I have an article in the upcoming Yarnmaker Magazine, #16! and a mini-holiday in Upstate New York

Now that the magazine has gone to the printers, I can let it be known that I've written an article on making rolags on a blending board. I had a blast playing with my board and spinning up the results. It was so much fun spinning woolen yarn quickly that I also designed a set of warm fingerless mitts to accompany the article. I made the mitts in the Bleeding Hearts colorway but decided I liked the idea of using the four elements as color inspiration, so have four rolag colorways available--Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Taking it one step further, I have a matching earwarmer pattern in the shop, and it will shortly appear in my Ravelry shop. The Elemental Earwarmer takes about an ounce of rolags, and the Elemental Mitts require about 1-1/2 ounces. It's a quick spin and a quick knit for holiday gifts!

This past weekend we drove up to the Fingerlakes Fiber Festival. I like to hit this festival every 2-3 years because it's good to see old friends and new fibers and equipment. We also took the bikes and went riding from our historic B&B (Adams Basin Inn) to the next town to get a cup of coffee, just 5 miles each way into beautiful Brockport. On the way back to Pittsburgh, we stopped for two days in Letchworth Park--so peaceful to spend two days without wi-fi or phones. These are views of the Middle Falls:

Our second day, we decided to take one of the hikes. It starts at the Council grounds where Mary Jemeson's cabin is located and ends at the Upper Falls. Join me for the trip:

We stayed at the Wild Iris on the park property. It was the country home of William P. Letchworth (1823-1910) and much of the interior reflects his taste. The food in the restaurant attached to the Wild Iris was wonderful! Such a lovely mini-vacation, we're planning a return trip.

Another non-topical, quick post

A quick summation of the past week, no photos as I've been very busy running around:

1.  Grand Opening of the new handmade gift shop in Latrobe, Willow Mist Boutique, is tomorrow. I'll be there with some hot hot salsa and am excited to meet folks from the area.

2.  Trying to pull the last bits together for the handspun knitting kits I want to offer in my shop. Why doesn't yarn dry as quickly when you need it NOW?

3.  Waiting to get the asbestos report (it's negative for asbestos) from the asbestos company so we can close on the in-laws house without problems. Hopefully, it will come in tomorrow's mail and that's one thing off the To Do List.

4.  I've finally gotten everything straightened out with our water well. We have hard water (no surprise for this area) about which we decided to do nothing, but there's a good bit of manganese and TSDs in the water. So filters were installed on Wednesday, after I spent Tuesday evening moving all the stuff in the basement so we'd have access to the space for the filters.

5.  Electric fencing installed around the garden late last week. Since the groundhog can't dig down under the fencing (it extends 4" underground but the animal DID once find a corner of the cyclone fence that they managed to bend enough to squeeze in), he/she started squeezing through the 1" space between the gate and fence. When we blocked THAT entrance, he/she started climbing over the 10' fence, dining on my plants, then going into panic mode and trying to dig out under the fence before they figured out that they needed to climb over the fence again to exit. This uprooted and killed several plants near the fencing. I waited to see if the electric fence was effective, as the groundhog hits the garden about every 4 days, but I need a good rain to tamp down the surrounding dirt so I can see if there's new digging. We did see him on Sunday afternoon, dining on grass in the back yard, but he's learned to run like he's on fire when he sees us because we have been known to fire a paintball gun at him. After the rain storm this week there's been no evidence of digging, no evidence of any plants being "trimmed" by the rotten little devil. Apparently, 6,000 volts is enough to discourage him...

6.  The car is certified to be in good shape for the next year. I have come to the conclusion that being stuck in garage waiting rooms with a tv that has no remote nearby is some type of devious torture inflicted on customers by disgruntled mechanics. There are several morning shows that I hope to never see or hear about ever again.

7.  Lovely cool nights are headed our way! I love love love sleeping with the windows open and have been known to open them on the warmer winter nights. Spring and fall are my absolute favorite months.

And I'm off to the studio for the afternoon, making rolags for a shop update. Have a great week and may The Force be with you!      (Yeah, I know it's a dated saying, but I'M dated, so there!)

Walking with my family

I try to get out twice a week for a nice long walk with the neighbor. We chat, investigate peoples flowers and shrubs from the roadway to see what's blooming today, compare notes on their blooms vs. our blooms, notice new cars, boats, kids toys, and wish a good morning to several others who also walk in the morning. The neighbor, who has lived here for 40 years, knows that my family has been here for 170 years and she enjoys any comments I make on the way things were before the "new houses" were built in the l960s. Lately, my neighbor hasn't been able to accompany me since she's a bit under the weather, so I took my phone with me in case I would need assistance (ya just never know when a wild deer will jump into your path or a Canada geese will fly over and do what Canada geese do so well!). And I decided to document my walk as I have always considered it a privilege to walk the same roads that my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and all their friends--except the roads were farm paths between the fields back then.

