Miscellaneous
Yes, I am still here.
No, I haven't forgotten about the blog.
Yes, I do feel guilty about not blogging more often.
No, guilt doesn't improve the quality of my writing.
Yes, I have been busy.
No, it isn't any one particular thing.
Yes, I have spun and knitted in the past week.
No, I don't have pictures to show.
I've been making progress on several fronts around the house. The primary chores include getting firewood in before it starts to rain. Have you seen the price of propane lately!? We have two fireplaces and with propane priced like it is, we're going to use as little propane as possible this winter which means we'll need a lot of firewood. I'd like to get it stacked into the shed before the rains start so we'll have dry firewood for the winter.
Another fall project has been making jelly and waffle syrup. We have apples, pears, and blackberries ready to pick. The pears are a light crop this year and I don't have the time to dry them, so we're making waffle syrup from them. The apples didn't get sprayed, so they harbor lots of insects and won't store well. We're making syrup from them, too. The blackberries are a good crop so we're eating some fresh and making jelly from the rest. It's the usual story of 30 minutes cooking for 30 seconds eating, but I will enjoy the waffle syrup this winter.
I have taken the odd moment to spin and knit. I'm actually working on two knitting projects using handspun alpaca -- scary. What's even scarier is that I have progressed beyond garter stitch to stockinette and garter in the same row. Complicated! Using handspun. I'm making some sample swatches to show off fiber for marketing alpacas. The finished object is actually a skein and a swatch much like what would be entered in a spinning contest. I could make the swatch very quickly using crochet, but I think I like the finished results with knit swatches better. In fact, the more I work with knitting versus crocheting, the more I think handspun alpaca rewards knitting in most applications.
I'm taking advantage of the swatches because they are practice pieces that can become functional finished objects. My skill has improved to the point I can pick up a piece after twenty-four hours and A) usually figure out which direction I was working; B) usually figure out if I need to knit or purl the next row; and C) usually figure out how to fix things if I failed either A or B.
As far as spinning goes, I'm working on a soft and crimpy light fawn fleece, spinning it raw. The fleece has been carded twice, but the draft is still uneven and fairly tight. I tend to get clumps of fiber passing through the draft together and as a result, I'm getting an uneven thickness. My choices are to card again or to work with the fiber as is. I haven't decided yet.
Maggee is doing well and is very vigorous. She's gaining half a pound to a pound per day and running around the pasture. Like all cria, she hasn't quite discovered what to do with herself while the rest of the herd grazes. She tries to copy mom and nibble at the grass, but she really isn't sure what to do with it and she gets bored easily and then has to wait for the herd to finish grazing. It's the age old cria's dilemma. In a few weeks, she will start eating grass seriously, but it will be a couple months before she grazes as much as the adults.
No, I haven't forgotten about the blog.
Yes, I do feel guilty about not blogging more often.
No, guilt doesn't improve the quality of my writing.
Yes, I have been busy.
No, it isn't any one particular thing.
Yes, I have spun and knitted in the past week.
No, I don't have pictures to show.
I've been making progress on several fronts around the house. The primary chores include getting firewood in before it starts to rain. Have you seen the price of propane lately!? We have two fireplaces and with propane priced like it is, we're going to use as little propane as possible this winter which means we'll need a lot of firewood. I'd like to get it stacked into the shed before the rains start so we'll have dry firewood for the winter.
Another fall project has been making jelly and waffle syrup. We have apples, pears, and blackberries ready to pick. The pears are a light crop this year and I don't have the time to dry them, so we're making waffle syrup from them. The apples didn't get sprayed, so they harbor lots of insects and won't store well. We're making syrup from them, too. The blackberries are a good crop so we're eating some fresh and making jelly from the rest. It's the usual story of 30 minutes cooking for 30 seconds eating, but I will enjoy the waffle syrup this winter.
I have taken the odd moment to spin and knit. I'm actually working on two knitting projects using handspun alpaca -- scary. What's even scarier is that I have progressed beyond garter stitch to stockinette and garter in the same row. Complicated! Using handspun. I'm making some sample swatches to show off fiber for marketing alpacas. The finished object is actually a skein and a swatch much like what would be entered in a spinning contest. I could make the swatch very quickly using crochet, but I think I like the finished results with knit swatches better. In fact, the more I work with knitting versus crocheting, the more I think handspun alpaca rewards knitting in most applications.
I'm taking advantage of the swatches because they are practice pieces that can become functional finished objects. My skill has improved to the point I can pick up a piece after twenty-four hours and A) usually figure out which direction I was working; B) usually figure out if I need to knit or purl the next row; and C) usually figure out how to fix things if I failed either A or B.
As far as spinning goes, I'm working on a soft and crimpy light fawn fleece, spinning it raw. The fleece has been carded twice, but the draft is still uneven and fairly tight. I tend to get clumps of fiber passing through the draft together and as a result, I'm getting an uneven thickness. My choices are to card again or to work with the fiber as is. I haven't decided yet.
Maggee is doing well and is very vigorous. She's gaining half a pound to a pound per day and running around the pasture. Like all cria, she hasn't quite discovered what to do with herself while the rest of the herd grazes. She tries to copy mom and nibble at the grass, but she really isn't sure what to do with it and she gets bored easily and then has to wait for the herd to finish grazing. It's the age old cria's dilemma. In a few weeks, she will start eating grass seriously, but it will be a couple months before she grazes as much as the adults.
posted by Upper Alpacas | 11:11 AM
1 Comments:
I can tell you from the alpaca I've spun on my drop spindle, that it knits up so beautifully with the texture type stitching. Basketweave, cabling, etc. Incredibly soft yarn, too, which makes it a joy to handle. I'll have to see if I can borrow back the items I knit and gave away, take some photos and post on my site.
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