Color is something that never ceases to interest me.  Whether it is a trip out to the yard to look at the flowers in the garden, the incredible overload of color that visits us here in the autumn in NH, or just the subtle colors of the weeds and geese against the pond that they reside in, across the way from my house.  I love it all!  I can honestly say that there really isn’t a color that I dislike (well maybe pink…..but sometimes I even like that when it is combined with another color)

Last week, after I said good bye to the last little bunny baby, I headed over to Denmark, ME, for a dyeing seminar that I had signed up for.  This was the second of a 2 part seminar, put on by Linda Whiting of Pinestar Studio .  Linda has been a student of color for many years and put together a wonderful class for those of us who attended.

After we listened to some general information and some sensible safety tips, we set about the business of dyeing.  We were given 3 colors each to work with.  Red, yellow and blue…….from these colors, Linda had given us different combinations of the 3 colors to work with and as you can see above, we were able to make a complete color wheel with just these 3 colors. 

As a girl who dyes quite frequently, it was fascinating for me to see
that with only 3 colors, I actually had the capability to make 66 colors from just red, yellow and blue.  If you look at the triangle to the right, those numbers are meaningful.  Yellow being at the top, tells you for example that 730, means 7 parts of yellow, 3 parts of red and 0 parts of blue will give you this color.  What fun!!!!

This next picture is the yarn that we dyed to the colorwheel.  After we nuked them for a few seconds in the microwave, we wrapped them in plastic wrap and then put our complete color wheel bundles into a bigger plastic bag, which was then put into
a pot on the stove to be steamed.  Here Linda has a few cups in the pan, with a cake rack resting on them, so that the little bags of fiber were not sitting in the water.  To the right, you can see Linda looking over our samples.  As you can see, there is a wonderful range of colors that were made from just those 3 basic colors.

From the first exercise, we moved onto the next one, which was Gradient colors.  Here we took one color, mixed full strength at a 1% solution and then diluted it by half and by half again, again and again.  You can see the various depths of shade in the cups being steamed as well as in the picture of Linda with the yarns.  Again……quite fascinating.

From there we moved to mixing complementary colors, analogous and finally triad combinations and watching how the color shifts with just a little color added from one of the other one.  This was my favorite part.  Taking 2 colors from the opposite sides of the color wheels and combining them in different percentages from the outside (each color on one end) to the middle and seeing what color range you got, was just mind boggling and so fun!

At the end of the class, we had a number of samples to take home and a good list of reading material. 

This morning as I was reading a few blogs with my morning coffee, Cassie directed us to Sara Lamb’s website, which in itself is very interesting.  Sara had a link in her post to Elaine Benfatto’s website, which given the class that I had just taken was so timely.  There is wonderful information on Elaine’s site.  I got lost in it this morning.  Tomorrow, I will take another trip to Sara’s to read more about her weavings and her usage of color.  She is such a talented fiber artist!

Pro Chem, in Massachusetts offers weekend classes very similar, but in much more depth to the classes that I have taken with Linda.  I hope to take one of them this winter. It is all so fascinating!

I thought that I could stay committed to Birch, truly I did. With Birch,  there was the excitement of the chase……..finding just the right color, and then the euphoria of something new.  Ah…..pure bliss!   But ………..then……..came the boredom that comes with familiarity.  The long rows of yarn overs and knit 2 togethers.  Dear…..I have a headache…….not tonight………

As the family is away on a vacation without me, I thought that I would take a little jaunt of my own…..no reason to hang around home…feeling kinda single……  First there was this little Opal redhead that turned my head…….what a tease! Now I know that there are some that hate to admit that they love orange……..but not me.  I am an orange girl thru and thru.(shh…..don’t tell Birch, she will be green with envy)

As I journeyed a little bit further, swearing not to be tempted again, as I am a committed woman, you know.  Somehow though… this sultry earthy blend of softness joined me for a big glass of wine.  Oh dear…….the rush of new excitement again…..can I resist, especially when there are 10 more just like her, waiting to be made into something special.  Something new…..something different. Not orange……not green (well a little green), but a soft dark plum…..Oh dear….(shh…don’t tell Birch, she’ll never understand)

After dinner, there was this little temptress (more info later) waiting in the wings, lounging on a bed of (roses) sedum, just wiggling her wiley finger at me….teasing and tempting me with her angora and silk softness, trying to distract me from my first love. She isn’t nagging at me to get her finished with all of those yarn overs and knit 2 togethers.  No idiosyncrasies and long rows to speak of.  A little complicated, but short and sweet all at the same time.  How can I resist??

At the end of the day however, it is Birch that I will go home to.  There is a comfort in all of those yarn overs and knit 2 togethers.  As we watch tv together alone tonight, we will rekindle that flame.  Remember, I am committed to Birch right to the end…..at least I think I am…..hehe.

