The Painted Sheep

Wednesday WIPs

June 12, 2013 in June 2013 | No comments

its been a long time since I’ve done a work in progress Wednesday post. since I have so many projects going on, its a good time to catch up.

first up, the sock in progress:

Just turned the heel on the 2nd one last night. if I can stay focused (ha!), I’m on track to finish it this month and maintain my one-pair-a-quarter goal for the year. I’m already thinking of stash diving for yarn for the next pair – keeps me motivated to finish, I suppose. the yarn is BMFA Silkie Socks that Rock in the ST2 colorway and the pattern, Knitspot’s Chicklets.

then there’s the shawl. the cashmere one. its Beach Glass in Ball and Skein Pasha, in the Beach Glass colorway. its bottom up so long and slow. thankfully, the yarn is heavenly to work with and the pattern simple. its just finding a chunk of time to pick it up and make some progress on it that’s a bit of a challenge these days.

lastly:

Hey, Teach! in Foxfire Cormo Classic. this is the project I can’t put down. the yarn is squishy and soft and just delightful. the pattern is simple but entertaining. if I had my way, I’d be home on the patio with this in my hands today…

of course, there are a couple more projects hanging around of which we will not speak. these are the active ones. the others, not so much. and the spinning. sigh… I’m a quarter of the way through the sweater’s worth of spinning in a merino/silk blend, maybe a half ounce into the 4 ounces of lovely tussah that’s on my favorite spindle and there’s singles on the wheel that just need to be skeined off and soaked. and someone reminded me that Tour de Fleece starts in a few weeks. I *should* focus on current projects but AnnaMarie at Corgi Hill has promised to make things really fun again this year, which means there’s probably another spinning WIP coming my way…

perhaps this weekend, when I have “minimal” plans for the moment at least, I’ll squeak in a little time for spinning projects. or that cashmere…

Tags: knitting

Ten on Tuesday – Grateful

June 11, 2013 in June 2013 | 4 comments

This week, we’re talking about things we’re grateful for in the last week. Oh, so much.
1. top of the list this week – for my new sister in law!!! I’m so grateful that my brother found someone who makes him so happy. they are perfect for each other.
2. for my new nephew! C felt like my nephew from day one but now its “official”. he’s an amazing kid – not to mention that he loves Auntie’s knitting
3. for my family, including the new extension of the family in Poland. Ania’s family has further connected us all to our roots and we are all so grateful.
4. for Jenni for serving as impromptu driver on Saturday night. we are a family who likes a party
5. for a day off on Friday and a rainy afternoon and night perfect for napping and movies and knitting. just what I needed.
6. for the 2 doctors I saw for routine stuff on Friday who both took the time to truly listen and problem solve, even relatively minor concerns.
7. for my “dial-a-dad”, who once again walked me through fixing something over the phone. this time, it was my new grill that wouldn’t light. he may not think so but I’m more and more convinced that he can solve any car/house/mechanical problem over the phone.
8. for my new grill, which appeared on my patio while I was at the doctor’s office on Friday morning. Dad replaced my broken hand me down grill “in exchange” for helping with some gardening at my parents’ house, then put it together and delivered it. and all I did was play in their flower beds for an afternoon. I think I owe them more time in the yard
9. for the start of the summer farmer’s market across the street from work. and for great coworkers to enjoy it with.
10. for fresh local strawberries, so yummy and longed for that you eat the container in one sitting.

Tags: life, ten on tuesday

Sheep Sharing

June 6, 2013 in June 2013 | No comments

Back in December, I got myself a little Christmas present – a share of Foxfire Fiber and Designs’ Sheep Shares CSA. I had a share in the past but sadly, had to take a year off. I couldn’t (wouldn’t) do that again – I so love the twice annual shipment of beautiful, fresh from the farm yarn, visits to the farm and great knit alongs that Barb organizes.

Saturday, I headed up to Shelburne for the Strolling of the Sheep – the annual late spring event for members that Barb hosts. It was a perfect day for it – in the 90s at home, a full 10 degrees cooler in the Berkshire hills, sunny and breezy. Combine that with a group of fiber peeps, a beautiful flock of sheep and baskets of yarn and you have the makings for a perfect day:

Part of the herd, including Crackerjack the guard llama.

