End of February update

We had a day with mild temperatures.  Our yard was suddenly filled with little critter foot prints.   These bothered me the most as they were raccoon prints.  The prints went to the feeder, across the deck, to the compost pile, back and forth to the barn door.   There is a gap between the bottom half of the barn door and the footing.   It could be big enough for a raccoon to get through.  Although these foot prints were quite large, raccoons can fit through some awfully small spaces.   Now I'm wondering if this beast over-wintered in the barn.  The chooks have a large pen, totally sealed in with hardware cloth or solid walls, so they are pretty much as safe as we can make them.  After the last attack, hubby sealed off every little possible space since we saw the raccoon slipping through a tiny opening.  But I'm afraid to let the chooks out when we've got a raccoon wandering around the property.

I finished up the bright blue speckled socks.  I'll post a photo when I can take it in the daylight because

the lighting is iffy in the evening.  I've started these socks though in the meantime.   I saw this sock yarn - Kroy, not my favourite, but it knits up quickly and makes thick socks which are warm. It means I can wear these socks with my boots with treads when we're hiking and not have to wear my winter boots, which are heavy, old and not so grippy any more.  

 I loved the blues in the skein, so it came home with me.   It's self striping.  They are knitting up quickly because I'm using stockinette stitch, so it's a pretty mindless activity.  I've used the square or common heel again, just to make sure I've got it memorized.  It's pretty nifty in how quickly the heel gets knit up and using the slip stitch flap, it fits quite nicely.

Another view of the lake at the trail we've been walking at regularly.  We'd had a lot of wind the day before, and the back roads were slushy and icky.   There was a bit of a breeze when we left but it was a nice enough day.   By the time we were at the halfway point in this trail, the winds had picked up and it had started snowing again.  It rained on a mild day a couple of days before this photo and then we had a deep freeze.   The photo is deceiving, as there is a thick layer of ice just a couple of inches below the snow.

 I have a couple of nice shots with lovely blue skies.  However this photo is indicative of what our skies look like most of the winter.   White ground, white in the air and white sky.   I'm looking forward to spring.

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Inadvertent organizing

The last meeting of the local weaver's guild was on how to make wool dryer balls.  This is the very beautiful kit which was distributed to any member who wished to participate.  It made 2 dryer balls, one for the maker and the second for the guild sales stash.   Included were some shetland cross fibre for the centre, some lovely pastel rovings for the outside layers, and a felting needle to help hold wispy bits in place before washing.   Participants had to provide a nylon stocking or knee-high, a washer and a dryer for the felting procedure.

It was a fun and easy activity, which was perfect for our zoom meeting.   Photos of the results are starting to come in and they are very pretty.

The two at the bottom are made with the kit.  I had a bit of the pastel roving left, so I dug up some fibre and experimented.  I wasn't sure I had something suitable for the process.  I was right and the third dryer ball is squishy and square.  Not the solid ball that it was supposed to be!

I may have some other fibre to try with.  The best one, was the one I'd used a wool yarn core with.  I have lots of bits and pieces of handspun, too small for anything else, so I'll make a few more with a yarn core.

I'd made some before and used most of them for Xmas gifts.  They help speed up the drying time and soften clothing.  You need at least 3 of them and 5 is supposed to be better.   It only takes about 1 ounce of fibre (28 grams) for each one.

I've realized that I've gotten into a rather bad habit.  When I've purchased some needed yarn, craft or sewing supplies, I remove what I need right then and put it in the work space I'm using for that project.  Then if there are items left, I hang the bag on the back of the chair in my office/music space.   Today, I emptied all those bags. 

Most were recently purchased, so that's a good thing.  They were mainly weaving yarns.   There was also several pieces of interfacing for a project I was planning couple of summers ago, some supplies for a project a year before that and some seeds with an invoice dated 2017.  We're just ignoring that one!    However I found a bag with some sock yarn, which I'm pretty sure was there because I'd dug it out of my stash and then decided not to use it.  I also found 2 packed of my favourite sewing machine needles.   They are priced at $3.99 so I've no idea when I purchased them because they are now an unaffordable  $9.99 and have been that crazy price for at least 2 years.    So happy me for finding them, especially when I've got several big sewing projects planned.

