My friend Barb….probably bored at work today, emailed me looking for a blog entry and was wondering what the heck was I doing??   

Well the last few days in between working, have been busy.  It’s that time of year when all of the rabbits need shearing……and when you have 17 of them, well……need I say any more?

Past winters, I have always shorn the rabbits in the freezing cold barn, but now that we have an island in the kitchen, I have taken to bringing those chilly buns in the house for their new "do". Little did my DH know that I had lots of non-cooking plans for that island…hehe.

Yesterday it was Nordic Billy the Kit.  Billy is a junior bunny from one of my summer litters.  His color is called Wild Gray.  This guy is one of the sweetest babies that I have had yet and his coat is fantastic!! 

His mother comes down from that German Import line that produces lovely coats.  I bred his mother to my red buck here and again………those import genes came thru.  He produced 9oz of fiber which is great for a junior.  A little more matting, than the pure German that I showed you last week, but still…….a great cutting for a junior. 

One of the things that I feel strongly about as a breeder, whether it be rabbits or dogs, is temperament.  If they are not easy to live with, you are not going to enjoy their company.   I will not breed animals that show any tendency towards nasty temperaments.  It is not fair to the people I will place their babies with.  Who wants to live with piranhas..??   Not me……I have one in the barn who bites me on a regular basis…….not fun!  Needless to say, she will not be bred.

As you can see, Billy is quite relaxed here in a "new to him" environment.   Just stretchin out and having a good time.

Have you ever seen a tail-less bunny?
This is Dandy (ISeeSpots Dandy).  Dandy is the oldest of my rabbits.  She is going on 7 years old and is the foundation of most of my breeding.

When Dandy came to me, I was completely inexperienced with rabbits.  At her first shearing, I kept wondering……."where the heck is her tail?"  ….."Don’t bunnies have tails?"  Of course, now that I have had many rabbits since then, I know that they have tails..LOL.

From experience in shearing wiggly babies, I can now see how easy it would be to lop one off as they are wiggling about…….but I can’t find any evidence that Dandy ever had a tail???  How strange is that?   Dandy was very happy to put her jacket on before heading back to the chilly barn.

A Gift
I just wanted to thank Patti for the lovely markers that she made for me.  Don’t they look great against the pretty card that she also sent?

I just found out that Patti is soon to become a new angora rabbit owner.  I will look for bunny pics soon!

Thanks so much for such lovely markers!

Yesterday was another snowy day in the Mount Washington Valley, so I made a pot of coffee, pulled out the plastic tarp and sander and set about some felting.  I have made a few wet felted handbags, but this time I wanted to give mittens a try, so I pulled out the big bag of Angora/Merino blended rovings and got started  This is how my afternoon went:

First you lay the wool in different directions over a cardboard pattern cuttout (sorry no picture for that step), then you place a screen over the wool and squirt some soapy water over the wool.  Gently work the water into the wool (I use a small felting tool).  Flip the mitten over and repeat on the other side.  Once it is wet (and I did both mittens at the same time), gently lift the screen off and gently rub the wool until it stops sliding about.

Next comes the fun step.  I took a piece of plastic and laid it over the mitten and revved up the sander.  Now…..I have done this in the past without the plastic and ruined my sander, so you take your chances if you don’t use the plastic.  Make sure you have a grounded outlet and rubber shoes on too…hehe.  It takes longer to felt over the plastic however, but still faster than if you weren’t using the sander.  Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

After you have added any design effect to the mitten and the fibers seem to stick together when you pull them up, it is time to take out the resist (cardboard), so you cut acrost the bottom of the pattern and GENTLY pull the cardboard out as the wool is still very fragile at this point.

After you take the resist out, start kneading the mitten like a lump of dough. You can use an old washboard or in my case, I use the broilerpan..LOL for added friction.  At this point, you can throw it into the microwave for 1 min. intervals to spead up the felting too.

3 1/2 hours later, viola…….we have soft, light yet warm, angora mittens. 

Now these mittens are not the exquisite latvian mittens that Steph is knitting, but they are lovely in their own way. 

