Short Post

Work has been very busy. Our practice is in a state of flux and things have been stressful. This summer we have 2 providers (one MD and one CNM) out on maternity leave, we have a physician leaving the end of the month and with vacations, those of us in the office are seeing extra patients. I have been picking up extra office hours so I do not feel like I have been home much. I had hoped to have a bigger, more productive vegetable garden, but have only managed to plant tomatoes, peppers, squash and cucumbers. I also have lots of work that needs to be done in the flower gardens. I guess all will get done in time.

I still have not taken out the Laguna Blouse to try and finish the shoulder seams. I feel like I need to devote some time to it and not try to do it in front of the TV or when I am tired. I am working on my socks when I can, I an almost done the first cuff. They really are going to be warm. I am not sure how well this yarn will wear, but I think they will be great any way. I can’t believe how big the Modern Log Cabin Blanket is going to be. I should, the picture in Mason Dixon Knitting shows it on a big bed!. Here is a picture:

 

You can’t see the colors very well, there is a natural color, gray and a deep rose. The fourth color is a blue. I am using The Alpaca Yarn Company Classic Alpaca (which you can buy at my shop). It is a great yarn. It is DK weight, is soft and gives great stitch definition if you are doing something with cables or lace. This blanket is done all in garter stitch and the blocks are picked up so the knitting goes in different direction. It is a great mindless knitting project, but the size of it will make it a long term project.

 I have dyed my first skein of yarn!

There are actually two, but I have not reskeined the other one and I don’t think it looks as pretty. It is 100% alpaca. I first dyed them yellow in the crock pot. When the dye was exhausted I cooled it down a little then place two jars in the crockpot with two different colors of red and stuffed the ends of the skeins into the jars, leaving the middle out. I put the cover on and let it “cook”. The dye in both the jars exhausted and, I think, the result is pretty. I have a lot to learn about dying but I am having fun  learning.

This is a short post but I am off to an Alpaca Seminar for the day with my SIL. I’ll post about that in a couple of days.

“We look foolish whether we dance or not, we may as well dance” Japanese Proverb

Cynthia

Everything is Green

It has been raining the past couple of days here in New Hampshire. I love early morning when it is raining or has rained during the night. The woods are ethereal. Everything is green, in different hues and tones, highlighted by the mist and the just rising sunlight.  I drive a fairly country road to work, it is such a peaceful start to my day.

There is a lot blooming in my garden. Here are a couple of pictures.

 

 

 

Also my fish are thriving (remember the lone fish under the ice). Here is a picture at feeding time:

  

 

 My Montego Bay scarf remains unblocked. I just haven’t had time. I tried doing the three needle bind off for the Laguna blouse the other night but it looked awful. The final row of the shoulders is knit 3 together across which makes it very bulky. I need to sit down and look at it carefully to see what to do. It seems odd that that is the way to decrease across the shoulder. And what difference will it make if I knit 2 together across, as long as I have the same number of stitches on both sides of the shoulders? I have also been working on the Landscape Shawl, but that gets boring so I need to put it aside. I started a pair of socks last night for my carry around project. They are the Maxwell socks from Jane Ellison, Queensland Collection. I love the yarn, Kathmandu Aran. 85% Merino, 10% silk and 5% Cashmere! It is so soft. The other great thing: I am using size 7 needles. They are going to be quick, fat and warm socks!

 Please visit my on line store. I continue to add new yarns and spinning fibers.

“Do not overlook tiny good actions, thinking they are of no benefit; Even tiny drops of water in the end will fill a huge vessel. Do not overlook negative actions merely because they are small; however small a spark may be, it can burn down a haystack as big as a mountain.” The Buddha

Cynthia

It’s Summer!

After a cool, raining week in New Hampshire, this weekend has been hot and humid. I had a chance to work in my garden last weekend, planting annuals and cleaning up some of the flower beds in the front of my house, weeding and pruning. So the rain was welcome, everything is so green now. I picked up some vegetable plants yesterday and I plan to get out there to plant them this morning. There is an old wives farmers tail that you should not plant until after the full moon in June because there is still a chance for a frost. The full moon is not until the 18th, but I think I’m safe to plant. I still have a few more pots to plant with annuals, too.

 Here is a picture from my back yard:

As I said in a previous post, we have a lot of damage in the yard from flooding . We have a brook that runs right behind the house, in fact our lower deck comes within about a foot of the brook. We have put a lot of work in and around the brook, with stone and plantings, and there is a large flat stone over the brook for a bridge. Rushing water is a powerful thing. It has moved large boulders, redirected the brook in some ways and eroded away soil. The bridge needs to be lifted and reset. And one corner of the deck has shifted off the support so that will need repair. I can do a lot of the work, but for this big stuff, we will need to have someone come in and do it.

There is a new baby at the farm:

She looks like she is smiling. That is her mom behind her.

I have been knitting on the  Laguna Blouse. I have about 1.5 inches left of the left side of the front. Then I do a 3-needle bind off for the shoulders. I guess after I do that I’ll block it before picking up the neck edge. I never know what to do in this situation. It needs to be blocked but with the shoulder stitches on stitch-holders it is hard to do. It looks nice, I just hope it is not too big. If it is I’ll follow Lucy Neatby’s advise. She says to make a bigger seam and cut off the excess fabric! Scary as it sounds, it evidently works.

Even though I still have the Landscape Shawl and the Modern Log Cabin Blanket on the needles, I have been thinking about what I want to cast on next. I have some hand painted silk in a fingering weight and have been thinking about making a Shape It! Scarf from Sally Melville’s Book 1 of the Knitting Experience series. I think it will look great and be an easy carry-around project.

I am still adding new product to my my website. Please visit. www.nightingalefibers.com

i Thank You God for most

this amazing

day: for the leaping greenly spirits

of trees

and a blue true dream of sky; and

for everything

which is natural which is infinite

which is yes

e.e. cummings

 

Go out and enjoy the day.

Peace

Cynthia