Week 34 of 2025

Still lots of canning happening, but I did wash another raw fleece -

This isn't a full fleece, I am certain that I spun some of it years ago.

There is 682g after washing (should be left with about half after combing).

I combed, spun, and knitted a little sample, and it is so soft.

My husband recently started wood working in his retirement, so this week we figured out how to work our son's homemade Alaskan mill, and cut up a few boards from an ash tree that had fallen.

Photos from Around -

Molly snacking with one of the baby chicks.

The big chicks foraging for grubs.

The baby chicks are incredibly curious - GingerSnap! doesn't mind,

but Miss Maggie isn't too impressed  - here she is hissing at them (they just kept following her).

All the chickens live together now.

We had 3.5" of rain one night earlier in the week, so the yard,

and garden are flooded (it's all slowing drying up, but we did have more rain throughout the week).

With all the rain GingerSnap! had to find ways to use all his energy inside!

All the best!♥︎

Week 33 of 2025

It is that time of the year when everyday involves some kind of harvesting or preserving the bounty of the garden, so not much time for crafting. I did wash a fleece this week so that it would be ready to comb (to remove all the plant bits), dye and drum card this fall/winter.

The fleece is from a local farmer and was destined for the compost. I have had it for years, so it was time to get it cleaned.

After washing there is 2.8kg of fleece. After combing I will probably be left with about half that weight, enough for a sweater, and some yarn for weaving (there is a section that is quite coarse).

Some of the harvesting this week - 

Three types of garlic (over 200 bulbs). My youngest son grows this.

Grapes from the vines we planted last year (made into jelly).

Every year there always seems to be one vegetable that does really well, this year it is the celery.

I pickled some this week (recipe link).

We probably had the main honey harvest this week (~15L).

Photos from Around - 

The canola field around our home was sprayed two days this week - it was amazing to watch.

Miss Maggie had lots to say when GingerSnap! came close to her.

The hens free ranging on a beautiful day.

The baby chicks free range too. All the chickens live together now, but the chicks still tend to stick together.

All the best!♥︎

Week 32 of 2025

This week I finished a weaving project -

These are ~10" squares to be used instead of paper towels. Made with leftover 2/8 cotton from other weaving projects (mentioned the project on an older post - link).

I serged/overlocked the edges.

Here is the fabric fresh off the loom - 21"x95".

It was fun to weave with the thrums - and to think I had been throwing out the loom waste before!

A tip I was given by a friend for an easy way to make curves on the serger/overlocker was to cut off the corners before sewing - works great.

More details can be found on my Ravelry project page.

Photos from Around - 

Evening walk.

Patiently waiting for supper.

The little chicks have been spending a bit of time free ranging with the big hens.

All the best!♥︎

Week 31 of 2025

Tour de Fleece ended today, and these are my results -

I wanted to spin 20-30 minutes everyday from July 5th to August 3rd (the dates of Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes), and I did that and more some days. This is my 11th TdF in 13 years.

I ended up spinning four different projects. From left to right - a skein of super fine merino, a skein of a merino/nylon sock blend, 4 skeins of BFL (for a sweater), and a local merino that I blended with Angora and a few other types of fibres. I dyed all the fibre.

The final results are 555g (19.6 ounces) of yarn, 1,707m (1,867yds) of yarn, and 3,754m (4,105yds) of singles spun.

Photos from Around -

Smokey sunrise over the veggie garden.

The chickens really enjoy garden veggies.

The little chicks are almost 2 months old and live outside now (in their own area next to the big hens).

All the best!♥︎