Friday, July 16, 2010

Thought I'd better show something .....

uplifting after my last post and my frustration with Shetland roving.
The delphiniums are in full bloom.
The nasturtiums are going bonkers with the greenery.
With just a few of the blooms showing. They need more sun which hasn't been happening here. Just rain and more rain.
It's that time of year for the lilies. I've been waiting all week for these buds to open.
Their beautiful colours show up so well when it's overcast outside. On a sunny day the camera seems to over expose them.
In other parts of the country they're experiencing a heat wave. Not here in Alberta. Send some sunshine our way please.
Have a good one!
Life is too short........

to be spinning fibre that's not going to be used for knitting. So this Shetland that I bought a couple weeks ago is going to be used for stuffing pillows, handknit toys, teddybears, etc.By looking at this picture of the top spread apart you wouldn't think there was anything wrong, but upon spinning I knew this was going to go extremely slow. In between pulling out nubs, nups, or whatever you call them, the spun singles felt awful.I first started spinning some Alpaca which is sitting resting on the bobbins right now. Then I started on this Merino/Tencel blend and it was like spinning heaven. This is a bobbin of single ply. I'll spin up another one and hopefully ply it up for sock yarn.

So that's the progress for Tour de Fleece so far. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a very slow spinner, but the thing is I'm totally okay with that. When I get to finally sit at the wheel it's quality time for me, and I don't want to rush that.Have a great weekend everyone!

Monday, July 05, 2010

We're still babysitting our Grandkitty Monty......

We've had him since June 17 as my DS left for a weeks holiday in Vancouver visiting our DD. Well his one week holiday is looking like it's going to be more like three weeks. He's had the unfortunate luck of breaking his right leg just above the ankle.The Tibia and Fibula both broke, as well as ligaments and tendons tore. This above picture was after trying to set it twice, and then surgery to implant a pin, plate, and half dozen screws. Tomorrow afternoon he'll have day surgery to remove a couple screws, and then hopefully get the okay from the doctor to fly home.

So in the meantime Monty (who's all of five months old) has been a rascal, which leads to getting some timeouts in his room. The thing is he's just so darn cute, and I had to post this latest video of his obsession with anything paper.....


So there in lies the reason why we've put this Christmas bell thingy around his waist. He doesn't seem to mind it, and it really helps to let us know where and what he's doing in the house. Like when he's getting into paper towels and he's kicking and wrestling with that those bells really start jingling.Oh Monty........you're such a sweetheart xoxo
Kind of feeling lazy after this long weekend.......

Sat out in the backyard and visited with friends.New pictures of what's blooming in the yard.
When we were busy working around the yard, the girls got their couch time outside.
Went to see the Canada Day fireworks.
Saturday went to the downtown Farmers Market. Bought some cinnamon buns, and was looking to see if there was anything for sale fibre related.So Sunday it was the start of Tour de France. One of my favourite things to watch in the summer. In my last post I mentioned I started up with Tour de Fleece, Ravelry group Team Canada for spinning. I'm hoping it will get me back in the habit of spinning more frequently.
Here's a few pictures of fibre from my stash of which I'm hoping to at least get a couple bobbins of 2 ply each.
The above is super wash merino/tencel destined for some sock yarn, and the two pictures below I'm hoping to get a consistant 2ply in a DK weight, 12-14 wpi.
100% Black Alpaca top.
For now, I'm starting off with a partially filled bobbin with 100% Alpaca bought in roving form from my local yarn shop.
Happy Spinning!

Friday, July 02, 2010

Come Join......


It might be fun. I'm looking forward to it.
Find me on Ravelry in the Tour de Fleece Group, look for the Wild Card Groups and join up with Team Canada.