Patience Young Grasshopper

Ran across this guy while puttering around the house and lawn today. On a high note, I don't think we're going to have to mow the lawn this week... Mainly due to the fact that we haven't gotten any rain in a couple weeks so we're now scrambling to figure out how to water our three acres before we end up with three acres of dirt.

In the process of watering today I heard the racket of the cranes and realized they were in the field right behind us. Yeah, see the marks still present from the last weeks mowing? That's how little the yard has grown this week.

It just figures that the cranes are finally visible and near the house for some quick photos, and I don't have a decent camera or lens to zoom in.

So sorry.

I'm sure we'll get around to replacing cameras someday here soon.

The dogs and I are just laying low today as I do some needed things and it dawned on me that I needed to get a blog post up. Perhaps this evening I might even catch up on reading some blogs? Yeah... Keep dreaming boy-o.

Wednesday I took the boys back to the Provin trails for a walk before going to knit in Rockford. I noticed all these little spider spun nests all over the pine forest floor. Kind of Harry Potter-Prisoner of Azkaban'ish, but then those people like me who find such things kind of neat, if creepy. Every tree had them at the base.

Not that the boys paid any attention. They were just happy to be out and about with me. They actually stayed with me all day. We knit on the porch at JT Stitchery and then a friend and I went to the new restaurant Ramona's Table (Excellent Nosh) and sat on the back porch while the kids chilled in the grass beside the porch. Then they ran my errands with me.

All in all, a pretty good day with the boys. On our first walk of the day we found this neat weed on the trail. They've been blooming for the last couple of weeks but I just noticed this ones flower unfurling for the morning sun. Had to snap a quick shot with the phone.

So, I know I've been promising to have house photos up, so I'm finally going to get to it here in just a minute, I have to go move sprinklers, so why don't you enjoy this artist I just discovered today on Youtube.



It looks like she is more than just a youtube artist and is getting big, I've just never heard of her before.



So I had to share with you all here, since I haven't done a Tune-Tuesday as of late.



Be right back.

Okay, let's get started with these house photos.

We'll start in the dining room. It's the room I didn't change, just freshened up a bit. Haven't put art up yet. The chair rail was previously distressed and I just repainted it and we took down the maroon blinds.

I know, I know. In a blue gray room, who puts up maroon shades? And to boot, they were tore up by their dogs.

Next, we'll move to the living room. Here I could understand the maroon shades with the red and gold walls.

Again, the front window shades were canine shredded. So, for security and privacy, the torn up ones were the first to go.

Even before we repainted. Like all those holes I had to fill? I keep finding random nails and screw in the walls we haven't gotten to. and isn't that a lovely wall sconce? Between the CFL bulbs that are two big and poking out, to the one that is broken and dangling, they all just say "classy", don't they?

So, we started by covering the red with a deep chocolate brown. Remember our Wyoming "cowboy" art in black frames and brown matting? They will all go in a montage over the fireplace. I should have gotten a new picture today that has things a bit more picked up and together. So sorry.

The end walls are a tan and the long wall is an off white that will set off that big black and white picture I had over the fireplace in Casper.

And let's not forget the new wall sconces that are rated for higher wattage bulbs and three instead of two.

Not really needed now, but come winter we will appreciate the extra light, I'm sure. We are going oil rubbed bronze slowly though out the whole house as we replace things.

I even found two fans I like in wood and bronze to replace the "kiddie" fans in the spare bedroom and F & F (fiber and firearm) room. So lets head there.

Remember the pink and green room *herk*?

Yes, it was quite lovely.

It's now a happy gold and white.

It's a bit much right now, but I think when we get low setting sun through the windows in the winter it will warm it right up and seem like a sunny retreat.

The spare bedroom we just toned down from this bright key lime pie.

Unfortunately it's kind of the upstairs "work room". Especially since we yanked out the carpet that was particularly fragrant with dog urine. Now we can spill paint all we want since we'll be covering it back up with a wood of one kind or another in the near future.

This picture makes the green still look rather bright, when it's more of a mellow green with a touch of yellow in it more like the previous picture shows. You can see the fans that I would like to replace in both these rooms.