Once we leave the housing development that was built around my family home, we walk out Wallace Road--named for the gentlemen farmer/holistic physician that operated a large greenhouse/farm complex on the land the development now occupies. We make a left and enter the territory once called Cabbage Hill because it was settled by German farmers who grew vegetables and fruit for the Pittsburgh market. Winding through the hilly streets, we come to the end of Meinert Street which overlooks the Allegheny River--across the river is Lawrenceville and a lot of those buildings down there used to be steel mills. And yes, I'm related to the Meinerts 3 generations back.

Moving along, we cross a road and are presented with the Newland house, right on the corner of Newland Lane (yes, I'm related to the Newlands too!). The house once had a lovely front porch and I remember spending hours playing games and dressing dollies with my cousin Judy. Personally, I don't think the current owners did the house any justice by removing the porch and inserting that silly window on the landing.













Across the road is the reservoir that was built in 1913 on land taken from several farmers, my family included. The City of Pittsburgh decided they needed a water supply, and that it should be on the less developed north side of town. So they grabbed the land by Eminent Domain and threw 3 farm families off their land with very little compensation. Somewhere, there's a Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph article on the less-than-honest deal with a photo of my grandmother in long skirt, puffy blouse and washerwoman hairdo, standing on her front porch surrounded by little kids. The tiniest boy is my 3-year-old father.

West side of reservoir, from Newland Lane

East side of reservoir in 1913, from Koehler Street

On the far left side of the 1913 photo is Friday Road (no idea who Mr. Friday was) and many of those houses are still there.












Because the folks on Cabbage Hill were close-knit, the Newlands offered a piece of land to my family and the house was placed on logs and rolled across the street to it's present location.

The Geist house, current location sans front porch

Where the Geist house used to sit. On the right is the
 north side of the reservoir

Leaving the older section of Cabbage Hill, we return to Wallace Lane where we find visitors to the condo that sits where my mailbox was located back in 1955. I love what this lady does with her flower pots each year--she always finds coordinating flowers for the pots and somehow avoids having the local deer mow them flat. FYI, those are not deer statues in the background but one of the does with this year's fawn. I have a doe that visits my yard with her twins. She's also bold as brass and won't leave when I yell at her, they've become accustomed to treating my yard as their private meadow.

So we retrace our steps, up the slow grade on what used to be a dirt farm road between the Wallace greenhouses and their mansion, to the second house that the Wallace family built in 1911 for a brother and his family. It looks a bit different than it did in 1955.....

So, that's my weekly walk circuit, through the old farmlands and visiting with the ghosts of long-gone relatives. But that legacy of farmers who are close to the land explains my need to dig in the dirt and raise my own fruits and vegetables. And my love of making yarn, designing my own garments and then making them come to life is a direct result of the many needlewomen who passed their skills down to me. Hopefully, I've made them proud.

A Sheep to Shawl demonstration at the Indiana County Fair

Discussing how we'll proceed with the demo

As I mentioned on my Facebook page, we spent last evening in Indiana at the fairgrounds. We were asked to do a Sheep-to-Shawl demonstration. For those who aren't familiar with this type of competition/demonstration, there is a team of 3 spinners, 1 sheep shearer, and 1 weaver. The loom is pre-warped with the wool yarns but that's the only preparation allowed. Once the shearer starts working with the sheep, the rest of the team may not participate till the shears are turned off and the shearer throws her arms in the air to show that she's finished. Then the team moves in, going through the newly shorn fleece for dirty bits and taking the best of the wool. All 4 start to flick the wood to remove grass and hay and open it up for spinning. Once there's enough to start, all 3 spinners hit their wheels at top speed while the weaver continues to prepare wool for the spinners. When one of the spinners has a full bobbin she winds her yarn off onto a weaving bobbin and hands it to the weaver, who begins to create the cloth for the shawl. When the weaving is finished, all team members pitch in to help the weaver remove the finished shawl from the loom and present it to the public (or the judges if it's a competition). And all of this must be finished in under 2.5 hours! In a competition, there are a set number of points that can be earned in several categories--shearing, spinning, weaving, overall appearance of the team, difficulty of the woven pattern, and length/width criteria for the finished shawl. But this was a demonstration, meant for the enjoyment of the crowd while the Lead Line competition was taking place. We love educating folks in the process of wool-to-garment, love answering questions and discussing how our equipment works, why sheep need to be shorn for their health, and why we each have chosen this particular path of creativity. It's great fun for all involved!