What Stephanie has done for MSF has really touched my heart.  Following my fellow bloggers, Jean and Sandy, these little mitties will make a trip to Harlotville for Stephanie’s give away.  Harlotville is a very good place!!

These were such fun mittens to make and it is another yucky day here today, so I’m thinking a black angora pair would be fun….hhmmmmmmm

RAOK

Over the last few weeks, we have truly witnessed wonderful random acts of kindess.  You may remember my post a few months ago when I left the RAOK ring.  I was struggling with just picking a name out of a list of people and sending them a gift.  I struggled because it had no meaning to me.  Not because i don’t like giving gifts (which I do)…but because I felt no connection to it.

Watching the outpouring of kindess from knitters, children and people in general over the last few weeks has really touched my heart.  This outpouring was because we all were touched in our hearts for the tragedy of our fellow man…….in our giving we have felt connected…..that perhaps we have helped in some little way. 

Today as I was blog surfing Kerstin’s site with my morning coffee, I followed this link .   It made my day and it’s way to my list of favorites.  I have never read much about Zen or Tao, but learning more about this way of life is on my list of "to do’s" for the New Year.  It speaks to my inate love of balance in life.  I have always said that I only strive for balance and here it is in black and white on this blog.  A very interesting site indeed!

The Trip
What a glorious day it was today, in the Mount Washington Valley.  The day was mild, the sun was shining and I was on my way to pick up my new to me spinning wheel.  The woman who I was purchasing the wheel from and I were meeting at one of my favorite knitting spots, The Elegant Ewe, in Concord, NH.  Little did I realize that the woman who was selling me her wheel, was Lori Gayle, of Interweave Knits.  What a treat to meet someone who is involved with one of my favorite fiber organizations.  Lori is a technical editor for Knits.  She is the person who writes those charts and instructions so that we all can understand them..LIL.  Lori is a lovely lady, who obviously enjoys her work!.  We visited for a little while and then she headed back south, while I stayed and drooled over the yarns at TEE, but I was a good girl……I left only with the flared smoke ring pattern, that Cassie speaks so much of.  Not an easy feat to leave that store yarn less. 

Next on my trek home was a trip to Patternworks.  A girl CAN’T just drive by with out visiting the ladies now, can she??  There was my downfall……but it was just a tiny downfall, and you all will completely understand.  There was a BIG basket FULL of Koigu and it was all marked down to 6.99.  Now, I could have come home with the entire  basket, but I restrained myself to only 2 skeins.  The picture doesn’t justify the yarn.  It is yummy shades of brown, cream and touches of spring green.  I thanked the ladies and was soon on my way home.

The Wheel
 Anyone reading this who really knows me is going to laugh when they see what wheel I brought home.  Resting in this lovely bag, from the bag lady, is a maple folding lendrum.  Why will they laugh you ask?  Well, this would be the THIRD time I have bought this wheel!! " Insane "you whisper…..she must be insane… 

Nope, every time I get the guilts for having too many wheels, I talk myself into selling the folding lendrum because the other wheels that I have are irreplaceable. However, I can’t tell you how much I kick myself when I do sell it. It is the one wheel that I can spin on in any chair without my back aching which makes it a nice wheel for bringing to spin ins.  Soooooo, this time I thought,  hmmm…….I have a basket full of lovely drop spindles that I NEVER use.  I am a sucker for exotic woods and those spindles ARE lovely, however, I thought to myself……if I miss the lendrum and never use the spindles, then I will sell the spindles and get the wheel. (sounds good, doesn’t it?) So my Hatchtown and Priscilla Gibson Roberts spindles and my Forrester spindle bowls went up on eBay and now I feel better about having this wheel.  (I did keep 3 of my favorite spindles……I’m not completely there in letting go of unnecessary things….yet, but I’m trying.)

So how perfect was it when I got home and found an email from Lori telling me that today is St. Distaff Day.  We celebrate it here in the states on Jan. 12th, but technically, it is the first free day after the twelfth of Christmas, which is today!! 
It must be kismet that this little wheel came home with me today….and this time, it is going to stay!!