The master bedroom wasn't bad. It needed holes patched and sickly sweet decals removed from the wall. It was just rather blah with a taupe/putty color on all 4 walls.

It probably went very well with their bedding. I decided we were ready to return to blue and bought a nice light blue for the short walls and when I got it on the walls, I realized it made the putty color a little nicer. Since I wasn't able to locate any left over paint I went and bought the sandstone you see here to compliment it. Again, we put up the roller shades in this room. Mainly we needed something for privacy because there was nothing left here, and something to block the sun from heating up the south facing rooms.

As we finish up rooms and polish them off, we will have new flooring to install, art to put up and I will be putting curtains in all the rooms. Curtains will make things look a bit more finished and help insulate come winter. They just aren't a priority right now. Any of you that have redone a place of your own, know the art of prioritizing. These shades are good for the moment, and will be incorporated into the finished room with curtains to hide the top of the window roll and sharpen it all up. On top of that, they were affordable, as window covering often are not. At some point to I am looking to get a real bedroom set. A head and foot board, matching night stands, that sort of thing. It all may be down the line a bit. A nice floor, and the electrical and plumbing work are higher priorities for us.

Now that the tour is done, fiber has fallen to the back burner. However, I did finish my last tour related yarn.

My four ply fingering came in at over 300 yards of cushy softness in a merino, super wash, silk blend.

I finished up my September socks.

Started Octobers retro looking socks, and started designing the Mystery Knit Along piece for the store as planned. And that's it for me guys. You all have a great weekend and I'll post again soon!

Sunday's can be Ruff

Papa's Bob and Q are just so hard on us sometimes. From the time they make us crawl out of  bed and eat, they are just go go go all day long.

There's never anytime to just relax.

You know? Sometimes a dog just needs a nap.

These are not called the dog days of summer for nuth'n you know.

But no... we can't even have a nap in the heat. There's always something on the schedule with these two.

And let me tell you something, it's never anything centered around us.

These two can be so selfish about their time.

Don't these two know that Dog's just wanna have some fun?

I mean, how hard is it to take some time to give us a little time?

There are three of us in this house, and only two of them after all.

You would think that the majority could rule for just one afternoon, wouldn't you?

I guess even a nice relaxing walk is to much to ask for around here on one of their precious weekends. They can't take one days worth of break to stop hanging lights and painting to spend with us. 

And even then, they're always interrupting our naps to make us move out of their way. Sheesh.... And who do we speak to about this crap kibble they keep foisting on us? If they don't want to eat it why do they think we want to?

Papa Q keeps threatening to send us to the ASPCA, whatever that is. It sounds like it might be a nice break. Anybody got their number?

Emmit, Tucker, and Sully

As you can see, the boys had a great day at the Muskegon Dog beach on Lake Michigan. They're going to now have one of those long needed naps while we go to the movies.

Hope you all had some fun in the sun this weekend. I promise, I'll get around to the post with those house pictures this week. Promise. This just seemed more fun today. Regardless of their whining and pouting, I think they liked it too.

Getting back on the Blogging Horse

I wish I had a horse that would blog for me! Wouldn't that just be cool? Anyway, let's get more practical. I realized as I was watching Tucker stare at the tree they chased the squirrel from the deck to, and listened to said squirrel cuss him out in that little language of theirs, that I really needed to get upstairs and log in.

All six finished yarns, and the one still on the wheel from the 2014 Tour. 5827 total yards spun this year

So, the Tour de Fleece is done. I still have half a braid of my fiber that was set aside for it on my wheel, and I'll work on it over the next several days, though it has to take a back seat to more pressing matters. The house, still needs work, and without the Tour in full swing, I lack an excuse to place spinning above the house on my priority lists. Mainly though, it just needs a good cleaning which it will get this week before I have company this weekend.

One of the neighboring farms fields. It was just to pretty to not get a snapped photo the other day as I was heading home.

Painting is mostly done indoors. I promise, the next post will have before and after pictures. The downstairs hallway and kitchen need a paint job but they are both livable for now so are not a priority at this time. Before winter arrives however the dark kitchen will get a minor facelift as we save to make a more major facelift later on.

