Fiber Arts Friday: Raptor Program Piece

It was the end of April 2017.  I was reminiscing on FB about having learned to cable 7 years earlier when a dog show friend asked about sales of my knitted items.  I said I don't sell my handmade goods, but I do gift occasionally.  Which got me thinking about making something for a dog show prize.  But she was thinking about the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program Art Auction.  Which I thought was a great idea!

I spent some time with my stash, thinking about the Raptor Program and considering different projects... I eventually settled on Surfinia using a homegrown, hand-spun, Huacaya Alpaca.

I like the story this yarn tells.... our Huacaya Alpaca are protected by our Tibetan Mastiffs.  This friend is one of the Conformation Coaches, where we take our dogs to practice.

This yarn won a Blue Ribbon at our County Fair in 2015.

This shawl won a Reserve Best in Show at our County Fair in 2017.

This piece was donated to the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program Art Auction and "contributed to their record breaking event in February earlier this year.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

DogumentaryTV

It was late July when an online dog friend told me he had submitted us as a topic for a documentary episode.  I thanked him and told him I'd let him know if anything came of it.

I have received a few cold contacts before.  Twice recently thru LinkedIn for a reality show related to farming.  Both times I responded to the recruiter, neither of which ever responded back.

So when the producer of DogumentaryTV contacted me a few days later, I was pleasantly surprised.

Now here we are, one month later.

Not only is the filming complete, but so is the editing.  The finished video was posted on Saturday.

Please take a look when you have a chance.

Fiber Arts Friday: Washing

I broke the index finger on my dominant hand early in the summer.  This means that a lot of things I had planned did not happen... such as skirting and washing fleece.

So now that I've been out of my splint for a bit and the weather is still warm, I decided to start washing... basically I'm doing anything I can think of to regain mobility and grip strength... wringing out fleece counts!  Ramen is up first... I have 3 years of collected undercoat to wash... 2016, 2017, 2018.

While I have a lot of lingerie bags, apparently I could use a few more.  ;-)

Final tally is 3 lbs 1.25 oz of washed fiber added to my stash.  Ramen says "Nice work!  I'm getting ready to make another winter coat."

I like washing fleece, especially in the summer.  It's easy to fit in between everything else, and it dries quickly in the hot sun.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Dog Show: Greeley Kennel Club, 2018

Wilma joined our family in March.

She's been going to conformation class and learning about protecting alpacas.  Ramen took the early lead in mentoring her.

She has competed in 3 fun puppy matches in preparation for her show debut at the Greeley Kennel Club last weekend.

In the Puppy Matches she was awarded a Group 1

and a Group 4.

Wilma gets very excited when she sees other dogs.  So these matches are especially great for providing opportunities to practice being quiet, patient, and polite around dogs she doesn't know, in places she doesn't know.

We feel it's important for all dogs to have manners... especially large, independent-minded dogs.

These matches also provide an opportunity to practice being bathed and groomed.

The formal show was a bit overwhelming with so many new scents, scenes, people, and dogs.

So we took plenty of time to allow her to explore the grounds at her own pace and went into several of the buildings several times.  She especially liked the Royal Canin booth.  :-)

Most important was practicing having strangers go over her as if they were the judge and making sure everything was fun.

It was an unusually cool and rainy weekend, which is always a treat in August.

I'm so proud of Wilma and how she's maturing thus far.

Introducing Timberline's Colorado Yabba Dabba Doo, aka Wilma. :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: Fiber Celebration 2019, part 1

Now that the County Fair is complete, I started thinking about the Northern Colorado Weavers Guild's Fiber Celebration.

I've been interested in entering this competition since the first time I saw their show in 2014.

I think the mitts I have planned will be a good candidate.

Since the prospectus won't be out for a bit, I put together a plan based on previous deadlines for the show.  I expect the submission deadline to be about February 15th, 2019 and photos of the work will be required.  So that means I need to be complete, washed and blocked well-before then.

As of 8/5/18: I have 27 weeks until the estimated submission date... and 8.5 ounces of gold to spin, 2 ounces of black to card and spin, and two mitts to knit using a technique I've never used before.  Piece of cake, right?

Being the Program Manager that I am, I put together a weekly plan with goals and progress tracking, working backward from the submission date.

If I spin an average of 3/4 oz each week, I should finish spinning by the end of Thanksgiving weekend, which will give me two months to knit two mittens.

This all seems reasonable.

I started by setting aside a 3/4 oz portion so I had a clear measure for how I was doing during the week.

Now that I'm a week and a half into my plan, I'm doing well.  I spun 1 ounce last week and am on track for this week.

I decided it was time to start a new single, so I caked Single #5 at 1-1/8 oz, and started single #6.

At the moment, my status is:

• 3-7/8 oz in singles
• 2 oz complete

• 5-7/8 oz spun total
• 7-1/8 oz remaining

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

A New Lead

Our friends at Windy Pine Cane Corso make beautiful show leads.  Hubba surprised me for Christmas by commissioning one.

