Brought to you by:

Post from: Chappysmom

Chimney

My Interweave Knits came yesterday, and, well, eh.  Though the hooded scarf caught my eye. (You know how I love hoods.) It’s even got pockets at the ends of the scarf. And I like that tweed-like bag, too … and do its handles look familiar?

Anyway–Chappy woke up quiet today, a little clingy, but was fine. He even offered to write this blog post, wasn’t that nice of him?

Post from: Chappysmom

Camera Shy

And how light and fluffy it was?

And how really, really beautiful my first skein turned out to be?

Really, about the ONLY problem with the stuff is that 2 pounds of naturally colored cormo, no matter how stunningly gorgeous, can get a little boring to spin after a while.

Enter Jessica.  Owner of an Etsy shop of beautiful hand-dyed spinning fibers?

You see where this is going, right?

The hardest part, of course, was picking the color. Because, with all the possibilities to choose from, it got really, really hard! Obviously, I needed some inspiration.

Yep. That will do. Now it’s REALLY Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm fiber … down to the color!

Great job, Jessica! And, thank you!

(And, psst, she said that she’d be able to recreate this color, if anybody’s interested….)

Post from: Chappysmom

REALLY Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm Fiber

I baked Chappy HOMEMADE biscuits (thanks to the book Paula sent us).

But then I made him sit and wait … and wait … and WAIT while I took picture after picture…

Can you see the drool on the floor?

He’s not the only one I baked for today, though. I made Mom some “Amish Cocoa Squares” from the Espresso-Love-person’s cookbook. (Table Talk–definitely a keeper. We’ve tried four of its recipes so far and they’re all good.)

I cooked streudel for Dad … although, it was a frozen one. I do NOT do streudel from scratch!

Not to mention banana bread. (Yes, I always bake it in a bundt pan–it cooks more evenly and looks prettier!)

I also worked on my test knitting for Ruth … and ran out of yarn about an inch from the end of the second mitt. This was leftover yarn from my Ingenue, and while I DO have another skein, I’m thinking that it would be silly to wind it into a ball just for the 10 yards or so I need to finish … so I think I’ll just finish the second mitt in the contrasting brown I used on the Ingenue anyway. I mean, I already know I like the colors together!

Okay, I have to go have a chat with Chappy. I mean, so I made him wait … I still made him HOMEMADE BISCUITS. How much trouble can I really be in??

Post from: Chappysmom

I’m a MEAN Mom!

This Lladro has been waltzing on top of our dining room table for 20 years now.

Once upon a time, in 1988, my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, my father bought this Lladro for my mother. A few weeks later, we threw my sister a wedding shower, where–how perfect!–this served as the centerpiece on the table.

Really, it’s had a special place in my heart ever since. It’s lovely, of course. And they seem so serene, and happy. And since my sister just celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, and my parents celebrated their 45th last month, well … I invited them to waltz over to my blog for the day.

You can almost hear the strains of Strauss, can’t you?

Brought to you by:

Post from: Chappysmom

Waltzing

I’ve got two links for you.

First–my blog-crazy mother has started a second blog. (She is SO hooked on blogging.)

Through Jersey Eyes.

Go visit! Leave her a comment!

Second, there’s a really nice article on the MV Fiber Farm (and other fiber CSAs, because the idea is spreading) in the new Twist Collective. Hey, it’s worth clicking over just for the adorable photo.

And, you DID know that the new Twist is up, right? Look at the great cable on the back of the Sylvi coat. (Seriously. Great cable–it’s a flower!) Vivian is also lovely. And Gytha? I loved Gytha–so playful. Actually, there were a lot of things in there that I liked. I’m sure that comes as a big surprise, huh?

Post from: Chappysmom

A Couple Links

Twenty years ago today, we welcomed my brother-in-law into the family.

That counts as a good day in my book!

Happy anniversary, sister!

Post from: Chappysmom

20 Years Ago Today

… Don’t tell me … I’ll think of it …

Wait, I know! It’s the body of the sweater!

But, hey,  at least both sleeves are done. And the second one only took just over a week, which seems pretty speedy. I’m loving the colors, loving the pattern. The only thing I’m not liking is the 13-stitch float at the beginning and end of the color section, but, well …

And, my pretty MVFF Cormo? It really “bloomed” when I washed it, and ended up about 11 wpi–one of the thickest yarns I’ve done in a while. But I LOVE it. And it’s so light and airy, the skein was practically dry this morning–usually it takes a couple days for my skeins of yarn to dry.

Can I just tell you again how much I love, love, love this yarn?

Speaking of the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm, they’re moving today! The details are spelled out here. Susan and Patrick are opening a second farm, the Hudson Valley Fiber Farm, and for a series of reasons have decided to winter all the sheep and goats in New York state–which puts them about 3 and a half hours closer to us for a few months … no complaints, here!

