What was I thinking? Renovation of a money pit

Yeah, it's the family house that we've owned since 1943. Built in 1911. We were doing the last bit (we thought) on the diningroom, then finish the flooring installation in the diningroom and kitchen, and have Sears install the oven/cooktop. Then we could move in and enjoy the acre of trees and the garden. It. Ain't. Happenin.

The second floor of the house has not had the wiring replaced since 1911, and we thought we'd do that in the future. However, we discovered an exposed junction box in the diningroom ceiling that had to be rewired so thought we should have the second floor rewired while everything was exposed anyway. Unfortunately, the electrician and I discovered this week that the rooms that had been rewired in 1968-70 were done in the 4 years that electrical wiring had to be made of aluminum because the copper mines were on strike. The 1911 wiring is very dangerous to say the least. The aluminium wiring is only marginally less dangerous. sigh.......

The diningroom ceiling--junction box in question is at the point where the two heat ducts meet.


However, I DID manage to get lots of skeins of yarn finished and put into the Etsy shop this week. There's 6 skeins of a pastel beaded yarn called Hibiscus Patch (so-named because the deer have eaten all the ones that popped up at the house, and I just needed some hibiscus somewhere!)




And a skein of DK/Sport weight sock yarn in my Posy Toes Bamboo, Sunflower colorway.







The Hibiscus Patch is tempting me to knit a spring shawl. But I already have at least a dozen shawls and 35-40 WIPs sitting around. Do not need another shawl/project. If I say it enough, perhaps I'll convince myself.....

I learned something new today......

I often tell my students that although spinning is relaxing, there are just some times that you shouldn't spin. For me, I can't spin during Steeler football games because I've been known to jump up and knock the wheel over! You have to know yourself and learn when you just can't manage to spin a decent yarn. Today that lesson was brought home to me yet again.

I had some minor surgery this morning, the second of two that were scheduled, and it's always traumatic for me to undergo ANY medical procedure. I'm the woman who gave birth twice with Lamaze because I can't stand the thought of them sticking a needle in my spine, that's how bad I am. So, last time they gave me post-surgery painkillers based on acetominophen which does me NO good whatsoever. This time I requested an aspirin-based painkiller.

Once the anesthesia wore off this afternoon, I took the first one. Felt pretty good so went into the studio and carded sock batts for a couple of hours. When it came time to take the next one, I sat down at my wheel to spin the snowy white sparkly sock batt. And at one point the yarn drifted apart because I'd treadled in the wrong direction for one or two revolutions, I thought. Fixed the problem and soldiered on, although the pill was making me drowsy enough to almost fall off the chair.

This evening I went to ply the bobbins on the wheel and discovered that, at the point where the yarn drifted apart, I'd somehow reversed my spinning direction and spun the last THIRD of the bobbin in the wrong direction! If I'd tried to do this intentionally, I'd have had to rig the yarn somehow on the bobbin so it would work. But being 'under the influence' meant I just did it without thinking and almost botched up several hundred yarns of fingering-weight yarn. Problem is fixed, taking me an hour to respin the incorrect yards and the lesson is learned:

Do not spin during Steelers football games, nor when taking really really good painkillers. Sheesh, y'think I'd be old enough to know those things already? Maybe I can blame it on the stress of surgery.....

New stuff happenin--I'm excited!

I'm re-energized this week, coming off the "Cabin Fever" months of January and February and having lots of good things happen in my life. Last weekend during a nasty windstorm/cold spell that kept me inside hibernating, I finally came up with a solution to an art project I've been wanting to do for years. Back then I thought I had to draw or paint the idea, but realized that it would work best in cross stitch. It's about my family and is very internal and private, but cross stitch is a medium Grandma and Mom would have used and understood perfectly. I really don't want to go into the entire backstory or show the finished project, but I can say that it's been incredibly cathartic to finally get this thing out of my system. I'm sure some family members will not appreciate it, but hey! it's not always about YOU, folks!




And, most exciting of all, there were 3 fiber art connections this week. First, KnitDance on Etsy had purchased a skein of my Jordan Almonds yarn to make fingerless mitts for HER shop. Here they are, and didn't she do a wonderful job?



I was also invited into the Fiber Friday Carnival over on Alpaca Girl's website. I consider it an honor to be included with lots of great textile creations and creators.

