Last night there was a possum in the henhouse. I chased it all over with a stick to try to get it to leave, but it was very sleepy and cranky and just wouldn't go. As you can see, American opossums are not terribly lovely creatures.
The chickens were all ready for bed themselves. Odo always takes a spot on the top roost.
He likes to supervise all the goings-on.
Finally I grabbed the unruly possum and threw him out in the snow. It did try to bite me, but I had thick gloves on. I don't think it would bother the birds, but I have heard that they like to eat eggs. So I decided No Possums in the Henhouse.
We are about to leave for New York for the holidays. Yay! Coming back to the farm on the 29th. My mom and dad will be taking care of the birds and llamas and cats. Thank goodness for that. I'll do my best to check in with y'all form the Big Apple.
All the girls, Morgan included, observed the drifts from warm indoor vantage points.
This is Louet Northern Lights, a spaced-dyed wool top in a skinny preparation that is extremely easy to spin. The colorway is Icy Winter.
This is my Joy's "Yarn Appreciation Shelf"--from which I've been doing all my plying...
...until I just got this tensioned lazy kate to ply from. Wow, what a difference. I'd never even tried using a kate until Spinning Spider Jenny's plying class; I can't believe how much better it works. I don't think I would've been able to Navaho ply without it.
I knitted the spun Icy Winter into wristwarmers.
Chelsea also spun up some Icy Winter...
...so here she (Chelsea) models her new wristwarmers for you.
Some of the spinning I've done lately...
...like more Lacey/Switzer/shetland yarn. 60% llama/40% wool. Two skeins are 2-ply, one is 3-ply.
Here's a better picture of the Llannie "espresso" yarn I just spun.
It's for a special Christmas knitting project I started today.
The lavender merino-tencel I'm spinning now. I'm trying to get a fairly bulky yarn, and this is so pretty and lustrous. It's hard to get an even bulky yarn, but I'm getting better at it. I have a holiday project in mind for this yarn, too.
I did a lot of spinning today-- finished 2 lovely espresso-black skeins of Llannie/shetland that are drying in the bathroom and began some lavender merino-tencel. I'm also on a pre-Christmas kintting binge, so pics to come soon, honest. The ones I can share, anyway (some may have to wait until after gifting time *grin*).
The llama-shetland looks like this. (Boy, is it hard to photograph black.)
The llama, Llannie, looks like this.
Llannie's fiber.
Okay, now I'm just posting videos here so I can listen to songs I like whenever I feel like it. But this Motion City Soundtrack song really strikes a chord with me, and--having spent my share of time in psychiatrists' offices--I get a kick out of the video. It kind of goes with the craziness of the season, too. Anyway, maybe KnitXcorE will enjoy it with me.
I've been knitting and spinning, but it's Friday Night Video time so you'll have to wait for photos of craftier things.
First, because Mr. O'Kitten says I like loud things, here's something loud: A loud song by Filter that's been stuck in my head for the past year or so. If you haven't heard it already, don't listen to "Hey Man, Nice Shot" or it'll be stuck in your head too.
As a side note to Mr. S.U. regarding Coheed and Cambria, they don't remind me of Rush so much as that song hearkens back to Yes (Owner of a Lonely Heart era) every time I hear it. And everyone needs a good cowbell song now and then (even though it doesn't have cowbell--it should; I swear I can hear it even though it isn't there). I also like that the lead singer has a sort of grunge-troll thing going on.
Just to prove I don't only like loud stuff, here's something that's not loud. And as someone who actually has been to rehab, I fully appreciate Amy Winehouse's fine New Motown sound on her "Rehab."
Finally, for something completely different, cute British boys. This wasn't the song I was looking for, but it'll work--The Streets with "Don't Mug Yourself." Because I like him.
I'll be at the Spinning Loft tomorrow. Pics soon, promise.
Yes, Mr. O'Kitten is home all safe and sound, to everyone's delight. Emma has stopped glaring at me and Isis can't seem to get enough time in his room, which has been left relatively unused--it has a comfy chair with a good view of a small black walnut tree that attracts a number of birds that set her off into a gleeful chittering and chattering.
Yesterday we ran a few errands and Mr. O'Kitten picked out a small, mesmerizing tree for us. Fortunately, fiber optics seem to hold no interest for cats.
I've completely neglected knitting, but have been spinning a good bit. Here's a few skeins of Llannie/Shetland (60% llama/40% wool) that I spun to swap with Woolies for this adorable llama. She makes really cute stuff and is quite the lace knitter (check out her pretty shawls and really lovely shawl pattern).
The Lannie/Shetland I spun
Shannah Rocks (More Spinning)
Here it is--the beautiful merino hand-dyed by Mysticleeme and named for yours truly! *Blush* I couldn't wait to spin it.
At her suggestion, I pre-drafted it really thoroughly. This made it a breeze to spin.
It was so much fun to watch all the gorgeous colors wend their way through my fingers and onto my bobbin.
Here's the finished yarn, a 3-ply. Thanks to Spinning Spider Jenny's plying class (and some help from Lisa to get it started) I managed to successfully Navaho ply this skein. I have another full bobbin. What shall I knit with it? Hmm...
New Additions
Last week we added two new residents to the farm in the form of two boarders, Sean's year-old Showgirl and 7-month old Andretti (a.k.a. Andy).
Today he came by to force some Christmas spirit upon them. All in all, I must say they were pretty willing victims. Both of them have great personalities, and are getting along well with everyone here. Pepper, in particular, seems happy to have someone her own size to play with.
I think they're saying Happy Holidays in Llamaese.
Yes, Mr. O'Kitten has safely been returned to Michigan. Huzzah!
In honor of his return (even though he won't like it), here's Coheed and Cambria with "The Running Free." I've been liking the 70s rock sound of it. A lot.
Mr. O'Kitten, who is convinced there's no new music out there in which he might be the least interested, requested this instead. And of course we all love A-Ha, no?
"One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it--it was the black kitten's fault entirely." (L. Carroll, Through the Looking Glass)
I'm Yankee-Born and Southern-Raised, which makes me kind of Southern Gothic (in the old literary sense of the word). After 15 years in the Big Apple, I spent 4 years on a farm in Michigan raising chickens and llamas and learning to spin, knit, and needle-felt. Now I'm back home in NYC with my much-beloved spouse and one crazy tortiseshell cat. You can also find me on Ravelry.com as okitten.
Posts