Post from: Chappysmom

Something’s Missing

How pretty is this, huh? Remember my 2 lbs of Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm Cormo? This is the first 4 oz, all spun up. About 240 yds, and so, so pretty. I mean, really pretty. The cormo is wonderfully fluffy and clean, and a beautiful creamy color. This is right off my skein-winder, and it’s drip-drying in the bathroom right now.

The challenging part? When I plied it, I didn’t get quite enough twist in it, but since I really didn’t decide that until I was halfway through the skein, I decided that I would finish the bobbin at the rate I was going, and then would re-ply a second time to add a little more twist. The problem? When I took the bobbin off the wheel, my Little Gem’s brake band broke.

So … first question. For those of you with spinning wheels (preferably Majacraft), what do you use for your brake band? Right now, I’ve got a length of leftover Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy doing its best, but who knows how long that will last? But, back to the story.

Well, I wanted to get this done, so what I decided to do was (gasp) use my Lendrum. My poor Lendrum hasn’t been used in, oh, about two years … since I got my Little Gem. So you can imagine its delight at getting to spin its wheel again. And it wasn’t until after I finished that that I tried to come up with another brake band for my Gem. Really, both wheels are happy, I think.

The tricky part is going to be … when I do the next bobbin, um, I really want the twist to match from skein to skein, so getting them the same with just one pass (I hope) might be a little more challenging.

Because, have I said how beautiful this yarn is, and how delighted I am with the way it feels and looks?

Okay–now, in other news, Chappy had a rough day.

I don’t just mean because of the lawn guys outside, blowing away autumn leaves for something like six hours. And, you know, a self-respecting watch dog simply must keep an eye on them … no matter how he feels.

Because … at 12:00, I come back to my desk and find a voicemail from Mom. An urgent, “Call me.” So I do, and she’s all worried–Chappy’s not putting any weight on his back left leg, and is panting like he’s in pain, I think you should call the vet.

So, I do, and the first appointment is 2:00. I make the appointment, call Mom, and “Can’t you get anything earlier? Now he’s throwing up, and he’s drooling a LOT.” Okay–I call the vet back, and they still don’t have any earlier appointments, but if it’s an emergency, they can get one of the vets to hold off leaving for lunch while we come over. Did he eat anything suspicious? Is his leg sore? I, of course, can’t answer these questions–I’m still at work! But then I remember that I can do a conference call, so I call home, get Mom on the phone with the vet, and she’s worried, so we all decide that yes, I’ll hurry home, get Chappy, and get him to the vet. I run and tell my boss and that I don’t know if I’ll be back after lunch or not, shut my computer down, and hurry home.

Where … I walk in the door and get greeted by a happy, tail-wagging Chappy. Sure, his back leg looks a little stiff as he leapt off his pillow to come running to the door, but he’s happy. His eyes are sparkling, he’s jumping up to say hello, he’s just delighted. Well, of course, I get that reaction every time I walk into a room (grin), so I try to calm him down–it could just be adrenalin, and I don’t want him to hurt himself any further. But, no … even after the “Mommy’s home” excitement dies down, he seem, well, like Chappy. Favoring his back leg a little, maybe, but more like it’s stiff than because it’s HURT.

So, right away, I call the vet and tell them that I don’t think we need that emergency visit. I’m not sure if they charge extra for that or not, but well, there’s no reason–with Chappy prancing around looking all happy and healthy–that the vet can’t go eat his lunch. We’ll just take that 2:00 appointment instead … Oh, it’s been taken? Okay, 2:30. I eat my lunch, give Chappy a few extra hugs, and head back to the office for at least one more hour of work … Except, really, he seems FINE. And, why pay for the vet visit if he’s perfectly healthy? Don’t get me wrong–he’s totally worth it–but, well, if it’s not necessary, um … why? So, we cancelled that, too.

All the while, both my parents are saying, “He really seemed sick an hour ago.” “I’ve never seen him drool like that before.” As if I wouldn’t believe them, that they were making it up (grin). But they are GOOD grandparents. Not only did they clean up the floor, but they both sat (or crouched) next to him as he curled up on his pillow in the kitchen, and massaged his leg for him. Wasn’t that nice of them? If his Mommy wasn’t there to make him feel better, at least his grandparents did an excellent job of pinch-hitting, huh? (Or, you know, so they claim.)

For the record, since I’ve been home from work, Chappy seems perfectly healthy. Once or twice, when he’s first gotten up after sleeping, that back leg has seemed just a little stiff–just like my right shoulder is stiff on some mornings when I wake up. We even pulled out the heating pad, just in case it helped. I mean, hey, it made us feel better!

Post from: Chappysmom

False Alarm