The Shawl and other notes

I got 2 skeins spun up for the triangle shawl I am knitting so decided to go ahead and start it. My hands were getting really itchy. So far the shawl is coming along great. I don't think there are to many if any mistakes in it. It is a really easy shawl pattern though. Here is the pattern. It seems to be angling quicker than what I had expected. I'm not sure if this is correct as this is my first project. I'm hoping it evens out as I keep knitting or after I block.
I still have the icelandic/alpaca blend on the wheel right now, but will be switching back to the BFL after the next skien. I am hoping to get a hat out of this icelandic/alpaca yarn as well. Then I'm going to turn my artistic husband loose with the dyes on some white yarn to get a painted look. If it comes out okay I may just break out my triangle loom and work up a shawl on it. It's only a 3ft loom so will take a couple of passes to get a shawl.
I have a couple of days off of my daytime job coming up and don't you know they are already filled with things to do. Just my luck right now real vacation. Two of those days involve wool stuff though so not to much to complain about. We need to get the ewes and lambs shorn and then we're going to start going through fleeces up in the wool room. This could be a good thing or bad thing. I will hopefully be able to get some raw fleeces up for sale after that. We were talking the other day and realized that we had only sold a handful of raw fleeces and I had not advertised them at all. We still had a really good year all told last year and hope to get to a couple more shows this year.
Here are some picture of the shawl in progress. Please excuse the quality, these were taken with my cell phone.
                                                                    the shawl in progress

the yarn in a single ply on the wheel

the yarn in 2ply on the wheel.

the yarn 2 plied and skeined on the niddy noddy.waiting for a wash. 

Breastfeeding in Public

(Only picture of me breastfeeding that can be found. This was as our local county fair.)

With recent Target breastfeeding debate, I feel I have to get out and say something. I am not breastfeeding currently so did not join them, but gave them my support for their blight.


If any of you has ever been a breastfeeding mom I'm sure you have encountered discrimination somewhere. Maybe not publicly or to the point that it was embarrassing as this mother did. Sometimes I think it is all a matter of how we handle the situation at the time.


As a mother of 2 both of whom were breastfeed, I found the occasion more than once to do so in public. By the time I had DS I had learned to be very discreet about it, even in very public  places. I had more than one person just think he was sleeping. While I did occasionally use a cover my son never liked it and I only used one to cover up the belly fat. ( I hate for my belly jiggle to be showing.) One of my favorite stories is of a Ukrainian or Romanian lady lifting the cover to see my son nursing. She simply looked at me and said "In my country we no cover. When baby hungry we just feed" ( insert large hand movement for emphasis). She got me thinking as to why is our country this way. Why do I have to be worried about what someone else thinks of me feeding my baby. Mothers who feed with bottles don't have to worry they just simply feed their babies. I'm not condoning showing everyone your boobs, but just be comfortable nursing your baby.


I have read some comment about the Target incident and more than one person had the gall to post that a breastfeeding mother should express her milk and carry a bottle of expressed milk around for when she was out of the house. Now really how neanderthal can  you be. Her reasoning I guess was what if a young boy were to see that woman nursing. Don't you think it's time that we explain these things to our young men. They are one day going to be the husband who should be supporting their wives in their own breastfeeding journey. I would really hate for them to remember that one time their own mother made a big stink about the woman that was breastfeeding in Target.


And for all of you who believe it not possible,both of my children even in their young age understand that babies are fed from mommy's boobs the same way that the kittens, puppies and every other mammal on earth is fed. My daughter even question the one time why one baby was being fed from a bottle and not from the breast. Now that's a hard conversation to have with a child that has grown up in a farming world.

Goings on

With Christmas around the corner I'm sure you can imagine I've been really busy. I have finally finished all of my pre-ordered hats and have gotten my daughter's hat done for Christmas. Something tells me I'm going to be up late on Christmas eve to finish my DS's hat. I finally have gotten a little time to get some spinning done and came across another guild member working on what seemed like a simple elegant and functional knit shawl. So my mind starts to wander the stash of roving and I think of the perfect fleece to make this  out of. I have now hauled it out and am working out it. It is a lovely chocolate colored alpace/icelandic blend fleece. I'm thinking it may just make the perfect gift next year which is  a good thing because I have to spin probably close to a pound of this roving and then this will only be my second knitting project so it could take a little while. I will hopefully keep you all updated with the progress.

