Fun Spinning Project

 There is a Spinalong to Knitalong sponsored by Andrea Mowry. I joined by purchasing her Jaunty Shawl pattern then buying some fiber from Hello Yarn called Little Jaunt.  I thought the names  went together so well. The first, of two, bags of fiber went through my fingers over the weekend. I made twelve little soft nests. On Monday I pre-drafted  them and started spinning on Tuesday. Today, Wednesday, I finished the first bobbin using up seven of the nests. Such a fun activity.

The finished bobbin.  You can see it is ghastly yarn but it makes me happy anyway.

These are the five remaining nests ready to spin. Maybe tomorrow…

After both bags are spun and plied I will knit that shawl. It is pretty likely I won’t have enough yarn but we shall see. Fun anyway… It will be interesting to see how all things work out!

We Have A Budded Daffodil!

 Here is another of God's wonders, right in our front yard!  I love daffodils.  They are such a sign of hope.

One of the beauties of this scene to me is how many more daffodils there are this year.  When I put them in the ground probably three, maybe four, years ago, there was one daffodil.  Also one hyacinth.  I hope that guy comes up eventually.  I adore hyacinths.  They are so beautiful and are so fragrant. What is not to love?!!

How Glorious Is Our World!

 Last night we walked out of the house to assist at the FamilySearch Center.  This is what we saw at the end of our street:

May I say that I am so very grateful for this beautiful world in which we live!  There are so many moments such as this.  I hope it is comforting and inspiring to all.  It makes my heart soar.

Jackery Battery Help Requested

 Hello to All!  Today I am asking for help.  Some time ago Dear One bought a small Jackery battery for me to use with my sleep help at bedside.  I plug that helper into the Jackery and the Jackery into the wall so it is always energized.  We do have solar panels to plug into the Jackery in case the power goes out, which it has done a few times since we have been here...which is why he purchased the Jackery for me.  (I become very crabby when I don't sleep and I don't sleep without that sleep equipment...)

Now to the question:  This week, with nothing changing, at least I did not change anything, the power is not getting to my sleep aid;  Does anyone have any ideas what might be wrong and what I can do to fix it?  I can, and have, plugged the sleep plug into the wall but that defeats the purpose of the Jackery.  

Thanks so much for suggestions!

This is the Jackery.  When we first acquired it, I had the DC current selected and nothing worked.  When I realized that I had to select the AC it worked like a charm and has done from that time until three days ago.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Finished Warp, Ready for the Next Project

 Last week I decided I want to make a gift for the missionaries serving in our ward.  There are seven of them: five Sisters and two Elders.  (One of the Sisters has done some weaving in past...) I first thought of weaving them hand towels then thought those would take up too much room in their luggage so I changed to making coasters/mug rugs because I had just seen a pattern for felted mug rugs.  I decided to give them a try.

This was the first time I had done any weaving with wool.  Every other warp was cotton of one brand or another.  I have tried Peaches and Cream, Sugar and Cream, Knit Picks Cotton Something Or Other and Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton.  Oh, and Maurice Brassard 's 8/4 Cotton.  By far, and I mean at present there is no comparison:  I really do love to weave with I Love This Cotton.  It is easy to warp the loom.  The weaving itself is easy, and the results are soft.  So soft and absorbent.  I really like everything I have made with it.

So...on to the wool.  Not so fun to warp.  And the weaving!! Oh. My. Goodness!  It stretches so much. And it is hard to give a gentle enough beat to be even.  Still, I did finish the project.  I did weave the seven mug rugs then continued on weaving a long piece of fabric that I also felted and planned to cut apart for coasters for us or for someone else.  This last batch I did no hem stitch.  The seven coasters were hem stitched at the beginning and at the end to give them a nice finish. I also left about a one-inch fringe. (Surprise!  Wool to be felted in the washing machine does not make fringe!!  Big surprise to me.)

Eventually (after four hours at the loom without stopping), I decided that I would stop.  There was still a fair amount of warp left on the loom so instead of just cutting it off to be loom waste, I cut in front of the heddle (by the way this was  an Ashford 10" SampleIt Rigid Heddle Loom I was weaving on) then tied off the rest so we can continue weaving when our daughter is here.

You can see the warp ready to continue on sometime soon.  The colorful part is the actual weaving before unwinding it from the loom.

Here are the missionary mug rugs:

Yes, they are all different colors.  It is all Plymouth Yarn Company Galway yarn.  That yarn felts beautifully.  If you will look closely, you will see that wool fringe is NOT a thing! Sad.  Oh well. Live and learn.  Can't have felting AND fringe.  Now I know.

This is the extra fabric that was woven on that wool warp.  And, by the way, that is the bed I showed you a few days ago with the clean sheets waiting to be put on the bed.

It Is Christmas but Here is a Turkey!

 Last week I stopped by Piggly Wiggly to drop off some packages at the post office inside the store.  I usually park wherever I go in any Celestial Parking I can find, ie I drive through so I can drive straight out without worrying that I might run over someone or smash into a car behind me.  I found a Celestial parking spot right beside a tree that had a lot of brush around it.  There was some bird making sounds under the tree  but I was in a hurry so I did not stop to chat with said bird.

When I got back to the truck a few minutes later, this is what I saw:

It does not look like it here, really, but I believe it was a turkey.  That guy hung around chatting with me and circling the front of the truck back and forth, back and forth.  Eventually I felt the need to get home since I had been gone from home for ages so I got into the truck.  When I shut the door, the checkout helper from the store was right there beside me pointing to the bird and encouraging me not to run her down.  Well, I did not plan on doing that but was happy the young man was concerned about the turkey.  After a while, with the truck engine running, the bird went back into the brush and I could safely drive on out of the parking spot.

Kind of a novel experience.  I had never been that close to a wild turkey.  Makes me wonder if the turkey was well...

The Bed Is Made!

 We are so happy that our daughter and her family are coming for a visit soon.  My plan was to get the whole house organized and in immaculate condition.  Our daughter knows me and my proclivities but her husband and son do not. I was hoping to be able to give a good, but false, impression of our housekeeping skills.  Not going to happen.  

My sister came for a short Thanksgiving visit and I tore around getting the guest room useable before she arrived.  (Normally I use the bed for a staging area for all kinds of projects.)  When I learned she was coming I had a very short time to remove everything so she could walk in the door.  I did manage to get everything out and into my workroom but I did NOT get it organized. I thought I would get it done before Christmas.  Alas, not to be.  And now the visit is two days away and I would rather still have some life in me to enjoy their visit so I am doing the minimum that decency allows.

Here is the guest bed all duded up and with clean sheets and pillowcases;

They will be comfy and cozy there and have a nice window to look out on the live oak tree in our front yard.  

Every house in the development has to maintain a tree in the front yard.  The tree that was planted for us is the live oak.  It had grown tremendously in the six years we have been here.  Earlier this fall  good kind friends came and pruned the tree as we were unable to do it ourselves.  Last year we (and by We, I mean, Dear One!) hung a ton of red Christmas balls on the tree.  He even had me get more.  We now have an 18-gallon tub filled with red balls that we cannot hang on the tree as those branches are gone.  Having said that, I am positive the tree is much happier being able to breathe...!  AND our lawnmower man does not get smashed in the face by sharp branches.  Win-win!

Merry Christmas to all!