Back in the studio

1,100 yds of "Amber" Gulf Coast 2-ply aka Tom's Sweater

Yessiree...finished the sweater yarn, but not the sweater. The reason is ... well, shown a few pictures down. That chocolate Gulf Coast from "Abigail" just called to Tom. How can anything so soft be legal? And what a color.



100 yd skein of natural cream Gulf Coast 2-ply

I have buckets of this creamy stuff left. I've been spinning singles and 2-ply for dyeing. Such a delight to work with. Unblended, it's just exactly like the fiber I learned to spin back in Chichester in 1972.



120 yd skein of natural Gulf Coast/Corrie/Mohair singles with slubs of acid dyed Corrie and coreopsis dyed Border Leicester

This stuff is lovely. I've done a bunch of these slubby yarns. They wash great...giving a nice halo.



singles yarns (l to r) Coreopsis dyed Gulf Coast, Coreopsis dyed Gulf Coast blended with Marigold dyed Border Leicester, and natural "Abigail" Gulf Coast from Running Moon Farm

Here are the latest experiments. As I've shown before, Coreopsis gives an amazingly strong orange. These photos are completely untouched. Any of these yarns would be perfect for socks. The blend, on the center spindle, will grow a big halo due to the Border Leicester. The brown, well that's "Abigail" - so soft and yummy, and chocolate brown. I use dark brown merino for slubs in several of my yarns...this though...really takes the cake. All of these yarns have a great amount of spring. I like elasticity in my sock yarns.

Big Basin Socks

2 Big Basin Socks on 2 circs

Oh I could go on about the beauty of the Santa Cruz Mountains. I lived in Boulder Creek in the 70's. My business, an antiques store, was at the junction of Hwy 9 and Big Basin Way. So...when I saw that the February Six-Sox KAL pattern was "Big Basin," wild horses couldn't have held me back.

This pattern is based on Cat Bordhi's new sockitecture. It's written by Rebecca A. Uses Judy Becker's Magic Cast On - which I am very amazed and sorry that I didn't invent. I can't believe I've knit for 243 years, and didn't think of that cast-on.

Anyhoo...this is a progress shot. The yarn is Fleece Artist "Rainforest" and the needles are US 1 circs - one Addi and one Knitpicks. The different colored cords make easy work of keeping the toeknitting straight.

Tom's sweater spinning project is done. I am in the middle of spinning up a storm...oh wouldn't a spinning wheel make this easier, or at least faster? I have a show coming up mid-march, and would like to have a nice pile of yarns for sale.

Sooooo...that's the scoop from Dove's Roost...

New Year Idyll

Tom's "Amber" Sweater Wool

Alrighty, then. 2007 ended with record setting frosts, compromised gardens, a dramatic Christmas car flipover (a neighbor's inlaws) on our freshly graded sugar sand road, and a visit to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' home in Cross Creek. We faced more than a few challenges, and feel stronger and happier than ever before. Our little farm is expanding, we're adding new heirloom varieties, preparing to add critters, and hopefully we'll find a sister pup for Smitty, the cattle dog.

The fiber project du jour is Tom's Christmas present. (Yeah, I know.) It's a sweater. It just looks like a pile of singles and worsted rolls. I'm almost done with the singles, and hope to start plying this week! He'd like that, too. After all, it won't be sweater weather for much longer. Right now, the thermometer is reading 74 degrees. After a 13 degree night last week, I feel as if I've been transported to Tortola in the BVI!

The "Amber" sweater (so called because the Gulf Coast Native Sheep donating her fleece for the project is named Amber) was going to be along the lines of the o so popular Cobblestone Pullover. However, Tom doesn't want all those garter stitch panels...would prefer a more classic look. I'm drawing designs for him to choose from. More fun that way, anyhoo.

peach m e l b a, anyone?

The latest Dove's Roost Yarn is off the spindle. Dyed with Virginia Creeper, this is 50g/106 yd of 11 wpi handspun longwool - with a little pokeberry dyed Border Leicester thrown in. Softy lofty luscious. It's up for sale in the ol' Etsy store, Dove's Roost, but I feel a hankering to make a pair of mitts...Hm...

Interestingly, this roving has darkened over the year. No fadin' here! Peachy peach peach.

Yummy, neh?

Esther Bear

This is my version of Calorimetry worn as a collar. I shot this on Thelonius, because he is much more photogenic than I. I haven't seen anyone wear this "headscarf" in this way, but it works for me.

les bon temps keep roulezing along

Lawdy. (long whistle). Time is hard to come by. Drove some 2000 miles this last week. Pulling a cargo trailer full of my husband's big machines. Didn't get a lot of knitting in, though the smitty sox are purt near complet.

Here, though...


tropical s u n r i s e

Isn't that pretty? It's a skein of spindlespun. Got rained out today, so I spun a couple skeins of longwool. I don't know the breed. The orange (dyed with coreopsis) was in a bag of rovings that I'd dyed this summer. The yellow and red flecks are border leicester locks (goldenrod and pokeberry respectively.) Yummy stuff. 90 yd in 1 1/4oz.

And look...


nake d

Here's a wonderful lofty natural yarn. Airy and soft. 115 yd in 1 1/2 oz. Spindle spun. I might spin up a lot of this.

No, I have had time, but Ravelry is sucking it up. Those of you who have been there beta testing know that it will eat your brain. What a great concept! Designers, Yarnies, Knitters and Crocheters all uploading their projects, their stashes, their designs, and their yarns. Cross referencing galore. I am a Yarnie...a yarn designer. Nice to have a place I can declare my yarns for sale without being offensive. Like on so many online knitters lists. The Ravelry Groups are lovely, too. It's great to have visibility into the folks you've "known" on the fiber lists...and literally see what they are doing.

The whole thing has reinspired me to put my etsy store to better use. So, Dove's Roost is being stocked as we speak.

All spare time is devoted to food. Daring Bakers has taken me in. I am floured and sugared and in the company of many fabulous bakers from all over the world. We wait patiently for the first of the month, when a recipe is posted, a challenging - use all your skill and every bit of your artistry - baking assignment. The DBers make the same recipe the same way and post their work on the same day. It's all secret as can be, so you can't just check out the blog. Oh nosiree. If you want in, you have to do some homework.

So, between waiting for the buds to open on the Brandywines and the Rosa Biancas, and measuring Jimmy Nardello's Sweets on a daily basis, between cooking amazing pastries and sauces and spinning lofty yarns, I'm reading The Book Thief and designing a knitting project for this book. What are you up to?

One skein wonder

Hel-lo happy needles. Knitting on size 8's was like using telephone poles. I swear. But, as DH drove 300 miles, I knit. Polished off Calorimetry in no time flat.

True enough, I've been neglecting this page since Ravelry allowed me entrance through its golden doors. Cripes, that place sure can suck up yer time. It's also a maximizer of all things wooly! Fabulous. If you, dear reader, are not yet a member, promise to sign up!

Back to the project...I wanted to post my version of Calorimetry...knit of that lovely GCNI dyed with the Florida state flower - coreopsis, and with marigold and marjoram (yellow and green respectively). The button is a hunk of coral. It's lovely.

Tom says that a sweater knit "like that" (meaning with a lofty yarn on large needles) would "tear itself to pieces," but I beg to differ. This yarn is good and strong, it's loft is due to the fact that it's a singles yarn spun woolen on a handspindle.

I can't wait for a chilly wind.