Explaining Weaving to My Dog - Lesson 1

As I was winding a weaving bobbin today, it occurred to me that I've only done tablet weaving since I adopted my dog, Logan.

My bobbin winder is kind of loud and squeaks. I was just wondering what Logan might think of the noise when he came hurrying up the stairs. He kept trying to sniff the bobbin winder, and I had to tell him to watch out every time the handle reached the down position so that I wouldn't hit him on the nose.

He was quite interested in what I was doing, although a particularly loud squeak sent him to the far side of the desk to find cover. After a minute or so, he returned, though, to investigate further.

Just as I finished, he decided to walk to my other side, stepping across the yarn extending from the cone on the floor to the bobbin. After several confused seconds during which Logan turned twice and managed to get thoroughly tangled, I was able to cut the yarn at the bobbin and then unwind it from the dog.

Next lesson - the loom.

Rain!

The monsoon rains began almost two weeks ago. It's so exciting! The plants are loving it. It's great to have green grass again.

I know most of the pictures I post of my sheep show them on dirt. They really do get to graze sometimes. Below are pictures to prove it.

When the first lush grass sprouts, I can allow the sheep to graze for only 10 minutes or so. Then I put them back in their enclosure and give them some fairly dry alfalfa hay. If sheep get a lot of rich grass or alfalfa suddenly, it can lead to gastrointestinal problems and actually kill them. So right now my sheep get to graze briefly each afternoon. I'll extend their yummy-grass time a little each day, until their bodies get used to the richer feed. Then they can graze for much longer periods.

Knitting Books

I came across this website, http://www/cooperativepress.com/, today.

They publish some interesting-looking knitting books, such as River Ganseys, Subversive Socks, Hitch: Patterns Inspired by the Films of Alfred Hitchcock, and Librarian-Inspired Knits. Check them out.

Washing Wool

A friend and I washed most of three Cotswold fleeces yesterday. We ran out of soap before we were quite finished, so we had to stop. A single Cotswold fleece often weighs about 15 pounds; that's a lot of wool.

Below are pictures of some of the drying wool.

And here are pictures of the sheep whose fleece we washed (plus the other sheep just because).

Sierra

Sierra

Thaddius

All the sheep but one.

Petra and a couple lambs

Thaddius

Knitting Needles are NOT Chew Toys

As I said in my previous post, I adopted a new dog, Logan, recently. He's very sweet. He's also very different from Dierdre in many ways. She was about five or six years old when I found her. I had her for almost five years. Logan is two. Untrained. Exuberantly still a puppy. And will chew almost anything he can get his large, furry paws on.

That's where my partially-knitted socks come into the story.

You'll notice the toe of the one on the right is unfinished, yet there are no knitting needles holding the stitches. That's because Logan pulled them out. And then he chewed one to pieces.

These happen to be Crystal Palace bamboo needles. (I usually don't knit with bamboo needles; I find it slows me down. I prefer Addi Turbos.) Anyhow, luckily they come five needles to a package, and I knit with only four double-pointed needles, so I can still finish the socks without buying another set.

This little tale, though, is only the tip of the iceberg. Logan has been busy. And, yes, that is my dining room table that he's lounging on, using it as a vantage point to look out the window. No guilt at all.

Weather, Sheep, Dog, Etc.

The wind has finally settled down. Not that it's still, but at least large, heavy objects aren't flying around anymore. The very strong winds we had through much of May and June were exhausting, both physically and mentally. Almost continuous wind gets on a person's nerves after awhile.

Now it's just hot and dry. We haven't had any precipitation since April, and even then it was a below-average amount. There's a slight chance of rain this weekend.

I didn't plant a garden this spring. Too many things have been going on. I think I'll put in some squash, though; pumpkins would be fun.

I've sheared all but two of the adult sheep, Minerva and Gimli. I'm going to try to shear those two this weekend. I know they're hot, but they were the last ones sheared in the fall, so their wool isn't quite as long. I had delayed shearing because of the heavy winds, so now I'm catching up.

On December 28, I lost my amazing, beloved dog, Dierdre, to degenerative myelopathy. It was an incredibly difficult time. About four months ago, I adopted Logan. He's two and still very much a puppy. He's doing well with the sheep, though, and even behaved pretty decently during shearing.

I'm taking advantage of the hot weather and decreased winds to wash wool. It dries fast in the sun, but I have to be careful that it doesn't blow away (even with less wind). I also have to keep Logan from taking it to play with, which is an even bigger challenge. He'll learn, though.

Donating to a Dog (and Cat) Cause

Exciting news! I've arranged to donate 10% of my sales of hand woven dog leash add-ons and dog collars to United Animal Friends,  http://www.dogcatadoption.com/.

Below is the leash add-on I recently made for my dog, Logan. The second picture is one I made to sell. It's appropriate for a small- to medium-sized dog.

Here's a picture of Dierdre wearing her leash add-on. One end attaches to the collar; the other end hooks to the leash.

Handwoven Pacifier Clips

I thought it was only fair to let babies (OK, well, their parents) tell the world what they like, so I'm weaving pacifier clips. It's great to watch people's faces when they first spot them.

Send me suggestions for more phrases. I'd love to hear from you!

Let's see, "Future Browncoat"....

Card Weaving and Phoenix Comicon

Wow, I spent last weekend (Thursday through Sunday) at Phoenix Comicon as an exhibitor (vendor) in the Artists Alley. Exhausting but fun.

For months now, I've been card weaving (or tablet weaving) bracelets with sayings from or references to science fiction and fantasy books, shows, and movies. I've also been weaving material (on a four-harness floor loom) and sewing it into bags, particularly drawstring dice bags.

You now know the truth: I'm a sci-fi/fantasy geek. Firefly, Doctor Who, the Harry Potter books, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings -- they're great.

Here are a few of the bracelets I've woven.

Bad wolf in Welsh!

I used 40 cards and 160 threads for all of them except the TARDIS bracelets. For those, I used 54 cards and 216 threads because I needed  more width to make them look good. I wove all these bracelets with sewing thread. I know, I know. I'm kind of crazy, but it's fun.

Never Underestimate a Sheep

A couple of hours before feeding time, I went outside briefly.  The sheep moved together, waiting for the hay to arrive. I told them it was too early to feed them and went back into the house.

Through a window, I saw Minerva take a few steps forward, away from the other sheep. Laughing, I thought, "Wow, a spokes-sheep." And, next moment, looking straight at the door, she baa-ed.

I better watch what I think. Never underestimate a sheep.

Minerva