**************
On a more serious note, I want to thank everyone who emailed me with their kind thoughts regarding Savvy’s litter.  It was just one of those very sad things in the circle of life that breeders see up close and personal from time to time.  Your kindness meant a lot to me.  Thank~you…..

Essence

When admiring a painting,
Don’t examine the paint.
When meeting an artist,
Don’t look at the brush,
~Deng Ming~Dao

Sadly all of Savvy’s babies have died.  For some reason, her mothering hormones did not kick into gear and the last 2 days have been long trying to rescue the babies.

I have been breeding animals for a long time, but I never get used to the sad feeling I get when a wee little one dies in my hands. 

Sleep well little babies.

Can you believe it……they are here!  Finally!!  They were just taking their time, aging like a fine wine.  They will definitely have white wine names, like their Mum……any favorites out there??

Savvy has 5 fat wiggly babies…I was right to be a bit concerned though.  Much I as suspected, there was one very large baby holding things up.  That baby , well,  um….um…..well, was very large and not all parts were there when I found it this morning.  I think Mom had to work really hard at getting this one out.  Not what you hope to find before your first cup of Java in the morning….eeww!  Happy to report that Mom and babies are all doing well now.

More New Arrivals
Ken and I headed back off for the rolling hills of Vermont, early Sunday morning to pick up the rest of the bunny cages.  It was another perfect day.  The sun was shining and the temps were mild with no humidity to speak of.

Terry and Ron had new additions of their own for us to see.  In the 3 days since I had been there last, 2 new baby alpaca’s had made their entrance into the world.  This little one in the picture had ears that were turning out the wrong way, so Terry taped them up in the right direction

to help strengthen the ear muscle.  Oh my……what cute little babies they are!  We had an enjoyable time chatting with both Ron and Terry about alpacas.  They are great people to get to know and have a lovely piece of heaven that they can call home.  We look forward to having them visit this side of the mountain after the last of their alpaca babies makes it’s entrance.

Spinning

Even though I have been fervently working on Birch and waiting on babies, I have managed to squeeze in a few other things.  Spinning consistent singles that are not over~twisted has been something that I have been really trying to work on.  I have a little project that I have been working on with another friend and I am hoping to be able to use my angora blends on.  There is no way under the sun that I will probably ever be able to spin laceweight doubles<grin>…….but I am am getting there with my singles…….at least I think I am.

Again………feel free to send some good white wine names this way…….I know I am sipping on some after this long week of waiting!

Do you notice anything different in this picture of Savvy since my last post?

Of course you don’t……..because there isn’t!  Grrr…..!!

Now rabbits are typically very punctual when it comes to birthing babies.  The good bunny book says 31 days and by God, when day 31 rolls around they kindle……but not this one.  I was told that both her mother and her sister kindled on day 33.  Being that this is a line of rabbits that I am not familiar with, as she is mostly of the new import lines that have come to the USA, I figured….ok……most does and animals in general follow familiar traits when it comes to birthing……but come ON…….we are on day 34!!  She is going to give birth to baby monsters!

I pulled her out of her cage again to day and held her on my lap just to make sure that I could still feel the babies moving..yup, still wiggling away.  Checked to make sure there were no unusual discharges that would indicate a dead fetus……….everything looks fine and she does not appear to be in any stress…..so what gives??
Geez…….I know I am in the throws of menopause and sometimes the memory isn’t what it should be, but I just can’t believe I didn’t write down the right breeding date in my day book……….at least I don’t think I could have…..I swear……I don’t think I could have……hmmm…… 

Heck, even the dogs are getting concerned……….they wonder why Mum is going up and down those bunny stairs a gazillion times a day.  Of course Dad says……."Hey, the girl probably wants a little privacy"…
but then, what does he know about birthin’ bunnies?

I figure, given that she is the beginning of my Wine Line, Woolybuns Savigon Blanc, those babies are just aging like a fine wine before they make their appearance. (if I survive this kindling)  All of this worry and stressing has had one good thing come out of it……..I have spent alot of time birching!

Meditate with no thought of gain.
Expect no ambitions to be fullfilled.
Only then will the inner force manifest
Deng Ming~Dao

In the competitive world, we give expression to our ambitions, shrewdness and aggressiveness.  We must do this to survive.  In the meditative world, we cannot use these attitudes.  What works well on the outside will not serve us on the inside.  If you have no expectations, you will feel the divine.  If you strive and have selfish desires, then you will feel only frustration.
Deng Ming~Dao

My good blogging friend Liz, last week vented a little about the pressures of having a blog be just about knitting.  She was feeling the need to be able to bring forth some of the things that were meaningful outside of fiber in her life and I commend her for that.  Liz is an articulate young woman and her’s is a blog that I never tire of, as her posts are always intelligent and thought provoking.  I embrace her feelings

Today was one of those days that was just long and full of stress.  Life is not all about happiness and yarn zen.  Life is…….well life.  When I opened my little Tao book this evening after a stressful day to find some balance, this little verse just spoke to me enough to take a breath……..and breathe. 

