Stash Busting Meets Startitis But Finished Stuff Too

Wow! For a second I thought I was done with this long post. Then I remembered this other thing I finished that I wanted to show off. As if this post wasn't confusing enough.

So here is 270 yards of Pygora that I spun on my wheel. After this photo I set the twist and hung it out to dry on a sunny day, then got the ol' ball winder out and finished it up. Then after a really bad day Charlotte took it off the mantel and set too enjoying my ball of yarn. To say I was unhappy is an understatement. Yes, the dog still lives. Darryl had pity on me and took the whole mess and carefully rewound it into a ball by hand. I just love that man to pieces.

I decided to add the pictures of the stuff I finished so nothing is in the right order. This is the ruffle scarf mentioned later in the blog.

This is seacell/merino top that I've pick out to try to spin with my drop spindle. I'm determined to become accomplished with this tool. It's time I quit practicing and started spinning something I will use.

And this is the roving I'm spinning next on my wheel. The colors aren't nearly right in this photo. They are very deep and rich colors. I have enough that I may give three ply a chance. I'm thinking it will turn out a bit more subtle when plied like that. The color runs are too short for Navajo ply to do much good.

This is my finished bowl that I talk about in the following picture. Yeah, I know a pretty confusing post but at least it has lots of pictures!

Here is the little basket I'm making out of the leftover paper yarn. I didn't want to waste the yarn and I thought this was a good idea. I turns out that scratchy stuff seems scratchier when you crochet. But the good news is that I have finished the bowl. I'll show it off in another post.

And this is the shawl I cast on for a Christmas gift. But it's work lengthwise and I'm a rookie lace knitter so I ripped the whole thing out, note the hard to rip out mohair/silk blend, and cast on for a simpler lace shawl worked width wise. But lace patterns take a lot of concentration so I'm only a half dozen rows into the new shawl. It's about as warm and soft as it can get. It's a lovely yarn. Even if it's slippery as all get out and about as heavy as sewing thread.

The military sock is moving along. It's a basic sock so I pretty much knit on it on the go or if I don't feel like messing with a more complex pattern. I think by now I can knit a sock in my sleep. It's possible that I have actually done a few stitches while asleep. Maybe.

This is some more strange yarn I bought on sale in a craft store. If you put this stuff in the sun or under a lamp, when you turn off all the lights it glows for about five minutes. But it's also soft. This is just a simple ruffled scarf. And I've finished this one too. Darryl says it's too skinny. But he doesn't get fashion or fun in wearing scarves.

I haven't actually cast on for this Dipped Infinity Scarf yet. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. But I had purchased a sock yarn sampler some time ago. They send you a ball of many colors but a ball makes only one sock. Since this pattern calls for sock weight yarn I just dug out eight colors and I'll be casting on for this one soon. I think that if I like this pattern it may be one that will be good for using up those bits of sock yarn. It's worked with two yarns together and then switching out one yarn every few rows.

And I had joined a sock club a few years back. Not the Blue Moon Fibers one. This one is the one that the Tsock Tsarina has. Anyway, all the patterns are pretty darn complex so I haven't finished many of them. But here is one I've started. Those of you who know I'm not matchy matchy about my hand knitted socks but that I embrace the individuality of each sock can see why I chose this one.

I didn't buy any yarn at Stitches West and hope to do a post on interchangeable needles next time. At least with my experience with them. And the ones I've fallen in love with.

Mom

Okay, in a nutshell, Mom has been in and out of the hospital a time or two recently. She has been fighting a urinary tract infection, confusion, pneumonia, trouble breathing, and a lower intestinal tract infection. I took her back to Manteca Care and Rehab a few days ago. I don't think she will be be there long because she is doing much better. Some of the confusion she is experiencing will probable be there from now on but she's much better. I want to thank you all for your good wishes. I am never alone in dealing with Mom and her problems. I have incredible sisters at my disposal anytime I need them. They help me a great deal, each in their own way. I couldn't be luckier.

Horses Laying Down

Darryl has been training the horses to lay down. He sent a video to several people who seem to think he is being cruel and see no reason why anyone would do this training. It bonds Darryl to the horses even more, if that is possible, and makes the horse more respectful of all humans. I'm not certain why horses seem to like us, after all we haven't been all that good to them historically. They are intellegent, affectionate animals. But they are prey animals and we are preditors. We want them to trust us and work as a team with us. Laying down helps them to develop trust in us. They are not forced to lay down. As if Darryl could force a 1300 pound animal to do anything it didn't want to do. They are made to be uncomfortable standing on three legs but laying down is their choice.

When we first got the draft horses they were kind but not respectful. They were dangerous for anyone to be around because of this. When you went out in the field they did not respect your space and crowded in on you all at once. This is very dangerous. Even our smallest horse at 700 pounds is much bigger than us and needs to respect our space. I feel confident that if a child wandered into the arena with our horses they would not be harmed even if they poked, poked, prodded and pulled. This is a direct result of training.

Laying down your horse is also a preface to other training. Darryl has bad knees and I have arthritis in most of my joints. Darryl will teach Sarah and Stormy to sit so that we can get on them easily. We aren't getting any younger and, I don't know about you, but we would like to stay active and continue to ride our horses into our 70's. That requires lots and lots of training.

So I hope that explanation is helpful. Neither Darryl or I would intentionally train an animal in a cruel way.