teleknitter

Whew! Those months went FAST.

2009-10-12T11:33:00.002-07:00

This one:

is great (the little purple jacket I knit before she was born fits this year!).

Walking all over, talking up a storm, obsessed with her shoes and kitties. Very fun.

Spent most of the last couple months in a crazy busy phase with work (field work again), also our "second jobs" collecting the pollen and hornets, and trying to harvest the garden stuff and get it all put up for winter.

I'm hoping that things are settling down now and I'll have time to spin and knit a bit this winter. I miss it! I need to knit Isabel some longies, I want some more fingerless gloves, I have at least one New Baby to knit something for...

Some of the recent harvest, winter squashes and tomatoes and things (picked before the frost!):

Kitties for Birthday Baby

2009-08-11T11:08:00.003-07:00

My little Isabel, you're ONE!

You loved your cake. You took your first steps on your birthday, from Dad to Mama, reaching for your new book.

I knit you a pair of little kitties, to go along with your first word, "kitteee", that you say in your little tiny voice.

I think these ones won't mind so much if you pull their tails.

Babybel's Boheme

2009-08-04T07:07:00.004-07:00

Ah, see, I said there would be baby knitting coming up! On the eve of Isabel's first birthday (I know, already? Where did the year go?), Boheme for my Babybel:

Yarn: Jo Sharp classic DK wool in orange-red. Buttons: Vintage yellow ones that I picked up at a yarn store a while back.

Pattern: Boheme (Ravelry linky). Needles: US 6. Size: 18 months (hoping she can wear it over a longsleeve onesie this winter).

Verdict: Great little pattern! I'd knit this again, no questions asked. Easy, NO seams, cute. I modified it by adding a 6 stitch garter edge on the button and buttonhole edges so it wouldn't curl and adding an 8 row garter stitch edge along the bottom too. I think I also knit it a bit shorter than called for.

So, no real birthday plans for her tomorrow. I do need to get a cake or something though so we have the cake face pics :).

July and the knitting is...

2009-07-08T11:37:00.004-07:00

Almost non-existent? Yep. I did actually finish a second baby sock for Valerie's new baby this week, I know really exciting, right?

I've been busy with the garden mostly. But, its worth it. We're eating squash, peas, radishes, peppers, and greens already!

Busy with work.

Busy with this one:

She's 11 months now! So fun too. Babbling non-stop, cruising, crawling, playing INTENSELY with things to figure them out. I love it.

Ah, I should take some pics of the garden, of the yarn I've spun (two skeins of Navajo-plied dyed wool, one mini-skein of Spooky), and post the knitting I've done (a while back) for other babies. Maybe later this week.

The fleeces are all shipped and sold, hopefully everyone is loving them! I'd LOVE to see what you do with them if you bought one, hint hint...

Except Shirley, so. If I don't hear back from the person who was going to buy Shirley by the end of this week (Friday), I'm going to put her up for sale on Saturday morning, so stay tuned! There might be a bit of fleece left. Then, when we return from a vacation at the end of July, I'll try to list the prepped roving that I have from the previous years fleece! Then, I suppose I'll put up a reserve list for next year's fleeces since there has been interest in that too.

Fleece Sale Info

2009-06-05T13:45:00.010-07:00

Update, Saturday pm, sales pending for all fleeces. If any fall through, I will relist. Thank-you!

I have a total of 7 fleeces. 2 are black/almost black. 5 are variations of gray, from dark to light. (edited, one small black fleece is horrible. scurf, so I'm no way selling it. It was a ram lamb I traded for, boo. None of my sheep have any of that...)

Updates:
Flint, sale pending
Shirley, sale pending
Eliza, sale pending
Margie, sale(s) pending
Patty, sales(s) pending
Florence (not listed yet), sale pending for 1/2, possible sale pending for other 1/2
Spooky (not listed yet), sale pending

If you want to see more pictures, I'd be happy to oblige, just ask! Or, feel free to search my photos at: my Flickr (I think I have most of them tagged with sheep names etc).

I will be happy to split out some of a fleece for you in lb increments or send lock samples.