Shell hat pattern crochet

This is the first time I've written a pattern. Please excuse any confusion and feel free to ask questions if you need something clarified. This pattern may be used and distributed. Please do not copy this pattern and sell it as your own. You may sell finished products with credit to this blog.

Hook size: I/9-5.5mm
Yarn weight: I used a handspun yarn that was approximately a sock weight. You can use a thicker yarn just adjust hook size accordingly.
No gauge.
Special stitches: Shell (4dc in same stitch sk 3 st 4 dc in same stitch)

Start with a magic loop.

R1-8 dc in magic loop. slip stitch to join round. (You will slip stitch at the end of every round.) ch 2
R2-2 dc in each st. join. ch 2
R3- 2 dc in each st. join ch 2
R4- 2dc in first st. 1dc in next st repeat around. join ch2(if you're making a toddler hat skip R5 and go to shell stitch ch3 instead of 2)
R5- 2dc in first st. 1dc in next 2st. repeat around join. ch3
R6- 3dc in same stitch as sl st.* sk 3 sts 4dc in same st.* repeat from * ch3
R7-13- repeat row 6 (for toddler pattern reduce rows by 2) at this point you can add or subtract rows for customization.

Edging- ch1 sc in back loop of st. repeat around. sl st into beginning ch1 and repeat.
Weave in ends

Enjoy!

Crochet,crochet and crochet some more.

With fall coming on I thought it might be a good time to break out the crochet hooks again and start working on the sock monkey hats. I have a friend who sets up at some local flea markets and has graciously offered to showcase them and some other things for me. Problem, now there is now way to keep up. So far these things are selling faster than I can make them. I admit that they are cute in a way, but also kind of freaky. People seem to love them. I'm guessing sock monkeys are a hot commodity right now. So I will keep crocheting. lol! Now when am I going to find time to crochet anything else. I do have the cutest pattern for pumpkin hats and have only been able to complete one. 

Ewenique Fibers

I Lost My Canner

Canning season is upon us and for some reason I can't seem to find my canner. This is not a good scenario considering I have a large crock full of pickles that will need canned tonight. I'm sure I put that thing somewhere I'd remember. Tomatoes are sitting on the porch waiting to go in next. DH gets to do those as I am under the weather today.
On the crocheting front, I finally finished the baby blanket I've been working on for a friend. Was so happy to have it done. It was listed under one of those quicky patterns and took me nearly a month to get done. WOW! Now I'm going to be starting on hats to sell this fall. Hopefully can get some done. Spinning has gone by the wayside for now, but I've really got to get back to it. I have some beautiful BFL on the wheel right now, but it's one of those things were life has to many other things for me to do. Perhaps I'll have more time for it once canning season is over and winter is starting to come in.

Why We Co-Sleep

Let me start out by saying I had no intention at the beginning of motherhood to co-sleep. I have friends who co-sleep. I babysat for a family that co-slept. I just didn't really think it was for me. I bought the crib, and bassinet. We were going to have the baby in the same room because of our living arrangement at the time, but that was as close as it was going to get. At least that was the idea.
Like all great plans this one was foiled as well. My daughter would not sleep in her bassinet. She would not sleep in her crib. Now remember I attachment parent so I had no intention of letting this little infant cry it out. I began holding her through the night. I found she slept better. I slept better and this arrangement just made nursing so much easier. Before I knew it I was a co-sleeper.
Now we are 5 1/2yrs into this endeavor and I think my husband enjoys it as much as I do. I have been trying to move our now 3 1/2yr old into the bedroom with his sister, but on the nights when I go to sleep early DH still will drop him in our bed. Almost every night DS still winds up in bed with us, but we both realize this is a slow and steady process.
The only real questions I ever hear about my co-sleeping arrangement are;
#1 Won't you roll over on the baby?- I have never rolled over on my baby. Do I believe it's possible. Yes I do, but I also believe that because I breastfeed and I'm a new mother my body is programmed differently.
#2 What about you and your husband?-Believe me if you want to you find time. The first couple months with a new baby a mom doesn't care about much else, but the new baby. So this isn't an issue in the beginning after that believe me you find the time.
Below is a link to an article that has some scientific stats the prove that co-sleeping can be beneficial to you and baby. I don't think I outright made the choice to co-sleep. I believe God made that decision for me and I don't feel bad or ashamed of the situation at all. In fact now I discuss this option with all new or expecting mothers. I realize it is a personal choice and one that worked to our families benefit.
http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/co_slepping.html