort and quiet and head to the city despite the snowy weather. well, it's a 5 letter word baby!!! FIBER! seems like the only reason we leave the hill these days.

i get a phone call at 7 am- a very groggy barbara sue says she needs a fiber fix too. so we head to oakland in rhodi's green machine-which by the way is a toyota with 350 thousand miles on it.- that is not a typo- 350 big ones!!!!!

you see one of our favorite fiber companies was having a big grand opening party as they just opened their new store. they used to have a teeny tiny store in bezerkely . if you haven't heard- A Verb for Keeping Warm has moved to oakland! i cannot begin to tell you what a fabulous job they did- the store is beautiful.

all of "verbs" yarn and fiber is naturally dyed. now they carry many other yarn companies which are not not naturally dyed but beautiful as well.

you can also get yarn that has not been dyed-just the natural color of the sheep-gorgeous! as well as locally raised fiber.

making choices was tough! here's another view:

barbara sue won one of the hourly raffle prizes!!!

and yes, there were celebrity sitings as well....WonderMike of the fabulous pod cast "fiber beat" was there. he teaches at the store as well.

the STASH & BURN gurls were there as well as lexi boeger. sorry no photos of these rockstars- didn't want to get too paparazzi-esque. i'm sure many other as well- but with the hermit lifestyle -you know i don't get out much or keep up on such matters.

Best of all, here is the beautiful Kristine-proprietor of this amazing venture-pictured with partner Adrienne-who helps out in so many ways.

it took ALL day to decide on what to get-it was agony. too many choices. i ended up getting 3 skeins and a pattern.

from left to right: think prairie here, a gorgeous golden and yellow 65% falklands wool 35% tussah silk blend-going to make a shawl. the other two are superwash 70% merino 30% silk-sport weight. socks indeed!!! happy socks!!!! the pattern is a coco knits(local designer)design called "sabine"-seamless and top down-my kinda of sweater! the day was made complete by visiting an old friend that i haven't seen in like 20 years!!!! he came to the opening! what a great day!!! the best i've had in along time. still glowing.

well, the bewitching hour was approaching and we needed to head back to the hills before we turned into trolls or possibly worse. we waited for one more raffle and departed at 4. wow! the 3 hour drive turned into a 5 hour escapade- torrential rains, lightening and a pee stop at a starbucks in marysville turned into a car unable to start-wet starter perhaps. to make a long story short which involved barbara sue's adventure with a CHP officer, a tow truck that luckily wasn't needed as we got the green machine started and white out blizzard conditions on scary canyon roads-we did all eventually make it home safe.....all in the name of FIBER.

crafty update

2010-11-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

i interrupt the central coast vacation posts with a crafty update! besides gallivanting around california i have been busy in the crafty sector. i'm finding it very hard to focus on the this post but i'm trying to get my mind off the fact that i have the worst case of poison oak i've ever had. short of peeling off my skin or killing myself i've tried all remedies i know of- except a trip to the doc for a heavy duty cortisone treatment-which i'm sure i need. i've been suffering for a week straight-it's so bad i have the chills and feel like shit. if no improvement by monday it's off to the doc i go!

i forgot to add the benedryl to the assortment-didn't touch the itching but gave me a wonderful heroin type nod that allowed me to sleep at night. man that stuff is potent! for the safety of everyone around me i only took it night. had to stop taking it....making me weird out.

before looking like a leper rowan and i made ceramic buttons at a ceramic studio at willow springs-it was great fun and i want to make more! thanks for your guidance penelope!

they look like candy huh? here's a better look:

i finished the baby vest made with my hansdpun merino yarn.

away from home i was able to finished my tidepool socks.

in case you weren't paying attention-i actually finished a pair of socks-yes, a pair-2 socks!!!! instead of getting bored and never finishing the 2nd sock i persevered. you can't see me-but i'm doing a little happy dance:) i love them so much i have to post another picture. love the picot edging.

the yarn is from hazel knits in the sweet crush colorway. washable merino-yum!

being that the colder weather should be heading our way i immediately casted on another pair of socks-worsted weight on side 3 needles- my favorite needle size for socks-i hate knitting with tooth picks! this yarn is a washable merino as well, from orange flower.

geez- what a crappy picture! will update soon-promise! before i go slather my body with slime i wanted to show you what grew in our garden this year-and we didn't even plant it!

what a treat!!!

central coast: part one

2010-11-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

haven't been able to post recently as wooly and the family have been gallivanting around. pops got some time off work and we decided to camp the central coast. we decided to head to the salinas valley first-here's our favorite early morning coffee/tea/ gotta go porta john stop before you hit sacramento. this little blue closet has saved us many a time-there's even toilet paper in it.

being that we were headed to steinbeck country we thought it appropriate to listen to this book on tape during the many many hours we'd be traveling in the car. glad i remembered to check it out of the library.

there was something wrong with our tape player- it was speeding up the tape so that it sounded like we were being read to by david sedaris with touch of munchkin. trippy! it took a while to get used to but we we eventually got used to the helium induced voices. Come to think of it i think David should get a gig reading the classics for audio books. can't you just hear him reading jane austin or dickens! maybe i need to contact him.

we saw so much of california's agricultural land-it went perfect with the book.

we made it all the way to salinas and thought it appropriate to have a picnic at the public library. the truth of the matter: everyone was hungry and cranky and we couldn't find a place to eat our packed lunch after blindly driving around town we stumbled upon the library.

the lunch was eaten heartily and we didn't even mind the wet sprinkler grass:

i needed to check out the library-WOW! it was swarming with patrons-this town loved it's library-awesome! i checked out the steinbeck section. Impressive.

both sides! i found my favorite steinbeck-

cannery row-i know how original. but it is. i just love that book. must admit i'm a bit smitten with ed ricketts who is portrayed as "doc" in the book. He's a fascinating person and i would have loved hanging out with him in his lab. i started reading "the log from the sea of cortez" and there is an excellent bit called" about ed ricketts" by steinbeck in the beginning. something he wrote after ed's horrible accident which killed him in 1948.

i could have stayed there all day. but we had other things on the agenda. next stop:

wonderful place for any steinbeck lover. i took tons of pics inside but i don't want to be the annoying person showing you 50 million pictures from their vacation that you really don't want to see...i can hear the yawns starting already! plus-if you've never been, i'd hate to spoil it for you. i did think the publishing penguin time-line was cool. back into the car; the journey continued......

quik update

2010-10-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

my goodness it's been over three weeks since i've posted! what's up with that? where the heck have i been? well, I've been to chicago and back, a celtic festival, put out another edition of the town newsletter, homeschooling and just dang busy. too dang busy. i start getting pissy when i haven't the time time to post- just ask the family. i have future blog posts planned for my trip east and the magical world of gaelic fairies, sacrifices and strong men in kilts-but alas, they take time. more time than i have right now...as i prepare dinner, weigh wool, look over liam's science paper, knit on 3 different projects simultaneously while working on my blog-oh yeah, did i mention all at the same freakin time. no wonder i'm frazzled. i just can't do one thing at a time.
all i have time for is a quick upate on knitting projects and a few misc. things.

here's my tidepool socks. i'm so loving this pattern.

i'm STILL working on the sleeves of my catamount sweater.

been doing some spinning:

this is some merino i dyed with "baby" items in mind. started another vest:

im also involved with the criminal minds mystery kerchief knit along-this is a very fun project!!!

been harvesting rosehips.

been cooking with our own garlic and now it's time to get a new crop in the ground! i'm so not ready!!! thinking of turning current garden into a goat/sheep pen this coming spring.

enough for now-need to get busy!

bear poop and other treasures

2010-09-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

major busyness for wooly these days! first off- i haven't been getting much sleep lately. the dogs on our hill have been going off(barking excessively) all night long-mine included! i recently found out why. on my driveway is a big pile of:

bear poop!!! with lots of peach pits inside. at least we know the bears are getting some proper nutrition before their midwinter nap. just stay away from my chickens!! did i blog about the bear in the chicken coop? need to check on that. it was very exhilarating and scary.

every september liam gets very excited as it is time for the annual d'ville antique bottle and insulator show. it's his passion. i must admit i get a bit thrilled myself. as i always find all sorts of treasures. affordable treasures!!!! check out my score! below are some great old prints from Ca. Fish and Game, a Maxfield Parish print, and a whole collection of bird and animal prints by Jacob Bates Abbot. total score! can you see the postcard sized thing with an old english manor on it? it a sewing needle kit from england. it originally had 50 needles-i think half are still there. too bad the darning needles are all gone.

