Yes, there is!

A few years ago, my niece gave me a box of inspiration.

The box sits on the corner of my desk.  Every now and then I pull out a random card and open it.

One day while trying to stay focused on day job tasks, all of the farm tasks and goals were rolling in the back of my mind.

I took a deep breath and pulled out a card.

The perfect message.

There is always, always, always a way.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: A Momentous Occasion

Last Friday, Hubba and I dropped our first ever load of fleece off at a mill.

This is 8 fleeces of Bandit, our Medium Silver Grey Herdsire, 1 fleece of organic Shetland wool, and about 2 lbs of Wonton, our first Tibetan Mastiff.

In total, about 27 pounds of fleece.

The Shetland and Tibetan Mastiff will each be blended with the Huacaya.  I have requested 3-ply sock yarn and drafted roving for both of these blends.

The balance of the Huacaya will be made into 3-ply sock, 3-ply DK, and drafted roving.

The drafted roving is thicker than pencil roving, but much thinner than standard roving.... about 1-finger thickness.

Once processing begins, the lead-time is 6-8 weeks, but our fleece will be in the queue for about 8 months for a total lead-time of about 10 months.

I'm happy to know that our local mill is so busy... and have prepared myself to wait for our final product until November.

Aside from the Shetland fleece which was purchased from Michigan, the final product is raised and processed in Colorado.  The mill is about an hour drive from our farm.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

We Took a Walk

On Saturday Hubba and I joined the Women's March for Equality for the second year in the Equality State.

The keynote address was given by Andrea Clifford, Northern Arapaho Tribe Member and Wyoming State Representative.  She spoke to us in both English and Arapaho (Hinónoʼeitíít).

The crowd was smaller than last year, but still very positive and supportive.

I handed out a couple of extra Pussy Hats that I made since last year.

Wilma joined us and wore her pink head collar and leash.

I think it's important to be for something.  I am for equality for all.

Fiber Arts Friday: Fiber Celebration, part 15

I started the decreases for the top of my Gunnar Mittens last week, and I don't like how it will turn out.

So I frogged a few rows.

The two strands ripped out very easily, though I had some un-twisting to do.

At least I was smart enough to put in a life line.

Now off to the book to determine a better strategy for decreasing.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Garden 2019, part 2

My seeds arrived last week, so I took some time over the weekend to plan the layout of my garden.

My intention is to do weekly plantings with a companion strategy.

Normally I just start planting from North to South and plant everything in one shot, according to the weather.

This year, my hope is that if I spend an hour or two each weekend planting, rather than an entire day, we should have a more stable and longer harvest.

I've been interested in companion gardening for quite a while, but this will be the first season where I've put more thought into companions beyond water and sun needs.

Most of my seeds are early season, which means I need to make sure I keep space open for the later and warm season plantings.

I'm looking forward to spring.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: Fiber Celebration, part 14

With my yarn complete, I've been more focused on knitting.

Since the recipient's hands are larger than mine, we had a fitting at the end of December to verify that the thumb/palm separation was comfortable and that my plan forward was still appropriate.

It is.

The palm is now done and I'm beginning the decreases at the top of the mitten.  My plan is to decrease the outside two stitches each round with the thumb-side decreasing only one stitch per round.  This should mirror the thumb increases while following the steeper ramp on the outside of the hand.

I'm loving these mittens, and starting to look forward to making a pair for myself.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Garden Planning, 2019

I should be able to start working my garden in early-to-mid-March, so now is a good time to start thinking about what to plant.

I used all of my left-over seed the last time I had a garden.  So on a cold and windy New Year's Eve, I went to a few of my favorite online sources for organic seeds and started a list of what I'd like to plant.  I also found this great article comparing organic seed companies at Mother Earth News.

After putting together my wish list, I pared it down.  While my current garden is significantly larger than my previous, it is not as large as I like to think it is... and I've chosen a few varieties that need a lot of space such as melon, pumpkin, butternut squash, and potatoes.

My ultimate goal is to grow the majority of our vegetables, but the truth is until we have a green house it's not likely to happen.  So for now, my goal is to grow some of the vegetables we eat most often.

Happy New Year!

Fiber Arts Friday: Fiber Celebration, part 13

As of 30 December 2018, I am done spinning for my Gunnar Mittens!

28 weeks since I started and 8 weeks later than planned.

My early estimated consumption rate was very high.  I tend to round up because I hate running out of yarn.  So now that I'm well into the palm of the first mitten, I estimate that I will finish this mitten out at a little less than 2 oz... or ~ 4 oz of yarn for both mittens.

This means I already have enough yarn complete for the project.  So I wound off ply #9 and combined it with plies #8, 7, and 5 to make skein #4.

Top to Bottom: Skein #4 (to be washed and blocked), Skein #3,
Skeins #2 and 1 (balled), Singles #8 and 9 (caked), Mitten #1

This last skein is only 0.5 oz and 35 yards, and still needs to be washed and blocked.  But I am now ensured to have two separate yarns available for the duration of the project.

I plan to continue spinning this bag oppositely, but now I will focus more on filling each bobbin with singles and less on completing 3-ply yarns.... at least for now.

I'd like to try this opposite-spun yarn on a standard knit project.

Current Status:

• 5-1/4 oz, 312.5 yd complete in 4 skeins
• 3/4 oz in singles
• 1 oz in mittens
• 4 1/4 oz of prepared fiber remain

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

To Do List

A while back I used to keep a monthly To Do List in Word... toward the end of the list, I had much longer term goals.

I decided to resurrect the Word document for this month.

I've revised it a bit.  Each category is an area of life or specific long-term goal.  Each section has closer-term tasks, shorter-term goals, notes, and longer-term goals.

It's still a 7-page document... and now that it's printed, I see there are some duplicates.

I plan to live with this document as is this month, and hopefully be able to refine it for next month.

How do you stay organized?