Monday, February 18, 2008

warm head & cold sheep...


The boy quite liked my Koolhaas, and admittedly I enjoyed the project, so it wasn't hard to convince me to make another one. But in the interest of not having any matchy-matchy episodes, I wanted them to look as different as possible. The Malabrigo was a perfect solution. The colour variations in this yarn create and entirely different hat, but is just as soft and squishy as version one. I've never worked with Malabrigo before, but I will be returning.

There isn't as much stitch definition as the Cashmerino, which I suppose is partly from the slight fuzz of the merino, and partly from the variegated colour. But man is this stuff soft.

And in the world of yarn to be, the clear sunny day that was Sunday turned out to be the day Sally, Cookie and Jumper lost their winter coats. Yup, those are my folks' three ewes, fat with babies and usually pushy women, but once flipped on their backs remarkable docile. The women who does the shearing is surprisingly adept with the large animals, considering her own small size. Good thing the sheep have a barn to stay warm in for the cold nights still to come; however it's good to get them sheared before birthing as otherwise the little lambs have trouble finding the milk.

These first two shots show Sally (the Suffolk) putting up with her fate, while the bottom shows Cookie (brown) and Jumper (white) looking a bit lighter (and perhaps sheepish?) after their shearing. Soon enough my mom and I will be washing and carding in prep for spinning. I still haven't tried out this spinning stuff, but we are booked for a workshop in early April to figure it all out.

And yes, this new hat has distracted me from Project Spectrum, but I'll be back on track shortly with the red gloves. Promise.

Monday, February 04, 2008

fire in my belly...


sunday was one of those clear, crisp days that make winter easier, the sun sparkling through the tree, nearly warming you if you stayed sheltered from the wind. A is in charge of alpacas and sheep while my folks are in Cancun (i would be but it adds far too much to my daily work commute), so we spent the day on the island. started the day late with scrambled eggs and veggies, including these lovely cherry tomatoes. we went for a walk at the beach, checking out the ice that spreads across the harbour, driftwood suspended in its clutches. but by mid afternoon A convinced me to shun the weather in favour of several hours spent in front of the tv, watching the boys play ball.


but on to what i really wanted to talk about: project spectrum. i've decided to participate for the first time, hence the red theme to these photos. i'm working on some fingerless gloves out of this gorgeous colinette jitterbug - the colourway is morello mash. far to pretty to disappear on my feet, so it's been waiting for me to get motivated. project spectrum seemed like a perfect excuse to finally let it shine. looking forward to see what others come up with in the fire theme.

oh, i also finished my neckwarmer from the previous post - it's been working out well. somehow i missed posting about it, but please check out the FO on ravelry.