The donkeys! so sweet!

Pippin, Kathryn’s bottle baby (speaking of Kathryn, go check out the gorgeous earrings she makes. to die for!)

baskets of yarn, before the knitters descended on them.

part of my spring share – Cormo Classic in Sweet Potato Vine, being made into a Hey, Teach! cardigan

what a lovely day, with wonderful people. already looking forward to my fall share, the October event and in November, the release of Barb’s book about life on her beautiful farm.

Tags: knitting

Ten on Tuesday – Long Weekend

May 28, 2013 in May 2013 | 5 comments

This week, its all about what we did on our long weekend. What a weekend it was, so here goes, with pictures that in no way do it justice:

1. I took a road trip with Jacie and Jenni. We headed to far, far, far western Pennsylvania for a very special occasion.

2. I got all dressed up with my girls, something we so rarely get to do. In Jacie’s words, I channeled Jackie O. and best, I made the perfect red lip (thank you Peggy, for the tips!)

3. then we watched our Tracy marry the Marine who is the love of her life

it was beautiful – a perfect spring day, 2 people in love, dear old friends, the sweet, loving families.

4. afterwards, along with before and the night before, we celebrated. and I remembered that I can’t celebrate like I used to…

5. I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. some jokes simply never get old.

6. I worked on a sock in the car.

7. then I spent 2 hours casting on almost 400 stitches using a knitted cast on. it helped on Rt. 80, which was as endless as I’d heard it was.

8. I spent 3 days with these 2, including 992 miles, 16+ hours and 4 states (there was an after party in Ohio) in the same car, along with sharing a hotel room with Jenni – and we’re still friends. I realized that says something about our friendship.

9. after a really good night’s sleep, I finished my Fiddlehead mittens.

10. and I planted my garden: 2 patio tomatoes, 1 cherry tomato, mint, rosemary and lots of basil. I have plenty of room for more, not to mention a full bag of potting soil, so my little kitchen garden is going to grow a bit – more basil, oregano, a jalepeno, maybe a pepper.

when it was all done, I took a minute on the patio to soak in the last bit of sunshine on a beautiful evening. this couldn’t be missed:

the perfect ending.

Tags: life, ten on tuesday

Weekending

May 13, 2013 in May 2013 | No comments

I love those Monday mornings where I have to ask myself these questions – where did the weekend go? What did I do?

That’s because on those Monday mornings, the answer is usually “nothing”. And that’s perfect.

It turned into an impromptu long weekend. Thursday was fantastic. Perfect, went off without a hitch. I ran around all day, in shoes that were unexpectedly uncomfortable (that being the only glitch, of my own making, as they were new). By the end, I was exhausted – that kind of exhausted where you are worn out from a truly great day and cannot squeeze even one more thing into it. I crashed when I got home, slept 10 hours and then got up and as predicted by coworkers, called out for the day. I needed it.

I lounged, I talked to my mom for a while, I napped for hours. I got up and went shopping. I bought this for myself:

I was too exhausted to get into it all weekend, other than look at the pretty patterns.

Instead, on Saturday morning, I finished I Am Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell. Fabulous. Light and fun and oddly hopeful. Then, I shopped some more. Mother’s Day and upcoming weddings and such. I drank great wine. I texted friends and caught up on tv and relaxed for the first time in weeks. I knitted a little.

On Sunday, I lounged some more. Then I went over to my parents’ house to hang with the family for Mother’s Day. The highlight of my weekend came as a surprise. We ended up spending hours going through old family photos. Turns out that my mother ended up with her mother’s photo albums years ago and they’ve sat in a closet since. Mom, my brothers, sister in law and sister in law to be and I sat around the dining room table going through hundreds of pictures, many from the 60s, 70s and 80s but some from the 30s and 40s. One was dated 1919. What a gift. So much family history and memories. I now have pictures of my maternal grandparents for the first time – one, a few years before my grandfather passed away and one from 1945, when they were a young couple and he was just back from WWII, in his Navy uniform. Amazing. Mom reminded us all that there’s another 40 years worth of family pictures to go through – all of her and my father’s pictures. Next time, we’ve promised. I had earlier complained to a friend that Mother’s Day was too much a Hallmark holiday. I could do without the sappy cards and commercialism and crap. Totally by accident, we found a way to turn into a day with real meaning, sharing memories and piecing together some of our history. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.