The dogs……..Libby
 When people think about Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, they picture the red and white version, which is called, Blenheim.  Many people do not realize that there are 4 colors in this breed.  My favorite is probably the least noticed, the Black and Tan’s.  Here at our house, we only have one b/t girl and her name is Libby (Fairfield Black Satin at Ballymena).  Libby is just about the dearest dog.  She never demands a thing, but gives such sweet, gentle love.  A true comforter, which is what the "Toy Spaniel" is meant to be.

Libby however has had problems this year with reoccurring ear infections. I brought her to the vets yet again yesterday and we are now thinking that it may be an allergy.  Of course, trying to figure out what the allergy is, will be challenging, but we came home with some meds that should give her some relief.  Once home, Bliss the resident tricolor, decided that she was going to take care of Libby in her own way…….  

You just have to love these guys!

So, what d’ya think?  Is it a pair…does this count?? 
One of the hardest things for me when knitting socks is keeping enough interest to knit it’s mate.  I have tried using the circs to knit both pair at the same time….but I just get so bloody dizzy with it all.  The grey sock is the beaded sock from the six sock KAL and the burgandy one, also from the KAL, is the fluted bannister sock. 

I really love the way that the bannister sock fits.  I am less thrilled with the beaded sock’s fit.  The koigu is great to work with, but I guess I prefer the stitch gauge of the size 1 needle that I used on the bannister sock.  The beaded sock was done as the pattern suggested on a size 2. 

Both of these socks introduced a new technique for me.  The bannister sock had an EOP heel, which is a bit different than what I usually do……..not sure that I like it yet.  The beaded sock, has a star toe, which eliminates doing the kitchner stitch.  I didn’t think that I would like that at all…….but surprise…….I really like the way it fits, and it eliminates that darn stitching.  Yay!  Now the challenge will be to see if I can get the mates finished. 

The New Year

One of the things I have noticed as I have surfed around the blogs this week, is the desire to be a bit more organized or focused in knitting.  All those yarn diets and finishing projects.  Cassie had a great post that kind of encompassed exaclty how I have been  feeling and she did with great humor..LOL.
Been there searchin’ thru those baskets right there with ya…. Happens to this ADD adult ALL the time!

One of the things that I always seem to feel when I am surfing is the need to keep up with y’all.  I had more projects started this year than I have EVER had… which again, is a real easy thing for an ADD adult to succumb to.   On the other hand, I think that blogging in a strange, weird way, has helped me stay more focused on my knitting.   I have managed to get more knitting finished in one year than I probably ever have before.  I’m not sure however, that I have completely enjoyed it. ……kind of a knitting frenzy.

Oh dear …….will I get ALL of these presents knitted in time for Christmas?.
"Oh darn,  …… my socks for the KAL are lanquishing.   
"Oh no", another KAL, that looks so neat….
"Hmmm"  …..  that knit one read one seems great too.
" Lovely fair isle"…… I should probably give that a try.
Those lativian mittens ….. maybe some of those would be nice?   Ok,ok….those are for a GREAT cause,…maybe I will be lucky enough to win them in the drawing and not have to knit them.
Eeeekkkk!!!!!!!!!   Overload!!

For this year, I am going to slow it down a bit.  What I ended up with for Christmas was a damn lovely case of ……tendonitis.  So for now,I am going to TRY to limit myself.  One on the go project and one big project and finish those before moving onto the next.   I have also neglected the spinning wheels over the last few months, so giving my tired wrist a break, I will do a little more spinning and play a bit more with felting….which brings me onto my next topic.

New Year’s Eve revisited

Remember that pink nuno scarf that I did at the felting party up yonder in wilds of Maine?  Well, if you know me, I am just not a pink kind of girl.  Kind of clashes with the red hair..LOL.  That wool, looked more earthy brown orange in the ball of roving, but WOW on the scarf it was PINK!

Being home alone with all that time on my hand and a closet full of dyes, I brewed up a pot, held my breath and tossed "Ole Pinkie" in.

Wild thoughts started running thru my head.  "Looking mighty murky in there isn’t it?"….."Was this a mistake?"  "Oh well…….I DID learn alot in the class……I can always make another."  "At least no one will be here to watch me have to toss it in the recycling bin"

Imagine my surprise!!  It came out great……..at least "I" was happy with it..LOL.  Green is much better color for a plump redhead than PINK…..don’t you think?