Shearing begins

Are we done yet?

We start preparing the wool for spinning

Spinning begins while the weaver prepares wool

The weaver explaining how the loom and pattern work

Working away at the shawl weaving

My biggest regret is that I did not snap a photo of the completed shawl (Wini? Will you take a photo and send it?). At was late by the time we finished and my brain decided not to work after 9pm. However, the shawl was won by a lovely lady whose tartan exactly matched the colors in the shawl. And half of the auction price goes right back to the Indiana Fair for future development of their wool program. We hope to do this again next year, perhaps as a real competition if local teams can be persuaded to join us.

Drips and drabs, bits and pieces

Not a 'themed' post today, just bits of life that have happened recently...

1. Good thing--The blueberries are almost finished, only a few dozen berries left on the last bush. 
2. Bad thing--The elderberries and red raspberries are starting up. Red raspberries are relatively easy to pick because they're big, and elderberries are harvested by cutting the stem of the large umbel. BUT....then you have to sit down and pick all those little berries off the umbel and allll it's branches. A good choice for tv watching in the evening, but it does leave one with blue fingers. The elderberry jelly during the winter is To. Die. For. and very good for you, too!
3. My lamb is ready for pick up. I order one every year and am trying a new supplier this year. It's the farm that raises my Angus beef so I'm pretty sure that this lamb lived a pleasant life before coming to my freezer.
4. A new boutique has opened in Latrobe, PA and she's carrying my yarns! We took a pleasant drive last Saturday and dropped off the skeins, and accidentally spent about an hour chatting about yarn, spinning, classes, etc. Husbeast was happy to sit in the display window reading his book. 
5. A nice long bike ride last Sunday along the Freeport Butler Trail. Yes, folks, we seem to have found the one and only trail that goes uphill both ways!! It's a long grade uphill out of Freeport, about 2/3 of the trail, and another 1/3 of it is uphill out of Butler, which was the section we rode. But turning around and flying for miles all the way back to Butler--without much pedaling--was lovely. Wind in my hair, look Ma no hands!
6. The Butler Spinners and Weavers Guild will be taking part in a Sheep To Shawl demonstration at the Indiana County Fair this Wednesday around 6:30pm. There will be 3 spinners and 1 weaver working with a raw fleece; fluffing the wool locks out for spinning, spinning it into yarn, winding it onto a bobbin for the weaver, who will operate the loom to weave the shawl fabric. Fascinating to watch if you've never seen the whole process, or if you're interesting in meeting other spinners and weavers. Demo will coincide with the Lead Line and will be nearby, although we're not sure of our exact location at this time. Completed shawl will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, and our weaver has a great design on the loom.
7. And last but not least, I saw my medical oncologist yesterday. The bloodwork looks good, there's no more lumps that he can find manually, he says I'm perfect!! A CT scan and one more visit in 6 months and I should be good to go for the rest of my life, yay!

Drive-by photos of the basil and parsley I harvested yesterday. Much pesto was made, much parsley was dried, and I still have a large bag of basil. I'm leaning towards Thai chicken curry with basil for dinner.....

Last day for the 30%-off handspun yarn sale! And a new project is born....

Just a reminder that the sale ends at midnight tonight. At least 1/3 of the skeins have gone to happy homes already. These yarns won't be discounted again until after the holidays..... Use code FBaug13 when you check out to receive the 30% discount.

Aurora

Azaleas

Field of Violets

Mulberries

Navy Fluoro

Golden Prism

New Project
A few months ago I started spinning some dyed top I bought 2 years ago. This was Mountain Colors Crazy Woman colorway, and I'd had it aging in the stash until it figured out what it wanted to be.

Crazy Woman--dyed top and spun singles

I found some blended Merino in Garnet that was hiding in the stash--it was a perfect color match for the Crazy Woman.

Garnet blended top in Merino wool

Fourteen bobbins later, I have 7 large skeins of yarn with over 1,000 yards of 2-ply yarn. Searching for a sweater, I decided that Knit One Crochet Two's Scalloped Cowl sweater was the perfect choice. The simplicity would show off the subtle colors of the yarn and the lace edges were the perfect highlight. I'm up the the arm divide and will post pix as I progress through this sweater.

Oops....forgot a little something. A YARN SALE in my Etsy shop!

Announcing a *** Yarn Sale *** Get a good head-start on your Christmas crafting with a great deal on handspun yarn. Starting today and running through August 15, all yarns in my Etsy shop will be 30% off! The photo shows a little taste of what’s available.

Use coupon code BLaug13 when checking out to receive your discount. Offer does not apply to Clearance items, patterns or spinning fiber.