Lastly, I've decided to become a sponsor of the Makin' Cookie's forum over on Ravelry. They've formed to knit socks from Cookie A's upcoming book and are soliciting prizes. I'm donating a bag of my sock batts (enough to spin yarn for a pair of socks) which will be included in a gift basket with other items to enable (my favorite word, 'enable') you to make a pair of Cookie A socks from scratch. I think it's a lovely idea and would like to thank Theresa for initiating and running the forum. If you're not on Ravelry, you should be! Go there now and request an invitation!

I must be off to get some work done today. Am having minor surgery Thursday morning and so won't be able to attend the Spinner Central gathering at the shop that evening. I do hope to make the Ewe Guys spin-in on Friday though--I miss Ewe Guys (pun intended)!

New shawl is finally done!

I have finally finished the last lace point on the shawl and blocked it--woo hoo!! I have a love of deep lace on my shawls, but it takes forever to knit. I love this version of my Red Dog Redux shawl, made of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Blueberry Mix as the main color and Noro Kureyon Sock yarn as the contrast color. The half-circle shape is fun to knit and wraps around me in chilly reception halls like it was tailored for my body.




Both the rose shawl (which is the original version and which won first place in handspun knitted shawl category in 2005 at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival) and the brown shawl are knit with my handspun yarn.














I wish I'd remembered to pack the brown one when we were in LA for BILs wedding last year. The day of the wedding it dipped to 50 degrees--shocking in LA but still manageable for us Pittsburghers. The poor bride was freezing, tho, as she had to stand around outside for 2 hours while the wedding portraits were taken, wearing a sari and little red slippers. I spent over an hour wishing I had the brown shawl to wrap around her--maybe she wouldn't have come down with flu the next day?

ETA: The pattern is available on my Etsy site but is not yet available on Ravelry--has to do with glitches and other stuff that Casey does that I don't even PRETEND to understand.

How does this happen?

Somehow life got away from me again this week. You would think, in this economy, that a young man would be glad to have someone finance his business startup, right? We took the chance because we'd known this fella for 10 years and had watched him mature into a hard worker, and so when he approached us to propose that he do the renovation on my family home we gave him a chance. Last week we had to fire him and hire another more-established contractor to finish his work. Which involves sending carefully worded letters that let him know why he was fired so that we can take him to Small Claims Court to recover the costs incurred in paying for the second contractor. And then cleaning up the mess he left behind because he decided that partying at the house was a priority. How does this happen? Did he not listen when we and the local Small Business Administration told him that construction work is hard and that being the boss involves solving problems? His average work week these past 2 months was 10 hours/week which will not finish the renovation in this decade! This is his little 'Nintendo Nest' in my mom's bedroom.....I spent yesterday morning emptying bottles and tossing his garbage.




















The the piles of construction materials which require us to hire a dumpster, fill it ourselves and have it hauled away.















And then we hired a contractor to put down new flooring, so next week there will be TWO table saws and at least 3 guys in the house making noise and sawdust. But at least we can finally see some progress in the renovation and are more confident that we'll be able to move in before June. Yay!!


I'm still plugging away on the Red Dog Redux Shawl.






When it's finished I'll redo the photos on my pattern and post it on my Etsy site and in Ravelry. It's a very easy shawl to knit with two different lace edgings--a shorter one that goes rather quickly and a longer one which I love to death and which takes longer to finish up. I have about 8 repeats to do and then the blocking--should be done this coming week. Then I need the weather to cooperate so I can get decent photos outside.

Did you notice I was gone??

Due to a sudden bout of laryngitis followed immediately by a bout of bronchitis, I've been down for the count for 2 weeks. As soon as I got strong again, it was time to hop a plane and head for Charlotte, NC to celebrate my wedding anniversary with DH. I'm back and catching up with work, my Etsy shop, SWA business and COE work. Did you miss me?

Interesting item about the local news media in Charlotte. A snowstorm blew across the entire east coast while I was there and the following morning the local tv station was having a great time scaring the local populace into staying indoors all day. I can understand that the city is not prepared for salting the roads or plowing. But to tell people not to go out because the water dripping off store awnings is refreezing on the sidewalk, and you will probably slip and fall and go to the hospital in an ambulance is not journalism--it's scare tactics calculated to boost ratings. C'mon guys, wouldn't it have been more responsible to simply tell folks to be careful?

