Projects and Waiting for Babies

I have been making these balls of roving for a braided rug I am starting. I do this ahead of time to hopefully save time while braiding the rug. I separate the roving into 3-5 feet lengths to keep it from tangling while braiding. This is not even close to being all of it I will need but it is a good start. The colors didn't turn out in the picture but it is a combination of gray, black iset and brown. All that roving for a 3x5 rug!

I finally finished the blue/white mohair scarf I have been weaving. I had a hard time finishing it because the mohair was very hard to weave. It is very sticky! The final look is nice but it is not very soft and probably too scratchy to actually wear. It is probably the way I wove it..too tightly. A looser weave would probably given a softer finished product. I guess that is how you learn! The brown, black scarf is alpaca with a white cotton..very soft. The other plaid (did I mention I have a thing for plaids?) is a wool scarf.

I keep checking on the girls, any day now. Is anyone else this excited about lambing?

Verse of the week

Finally, I have started a new project on my loom. It has sat empty since last winter. I have only just learned to weave so I had a hard time remembering exactly how to dress the loom. It took me 3 tries to wind the warp correctly on the warping board. Once I finally mastered that, I got as far as inserting the lease sticks and just went blank. I sat and stared at the loom for about an hour, trying this and trying that, looking at my books. I finally conceeded defeat and called the lady who taught me how last Fall. She was very nice and walked me through it. I took thses pictures so I would remember the steps next time. It is the largest thing I have attempted so far. It will be a cotton, silk 24 x 72 shawl. I wanted to do something larger than the scarves I have done previously. I'm waiting now for help winding it onto the back beam. I need someone to hold it tight in the front while I wind it. Hopefully one of the kids will help me out this evening. Here is the verse of week...hope you enjoy.

Verse of the week:

Psalm 37:3-6

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Felted Purse

I made this felted purse early this summer after attending a fiber festival. They had such beautiful purses I couldn't resist so I bought some lovely blue/green roving, a form and a felting needle and gave it a try. It turned out pretty cute but a bit too small to be very useful. I added the sheep pin to give it a little "something". I enjoyed making it because it is something I can do while watching t.v. or sitting at practices with my kids or pretty much anywhere.











I am in the process of making a larger purse with a brown/gray roving. It will have a flap that comes over the top to close the purse. It is made by layering the roving in alternating directions on the form and using the needle to felt the layers together. You felt about 5 layers and then take the purse off the form and turn it wrong side out and then following the same method. Take it off again and turn right side out on the form and felt until you get the look you want. It is time consuming but I am enjoying it. I would love to take a class on felting. Maybe I'll find one within 100 miles of me one of these days! People around here just don't get excited about wool..I don't get it.

Finished

I finally got around to finishing my rug. It ended up being about 3' in diameter. I thought I would make an oval rug but once I figured out where I was going to put the rug, I decided the round would work best. I really enjoy making the rugs but WOW do they take a lot of roving! I think I will need quite a few more sheep if I want to make many rugs!

I separated the ram lambs today from the others and before I could get to the ewe lambs, the temporary fence broke and off they went to the pasture. It was too hot to chase anyone around so the girls will have to wait for another day.

This halter training has me soooo frustrated. The lambs will come up to me and practically beg to be petted and then you put a halter on them and they become possessed! I am seriously considering not taking them to the fair if it doesn't get better soon. I thought by now it would be going better than it is. Any tips?

I was able to attend the Hoosier Fiberarts Festival a couple of weeks ago and took a workshop by the ladies who wrote A Shepherd's Rug, Letty Klein and Ann Brown. It was so much fun and I made this neat chair pad. If you ever get a chance to attend one of their workshops, I highly recommend it. If you can't find a workshop their book is really well written and easy to follow. They are wonderful ladies and it is just a fun day. It was the first fiber event I had ever gone to and I couldn't believe all the stuff people do with roving. I got lots of ideas!! Now I just need to find the time somehow to do it!

I enjoyed the workshop so much, I purchased enough roving to make another rug, a 2x3 with grey, charcoal and green. I have the braids done and felted and now I just have to sew it..again the time thing! I need to send my own wool off to get processed but am not really sure where to send it as I have never done that before. Any suggestions?