I'd also be very happy to send any fleece you want to the processor of your choice to save you money in shipping if you're eventually going to send it out anyways. (I can send you a few keepsake locks or some of the fleece if you like too). I highly recommend Morro Fleece Works. I had 3 fleeces done there last year and they spin like a dream.

CVM/Romeldale is a nice soft wool, next to skin soft. Breed Info.

If you are interested in buying a fleece, please email me at morgsarah at gmail dot com. First come (and paid) first serve! I take payapal only unless we come to some other agreement through email.

Shipping will be actual cost, your preference UPS or USPS. Once you decide to buy it we'll work it out.

I still have 3 to add. One black/charcoal that I know is 1.7 lbs, and two CVMs. One dark gray, one lamb that I have to shear on Sunday. So, stay tuned!

Margie, CVM fleece for sale

2009-06-05T13:09:00.004-07:00

1 lb pending sale, 5.25 lbs left!

Margie, 2 year old CVM ewe, cream to grays. Covered, very well skirted fleece.

6.25 lbs. 4.5-5 inch staple length. $17 a lb. $105 for the whole fleece.

Margie and last year's ewe lamb:

Skirting Margie's fleece with Isabel:

Eliza, 75% CVM/Romeldale 25% Corriedale, fleece for sale

2009-06-04T09:49:00.004-07:00

Possible sales pending, 1/2 to L, 1/2 to Whimzey....

Eliza, 2 yr old ewe sheepie, black with some dark dark charcoal gray (with cute white socks and nose stripe :)). She's 75% CVM/Romeldale and 25% Corriedale. Her fleece ends up almost pure black once its spun up, despite the sun tips.

Covered, well skirted, 5.5 lbs, 3.5-4 inch staple, $17 a lb/$92 whole fleece.

Eliza:

Roving I had processed last year from her fleece (Eliza on left, Margie on right):

Yarn (Eliza is black, on bottom, Margie on top, Shirley very top, Patty below Shirley):

Patty, CVM fleece for sale

2009-06-04T09:45:00.002-07:00

1 lb sale pending, 4.25 lbs left!

Patty, 2 year old CVM ewe, gray to cream colored wool. Very clean, well skirted, covered fleece. You're only getting the clean nice fleece from under the cover (as in all my covered fleeces).

4.5-6 inch staple length, 5.25 lbs. $18 a lb/$94 for the whole fleece.

Patty:

Shirley, CVM fleece for sale

2009-06-03T15:38:00.004-07:00

Sale Pending!

"Shirley", covered, well skirted (you only get the nice part from under the cover), CVM, 2 yr old ewe fleece. Pale gray to cream colored. This would blend into an overall light gray if processed together, or you can separate the colors out and process individually.

5-6 inch staple length, 5 lbs total weight. $18 a lb. $68/whole fleece. Will sell in 1 lb increments.

Shirley:

Flint, Romeldale fleece for sale

2009-06-03T15:30:00.006-07:00

Sale pending!

"Flint". Yearling ram lamb, beautiful black to charcol colored wool. VM, since this guy kept taking covers off, amount typical as seen in the photos.

3-3.5 inch staple length. Total weight, 2.5 lbs. Well skirted. $12 a lb./$30 for the whole fleece, will split in 8 oz quantities if wanted. Would work nice for hand combing.

Fleece Time!

2009-06-03T15:27:00.003-07:00

So, I haven't been blogging much lately. Obviously. But, We've started shearing and I need to start selling some wool. Because I have So Much. And, lack that elusive thing we all seem to, Time.

So, I'm going to start listing raw fleeces for sale. If you're interested, just let me know! The girls have gorgeous fiber this year. I think I'm in love with sheep coats.

Seven Months of Isabel

2009-03-06T16:23:00.003-07:00

So, my Be a Better Blogger resolution has only been so-so. I mean, I have knitted things to take pictures of, owe you guys a microfarm update, all that. But really, Isabel is the best thing I could ever have to take pictures of. She's like my photo trump card. Eventually I will catch up on the knit-spin-farm pics. But, til then, behbeh.