The dining room, was the only other room that didn't get a color over haul. Mainly, because the previous owner actually did a decent job in that room and we liked it. So mainly I just freshened it up, repainted the distressed chair rail before Bob lost it (not sure why he hinted it as much as he did but that was a quick and easy fix.), and replaced the maroon dog destroyed blinds. Why they would put maroon blinds in a grey and cream/white dining room, who truly knows, but they are gone now. In fact, all the maroon blinds are gone now. In the living room that formerly had a red wall, they made some sense, but all logic ends there.

Besides spinning, working on the house, and spinning, I've not had a lot to tell you all. It's been weeks since a real post but besides being busy with all the little things that need to happen around a new house I haven't had a lot happen. Or maybe it's just that I've not been in the mindset to brainstorm for subjects to blog about. Don't worry, I'll work on it.

Until then, here's the remainder of my tour progress pictures...

On this morning I drove up to Ludington with a couple friends to visit a shop for the West Michigan Yarn Trip'n. It was funny that as I walked by the lake, it took me a few minutes to realize that the lack of the smell of salt and that fishy smell that accompanies such shores typically was missing as we were on a really large body of fresh water.

I spun Masham for the first time on this tour and now I want some to try spinning for weaving purposes. I think it would hold up wonderfully.

This was challenge day as it was the toughest riding day for the athletes on their climb through the mountains. I set aside my drop spindle... yeah that one, with that fiber on it for the last two years, as my challenge day spinning.

And I got it all done, and even plyed on the following day! And I swore I'd never use the spindle again.

And just like the bikers, we have rest days, though I think few take advantage of them. Obviously I not only spun but also continued painting.

As you can see, my boys are very excited by this tour. Probably just as excited as you all...

I went to breakfast in Rockford on this day and on a little walk by the river, saw a whopping snapping turtle out sun basking. It was very neat. Alas, I really do need to get a better camera again.

This was one of my favorite fibers through the event, and one of my favorite finished yarns.

See, those colors just keep getting better and better.

And this picture really didn't do it justice.

So here's a better one.

And that was the end of it. The green stuff you see on the wheel there is the one I'm still working on. I have it over half done now but I'm spinning it very very fine and it will be a 4 ply in the end.

For those of you who spin, thou know you often have little left overs from the plying process. I picked up a Schact Spindle Company's Zoom Loom yesterday because I had an idea for my little plying ends.

Coasters... As you can see, the first try wasn't so successful. Instead it looks as though I was trying to create my own mosquito netting. Which led me to realize that most of my singles are to small for this project, and the plying toughens them up for this little business. However, with that tiny little stuff that I'm scared to tear on the wheel, I didn't have anything with which to ply with. So out came the spindle...

That's right, I used it. Again! And I have to say, it worked well for this little task though I had never navajo plied on a spindle before. And I'm going to apologize for this little POS camera that still as you can see, won't focus. Or rarely. And when you look at the photos on it's screen, they look okay, until you drop them to the computer. And I of course still can't find my receipt to return it. Oh, wait, look at the edge of the spindle. It focused on the reflection through the front window on the polish. Because that is of course what I was wanting to focus on.

Anyway, back to business. As you can see, I got quickly into it once I had useable yarns. It's a little time consuming, but quite easy and as you get the hang of it, it goes quicker and quicker. And the plying makes the yarn much more easy to handle. My singles are spun with the intention of plying, not being used on their own so they have a bit more energy in them than is needed.

Though I still need to work on getting something slightly bigger in yarn gauge for the coaster idea.

But I'm happy with this mix of cheerful blue coasters. All four are made out of three different yarns. That's how little I have left of each single from the spinning process. I send up pretty darn close on all bobbins, and after the plying process, I end up with just enough.

I love the fact that the two above that are the same yarn look the most different as to how the color change happened in the single. Whereas the two below almost look like the same yarn when they are not even close to the same fiber or color way.

So, another little project to work on. Just what I need, right?

Have a great day everyone. It's good to be back. Now I need to go do some trim work, bake brownies, and replace electric outlasts in the dining room.