I am always in awe at the amount of knitting and spinning people like Wendy get done in a day and then in a week.  How DO they do it?  However, over the last few days, home alone, I got a teeny glimpse of what one can do, when the demands of a large family is not there.  I enjoyed my time alone and managed to get alot accomplished in that time, but I am glad that my family is back home safe and sound.

Now……….Stephanie has my complete admiration.  She gets soooooo much knitting finished AND she has the demands of a family.  Truly amazing!

Here are some of the things that I did with my time alone……

Beads

When I first saw the pattern for the 4th sock in the Six Sock KAL, I groaned.  Beads??  Beads and knitting together??  Can I with my lame eyesight even attempt this??  Do I even want to attempt this??  Hmmmm……..

You can see, that I decided to give it a try.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to do.  The chart was easy to follow along and I only had a few beads that did not want to knit correctly.  For anyone who is not quite sure that they want to try beaded knits…….give it a try…..you might be surprised!   The Koigu worked nicely for this pattern, but next time, I think I may use smaller beads.

Buns

Getting out to shear the bunnies in the winter can be a chore.  I usually do my shearing out in the "unheated" barn, so I really have to convince myself to get out there…bbrrr.  All of the bunnies are getting ready for their quarterly haircuts and a few of them are overdue, so it is high on my list of things to do this week.  I started the weekend off with shearing this girl, Savvy. (short for Savigon Blanc).  She will be the beginning of my "Wine" line…LOL. 

She is from Woolybuns and is bred down mostly from the newly imported lines.  I am so impressed with what these new Germans are giving up for fiber.  The picture on the right is what came off of her in just one shearing.  Now, she was a little overdue for a shearing, but I took 15 oz of fiber off of her and only 1.9 oz of that was waste.  Amazing!! I am excited to incorporate her into my lines here.  She will be bred to one of my bucks later this Winter for Spring babies.

Savvy was a very cooperative girl. I really do think that the rabbits realize somehow that we are doing them a favor by taking their coats off.  Here is Savvy sporting her tutu…

See how relaxed she gets during her shearing.  It has to feel good to get all of that fur off and move around again comfortably. 

One of the concerns, however, in the winter, is the cold.  In the past, I would put shearings off when it got too cold up here, as I was afraid that they would freeze to death.  Consequently, I would often lose that coat to mats, which was frustrating. 

Now I make little jackets for the naked buns.  Made from the sleeves of old sweatshirts, the bunnies stay toasty in them for a week to ten days until there is enough fur grown to insulate the bunny from the cold.   This year’s stack came from our local charity store.  The buns will be warm this year..LOL.

Savvy is glad to be back in her cage and is hopping around like a young baby bunny.  They truly are happy when that fur coat comes off and I think that they even understand a little that the sweat coat is for their protection as they seem to wear them willingly.

And there you have it………..life with angoras in the winter~

What a strange feeling to be rambling around in my large house all by my lonesome.  It happens so rarely, that when I am alone, I revel in the quietness.  My DH and my 2 youngest daughters headed down to Pennsylvania to be with his family, as his dad has been very ill.  Someone has to stay behind and take care of the 6 dogs and 17 bunnies, so this time it was me.  My husband was feeling sad when he talked to me earlier this evening.  Sad that I am here alone on New Year’s Eve………………..

What he didn’t see when he called was the bottle of my favorite wine sitting on the table, or the new skeins of Koigu that I gifted myself with today, or the fizz duckies from a dear friend that will float in the hot bubble bath I will take later….LOL.

Being the mother of 5 kids and 2 grandkids, I enjoy these rare quiet times.  I don’t think that I would like a steady diet of aloneness, as I would probably start babbling away to myself, more than I already do……but a day or two now and then, is a treat. 

The Koigu and the beads are for the latest sock for the KAL.  I am woefully behind…..many if not most have finished their socks and I am just starting.  Oh well.  I have never worked with yarn and beads, so this will be a first for me.  Perhaps the sock will NEVER get done…LOL

Time will tell if I will be able to figure it out, or if it will sadly lanquish in the basket of things past….