So, A photo-essay, Isabel at 7 months:

1. Beautiful Mrs. Dashwood hat that Cordelia knit for her. Hmmm, I think I'll try it out it might be perfect for the upcoming FL trip.

2. Baby pulls on hat. Baby tips self over.

3. Baby fake-cry-fusses for like 3 seconds.

4. Baby pulls hat over face.

5. Win! Baby sucessfully pulls hat off! Mom wonders how much sunscreen she'll have to apply to fuzzy little head.

Cute little tee is from the wonderful Bezzie and Cordelia also sent the green soaker.

Six Months, Baby.

2009-02-09T07:48:00.002-07:00

Last Thursday she turned a half-year, six months, wow. It really does go fast. Last year, this time, I was still worried I'd lose the pregnancy again, but optimistically just in the second trimester.

She's sitting up like a champ, babbling, playing with "real" food a bit now. Laughing a lot, becoming a lot more interactive and fun.

I took her outside to take some nice six month pictures, dressed her all up in the cute little dress I knit her. She wanted to play with a stick, not her little deer toy, then, when I laid her down to take one of those cute popping her head up on her hands pics, she decided she wanted to play with a handful of dead grass/leaves/dirt. That's my baby!

In other news, I finished designing a cowl for handspun yarns, in two weights, one handpainted spun roving, the other plain roving, and sent some pics in to Spin Off magazine. The editor loved them, decided to feature the pattern in the magazine! So, I'll have a nice pattern and article in the Spring 2010 Spin Off! Woot!

Cowlicious.

2009-01-27T15:28:00.003-07:00

I've caught Cowlmania :).

This one is the ZigZag Cowl. Knit with the very first skein I ever spun on my wheel, oh, ages ago! The skein was all lumpy, bumpy, uneven, thick and thin. But hey, it knit up totally fine. Nice. So, spinning not need be perfect to be useable.

I like it. I like cowls. I like quick knits with lots of possibilities for one off handspun skeins or handpaints. I like warm necks with knitted accessories that can't be pulled of by baby :).

The baby? Hanging out with Telecat. So far, definitely a pet lover.

A little Friday Handspun

2009-01-23T09:37:00.002-07:00

Ah back to the handspun yarn on Fridays? Maybe :). If I can keep up spinning enough. I kind of get distracted by the baby, work, knitting. Now that we have no TV, I also seem to spin less. We watch DVDs in bed, but no more TV downstairs has meant a lot less spinning.

But, I have finished oh, about 8 or so skeins since Isabel arrived. This one is a 2-ply, heavy worsted weight Corriedale wool. Dyed by Spunky Eclectic, this is the Rosebud colorway, part of the fiber club from last year.

Already knit! I'll blog the cowl over at HOWR a little later.

The Orchid socks in action! Matching baby leggings to go with them that I knit before we cancelled TV, when I watched the news obsessively before the election, seriously, hours a night. Hence cancelling TV. It was a bit too much of a time suck.

New Year Socks

2009-01-20T13:53:00.002-07:00

So, while I definitely haven't been knitting nearly as much as I had pre-baby, I still knit. I think, I can't help it. I love it. Even just plain old socks. In fact, I think I might love plain old socks the most. The simplicity, the fact that I can knit them without a pattern, without looking, the turn of the heel still feeling like an act of magic in a way.

Socks persist. In a good way. I have a drawer full for me now, so I tend to knit them for my loved ones more now.

These are in Trekking Pro Natura (that Mags gave me for my birthday a while back, thank-you Mags!) made for my dad. I haven't knit socks for him yet, but I know he'll like them. Merry late Christmas, or happy new year socks for dad.

And, for Isabel. I knit her a ton of baby socks. But, now, she's grown out of most of them. These, and the rainbow ones to match the rainbow baby leggies are the only ones that really fit. Babies. They grow! Fast! Knit with Scout's Swag Orchid yarn. Oh, for a 6-9 month baby sock? CO 40 sts on size 2 needles with sock yarn and follow a basic sock recipe making the foot about 3.75 inches long.

Speaking of Isabel,

She can sit up now. But quickly flops over. And. Bonks her head. Unless I prop her up in this B.oppy pillow (which I never did use for breastfeeding, the My Br.east Friend is MUCH better, still use it actually). She loves books.

