Fleece to foot

How to turn fleece into socks - I hope!! This is one of the Jacob fleeces I was given, sorted, but unwashed. I sorted it outside a while ago, to remove the dirty, daggy and unkempt bits (on to the compost heap with them!), then it was rolled and stored over the winter.


Separated into manageable portions, and well washed in warm water with a bit of Ecover added, then well rinsed, and laid out on a sheet in the sun to dry - took two days to dry fully.


I decided to hand card this, as it shouldn't take too much for a pair of socks, and it's less disruption than clearing a huge space for the drum carder. I'll use the drum for the rest of the fleece, though I think. This is it on the carders, mid-card, with completed rolags behind. Just a few more!!!

Summer morning...........

A lovely fresh summer morning out there today; it's clear as a bella cross the vale, and fresh and green from last night's rainfall, much needed for the garden. I hope to get out there this afternoon and lift the sahllots and inspect the garlic, which has rust, and get a few things in where the first potateos have vacated their alloted spaces. I'm also making washing powder today, and hoping to card a bit more of the fleece - I'll put the fleece progress in a separate post. Tonight is parents' evening at the college - we'll go along and listen to see what Bean will be up to when she starts in September! We're very proud of her to have gained a place on her course of choice - a BTEC in Media & Moving Image. It can be done with home education, see? :0) I'm sure she'll love it, but will have to learn to get up early........

July.................

....here it is, first day of July. Anglo-Saxon names for the month include Heymonath or Maedmonath, referring respectively to haymaking and the flowering of the meadows; looking forward to some lovely summer weather, today is glorious out there, off out in a bit. This month we have St Swithin's day (15th) and the Tolpuddle FEstival, which I would love to go to, we'll see.

CROP CIRCLES

Apparently, July is THE month for crop circles..........a phenomenon dating from the 1970s. Who makes them? Extraterrestrials? Underlying energy fields? Freak weather conditions? Pranksters? I really don't know, but my Muscovy ducks did a good rendition of one in th middle of my wheat................:0)

Provence - quilts and cuisine

This is the title of a lovely book by Marie-Christine Flocard and Cosabeth Parriaud, kindly lent to me by someone who reads my blog here. It's a beautiful book, and my favourite type - one that includes recipe as well. It's beautifully illustrated, and very evocative of the Provence I have read about and have taken a great shine to. Maybe I'll get there one day! I invested in some nice fabrics from e-bay, in Provence colours and motifs, and want to do my version of their memories of Provence quilt in the book, where the fabrics are interspersed with Provencal scenes printed on to fabric - a lovely idea, and very effecive I think. The recipes are very tempting - pain au thyme, clafoutis aux abricots................

Sing a song of sixpence..............

On this day in 1980, the British sixpence ceased to be legal tender. I remember them well - we had a Saturday sixpence each when I was wee, to do what we liked with, usually spent on the penny tray in the village shop :) I still have a couple of them, and they go in the Christmas pudding every year.

Housework........

I don't mind housework - there I've said it!!! However, our house is usually quite untidy, with stuff all over the place in the middle of being worked with, current projects, things on their way elsewhere, etc. Thus, it all has to be tidied and sorted before being cleaned; I find it hard to keep on top of, but I do try. I'm currently reading a 1930s Household Management book, the section on "Household Routine"; interesting readg, and I thought it might be good if I worked out a routine for myself, but not sure if I would/could stick to it! With 3 of us more or less here all the time, it doesn't seem to stay tidy for long.

I think I might have a read at the Nearing's books again. They did their "bread labour" - anything that needed doing, housework, cooking, preserving, etc - in the mornings, with afternoons free for crafts, gardening, reading, music etc. That would be lovely if I could get it organised to that level. Wonder if I can? So, this week has thereby been deisnated "Get the House Sorted Week". Wish me luck........:) :)

To get me off to a good start, I did buy some new clothes pegs, as MrL purloined a load of my spring pegs to clip some camo netting on the sun umbrella frame over the bench................

That time of the month again!

Yes - it was Guild day yesterday!!!! :0) That'll be the Dorset Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers then........ The talk yesterday was on letters in tapestry weaving by Pat Johns, a well-known tapestry weaver. She showed a selection o fslides of ehr work, then we got to look closely at the tapestries she had brought along for us to see; stunning work, beautiful calligraphy lettering on sumptuous backgrounds. Truly gorgeous.......
I managed to bag some bargains on the sales table too, lots of coloured roving and spun woll, bits and pieces, a huge amount for 4.00. The money goes to Guild funds, so taht's good. Also procured a free jacob fleece (didn't "need" it as such, but had it anyway ;)), so might do that one next week.
I washed one of my own Jacob fleeces today, almost dry, so should be ready for the drum carder by Tuesday I hope; I got two from a friend of Bean's, with a promise to knit him some socks with some of it. Another project underway.
Did a bit out in the garden today, but baked bread and did most of the ironing too, so quite a lot of little bits achieved. I also washed my new pieces of Provence fabrics I won on e-bay; I want to make a little Provence wall quilt, inspired by a lovely book I am reading, lent to me by Jenni, to whom I lent my Shantyboat book in return. The book has both quilting patterns and Provence recipes in - quite a heady mixture.............
The little yellow foxglove in the picture was one I picked up at a little out of the way nursery on the way home from Wimborne on Friday; the lady who runs the nursery didn't knwo its name, but I didn't mind, it's such a pretty shade of yellow, soft and buttery........... Thought I'd better avail myself of a huge pot, crammed full of auriculas too - I reckon with judicious splitting I can get at least 6 out of it - nice bargain