i just love old pyrex and enamel. i finally got a set of 3!!! been wanting these forever-but way too expensive at antique stores and hard to find in thrift stores.

and the cool thing is my buddy Birdsong just gave a one of the blue ones in mint condition with a matching silk and merino undershirt she found at a thrift store the other day . thanks bsong-that made my day:)-i am rich with treasures!!!

i also got these nifty enamel bowls-they look great for display in our craft fair booth.

the garden has been giving us beautiful heirloom tomatoes this year despite the weird weather. livin on homegrown tomatoes rocks!!!

i want to end this post with a thank you. many of you know we recently had a large forest fire close to home. too close to home. our road was closed and many friends were evacuated from their homes. i want to thank everyone- firefighters and all for an excellent job kicking ass on this fire and getting it contained so quickly. you all amaze me! some of our own local fire firefighters were away in other states fighting fires when their families were being evacuating. over 1ooo acres burned. i am so very grateful!!! thank you!!!

photo from yubanet. here's a picture of blue watching the fire planes fly over our house.

knit-alongs and other stuff

2010-09-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

now that the excitement of our big forest fire is over-phew, that was close. too close for comfort. things are getting back to normal. trying to get organized for schooling and i've been knitting up a storm!

i'm relieved to have gotten the twin baby sweaters done that a dear friend commissioned me to knit for her brother's twin baby girls due in november. i was able to finish them just in time for a quick handoff at peterson's corner on her way to the baby shower-that was another close call with many issues of running out of yarn and trying to find new balls with the right dye lots. but i managed. the pattern was a sirdar pattern # 1816 made out of bamboo and merino yarn-oh so soft and machine washable.

now that i'm done with this commission i can work more on my knit-alongs-yes, i've joined more than one! insane i know-but remember i'm the queen of starting new projects but this way i may get them done:)

here's the progress on my Catamount sweater, i'm almost done with the second part:

while parousing around ravelry-i found a mystery sock knit-along using HAZEL KNITS yarn. i love hazel knits yarns! the cool thing about a mystery knit along is you don't know what the finished product will look like- you receive clues and your sock will unfold before your eyes as you knit. i'm a bit behind on this one. here's the beginning of my sock in the sweet crush color way.
i decided to do another project for the knit along as you can do numerous projects-by the same designer. melissa of "stick chick knits" is an awesome designer. check out her website. i decided to do the prickly fingerless mittens but only in one color as i didn't have another contrasting color and was trying real hard to be good and not order more yarn! i already had a skein of hazel's "olympic rainforest" on hand.

i think the mitts will still look awesome:

well, my back is troubling me again and i need to lay down-adios folks!

that time of year!

2010-09-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yes folks it's that time of year again. it's the time when i post an image of a screaming woman. happens every year.

i post this picture because it's how i feel-totally overwhelmed! it's the time of year when i'm suppose to be organized, on top of things, ready to go-yes, it's the beginning of a new school year. don't get me wrong-i love homeschooling. it's just that...i have such good intentions of keeping up with things - just a little bit over the summer so when this time of year comes around again we are not hit with a mac truck. does it ever happen? NOOOOOO! and it's amazing how much is lost over those few summer months- now, how do i hold a pencil? what's 8x7? how do you spell...... it's like starting over. our brain is like a muscle-and when you stop exercising it-it get's flabby, out of shape-it loses power!!! so we gotta get our brains back in shape. i'm only schooling one now, but 7th grade starts getting hard and my brain needs a super workout!!! i need to get out of my brain fog. so here's to getting organized, blowing away the fog and doing it in a non stressful, positive, happy sort of way. wish me luck.

so proud!

2010-09-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

i am so very proud of myself! i joined my first knit-along. i'm so excited as it might kick my butt in gear and i just may finish this sweater quicker than if i did it on my own. it's called the catamount sweater. find details here!

besides joining my first knit-along, the real reason i'm proud of myself is "STASH." yes, the whole sweater is being made by yarn i have hidden in a box at the bottom of my closet!!! RIGHT ON! i planned on going to the yarn store today to pick out some yarn for this sweater and i slapped my hand and said "wooly-NO! you will NOT buy new yarn for this sweater. you will shop in at your own yarn store(the closet)" and i did. check it out! here's my soon to be sweater:

i'll keep ya posted!

meet MARZEL!

2010-08-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

rhodie and i met marzel at the thanksgiving craft fair we did in mendocino last year. we were fortunate to see her again at the summer craft fair as she had a booth as well. she is one amazing woman. she makes these incredible recycled bags out of used pet, bird, feed and grain bags. a true 'reuser' marzel is. the name of her business is Cleverheart Designs. she is so cool that if you give her 10 clean(no mold-ick!) bags she will give you a made bag for free! that's a great exchange. i brought her bags to the fair that i have been saving. here's the bag i got for FREE!

my new catch-all knitting bag! YES! gotta love little birdies. here's her booth at the fair:

MARZEL is a woman of many talents. i don't know her very well but these things i do know about her. she is a knitter of socks, a writer, a teller of stories, a seamstress, an animal lover, earth lover and she has good taste in wine:) plus she has an awesome name!
so if you's like to get your very own Cleverheart Bag here's her contact info: facebook -you can contact her there! at the top of her page just push the "info" tab.

i just have to show you my very first bag: perfect for knitting and spinning stuff!

isn't that the best? note the wool roving sticking out of the top. i also have a ginormous(pronounced with the long I sound) papa bear size-that is just crammed full of fiber at the moment:)

please go check out her facebook page- you'll be glad you did. tell her "wooly" sent ya!

summer mendocino art fair

2010-08-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

last weekend "washboard woolies" (rhodi and i) ventured to mendocino again for an art and craft fair. i cannot tell you how much i needed to get away from the heat and sun. this time of year i'm so sick of everyday sunshine i could scream!!! the weather was perfect: drizzle, fog, mist, clouds but we actually did see the sun peak out every once in awhile-the locals went gaga for it.

the cost of mendocino summer lodging can be pretty pricey we opted to save some money by camping. being that the state parks have been booked solid all summer long-we found a gem of a place to camp. right by caspar beach. only $25 a night. we had a groovy site:

there's rhodi heating up some tea water for us. a 5 minute walk from our tent and wa-la:

nice, eh? we didn't have time to rent surf boards or kayaks that they had available. there was even a bluegrass jam at night. we really lucked out.

i insisted rhodi bring the iron bed frame she found in a dump in Louisiana-i think it added the perfect touch.

a perfect place to hang rowan's kid sized fingerless mittens.

too cute!!!! it was a bizarre sale. we thought we'd sell mainly knitted items. but low and behold-we hardly sold any of it- the popular items this fair were the hand dyed rovings(felters came out of the wood work i tell ya!) and our yarns. wow! we were surprised.

this wine rack was loaded with rovings when we started and we came home with just a few. rhodie dyed silk scarves and did some nuno felting too. they are the crinkly scarves. there is actually wool felted into the silk. here's a closer look:

last fall all my baby sweaters sold out. this summer, not one sold. at least i have more craft fairs coming up. so i'm not too bummed.

here's some of my hand dyed sock and shawl yarn.

the flowers were a nice touch too!

i did trade a pair of fingerless mittens for this pin. i want to make the perfect "woolydaisy" hat to stick it on. this woman had some amazing metal sculpture.

i love the town of mendocino.(actually i love all the coastal towns around here!) we were fortunate to be there on the second saturday of the month. all the art galleries are open late. not only do you get to view great art but have tasty treats as well. did you know the movie "summer of '42" was filmed there? the mendocino art center had the still photographs from the movie-it was great!! i really enjoyed the" studio odd hours" gallery too! it's been forever since i've had the time to just wander around and look at art.

i just love the old water towers in the coastal towns. i actually found one for rent and thought it would make a fabulous fiber studio. of course it would be quite the commute:) when i tried to show it to rhodi later i could not find it anywhere. the town is not very big. very strange. but we did find one for sale.
yes, i could live here. and drive a cool truck like this:

no problem!

the process

2010-08-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

i've dyed some beautiful rovings that spun up just okay looking-nothing to write home about. i remember thinking that i wanted to dye a really ugly roving and see how the finished project would turn out. i will show you this process. i chose a bright fuscia(in honor of cyndi lauper 's 80's hair dye) and a rust. i dyed or rather painted the merino roving. the wool turned out like this:

my water is very high in iron so the rust color had a lavender bleed to it. interesting. i spun it on "bozenna" my Polish spinning wheel. i think she liked it! then plied it on "henri" my wheel from Holland.

next i wound it into a skein:

then i let it sit in a bag in my studio(closet) for months on end....maturing, ripening-or maybe till i totally forgot about it and came across it while looking for the perfect retro apron to match my outfit that was shoved into the closet(studio) at amazing speed-avalanche prevention.

i decided something "baby" would be the perfect item for this skein. i needed to wind my skein into a ball for the knitting process. i use my umbrella swift for this job. it's a wooden devise you attach to your table that aids you in effortlessly winding your skein into a ball.

or not. argh! see previous post for more photos of this escapade. then, i got to spend the rest of my morning untangling this mess. deep breathing did help with this; along with a long colorful string of specially chosen cuss words. but finally...i did achieve "ball" status.

then i parouzed ravelry and found the perfect pattern- got my knitting mojo on, added some cute buttons from meadow farm and wa-laa! the project is complete. okay i lied-rowan parouzed ravelry for me this time!

okay-so i lied again, the buttons aren't really sewn on yet. but you get the point anyway, right? maybe i need to dye more ugly rovings:)

as they say it's not the destination but the journey.

