German Beauty

 I have had this 100 gram fine merino roving in my stash for some years now and 're-discovered' it again.    It came from an Etsy shop in Germany called "All the Pretty Fibers"    It was pretty stiff after being stored for so many years but I gently teased it out and got this lovely soft pile of colourful floof. 

I divided it into two 50 grams piles and had a lot of fun spinning this up.   It's much like weaving a hand painted warp where you can hardly wait to see the next colour change.     

It even looked pretty on the bobbin!

 Here's a skein and the yarn on the niddy noddy.

.... and the final skein all complete.  The other braid is of a similar colour way but this one has a darker wine.   When I spun that up, the wine dominated the rest of the colours a great deal and not as effective as this skein.  I will get the yardage once I wind it into a cake. 

Work continues here at home. We had all our paving such as driveway, sidewalks and patio all power washed this past week. Its astounding how much brighter it all is and gives the place a more  tidier appearance.    The guy who did this job for us spotted a large basket ball sized wasp nest high up under our eaves.   At our age and stage in life, we don't do ladders anymore and so were prepared to call a pest company to come and deal with it, but he said if we were to get a can of high powered wasp spray,  he'd do the rest.

A tall ladder, can of wasp spray and high pressure water hose...... and it was literally down and gone in under ten minutes.  🐝

We have engaged a new lawn care company doing our grass cutting and we couldn't be happier!  Same price, a cheerful person does the work ......and no aggravation like before.

The work in our garden flower beds is continuing and it's looking so good!   We are experiencing a cooler spring so the work can proceed with out the plants gasping due to high temperatures.    The last of the irrigation system upgrades also happened this past weekend and now we have a reliable watering system that gets the water to  where it's needed.  That will be important soon when the heat wave  called summer arrives.  🔥

Personal health front has been busy too with eye exams, a CT scans to see where and what kidney stones remain in Hub's kidneys....  and dermatologist appointment as well.   Medical appointments apparently are our social life now but we are coming down to the end of a long list of doctors that were all put on hold last January.

There's been no weaving (still) but I'm slowly sorting through the various bits and pieces that will go with the Louet Spring loom.  I hope I can weave off the shawls I have wound on but it depends on if I can get the tie up in place. If not, someone will get a bonus warp to start off with! 

With all the 'sorting' I have been building a pile of books, magazines and tools that can be sold off.  I will likely be adding some yarn to that pile as well.  What I will actually need and use going forward  will be much less.   🤞

It's actually a liberating feeling.....

Our large chestnut tree is in bloom.... and it's full of bees and hummingbirds. It's raining pink petals everywhere!  

Night Stalker 🦉

This is a Barn Owl     They are silent on the wing and all you might hear is a slight swoosh of air through the tips of their flight feathers.  How do I know this?   It was some years ago and we lived near the dyke in Richmond, BC. We went for an evening stroll along the dyke to Steveston  (an old fishing village and home base for fishing boats.)   We walked back home in the darkening evening light and paused by a notice board and post to watch the sunset. Suddenly, I had something fly close to my head and I felt the breeze of something against my hair and looked up to see a barn owl settling in on the top of the post.   I never heard a thing!    It was absolutely gorgeous  and showed no signs of leaving so we watched it and then moved on up the dyke to home.    That experience has never left me. 

So when I saw the "Nightstalker" rolags at Fellview Fibres (UK) with all the colours based on the markings of a barn owl, I ordered some.   Spinning it up was like working with a cloud !   Its a blend of superfine merino, baby camel, muga silk, eri silk and penduncle silk.

All done and spun up, wound up! I would order this again in a heart beat and perhaps ply it with creamy bombyx 20/2 silk?

At home we are busy with irrigation system tune up including replacing the manifold, the programmer and many of the old spray heads. We will be on strict watering orders this year and we want to get the best use of the watering system.  No one wants to be that person watering the sidewalk.   😥

Since we had issues with leaky skylights this past winter, we are getting some minor roof / vent issues dealt with and a natural spray treatment for moss on the shingles done. That was awful this past Dec / Jan with roof issues!    The contractor said our roof is basically in great shape but it seems who ever did the replacement back in 2010 took some shortcuts and those are showing up now.  We bought in 2016.... and no one went up to check it over. It was only 6 years old then, and 13 years old now. 

I started my first physio appointment !  Just small 'seated' exercises designed to increase my range of motion in my lower back.  My lower back is pretty rigid and it's going to take some coaxing, with resulting increase in aches and pain as we pry it loose.    Baby steps for now.    I will be getting an MRI sometime in July according to the diagnostic booking nurse.

I also saw an orthotist and we discussed my poor feet and I had plaster casts made of my feet.  They looked like little ballerina shoes when all done.   I was born with flat feet and so this is more about supporting the bones into a better position and more like cradling my feet.  It will be  3-4 weeks before I get them and then we'll see how they fit and feel and make adjustments as needed.

I'm being good and getting all my adult stuff lined up and ticked off: had a mammogram done, booked eye exam appointments and seen my opthalmologist too.    Care and maintainance of this older model human is extensive ( and expensive 💰), but the pedicure and time spent at the hairdresser was pleasant. 

Long weekend here; Victoria Day and the semi official start to summer.  I've made potato salad and Hub is busy cleaning the BBQ.     🍹 ⛱️

Just William

 

So when you buy a batch of rolags from Fellview Fibers, Carol slips in a complimentary rolag to tempt and tease you!    She added one of these beauties and what could I do?     I ordered some more!  😁  I was a total push over as I fell for the jewel colours. 

I don't know the story behind the name "Not Just William".... I'm sure its a good story.

I got busy and soon had three skeins of plied yarn. Here's a skein to show the colours and two have been wound into cakes. 

There's a variety of blues and turquoise, a dash of green and some black.   I'm very pleased with it and would order again.  But after I've tried some others of course. 🤩

On the personal front:  I'm waiting for a MRI  for my lumbar spine (which will take months to get) but in the meantime I have a physio appointment scheduled and also to see someone to talk about orthotics.   According to the orthopaedic surgeon "your feet and ankles are a mess.... and sadly there is not much that can be done".

So.... I will be making some changes in the studio and so have started making a list of what is going to find new homes and owners  down the road.    I knew this day would come sometime, I just thought it would take longer!