Things that Work: Wheelbarrow

My old wheelbarrow is finally spent.

We replaced the air-filled tire with a solid one about 5 years ago.

The cracks around the fasteners appeared over the summer, but have gotten big enough that the wheelbarrow is no longer reliable.

The new one is about the same size, but narrower and taller, with a longer lever.

I love a good wheelbarrow.  It's such a simple device and extremely useful on the farm... and at 9 years, I think we got our money's worth!

Wheelbarrows definitely work!

Fiber Arts Friday: Fiber Celebration, part 7

Last week I mentioned that I needed to practice casting on with two strands.  The instructions in my book aren't quite clear, so I went to YouTube.

I learned that casting-on with two strands is basically the Long-Tail Cast-on, which is my standard cast on.

The Twined Knit swatch on US2 needles yielded about 6.5 stitches per inch and a dense fabric. 

I think this is it for mittens.  Hooray!  I'm excited to start knitting this project.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Painting

You don't buy a house because of it's color.

You buy it because of it's location and features.  The color can be changed.

Finally, after 9 years, the directions to our house no longer include the phrase, "baby poop yellow."

Making a Difference

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to mentor a young woman who is considering Aerospace Engineering as a career path.

I don't talk about my Day Job much on this blog.  Mostly because what happens there is not for me to share.

I am a degreed Mechanical Engineer and have had the opportunity to work on many flying objects.  But my path to becoming an engineer happened because of one very short conversation with a community college councilor.

I wasn't really prepared for college, and I certainly hadn't been prepared for engineering school.  As a result, I make it a priority to spend time with early college students, high school students, and occasionally even younger people to talk about careers and future plans or goals when the opportunity arises.

I'm not part of any formal program.  I'm just willing to share my experiences and listen to young people whenever I have the chance.

I've always thought it's important for kids to have multiple adults to talk with, observe, and listen to.  I've also always thought that the best leaders do so by example.

I'm very impressed by the STEM opportunities made available to kids these days... and very proud of the progress made for women in STEM careers since I was choosing my direction in life.

We have a long way to go, especially with the current rhetoric in and around our government.

If you are a woman over the age of 18, please exercise your 19th Amendment Right this week.

If you are a non-white man over the age of 18, please exercise your 15th Amendment Right this week.

If you are anyone reading this post, please ensure you are working for the greater good, for unity, for peace, and lifting others up.

Helping others is good for you, but it's especially good for them.

Fiber Art Friday: Fiber Celebration, part 6

I started swatching with my Tibetan Mastiff, opposite-spun yarn  last week.

I found my US3 needles with an alpaca project,

and a cashmere project.

But the short circs were free...  I think we're close with the US3 needles.

So I also tried US2.

Both of these swatches are standard knit.

I feel like the US2 is very close to my desired fabric.  So I'm off to practice casting on with two strands and starting a swatch with twined knit technique and US2 needles.

One awesome revelation: I now spin at a fine-enough and consistent-enough quality, that I can use US2 needles on a 3-ply yarn.  :-D

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Rough Haus

Hubba was featured on Season 2, Episode 2 of Rough Haus earlier this month.

I can not tell you how much I enjoy sharing my life with this amazing person.  :-D

Rough Haus is a locally produced television show, airing on KCDO - Denver/Sterling, CO.

Fiber Arts Friday: Fiber Celebration, part 5

Now that I have two skeins finished, I can start getting ready to knit the final project... swatching with the intended yarn comes next.

Knowing that the twined stitches are tighter, I started with standard knit and the assumption that US6 would be too big, but close.

This is a nice fabric, but definitely too loose for mittens.  So I need smaller needles.

According to Ravelry, I don't have any US4 or US5 needles, but I have a set of US3.  Now to figure out what they're doing since they are not in my box of available needles and hooks.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!