Thursday, May 19, 2005


Fuzzy Llama Butts! Posted by Hello

I Dyed Again...

The white silk roving keeps calling to me, so when all else fails...DYE!!! Today I chose some orange, and as you can see, even wet, it is gorgeous! The subtle variegations never cease to amaze me.

There was, as usual, plenty of dye left in the pot when the roving was done, so rather than waste it, I grabbed 400 yds of white mohair/nylon and threw it in. Never mind the fact that I had not presoaked or mordanted it. What the heck, just toss it in and see what happens. It will be done in half an hour or so, and it looks like it's sucking up the "exhaust" beautifully, and EVENLY. What an adventure!

Below, the roving. Above, another amusing pic from NH Sheep & Wool. With any luck at all, I may actually be a vendor there next year! What a great excuse to hang around for more than a few hours. [grin]

Tangerine Dream Silk Roving! Posted by Hello

Monday, May 16, 2005


Daphne and Friend! Posted by Hello

Fleece Sins and Confession!

I made a mistake, but it's not irremidiable.

I came home from NH Sheep & Wool with the proverbial Three Bags Full. One black Corriedale, One gray Romney, and one white Romney. I mean, I am Woman, I have a Drum Carder. Right???

I dutifully washed up a good-sized clump of the Corriedale, laid it out to dry, and this afternoon at 1 PM sharp, I set up my work table with clean fiber, hackle, and drum carder.

1-1/2 hours later I had a whopping ONE OUNCE batt, and not a very nice batt at that. [sigh]

Corriedale seems to hold beaucoup loads of grease. Words cannot fully express how much I LOATHED trying to card it. No one must EVER allow me to leave a wool fair with big bags of fleece again! Tie me up, confiscate my bags, and take them to Zeilinger's. PLEASE!!!!!!

Needless to say, I will be sending my boxes out very soon. Even if it takes 3 months (which is pretty much what they said when I called today), it's not like I don't have tons of other stuff to do in the interim. And I know I will LOVE my new fleeces when they are fresh, clean Roving.

Hubby the engineer encountered an electric spinner and wanted me to take a look. So, I looked, I tried, I bought. I now have a brand-new Roberta with jumbo bobbins, especially for plying. I have yet to try it for singles, as I think I would really prefer to do singles on a manual wheel. But this will help me a great deal with all the plying work I have on hand.

Above is a nice picture Phoebe took of Daphne with a Furry friend!

The kids are still clamoring for an Angora rabbit...

Friday, May 13, 2005


Seamus in his Mad Angel Creation! Posted by Hello

Seamus' Sweater, Part 2

Seamus got his sweater last night, and kindly allowed me to snap a pic of him wearing it. I was pleased to see that it fitted so nicely! I should have made him pose in the main church, though, instead of the Chaffee room. It would have been a more aesthetically pleasing venue.

The pictures of the sweater (without Seamus inside of it) were taken with the sweater hanging on my clothesline, before washing and blocking. I have a line that can be detached and threaded through the sleeves of a garment, and while it makes for a nice photograph, I suppose one of these days I should invest in a Real Sweater Blocker, especially if intend to be serious about pursuing commissioned design work.

I had a nice vist with Jonne Gomes on Wednesday. ( http://www.manmadebyjonne.com ) Shooting the breeze with him is always such a mind-expanding experience. We get showing each other stuff, and then the ideas start flying faster than newspapers on the wind on recycling pick-up day! This of course led to a trip to Wal-Mart for me yesterday, to pick up disposable roaster pans, squirt bottles, and blank business cards. I oven-dyed a half pound of my silk rovings in various colors and made up some business cards. All in all a productive day. Now I just have to wait for the silk to finish drying so I can photograph it and put it up on eBay.

I must say, I like this oven-dyeing, especially since I have double ovens and can process three pans at once...

Looking forward to NH Sheep & Wool tomorrow! Maybe I'll see some of you there...

Monday, May 09, 2005


Seamus' Sweater -- "Abbotts Bromley" Posted by Hello

I Finished!!!!

