The Wedding II

My son Christopher was very proud of his little sister and is happy to have Azi in the family. I heard him say how happy he was to have another brother. Paul and I are so proud of JoAnna and happy for her and Azariah!

More pics
Chris
Orion
and
Jessica

The Wedding

Well, it's come and gone.....Just like that! All the months of preparation and anticipation have come to fruition. And hot damn, it was great!




JoAnna and Azariah were beautiful as was the whole wedding party. McMinneman's was a fabulous place to have the wedding. The room was awesome and the food was great!












Meghanne, Jo, Charlee (daughter),and Jessica (daughter-in-law)

The berenie

I've been wanting to knit a hat that is a cross between a slouchy beret and a beanie. So I have fused several patterns that I have used over the years to come up with this simple pattern, a guide actually since I am no pattern writer. The first one I made from a yarn I spun last summer and had no idea what I was going to use it for. It is 7 WPI, so, a heavy worsted/lt.bulky.

It is sheltand with burgandy dyed merino, with some fancy little wrappings I did with a single strand of chartreuse dyed merino.


It turned out a little looser than I wanted, so the next one I did with an alpaca/merino blend roving I had bought a long time ago and been stashing away waiting for the right project! This was it, I was finally going to use this lovely fiber. I 3 plied it with a single strand of dyed silk I hand spun on a drop spindle last summer. It was only 1 more WPI than the last yarn, but the alpaca has more drape and can be knitted a bit tighter. I am very happy with this one and it has what I was shooting for. Not quite a beanie and not slouchy/floppy like a beret. So this is my out line of a pattern.
Size 10 1/2 circulars
size 9 circulars
size 9 DPNS
C.O. 72 st. on larger needles
4 rows of K2, P1 ribbing
switch to smaller circulars and K one round
inc row, K 7, KF&B, repeat to end of round
K 1 round
K 8, KF&B, repeat to end of round
K 1 row
K 9, KF&B, repeat to end of round
K 1 round
K 10, KF&B, repeat to end of round
Knit all rounds til piece measures 3 1/2

Decrease round, K 10, K2Tog, repeat to end of round
K 1 round
Dec. round, K 9 K2Tog, repeat to end of round
continue in K for 2 more inches

Decrease round, K 8, K2Tog, repeat to end of round
Decrease round K 7, K2Tog, repeat to end of round
Continue to decrease every round with 1 less stitch between decreases
til you have to K2Tog all the way around.
K one row and cut yarn, weave in ends.

Of course, you can vary it by adding or subtracting the 4 ribbed rows, make it taller with a knitted round in between decrease rounds. Whatever works for you!

Meet the Sheep Part 3 Elfaba

Elfaba's, breed is Navajo-churro, if she looks a bit odd for a pure-breed Navajo, it's because she is fine wooled. There is an explaination.....Churro's as most of you know, are famous for bomb proof, course hair, rug making wool! Not Miss Elfie, see there was a time when some guys thought they were going to "improve" the Churro, make their wool softer, more like commercial breeds, not appreciating the fact that for the last few hundred years, the people that raised them, thought their wool was perfect! So they introduced the Navajo churro to the Rambouillet breed. Somehow, old genetics kicked in and poof! She appeared, just like the Wicked Witch she was named after (read the book "Wicked"). She is not wicked after all, she is just Elfie, a Navajo churro in Rambouillet clothing. She is a very special sheep. Hat is for sale at my Etsy Shop.

Meet the Sheep part 2 Caprica

Meet Caprica, she is Roberta's daughter. When I got Roberta, my first shetland, we didn't know if she was pregnant or not. Caprica was the first lamb born here and she was a little fireball! You can see it in her first picture, She was only 1-2 hrs. old and already full of it. You can also see the wool she was born with, OMG! She is three now and her color has gone from black velvet to a beautiful medium charcoal (as in the hat picture), It's soft and wonderful to spin! Caprica had twin ram lambs last spring, they are wethers and both appear to have awesome wool! Helo and Hermes will have their own writings later. I have Caprica's lambfleece (which is velvety black), with prime alpaca with green tones of flash, spun up for sale @ my etsy shop.I will have the hat for sale also.

Meet the sheep

Ok, the evil thing... Just had to be said. Done. Now it's time to meet the sheep. First up...Taa Daa the famous Uncle Snug. You know the name? Humm, where have I heard that?? A mid Summers Night Dream, OK, not as famous as Puck or Titania, or Sweet Hermia, but, my boy is brother to Robin Goodfellow, Robin Goodfellow the shetland sheep that is. Uncle Snug does have magical powers though. With his wool, he will put a magic spell on you that will entice you to spin his wool for hours! His wool will be on our Etsy site soon, along with others from his herd of wonderful fleeced sheep. More sheep bios to come...

Would you Buy Wool from this Sheep?

This is Maddy, she is a rescue and she wants you to buy her wool. Not right now because she is growing it out for next spring. She is taking special care to wear a coat at all times, insuring a vegetable matter-free fleece. She came here by way of my friend Heather, she had not been sheared for over two years and her hooves were so bad, it was hard for her to walk. Her breed is Old English Babydoll Southdown, we are keeping our fingers crossed that her wool will be as advertised by the Babydoll association. As fine as the finest Merino! I did card up what was usable wool from shearing and made a fab hat. She is named after my mothers late friend Maddy, so the hat will go to mom this month for her birthday. I will be spinning up a crap load of Maddy next summer and knit as many hats as I can sell. Look at that face, how could you not want her wool?

What the Frak is up with Shetland Sheep Fiber?

Ok, I have heard people poo pooing Shetland sheep fiber just one two many times! How has this happened? Well I have a theory and breeders are the bad guys. Maybe not on purpose, but, the wild sheep that live on shetland isles are renowned for their fine fleeces. I think the need to breed the "perfect" sheep, has cost our state side shetlands their soft fleece heritage. I have sheep that do not qualify to be "registered" because their tails are not a perfect fluke shape, therefore they are culls (a nice way of saying throwaways), but, my sheep have fine, soft, luxury wool. I have sheep that came from one of the most respected farms in Oregon, they look perfect, have a pedigree that goes back to the original lines in Canada, they have a much courser fleece. One, even has the much sought after "single coat" that is all the rage in Shetlanddom, course, course, course! My 9 year old ewe, too long of tail, eyes set to wide, has double coated fleece that is so soft, it does not need to be dehaired! One of the most disappointing moments I have had in my life, was, going out to my lambs with the total intent of scrutinizing everything about them! I came to the decision after much torture, to only feel the wool. Don't get me wrong on this, I understand the need for certain characteristics, but I think that once money is involved, people try to create a want, a "we can improve them, make them better" attitude. Sheep just want to be sheep. But I maybe I am full of crap. Whatever..... Roberta, my friend, my old lady sheep, you have taught me the true value of what's important in a sheep. Your imperfection in the eye of most shepherd's, gives me comfort, warmth and most of all, a soft fleece!