Unintended Hiatus

Well, I hadn't planned to take a break from blogging, but I did.

I plan to get back to it now.

Thanks for coming back.

Apples, and Peaches, and Pears, OH MY!

Spring has arrived in my little corner of the desert, and that means that it's time to plant trees.

Last fall, I put in an order at a local nursery for some fruit trees.  They're here. Scott and I spent last Saturday getting them planted.  We have:

An "Anna" apple tree, already in bloom.

A "Dorsett" apple tree, tall and many branched.

An "Earligrande" peach tree.

A "Kefir" pear tree, beginning to bud.

A "Sugar" pear tree.

I learned a lot about fruit trees in the desert, but some of the information was universal. For example, did you know that when planting fruit trees, you need to make sure that the node of the graft is ALWAYS facing north? If you don't, the tree will try to twist itself around to make it so, and will die. Also, you shouldn't allow the trees to fruit for the first two years -- you must let them flower, but not fruit. This helps to ensure a healthy root system, and a trunk that is sturdy enough to support the weight of the fruit. 

One final thing I learned is that dogs find the branches of apple trees to be a sweet treat, so you have to watch them closely, and keep your pruning shears close by.

 

 

In other news, the rest of the garden that I planted in the fall didn't do very well. I have only 2 sickly looking spinach plants, 

 3 midget pea plants, 

 

some red and romaine lettuce,

 one cabbage,

  two strawberry plants, 

 

 and one rhubarb plant. 

 

I'd thought that the rhubarb had died, as all the leaves wilted and came off, however, a couple of weeks ago they started growing again, and seem to be doing quite well.

 

All in all, I'm a bit disappointed with the way things have gone, but I've learned a lot and hope that will enable me to do better this spring.

Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel

Gretchen am Spinnrade, op.2, D.118 by Franz P. Schubert

Performed by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

by Nicholas Gordon

 

Valentine's Day

Is a wonderful way

To make "I love you"

easy to say.

I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day, and that you're able to spend the day with the people you love.

 

How's It Get That Way?

Have you ever wondered how a length of yarn gets turned into a neat little skein?

When I've finished plying yarn on my spinning wheel, I need to get it off the bobbin and put into a hank, so that I can get the spin set or twist it into a skein for storage. To do this I use my niddy noddy.

A niddy noddy has a center bar, with a smaller bar at either end which are at a 90º angle from each other. Yarn is wound onto the niddy noddy by going up over one end of the top bar, then down under the end of the bottom bar, back up over the other end of the top bar, and then back down over the other end of the bottom bar. You can watch a video of this here.

This process is repeated until all of the yarn has been put onto the niddy noddy. Both ends of the yarn are then tied around the hank, so that they can be easily untied, but will still hold and keep the yarn from unwinding or tangling until you untie them. Then you take the yarn off. I do this by slipping the hank off of each of the ends.

Niddy noddies come in various sizes, and it's useful to know what size hank yours will make. Mine makes hanks of which each loop of the hank is approximately 5 1/2 feet in circumference. If you count the number of loops, multiply by 5 1/2, and then divide by 3, you get the yardage for the hank. While in this state, it is ready to have the spin set, be dyed, or wound into a ball.

If you're not yet ready to set the spin or wind it into a ball, if you hold the hank so that it is looped around your hands, you can then twist the loops, each hand moving in the opposite direction, until there is plenty of twist built up and there is only a small loop at each end of the hank where your hands were. Fold the hank in half, slide one loop inside the other, and let the hank twist around itself. When done properly, this is the best way to store your yarn as it doesn't put additional strain on the fibers.

One skein of yarn, ready to store.

What A Week

rhino virus (common cold) illustration

So, I'm still trying to recover from the micro-beastie that decided to make its home in my body.

Downside: It's been a week already, I'm not yet completely better, and I am so beyond ready to be healthy again.

Upside: Crafty goodness.

Yes, it's true. I got past the not being able to concentrate thing, and have been busy working on several projects.

First up we have the Triangular Summer Shawl. I started this last October, but after the initial cast-on and first few rows, it got set aside in favor of other projects. I don't know why. Its knit with linen/silk blend handspun, which I like. Its a pattern I've done before and like. There is no reason not to have been working on it. But I wasn't.  Having gotten a couple of things off the needles, I decided to work only on my wips, so this got picked back up. I have about 40 more rows on the shawl (each shorter than the one before, so it goes quickly), a lace edging, sewing on the lace edging, washing, blocking, and weaving in the ends.

Come to think of it, it sounds like I still have quite a lot of work to do. And here I was getting all excited about how close to finishing I was getting.

Next up is the sock I'm designing as I go. I picked up a ball of Indulgence from my lys, and loved the feel of the yarn and the color so much, I decided to cast on a sock immediately. I wasn't sure how the color repeat would go, but it turns out to be self-striping, so I knew that I could get away with some patterning without it being too busy or getting lost. I've got lace panels framing a center section of cables and ribbing. I like the way they are coming out, but am not thrilled with the short-row heel that I'd used. I think I'll do some looking around to find a heel that works better for these socks. Any suggestions? I also don't have a name for these yet, so any suggestions would be welcome.

Note to self: Make sure to write down what you've been doing, so that the second sock will actually match the first.

Finally there is the cashmere I've been spinning. I was able to pick up some incredibly soft and lovely cashmere top, and was trying to spin it for a wedding ring shawl (examples of which are Shetland and Orenburg shawls).

Truth is, it is nowhere near fine enough for that, but it is a good lace weight. The above skein is about 2 oz. (50 g), is two-ply, and is approximately 440 yards (400 meters). It is clear to me that I still have a long way to go before I'm able to ply as well as I'd like to, and before I'll be able to spin for a wedding shawl, but I have decided, overall, to be pleased with this yarn.

I still have another 2 oz. to spin and ply, and then will go in search of the perfect project. If anyone has a pattern they would like to recommend, I am open to all suggestions.

Oh Crud!

I'm so excited! I finished another project, and I can't wait to tell you about it. 

But it's a super secret project. So I can't. Yet.

Instead, I have fallen victim to the crud that is making its rounds in my little town. 

Ah, the many things one's children bring home from the cesspool we fondly refer to as school.

This is completely interfering with my ability to craft, so I'm not getting anything more done. I do try to work on things, but find I cannot concentrate on anything for more than about 5 seconds. (Sigh)

I hope your weekend is treating you better than mine, and that illness manages to skip your dwelling all together.