I'm also happy to report that the number of spinning students who are signing up for my classes has increased tremendously. I'm so happy that I can pass this skill on to others who are smitten with the magic of making yarn to their own liking. It's just such a kick to see the sparkle in someone's eyes when they 'get it'! That excitement is my drug of choice and much better than any silly street drug I could buy. You guys rock!

Sweater finished! Another COE skein done

After almost a year of work in fits and starts, I've finally finished hubsters sweater. This was a Filati Mens Special #6 that I purchased last November while living in Holland. I bought the yarn from Webs and had it shipped home so I could start knitting as soon as I landed home again. We thought the company had English translations, but when the shop owner called Lana Grossa he was told that issue #5 was the last to have an English translation. Drat! My friend Anke stepped forward and translated the pattern so that I was able to start knitting some time in late March/early April. Knitting was halted during the hot summer and finished min-January. I caught this photo right after hubster scraped the car at 5am so I could drive him to the airport for an early flight. He looks good, he likes it and I'm finished with the darn thing--just too many stitches in the same pattern stitch for me. I like a little change-up in my sweater-knitting.


And I'm halfway through the Fine Textured Cotton skein for the COE. Made lots of little punis for this skein and they are SO fun to spin. I may just have to get more of this cotton from the southern plantation that grew it. Especially since I don't think they use those nasty exfoliants since they're growing a "tourist patch" and not harvesting for the cotton market. Photo shows the basket of punis and two bolls of cotton sitting in front. Too bad there's no real use for all those cotton seeds I plucked out....

COE Handspinning progress report 1

This was the week I started in earnest on spinning the 40+ small skeins required for my submission. I had originally planned to post photos and give in-depth details of the process, but then realized that my identity is supposed to be anonymous for my submission. While I can talk in generalizations, I won't be posting pix of the skeins at this time.

It took me 2 days to finish the skein of Fine Woolen yarn from a raw fleece. I'd forgotten how much work is involved in cleaning, carding and finishing wool--and now I'm glad that I now longer have to do it this way. "Back in the day" when we didn't have access to many mill-prepared fibers, if you wanted to spin you bought a fleece and prepared it yourself. And spinning a fine and truly woolen yarn was something I'd never done. I've used long draw and I've spun woolen yarn (especially good for the kids mittens when they were little), but not so fine as required for this skein. I've got over 300 yards in a 1.4 oz. skein!

Have started prepping the cotton bolls for spinning, teasing the cotton off the seeds and carding it into punis. I've also gotten some Rambouillet lambs fleece from Wild Rose Farm washed up and ready for combing. Hopefully, I'll get some spinning time this Saturday either before or after I teach on Saturday. Sunday is, of course, reserved for watching the Steeler game--Luv Ya, Black 'n Gold! Go Steelers!

Six Hands: End of the story

So, Dottie has finished and listed both the scarf and cowl on her Etsy page. They are both lovely and ON SALE! Go take a look at the Garden of Colors scarf http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18681691 and the Garden of Colors cowl http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19310653 Truly lovely work! This was a collaborative project between Whirligig Yarns who dyed the alpaca roving in such colors that I couldn't pull myself away from her site for 3 days, myself who spun the alpaca roving and plied it with Merino wool, and Dottie at CCDZS who pulled it all together with her crochet hook and imagination.

