Week 35 of 2025

No finishes this week, but a few works in progress -

A pair of handspun socks that are almost finished (started the ribbing - this is my take-along project).

A new weaving project on the loom - another set of thrum towels (the last ones are so useful).

Knitting sleeves on a sweater - the sleeves have taken me a lot longer to knit than the rest of the sweater (I am knitting the sleeves two-at-a-time so there is a lot more adjusting of stitches and yarn than knitting the body of the sweater). I spun the yarn for this sweater during TdF this year (the green), and I am knitting it with some commercial mohair/silk yarn (the blue/grey).

Photos from Around -

Sunset walk.

Sunrise - we have had so much rain and the grass is green again.

The Mountain Ash tree is so full of berries, and here it is full of birds too.

GingerSnap! resting in the hot sunroom (we have had probably the last hot days of summer this week).

All the best!♥︎

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!♥︎

Week 30 of 2025

This week I finished up a set of tea towels - 

These went on the loom in April for a simple summer project to weave when I had a few minutes here and there (my loom is in the basement, and summer is for spending outdoors). We had some rainy days and these ended up getting finished earlier than I thought.

Another project for my year of experimenting with weaving - a simple turned twill that I tried different tie-ups, different colours and different treadling patterns. The warp is 2/8 unmercerized cotton, and most of the weft is the same, but one towel is cotton bouclé. More details on my Ravelry project page.

The project on the loom now is even simpler. All 2/8 unmercerized cotton, finishing off small bits on spools for the warp, and leftover loom/weaving waste for the weft - thrums.

There is quite a bit of leftovers when weaving, and I used to just throw them away. Then I read about weaving with thrums and thought I should give it a try. Thrum balls are made by knotting ~6"-8" lengths together (everyone in my family got involved in this fun project!). I am interested to see how the knots hold up with washing (the little tails that stick out are supposed to wear off).

These are going to be small towels to be used instead of paper towels.

Photos from Around - 

This year there is so much White Sweetclover around the yard. It is 4 to 5 feet tall, and lines the paths that we walk. It smells amazing, and is buzzing with bees.

The little chicks have been spending part of the day outside, near the hens. They are all interested in each other.

The cats got a companion this week.

Sunset today.

All the best!♥︎

Week 29 of 2025

This week I finished spinning a skein of yarn -

 It is a 3 ply, Merino/Nylon blend for socks. It is my second skein of yarn for Tour de Fleece.

Photos from Around -

We are eating quite a bit from the garden now.

Lovely Gazanias.

The cats sleeping in the best seats in the sunroom.

Molly prefers to sit in the little truck, hoping for a ride.

First honey of the year.

The little chicks went outside for the first time this week (5 weeks old).

Around nine every evening they get so loud - we don't know why. It is great watching them grow, each one looks different now and it is easy to tell them apart (Clover, Marigold and Daisy - flower names for these three).

 

All the best!♥︎