DON'T ASK!

2010-07-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

touring the fourth

2010-07-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

busy as usual!!!! the tour de fleece is coming along great. here's a photo of what i spun on day one and day two:

yesterday was day three. i started spinning this "funky carolina" roving while watching jane eyre:

the roving is shetland. i've never spun shetland before. i like it!!! it is believed that the vikings had something to do with the breeding of shetland sheep-

cute aren't they? i borrowed this photo from the "woolly matters" website. check out their site!!! i hope to finish spinning it tonight. then i will ply it tomorrow.

thought you might like a little tasting of what we did on the 4th of july. it is tradition that we head to D'ville for a small parade. it's so small in fact that after it has passed thru town it turns around and goes down the street again. here are just a few highlights.

smokey is always honored in the parade.

my favorite this year was the elderly woman wearing a red/white gingham dress in a wheel chair playing her fiddle with her chihuahua in her lap!

here's a close up of her fancy wheel chair detailing!

as usual, the parade ends with the fireless fireworks. they roll bubble wrap down the street so everyone can stomp on it! no fireworks here- too much fire danger!

then the family hiked the north fork and found a picnic spot-what a beautiful day!!!

we ate cheese sandwiches down by the river.

life is good:)

let the spinning begin!

2010-07-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

wheel oiled- check
fiber ready-check
snacks and tea- check

let the spinning begin as today is the kick off for the tour de fleece! i am a proud spinner of "team
sierra spinderellas." today also marks the first stage of the 2010 Tour de France bicycle race. The race begins in the Netherlands and finishes in Paris on July 25th-with only two days of rest. this year's race covers a distance of 3596 km. that's a little more than 2234 miles for us americans. wow! photo credit-google images.

team spinderella, along with many other teams will be spinning fiber on spinning wheels and drop spindles on the days the guys race. there's still time to join if you want some inspiration and motivation to spin down that mountain or closet or shed full of stash you have(i know you've got it!) just go here-there are teams of all interests. sign up-there's even prizes and fiber discounts at groovy online fiber stores-not that i know anything about that!!

my goal is to spin down old stash- i dug into the deep dark depths of my closet and pulled out an array of gorgeous fiber delight-it was like my birthday or xmas in july!!! okay-i might be be a bit over zealous- but i'd love to get thru this pile by july25th! shall we take bets?

you must remember i'm a ADD spinner- i have trouble sitting still for long periods of time so i don't just plow thru fiber like some rock star spinners i know. i'm a little bit here a little bit there kind of spinner.

i think i'm going to start out using "henry."

he's from holland. henry was my first wheel. he's good for thick stuff. i usually use him for plying. but i want to try spinning thick and chunky again-you know- that beginner yarn you hated when you first started spinning and that was all you could do. little did you know you were creating some awesome "art yarns." seems like the more you spin the thinner your yarn becomes.

well hubby just asked me if this tour de fleece thing was a blogging thing or a fiber thing- uh, i guess that means i should get off this machine. he's right i need to start spinning.

on an ending note- my boy still picks me flowers: I HOPE HE NEVER STOPS.

that time of year

2010-06-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again-for my annual st. John's wort gathering. i make a beautiful ruby colored oil for my hubby's joint pain. he responds well to it.

i won't go into detail today as you can see last year's post here; which tells you all about how to make your own st. john's wort oil. it's very easy to do and beneficial too!

been doing some dyeing and lots of knitting. unfortunately no knitting pictures yet. here's a few dye updates. sock yarn!!!! everybody loves sock yarn-it's so versatile not only can you make socks but shawls, fingerless mittens, baby stuff- and so much more!

my FAVORITE is pictured below. i ended up selling it to rowan- an awesome dyer and maker of those fabulous batts everyone loves to spin!!! check her out! can't wait to see what she makes with it. i'm going to try and recreate it-unfortunately it was a mix of all sorts of dyes at the end of a dye session. we'll see if i can do it. i've been trying to think outside my usual box of colorways and made this skein-i call it 'homegrown tomatoes." what great wild pair of socks this would make!!!

i love the softness and coziness of this next skein-i'm thinking shawl here:

this next roving now belongs to the lucky Ms. Lucie- (another talented dyer and spinner) very good choice on her part. i've been drawn to these earthy browns with blues lately. must see it spun up lucie, okay? weird picture-kind of bleached out.

ugh! the kitchen is calling-need to finish some scrubbing. have a great week!

bluegrass & taxidermy forever!

2010-06-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

whoa nellie- not all computer monitors are created equally-i hope you are seeing what i'm seeing. i recently redid my blog appearance-and i really like it. but then i saw it on a different computer and holy crap-my eyes balls nearly fried right out of their sockets! what i am seeing is a nice soft warm pond scum kind of yellow green. on the other computer my eyes met with an electric chartreuse-now i admit to liking chartreuse a lot but this was vibrating way too much.-i hope to gawd that you are not seeing my new blog this way. please let me know what background color you are seeing. i don't want to be held responsible for vision loss.

Well, as some of you know last weekend was the annual father's day bluegrass grass festival in town. i usually shy away from crowds but do venture out to this event. the best part of the festival is the parking lot scene. small jam groups form outside RVs and tents and the music is real. liam and i went on friday as his homestudy picking group was meeting up there for some jamming. here's liam with his new mandolin he got from the Darrell Johnston Lending Library.

during the kids jamming session two old-timers joined in- they were in their 80's and 90's.

i caught some video footage before my camera ran out of batteries!

if you want to see a longer video of them playing "bury me under the weeping willow" go to my youtube channel and check it out.

we had a good time but i was bummed the one band i did want to see i missed- G2, a bluegrass band from sweden. did anybody get to see them?

as you know of my obsession with taxidermy- this was the best thing i saw at the bluegrass fest- at someone's camp sight. a taxidermy chicken on a grill. can't beat that!

at least i'm not bored!

2010-06-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

there is so much going on here at the wooly homestead i can't even manage a matching pair of socks.

am i losing it? well, maybe just a wee bit. to begin with, i got a new job at a local cafe. very nice that it is only 2 miles down the road- most folks have to commute to find work around here. it's been years since i've worked in a commercial kitchen. here's the evidence.

nothing like a nice oven burn to break myself back in. i have much to blog about but sadly not the time to do it. i have chicken stories, basket making and garden photos to share. i've been busy knitting, dyeing fiber and yarn for a couple of craft fairs later on this summer. plus i was commissioned to knit five baby sweaters!!! Dang- i better start busting some arse!!! hope my hands can handle it.

we did take some time last sunday to hike along the south fork of the yuba river.

the river was cold, fast and raging with all the snow melt. no swimming for us- even though the day was hot.

we've had so much spring rain that the wild flowers were still in bloom.

the sticky monkey flowers were prolific.

so were the 'woolydaisies." technically i think they are called wooly sunflowers-but i renamed them. they are one of my favorites.

the succulents always amaze me-the way they can grow out rock!

we came to the end of our trail and found some great rock art and a mother nursing her baby-so beautifully sweet right by the river.

i hope to catch up with everything real soon.

GO CELTICS~~~~

whose got a bigger head?