Tags: life

Ten on Tuesday – Why I Knit

May 7, 2013 in May 2013 | 3 comments

This topic is a little harder than I thought it would be. The answer would seem obvious. There’s so many reasons. Apparently, putting it to words is a little more challenging. Here goes.

1. I know why I started – I needed a hobby. Desperately. Fall of 2000 – in the course of the previous year, I’d finished grad school, bought a house and worked on it and gotten married in CT while living in NY. Quite suddenly, “all” I had was a husband, house and full time job. I needed something to do with my time, that was creative so I took a knitting class. Fast forward almost 13 years…
2. It relaxes me. Nothing works quite like knitting. On days like today (2 days until work’s annual conference – eep!), the knitting comes to work with me for “emergencies” in which I need to close my office door for 5 minutes and regain my sanity. 2 rows will do the trick.
3. It centers me – I knit every morning, over coffee, after reading the paper. Its my meditation. My day is always a little off if I don’t get that time in. Its my morning me time and helps me to focus for the rest of the day.
4. It feeds me creatively – the colors, the textures, the different fibers.
5. It allows me to keep my favorite people warm and cozy. Especially the little ones. Nothing better.
6. I meet great people – the social thing was the most unexpected part of knitting for me. I never expected that my closest friends would be knitters or that I would meet many of them through knitting groups or spinning guild. Knitters are a diverse, fun, generous, kind and amazing group of people.
7. It keeps my hands busy – far better than fidgeting or throwing my pen cap across the room by accident.
8. I always have something to do. I don’t think knitters get bored. 3 days at home because of snow? power outage? long movie? hour wait in the doctor’s office? knitting will not only get me through, I can accomplish something at the same time.
9. It keeps me in pretty things – my handknits are my favorite pieces of clothing. outfits are often planned around them, tops and accessories bought to match.
10. its a great barometer of guy – go ahead and laugh but seriously? it works. knitting is part of my life – so of course I bring it up. some guys go for the immediate stereotype – I remind them of their grandmother or are too busy feeding my 17 cats to leave the house. dude just shot himself in the foot – buh-bye! some sort of breeze by it – either they don’t know what to say or what to make of it, so they don’t say anything. meh – might be worth getting to know him more but he’s got at least half a strike against him already. then there are the ones who ask about it and really get it. asking me to knit for you gets you serious bonus points. a guy last week immediately told me he thought knitting was cool – he had my number in hours and a date within a couple of days. well played! I think its part taking a genuine interest in something important to me and the rest really getting the creative part of it for me – I think I’m more likely to connect to someone who gets that. another unexpected benefit

Tags: ten on tuesday

CT Sheep and Wool 2013

May 1, 2013 in May 2013 | No comments

Our little local festival was great again this year, with Mother Nature once again giving us a beautiful spring day, perfect for breaking out the flip flops and t-shirts for the first time. Here’s the highlights – in pictures.

Camera shy alpacas

Naked sheeps and not-quite-naked-yet sheeps

floof, with ears

the 5 week old lamb that I really wanted to take home – sadly, when I posted this picture on Facebook and asked that question, my landlord gave me a firm “NO”. buzzkill.

and then there were the things that I did take home with me:

4 ounces of lovely tussah silk (there was no bombyx to be found on its own, only in blends, so I’m left to “suffer” with this stuff). some of its already on a spindle. its gonna be a lot of really fine 2 ply eventually. I’m thinking giant lace shawl.
and there was this spindle bag from Stitched by Jessalu

that smile is because I found cupcakes that have absolutely no calories. score!
the silk lives in the bag now, with one of my Bosworths.

afterwards, it was off to Jacie’s so that Jenni could help her with a sewing project. I was very nearly ~~mauled~~ kissed to death by her extremely ferocious pit bull

clearly living up to that vicious pit bull reputation.

then Jenni and I did Cheap Wine and Chinese on my patio. perfect kickoff to festival season. and spring.

