Wool room, still?

Well, it looks better, but not quite there yet. I work on it in my 'spare' time, and get side tracked every time I go in, so I guess its not as bad as it might seem. I mean, I only started on it last September. Seriously though, I have gotten quite a bit done. I have several fleeces not in this picture. They are either boxed to go to Morro Fleece Works, or behind the camera on the bed... or in the closet. I have sold some things I don't think I'll ever get a chance to mess with, and still have some things for sale listed in my Etsy store, with more to come as I dig deeper.

I've decided to make a lace curtain for the stationary side of my atrium door. I could buy one but I figure it will be better if I make it myself. Since I couldn't find a pattern that I really liked for it, I've decided to make that myself too. So far I have two swatches made up, but neither turned out the way I wanted it to, so now I think I have the pattern down, but haven't worked on it in a few days, I'll get to it again soon.

Our lives haven't changed much since September... Joy is now 3 and as big a handful as her mother ever was. And as beautiful as well. Which is why I'm sure, she has her mother wrapped tightly around those pretty little fingers.

With sequestration, I may not get to work at all this summer, but I may end up working my tail off, it really depends on what money goes where and how they decide to allocate it.  This doesn't do much for my attitude towards this country's administration, for sure. They had to cancel any training I might have qualified for as well. I can't gripe too much though, others will hurt much worse than I before he has had his fill of 'making it hurt'.

We have three lambs this year, although we should have had 6. Babs had quadruplets! But all passed but the one. I don't really understand why, other than they just all came so quickly that she just decided it was too much to deal with and concentrated on cleaning and caring for the one. Gracie had twins, but she has something wrong with her jaw, and although the lambs were large (12 and 10lbs respectively) she is not making enough milk for them, so I am having to supplement them.  I think after shearing I will have to put her down if I can't figure out how to heal her jaw, and then I will be looking for another wool ewe to replace her.

I will try to post here again regularly, as I really do like sharing things that happen here, especially wooly things!

Wool Room

Time to organize! I went in there the other day and decided I have GOT to quit buying wool! And I also realized I have GOT to organize what I have. Egad. Wish me luck!

On the Holloway

The Holloway fire, Denio, NV, 2012
8/19 461,047 acres

 

  

I've been here for 14 days tomorrow, seems like a month! I'm ready to go home, and I will on Tuesday. The fire will be transferred to a type 3 team and we're outta here!

Ex-Stole-ing

I mentioned in my last post the fence knit from the stole pattern by Eunny Jang, and the fact that I absolutely love the pattern!

I've started it!

...and started it...

...and started it....

In fact, I've 'started' it at least 5 times.

The first problem I had was with the provisional, or hidden, cast on that I used. I think that was the reason for at least two of my false starts. I hate it. Its the one where you hold the waste yarn above and the working yarn below, and sweep down and around and then up and between, this one, its looks horrible, the edges are all jagged and its impossible for me to keep an even tension on it. And when I knit lace I use a life line, and all that hanging string! Ugh! No, its not OCD, its.... well I don't know what it is, but it really, really bugged me! So after watching a few videos on provisional cast ons, I settled on one that would better suite my controlling tendencies, this one. It is neat, it is solid, it doesn't slip or slide, I love it!

Another couple of restarts were due to miscounts, confusion and aggravation. Derek asked me why I would even bother if it was going to stress me out so badly. I showed him a picture of a finished stole, and said "THAT's why I bother, its gorgeous!" and I'm stubborn that way.

I had started out using one stitch marker, smack in the middle of the pattern repeat (it has essentially three 'sections', the middle one repeats 4 times). This was working out ok, but had to back up so many times over 40 stitches I decided to use 5 markers, one at the end of the first section, three between the repeated sections, and one at the beginning of the last section. Got through three rows and I was off by one stitch! How could this be? Went back and counted.... there are 8 stitches in the first section of row one, and 9 in the first section of row 3! I couldn't figure it out! Literally hundreds of people have made this stole! Surely someone would have pointed out an error like that! So I called Laura (a second time) my inside line to knitting omniscience. We both realized at the same time that the first section staggers by one stitch halfway through the pattern block. Laura knit a couple panels to be sure, and that was indeed the case. So, off with the stitch markers, back to one in the center.

I was going great guns after that, almost through the third block repeat when it hit me; this thing is HUGE! The pattern calls for either cobweb weight yarn with a US size 00 needle, or lace weight with a size 4 needle. I didn't like it (yet another restart for that), so I went to a size 6 needle. If I'd continued I'd have run out of yarn long before I finished the center panel.

So what to do.... I decided instead of doing 4 repeats of the center section, I would do only three. Ripped and restarted! Hopefully, for the final time.