2010-06-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

okay- i guess i've tortured you enough with the suspense. a couple weeks ago our fiber guild(the coolest guild EVAR!) had a spindle retreat or "camp" you might say. we gathered for a 3 day weekend at a nearby resort for camping and drop spindling. the guild has been on fire lately with the use of these ancient devices.

sara brought a gorgeous bag she wove many years ago- everyone gushed over it. turns out it was originally suppose to be a hat. but as you see.......

the hat just wasn't going to work for sara. so she turned it into a bag. in walks barbara sue-and wah-la

it fits!!! a regular "spinderella" i'd say.

unfortunately, i could only attend friday nite. but what a ball. we had a mexican potluck, lot's of spinning action and lots of rain!!! my camera batteries were nearly dead so my pictures got progressively worse as the evening wore on. i took many pics-but boy o boy-i won't post them. you know how your camera slows down when batteries start to fail. you all would totally hate me if i posted them. you look like a bunch of half lidded, opened mouth drooling.....well i better not go any further. it's not politically correct to use that word anymore. trust me. i was going to delete them but hey -you never know when you might need a good black mail photo.(insert evil laugh) here's a few that are safe to post. sorry they are so dark. amy had an amazing aray of spindles:

i was a rebel and refused to drop spindle. i hate it. i've tried it many many times. no pleasure what so ever. so why waste my time right? so i brought my wheel-"bozenna." she is a Kromski sonata from poland. i named her "bozenna" because it is the polish named for happy. my wheel make me happy. it is also a czech name for happy as well. i am part czech so i thought the named fit perfectly.

i was spinning a merino/silk blend from sweetgrass wool of montana.

many other guild members blogged about spindle camp and have great pictures. here's the list i know of so far. birdsong, sharon, heidi and amy. check their blogs out!

dye day recap

2010-05-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Jeez- i think it was like a month ago we had our spring fiber guild dye day and i'm finally getting around to posting about it. i swear for every post you see here i must write 20 other posts in my head. just don't have the time. anyway- dye day is always such a wonderful time. hanging out with wonderful women dyeing fiber and eating fabulous food! Sue opens her beautiful home to us and sara graciously shares her knowledge.

my sock yarn- i wanted to think outside the box and get away from my usual greens. i had envisioned bright pinks, oranges, yellows and purples. fun socks for me to brighten my day!!! but when i started mixing my colors a force unbeknownst(i don't think that is a word but i like it) to me took over, took control- look what happened.

possessed by color!

this roving turned out darker in real life- real manly-perhaps something for my studly hubby with this colorway. just a touch of pink for his feminine side:)

i was not happy with the way this one turned out- too much washout-perhaps it did not steam long enough. going to have to overdye it.

was definitely thinking outside the box for this one. not my colors. will probably sell this roving.

this is subtle and sweet-i keep thinking-something cozy for baby. i hate traditional pastels for babies-but do like soft mellow cozy comfort colors for them.

here's some alpaca yarn-i wanted to achieve the feeling of a stormy ocean. the photo is a bit washed out.

I plan on making the spingtime bandit shawl with it-on ravelry of course!

chickens, dragon, and the garden need my attention! must vacate this machine-but i have a teaser for you-

stay tuned for my next blog post to find out what sara and barbara sue are up to!!!!

buckskin and cannons and fur oh my!

2010-05-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

last weekend i attended my first rendezvous. the kind of rendezvous i'm talking about is a gathering of folks reenacting pre 1840 fur trapping, black powder shooting, knife throwing, homemade apple pie drinking type of rendezvous. my low rider subaru made it thru the two creeks to get to the rendezvous that was taking place in the beautiful rolling hills of valley oaks,wild flowers and cow poop. gun shots rang thu the air.

luckily i was forewarned about the pie. recipes abound on the net if you are so inclined.

Now i wouldn't have attended the annual Brushy Creek Rangers Rendezvous if it hadn't been for my son. he was invited to the gathering by his best friend-a birthday celebration sleep over. ah well, being that the main activities had to do with guns, knives and hawks-mama bear had to intervene and come along to keep a watchful eye on the whole affair.

as he was going to be shooting guns- black powder pistols and rifles. made me a wee nervous ya know. but as a homeschooler, this is a wonderful way to experience and learn history hands on. i must admit the guns have a beauty all their own. Here's the .45 caliber pistol he was shooting. there were some rifle malfunctions so he didn't get to try that.

i love reenactment activities. it's like playing dress up for grown ups-only you have the real thing. i was a total tomboy as a kid. i sported a real coon skin cap, loved fishing, spent my time copying animal tracks into a notebook from the tracking books i'd checked out of the library. dressing like daniel boone was not just for holloween. i loved animal fur and taxidermy. it's funny-being a big time animal lover i never thought about such items as cruel, gross or inhumane. i found them fascinating. i carried a rabbits foot around with me religiously and looked forward to our summer trips to idaho. growing up in the midwest-idaho became my wild frontier-i loved it. boots,sage brush, dust, snakes, mountains- everything a tomboy could ever dream of. i'm still a tomboy. so naturally- i slipped into the scene effortlessly. sporting a calico shirt, linen skirt and my old buckskin shirt-that i adore.

can you believe i have these items in my closet? i have had the buckskin for 20 years- got it at a thrift store in new mexico(SCORE!) it was too hot for my fur pants-but i did bring them. note- the rabbit pelts-yes, i have rabbit pelts. i'm not a member of PETA.
remember-i'm the pescitarian that needs to have a bit of salami every now and then.

there is a hawk and knife area that you have different targets to try and hit. here's the practice logs. the boys spent a lot of time there. they could be there without adult escorts. i particularly enjoyed the primitive camp.

folks cooking on open fires. check out all the types of shelters. i really like the washing stand in this one.

check out the don't tread on me flag.

i love the simplicity of this one.

now this is something i have never seen before- a cow hoof vessel. it really holds liquids! I wonder if there is any pie in there?

beans cooked all day in the cauldron for the evening potluck and friends provided music into the night by the campfire.

a variety of colorful folks attend the rendezvous-along with colorful names. like bonehead-interesting story how he got his name, miss fire and cloud dancer. here's a photo of homeless bill.

one does not come with a name-one has to earn it. others will name you according to legend -by doing something really great or something incredibly stupid. my son's friend earned the name "dryball" as he forgot to add black powder to his gun several times. once named-that is who you are at the camp. kind of a secret society thing. at the end of the rendezvous they have prizes for the competitions, a raffle and a naming ceremony where all the folks who acquired a name will be announced.

sunday morning was the cannon shoot-that was incredible. the cannons were lined up with targets on the hill. this is only a few of them.

see the black mortar?-it belongs to homeless. it shot bowling balls-yes, bowling balls. it was my favorite.

this father and son team had a cannon as well. i couldn't resist this shot.

okay all you gnome lovers-i know you are out there. check out this site.

yes, i borrowed the photo from that site. thought you might want to check it out!

time to meander out of cyber space and get some wool dyeing done. it is mother's day after all. i asked for guilt free dyeing time:)

happy mother's day to all you fabulous wonderful moms out there!

gnome in the sierras

2010-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

do you remember Snicklefritzyarns i discovered at Stitches 2010 back in february? being a gnome lover and all-the fiber was hard to resist! but i did-what was i thinking??? here's what caught my eye at their booth-a gnome surrounded by fabulous fiber-what more can you want?

i regretted not buying any wool from snicklefritz -so what did i do when i got home from Stitches? went on online and ordered some BFL in the "gnome in the sierras" colorway. as if i needed more fiber!

can you say gorgeous? while spinning i was thinking about the sierra buttes. can't wait till the snow melts so i can get up there again! i am blessed to live in such a beautiful area.

i spun up each roving separately. OOPS! forgot to photograph the other roving.

see how different the two rovings are.

then i plied them together.

I'm so in love with this yarn. i only have about 200 yds. i might try this pattern. it's called 198 yards of heaven-sounds about right! it's a little shawlette. look at that fricken sheen. I love this yarn so much i'm going to show you yet another photograph. even though it looks just the same-but not to my eyes.

time to get off me arse and walk the dragon, water the garden and get excited about 6th grade math.

tip toe thru the tulips!

2010-04-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

There is a spiritual community not too far from where we live. Every spring they open the tulip garden to the public so everyone can enjoy them. a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to visit on a very sunny day. they were amazing. my photos don't do them justice.

enjoy!

Excitement at Rebel Hen Ranch!

