The First Day Back to School

 The first day back to school has come again. But because they have only had each other to play with these last few weeks, they were happy. Elizabeth started the 5th grade. She made a few friends the first day and has asked if she can learn how to play the flute in early morning band. 

Issac is my shy guy. He has played with a few of the other boys. He has always preferred to stay close to mom or play by himself. He hasn't made any close friends just yet, but I have confidence that it will get easier. Being new to a school is scary sometimes.


There is a doe and her twins that visit an apple tree twice a day. Drive Isis crazy, but the doe knows that she is safe with a fence between them. The babies a a bit more shy and run for cover when the dog starts barking. My sister says the same mother had another set of twins last year too.





On top of school starting, my daughter is turning 10 on Monday. It has been such a great joy raising her. Always quick to smile and eager to help when she sees it is needed. It can not be easy growing up with a bi-polar mother, but she is strong and has been able to hold up against my ups and downs.  

Finally finished the hat! I broke down and picked up some Peaches and Cream. I found the instructions for a simple daisy in the book The Harmony Guide to Crocheting . The same book that I am still borrowing from my mother when I taught myself how to crochet. The daisies are really easy, but good morals and copyright laws keep me from giving you the pattern I used from the book. But i think my take along projects for a while will be crocheting little hearts, clovers and flowers. Having small projects like that is healthy for the creative spirit. Here is a FREE DAISY PATTERN that is very close to the one I used. 

We Moved!

It's unfortunate but we had to leave our beloved Washington. My family needed some one to help take care of my grandmother and I was having a tough time finding a job that would cover all of my bills. So I sold a majority of our belongings and headed back to Placerville, California.

I want this to be a year of positive thinking. So even if I had to leave Washington for a bit, my children get a chance to get to know their great grandmother and the rest of my family. My sister and my mother haven't seen us in about 6 years. I get to finally meet my first niece, Izzy. (She is a cutie b.t.w. I can say that because I am in no way biased.)

When I was a little girl, my grandmother had a huge garden with several fruit trees. As a little girl I remember climbing the giant fig tree in her back yard. I still love figs. She had everything from persimmons to black berries, asparagus to egg plant. Plus she had all the other regular garden veggies like zucchini and tomato and bell peppers. She grew up during the depression so we did a lot of canning during the summer.

I did get to go to the 2013 Yarnival. It was my first fiber event ever and I am ashamed to say I didn't take any pictures. I was located at the Boeger Winery just out side of Placerville. Kyle and I went alone and had wonderful time. It was very hot, but there were vendors selling food and drink with shaded picnic benches. I picked up some hand painted roving of merino  and bamboo. It was the first time every working with anything besides wool. I have the fiber a beautiful sheen to it and it is so soft. I am thinking about making a pair of socks out of it. . . one day.

Yesterday and today I have been working on a hat for Elizabeth. I am using some of the fiber I bought while I was living in Washington. I have also decided this is not only the year of positive attitudes but trying new things. I have worked with knitting patterns enough to know there are somethings I would love to change to make them more unique, but I am still enough of a novice that I do not feel comfortable altering anything. So I have decided to give recipes a try starting with  Paper Sensei's top down hat. It's a  free pattern and a very easy hat to stitch up. But learning how to start a hat with no gauge is a little scary for me but I am trying new things and I WILL master it!

Dyeing Wool Black....take 1

My brother came up for Thanksgiving and discovered that I have taught myself how to spin. He has requested one of those beanies with an attached beard. So tonight I am dying black wool just for my brother, George. 

So first we gather supplies:

• The stirring stick (a random but useful stick from nature)
• Dye (I am using Rit black)
• A Big Pot
• Water
• Wool
• A Stove
• Plain White Vinegar
• Gloves

The stick is literally a random stick i found outside just so i didn't ruin any of my cooking utensils. A lot of dyes are toxic and you don't want to use anything you plan on cooking or preparing food in ever again.  

So in the pot you want to fill it about 3/4 of the way full of water and start it heating on the stove. I like to add about a cup of vinegar to the water while it's just getting hot. Once your pot of water almost simmering, i then add a good fist full of fiber. I am currently working with 100% sheep wool. I really wish i had asked the farmer who gave it to me what kind of sheep it is. 

So using your stick make sure all of the fiber is submerged. Gently turning the fiber in the pot taking care not to agitate it. 

And now for the magic! Add the dye a little at a time. You can follow the manufacturers' instructions if you want... I don't...I'm too lazy and this works for me. So I drizzle it in a little at a time, letting is slowly spread through-out the pot. I will use my stick to help the dye get into all the fibers. If it doesn't look like the dye is sticking to the fibers I'll add another up of vinegar. If you add too much, don't worry about it, it isn't going to ruin anything.

Next I let it sit in the pot with the heat on very low to maintain the heat of the water for about a half hour, gently stirring it now and then. I don't mind if some of the fibers are lighter than others I think it adds character to the finished product.




It turned out to look more burgundy in some light and black in others. I think he will like it. I cant wait to mix it with other colors when I card them together.

I love how this blue turned out! It really bright and vibrant. I dyed this about a week ago and hope to have some of it spun  and in my etsy store Craftywitchcorner. 

So I know I haven't blogged for a while, so I'm going to probably do a couple of entries over the next couple of days. So Halloween went really well for the kids. My My friend and neighbor Erika and I were the only two parents in the neighborhood that were not sick on Halloween. so she and I took everyone trick or treating down the street. For spending absolutely no money on costumes, they turned out really well. I had found about 4 yards of deep purple flannel in the shed that i had used to make Eli's dress and Issac's ninja costume. I used the yarn I had spun to make the hat, felted the ears, and embroidered the yellow strips. It turned out really well. You can tell my kids are the ones who have the same color costumes.

I finished the gloves for Kyle's mother. I think they ended up a little long. But in my defense I do not know her hand size. I also started my niece, Izzy's, Christmas stocking. We had a very unproductive work day this last week, and so I started it then. I am using a free pattern I found for this stocking. I used J.erin's knits free stocking pattern. Absolutely love it! I used the yarn that the pattern suggested, Hooks and Loops. 

And I still have a ton of the plum colored wool that I am slowly spinning for my possible esty store.

Well that's it for now. I'll try and blog more later this week.