Illuminine Mittens Off Needles but Unblocked

Okay okay. My needles are free again. Time to cast on another project. Hankering for a pair of thick boot socks to wear around here. Can’t find a size 4 circ or dpn in this house. I don’t understand. Gah! Gah gah gah!

Illuminine on the Needles

Well, after a solid week of intensive sheep care, I’m taking a day off – or rather, I’m giving Sam the Ram a day off. He’s holding his own. The sky has opened and we’re getting a good deal of much needed rain. I need to knit.

And so, I’m knitting. Tell you what. I’ve never before knit a kit. But, I won this one, and by golly, I’m knitting ‘er up. This is a lovely pattern, lovely yarn, thanks to NaKniMitMo (a Ravelry group), designer SpillyJane, and Carol Sunday’s yarn. I like the pattern, am enjoying the knitting, but darn, I’m not all that excited about the colors.

A good gray is hard to blend. I know about that. This gray is not a good gray. The red? Alright by itself, but beside the gray, something odd goes on in my brain. The blues, I like. I like the blues. But not against the gray. It’s the darn gray.

All that crabbiness aside, this is a good day to knit. Even though I have a commission for a whole pile of laceweight, I need something brainless, something that doesn’t matter. Too many things matter too much sometimes, you know?

Tomorrow is another day, baby.

Big Basin Socks

After a long hibernation in the UFO basket, I decided to finish Tom’s Big Basin socks. They were set aside during that looooooooooooooong project, Tom’s Gracie Sweater. I’m so happy. Now they’re on his feet. Hoo. Rah.

Lumpy Bumpy Finnsheep 2-Ply

Here’s a non-GC yarn. I received a bit of a Finn fleece during a fleece study awhile back. Here’s some spinning with the crimp. The yarn has 2 plies, one smooth (from rolags) ply, and one spun tail to tip (from locks). This isn’t a fabulous picture, but the yarn is amazing. Buttery soft, luscious, and I’d love a sweater, a next-to-skin sweater, knit from this. Unfortunately, I have only 4 ounces.

Tom’s Big Basin Socks

I think I cast on in 2008. Don’t quote me. But, if you’re really diligent, or curious, or both, you could track me down on Ravelry and look at my Projects page. There you would find it. The cast-on date.

Embarrassing sorta. Then again, getting a UFO offa my neck is a good thing. Besides, Tom needs a pair of green socks.

The yarn is Fleece Artist. It’s alright, if you like handpainted Merino. I’m a natural kind of girl. But, this is quite lovely.

The Illuminine Mittens Kit

I won this kit on New Years Eve, one of the all time distressing nights. Our brakes locked up and melted on the way to play a dance. Nothing like carrying around a ton of sound gear, guitars, fiddles, and a mandolin and being stranded  an hour from home.

But, synchronicities abound in my life. On that evening, while I was full of agita, my number was being drawn by Mr Random Number Generator on NaKniMitMo…a group on Ravelry…sole purpose of which is to knit mittens!  And what having my number come up meant was that a stranded mitten kit was coming my way! (See that? Stranded attracted Stranded?)

The pattern, Illuminine is by spillyjane of spillyjane knits, and the yarn is by Sunday Knits. Yum yum yum. So, I need to unlock a set of #2 dpns from another WIP so that I can…yep…cast on!

That’s all folks.

Sourdough Crusted Pie

What do you do with that cup of sourdough starter that is pulled off when it’s starter feeding time? I hate to throw that cup of stuff away.

Doesn’t this crust look edible? Well, as Curly would say, it is. Not the most amazing pizza ever baked, but the crust is…just so good! Snappy, tender, and mildly sour, not aggressive. Actually, I was thinking that maybe I should slip in a pinch of rye sour next time.

A big fat pair of mitts. Note the color scheme. Now, note the color of my glasses. Yeah, how about that. I was halfway through before I realized I was knitting to match my eyewear.

This yarn is a worsted weight singles, corriedale, spindle spun. Twisted rib. Pretty much a plain vanilla 32 stitch fingerless glove. Wanted something long enough to cover my wrists.

Oh, the tan yarn was dyed with black tea. The brown, I can’t even remember. Some bark or other. Multi accent fluff is marigold dyed border leicester/coreopsis dyed GC/grey GCNI.

NaKniMitMo and 112 in 2012. Rah.

Caraway Molasses Whole Wheat Bread

Dead of Winter Pasture

Dobie & Pearl

First of the Year in a Cloud

Oakey Tunnel

Lower Winter Pasture

Coco Papi & Teddy

Yeah, it’s 75 this Afternoon

So it’s 2012. Alright. Okay.

Pictures above were taken this afternoon. There’s a thin yellow sun, but the ol’ Olympus really didn’t care to share that fact. Looks just plain ol cloudy and raw. But…it’s not raw at all. Mid 70′s with a light offshore breeze. Not bad.

Some of the sheep are out on the pasture, finding anything green, maybe some hay on the hoof, blackberry leaves, I’m sure. Some of them are close in. Miss Holly and her lamb Mary are grazing the new rye around the gardens.

Chickens are all over creation. Charry Brown went to heaven this week, so the dynamic has changed. Up above, you see Coco Papi and Teddy. The 3rd Roosketeer, Buzzy, aka the House Roo, was, at the time of the photo, wooing Black Betty in the henhouse. Tried to get a shot but they balked. The Teeny Tinies were running around near the Hay House in the pasture. The Teenies are hunting near the sky blue barn.

I’m recording the weather for a conceptual knitting piece. Like a diary of color & texture. Not an original idea. There are a couple groups making scarves and quilts and what have you on Ravelry.

Bread of the day is Whole Wheat Molasses with Caraway Seed. Oh, you want a picture?

Broody One and her first Chick

…and her second Chick

Black Betty Donating to Broody Two

Broody Three in the new Maternity Wing of the Coop

Dobie and Pearl Cuddling in the Sun

Dobie & Pearl

What do we have here? Three more broody hens, the first of which started collecting eggs on September 25. Broody One is setting on a variety of eggs, a couple more Black Betty (Australorps) eggs and half a dozen Buff O/RI Red eggs. Broody Two is on mostly Buff O eggs, and a Black Betty egg or two. Broody Three is on RI Red/Partridge Rock eggs – some bantam crosses. This is all very exciting. But our smiles are tempered with solemnity, as Charry Brown, our last RI Red Roo, is now in Sick Bay, the victim of a weird infection that has caused him to lose his mobility. He’s being attended by a couple of hennies who refuse to leave his side. The Buff O roos, Coco Poppy, Teddy, and Buzzy, have tried their hands at attacking and finishing off Charry, so we’re keeping him safe and letting him go in peace.

Dobie and Pearl are the two little hennies that hatched on the porch a few weeks ago. They’re inseparable, and have been befriended only by Lazarus, the teenaged Buff/Red roo who we revived. They are afraid of the big flocks of adults and the big flock of teenagers. Hopefully, they can fit in with some of the new hatchlings.

PS What glorious weather! The fall garden is almost all in, and almost all up! Life is good.