2010-04-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

well there certainly has been a lot of happenings and excitement around the rebel hen ranch. now, hang onto your boot straps i am not a confederate. just want to make that clear as it seems like anytime one uses the the word "rebel" in rural settings folks immediately jump to conclusions. we call our little homestead rebel hen ranch because we live on rebel ridge. glad to have that out of the way.....

most of you think of april 15th as tax day. well, it turned out to be birthing day here on the homestead. two of our bantam hens had gone broody but they were always nest hopping and being a bit sporadic about the whole thing. so, i didn't really bother to count the 21 days it usually takes the eggs to start hatching. but in the back of my mind i figured i had at least a week to get prepared for the newcomers. the banty bungalow is not set up for a brood of baby chicks.

but last thursday when i let the bantams out of their hen house i noticed that the two broody hens were sharing the nest with the most eggs. hmm. they looked pretty cozy so i didn't separate them i just stuck the other eggs underneath them. i heard a strange noise but then broody hens always make strange noises.

we were headed to sacramento that day and liam and i were checking on the chickens when i heard a tiny "peep!" i opened the nesting boxes and there was a tiny chick the size of a golf ball. bantams are miniature chickens so the chicks are almost like bumble bees! here is Georgette and Ruby with their first hatchling.

i started panicking(remember i'm the worry wart)- we were leaving for the day and i hadn't set up any kind of brooder for them. the nesting boxes are high above the floor and the food and water are outside-there would be no way for the chicks to get around. we had to think fast! i had an old kennel from blue's puppy hood that i had been trying to sell. so we stuck the kennel into the bungalow -filled it with straw, food and water. then we had to move both broody hens, 2 baby chicks (at this point) and all the eggs into the kennel. hubby, liam and i worked quickly! after lots of flapping and pecking we managed to make the move.

i worried the whole day we were in the city. the next morning we were able to check on the situation. we now had 4 babies. i realized this dog kennel was not going to big enough and they would need to run around. so we brought out the old chicken brooder cage from past babies we have raised. we put it inside the hen yard and and hooked up the dog kennel to it. this seemed to worked. here are two of the chicks learning what to eat from their mamas.

chicken mamas are amazing mothers. here is a video-listen to georgette talking to her babies:

sadly one of the babies died. it appeared that the little one was squashed by one of the mamas. it was rather flat. so then there were 3. there were 6 eggs still unhatched and the mamas didn't appear to be setting on them anymore. i wondered if i should just get rid of them as i had heard they won't hatch if they are not getting mama warmth for all but 20 minutes of the day. i called my friend sue who has much experience in these matters and she said to leave them for a day or two. so glad we did as much to our surprise we had a new 4th baby after waiting a few days. so we decided to let the eggs stick around awhile just in case.

meanwhile....a storm brews. suppose to be a a big one! rain and snow expected thru thursday. today i was feeling horrible. sore throat achy-just plain awful. tried to homeschhool liam but spent most of the day on the couch napping.

around 5pm i realizes holy crap-the babies and their mamas are not in a storm proof arrangement. with not much energy liam and i whipped together quite the "crackshack" out of pallets and tarps.

it's really quite embarrassing as i take pride in my coops!

It had been several days since that last chick was hatched and the mamas really seemed to be ignoring the remaining eggs this time. i was able to reach in kennel when we were building the crackshack and they were not warm. i decided to to take the eggs out to give them more room. liam put them in shed while we finished. later i had forgotten all about the eggs and began doing a storm clean(putting all tools in the shed.)

much to my dismay-i knocked over the container with the remaining eggs. they fell on the shed floor and rolled away! i found 2. they were cracked and one egg was peeping!!!! yes, peeping! i quickly ran it to the mamas and stuck it under georgette getting pecked in the process! i have no idea what will happen i guess i'll find out in the morning. hope they don't shun the baby if it survives.

i managed to find all the other eggs in the shed-rotting eggs in the shed would not be pretty. the eggs seemed to be dead-cold, cracked and no peeping.

not knowing what to do with them i threw them into the burn pile hubby had going. i didn't want rotten eggs around. wait!- was that a peep i heard? liam said it wasn't but i'm not so sure---

in my haste to get my last post up i forgot some "green" to share with you. i finished my "wandering the moor shawl." a delightful great pattern from ravelry!

it is a delight. i ill make it again in the larger size!

i finished the green batt from rowen as seen in last post. i love it! it's so soft and shimmery-from the bamboo that is in it.

i have much fiber to show you but this post is too long so i leave you with a small skein of yarn. i found 2 balls of single ply handspun that i had left over from previous projects and i decided to ply them together. very happy with this spring color way.

it's all about the "green"

2010-04-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

okay, i realize this post is a bit late but life around these parts does prevent regular timely posts. spring is so definitely here with it's snow one day, sunshine the next sprinkled in with bits of rain here and there and i just love it. as it is the time of year for all things green. in a few months everything will be golden brown. i cherish the green. green is my favorite color-especially of the swampy pond scum variety. so here is my belated welcome back "spring" post. the yard is full of clovers!

normally we celebrate spring equinox at our house but this year hubby and i were in oakland(see past post.) so we actually celebrated it on easter this year. eggs generously donated by our "gurls" were decorated.the lucky rabbit of spring hid eggs in the woods.

my dear little neighbor raena(age 10) knows i love the color green and aprons. she got me this apron for xmas-what a treat-i am so lucky! yes, i know you all are experiencing "apron envy" at this very moment. i've been sporting this apron all spring!

every spring i make point to spin green yarn. check out this delicious yummy yarn i'm spinning from a batt made by my friend rowan.

i'm actually in the process of plying it so you will see it completed very soon!!!!

here are some of liam's insulators in his collection. he did a "spring" arrangement for me-sweet eh?

it's all about the "green!"

just "do" it!

2010-03-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

holy showers batman-it' s april!!! how did that happen? i completely missed blogging about st. patrick's day and the first day of spring. i always do a blarney type equinox post. it's all about the green!!! where was i? what was i doing? on the first day of spring......yes, i remember now.

the family started out the morning gathering with community members to do some spring cleaning in our local historic cemetery. there's liam and hubby hard at work next to our CVFD fire chief alan(on right.)

we were only able to stay till noon as hubby and i were city bound! Hubby has a friend/business associate that was having a going away party in Oakland to attend. now as you know i am a hermit and prefer the solitude of our hill top hut. but- i am a person of extremes. i tend to like opposite ends of the specrum. i can do "frontier" yet i can do "city" as well. it's the in-between realm i have a hard time with.

this said-there's one thing i usually don't "do" when i'm doing "city" and that is drive. i hate city driving, it's crazy and it's scary and i never know where i'm going and i hate getting lost and hubby and i usually start arguing. in my past, when i did live in the city i didn't "do" cars-i did public transportation or rode my bike. so i never became experienced at it. in fact whenever i do hit the city-it's always a given that others drive- i scare people with my city driving. they always offer to drive.... out of shear fear plus they hate seeing me stress out-not a pretty site.
this trip.....i drove.

we arrived in oakland(me sweaty, white knuckled and very tightly wound) around 4:45pm(got stuck in marysville by a fricken parade-a fricken parade!!!!!)-just enough time to stop by the hotel and head out to the party. we were staying in jack london square, oakland. i took many deep breaths and studied my directions-again. made it to the party no problem. after the party i felt pretty calm and collected as i knew exactly where i was going. but then someone needed a ride home. gulp! Gads! holy crap! sure i replied. double gulp! beginning to sweat as i realized i was about to go out of the bounderies of my heavily studied and much needed directions. i made the passenger rachel promise to give me easy directions to get me back to our hotel room. i didn't want to rely on hubby's directions-we won't get into that right now-that's a whole post in itself. anyway- i did it!!! even though i can't see well at night-i was able to get us back to jack london square without crying or getting into a fight.( okay-i'm sensitive!!!) hooray!!!! call me sexist, but i understand directions given by a woman way better than given by a man. nothing personal babe.

we woke early sunday morning-even with those blackout curtains shut tight, no kids, no dogs and no chickens to let out, we still find it impossible to sleep in. so we decided to go wander the square. look-it's jack london's cabin...sort of.a farmer's market was happening. gorgeous veggies!

eggs were selling for $6 a dozen!!!! holy carp! i sell my organic eggs for only $3/doz. wow! we ate a delicious homemade pizza fire baked in a small portable clay oven with veggies from the local growers while looking out over the water.we also noticed all the well behaved normal type city dogs hanging peacefully with their owners.

after checking out of oakland i had cleverly written up directions from our hotel to none other than "a verb for keeping warm." i hadn't driven this far and come so close, after all berkeley is right next to oakland-to drive by without stopping. the shop is open on weekends!!! we got there in one piece-with only one minor set back-hubby didn't like my directions. well, we did get a little lost-i panicked, freaked out a bit, got pissy at hubby but then he did get us back on the right track and we found it. thank goodness i had my weleda deodorant applied liberally that morning.

the shop is tiny but cute as hell!!

