SPRING HUNTING

The kittens were born last October so had never seen robbins. A flock landed in the field and the kittens left off trying to catch flies to lie in wait for an unwary robbin.

Meanwhile the real work was getting done by the chickens who were rototilling the garden.

The kittens needed a rest after all that excitement. Then it was back to hunting - - turkeys this time.

PAINTINGS AT THE COCOON

Some of my oil painting will be at the Cocoon by the Hawley, PA Silk Mill for the next two months. It is very nice to have the opportunity to show there.

THIGH SPINNING/PLYING

A couple of years ago, a large clump of dark blue Siberian iris was in the wrong place and needed to be moved. I cut all the fresh green leaves and dried them thinking I would do something with them eventually.
“Eventually” turned out to be thigh spinning/plying. In this technique plant fibers are spun and plied at the same time by rolling two strands knotted together and held by the left hand with one finger separating the two, down the thigh. Then the left hand releases and allows the two strands to ply back on themselves. Rinse, lather, repeat.
This is a very ancient technique for quickly creating rope or cording to be used immediately.
We tried it when my friends were here for spinning and it worked pretty well. The iris leaves were soaked a couple of hours and were still easy to work with 24 hours later. They were pretty easy to work with except for the parts at the base of the leaves which were thicker. Some of the leaves were split to make a finer cord (thinnest cord). The photo shows the results after the cords were dried. My joins were unsightly, but I was happy with the experiment. Then Cyndy found this video.
I tried the three ply, but it was much slower.

SILK AND MERINO LACE

Cyndy gave me a gorgeous skein of silk and merino blend that she had spun so fine that - for a while - I was actually terrified of trying to knit with it.

Eventually I did find a simple pattern and started it a few weeks ago on size four needles.

At first it was so scary,it was all I could do to finish one row and pearl back without taking a break. But yesterday when eight good friends were here for our weekly spinning-knitting-rug hooking- and coffee and desserts- get-together, I was able to knit the pattern without any mistakes or need to un-knit. The previous week I had spent more time undoing my knitting than getting anything done.

This gorgeous plum/rust/fuchsia roving just came back from the mill. It is a somewhat longer staple and not as fine as some of our Finn wool, but very pretty. It is available in our etsy store or direct from us.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

The kittens pulled down electric fencing ribbon down onto the barn floor. It looks a lot like the decorative sparkly wire ribbon for gift wrapping packages. It is a terrific toy for them - - a kitten slinky!

Merry Christmas!

KITTENS

The kittens are getting bigger and bigger - - and more adventurous. Climbing is the big thing. They like to sit in the sun with the sheep and chickens. If you look closely in the second photo, there is a pile of grey and white that isn't a chicken. It's the grey kitten stretched out sunning.

They are doing well and got vaccinated this morning.

Christmas shopping is pretty much finished - - all done online. A couple of gifts are in the process of being blocked. The green scarf is Branching Out - a free pattern and an easy one the other is Old Shale - - super easy.

Last night a bear came past the house, right outside our bedroom.

KITTENS AND SHEEP

When we used to keep chickens in the same barn as the sheep, sometimes the chickens would use the sheep as a stepping stone to get up to the manger where they roosted. It didn't do much for the fleeces due to the occasional "accident," but the sheep seemed to enjoy having the chicken on its back for the moment. The sheep would try to peer around to look at the sheep on its back at the same time proudly showing off. "I have a chicken on my back and you don't."

The kittens are getting very adventurous. The black one chases the bantam rooster and was the first to decide to sit on one of the sheep about a week ago. The grey kitten is a bit more cautious. Fred caught these photos of the kittens and the sheep together.