Gray Aland Fleece....REALLY!

     As promised, here is a picture of the gray Aland fleece we bought from a gal in Helsinki Finland.  I am still not happy with the photos!  For whatever reason, I can't seem to shoot gray without it either looking blue or white....so trust me... this IS gray! (I still owe pictures of the black Aland but I'm having MORE problems with the black shooting right than I did with the gray! Man I miss my 35mm!)

Praying For Better Times!

     As we came in from scouting out more firewood this afternoon, Susie reminded me that it was that time of year to start our cotton plants.  For me it's hard to imagine that we've arrived at this point again since last years crop was SUCH a bountiful one...as seen in the picture of our 2012 Pima cotton yield.  Actually this really is just a Q-tip but you get the idea!  With last years heat and drought I think the grand total of developing bolls was either 3 or 4.....it was SOOOOO many I couldn't count!  I think this year we are going to plant only white Pima again but if I can find an area away from the main planting, I would really like to plant more of the colored cotton.  It could have been just the difference in the growing season but the green & brown cotton we planted a couple years ago did much better than the white.  Once again I am also reminded that the growing frame that I promised Susie several years ago is still in the wood shop in pieces so that is going to have to be the next project I face.

Snowed In!

     Well....snowed in may be putting it a little dramatically! In actuality we had a dusting last night and much colder temps today, which in this area of Tennessee is enough to make Kroger and Walmart go into survival mode with traffic being directed in the area around the stores as people circle like buzzards for a parking spot.  I have NEVER been able to understand the absolute crazed desire for pork rinds, toilet paper, milk and beanie wienies every time the weather even threatens to get "bad".  Fortunately I was off work again today so we decided to "hunker down" by the wood stove and stay off the roads.  What better thing to do on a "snow day" than sit by the fire and knit and card wool?  As you can see, Susie continues progress with her black shawl. She hand spun the lace-weight yarn from some black alpaca roving we purchased a few years ago from a breeder at the Greencastle Indiana Fiber Event.  The pattern is from Knit Picks by Rachel Schnelling and is adapted from an original pattern in a book called Danish Lace Treasures.  I asked Susie how far she was along with it and after counting, it appears she's about a third of the way done.  Whenever it is finished and blocked, we will be sure to post pictures of the finished piece.

     I have promised shots of the Aland fleece we recently purchased from Finland and I have NOT forgotten!  I have tried numerous times to shoot these fibers but have yet to hit the secret setting on the digital camera that shows the fiber in its true color.  For whatever reason, EVERY time I shoot gray fleece, it either photographs as blue or white....and as far as the black Aland goes....it shoots as a dead mess.  I realize my eyes aren't as good as they were 30 years ago but I sure didn't have this kind of problem shooting 35mm FILM! (Yes!....FILM!....I AM that old!)

Phat Fiber Goodies

     Thought we would show some proof that we actually do get some spinning time in once in awhile. These are 2 of the samples we received in our Phat Fiber boxes. The orange fiber is Superwash  BFL from Brazen Stitchery called Leelu Dallas and was in the most recent box. The other spindle is loaded with another sample of BFL from LMS Studio Arts called Sea Glass and was from our October 2012 box.  Susie used a couple of our Janet Yost spindles to spin these on and once we get them skeined off I will test them to see if they are lace weight or cobweb. Susie has plans for knitting them when she gets done with the spinning so stay tuned!  I think this may have been the first time we have worked with BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) and we both think it has a really nice feel but we both still prefer our Finn fiber!

Morning Ice

     We woke this morning to the sound of rain coming down and freezing on everything.  Even though this was predicted on the weather sight, it was still on the weird side since ice is something we have not had to deal with much since moving to Tennessee back in the '80s.  Fortunately I already had MORE than enough hours in that I didn't have to worry about driving 40 miles into town just to make sure I didn't have a short check!  Not having to travel ended up being a good thing since when I went out to see how slick it was, I fell on my ample posterior and SLID about 20 feet downhill on the gravel driveway and only stopped when I slid into the side of the car.  So.....today has ended up sitting inside by the wood stove keeping warm and knowing that when I try to get out of bed in the morning, I WILL feel the effects of my curiosity!  (By the way....it WAS slick out there!)

Finally Some Good News!

  

  For anyone that follows Dave Ramsey and his teaching through Financial Peace University, his lead in line of  "...where the paid off home mortgage has replaced the BMW as the status symbol of choice".... you'll understand our excitement when we say that as of last Friday our farm is PAID OFF!  I'm not sure the reality of it has soaked in as of yet. Maybe it's because of  all the repairs and work that needs done here or the continued pain and trials of our family situation over the past year but I really expected to be a lot more "giddy" over knowing that the place was now ours.  With all the uncertainty in both the economy and the state of the nation as a whole, we felt it was time to take the plunge and use our emergency fund to pay the place off and then start building the emergency fund back up. Earning 50% less now than I did a few short years ago has made ANY advancements an unbelievable ordeal but GOD is good when we are faithful in the little things....and believe me...my income falls in the "little things" category!

     On another high note, our Aland wool from Finland arrived on Friday and I will be taking pictures of it to post on here in the next day or two.  It is some REALLY nice looking fleece and Susie and I are looking forward to working with this new to us wool. Stay tuned!

                    

Happy New Year!

 

  Well, here I am again at the start of a new year with all the intentions of being MUCH more diligent in posting.  Time will tell if I can do this or if the continuing heartbreak we have experienced the past 10 plus months will continue on into the foreseeable future. (I'm not holding my breath since we are still very much subject to others LIFE decisions) At least let me start on a positive note since its the first day of the new year.

   For the past 3 months, Susie & I have been able to "score" what is called a Phat Fiber box.  Phat Fiber is the brainchild of a young couple from Southern Illinois that takes samples of fiber related items from small, independent fiber artist the world over and packages them into boxes for sale. These boxes come in either "fluff" which is spinners goodies.... "stitches" which are for the knitters or "mixed" which has a menagerie of items in both of the other categories. We have gone for the "fluff" box each time since we are more geared to spinning fiber and making our own yarn.  There have been some pretty awesome samples in these boxes! (I might add that the boxes normally sell out LITERALLY in less than 3 SECONDS!)  I attached a picture of one of the samples that Susie's spinning on a Yost drop spindle. The fiber is BFL wool dyed in the colorway called Sea Glass from LMS Studio Arts. 

   We started buying the Phat Fiber boxes as a way to get inspired to get our OWN rears in gear and get Sojourner Studios going in earnest rather just in "theory". I really hope that in the near future I will be able to show pictures on this blog of some of OUR items that have been included in future Phat Fiber boxes.