for those of you that don't know- all of their yarn and spinning fiber is naturally dyed. the colors are fabulous and the fiber is ultra soft! i couldn't resist.

the top spinning fiber is BFL in the colorway "alice." the yarn is a blend of merino, cashmere and a bit of nylon for strength in the colorway "le cirque." i plan on making the "calais shawl" with the yarn. i guess i'm still having a pink jag!

there's one thing i don't like whether i'm in the city or small town. and that is....colossal grocery stores. down the street from "a verb for keeping warm" is the berkeley bowl. Now, ive never been to the berkely bowl-hubby has. i thought we could stop by and do some grocery shopping since we were so close. my god...i was shocked and amazed at the hangar like appearance of this natural food store. we wandered around for what seemed like hours and all i came out with was an ice tea and a tub of tahini. sensory overload, too many choices and downright overwhelming. so much for my extreme theory.

i calmed myself down by wandering around the warehouse district. we found an old foundry that looked to still be in use. liam would have loved it.this was sitting outside-isn't this foundry cool-i could live here. if i had to. there were a few old bricks laying around. i took one Liam. shhhhhhhhhh! yes, he collects those too. sorry no photo-i know you are dying to see some brick photos-maybe another time.

one thing i miss about "city" are the telephone/power poles. they always bring me back, make me feel warm and fuzzy-a bit of nostalgia i guess.

well, it was time to hit the road back home. we had a wonderful weekend get away-alone! berekely was a breeze to navigate(we were right by the freeway-hee hee). i gained confidence in my city driving abilities and yes, i can still "do" city but it sure is nice to get back to our hill, where the UPS man won't venture down our driveway but hangs things at the top of our driveway in trees.

weekend well done!

2010-03-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

My son Liam is a collector. He collects many things. He’s good at it-some may say obsessed with it. I look at my childhood. I was a collector as well. My collections were different. I collected rocks, shells, those tiny porcelain animals you could get at the local hallmark shop, stuffed animals, beer cans(much to my mother’s dismay) postcards, stamps and Hotwheels. it’s no wonder my boy is a collector as well. He has much more sophisticated taste than I ever did at his age; as he collects antiques. Especially glass insulators and old bottles. Which is why we headed to chico last Saturday for an insulator and bottle show.

these shows are so much fun and the folks are always so nice. Liam gets good deals cause he's a kid. and of course i can't resist a few treasures myself. an old rainier beer crate, a few insulators, old canning jars, and the cutest little oil can- thinking of using it for my spinning wheel oil.

it was a good show and liam was happy with his haul. the flea market next door had some great deals as well!

the weather was incredible-after days of rain the sun came out and it was perfect! we decided to do some exploring on the way home. we'd heard that this was the perfect time for wild flowers and vernal pools at table mountain near oroville. WOW! what an incredible hike. what makes california so amazing is all the different terrain and geographic landscapes. we live in the foothills amongst the pines, cedars, manzanita, oak and madrone. what a beautiful change for us.

the tree above was taken from the parking lot. my pictures don't do this magical place justice. the sky was blazing blue and the grass was so green it hurt. i felt like we were transported to ireland. this is ranching land as well. the wild flowers were just starting to bloom. being on the top of this mesa like mountain the flowers have adapted and grow very low to the ground -like carpet.side stepping cow pies and soggy vernal pools the land would change suddenly. dips and crevices produced many surprises.

cutting across a field we came upon this gorgeous site.

we were actually in search of phantom falls but only found hollow falls. phantom is hard to find-and falls 165 feet. it doesn't flow in late spring-fall. we are determined to go back soon and find the phantom!!! there was tons of my new pink color as well as yellow, white and purple.

what a great day!

the weekend continued and sunday i stopped by my friend sue's and she was having her spinning flock sheared.

she has angora goats as well. i took lot's of pictures of carl the shearer but they didn't turn out-all a blur. here's sue skirting a fleece.

yum! i just love it when the weekend goes well.

i'm working on it.......really

2010-03-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

i don't really let my new year's resolutions be known-as it often just sets me up for failure. my list is usually miles long as well-nothing you all want to witness anyway. but one resolution i will share with you. this year i plan on getting a handle on my addiction. my addiction of starting new fiber projects before finishing old ones. it's WAY out of control. what a bummer to never have the "fruits" to show for your labors-they remain unfinished in bags, boxes or baskets. i get bored quickly and get too excited with new ideas and inspirations that i can't control the impulse to start something new. there's nothing like the fresh exhilaration of casting on for a new project. it's a drug-what a high! those of you with serious startitis know this feeling. it's dangerous.

this year i plan on going thru my UFO's (UnFinished Objects) and evaluate. Seriously decide whether to frog it or actually finish it. finish up the projects and then-attack my "to do" list with a vengeance. i have sooo many groovy things i want to make. i also plan on spinning everyday-even if it's only for a brief moment. i need to destash my spinning fiber before it takes over the house!

okay-that said...

i have finished 5 projects so far this year. this a BIG deal for me. especially if you could see how many projects i have started. i won't even share that number with you-it's too embarrassing. here's a few pics of completion: i finished my everyday vest knit from Rowan Chunky Colourscape. A holiday gift from my dear friend anne.

and it fits!!! i love this simple norwegian pattern-knit in the round, no seams except the shoulders. not particularly fond of the pink stripe right across my middle though-ha!!!

my friend rowan turned me on to a great free pattern called "malabrigo hand thingies"-super quick knit-on size 7 needles (yes! instant gratification). i made it from some of my handspun merino. MMMMMMMM! been into this raspberry color lately-what is up with that??? hence the need to change the color on my blog.

a new favorite pattern! i strongly urge you to knit this pattern.

last sunday we had another dye day at willow springs to work on our dye books. we accomplished a lot and we even had a spur of the moment BFL dye fest. i really like the way mine turned out but i would love it more if i hadn't diluted the dye so much. you were right rowan!!!maybe to prevent some muddiness when plying i will dye a solid to match and ply with that. a soxchik technique. plus i will get more yardage. maybe if i choose a gold it will look less eastery.
new word, new word!!!

spring is sooooo close! this was taken at the end of february.

ta ta for now-gotta go spin!

fiber and turkeys and gnomes......oh my!!!!!

2010-02-28T20:44:00.000-08:00

last thursday rhodi and i embarked on our annual pilgrimage to Stitches West in santa clara. for those of you unaware nonfiber folks, Stitches is a ginormous knitting/fiber convention. in anticipation of this event all year i throw my change into a canning jar to help off set the cost.

believe it or not there "was" $112 in that canning jar. a bit more than last years savings. i am very fortunate that not only do i share a birthday with the fabulous man in black "johnny cash" but STITCHES falls on my birthday every year. so my birthday is always blessed with tons of fiber and fun with friends!

we meet up and stay with our good buddy soxchik. believe it or not she puts up with us! rhodi and i don't get off the hill much and we can get a bit "over excited" you might say. the fiber market began with photo fun( soxchik and rhodi) -yes, those are a pair of Addi knitting needles!
at Stitches many of the booths have daily drawings for free merchandise. well, what a great surprise for me on my birthday when i won the drawing from one of my favorite booths!!! "A Verb for Keeping Warm" has the most exquisite luxury yarn and roving dyed with natural dyes. Kristine and Adrienne are always a delight! and you are sure to have a WonderMike sighting at their booth. there was much gushing, hugging and screaming when we walked by their booth and they told me i had won the drawing! here's the skein of superwash merino i won in the mermaid colorway.

delicious isn't it?! there are other favorite vendors that i must visit. Judy's Novelty Wool, Miss Babs, Lisa Souza, and Sweet Grass wool. to name a few. Judy is a wonderful woman who raises her own sheep and belongs to the "fiber outlaws" guild in utah. she is aways there with a bright smile, a story and good corny joke or two. rhodie and i bought a rambouillet fleece from her. the sheep's name is shadow and i am excited to send off her fleece to get it processed. sorry no picture-she's up at rhodie's. i reserved a merino fleece for next year-her name is darlin' and the sample was divine! this year i was determined to learn locker rug hooking from Judy. so i bought her kit. i love it!! i'm hooked! hahahaha!(i know i'm such a dork!) here's my almost finished little sample. now i can make groovy rugs!

here's my fiber score-i tried to think outside the box and not come home with pounds of swamp green rovings! OMG! yes, that is a PINK roving in the back-i fell in love with it! super soft merino by butternut woolens -one of my new favorites.

my yarn score was an accomplishment this year as i bought mainly for specific projects. the huge white blob is alpaca that i plan on dyeing for shawl. there are 2 bags of yarn not pictured that i got for sweater projects-i will show those on another post. the prices were too good to pass up!