Charity knitting for the Women's Shelter, and a successful spinning guild program yesterday

Each year toward the end of summer I go through my inventory and select unsold items for contribution to my friend who supplies all the local women's shelters. These ladies leave home in a hurry, with nothing but the clothes on their backs, taking their children with them as they're fleeing from very bad situations. Their self-esteem is low and they have nothing, and that's not a place anyone should ever find themselves. The scarves, hats, mittens, pillows, etc are given them as soon as they walk through the door and is a sign to them that someone out there cares enough to make something especially for them. Since I no longer mentor young people, I feel this is something I can do to help others and pay back a little of the kindness that's been given to me throughout my life.

This year, my friend asked for ruffle scarves as they're very popular with the ladies. I had about 6 balls of the yarn around and threw them in a box for something to do on my vacation last week. Well, my SIL fell in love with the idea of making ruffled scarves, we made a few trips to the local Joanne Fabrics, and somehow I have 18 balls of ruffle yarn now. HAD 18 balls--there's only 2 left, one to go into this shipment and one for a gift for a relative. The other 16 became these:

Closeup of upper tier

Closeup of lower tier

Yes, there are three scarves in Steeler colors. I'm pretty sure those will go quickly!!  The purple ones are specifically for the October gifting because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and purple is the designated color. If this type of charity knitting appeals to you, look up Comfort Scarves of Western Pennsylvania on Ravelry, Barb would love to hear from you. BTW, my SIL has now taught HER SIL to make these scarves and both women are now addicted to knitting/crocheting ruffles scarves. That makes me giggle, I so enjoy enabling others.



Yesterday I presented a program to my guild, the Butler Spinners and Weavers Guild. I showed them how to spin beads and other fun things into their yarn. These folks are great friends and even better enablers. Usually I'm the one who is setting peoples brains buzzing with spinning, knitting and weaving ideas but these folks did me one better. Who woulda thunk that bells would be fun to spin into your yarn? We had felted beads, shank buttons, ribbon bows, ribbon bits, silk shreds and glass beads--all of it looked wonderful. One lady used locks of fleece to thread her objects, saving her a lot of time pulling off bits of fiber to thread. I have to try that next time I have a nice long-staple fleece (where IS that Icelandic fleece anyhow?). As always, I had a great time sharing ideas and homemade picnic food. Love y'all!

Just a quick fly-by post...

I've been away for a week, visiting relatives in the Northern Places. I got home at dusk, went for dinner and fell into bed. Having our coffee this morning, we glanced out the window to the lower front yard. Apparently last year's two fawns have grown up magnificently!

That's eight points on those antlers. Each. Animal. We grow 'em healthy here at Chez Feisty.

The pitfalls of dyeing and the joys of overdyeing

So I've been playing in the dyepots lately. I'm not an accomplished dyer but I know enough to make more pretty things than I make messes. And I've learned that I don't need to accept the messes, than I can try to make lemonade out of those lemon dye jobs. Case in point--3 weeks ago I finally got a large enough chunk of time to dye the 2 lbs. of Mixed BFL I'd been hoarding for a sweater for myself. Got out the red, purple, green and orange dyes, made stock solution, applied it to the soaked 4 oz. tops (8 of them!), wrapped in plastic warp and steamed for a good 90 minutes.

The problem was, I'd misplaced my steamer rack (still haven't found the dang thing) and had to use another steamer I wasn't very familiar with. And apparently the new steamer just didn't reach a good temperature and not all the dye set. Instead of bright splashes of color on a naturally-colored striped top, I had weak colors on a dull background. I pulled off half an ounce and spun up 4 little skeins to see if I could possibly use the top. Not. So everything sat for 2 weeks, in clear view so I could think about a solution every time I passed that 2# of ugly fiber.

The original colors

Aha! I could overdye! Thinking that cool colors would work best, I first tried a solution of soft blue on a knitted sample.

Even duller than the original colors, and now the stripping effect is almost invisible. Next I tried a soft aqua.

Top-original color; Middle-dyed with blue; Bottom-dyed with aqua

Not much better, is it? So everything sat for another week while I mulled things over. And it hit me the other day that the original red I'd used would work perfectly with the other colors. The worst that could happen is that the green would turn brown, which was quite acceptable on a naturally-stripped top. And if I used a kettle-dyeing technique, the red dye would strike unevenly and give me a more hand-painted look. This is the result, and I'm incredibly happy with it.

I'm working on spinning the second bobbin of this top, and it's coming out much like multicolored cranberries. It's a great muted red with bright and dark lengths and will make a lovely sweater or jacket for me.