Ahead of Schedule

A preteen child doesn't always really know what to think about her mother, except that it's not always positive:


Edginess is just a way of life around here now:


But I think in the end, it will all come together beautifully:

Official Summer

Our annual trip to pick Ollalieberries happened yesterday. As usual, Thing 1 was a picking machine. This is rendered more wonderful by the fact that she doesn't actually like to eat berries. At all.

Between the two of us mostly (with a bit of "help" from the younger three), we picked 34 pounds of berries. Not without some casualties, mostly in the "laundry" arena:


Now those that weren't slapped into little pies are being frozen for future treats. Since we don't have electrical work planned, they shouldn't mold when the freezer is unplugged like last year's haul.

The kids wanted to go to the beach, but taking my bunch to the Pacific Coast isn't my idea of a fun time. Give me a protected bay any day. Maybe in a few years, with a rented Newfoundland, we'll make stopping by the beach a part of the berrying tradition, like Suzee and her intrepid bunch.

Oh, and I really think I'm going to finish the Green Sweater today. Hooray! If I do, pics tomorrow.

Neighborhood Cranky Lady

Well, I admit I'm in a rotten mood already but I just went out front and let loose on the neighborhood boys who congregate on our steps. (Their adults aren't the overparenting type, by the way.)

I am sick and tired of them taking crap from our yard, turning the hose on without asking, dropping candy wrappers in the yard, etc. And when I said, "Look, I want you to stop doing things without ASKING first," they point at each other and say, "He did it, not me!"

I just gave a terrific lecture, titled I Do Not Care Who Did It, Do You Hear Me? I Am Sick And Tired I Do Not Come To Your House And Turn On Your Hose And Borrow Your Toys I Am Speaking To You Individually And Together.

I bet they heard "Blah blah blahblahblahblahblah."

Now I have to work and I'm still cranky. No knitting and drat it all now the baby is awake from her brief nap and the house, despite me going on numerous "pick it up" runs still looks nothing like it did before they all tumbled out of bed.

I want to go to bed.

So I can only surmise that in a few years I will be sitting on my porch, beside my spinning wheel with my cane, yelling at the whippersnappers to stay away from my flower beds.

Bts and Bobs

My plan to spend a lazy summer doing nothing but ferrying children and knitting to the lakeshore hasn't yet come to full flower.

Okay, it's probably not going to. Today was the county fair, tomorrow is berry picking, and although my course finishes this week, two more begin next week. But that course session ends with my vacation, and I was reminded today at the fair that the bees are going to begin their slowdown for winter now that the solstice is past.

So maybe there will be balance someday.

Thing 2 is back, and pretty well reintegrated into the family, if sibling bickering and strewn laundry are any measure. She had a fabulous time with the Anything You Want, Dear grandparents, and is now talking about flying to Sweden to visit my brother and his family. I told her that I should probably discuss it with him first.

Her bold nature was on display today at the fair, as she and her brother tackled midway rides that had me alternately shrieking, "Hold ON!" and tactfully looking away to take deep breaths. It was a good if hot day. When I looked at the knitted items, I couldn't figure out a type that the judges liked -- they were all over the map, and our opinions didn't match. Of course, I couldn't handle the things, but I would have given the merino/silk handspun a higher score than the novelty handspun. But that's just me, apparently. My bread won second place, so I'll probably bake again next year. It wasn't the best loaf I've ever done; just what was handy. I think I was distracted while I was baking it.

While the Things rode rides and the babe napped, I did spend a lot of time just sitting around. Did I relax and watch people snarfing down funnel cakes? I did not:


The trim for the finished arm is done, the other one should take an evening, then some ribbing around the neck, and I'll move another one out of "draft" into the "finished" column.

It may be the last wool I knit with for a little bit, though. I have visions of cotton colorwork dancing in my head.

Lessons Learned and, well, Indigo

I wonder if everyone uploads all of their pictures first and then sort of writes around them. That's what I do. I get so impatient waiting for them to load that if I get it out of the way first, I can just go on and on and on, the way I so love to do. Blah blah blah lalalala I can't hear you. . . I'm talking so much.

At any rate, I learned a bit about spinning and a bit more about me this weekend. I found out that silk top is a dream to spin. I found out that I sort of like watching the colors change as it runs through my hands and onto the bobbin, even though I don't really like things knitted from painted yarns. I discovered that with a little attention, I could spin fairly fine for me if -- and it's a fairly big if -- I was really patient and split the batt and predrafted it carefully.


