"Linen Weave" Towels

Using a linen weave pattern, I wove four towels from unmercerized 8/2 cotton. They're approximately 18" x 27", hemmed. The warp is turtledove and the weft foliage green.

I like this weave structure. It gives a slightly raised effect to alternate rectangles.

Equifest

Weekend before last I went to Equifest, an event sponsored by Olsen's Grain, a local feed and pet food store. Although the gathering primarily featured horses (as you've already guessed from its name), there were numerous dog food companies represented, and almost all of them gave away free samples. I came home with at least two dozen.

Logan is quite pleased. Each time I feed him I add a little dog food from one of the sample bags to his usual food. There's usually enough in each package to jazz up four or five meals.

He gets particularly excited when I open the sack with the untried samples and eagerly waits to find out what new treat I'm going to pull out. He sniffs the small bag while I open it and happily watches me pour a bit onto his regular food. His favorites so far are Taste of the Wild and AvoDerm, although he hasn't turned up his nose at any of them. Logan certainly likes the concept of free samples.

Logan

Wandering Eggs

Well, it's happened again. The two wooden eggs in the laying box are gone. When that occurred several years ago, we figured a bird took them. Ravens are the usual suspects in such cases, so I imagine there's a crestfallen raven out there somewhere.

Wooden eggs (or plastic, but I like the aesthetics of wood) encourage chickens to lay in the laying box. Without that inducement, free range hens tend to lay eggs in a variety of places, sites often difficult for humans to access or even find. One of my previous dogs, Dreamer, used to locate such egg clutches. She would eat one before showing me where they were. I caught on to her methods when I spotted the proverbial egg on her face.

Now I just have to remember where I bought the wooden facsimiles last time because I want to egg on my hen as to where to lay.

Dreamer

Ponchos Are In Again

A while back I wove this luscious cloth using chenille, glossy cotton, loopy mohair, shiny ribbon yarn, and a variety of other textures and fibers. It's 30" wide and 2.7 yards long. I've been debating as to what to make from it and have calculated there's enough yardage for two ponchos. The question is, what style do I want to make?

I've decided the first poncho will have a V-neck in front and a shallow curve in back. The fabric is fairly heavy, so I'm reluctant to line it, even at the neck. I've changed my mind about how to fashion the neck several times in the last week. Should I use a facing? Should I bind the edges?

Just before I fell asleep last night a new option occurred to me. What if I either serge or securely zigzag the neck edges and then pick up stitches around the neck and knit a collar? I'm leaning towards the zigzag option because I think serging would make the edge somewhat inflexible and possibly uncomfortable, although the garment won't be worn against the skin, so maybe it wouldn't matter. Serging would create a more solid edge.

Then, should I knit, perhaps, three rounds of ribbing and bind off? Should I knit a wider collar? Should I use moss stitch or double moss stitch instead of ribbing?

Blogging

I like to blog, but I'm inconsistent at it. I get enthusiastic and add two or three posts and then write nothing for a couple months. I've been trying to figure out why this is so and how to overcome my haphazard method of blogging.

I've concluded that one of my difficulties is that I'm a freelance editor. I know, that sounds like a good reason to blog. However, because I'm an editor, my blogs have to be perfect -- grammar, punctuation, style, word choice, etc. Wow, that hurdle slows me down.

And that's ridiculous. I love to write. I enjoy sharing my ranching/farming/weaving/spinning/knitting/gardening experiences. So I have to do it!

Also, I realize I've become so accustomed to some of the daily activities involved in raising sheep, weaving, etc. that I forget sometimes that what seems typical to me is far from for many others. I enjoy hearing about the processes people go through on their farms, tending their gardens, weaving their cloth, and spinning their yarn. They give me ideas and solutions all the time. Therefore, I'm going to endeavor to join that crowd and share.

My Cotswold sheep enjoying the lush grass brought by the rain.