Why I make every effort to stand behind my work; pattern clarifications

I think most of us folks "of a certain age" can agree that customer service at big-name companies in the US has become scarce, if not completely extinct. On Feb. 4, 2006 hubster bought me a set of Godinger silver salt and pepper shakers for our anniversary. (The Steelers also won the Super Bowl the next day but I don't think it was intended as part of my anniversary present.) The set was part of my 'good china' used only on holidays and important dinners. I used the set that Easter. Took it out for Christmas 2006 to find that there was white crust on the side of the salt shaker, but I cleaned it and used it. Next time I wanted to use it for Easter 2007, it was again encrusted and the top was fused to the body by crust. Looked up the company online so I could ask them how to clean it and avoid the same experience in future--no address, no contact info as they are wholesale only. Six months later they now have email, which I used and to which I never received a reply. Couldn't use them for Christmas 2008 either, so sat down yesterday to search out a phone number which is now included on the website. First time, I went round and round the digital menu and finally left a message. Got tired of waiting for a return call and phoned again, only to be told that I shouldn't keep salt in the salt shaker (???). Then I'm transferred to 3 other people, none of whom "work in that department", including the supervisor (Mr. Torn) who got rather nasty with me and sent me back to his assistant, who tells me to contact the Mississippi plantation where the set was purchased. This is a direct quote from their website:
"The Godinger motto is, "customer first". Our aim is to focus on the unique demands of every customer, and to aggressively fulfill those needs. Our excellent customer service is what allows us to retain and grow our loyal customer base."

Really? In what alternative universe are you known for your customer service? Not here, not in my house right now. All I wanted to know was how to clean off the salt shaker so I could use it and learn how to care for it in the future. Godinger Silver is a lesson to me in how I will never treat a customer of mine. I may not be able to solve your problem, but at least I won't tell you that it's not my department and shove you off onto someone else.

All of which leads me to an small announcement. If you have purchased a copy of my Red Dog Redux Shawl pattern, please be aware that I've made some small changes to make the lace pattern easier to follow. If you're interested in receiving the clarifications, please contact me at feistywoman AT verizon DOT net.

Thank you all for being wonderful customers, wonderful friends and loving family this past year. May all your needs be met and may you enjoy good health, good friends and much love in the coming year.

Turning the page

The holidays are a few days away and I'm pushing myself to finish knitting the gifts I want to give friends and family. Obviously I can't post photos as that would be giving away the surprise, but I promise to try to get them up after Christmas.

Last month, I decided that I really needed to concentrate my efforts if I was going to complete the COE-Handspinning work for Level I. While in the Netherlands last year I did much of the research, but still have several in-depth research presentations to finish. Although I've done some of the spinning, I really need to start producing finished sample skeins to complete the 40 that are required. These are not projects that I can pick up and work on for 20-30 minutes but need my full attention. And all of it needs to be packaged in a certain way and sent off for the examination in October 2009. So this is my New Years resolution--I'll be devoting much less time to my Etsy shop and saleable items and spending several hours each day finishing up the research and samples for the examination. I'll still be teaching at the shop because I so enjoy enabling others, but I need to buckle down and get this done. I've already learned so much and refreshed my memory of spinning basics by doing the research. I'll be blogging about the work as it gets done and putting up photos, because I think this learning experience could benefit many of the spinners I know.

For those who observe the holiday (and those who don't, too!), I wish for you lots of yarn and fiber in your stocking, many happy hours of knitting, good health, and the love of those around you.

Last chance! and...What WAS I thinking?

The sale in my Etsy shop ends Tuesday morning. This is your last chance to pick up yarn for making gifts at 10-20% off, fiber to spin into gift sock yarn or gift socks at 10% off, and handspun/handknit scarves at 30% off. Don't wait till the last minute to buy, as I rarely repeat myself.


New addition to the shop today--It's Only Natural neckwarmer and mitts set:
















And early tomorrow I'll be posting this handspun/commercial wool scarf:









This August I worked a shift at my CSA in exchange for $30 worth of produce. Silly me figured that it it's free I should take a bunch of apples and cabbage. The apples came home in September and I made tons of applesauce, apple butter and dried apples (great in hot oatmeal!). In early October I picked up a case of cabbage and we shredded and packed it in 2 crocks to ferment into saurkraut. (I'm of German descent and there's nothing better than a good wurst, potatoes and homemade kraut with a cold beer.) Last weekend the kraut was done and we proceeded to can it. I had 12 quart jars left and figured that was plenty--HA! After all 12 were packed solid, I still had 2/3 of the last crock left! We packed the rest into every plastic freezer bag we had. We figured we had a total of 24 quarts of saurkraut. Yep, 24 quarts! So we started calling friends and family to rescue us. We've managed to give away enough to ease our storage problem, but I've got saurkraut enough for the next 2 years. We have decided that 50# of cabbage was....ummm.....just a tad too much saurkraut. What WAS I thinking?

Holiday Sale! Come fill up your stockings with fiber goodies!

