Knit on my dear friends.

So, just to catch everyone up, I've been incredibly busy with the hobby farm. I've gotten another alpaca (a Suri type which can be read about here), hatched my 1st batch of Japanese quails (which I'll blog about shortly), have done some spinning, had our monthly CQ'teer meeting & lots of knitting.
I've been practicing my spinning on some Lincoln lamb fibre that I got off of Lynne on shearing day. It's from "Ava" who I just love. She is one sweet sheep. This is a long wool variety that is strong, mixes with mohair wonderfully & is sought after by dollmakers for use in wigs & Santa's beards.
It is different from regular fleece & slightly more difficult to spin because it's tough & more hair like (imho). Once you get the knack of it though it's great. I was quite pleased with how it turned out & can't wait until it's plied. The 1st pic is (from left to right): washed fleece, carded fleece & spun Lincoln. 2nd pic is a close-up of the spun fibre.
I have finished the "Monkey Socks"! Just for the record, I had mine finished before the Harlot, so it is I who is the trendsetter for her, lol. Both of us however, realized afterwards that they would have turned out a lot nicer if we hadn't used self-patterning yarn; great minds really do think a like (or perhaps just make the same mistakes, lol).
Amongst the finished knits are also some Christmas ones. I will only show part photos so the surprise isn't ruined; the pics are of 2 things modular & something with cables; nuff said.

CQ'teer meeting went well. 3 new members, 2 members that just came back from vacations: 1 to Japan & the other to the East Coast. Very nice & interesting stories from both, lots of show & share, chocolate, coffee, ATC's & a cool accordion paper booklet that Faye taught us for program this month.
I'll give you some time to absorb all the eye-candy & then I'll post again soon.

Peace out, Boop

Is that a pig on your lap?

Why yes it is & I'm happy to see you, lol. This is what I go through when trying to knit at night. The pic isn't perfect, but hubby took it; nuf said. Daffodil (my pot belly puzzle pig) is on my lap. The other black & white blob behind my neck is my Jack Russell "Pudgy".
I am working on a pair of Monkey socks which are almost done & I will post about later. I have also finished a Moebius wrap. This was a dead easy free pattern from a Bernat yarn label.
Isabelle (my mannequin of 20 years) is modeling the wrap. It took 3 x 50g balls of Bernats "Lux effects"; very fast & uncomplicated. I did however, cast on 40 stitches rather than the suggested 30 because I wanted it to come down my arm further. I didn't think the 30 would cut it and I'm really glad that I added the extra 10. I used the "tan effects" colourway.
I did try to find the link to the free pattern on the Bernat site, but the yarn has been discont'd of course. Here's the pattern anyway:

Moebius Wrap
-one size
-40" x 14"
-10mm (US 15) needles
-bernat lux effects 3 x 50g balls
guage: 8 sts. & 9 rows= 4" stocking st.

Cast on: 30 sts.
Row 1: (RS) K2. *P2.K2. Rep. from * to end of row.
Row2: (WS) P2. *K2.P2. Rep. from * to end of row.

Rep. last 2 rows until work from beg. measures 40" ending with RS facing for next row. Cast off in pattern.

Finishing: twist work once lengthwise. Sew cast on & cast off edges tog. keeping the twist to achieve the moebius shape.

Enjoy. Peace out, Boop

Who Knew

Since we've been busy the past few weeks putting up fencing for the lambs & alpaca, I decided to ask Mark how to use the lawn tractor. We were building the fence together (all 400ft of it) but he was digging the 25 post holes (by hand) himself. I was feeling badly for not being able to help with the digging so I thought perhaps he could show me how to use the tractor. He had his doubts, but showed me anyway.

I must say that I've never had so much fun. It was like horseback riding, but with control. The tractor has 7 speeds. Mark suggested I start at 2 & perhaps move it to 3 or 4 when I was feeling more confident. Our property is also hilly (quite hilly actually). Anyway, I decided to see what the 7th gear was like. OMG, the tractor took off like a bat out of h#ll. I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee myself & all I could say as Mark watched me fly across the yard was "eeeehaww", lol.

Mark usually does the lawns over 2 days, but I stayed on that sucker until it was done! Needless to say, Mark had trouble getting me off the thing & dinner was late that night.

Not sure why he complained so about cutting the lawn as I found it quite therapeutic. Women just don't get a lot of "me" time where as with this you can sit there driving aimlessly around thinking & completely alone. Gosh, I can't even use the bathroom without one of the kids or animals barging in to see what I'm doing, but this lawn cutting thing was bliss. I didn't even care about the freshly cut grass allergy that I have because with the hat & sunglasses nobody could my watery eyes; next time I'll take the allergy pill before I start the cutting.

Peace out, Boop