Looky, looky, it's Seamus' sweater, at long last! I'll bring it to knitting tomorrow night for all to fondle, so don't miss your opportunity! The sweater will go to Seamus on Thursday when I go to choir practice.

It weighs a grand total of 1 pound 6 ounces, so now I have an idea of how much yarn to ply to recreate it. Now, if I only had the will to write down directions in a slightly-better-than-pithy fashion!

More pictures are available for viewing at:

http://www.mad-angel.com/knitangel/abbottsbromley.html

Suzy the crazy blind Corgi snuck into Phoebe's room this morning and got into a bag of tortilla chips -- literally! She came staggering out of the room with the bag over her head, frantically trying to retrieve the last crumbs at the bottom. They were ever so slightly out of her reach, so she butted her head up against every surface she could, just to push the bottom of the bag with its crumbs closer to the end of her nose and within reach of her tongue. She may be blind, but she is SMART and quite resourceful when it comes to Food! Roisin and Finney looked on in awe and appreciation. Makes me wonder what tricks THEY will attempt next!

Desperate for Tortilla Chips! Posted by Hello

Wednesday, May 04, 2005


Blackberries 'n Cream Silk Roving Posted by Hello

At It Again...

I am having waaaaaay too much fun with my dyepot! Below, you see the color that resulted from throwing some skeins of wool/mohair into the exhaust left in the pot from my batch of dyed silk roving. Above is the silk roving, which I've decided to call Blackberries 'n Cream. Now, if someone could please tell me how the exhaust of a dye this purple could yield salmon pink...??? Well, I'm pleased with both final products, anyway, and looking forward to seeing what they look like when dry.

I should be working on Seamus' sweater again, but think a nap is gonna win out again. I love this dyeing business, but it does tire me out after awhile!

I bought the latest re-mastered Billie Holiday collection recently, but today is the first chance I've had to really listen closely. Gorgeous. I just love Billie.

Oddly enough, I began my listening day with Pet Sounds (Beach Boys), followed by the Screaming Trees anthology, followed by Nick Cave's latest oeuvre, followed by Billie. Yes, my musical tastes are more than a bit eclectic. Is anyone surprised?

What's Cooking????


What cooking? Posted by Hello

Tuesday, May 03, 2005


Mallard 2 Posted by Hello

Now, THIS is more like it...

I am now officially happy and ready to start knitting for the afternoon. This is what I was aiming for when I got "Mallard" and "Willow" from the same dyepot last week. This one is "Mallard 2," and there are 5 200-yard skeins that all resemble each other pretty closely, despite the slight shade variegations. I'll be putting them up for sale on eBay tomorrow.

Seamus' sweater is almost ready for assembly, so guess what I'm likely to be doing at the knit-in tonight? [grin] I can't wait to see what it will look like as a whole garment. I mean, yes, I have more than a vague notion of this, but I still have a need to see it in one piece.

I finally managed to sell my Stars in the Night Sky shawl. Seems that one of my fellow choristers was perusing the eBay store and knew she would buy one of the shawls. It just took her a little while to decide if she wanted "Stars" or the purple mohair one. It is actually being given as a Christmas present! I'm thrilled that my work is viewed as being special enough for such an important occasion.

Larry loved his Fraternal Socks. I was able to give them to him after all, because the yarn relaxed after the socks were washed, and then they seemed "right." He was looking forward to wearing them in the van for the ride home after the show.

What a schedule! I don't think these fellas ever actually leave a venue until well after 2 AM, and then they have to go all the way back to New York City. What a great show, though. And one of the opening acts featured a really great lady trombonist who was invited up to jam with Fabulous Freddie Parcells during Black 47's part of the show. What a nice treat, to hear two great 'bone players going at it with such great gusto! I couldn't see much of anything from my spot at the merch table, but I could sure hear everything. Fantastic.

I should go knit now, but I feel like I need a nap, and I think that the nap and a Corgish Cuddle are going to win...