This is her Roman Senator pose. Since you guys said you like baby pics, I shall oblige :).

Return of the Blog?

2009-01-17T12:57:00.002-07:00

I'd like to make it so. Yes, I realize this requires a commitment to actually post. Well. I'd like to be a blogger again, I realize I miss it, a bit.

Of course you guys are going to have to put up with lots of baby pics, not as many knitting pics, and all around whatever-ness. OK?

So.

I start 2009 on the blog with a pic of my lovely Isabel, at 5 months.

One of the coolest things, is the coincidence that our good friends Jon and Kelly had their baby girl, Ashley, less than 24 hours after Isabel. Crazy, Nate and Jon were each other's best men in our weddings, and Jon and Kelly moved to England the same week we did. Of course, now they live in NYC and we microfarm in the middle of nowhere, but, still, cool. So, they came out and visited over New Year's. How fun. Two cute babies playing together was amazingly cool!

I have some handspun to show, some socks...hmmm, animal pics :) too.

Happy New Year!

SO! Life, eh?

2008-11-18T12:49:00.002-07:00

It kind of takes me away from blogging, though I do want to return to it.

Isabel is great. Three months and a week now. She babbles, rolls over (both ways!), and is more fun every day now that she's interactive.

She mostly looks about like this, inquisitive, skeptical, curious.

She often looks like this:

But generally not for too long. We return to this:

pretty quickly normally.

I've been trying to knit a bit here and there, spin too. But definitely not as much as before baby.

We had a good first Halloween:

I knit Nate a hat with wool I spun from our sheep Florence,

finished a scarf,

knit another pair of baby leggings, a pair of baby socks, started a new pair of grownup socks, spun more Florence fluff to knit a sweater, and hmmm, seamed a long lingering cardigan.

That's about it, really!

Now, to catch up on all the blogs I used to read....sorry guys for not commenting and reading lately. I really intend to get back to it!

Rainbow Baby Leggies

2008-09-20T09:56:00.002-07:00

Isabel's latest styling handknit:

Yep, little leggings/legwarmers knit with Opal Rainbow sock yarn. I basically used this pattern, but didn't put the ribbing at the top.

Quick little cute knit, makes it super easy to change a diaper, but still keep legs warm.

I'll be knitting more of these for the winter I think, this is my speed of knitting right now.

One Month.

2008-09-08T14:48:00.002-07:00

Well, one month and a few days. But I've been a mom for a bit more than a month. So far its been good. Hard sometimes, all new, and good mostly. I'm not going to get all philosophical about motherhood yet :). Isabel has grown a lot already I feel like!

This morning:

Its getting chilly in the nights and mornings now. So she's wearing a sweater my friend Guro in Norway knitted for her. Perfect! Fall is coming, I'm getting really happy that Isabel is going to be the Warmest Baby in New Mexico with all the beautiful handknits.

She's still sleeping a good amount during the days:

I think it must be tiring being a baby, everything new and stimulating. So much to take in!

In little Koigu shoes that Laura made:

I did finish a pair of socks I started after Isabel was born! Trekking, mmm. Then, started a matching pair for her in the leftovers. This baby is going to need lots of handknit wool socks to get her through the winter I think!

I'm being horrible at commenting right now on everyone else's blogs. I'm reading, trying to keep up, but commenting is one of the things that is falling by the wayside right now with the baby and all. Oh! I almost forgot...if you get Spin Off magazine, or get a chance to look at the new Fall 2008 issue, check out my Baby Surprise Jacket that's in there!

Baby Update!

2008-08-23T13:17:00.002-07:00

Baby pics! I know you wanted them :).

She's doing wonderful so far. Breastfeeding like a pro (whew! I was a tad nervous about this, all those stories you hear...), sleeping 2-4 hrs at a time at night waking up to eat, and all over cute.

She was already up past her birthweight again at the 2 week appointment, so all is well there, and the pediatrician said she was "perfect"!

I have even managed a little knitting...I finished a lace scarf with some handspun paco-vicuna that I started the weekend before I had her (the true waiting for baby project), finished those suffolk-cross socks, and even started a new pair that I can knit while she nurses! So, knitting blogging up next.

