Updates

It's the middle of the week....time to take stock of what has been done so far......and of what still needs to be done. Or you would like to get done anyway. :)

Carolina Crossroads Update:
Only 13 more rows of quilting left to do and all the quilting in one direction will be finished. Then the basting taks will need to be removed before starting on the quilting in the other direction. So far, it's looking really good and I'm pleased with how the quilting is turning out. I was hoping to have this all finished up by now, but just haven't had any time to work on it the last few days. So now the hope (goal) is to have the quilting finished up by the weekend.

Spinning Update:
Spinning is another one of my hobbies that I just haven't had time for lately. I finally got my wheel set up for plying last night....meaning the jumbo flyer is now on. Even spent some time plying. Have the smaller skein of Columbia/Dorset all plyed and ready to have the twist set. Even got the Polypay plyed and ready to have the twist set. Am in the process of plying up another skein of Columbia/Dorset singles. I'm guessing about half way done so far. There are two more skeins of singles that need to be plied after this one is done. I prefer plying from a center pull ball. No "extras" to worry about like you have when plying from two separate balls or bobbins.

The Manx Loghtan roving I was spinning up is all finished. Just needs to have the twist set on the singles and then it will be ready for plying. With any luck I will get the twist set on all three bobbins of singles today. It would be nice to have it ready for plying while the jumbo flyer is still on my wheel.

One last thing......am just about finished carding up the Gotland locks I purchased quite some time ago. It's carding up beautifully and it so incredibly soft!! Not exactly sure what this will be used for. All I know is that it will most likely be spun up into a 2-ply fingering weight yarn. Or at least that's what it is telling me right now. :)

Knitting Update:
Making progress on the large felted fair isle bag I started last week. It's about half done. I'm definitely getting lots of practice with my fair isle technique on this one. The colors are all looking really good, too. All the yarn was spun and dyed by me from a Polypay wool. It will be interesting to see how it felts up once all the knitting is done. I've only been able to do a few rows here and there each day so it's not progressing as quickly as I thought it would. That's okay though. It's been very enjoyable to work on.

Sheep Update:
The weather is getting warmer (although there is still lots of snow on the ground) and the sheep are wanting to be out in pasture. Three of my ewes were bred in the fall. They are getting larger by the day. Still another five to six weeks before they are due to lamb. Looks like we may be blessed with at least on set of twins....although the last time my one ewe was this large she surprised us with triplets.

Everyone's fleeces are looking incredible! Shearing won't happen until after the lambs are born so the only way I get to enjoy all the beautiful fleeces is to play with my sheep on a daily basis....which I do anyway. Wonder if they know that all I can think about when playing with their wool is how lovely it will be to spin??