People who climb Mt. Everest or Mt. Kilimanjaro are mere novices when you compare the mountain I've just climbed. Its taken me months to pick and card everything in my stash, and I can say without equivocation that I AM DONE! The wool is ready for dyeing and spinning. (Which is my new goal for the next 6 months, by the way.)
These pictures can't begin to convey the hours and hours I spent picking and carding these bags of wool. I have a new found respect for shepherds long ago who spent their whole lives sheering, picking, and spinning wool.
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| Stash Sampler |
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| Pantry of wool - carded |
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| Action Center- note the bags of white wool above the lamp |
What great patience they had. Of course, being permanently 'off the grid', they had no internet, or very little, to distract them from their course of action. I had to make a deadline or I knew I'd never get all this done.
It is so fun now, to go to the stash without any guilt, grab a bag of wool, and start spinning. I felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when he saw all the candy and goodies, waiting to be eaten. Having a large stash of carded wool for a spinner is probably the exact same thing. Nothing pernicious or specious. Just good clean fun!
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| Grape Pop |
MORE SPINNING
I also carded some wool with silk noil and spun very fine, then plied. I really, really like the effect the silk has on the wool. I will definitely do more of this!
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| spinning wool and silk |
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| singles |
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| plying |
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| Hank of silk noil and wool |
KNITTING
I took these socks with me Sunday night to my husband's concert. He played and sang with his partner in a nearby town, very close to where the Bonnaroo Festival takes place.
The church that hosted the event also provided homemade pies, homemade ice cream and all kinds of refreshments for the outdoor event. It was a lovely night and we really enjoyed the All-American feel of the town. Kids running around playing, grown-ups in folding chairs, singing along. I sat at a picnic table and knitted during the rehearsal. I made a lot more progress than you can see in this picture!
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| Finally knitting the foot of the socks. Two at a time socks rock! |
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| Knitting with beads! |
PERSONAL
Our kids all came over this weekend, so the house exploded with all kinds of family oriented collateral damage. Its always worth it to me. These are days that I cherish, and know that they'll be over before you know it.
My little granddaughter doesn't walk quite yet, but makes great strides crawling across the carpet when there's something she wants. On the way she takes what we call "thumb-breaks", which are quick moments to rest her head and suck her thumb. Literally seconds later she's up and at 'em again. Somehow I think its as much a soothing technique as it is rest. A lot times, I wish I could just stop and take a thumb break, too!