Buttons for the finish!

17.05.19 Last week...The pattern is Textures—A Poncho Pattern by Melanie Smith from Spin-Off Magazine, Winter 2017.  I finished knitting the project last month, blocked it, changed the ribbing at the sides by re-knitting them with a smaller needle, and then folded it and put it away.  Yesterday I looked through my button stash and found a tube of wooden buttons I purchased when Depth of Field, a yarn shop, was closing.  Also in that issue of Spin-Off is  I wrote an article (pages 90-91) about a group weaving project out of Anoka Fiber Works.

The handspun project yarn has been in my stash for some time and there was a ball of roving ready to spin when I was reorganizing my fiber room.  It is nice to use up a large amount of handspun yarn in a project.  The roving colorway name Dark Side of the Moon, Coopworth wool/silk noil blend, from Hidden Valley Woollen Mill.

 

I like the look of the rustic sliced wood buttons.

Fiber Friday

Since we added Gus to the family my home work has been spotty.  Because he likes all things fiber,  I have to be mindful of where I leave my knitting and such.  When he arrived (I didn't have much time to puppy-proof the house) and after the mitten incident, I tossed the tempting things into my room or the extra bedroom.  I was in the process of reorganizing and the extra stuff I tossed in the room only exacerbated the already messy workroom.  Now I am back at it, cleaning and sorting yarn for knitting and yarns that can be used for weaving.  The art materials have always been well-organized.  I can easily find what I need and the paint boxes are set up for oil painting and acrylic painting on grab-and-go plein air painting days.  Fiber, on the other hand just seems to explode because it is bulky and fluffy in its unspun state.  Once it is spun into yarn it is easier to store.   With this being spring shearing, and Shepherd's Harvest Festival (Mother's Day weekend) the temptation to acquire more fleece is ever-present.  It is humorous, or not, that I was a project-to-project knitter with only leftover yarn in my stash until I learned  how to spin over twenty years ago.

Last weekend was productive starting with Saturday spin in at Anoka Fiber Works.
On Sunday, I found a small bag of colorful wool batts from Ewespun Fiber Mill
and began to spin them for a future project.  The green wool has silk noil nubbles, which I just love.
 It was nice to spin at home with Gus napping in the same room.  

We had our first plein air session last Thursday at the Round Barn in Andover.  It was not rainy, but chilly and windy in the morning.  I was painting with acrylic this time and I much prefer oils for outdoor painting because of the long drying time.  I managed to get a sketch of the barn and will have to work on it at home because my hands were cold and fingers were getting stiff. 

After the painting session, we had a tour of the Farmstead, a senior living facility next door,  to get inspiration for murals we will soon be painting.  

Morning

Early afternoon

The Round Barn's owner has a pet goat, Delilah.
 She is a cute little goat and wears a diaper when she is in the shop.
They have to watch her closely because (being a goat) she love to eat
anything and everything.