There are currently no bags of goodies hanging from my chair, but there is a bin full of weaving yarns, all sorted and ready to use.

project updates

I purchased a PDF pattern for a walking skirt.   Turns out it had 91 pages to print out and assemble.   While I ordered the pdf because it's an easy download, and I didn't want the hassle of shipping it, probably from the U.S, it turned out that it was 90 pages to print and assemble!   I've used pdf patterns before, but they were like 9 pages long, so easy to print at home.  

I bought this one on a Friday and had to wait until Monday, to go into town, to go to the print shop and get it printed out.   They did an amazing job, while I waited.  It probably took 10 minutes or so in total and cost $14.    It then took me two days to trim the pieces and glue them together.

I ordered the pattern because I'd drafted one myself from an 1895 pattern and one of the shapes didn't look right.   Turns out, I did just fine and my self drafted pattern was okay.  The only issue was I'd had to measure myself and need to make a couple of small changes because I wasn't quite accurate.

I purchased this yarn before Christmas and set it aside to gift to myself as we weren't going to really do presents this year.   However, I forgot about it and just found it.   I'm happy with it because it was merino superwash on sale for half price!  I wasn't sure about it in the skein, since it was a speckle pattern, but it's quite nice when knitted up.  It's also a nice yarn to work with.

  I did have to fiddle with the heel.  I tried the square heel or common heel again.   It is usually shown using a stockinette stitch flap.   However, once again, the plain stitch flap just swims on my foot, so I ripped it out and did my normal slip stitch flap.  With the square heel turn, it fits just fine now.

Wool singles.   I have two bobbins full and more roving.   It's from Upper Canada Village, and processed from their own sheep.  I lost the tag though, so I can't remember what kind of sheep it's from.  It's beautifully processed and easy to spin.   It's fairly coarse though, so I have no idea what I'll use it for.

Winter musings

We've been having some odd weather to say the least.   Two days ago, I had to run into town.   When I left home, it was -15C and there was heavy fog, with almost no visibility in some places.   By the time I figured I could turn around safely, I was almost to town, and it was starting to burn off.    It was fine in town, and I ran several errands.  Heading home, the fog was just starting to burn off in the rural areas.   As I got closer to home, the trees were covered in ice from the fog.  So pretty but odd too because it was so very cold.

Yesterday, on my way home from taking a walk, there were motorcycles out!  It was 3C, as in above freezing.   Today, it sluiced down rain most of the morning.  One minute it was raining and the next, there were huge flakes of snow falling.  It's been snowing mostly since then and we are supposed to get 30 cm or more overnight.

Hubby needed to start up the snow blower because we didn't have to use it much last year.   The warm temperatures yesterday softened the snowpack and he was able to blow out a path to the chickens and then my walking track around the property.   I had missed having it this year.

We have a family of crows who visit us during the winter.   I know that at least some of them are the same because there are a couple with distinctive white markings on them.  They've been coming for years now.  It is a little weird when you peek out the window to watch them and there is a group on the ground, munching on the corn I leave for them, while a whole other bunch of them sit in the trees surrounding the house, keeping guard.   Sometimes they swoop down on the fresh snow, leaving beautiful crow snow angels.

A couple of days ago, on another very cold day, which was weirdly sunny and windless.   I found this pinecone.   It was on a flat area near where crows congregate to pick through the fire pit.    There had been no wind overnight.   The pinecone wasn't there when I'd done evening chores the night before.   It was just setting on top of an area of pristine snow, not covered by any snow at all.   Around it, although several feet away, were crow tracks and prints.   Sometimes I find interesting things that shouldn't be in the place where I find them.  I think that maybe, they are little tokens from the crows.   This pinecone,  a little twig with some pine needles, and recently, a stick under the bird feeder where I sprinkle some of the corn.   I'd picked up the stick and tossed it out of the way.   The next afternoon, it had been retrieved and placed back under the feeder!  It was definitely the same stick, due to a unique and odd shape to it.

I'm redoing the toe of a new knitted sock project for the 3rd time.   This is because instead of checking the size on my foot, I went by a recommended sock size knitting chart.   When I realized it was the wrong size, it was almost 2 inches too long!   So I tried again, and got it wrong again.  I've ripped it back and have set it aside until tomorrow.  But that is another story for another time.   It's pretty yarn though; the colour of summer skies, calm lakes or ocean vistas.