In preparation for holiday shopping and gift-making, I’ll be having a sale in my Feistywoman Designs Etsy shop. Starting the morning of November 27 through the morning of December 2, most items in my etsy shop will be marked down 10%, 20% and 30%. I carry handspun yarn, spinning fiber and completed garments so you have quite an opportunity to find something for all the folks on your shopping list. As always, there’s free domestic (continental US) shipping on orders over $50.

Six Hands: The yarn is finished and heading to the next artisan

I finished spinning and plying late on Saturday, washed the yarn on Sunday and let it dry while watching the Steelers football game. I will not comment on the game except to say that I'm happy we won and that perhaps the NFL should insist on more extensive training for the officiating department--which is MUCH nicer language than I used during the actual game!

The yarn is firm due to the nice tight spin and ply, yet soft and supple due to the Merino/alpaca fibers. Just the right yarn for a long-wearing yet soft garment. The yarn is being forwarded to Dottie at http://www.ccdzs.blogspot.com/ Let's see what her creative mind and talented hands can do with this yarn.

Six hands: It may LOOK easy to make yarn, but….

…getting it right is sometimes it’s a royal PITA. Here's the first bobbin of luscious alpaca spun up on my Reeves double-treadle chair wheel.










I’d planned to use some of my own combed top with the Whirligig Yarns dyed alpaca, and I chose the wrong colors for it! Well, not the ‘wrong’ colors as there really ARE no wrong colors, but the wrong colors for the end product I was trying to achieve. Here’s the waaay too bright yarn—









And here’s the waaay too bright yarn being stripped off the spinning wheel bobbin so it can be un-plied and respun onto the bobbin. It's a good thing that the cats had gone outside to climb the apple tree--they think I do these things just for their amusement.









And then I had to spin another color that would be closer to what I wanted and ply the alpaca with it. It took me the better part of an entire day to unply, respin, spin and re-ply the yarn. The first successful skein is finished, so it’s onward to spinning the second skein the next few days, washing both of them to remove spinning and hand oils and give the alpaca a little ‘bloom’, and then they go onward to the next craftsperson. Check back to see what happens….

Six hands make a project

I’m a member of the Fiber Arts Street Team on Etsy.com—we call ourselves Etsy FAST for short, and it’s also the tag we use for the Etsy search engine so we can find each others’ work. We encourage, advise, and support each other in our creative paths and the team includes artists in most fiber mediums. Spinning, knitting, crochet, weaving, felting and embroidery are techniques that pop to mind although I’m sure I’ve left out a bunch of others (blame it on low caffeine levels today). We have monthly ‘challenges’ where we choose a topic meant to inspire us to create something that defines or describes that topic. We’ve done the Olympics, heroes, harvest, candy and others. Decembers challenge is teamwork, meaning we’ll do a piece using materials from another team member. Since I’m primarily a spinner I wanted to take it a step beyond simply spinning fiber from another member and suggested that some members could form a trio (or more) and work on a project. And I thought it would be fun to watch my trio progress toward the final goal, so I’m putting up pix of the fiber I’m working with. I stumbled onto this combed top at Whirlygig Yarns while wandering around the team sites and I managed to resist it for about….oh, 2 days maybe? It arrived home on Thursday and I couldn’t wait to get my hands into it. It’s 3.7 oz. of huacaya alpaca dyed in a soft rainbow of colors.

















I’ve just started spinning it, and it’s just lovely to work with. The colors when spun up are clear and change frequently and the color changes are subtle which is just perfect for the end use. I’ll be combining this with some of my own fiber and will hopefully get about 600-700 yards of sportweight yarn. I’ll be posting photos of the yarn being spun and the final plied and washed yarn. And at some point we should be seeing the finished product. I already know where the yarn is going and she’s a wonderful artist, but you’ll have to wait to see what she does with my yarn!

And on another topic completely, Pitt tromped all over Louisville yesterday, Penn State was beaten by Iowa (snort, chuckle), and the Steelers are set to beat the Colts today at 4:15 EST. Life is good…..