Tags: fiber festivals

Ten on Tuesday – May Days

April 30, 2013 in April 2013 | 3 comments

Wait, April’s over? It must be, because our missive this week is 10 Things You’re Looking Forward to in May. I still need to figure out where the last month went but before I do, here’s what I’m looking forward to:

1. 4:30 PM on May 9 – otherwise known as the final moment of Annual Training Institute 2013, the monster of a conference that has been my baby for the last year and my nightmare for the last month or so. its all good – in fact, its gonna be great – but this is my first time having it be mine all mine to plan, organize and consume most of my work time and a good part of my sleep in the last couple of weeks. to say I cannot wait for it to be done and over is a massive understatement.
2. a little time off – in the form of an extra long Memorial Day weekend and what will likely only be a half day off after the ATI (holy hell, this month is crazy at work, so I’ll take whatever I can get).
3. Tracy’s wedding and the associated road trip to western PA with Jacie and Jenni. oh, this is going to be a fun weekend!
4. Planting my garden – containers of tomatoes and herbs again this year. more decorative than 5 gallon buckets since they’ll go out front.
5. TV – yes, I hate to admit it a little but I do look forward to season finales in May. its always fun.
6. more warm days on my patio – see yesterday’s post about my new happy place.
7. a farmer’s market “preview” of sorts – my beloved Coventry Farmer’s Market does not reopen until the first weekend of June but they are doing 2 “pop up” markets at special locations in May. I can’t wait!
8. a little road trip to Webs for their fleece market or to NH Sheep and Wool – which one, I don’t know. but I need a little something, especially since I’ll miss Mass Sheep and Wool for the aforementioned wedding.
9. getting my Sheep Share from Foxfire Farm – spring shares are a little behind but promised for sometime in May. Its a new worsted weight yarn, of which I ordered extra so that I can do a Hey Teach cardi. will be stalking the mailman once I know they are on the way.
10. playing outside – I have to admit to feeling a little cooped up this winter, much as I loved all the snow. I think the whole “I have an outdoors now” in my condo – since I was lacking any sort of outdoor space of my own for almost 3 years – is combining with the cooped upness to make me itch to just be outside, go for walks, enjoy the flowers and the fresh air as much as I possibly can, especially on beautiful spring days.

Tags: ten on tuesday

My New Happy Place

April 29, 2013 in April 2013 | No comments

Ahhh. and its right outside my sliding door.

I needed that reminder on the kind of Monday morning where you text your BFF and ask her to have the shovel and bail money ready.

any time that its warmer than 60 and daylight or when the shit just hits the fan, this is where you’ll find me. I’ll have the box of wine ready in the fridge for you…

Tags: life

Handspun

April 24, 2013 in April 2013 | No comments

… 2 years in the making

Fiber Fancy Mulberry Silk in Tidal Wave. A gift from Jacie 2 summers ago (maybe 3? I’ve lost track). Beautiful stuff but a slippery mofo – that’s mulberry silk for you. I picked it up, put it down, changed to a Bosworth mini that spun the like the wind – fast and forever, just what it needed. Then I forgot about for a long time. And finally, I picked it up last week, swore at the slippery-ness of it some more, proclaimed in front of Jenni that I wouldn’t spin mulberry silk again, only tussah, which is far easier to handle, got addicted to spinning it, finished the singles and plied it this weekend. Then, a bath and good thwacking (technical term for repeatedly bashing it against the bathroom wall) to even it out and restore the shine and I have the loveliest little skein of handspun – 300ish yards of light fingering weight shiny silk in heathery shades of sea foam green.

Then I dug through the stash until I found the last bit of silk in it – tussah this time – and immediately started spinning it on my Bosworth Moosie. Lovely stuff but it lacks the pretty shiny ~~f’ing slipperyness~~ of the mulberry.

so if you see me at CT Sheep and Wool this weekend, tell me where to find the good stuff – need more mulberry…

Tags: spinning

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