I am glad for the excuse however, to use the lovely cardinal wood needle threader that I got in Rhinebeck this year.  It seems to do the trick of getting the beads onto the yarn nicely 🙂

<p       

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the year closes, I wanted to say how much I have enjoyed discovering the world of blogs.  I have made new friends, learned new things and have broadened my horizon so much more than I ever thought that I could.  These are sad times that we live in at times.  The tragedy of the Tsunami is beyond comprehension, but the generosity of people is heartwarming.  The stories of the different ways that people are trying to raise money is incredible.  Our own Susan, created a lovely sock, with the proceeds going to Oxfam. 

As I reflect here alone this evening……my quiet hope for the New Year is more tolerance for each other and kindness…..

~Peace~

She’s done!!  I have so enjoyed Cami!  What a fabulous hand this Morehouse lace-weight yarn has.  I wasn’t sure that I was going to enjoy working with this yarn, as it had an over-spun feel to it, however, it worked up quickly and was just a pleasure to work with.

I slipped a couple of pieces of white paper in the Cami, so that you could see the pattern……….looks like I missed the bottom of one side……whoops!I

I do, however, have one complaint with this yarn…….the dye was uneven :(.  When I was working on this, every now and then I would see faint grey stripes.  Being the ever diligent housekeeper that I am….(NOT) …..I thought that it was just some dust settling on the needles when it would sit for a spell.  Well, after washing it twice, which by the way, does something magical and wonderful to this yarn……the grey stripes remained.  I was really really disappointed as this is a Christmas present for my son’s daughter and was meant to be a bit dressier than the average camisole.

I spoke with Morehouse this week and they were wonderful.  The girl in customer service asked me to send Cami to them and they would see if they could dye the camisole and even out the color.   So……if I can convince Laurel to give it up for a few weeks, hopefully we bring Cami to the lovely black camisole she was meant to be. 

For anyone considering using this yarn……..DO IT……it is great to work with!!

Nuno Felting Party
Today, Linda and I headed up to Dresden Farms, Maine for a Nuno felting party, hosted by Chris Morgan of Woolybuns.  Marianne DuBois of Arcady Designs worked along with her in teaching us the skill of felting over silk and oh my…….did we have fun! 

Of course, being my usual forgetful self, I left my digital camera sitting on the counter at home…gggrrrrrrr.  Hopefully, I will have a few pictures to share with you all tomorrow. 

It was so incredible to see how different all of the scarves turned out and it was even more fun to meet some of New England’s fiber folk, such as Julia from Moth Heaven. 

Happy 1st Birthday Aidan!!
Last year at exactly 12 minutes to midnight on Dec. 25th, little Aidan made his debut into the world and has been wowing us with his big blue eyes every since.

Many of you know that 2 years ago on Dec. 22nd, my oldest daughter gave birth to a stillborn baby, Avery.  It is devastating to go thru something like that and even more so during the holidays.  Needless to say, it was very very hard to make sure that the younger children still had a Christmas, when we all were feeling such incredible pain and shock over the unexpected loss.  I can not tell you how difficult it was as a parent to watch my daughter mourn the loss of her daughter.   I lost my first born daughter when she was a year old, so I could completely understand the depth of her pain.

My daughter is a strong young women with such a kind spirit.  She became pregnant very quickly after her body had healed and when I found out that this baby would be due in the same time frame, it gave me much worry.  However, her doctor and ultrasound doctor watched over her like a hawk and as things were going awry with this pregnancy towards the end as well, labor was induced on Christmas eve and God blessed us with this little angel at 12 minutes to 12, on the 25th day of the 12th month.  Hows that for a bunch of lucky numbers!!

Happy birthday, sweet boy!
(needless to say……..he enjoyed his chocolate birthday cake!)

Mend a quarrel.
Seek out a forgotten friend.
Write a love letter.
Share some treasure.
Give a soft answer.
Encourage youth.
Keep a promise.
Find the time.
Forgive an enemy.
Listen.
Apologize if you were wrong.
Think first of someone else.
Be kind and gentle.
Laugh a little.
Laugh a little more.
Express your gratitude.
Gladden the heart of a child.
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
Speak your love.
Speak it again.
Speak it still once more.
anonymous

Merry Christmas!!