another new booth i really liked was Snicklefritz Yarns. it was too cool! yes i am partial to gnomes, but she had some amazing rare breed fibers and her gnome travels around the world and the colorways are inspired by his travels. Janelle let me take a picture of him even though there is no photography allowed.

the above colorway is called gnome in the sierras. she has an awesome fiber club i'm thinking of joining. oh and janelle's day job-she's teaches college level organic chemistry. i'm in awe as that is SO not up my alley. just ask my high school chemistry teacher.

the best part of stitches besides all the fiber is the laughter. it's a time to get away from it all and hang with fiber folks and just laugh and laugh and laugh. so good for my soul!!! we brought party favors to hand out. luci was the lucky recipient of some shrek or shall i say fiona ears. yes, barbara sue-i still have your vintage tatoo plastic bracelet. i have light blue or black left!

there is a lot of learning going on as well at stitches. i learned a few more ways to spin from a batt and how to make the most beautiful felted vessels/vases. i came back much inspired and ready to get off me arse and start creating!

on our way home we just had to stop off at a yarn store. ha! yes, we are that nuts! actually i was looking for a certain back issue of the spin off magazine which i failed to find. and also some jo sharp silk road-i only need one skein. i thought i'd find it at the "webs" booth but they sadly informed me that she no longer does north american distribution. total bummer as that is one of my favorite yarns!!! we also stopped next door to "beverly's" so we could get more rug backing for our first full size locker hooked rugs!! what a surprise to be in the city and to be greeted by a flirting wild tom turkey!!!

life is good. i'm home-back on the frontier. i just found out that where i live is not considered "rural" but "frontier." this makes me happy.

when life gets you down........

2010-02-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

spinning too fast

2010-02-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

as i sit here in my bed (yes i finally got the nasty cold hubby and the boy just got over) i reflect on how life is just spinning too fast for me. i can't seem to keep up it and feel a bit lost and confused. i can't seem to get everything done-i can't even update my blog regularly or keep up with reading blogs i enjoy. projects left unfinished- i seem to barely manage the daily essential chores-schooling, feeding the family, laundry, chicken care and some cleaning-if you can call it that. it never was one of my strong points. i am approaching another birthday and i'm realizing that i'm closer to 50 than i am 40-a sense of panic fills me. i know i'm not "old" but i can't help feeling a bit uptight that i'm not gonna do everything i want or need to. time seems to slip thru my fingers-and my "to do" list gets longer. i feel overwhelmed that i'm not finishing fiber projects, books are left halfway read and the dragon still only knows 2 commands. sigh. sigh. heavy sigh....... ick-enough of this reflecting!!!

yes, life keeps happening. my baby turned 12 recently. seems like yesterday i looked like i swallowed a basketball whole-i sure loved being pregnant.

having your baby growing inside you is the most amazing and wonderful experience. the actual birth for me was another story-for those of you that have not given birth-think about that basketball swallowed whole and now you gotta get it out. i still miss breast feeding and changing diapers!!!

remember the fuchsia and brown fiber from the previous post? well, i did manage to spin and ply it. i'm not usually a fuchsia gurl but i'm liking this. i had the perfect shawlette picked out for this yarn but i only ended up with 230 yards and i need 270 yards for the project-any ideas?

before the holiday craze i started this capelet:

i've wanted to knit this for years-it's from the book wrap style. of course i'm doing it in another color.....my favorite swampy green-the yarn is more yellowy green in real life.

i've started the lace section and had my sites set on finishing it for STITCHES. not sure if that is going to happen as the 25th is quickly approaching and i have to get the courier done before i leave.

a few weeks ago rowan, birdsong, lucie, rhodi and i had a wonderful dye workshop at willow springs with sara lamb. she is teaching us to make our own dye formula books. we had such a blast and were so engrossed in our work that we forgot to take pictures. i managed to snap a few shots at the end when we were putting our color cards together. this will be an ongoing project for us. here is lucie, rowan and birdsong arranging yarn color samples in order.

here's our days effort of mixing dyes and putting them on cards with their dye formulas. when the project is completed we will each have a large book full of colors and their formulas!!!

sniffle, snot, i really need to be napping so i will leave you with a picture of my fantastic baking ability-i made heart shaped brownies for the boys.

what can i say.....love is not perfect.

hark the harold!

2010-01-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

it's a warm day here at wooly's house thanks to Harold our propane guy. "the" propane guy. hank hill would be proud of him. you see, our driveway is not the easiest for a gas truck. harold has to back the truck down a steep curvy gravel drive in order to get back up it. UPS won't come down-they leave things at the top. but harold....he's my hero as he comes down-even in the rain. i was worried we'd run out during the storm and i hate being cold!!

here he is-in action! go harold!! but the chickens were not happy with his loud truck so close to their home- they were desperately trying to get out!

he could only back in so far today because of the mud. luckily he has a long hose. minds out of the gutter- JEEZ!

been busy on the fiber side of life. i did finish carey's holiday mitts-which became belated b-day gifts. thanks to my "fiber gals" for assistance in understanding the pattern! free pattern here for you ravelers.

carey is pretending to be a hand model. i knit them out of washable merino-18 year old guys are not to hip with the "handwash" scene.

been making fingerless mitts for little people-great for using up little balls of left over yarn. these traveled all the way to sadie in louisiana. brothere max got some too but alas no pic. i hand-dyed the yarn. washable merino as well! another great free pattern here.

here's how my "everyday vest" is coming along. my first one is getting pretty ratty looking and i've been wanting another. my friend anne in minnesota sent me this wonderful yarn for xmas. i'm almost done.

i'm also going to be doing some stash reduction this year. so i also started the "icelandic star" sweater in the current interweave knits with some merino frappe i had in my closet. love the pattern so far as it is seamless.

the yarn is so light and fluffy-very cloud like. soft as hell too! merino-yum!!!! the colors look better in real life-as there is a sage green by the blue that you can't see very well in the photo. the dark diamonds are not black but dark green.

i'm finally being able to spin as my back is finally better(knock on wood!) and i'm challenging myself to spin everyday-even if it is just for 10 minutes. i dyed this BFL (blue faced leicester)
and wish i had dyed more!!! i just love the crimp of BFL-reminds me of my crimping iron from the 80's. here's my bucket-o fiber.

all spun and plied. maybe i have enough for a cowl?

i already started a new spinning project. a while back i tried to dye some merino really ugly to see what would happen when i spun it. i dyed it fushia, rust, and for some strange reason there are bits of pale lilac-almost silver that i did not add but mysteriously appeared after steaming.

it is actually spinning up really cool. it's funny how sometimes gorgeous rovings don't look that great spun up and ugly ones turn out cool. i will post picture when i finish.

time for some poirot. i think i'll turn on the heat:)

Carey's 18

2010-01-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

Carey, i met you when you were just three years old. you came into my life and changed it in the most wonderful ways! and with a blink of an eye you have turned 18. how in the world did this happen? seems like just yesterday you were calling me "girlfriend stephanie", telling stories and wearing a tail.

You were six when Liam joined our family. You wanted a little brother so badly! what a wonderful big brother you have been from the very beginning!

Liam is very lucky!

You've always had the most beautiful smile! and still do!

i've watched you grow and change thru the years and my heart goes out to you as you cross this threshold into adulthood. Be brave and true to yourself. life isn't easy Carey, but it is a story.....your story. live it well. don't ever forget: we LOVE you and are ALWAYS here for you!
p.s. don't forget to brush!

Happy Birthday Carey!

welcome 2010

2010-01-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

we had a grand daytime new years eve gathering at rowan's studio. us gals gathered for a productive day of picking, spinning, carding, knitting and of course eating. i was very excited to finally do something with my over felted dyed fleeces that have just been taking up space in my closet. in fact, this fiber is so old it comes from the days when i used to process the dirty fleeces myself! trust me-that was a long time ago!!!

rowan had an ancient torture device called a picker that worked wonders on my clumps of felted fiber! this is one bad ass machine! leather gloves are a must!

check out those sharp nails! oops! better get my gloves on!

the top part swings back and forth like a pendulum. couldn't help but have poe-esque visions. thank god my boobs don't hang THAT low!
the picked fiber just fall out of the picker in the back.

look at all the fluffy cloud like fiber----ready for use! much better than pillow stuffing as i had planned.

looks like a maxfield parish sky! now i could have spun it from the puffs but i really wanted to try out rowan's electric carder! yeeha! the machine of my dreams!

this carder rocks more than homebrew! i got about 8oz. of dreamy ready to spin batts!

impressive. here are rowan, lucie and birdsong gathered around the woodstove. rhodi is busy using the carder at this moment-got a great(hahahahaha) picture but i think i will save it for black mail purposes. we got a lot done with much laughter. ended our afternoon with a new year's count down-pretending we lived in norway.

back at the homestead we had another gift opening forenza(is that a word? sounds cool) belated holiday gifts are the best. anne and my mom know what i like and always send me fiber!!!(they haven't seen my closet-heheheh! shhhhh!) i will post more photos later-but i already started a vest from some yarn that anne sent:

it will be a quick knit as it's knitted on size #10 needles. this is rowan chunky colourscape-yum!

thank you mom and anne!! Happy new year everyone-i hope 2010 is all that you wish and hope it to be!!!

i hope you ate your black eyed peas! i made a crock pot version with home grown greens-the addition of 3 whole cloves really made them yummy!

all is merry!