I come from a deeply evangelical family, but I have found the balance of Eastern Religion very soothing (much to my family’s concern).  When I post these little verses, it is not because I am trying to push my views on others, but more because I find solice in them.  Kersin linked to this blog almost a year ago and it piqued my interest enough to purchase the book that I so frequently quote from.  There is something very soothing (there’s that word again) to the thoughts and writings of Deng Ming~Dao and Tao in general.  Sometimes we have to just let go of things……… do the very best that we can, then leave it at the door and let it float down that river…..

The Trek

As that wiley rabbit was not showing any signs of impending birth, I decided to hop in the car and trek over to Vermont with my youngest daughter and fiber enthusiast, Hannah.

I am so fortunate to live in a beautiful spot.  Not the majestic or dramatic scenery of our friends from Utah, but still lovely in it’s own quiet way.  The trip that we took brings us over the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  This was the first picture that I snapped.

Next along our trek was the Willey house.  Although the pictures do not show how impressive the mountain rise above the house is…….it is.  This house is a landmark here in NH.  Many years ago the Willey family lived where this house now stands and a massive mudslide from the mountain behind killed the entire family  If you get a chance, take the time to read the link that I provided…….it is a sad, but fascinating peek into NH history.

As we ventured further into the Mt Washington territory, we passed by the Mt Washington Hotel , which is a Cinderella like hotel and home to our local high school’s proms.

The other is a picture of the cog railway track up the backside of the mountain, if you look close enough you can see the black steam at the top of the mountain.  The Cog is a steam powered train that runs up and down the mountain.  Ken and I took that trip once…..ooooooooh….beware……..it’s one scary ride, but definitely worth the experience!  And there you have a small piece of my world 🙂

ALPACA’S
Our final destination was the home of Snowshoe Farm Alpaca’s.  As I mentioned in a previous post, Terry and Ron Miller were kind enough to winter a bunch of rabbit cages for me.  I was thrilled that Anne had offered them to me, even though my DH is confused as to why I might need them <eviL grin>.

The cages are like new……thanks Anne!!   

The best part of the trek for me was watching the alpaca.  What wonderful, special animals they are.  I can definitely see my animal horizon expanding.

Ok……to appease my DH, I will include that I will be patient…….but how patient can I really be???  I have already been waiting a number of years.  Not much longer dear……..not much longer….how patient can a girl be??

While we were there, this little miss was very uncomfortable with her impending birth.  It looked pretty certain that she was going to have that new little one, any moment……even though Terry said she has looked this way all week.  Unlike bunnies who are pretty darn punctual about birthing their babies (except for my wiley and very pregnant bunny), alpaca’s will go anywhere between 11 and 12 months before they will birth a cria.  Talk about stress…….eekk!

Ken and I will make another trek over this weekend to pick up the rest of the bunny cages.  The weather is supposed to be cool and sunny.  Good company, great animals and fantastic scenery brings promise of a great weekend!

Have a great weekend in your corner of the world~

Yikes……..2 posts in 24 hours!  What does that tell you??  It is just too darn hot and steamy to do anything that requires too much effort.

Yesterday I dyed up some angora and some silk.  Normally, I would put this outside to dry, but with the extreme humidity we are having, I am sure that it would take days if not a week to dry.  Instead I spread out the batches on the island in my kitchen.  I had convinced my husband to put a/c in the kitchen this weekend, after I couldn’t stand it one more day. (whine, whine, whine..hehe)  Both dried in record time!!

Look at the difference between the angora and the silk.  The silk is sooo shiny…..and the angora is so soft.

Bunny Watch

Baby bunnies are expected here tomorrow.  I am excited as the mother of this litter is my best doe.  She is an incredible fiber producer.  I bred her earlier in the spring, but the breeding didn’t take.  Given that there have been some questions bantering about, regarding the fertility of some of the newer German imports, I decided to breed her to a different buck this time and I bred the buck from the first breeding to another proven doe, to see if it was just the combination. 

A few days before a doe’s due date, I will sit with them in my easy chair that I have in the rabbitry.  I gently hold them like a baby and rest my hand lightly against their bellies to feel for movement.  As I held Savvy, I could feel a lot of wiggling and jiggling…yippee!  On the other hand, Irina’s belly is very quiet, so I have to suspect that the buck may have some issues.  I will wait now until early fall or late winter to breed him again. He comes from pretty fertile lines, so there shouldn’t be a problem, but time will tell.