Bonnie chose the beads and colors.  She made the lead thicker and shorter, since my dogs are bigger and taller than hers.

The bead is in the perfect location to weigh the lead out of the way during the standing portions, and to aid in handling during the movement portions.

It's beautiful.  The colors are perfect.  I love it so much.  swoon.

Fiber Arts Friday: County Fair Results, 2018

As mentioned last week, I dropped my opposite Tibetan Mastiff skein off at the county fair on Tuesday,  Judging started on Wednesday morning.

All entries at the drop off.
My skein is on top of the pile in the back, at the center.

Judging is open to the public, but I have yet to be able to fit observing in my schedule.  I think I could learn a lot by listening to the judges discussion.

When I'm waiting for the results my insecurities comes out, especially since I've had good success before... Was the yarn good enough?  Did I mess up any of the presentation requirements?  Did the judges like my yarn?  There were a lot of good entries this year...

I was delighted to find it on the wall.... second skein from the right.

No ribbons, but a special award for "Outstanding Spinning Exhibit"  from The Laughing Lamb, which is a new local shop that I didn't know about.... who is moving out of state at the end of the month.  Boo.

Sadly, there weren't any comments other than hoping to see the final mitts.

The stewards asked me how I got the Tibetan Mastiff fur.  So I of course I talked to them about Gunnar and showed them the photos I've shared over the last few weeks.  They did say that the judge kept coming back to my yarn and that they learned a lot while judging it.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Things That Work: HP 48SX

When I was in college, a new and improved, fancy, scientific, calculator came out... and I had the opportunity to buy a great, used one from a friend.... The HP 48SX.

That was about 25 years ago.

This afternoon, the screen started to fail.  :-(

That vertical line isn't supposed to be there.  :-(

It will be a sad day when this baby goes dark.

Dog Show: Denver Cluster, 2018

Back in Februrary, Gunnar and I entered the Denver Cluster Dog Shows.

Although the "cluster" broke up a couple of years ago, the three kennel clubs now hold their shows at two different venues, but still on the same weekend.

It's a 5-day event the weekend after Westminster, in February.

The first 3 shows were held at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds which is a very nice, although small venue.

The last 2 shows were held a the National Western Complex which is a large venue with a long history.  This venue will be undergoing renovations in the coming years.

Over the five shows, Gunnar was awarded Best of Breed three times and Select twice, as well as Best Owner-Handled all five days and an Owner-Handled Group 4 one day.

The OH Group placement was a huge accomplishment since Gunnar prefers socializing with his fans over being in the ring.

A news photographer took some amazing photos of Gunnar.

courtesy: Helen Richardson

With the winter weather turning bad, we did not stay for the group competition on the last day.  But the next day was gloriously beautiful... as is typical in Colorado. :-)

I enjoy the shows at the National Western Complex immensely.  There is a significant attendance by the general public, which means I have the opportunity to educate a lot of people about Tibetan Mastiffs.

We learned there is a couple that come to that show every year with the expressed purpose of seeing Gunnar.

We also learned that another couple got a Tibetan Mastiff from Gunnar's breeder because they saw his joyful greeting ringside the first time we attended this event.

I have a few more posts to catch up with from the winter.... we'll see how it goes.  ;-)

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2018, part 5

I started the last few days of the 2018 Tour de Fleece with about 9 oz of prepared fiber remaining.

This week is all about single #4 and getting my finished yarn from last week to the County Fair.

Friday, July 27th

Day 19

Saturday, July 28th

Day 20

Sunday, July 29th - Last Day

Day 21

Final results

The finished yarn is 2 oz, 164 yd, 20 wpi, 3-ply.

The remaining singles weigh 7/8 oz.

The remaining prepared fiber weighs ~8 3/4 oz.

Which means I spun 1 5/8 oz of very fine yarn during the Tour de Fleece.

I was hoping this bag would look more empty at the end of the Tour, but at least it weighs less.  I'll be spinning this batch of Tibetan Mastiff for a while to come. ;-)

Gunnar says great!  He's making more!  ;-)

Tuesday, July 31st - County Fair Check-in
I dropped the finished yarn at the County Fair.  Mine is on top of the pile in the center toward the back.

County Fair Entries for Spinning

Judging began on Wednesday morning.  Hubba and I will be heading over sometime this weekend to see the results.  *fingers crossed*

Epilogue
I was surprised to learn that some people don't have much dog hair to spin.

Of course I realize not everyone has large double-coated dogs in their life, but for a group of Chiengora spinners, I found it surprising.  So I offered two 4-oz packages of washed Tibetan Mastiff as prizes.  They will be heading to their new homes soon.

I enjoyed having more time to spin this year, it was very nice being able to see that the bobbins look different each day... a good measure of progress... It feels good to see progress.  This was a productive Tour de Fleece for me.