Not a very good picture, but you can see how the pattern tends. This is just loosely stretched over a white towel. When finished it will have edging too, so will be a few inches wider to either side. I'm guessing after stretching and blocking it will be about 18 inches wide. 

I generally don't spin alpaca, but I have to say, this yarn is luscious! I love holding it, knitting with it, touching it; its just really pleasant, and gives me good feelings :)

A Few Weeks in Review...

It's fire season again!
I was sent to Wyoming, as an expanded dispatcher, but this time, it was with a twist!
First let me explain an expanded dispatcher's job. Initial attack is handled by the people with radios. Generally, they deal with maybe one plane for recon; one or two wildland fire engines that generally are the first to see the fire from the ground and assess it; a couple of single resources (people),  maybe a Fire Management Officer or an IC (also incident command but used as the title of the guy who's in command of the forces on the fire). When a fire gets bigger than what these few resources can handle, the initial attack dispatch calls in what is called Expanded Dispatch. We fight the fire from phones and computers, by entering the orders of everything the IC and other resources need to fight the fire on the ground into a program called ROSS. The Resource Ordering and Status System is used in tracking everything from supplies to people in an incident.
Normally, a dispatcher never sees an Incident Command Post (AKA, ICP). Normally, a dispatcher works about 12 hrs a day (sometimes 14 if things are really bad), eats in restaurants, and stays in a motel. At ICP everyone works 16 hours a day, eats under a caterers tent, showers in a portable shower unit, uses porta potties, and sleeps in a tent.
This time, someone came up with an idea that will most likely be implemented as a normal way to do things in the near future, because it really worked quite well!
At ICP there is a Buying Team, a team of people who, obviously, purchase everything needed to aide in quelling a fire. Normally, phone calls and faxes jump back and forth between a far away expanded dispatch and the buying team, who is generally located at the ICP, or at least in an office far distant from the expanded dispatch. In this case, a dispatcher (me) was set up in a room next to the buying team so I could input everything the fire ordered into ROSS, and immediately take the order to the buying team and viola! Done! No phone calls, no faxes.
So, instead of living in a motel with my own bathroom and bed, I had my tent and an air mattress :)

The ICP was in Big Piney High School, a small town in south western Wyoming. The fire was very close to one of only three helium plants in the country.

It was a good experience, one I would repeat in the future. As I like to say, I love new experiences, as long as they aren't painful.

After a week of that, the fire was virtually out and I was moved into expanded dispatch which was located in Jackson, WY. Jackson is famous for its skiing and for the Grand Tetons that tower,  just 15 minutes away, over a valley from which the town gets its nick name, Jackson Hole. On my last working day there I was given liberty to take a tour of the Park. If you ever get a chance, the Grand Tetons are a magnificent site!

This is Mount Moran, graced by one of the twelve glaciers that dot the mountain range, and a lava flute that extends just higher than the mountain itself.

As I was coming into the park that morning, I saw three or four people gawking at something under the bridge, but didn't stop as I wanted to get on with my sight seeing, but when I left the park, about three hours later, there were hordes of people gathered in the same place, so I knew I had to stop and lookee-loo with the rest of them. This is what had everyone's attention.

Not one, but two bull moose, taking the edge off the days heat in the cool waters of the Snake River. Can you see both of them? What I found amusing, is that the junction where you turn off the main highway to get into the park, not a quarter mile away, is called Moose Junction! The settlement where all the park residents live a quarter mile down the road in the other direction, is called Moose, and the post office, a small single room building, boasts a sign "Moose Post Office".

And you know, while I was there, I had to find an LYS, hoping they might have spinnables as well as yarn. No such luck on the spinnables, but the yarn store "Knit on Pearl" (which until its recent move was actually located on Pearl St in Jackson) did have a lot of nice books, and not wanting to leave without purchasing something, I settled on this. Lots of nice lacy projects in here!

Recently on FaceBook, someone shared a picture of a fence. Not just any fence, but a knitted fence made of some kind of weather proof string. It is flat amazing.

The knitters FB page is here. I don't know if this picture exists anywhere on the web outside of FB, other than where people like me have shared it, but if I find out the knitter has posted it elsewhere I will link it here.
Someone asked if the pattern that she used was published and the Shetland Arts and Crafts FB page, who originally shared the photo with the community, linked back to this, a free pattern from Eunny Jang. I imediately thought of the alpaca top that I brought back from Texas last year, and am now in the process of spinning it in a lace weight to make the stole.

Also still working on the last socks I posted about, its been so long now I'm going to have to go hunting for the heel pattern I used on the first one! Better late than never... right?