I am a bit nervous about this impending litter.  I use a drop nest for mothers to use when they are kindling.  I like them because they simulate what a doe would do in the wild.  In the wild, a rabbit would dig a hole, line it with wool and kindle.  This way, they can cover up the hole with grass, to keep the babies safe. 

The drop nest has worked great for me here and I have not yet lost a litter due to it being scattered on the wire.  My mothers have instinctively known what it was for.  I give my girls access to this attached cage usually 3 days before their due date and fill it with hay.  Most will nibble on the hay for the first few days and then get down to business of making a nest on the day of kindling.   This girl however is determined to use it as her litter box.  I have emptied it and refilled it every day, hoping to deter her, but it hasn’t.  I will be in and out of the rabbitry for the next few days, hoping that if this girl chooses to scatter the litter, that I will catch it in time to save any babies.  Maybe I will get lucky and it will click with Savvy, what this nest is for.

The proud Daddy!

Travel plans
Hannah and I are heading off tomorrow to visit Ron and Terry Miller of Snowshoe Farm Alpacas.  Anne left her bunny cages for me when she moved to Utah and Terry was kind enough to keep them there for me until I could make room in the barn for them.

Tomorrow is supposed to be less humid and a little more conducive to outside activities.  Hopefully Savvy will have  kindled otherwise, I may have to postpone our trip.  Hannah and I are really looking forward to visiting the Alpacas, so fingers are crossed that Savvy comply.

Farewell’s

Shaping

Potter at the wheel.
From centering to finished pot.
Deng~Ming Dao.

Today was a roller coaster of emotions for me.  My little Kai went to his new home and while my heart was breaking, I know that what I was giving up, was bringing enormous joy to someone else.

As dog breeders, we put our hearts and souls into raising these babies.  Every litter that is borne has the promise of something great, which is what keeps good and responsible breeders breeding.  Like the potter at the wheel, we pour so much of ourselves into sculpting the little personalities that these dogs will become.  Kai has been very dear to my heart.  He is the most carefree, happy puppy that I have ever produced, along with being an incredible example of the breed, other than a few freckles on his face.  This month, both his mother and his sister (Dora), from a different litter were in season.  It was then, that I knew that I was not going to be able to keep him, as he is too related to my girls here.  No matter how careful you are, accidents can happen, and that is not an accident that I want to happen.  Today I brought him to his new home, and the joy that I know that he will bring to this family softens the stab of pain that I feel, but I will surely miss his happy ways.  Seeing his smile (yes this dog really does smile), lets me know that he is going to be happy.  Thankfully he is not too far away and we will be able to see him now and then.

Dyeing Days

It has been HOT!!!.  I
soooooooo hate the hot weather, but it is great weather for dyeing wool
and angora as it dries fast.  Angora tends to clump when it is wet, so
drying it can take days.

"Superman" (eekk…my carder has a name!)
lives in my office, which is air conditioned, so on these hot days, I
sit in front of the carder.  Being that it is electric, as I feed in
the blends, I can read blogs or work at the same time.   What more can
a girl want………a/c, computer, carder, wool, books and loom are all
housed in this room.  My DH calls it Kimmie’s play house….haha!  He’s
just jealous…<eviL grin>

Did you ever?

Did you ever buy something that was so out of the norm for you??  I am not a flashy person and do not own much bling.  Last winter, I was searching for an Isabella Fiore Cavalier leather bag on ebay, which of course is next to impossible to find at a reasonable price.  She frequently features different breeds of dogs on her bags and this particular Cavalier one is all leather with very little flash.  Of course, I haven’t been able to find one in my price range, but this Monkey bag caught my eye for what reason, I haven’t yet figured out.  A few blings were missing (but included for me to glue back on), so the price was right.  I don’t know what ever possessed me to bid on it, but I LOVE it!.  I have found that it is a great summer bag, that I can toss whatever knitting I am working on and all of the other essentials..  YIKES…..I am carrying serious bling around…which is soooooo unlike me!!!!!!!!

Algora?

Remember that bunny fluff that I showed you last week?  Well, my friend Claudia of Countrywool, encouraged me to toss some on "Superman"……..she promised if I went slow it wouldn’t nep and by golly, she was right!  Wow…is all I can say, it did such a wonderful job and made spinning that bunny(crack)fluff, so much easier.  This is the time of year that I start spinning angora, so that I can use it to knit in hats that I make to sell at the fall fiber fairs, but seeing how nice it looks along the charcoal alpaca cria that I just finished spinning, makes me wonder how the two would look in a shawl.  Maybe a shawl made in the alpaca and the final row done with the bunny would look nice.  Hmmmm……