We survived!

The boys got through the first week of school perfectly! They are glad to be back, well Kel is anyways! Quinn has the tendency to think there are other things he'd rather be doing, and Connor agrees with him! This weekend it is suppose to be very warm up in the 90's so the kids will get in one more weekend of swimming and I will drain it on Sunday. Oh, and lets not forget the season finale of True Blood Sunday night. Woo Hoo! Anyways, it is nice to be back on a schedule :) As for crafting I would like to spend some time on my Cricut. One of my closest friends has purchased one and I loaned her a few cartridges,she is really enjoying it too! I know I will doing something with fiber too. I picked up some roving and blended some batts for a sweater for me. I am going to attempt to knit one so I will keep you up to date! I thought crochet would be easier but Jen swears that knitting it will be easier. We'll see! Oh and I listed a few of my crafts on ebay too, you can find them here Ebay

Back to School!

The boys are officially back to school as of today! It went wonderful without a hitch! Tomorrow my "high schooler" starts his junior year, I don't know where the time has gone! I have to admit I have three great kids! I love my boys dearly and couldn't have asked for more :) So, in between getting ready for school and working I have been spinning and dyeing plus I got to use a friends drum carder and blended my own first batt. I loved it, I can definetely see one in my future if I win the lottery! The following photos are the batt, and the roving I dyed. I spun up the purple and white one it is on the bobbin. I used Grape Kool aide and it smelled good too! Tomorrow I am heading over to a friends house to check out some new fiber she got in and either order some more or pick some up, probably both :) She has been a great help to me and I am grateful, so Jen if your reading this, "Thanks" and I am gonna owe you! I can help you with your sewing machine. I am not a seamstress but I can get you started with the basics. I love mine although I haven't used it in a year or so. The last project was the boys curtains for our new place. I have also posted a photo of the boys on their first day. We were so excited I forgot to take the "before" picture so here is the "after". Happy Fall!

Spinning!

I've been spinning almost everyday this week. I can't believe how much I am really starting to like it. I have spun merino, llama and bamboo and tried angora, that was tough! I plied two different skeins and am pleased with the end result. I tried my hand at some dyeing this afternoon and can see that it is going to take some practice, but allows a bunch of creativity :) I am so excited about this craft and can't wait to learn so much more! There is the Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, OR which is coming up in three or so weeks and I can't wait Oh, I am also posting a photo of the bag I crocheted a while back. I still need to sew in a liner for it, but I love it and can't wait to start using it. That's all for now,time to get ready for the work week.

Spinning and gardening

My gardening is coming along alot slower than my spinning adventure. After living on the mountain for so many years I put in my first vegetable garden in May. It is coming along very slow, but steady? Seriously, my zuchini plant only produced one and that was a few weeks ago! Strange, must be the altitude or something. I was able to pick some grape tomatoes which turned out huge but not much else is ready. The herbs are doing great, I cut a bunch of oregono and having it drying in my kitchen. I am not sure if I will do it again next year, I'll just have to think about it.

On the other hand I am having a blast spinning with my Ashford! I am getting better and better I just have to keep my eye on the twist and not let it get too tight. I have not tried plying yet but I think I will give it a go this weekend. I watched a video on youtube the other day of a girl spinning a fancy yarn and she was adding in bits of material, lace, ribbon, etc and it looked so great. I would love to try something like that with some glitter/shiny thread or ribbon. I am also wanting to try some dyeing to produce some real one of a kind yarn. Someday....I'll get to it. For now on the home front I am trying to condition the kids into getting ready for school. They have about two and a half weeks and they will be hitting the books. They won't admit it but I think they are ready! Oh, and the Clackamas County Fair in Canby is going on this weekend. Darrell and I will take the kids so they can ride the rides and watch the demolition derby and motorcycle jumps. I am going to go and sneak into the exhibits to see the knitting/looming goodies, hopefully I find some and I am sure I will find something to buy from the vendors, my favorite part!

Lucky Bride

I found this on one of the groups I belong too, I thought it was too cute to not share..enjoy :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1205007/Shepherdess-bride-marries-stunning-dress-wool-flock.html

I'm Sorry Card

I needed to make an "I'm Sorry" card for my guy as I haven't been so nice lately! I don't have any excuse other than just being overwhelmed as a single parent with three boys who works full time and just plain stressed! Anyways, I love how it turned out and I am happy to report he did too! I thought I'd share it on Robyn's "My Pink Stampers" site as her thursday challenge. I used my Cricut indie cartridge, I just love the bird designs and the swirly embossing folder too with the Cuttlebug. I hope you like it and find inspiration in my design. Have a wonderful day :)

Spinning Update

I have still been spinning away, I have about three or four bobbins full of some superwash wool that will need to be processed and some photos of the gold that I did. I am proud to say I have finished my first skein of yarn and actually crocheted it into a mini scarflet. I still have to get a photo up but here are some others in the meantime. Other than that my crafting life has been cut short by the men in my life. A cranky teenager and tempermental boyfriend kept me emotionally drained this weekend, what's a girl to do? Get a tattoo! That is exactly what I did with one of my closest friends. We had a great time, tattoos, shopping, a nice lunch. This one hurt a bit more than the last one on my foot but what the hell, I love it. I find it so funny when people tell me ,"be sure you wont regret it in 20 years, I think blahhhh, I'm already 42, I will be glad to be alive in twenty years, and proudly displaying some more! Our next outing however may only consist of a pedicure :) Well, off to get some more knitting done before I have to get to bed. I found some handspun,dyed yarn form Chile I am working on. I also picked up some Manos Del Uruguay to make something for my friend. They are beautiful yarns and will post photos soon. Oh and I did have some Cricut time last week and made these cards , aren't they cute? It was the Wild Card and Celebrations cartridges, and I picked up some Tim Holtz alcohol inks I want to play with soon. Take care ya'll