Handspun Yarn

Handspun Yarn
Originally uploaded by SpinningMommy

As you can see, I've been at the spinning wheel lately, which has gotten me a few more skeins to play with, but not much further on my Chinook Shawl. Deb informed me yesterday that she hit Row 150, while I am still languishing somewhere in the 120's.

The skein on the far left is wool from PA that was locally dyed down there. Deb brought it back for me from her trip to Lancaster. The middle skein was from fiber I get at Rhinebeck last year. It is BFL in a Peacock Colorway, that I spun fairly fine and Navajo plied. As I am new to this plying method, it started out a bit tedious, but slowly got better. The skein on the right is wool/mohair plied with a single of silk, which turned out better than I thought.

Yesterday was a bad knitting day. I was working on a shawl for my neice's first communion, and somehow managed to go from 55 stitches all the way up to 64. I think it had something to do with the fact that I was trying to knit with the wrong hand. Even though I'm a righty, I carry my yarn in the left hand and pick it. I tried carrying it in my right and throwing, but it obviously didn't work out so well. Aside from ending up with too many stitches, I think they were also backwards, which I can't quite figure out. Definitely weird. So I ended up at a coffee shop in Clifton Park waiting for Chris while he was in his class, and the bad mojo even extended to my sock. I haven't been plagued by bad stitch counts in years, and I started coming up with bad numbers on my socks, as well. I took the hint, put the knitting away, and read my book.

Speaking of books, I just finished Adrienne Martini's book "Sweater Quest", and enjoyed it very much. It did, however, give me terrible nightmares about doing a huge afghan in Fair Isle, knitting flat with size one needles and laceweight yarn. I can't think of any knitterly thing more terrifying than that! She is supposed to be at Stuyvesant Plaza at the bookstore signing books and hosting a knitting get together tonight (good timing) and I am contemplating whether it is worth the trip down the Northway during rush hour.

Athena's New Ram Lamb

Athena's New Ram Lamb
Originally uploaded by SpinningMommy

Well, Athena surprised us yesterday with a lamb, sooner than I expected, and wonder of wonders, she is actually taking care of him. She is one of those sheep that is just dumber than the average sheep, and that says something, since sheep aren't exactly known for their brilliance. It looks like she will be a good mom. We are going to call the little guy Bilbo, which for some reason seems to suit him.

Gracie's lambs are growing like weeds. We are going to call them Bam-Bam and Bri-ella. We are hoping to get them out and about soon, weather permitting, of course.

Grace, Izzy, and the Twins

Grace, Izzy, and the Twins
Originally uploaded by SpinningMommy

Well, she finally had them on Friday, April 2. I went out in the morning to check her as usual, towing Bella along for the ride. I heard their little "maaas" before I even saw them.

I got Chris and Mark up to come out and help dip navels and get them nursing, and much to my disgust, nobody wanted to cooperate (I'm talking sheep, not family). Those lambs wanted to nurse, but every time they tried to latch on, Grace would walk away and knock them over.

After an hour of trying to get the nursing going, the lambs were wearing out and getting cold, and Grace still wasn't cooperating, so we hit the road for some colostrum and Save a Lamb. $40 later, we get home to find them happily nursing. I'm thinking that it is a small price to pay for not having to bottle feed.

So now we have ram and ewe babies, and are looking for "B" names!