My Week

We had a wonderful short week with Kevin at home! Joy is absolutely enamored with him! I love the way she says 'Ke'in'! She couldn't get over it, and kept saying "Ke'in's here! Ke'in's here!" with a cheek splitting grin.

 And of course, for two days after he left, she was asking where he went. Heartbreaking :(
 Especially since my heart already hurts when he's gone.
We had a very nice dinner the second evening he was here, with lamb chops, boiled baby white potatoes, and fried green beans. I am a simple cook, but the food never wants for flavor!

Our central AC has gone south on us, the motor is burned up, so we ate on the porch. It was a really nice evening! And thank goodness we had several more to spend with him, and a lot more good food, before he had to get back to base in Twenty-Nine Palms last Wednesday.

We had the shearer out on Memorial Day (as mentioned in the previous post), I really don't know why they seem to want to travel on holidays! One year I didn't get my sheep sheared at all because they were supposed to be here on Mother's Day at 9AM, I wanted to go fishing and picnicking afterwards, and when they still hadn't called or shown up by 1PM, I left!
This is a different shearer now, he comes down from Idaho and shears at least 5 flocks, mine being the smallest by far at three sheep. He does a decent job and is familiar with and sensitive to a spinner flock owner's wishes.
This is a washed portion of Babs' fleece. In 2010 Laura bribed me for it, and while she is working her fleece from last shearing, I've been working on this one. I think hers is cleaner. 2010 was the year the shearers didn't show up on Mother's day, so in October, I sheared Babs and Gracie myself. So what I'm working on now is 18 months of uncovered growth, wind injected, broken up bits of super-Nevada-sun-dried poo, bug dust, dirt and hay. It certainly washes up nice though!

I pick the locks apart and put them in a box, then take my trusty doggy brush and my cutting board and flick the locks out. Then I run them through my drum carder and ....

Viola! Soft, fluffy, wooly goodness for the soul!

I also got another box from Morro Fleece Works this week. I had sent her a box of very light to white wool and said just mix it all up! The only real color in the box was a bit of light fawn alpaca, the rest was white; a super fine Merino from The Wool Ranch, a pound or so of hoget BFL, and something else... Shari called me and asked if I really, really wanted the BFL and the 'something else' in with the Merino and alpaca, I told her if it didn't match up to go ahead and run it seperately. This is what I got back, so far.

I absolutely LOVE the way the color came out in this blend. As I said, 18 micron Merino and light fawn baby alpaca... scrumptious! I would call this color 'champagne'. It is so soft and silky you will be sorely tempted to sleep with it!

Also, for those of you who saw me at BSG in 2010, do you remember the Romney fleece I got in the fiber sale after the show? It was the winner of its class, a beautiful, grey-brown, long stapled, silky fiber. I didn't feel like I would ever get to it to process myself, and its so pretty, so off to Shari it went! I will be playing with this one today :)

I have some of the Merino/Alpaca blend and some of this Romney for sale in my Etsy store.

On a final note, the third day Kevin was here, he went out to feed with me. I got to show off all my new chickens, who are doing great! He remarked on all the work I did on the pen, while we threw small pieces of wheat bread to the 'hens'.
On our way back up the drive way to the house, I heard...  'cock-a-doodle-do'. I turned slowly in the drive way to look back toward the chicken house, and asked Kevin if he'd heard that. He said, 'Heard what?'. As I started toward the chicken house, I heard it again. Kevin said behind me 'Are hen's supposed to do that?'

Goodies!

I took delivery of this the other day. It is a Coopworth/Polypay cross fleece from Maplewood North.




You know, I was never addictive when I was younger; I tried different things, but never had a problem walking away from anything. And now, at mid-life, I have an addiction that I can't kick! As much as I try to clean out my wool room, I always seem to be putting something back in!

And, just in from Morro Fleece Works, "Glinda"! Glinda is a Corriedale ewe, one of the many fleeces from my stash that I sent off to Shari in an effort to diminish my stash to a manageable level. I have 7 bags available listed on my Etsy, in 1lb 2 ounce lots. You pay for a pound, I throw in the 2 ounces. If you don't want to go though Etsy, that's ok too! Just mail me and we'll do the deal separately.

This is a super dark Romney, in reality it is black with silvery-grey fibers throughout, also listed on Etsy.

We sheared Sunday so I have three new fleeces on my porch. Tunis (Eben), CVM/Romney (Gracie), and at the bottom Dorset/Suffolk (Babs). They are full of itty bits of vm, as I didn't cover them at all. This is the Tunis ram's hogget fleece, and both Gracie and Babs had not been sheared since the fall of 2010. So I guess I will process these myself, figure I'll be done sometime in the mid 2020's.... maybe.