Isabel Morgan P.

2008-08-07T13:13:00.002-07:00

Born at 2:05 PM, 8/5/08. Seven pounds, 10 ounces, 19.5 inches long. Beautiful.

The birth was amazing. We had a waterbirth, all natural, at a hospital birthing center attended by a midwife. I'm still processing it all, how crazy amazing women are, really. Nate was there with me the whole time supporting me. She came into the world, and our lives changed.

Cute and little. All baby.

Now, the fun part, the hard part, the scary part, the awesome part. Being parents. Taking care of a person.

Promise, little one, we'll do our best.

Suffolk-cross/nylon Handspun Socks, Started

2008-07-28T08:57:00.002-07:00

Started the socks with the yarn from the last post. How is it? Stripedy! Sock-y!

Soft? Nope! Just like I was hoping, this yarn feels like "real" wool. Like a nice medium Shetland, or a bit like a Lopi or something. Strong, not soft!

My feet aren't picky, but they sure can wear through that merino soft stuff. Or maybe I'm hard on socks. Sure I walk around without shoes, even outside on the deck, back yard...oh, to the car, maybe to take out the trash.

So, I like it. Like the yarn, the socks. Now, I'll have to test my wear theory. I suppose I could wash em 2x a week and wear em every day for a month or so this winter and get a years worth of wear in a month. Any other ideas on how to test the wear part of my theory fast?

Oh, no baby yet, but I'm hoping soon!

Muted Brights Handspun Sock Yarn

2008-07-25T09:08:00.002-07:00

Spun from the fleeces I had processed at Spinderella's! Spun from this fiber, which I blogged about on The House of Wool Repute already.

The light wasn't perfect this morning, the yarn appears a lot more mellow that in actually is. But, it really did mellow out a lot when I plied the singles together

Dyed with four packets of grape KoolAid and six packets of lemon KoolAid. I did a normal 2-ply, adding a bit more twist into both the singles and the plying than I would if I was spinning a yarn for knitting baby clothes or lace.

I finished a pair of socks last night, so tonight I'll wind these skeins into cakes and cast on for a pair with this yarn. I'm curious to see how my super-slapdash dye job ends up looking knitted. Plus, I need a new pair of socks for distraction and taking in the car, labor...all that :).

Specs: The bump pre-dyeing was about 150g. I didn't weight the finished yarn this morning because it was still damp from last nights bath.

Approximately 350 m/380 yds of a fingering weight sock yarn total.

Have an excellent weekend everyone! No big plans here, unless baby decides its time :).

Fiber Overload!

2008-07-22T09:39:00.002-07:00

When you have sheep, alpacas, a llama, a spinning obsession, and loads of fluff hanging around, you eventually get to the point where you realize that you really aren't going to be hand processing all that fiber yourself. That's when you decide to send a bunch of fleeces off to be processed at a fiber mill, then eagerly await (like a kid before Christmas) the Return of the Fluff.

Yesterday, my first fluff came back. I had sent three of my ewe fleeces, a Clun Forest fleece, and two down wool fleeces to Spinderella's in Utah and three other fleeces to Morro Fleece Works in California. All of the fiber from Spinderella's and one of the fleeces from Morro came back yesterday.

Click here for a Flickr pic link with notes on it about each bag of fiber in the pic above.

Morro sent back two bags of lovely pin-drafted roving from Margie (my favorite ewe), it really is wonderful, I can't wait to get the other two back as well!

And this? This is what I had done with the down wool fleeces I picked up at Pagosa Fiber Festival this year. I just posted a detailed post on the House of Wool Repute about it.

A total of 20 lbs, 9 oz of fiber so far. I'm definitely going to be getting things together and opening an Etsy shop soon. So, if you're interested, stay tuned! I need to make up cute little tags with pictures of the sheep and all that first.

On the baby front, all is well, I think we're pretty ready now. Car seat, check. baby room, check. Bassinet and bedroom cleaned up and organized for baby, check. Bag packed, check. Baby stuff and diapers washed, check. So! Anytime little one.