Thursday, April 29, 2010

In Kansas, we have a yearly convention for spinners, weavers, and dyers.  It is called KAWS, (Kansas Alliance for Weavers and Spinners), and it is at a different city/town every year.  This weekend it will be held in Emporia.  I have been working on a project for a display table.  We are to make a yarn cocktail and display a project we made.  I am trying to put the finishing touches to a Tequila Sunrise Tea Cozy.  Pictures coming.

My co-worker just brought me a towel.  It is pretty explanatory.  I do like to be spoiled!  I like getting a pedicure, my hair cut and colored, and my eyebrows waxed.  I want to feel pretty and be well groomed.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Jungle but no George!

All of these vines have been removed.

It is time to work in the yard and clean up all of the flower beds. I cleaned up the vine invasion today. The trumpet vines and ivy took over. I use large bird cages for trellises.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day

I thought about Earth Day and what I do for our planet.  It was pretty easy to come up with one thing, the use of wool.  Wool is what we call sustainable, which means that it is good for our environment and also provides a service for us.  Today I am going to spin wool and celebrate Earth Day! 

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Roadside Beauty


We like to explore the highways and byways in Kansas as we drive to and from Grandma's house in north central Kansas.  There are many abandoned farm houses, especially those made from limestone.  Limestone is widely available in the area and used for homes, and fence posts.  The limestone is so sturdy and continues to stand for years while the roof and all wood on the home rots and falls down around it.  As we took in the sights, we noticed that most all farms had lilacs blooming.  Even the abandoned farms had abundant purple blooms dancing in the wind.  I wondered how long the bushes had been there?  How many people were blessed with the fragrant blossoms?   
Lilac bush on the left.

In Memory of Gus

Today we had our Basset Hound put to sleep.  He had a tumor on his shoulder and it was connected to his bone.  This tumor was hard and growing very rapidly.  We will miss him dearly.  He was the most gentle creature I have ever met.  When he was teased or picked on by my son, he never snapped or bit.  We won't miss his odor or his shedding hair, but you are tolerant with those you love, especially if they are animals.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Fluff and Bling!

I spun some blue jean colored kid mohair.  When spinning, I made it a tad bit thicker than the last project, and I gave it a bit more spin.  This will make the yarn a little sturdier so it will not break as much, and it will unfortunately take a bit of softness away too.



New product.  I love the pink faceted beads.  These are more of a diamond shape and have a very pretty bling!  I thought they would be great for many things including being  hung from the tree at
Christmas or Easter.  I think they would be pretty hanging from door knobs and from pull chains on ceiling fans.   What would you use them for?


Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Reversible and Unisex Hat Completed

This is Doris and her goats.  I purchased the wool from her farm.  She is on eBay and uses the name mohair*loft.

 
I completed the reversible and unisex hat.  The kid mohair is very soft and the extra fluff and curls of the mohair give the hat quite a bit of interest.  I added extra stitching at the bottom of the hat by going around the posts of the double crochet stitches too give the edge of the hat more support sine the most wear would be along the bottom edge where it is pulled on and off.  This is one of my signature touches on my crocheted hats. Blessings to you and yours!  Dawn

All Spun Up

I spun up some of the kid mohair and this is how it looks.  It is so very soft!  I didn't comb it out, I just feathered it out with my fingers and allowed it to go into the orifice, (opening of the spinning wheel), thick, thin, or curly.  I didn't put much twist on the yarn so it would retain lots of curl and extra lumps.  The lack of twist made the yarn a little fragile in spots, but it is not hard to put 2 strands together when a break occurs.  You won't notice the double amount of yarn when you have all of this variation in the yarn already.  I am anxious to start on the blue mohair.  Blessings to you and yours!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Mohair Dying Day

At the end of the day, my son decided to become a cardinal, not exactly the appropriate hat.  lol


Cardinal Jones



Today was one of those busy days.  We worked in the yard, I did a little spinning, I dyed kid mohair, my son modeled.  I like all yarn to have varied shades of one or more colors.  I dyed some kid mohair using dark blue, green, pink, red,  and yellow.  Normally red and green make brown, but you can strategically place them, you can get the colors to do as you want.  With the left over dye-bath, I dyed more kid mohair.  I like to buy raw (dirty) wool from the farmer.  I then wash (scour) the wool and dye it.  As it is placed on a drying tray, I pull the fibers open.  The opening of the fibers allows grain, pasture, poo, and anything else in the wool to fall out.  This extra pasture and poo is called vegetable matter, or VM.  As you may have guessed, washed wool does not necessarily mean clean wool.  I am showing you pictures of drying mohair. 

Friday, April 9, 2010

Birthday Surprise Party with a Cake of Art!

I had a surprise party at work today.  I receive a gorgeous cup and saucer and a few other new bobbles.  See the picture with a rose scrubber inside of it.  A little later a teapot shaped cake came!  All of my co-workers came by to celebrate with me.  Tracy, one of the co-workers made the cake.  The teapot cake had a base cake frosted in pink with white polka dots, and a doilie with tassles under it.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Bits and Bobbles


I went to Office Depot yesterday.  They have lots of new pink things.  I prefer a lighter pink or what they call bubble gum pink.  There were 3-ring binders, 2 pocket notebooks, and many items in lovely bubble gum pink.  I took a picture of 3 items that made it to my office, for your viewing pleasure.  The scissors and stapler are breast cancer awareness purchases.  The purse is for pop-up sticky pads.  It has a weighted bottom so it does not tip over when you pull out the sticky paper.  Isn 't this a cute idea?  (My weighted bottom may not  keep me from tipping over. lol)
Blessings!  Dawn

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

New Gadgets!


I was at Hobby Lobby last night.  I saw these cute shade charms, which are jewels or prisms that have a strong magnet on the top.  The intention is to hang them from lamp shades or chandeliers.  I found that they also work as magnets.  They come in other shapes and colors.  Aren't these cool???



 Update on peach tree.  Isn't it beautiful?  It became darker pink as the blooms opened up.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Mohair from Kansas Connection.  eBay seller: harmony1269, Burdick, Kansas.
The tye-dye method was used to dye the mohair with red, pink, and yellow dyes.  The hat above was made with this dyed mohair, along with white mohair, and orange Cotswold wool.  The mohair was purchased raw.  It washed up nicly, but had lots of floaters (poo).  I used Jacquard dye and it takes to mohair very well.  Small pieces of mohair were pulled and hand carded with white mohair.  The white mohair was combed well, but the colored mohair was not combed or blended well.   I brushed the mohair afterward.  The brushing fluffs up the mohair and makes the garment much nicer.
 

What pretty flowers have bloomed on the peach tree!!! 
Happy Easter!

What a hansome guy!  I caught a quick pic while my son was playing a video game.

Friday, April 2, 2010

S P R I N G

I have the seasonal spring craving to buy raw fleece and spin.

As you see, I have been spinning and crocheting a little.  The hat has 2 types of homespun yarn.  The fluffy yarn is novelty spun mohair from an Angora lamb.  The orange yarn is from a Cotswold sheep.


The peach tree is full of tiny pink buds.