Living by Dying....Wool

What a wonderful day I had in Sperryville Virginia, just a hop over the mountain from our place, to play with yarn. The dye workshop was hosted by Jen, owner of Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Her studio is bright and spacious. The ladies in attendance delightful and Jen herself is a great artist and knowledgeable instructor. 

We experimented with dying three ways.

Hand painted, tonal and speckled.

Speckling was not only a fun process, but I love the looks of it.

I am quite please with my first attempts.

So much so that I did what any yarn crazed person would do.

Bought some dye color charts.

Because despite all that spinning I have done over the winter (LOTS!) I still have all this from last year and in need of some inspiration: 

{Yes Sir, yes Sir, three bags full}

After all,

 Big Guy Carnie and his barn mates are ready for the shearer next month.

{He's not fat, that's all a very thick and beautiful fleece}

Jen and all her lovely custom yarns will be at the  Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival May 5-6. 

You won't be disappointed if you stop by. 

March...

...Has never been my favorite month. 

It's stillness, the brown and grey of the earth, the dark and cold of the air.

That Wind.

Growing weary of all the favorite winter time activities....knitting, spinning, reading, baking...

This March the stillness is even more profound
as we continue to fight for my husband's health.
So on I bake and spin,
and knit...

{It seems I overdid my need for color to combat the bleakness on what I now laughingly call the' circus' pullover! 

The middle frame is my first serious attempt at intarsia knitting.} 

...and read.

My current is Snow Child  which seems to be a favorite among many of the blogs I frequent. 

I have read or listened to more books in the past year (14+) than I have all my other years put together.
A few I have enjoyed the most are My Antonia Willa Cather, We Are Not Ourselves Matthew Thomas, All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr and The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Fritz is doing well, but treatments take a toll.
We are, as always, grateful for the visits to and from those we love to much.

Bring on Spring!

{but I hope these plum buds do no open all the way just yet! Way too soon.}

Revisited

2017 Wasn't the year of fast needles, but I did get a few projects done that I (finally) got around to updating on Ravelry.

And because we are revisiting that periwinkle state of being here in this home,

it only seemed right to pull out the properish color yarn and get going on something warm and wintery for these extreme cold days we have been experiencing.

Some bright colors to ward off the stark muddled landscape is just the thing.

Happy Sunday!

Multipurpose

It's a Carport...

It's a Wedding Pavilion....

It's a Hockey Rink!

Family time is the best time.

No matter what the activities are.

Lovely Little Ladies

A year that ends well, is well.

And our year is coming to a close with lots to celebrate and be thankful for.

Especially welcoming two new wee ones to the family.

Please meet Eloise Olivia 

Born to our Joey and his Caitlin.

and

Mabel Claire

Born to our Tommy and his Chelsie

So much Happiness.

But Then again....

Home is a wonderful place to be.

Adventures: Part Two

Tennessee Dual Sport: Southern Discovery

One of the milestones Fritz set for himself on his road to recovery was the participating in the above rally with our Andy.

He had bought his road worthy dirt bike just before life was put on hold and then picked up a spare when the docs told him to begin to resume normal activities but start out light.

(I have a hunch they didn't exactly mean start out with a lighter motorcycle, or a bike at all). 

We spent the weekend at a beautiful property outside of Nashville

with Andy's in-laws and a very fun group of their friends. So while those two were off climbing hills and two-wheeling through streams, the rest of the gang set their minds to fishing.

That evening the tilapia and small bass turned into ceviche, while the larger bass were grilled whole with lemon and dill. Delicious!! So perfect with several glasses of wine.

The next morning all the small brims were lightly coated with cornmeal then panfried. I am a convert to fish as part of breakfast.

These fine folks really know how to live.

I learned a lot about fishing and can't wait to try new ways to prepare goodness for the lakes and rivers nearby.

Best of all, I had some really nice chat time with Andy's Kathleen, her mom and all the ladies.

Maybe, just maybe we can make a return trip sometime and I can learn a bit more about hunting and cooking wild turkey and venison.

Thanks everyone.

It was a great Adventure!

I wonder what is next????