Grippe~
1. A tight hold; a firm grasp
2. The pressure or strength of such a grasp
3. A manner of grasping and holding

What a yucky couple of days it has been !  I don’t know what got ahold of me…….but the above definitions of "Grippe" (another term for flu), kind of tells the story of just how my stomach has felt.  Today is the first day that I have even felt remotely good enough to think about blogging. Ho, ho, ho

Yule~Tide Cheer

Last week, Norma and I conversed about contests.  I was going to run a contest for favorite Christmas drink recipes……….but being the sick one that I was over the weekend….I thought that I would wait for another time for a contest.  However………..I AM going to share a fantastic egg~nog recipe that I have been using for years and years and years……..   It may not sound all that special, but whip up a batch……. I tell ya……it keeps them coming back year after year..LOL

I would love to read some of your favorite Christmas Yule~Tide recipes 🙂  Perhaps we could put a little "Christmas Spirit" booklet together…………

EGG~NOG
12 eggs (separated)
1pint heavy cream
1/2 gallon milk
1cup rum (more or less)..we like more 🙂
1 1/2 c. sugar
3tsp. vanilla
nutmeg
Beat yolks & sugar in large bowl.  Beat whites in another bowl and beat cream in yet another bowl.  Slowly beat milk into yolk mixture, then fold in whites and cream.  (I actually beat the whites and cream in, so that it is well mixed).  Add your rum and then top off with lots of nutmeg  ~YUM

On the Knitting Front
I have been working a few small projects over the last week.  You will remember from a previous post, about the jester hat, I was making for a friend overseas.  Well…….a jester hat it did not become….as the points were just giving me a headache. However, I played with the pattern and came up with this rendition.  It looked sooooooo cute on my grandson, that one will soon go onto the needles for him as well…….although, he is not too good about keeping hats on these days…LOL

Next on the FO list were these bags.  I had sooooooooo much fun with these little bags.  Being a die-hard natural fiber person, I never thought that I would ever knit with these fibers…….but, even a yarn snob can be converted.  These bags were fun.  Not only can they be used as a small purse, but they make fabulous bait bags for those that show dogs and would like to add a little pizzaz to their outfits. 

BTW…………do you notice……..those bags are being photographed on my new kitchen floor……yippee!!  It is soooooo nice to not be living on plywood any longer :-))))

In the Mail
Look what Mr. Postman brought to me in the last 2 weeks!!  I surely do look forward to all of the great publications that Interweave creates for us fiber folk. 

I haven’t had much time for reading……..but I have had enough time to glance thru all of the magazines and there are some wonderful projects to fill the winter months.  Which brings me to my next subject

Spinning
I think that I may have been a wee bit ambitious in my Christmas knitting.  You have heard of writer’s cramp…….well, I am getting a serious case of "knitter’s cramp"  I have decided that for next year, I will knit one Christmas present a month…..that way, I won’t be cramming in December…LOL.  (time will tell if I can be THAT organized)

I thought that as soon as I finished my Christmas knitting, I would give my tired, cramping hands a rest and set about some spinning again.  In glancing at the cover
of the newest Spin~Off magazine, I just fell in love with the scarf featured.  I have this lovely rose~grey alpaca cria roving that I had purchased in Rhinebeck.  I am thinking that it would make a lovely scarf, so I set about spinning it as fine as I am able to do.  It probably will not be lace weight, but closer to
fingering weight, which should still be ok. 

On my last trip to Caravan beads, I saw some beads that I think will complement this yarn perfectly.  I will have to set about a trip down there after the holidays

~I will leave you with this~

The Song of the Holly Fairy

O, I am green in Winter`time,
When other trees are brown;
Of all the trees (so saith the rhyme)
The holly bears the crown.
December days are drawing near
When I shall come to town,
And carol~boys go singing clear.
Of all the trees (O hush and hear!)
The holly bears the crown!

For who so well~beloved and merry
As the Scarlet Holly Berry?

* An excerpt from A Deluxe Book of Flower Fairies…Cicely Mary Baker

~Have a great week!