Wednesday, July 09, 2008

It's raining, it's raining.......

and the garden is loving it.
These are the first of my lilies that have decided to open up. They seem late this year to me for some reason. This is the second summer they've come back. I will probably have to dig them up this fall and clear off any of the little cling-on's (sorry that's my terminology). The little tubers that cling on to the bigger main ones tend to drain the plant of energy and if you can pick them off you'll maintain the larger blooms for next season.


I bought most of my annuals from Home Depot, and I'm enjoying the nasturtiums this year with they're profusion of blooms. They're a great trailing plant for pots, and baskets.

My delphiniums have just started to bloom as well. Both of these plants were self propagated in a hedge I have in the front yard. My previous neighbour had planted them, and for some reason they had reseeded into my hedge. So I dug them up, and happy days, they've managed to come back for the last four years.

<--LightPurple/Pink Delphiniums

More blue delphiniums... So you're wondering where's the knitting content in this spinning/knitting blog???? Well I've got nothing new right now. I've been trying to focus on getting projects finished, but I tell you I've been piling up a list of things I'd like to do. So when the garden is less demanding I'll be sure to post some of the lace I'm dreaming about knitting.

In the meantime this is my spinning......

There's nothing more enjoyable than looking at a fat bobbin of singles, except when you get to finally ply them together.....

Which is where I'm heading now.....

Have a Great Day!!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Back at Home.......

I'm so happy DD has been inspired to sew.....







Does it look like she's having a good time?------------>

It threatened to come off the rails a couple of times, but she persevered, and this is the result....It looks great on her, and where else can you buy a dress like this for $13.00?? As usual I haven't been quick enough in the morning to capture her in it on film.

Another project on the go is our two carboys of wine. One is a Pinot Noir, and the other is a South African Chardonnay both have been filtered and are resting in my craft room. Next we'll be bottling it up. DD is designing the labels so I will post the final product when finished. In between the two carboys are what looks like pop, but we found a new product where you can make beer in 2 lt. bottles. It comes with a special lid that you put on after adding the yeast tablet, and in two weeks we'll have a Mexican Cuerveso, and a Red Lager.

My kitty Noodles hasn't been eating, and I suspected something was up so I brought her into the vet. Blood tests are showing that with the diet change her kidneys haven't declined anymore, but her liver is now having problems. So now she's on medication for the next two months....she's lost weight, but now with the medication she's eating a bit more, and seems to still have some fiestiness. Of course I never capture her running around it's always on the swing outdoors asleep.Either way....I think I might join her.....

Monday, July 07, 2008

Catch up........

That's what this whole post is going to be about so a forwarning it's picture heavy......

I finished the sundress that I mentioned on an earlier post. I know, I know I've been showing clothes on hangers, but honestly I can't bring myself to take a picture of it on me. Plus I haven't worn it yet because I discovered that the straps on the slip for underneath need to be fixed now. That shows how long it's been since wearing a dress.

It's a Easy-To-Sew Simplicity pattern 3773, and the material is a poly/cotton.On the knitting front I've been spinning and then knitting up the alpaca to continue on with the Ajoure Sweater. This is how far two skeins have produced for the back. I'm loving the whole process from sheep to sweater. The sweater is at a halt right now as I've got to fill one more bobbin to get more 2ply for knitting.



Next came the long weekend in July which is our annual family reunion at our family farm. We've never had a weekend with such good weather. It's been a habit every night to put things under the canopy to protect from rain, but for five days there wasn't a drop. I love the weekends out at the farm as it means more time for visiting and knitting. We love having guests come out with us, and this year was my DS girlfriend Erin. I think she had a pretty good time. We look forward to having her come out again soon.Other Canada Day activities were......

Deep-fried Turkey
Pinata's for the kids, and adults made by my DD.


And of course fireworks at the end of the day.





Cooling down at the river




And of course a girl's got to have her sun bonnet! ------------>



And some fantastic sunsets....