Fiber Arts Friday: Palindrome Scarf, part 2

My Palindrome Scarf hasn't been getting much love lately.  In fact, I haven't posted about it since October.....

Since October, I finished the first of the two grey balls and am now working on the last one, then I have one black ball left.  Total length is currently 19 inches.

The intent of this project was to use up left-over yarn, practice purling correctly and work on my transition between knit and purl stitches.  I started with 4 1/4 ounces and have used 3 1/8 ounces so far. At about 6 inches per ounce, I should finish my yarn at ~25 inches.  Which, in my opinion, is not long enough for a scarf.  :-/  I think they should be more like 60 inches when finished and then it would grow some with blocking.  Gosh, that means I would need another 5-6 ounces to finish this scarf.  sheesh.

That's disheartening.  :-(  This project is perfect for 5-10 minutes here and there or in the car or when there's a lot of distractions, but for anything else, I find it gets boring quickly.

On the plus side, my purls and the transition between knit stitch and purl stitch are looking pretty good.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.

Denver Dog Show

Last weekend was Gunnar's fourth Dog Show Weekend.  There were five days of shows, of which we participated in four.

He enjoys the grooming part.

He enjoys the meeting people part...

... especially the small people.  ;-)

He even enjoys the showing part... but I have no photos of that.  :-(

He also got to see his Breeder at this show who he adores.... I wish I had it on video... Gunnar LOVES his breeder.

He just turned one year old on February 12th.... 12 months and 135 pounds.  :-)  I was surprised, but he was still the youngest TM in the competition.

Gunnar won Winner's Dog every day which is first place for the Non-Titled dogs.  That added a few points toward his championship.  The big deal though, is that on Sunday, he won Best of Breed.

BEST of BREED!

Over the current #1 Tibetan Mastiff in the US.

The Best of Breed win gave him his second "Major" so he only needs five more points to become recognized as a Champion of Record.... Yes, my baby boy is growing up.  :-)

Of course, the very best part of any dog show is being able to go back to work with his pack and his charges... and he was especially happy that there was still some mud available.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: My First Colorwork

The Zeotrope  hat caught my eye quite a while ago.  It reminded me of those flip books we had as a kid.  I just loved them.

Also since my family is originally from Kentucky, we have a generations-love for the Kentucky Derby.  Someone in the family usually hosts a Derby Party and the appropriate Kentucky refreshments are served.  Betting happens and awards are given for the best hat.

Being in Colorado, the weather is always a bet.  The first Saturday in May can be warm and spring-like or it can be cold and snowy.

So I thought that this hat might be a good, location-appropriate solution for the Derby Party.... and as an added benefit, I've been wanting to try colorwork for a while.

I took the hat on my trip to Mexico.  I spent a lot of time working on it while in transit and a little bit in the mornings before the others woke up and my mind was fresh.

I am enjoying this colorwork.  It's just like putting together a puzzle... and the yarn is lovely... Silk and Cashmere coupled with Merino Wool.  I very much may be of the opinion that all yarn should have Cashmere in it.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Introducing: Taboo Ruff's Sweet Colorado Mochi

Mochi moved in about a week ago.  She is 9 weeks old and doing well.  :-)

Mochi made fast friends with the other dogs and has started spending short, supervised time with the alpacas.

She is the daughter of GCH Ruff's Sweet Moonlight Serenade (Dora) and GCH Citadel's Dpal Byad Ma Seng (Leo).

Fiber Arts Friday: Alpaca Cape, part 2

Given my Day Job workload, I haven't had the capacity for much more than knit stitch... and sometimes, only the energy for one row at a time.  So I've been ignoring my other projects and giving my Alpaca Cape a little attention recently.

After spending an intense day on the computer and phone, it's really nice to pick up yarn and needles.  It reminds me of why I'm doing the things I'm doing.

Since I'm not able to operate the farm full-time (yet) and the farm does not support itself (yet), being able to spend just 10 minutes working with luxurious alpaca yarn is a truly grounding experience.

I have just started ball #4 of 10 and have a few rows to go before I begin the cabling.  I suspect it will cover most of the guest-bed before I'm finished.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.

I'm Still Here

The last few months have been crazy-busy with the Day Job.

So busy, that I had a drafted post for Fiber Arts Friday last week and did not get it posted.  I have hardly even read most of my favorite blogs for months, let alone written anything.

Aside from working, sleeping and doing the minimum of farm chores, there hasn't been much else going on.  I wish I could say I'm working on something amazing or ground breaking, but I can't.  All I can say is that it's consuming most of my time and energy.

It's January, though.  The days are getting longer.  The weather was remarkably lovely last weekend.  I saw a Robin several days ago and the Geese seem to be on the move.

Hubba and I took a day to visit with a friend and his new Tibetan Mastiff Puppies over the weekend.  Of course, our dogs were very interested in what we had been up to.  ;-)

My seed catalogs have arrived.  I'm realizing that in about 2 months it will be time to start planting early-season seeds, so I guess I should get busy on my plan.

Next month, I'll start booking shearing clients too.

Spring is coming.  I hope I'm ready for it.

Fiber Arts Friday: Huichol Deer

Happy New Year!

I was in Mexico last week.

It was supposed to be a vacation.  My first vacation since 2008!  But things with the Day Job meant I was working every day... well, every day except for one when I spent the entire day in bed because I got a nasty cold shortly after I arrived.  My SIL said my body was telling me that I need more balance in my life.  She is correct.  However, that is an entirely different post.

So, aside from working nearly every day I was away and spending a lot of time hiding off to the side trying to not share my germs with my family, I did manage some time out.

One such outing was breakfast on the beach with my Dad and Sister.  The food was delicious; the coffee, fantastic; the skies, threatening with the rain that would stay for several days; and the company was rare and wonderful.

While we were at breakfast, a Huichol girl came by with her wares.  She had many beaded coin purses and bags of varying sized as well as a handful of stuffed toys.  There was a zebra, a horse and a few others, but I was drawn to this deer.... relatively simple and plain with a fantastic rack.

The body is made with a simple, woven, wool and green felt.  It appears to be entirely hand-stitched.  The rack is made of several strands of thread wrapped around felt fabric.... obviously wrapped by hand.  Aside from the little bits of felt sticking out the top, you can not see the felt at all.  The attention to detail and whimsy captured me from the very beginning.

I'm not likely to make toys and don't have many, but I definitely appreciate the work that went into this one.

He is currently living in our guest room.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!