But I also discovered that the hooks make lumps and the Traveller has sort of jerky uptake. Another discovery? I'm not very patient all the time. I'm especially not patient when I'm tired. Not with me, not with fiber, not with the kids. Unfortunately for the silk, that meant that I willy-nilly spun up the second bobbin and got ready to ply faster than was perhaps best. Instead of perfect yarn, with perfectly-plied twist, and matching singles, so the color changes matched up, I got "Party on a Bobbin."

The shiny? I like. The few places where the singles are the same size, instead of ranging wildly from wee-and-tight to big-and-loose? I pretty much like. The colors? I like, but more with less of the stripey. What I'm going to do with near-novelty silk (about 60-80 yards) I have no clue. Thing 1 has suggested a hat, but she doesn't actually wear them. She swears she would this one. Maybe.

On a happier note, I finally finished the indigo, which had been patiently waiting to be acidified. It soaked, it got washed, and now it's hanging outside. I prefer this view to laundry:


That pea green is a big favorite around here. I've got to figure out how to do that more often. The darker indigo is Japanese; the lighter the Guatemalan. Everything else is indigo over something.

And last night I also spun up either the madder or the fustic. I was trying for a lofty, not too warm yarn, with enough yardage that I could combine it for a wee sweater. I don't think I got there. Fluffy yes, but nothing to knit home about. Heee.

The green sweater has one sleeve all done except for the leaf trim. Just one more sleeve and a neck to go! And that would be, oh, March's sweater? Or is it April? I've so forgotten in the fun of walking around and wondering if I have enough yarn. I should probably call Michael's and see if they have one more ball of this dye lot. Ho hum. It's amazing to me that if I actually hold needles and yarn in my hands and sit for a few minutes, things get done. Another lesson to relearn apparently.

Thing 2 comes home tonight. I'm excited, and so are the younger kids. Thing 1 is reserving judgement, herself. Someday she's going to love her sister, I promise. The only trouble I anticipate is at bedtime. Although the baby's a bed hog, Thing 2's place is in jeopardy.

Show and Tell

Not a lot of time or words, but here's some of what I spent my weekend doing:


From left to right, it's either Blue Faced Leicester or Merino (there were 8 of the first and one of the second).

The braid is three different dyes: yellow is fustic, the orange(which I'm calling Golden Retriever) is a mix of fustic, madder, and cochineal, and the red is all cochineal.

Next is the one I just can't keep my hands off. It's silk, painted with the three previous dyes plus some logwood gray. I'm probably not going to rush into spinning that up, because I want both my spinning and knitting skills to rise to meet it. I think it's going to make something very pretty some day.

To the right of that is some wool first dyed with a mix of fustic, madder, and cochineal, then overdyed with indigo.

The green to the right of that is fustic overdyed with indigo. Finally there is wool dyed strongly in cochineal and then dipped into indigo.

There is some plain indigo, both Japanese and Guatemalan, but it's sitting in a bag awaiting acidulation next weekend. Then I'll wash it and dry it. Then I'll show you that!

So that's fun. The colors in the picture are fairly accurate, but it's just not like looking at them. I am enjoying looking at them and I'm hoping to enjoy spinning them too. But first I'm going to have to finish that green sweater, knit "Coachella," and finish spinning the gray Norwegian top. Yeah, right!

And yesterday, I got a package from Jen! Look at this fabulous handspun! The white is merino-silk (like I'm going to knit anything beautiful enough for this!) and the green is Corriedale. She seems to think that I will be more able to actually, you know, knit using it.


I call it "green," but it's got all of these fabulous colors in it. I wonder what it will be when I'm done. Maybe a light vest? I don't know; it's yummy.


That Jen needs some honey. There's no way I'm sending her any handspun soon!

A Weekend to Dye For

The three-day spinning and dyeing intensive was more dyeing than spinning, more spindle than wheel, and it was a good time for me. I conquered my utter disdain for the spindle, made some more progress on the wheel, decided that maybe I would knit a sock every so often, and had a great time dyeing some lovely fiber with natural dyes.

What I don't have is pictures. My husband has been doing yeoman's work taking care of all four Things so I could revel in fiber, so he's tired; my course has continued apace in my absence, so I have work to do; and my dear little Thing 2 is getting on an airplane to visit her grandparents tomorrow. All by herself.

I might take pictures when I come home from the airport. Now I'm going to try to sleep and not worry too much in advance.