2009-12-27T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well, the holidays are are almost over. i'm always a bit relieved once xmas passes. We had a very nice holiday-simple, quiet and peaceful. only a tiny bit of teenaged angst but we won't go into that.

I am spending the rest of school break trying to finish up holiday knitting projects-ugh! i'm such a procrastinator!!! here's the immediate family gifts:

green heavy duty boot socks for hubby, black fingerless mittens for carey(this pattern is driving me nuts!!!! if anyone has done ysolda's garter stitch mitts with success please contact me asap before i run screaming into the forest!) the little wine cork elf sporting the hand knit outfit is for raena my little bonus daughter next door! i actually finished liam's felted boots(slippers) and they FIT! some of you may remember last years slipper tragedy. this year i used lopi icelandic yarn and they sure resembled Sasquatch feet after felting.

i had to give them a hair cut. when i finished cutting i really wanted to needle felt some cool designs on them but liam is my plain and simple guy-no way was that going to be pleasing to him! here's a closer look. note-please ignore messy house.

On solstice we made deviled eggs out of the little banty eggs-they were too cute! note the awesome plate i got for a buck at my favorite junk shop!

in all the busyness of the holidays i forgot to show you the awesome bag i bought myself at the mendocino craft fair. marzel makes these awesome totes from old feed bags!!!! is that not an awesome bag? it's my new knitting bag!

on the garden front: despite all the crazy weather-the bok choy did not freeze and my two kale varieties are thriving.

the garlic is growing.

and liam's italian parsley came back to life.

i leave you with a sky picture liam took. till next time...........

advice from a snowman

2009-12-24T15:52:00.000-08:00

Be a Jolly Happy Soul

Spend Time Outdoors

Stay Cool

It's Okay To Be a Little Bottom Heavy

Avoid Meltdowns

Be Well-rounded

Live Well, Life is Short

By Ilan Shamir

merry christmas everyone!

traditions!

2009-12-20T20:20:00.000-08:00

our family celebrates the winter solstice this time of year. over the years our family has adopted new traditions and kept some old ones that hubby and i grew up with.

we have a solstice tree that we cut from our woods-we pick from trees that need to be thinned out so other trees can grow better.

i love the leprechaun ornament my mom sent us last year.

today we built our solstice cave to honor the return of the sun(or the rebirth of the sun) we have a baby sun and earth mother- we also fill the cave with our totem animals and other creatures that speak to us.

at dusk we light the candles, have a bonfire and listen to holiday tunes.

you probably can't see everything but there are owls, fox, a bear, a dog, a reindeer, a nightingale, and a dragon-to name a few. oh yes, and the solstice mermaid:

the boys always enjoy the cave building.

sometimes we have a party or gathering but this year we weren't up to it and decided to just have family time instead.

another tradition- the mitten puzzle-done every year with much enthusiasm. liam did most of it this year in record time!

as usual i'm knitting up a storm and won't have everything done in time so there will be many knitting IOUs. whatever you celebrate this time of year i hope your days are full of laughter, love and contentment. spend time with and enjoy one another! happy holidays!

mendo coast part 2

2009-12-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

i thought i'd better finish up ''washboard woolies" coastal trip before moving on.

i found us a little affordable motel in fort bragg with a kitchen. the curtains made the place!

the bathroom curtains were even better! embroidered!

one of the things i love about the coast are all the flowers. the geraniums outside our room were gorgeous!

a visit to fort bragg is never complete unless breakfast has been had at "eggheads." yum!

then a call for glass beach is a must! from a distance it looks like a regular beach. but it's actually an old dump site(three dumps liam has informed me!)

closer observation reveals a beach full of treasures-sea glass!

much of it is sea glass-not rocks. here's a closer look:

you can spend hours finding all sorts of things-not just sea glass. stone fruit pits that have been polished by the waves are a special find. lots of shoe heels and pottery and car parts too!

rhodi and i had great fun before leaving town-checking out antique stores, galleries, thrift stores(i totally scored!!!) a road side flea market, but the best of all was a stop at "pippi longstockings."

now listen folks i NEVER EVER EVER buy myself nice socks-in fact besides my few pairs of hand knit socks i have absolutely the suckiest socks around. since the fair went well, i indulged in some wonderfully awesome, soft, squishy, orgasmic merino socks-some even had cashmere.....i wish i had pics to show you- but i really need to finish this post so i thought i would just post a picture every now and then to tantalize you...to make sure the next time you are in fort bragg you stop by and support this store. the owner is the sweetest! and the selection amazing!!!

well-the rain is pattering and the night is getting older and i'm getting sleepier-i leave you with this wonderful statue in mendocino-you could see it from all over town!

debut for washboard woolies

2009-12-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

"washboard woolies" made it's debut at the 50th annual thanksgiving mendocino arts/crafts fair this past weekend. rhodie and i left thanksgiving day and made great time. normally a 5 hour drive only took a little over 4 hours. the recreation center was a great venue-the building was an old school shaped like a big 'V." i wish i'd taken more pics of it. it had amazing windows-lots of light.
we got set up thursday night and were all ready to go saturday morning.

you can see my spinning wheel in the lower left corner. we spun all weekend to the delight of the shoppers. it amazes me how many people have never seen a spinning wheel in action. the best thing we heard was-a woman telling her child that our wheels were "yarn machines." we had visions of strange H. G. Wells contraptions.

the above dresser was painted by rhodie's great aunt chiquita years ago and added a special touch to our booth. i forgot the old washboards at home-damn!

here's some close ups:

we had a wonderful time and wish to thank all who came and supported the artists and craftsters. it was reviving to get away and go to the ocean-i did forget my coat. luckily rhodi had extra woolies. the wind was fierce at times. gotta love mendocino!

BUY HANDMADE!

2009-11-25T22:08:00.000-08:00

i know many of you out there take part in the "buy nothing day" the day after Thanksgiving. i understand that and have participated in the past. but i feel there are exceptions. call me a hypocrite but many of us artisans and craftsters rely on sales from craft fairs around the holiday season. Many of these fairs fall on "Black Fiday." Such as the one i am participating in this weekend in Mendocino.
i ask you, i urge you, i jump up and down and yell at you- to support your local artisans and craftsters and buy handmade gifts this holiday season. most towns have craft fairs but there are also many awesome websites out there that make it very easy to buy handmade wares- such as Etsy and 1000 markets. here's another website if you want to take the "buy handmade pledge." click here too.
okay-enough ranting- hope ya get my drift!

gotta run-but i wanted to let you know that we found a home for one of our banty roosters!

FDR is going to live at Avalon Gardens up the road from here. I hear he is doing well and the girls love him! he is handsome isn't he? thanks mimi and jori!

fungi & pie

2009-11-18T20:24:00.000-08:00

first of all- i need to share with you a card i received in the mail! a real card-made of card stock paper-with a real stamp on it!!! it sure made my day. thanks milissa!!! the card even had a real handwritten letter in it! how wonderful-so much better than an email or electronic card. in my younger days-letter writing was a favorite past time for me. i think i just might have to revive this old favorite pastime of mine. yes! here's the card-grand isn't it?

i also got a bundle of postcards to share in the mail for our holiday craft/art fair in mendocino.

i'm too busy right now to be blogging as i have much to do to get ready as for the show. so the rest of the post is more of a photo essay of what's going on here -besides all the fibery goodness.

view from the front porch. we've been mushroom hunting lately. the recent gentle rains have brought them to the surface. lovely bolete:

here's more we saw on a walk:

it's been a long time since i've made homemade pie crust. gave it a shot-not too bad. made apple pie from our rogue wild apple tree that never gets watered.