Ugly Yarn Day

No, I'm not declaring a new holiday (although I wish I'd been away from my studio today). After spinning all week and making lovely yarns, I've just had a very long Ugly Yarn Day. The first yarn was a 4 oz ball that I'd traded for on etsy. It's a nice green with a little mustardy yellow peeking out of the center, and I thought I'd do an Art Yarn with it by adding glitter and some felted nuggets. Had about an ounce spun when the mustardy bits started, and I discovered that they were really clots of short fibers, balls of dirt--really just seemed to be sweepings from the barn floor if I'm honest about it. See the mustard lump sticking up? There's a whole big clot of it right beneath the arrow.

Well, I finished the yarn and am in a quandry about what to do with it. See all those slubby bits? Do I go ahead and ply this yarn with an evenly spun yarn and hope it looks like a 'effect'? What happens if it gets huge pills when it's knitted up? There is no way I'm wasting my felted nuggets on this yarn--they will be added to another yarn that deserves it.....

Yarn No. 2 was a lovely 4 oz. ball of dark green and orange that I bought at a festival this summer. I thought I'd ply it with a lovely heathery brown that's been aging in the stash. Again, near the center I ran into a section where the orange was replaced by yellow. I spun on, figuring that the color change wasn't that bad and plying would soften it. You'd think, after all these years of spinning (30+), that I'd know better. See where the orange ends and then begins again several yards later? Aarrgghh!

I'm leaving my studio and wheels alone for the night. Maybe Rumpelstiltskin will come in the dark hours and fix everything for me. Ya think?

Home again, an incredible autumn vacation!

We arrived home Saturday night with new bikes and a head full of colorful memories. Our thanks to Nelson and Andrea at the Old Clark Inn for another lovely experience (and help with the busted bicycle).

New bikes--All ready to hit the bike trail Monday morning, and my front tire begins to peel off the rim. We find out the hard way that only Schwinn tires will fit their bikes, there are NO OTHER tires that will fit and there are NO dealers in the entire state. So we went bicycle shopping and bought 2 new bikes from Free Spirit Adventures in Caldwell. Amazing how many improvements have been made to bicycles since I purchased mine in 1990. They actually have comfortable seats now!


Cass Scenic RR--Since we couldn't ride on Monday we
headed to Cass to see the sights as it had been closed for the season last time we visited. Took a ride up the mountain on the Shay engine (not your usual steam locomotive) and visited the museum to see what this old company logging was like in its hayday.

Greenbriar River Trail--Not the most well-known bike trail (which is why we like it), this is a well-maintained trail for bikers, joggers and horseback riders. It's 76 miles long and we did over half that distance. Photos show hubby and I on the north end of Sharps Hill Tunnel. We'd have mid-morning coffee each day at Dirtbean Hale, pack a lunch and head out on the trail.

Highland Scenic Road--We drove the section that's Rte 150 from the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center to the intersection with Rte 219 near Elk River. I'll let the photos speak for the drive....










Fog rising from the valley on Saturday morning--

Vacation again!

We're off to the wilds of West Virginia for a little peace and quiet and bicycling on an old railroad line. The guard cats (and Guardian Security) are in charge of the house while we're away. We'll be in Marlinton, WV at the Clark Hotel if anyone is in the area. It's a lovely B&B in a great little town. Last time we were there, the hotel owner clued us in to the chimney swifts and their sundown behavior--it was awesome to watch. Stay tunes to this channel for news and photos when we return......

Revision on one of my patterns

I spent the day rewriting one of my older patterns, which meant dragging out my notes and knitting up the item (it's an earwarmer, so not a huge job). If any of you have my Ergonomic Earwarmer pattern, be aware that there's an update that's much easier to read and to follow. It looks like this:




If you've purchased this patten from me, please get in touch and I'll be happy to send you a revised copy. I can be reached at carol (underscore) mcfadden (at) verizon (dot) net--replace the words in parentheses with the appropriate symbols. In the meantime I'll be going through my records for customers who bought this pattern and sending them a new one.


On another front, I've been busy spinning up the recent purchases and posting some of my new sock fiber on etsy. The most recent additions are American Beauty (looks just like the rose when spun up) and Sweet Peas......




I love that sheep, don't you? He was a very-much-appreciated gift from a good friend who understands me only too well. Speaking of sheep, I'd also like to report that No. 55 (the speed-limit sheep from the mattress company commercials) is quite happily hanging out with his kin here at my house. Thanks, guys!