Cancelled, but still occupied

04.04.2020  Today is a lovely day.  The sun is shining, currently it is 22-degrees F and the high for today will be 48-degrees.  We are healthy and keeping busy.

Today would have been the first day of the two-day North Artists Studio Crawl, 2020.  This week the powers-that-be cancelled Shepherd's Harvest Festival.  The cancellations are a good idea given the continuing rise of cases locally.  Jim and I get outside for fresh air and venture into a store for groceries and other necessities if we are lucky enough to find what we need.  I have some  cotton masks ready to sew this morning.  The last time I went to Target the social/physical distancing seemed to be better amongst the customers and there were signs notifying patrons that the carts are regularly disinfected in addition to the wipes available as you walk into the store.  The state department of health has a website with news releases, updates and information, which I find more helpful than the national network news programs.

02.05.2020  Best laid plans, I certainly waited long enough to post.  There is quite a difference in the temperature, although it is another nice day--sunny and 72-degrees F.  Jim, Gus and I have been well.  I sewed masks for the local hospital and then last week sewed more for the neighborhood fire department to distribute to assisted living facilities and nursing homes.  Around the cities there were hundreds, if not thousands, delivered to those in need.

Zoom has been a way to connect with my fiber friends and my artist friends.  I host a knitting group on Thursdays and the Rum River Handweavers Guild once a month.  Otherwise, life goes on, we stay busy and enjoy life.  Below are scenes from the past month.  Stay well!

Early into the shut down, Mary and I helped during the spring shearing and were able to cuddle lambs.
This one was a day old.  It was freezing cold in the barn, but the little lambs were nice and warm.

This little girl is Olive.  Her mama, Molly is on the left with Olive's sibling.  She loved to be held and would sneak out of the penned area to follow us around the barn while we waited for the shearer.  She caught sight of me and was running up to get a cuddle.  It was a lovely afternoon!

I managed to finish spinning and plying 4-oz of Romeldale/silk from Ewespun Fiber Mill.

I was preparing for a Lopi sweater class at BeWoolen when everything shut down, and I plan to reschedule the class.  It was cold enough for a few days and I was able to wear my new sweater, which was so nice and warm.  After stash-diving, I came up with some more primary colors and made Katie's Kep, the Shetland Wool Week 2020 hat.  Gus enjoyed stealing the blue ball of yarn multiple times.  I was not amused.

The star on top of the hat is so pretty.  I lightly fulled the hat to improve the fabric and the fit.

Schacht Spindle Company is having an explore tapestry weave along.  It came at the perfect time--I warped the new loom!  There were a few challenges during the warping and initial weaving, but I learned and adapted during that learning curve.

Week 1 was worked to the red and green section (adding the spacer at the bottom before the twining kept the weaving from slipping), week 2 is the color blending/gradient, and week 3 are the rectangles and the shaping.  I used string markers, which made the triangle much easier to shape correctly.

Week 3 completed!  Tapestry slits, interlocking and shaping.  

Friday/sheepday

We had a last blast of winter weather this week, which has a way of throwing the best laid plans out of whack.  Wednesday, we cancelled classes at the shop.  Thursday, school districts around Minnesota had a snow day and the shop was closed.  The snowstorm included snow, sleet, peppered with lightning and thunder.   Friday, the weather was a little warmer and snowy.  Mary and I were able to adventure out as planned to help while the shearer was at her son and daughter-in-law's farm.  They have a small flock of Icelandic sheep.  Molly was the first to lamb, so we got to cuddle the twins.  They are sporting black and white spots, which will be beautiful fleeces as the lambs mature.  The shearer would shear a sheep and our job was to bag the fleece and then sweep the mat for the next sheep.  An autumn shearing is typically better than a spring shearing, so it will be fun to see the lambs in a few months.  The other ewes were about ready to pop.  B and A will be busy with lambing soon.

Last to be sheared, Marshmallow, was the largest in the flock.  

After the shearing was finished we had some last cuddles with the twin lambs before heading home.  

Speaking of fleeces, Mary has a cardigan (for her son) in progress with last year's fleeces from the flock.  After Mary washed the fleeces, Deb Peterson of Ewespun Fiber Mill at Old Man Wool Farm, processed them into clouds.  With her handspinning, Mary mimicked the characteristics of bulky Lopi yarn.  She attached some sample Lopi yarn to an index card and then proceeded to spin samples.  It took a bit of time and in the end she managed to spin light and lofty singles, which she plied together.  The result was just beautiful and she duplicated the same yardage and weight of a skein of Alafoss Lopi (100 g/3.5 oz approximately 100 m/109 yds.  The main color is a rich brown and the stranded colorwork is black and white.

Mary has progressed quite a bit since this photo was taken.  She is now ready to knit the sleeves.   Instead of a zipper, she will add front bands and buttons.