Evan is 2 today!

Happy birthday to Evan!
The baby man is 2 today. We are going over to my friend Melissa's house to play with her 4-year-old daughter and her 2-year-old twin boys. They have the best back yard--an in-ground trampoline, even. Yeeha!
Thankfully the smoke in the area has lessened so we can FINALLY go outside. Have a great week everyone!

cmbing vs. flick carding

Well, I don't much like the flick carder. Oh, well! Worth the $15 investment to find out! I tried the cormo locks mentioned in the previous post from today with my $8 two-row (two pitch) dog comb from PetCo. I liked the resulting product much better than the flicked fiber. Now I know why people like combs, and I tend to spin worsted anyway...combs produce a fiber better suited for spinning that way.

In the pics you can see the fanned lock, held butt end in my fingers, and the dog comb. (Top photo.) The middle is after the second pass with the comb, holding the fanned end in my fingers and combing the butt end. Bottom pic is the final product, after I drafted it out a bit. The comb definitely gets out more neps and teensy short fibers than the flick carder, but it seems like it leaves more "waste" behind. Oh, well! Garden mulch! My tomatoes and peppers are comfy in their little wool beds. :)

Wooly mail!

SockprOn on Ravlery was nice enough to send me a few sample locks from her cormo fleece. The fleece came from "Hester" at Cormo Farms--same place my fleece is coming from. She also sent me some of the wool that she had prepped with wool combs. I've got to get some of those!
The pics are of the unprepared locks, the fiber she made using combs, and then the result of me using my flick carder (for the first time!) for just a few seconds. Not sure what I'm supposed to end up with, and it was hard to concentrate with Evan wanting to use the flick carder, but I'm posting pics anyway. Can't wait until the kids go to bed and I can really work with it!
Thanks SockprOn!!

Alpacas and Lambtown

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca
This Wikipedia article on alpacas has some great info. I am quickly becoming a big fan of this fiber.

Also, I am trying to get a bunch of Ravelry members to meet at Dixon Lambtown USA. If you link to this blog from my Ravelry profile, PM me and let me know if you'd like to meet there. I am mom3x on Ravelry, and we already have about 4 or 5 ladies who want to meet at Lambtown.

I also have another fleece coming my way! I ordered half a pound of coated, skirted, unwashed Romeldale-Merino cross fleece from TheNakedSheep on Ravelry. Coming all the way from Oklahoma! I can't wait to get it and post pics of my first washing/flicking/carding experience. I may decide to buy carders, or combs, or neither at all. When my flick carder gets here from Rumpelstiltskin yarn shop in Sacramento I wiil attempt to spin from the clean, flicked locks. We'll see...

Wish me luck!

30 minutes with alpaca

The color has been washed out by the flash of the camera, but this is my first experience with alpaca. I am hooked!! It spins up so easily, very consistent, and so very very soft. Also seems very strong. I love the color of this fiber...it is kind of a strawberry blonde, with flecks of gold in it. It was labeled "fawn" at Lofty Lou's in Placerville (same place I got my wheel) but the color seems so much more beautiful than simply "fawn."

I have no idea which farm this came from, or what kind of alpaca it is, but this is surely my new favorite fiber. I will have to track down an alpaca fleece now I suppose. :)

My first fleece!

Well, it's not here yet. I put a deposit on half of a cormo sheep fleece from Sue at Cormo farms:
http://www.cormosheep.com/id41.htm
She is going to split either Gus's or Glory's fleece for me, and I will pick it up on July 19th at Dixon Lambtown USA.
http://www.lambtown.com/fiberfair.html
I am so nervous! It will be skirted, which means the nasty poopy bits and the coarser leg wool will have been removed, but this will be my first try at getting raw wool from a sheep turned into fiber for spinning. *Biting my nails*
Sue and her fleeces have gotten rave reviews on Ravelry and from others on the web. I can't wait! I'll keep you all posted.

If I wimp out and send it off to be processed, I plan to send it to:
http://www.morrofleeceworks.com/

I took 6 kids to the Sacramento zoo!

Okay, granted, two of them were my niece and nephew who are 11 and 9. :) Anyway, it was a long hot day but we had fun. Lots of tired sweaty kids who smelled like all-natural sunscreen at the end of the trip. Enjoy the pics and be glad you weren't there.

Willits, Mendocino, and Husch vineyards

We had a great weekend! We spend the night in Willits, CA where we used to live. We visited with Charles and Denise, and got a chance to catch up with Greg and Lisa Francis as well. We went to breakfast in Fort Bragg, and then went to the Mendocino headlands and did some shopping. Densie and I even made our way to a yarn store in Mendocino, and Emma got a chance to go through an art gallery. Evan enjoyed dumping a water bottle all over many things, including himself.

After Mendocino (it was slightly foggy and about 52 degrees--perfect!) we made our way slightly inland and went to Husch vineyards. You haven't lived until you've tried wine tasting with three kids! I got a bottle of wine for me and the best white grape juice ever for the kids. We will definitely be going back there!

knitted hats

These were made with my Knifty Knitter red (small) and blue (extra small) looms. I love those looms!! I have made one more of the smallest size hats since I took this picture.
The top two brown ones are made out of the corriedale cross yarn that I made. It is not as soft as some other fibers, but it has wonderful stretch and looks very outdoorsy and sturdy. It is still totally soft enough to be worn by kids, but seems like it will hold up well.
The all white one was made from regular ol' Red Heart brand acrylic yarn from Wal-Mart. It has a double brim that can be folded over, and it fits my girls as well as my 11-year-old niece. On her, it stretches to an almost crochet-like look. Very cool!
The white and blue one is a mixture. The blue part is silk that I spun, ordered from Crown Mountain Farms in the "opal" colorway. The white portion of this hat is merino.
I need to make the hats a little larger, lengthwise, but hey these are my first ones!! A big "THANK YOU" to Abby and Denise for getting me started on the Knifty Knitter path. Stand by for lots of hand-made Christmas gifts, whether you want them or not! Also, some of the stuff I make will be donated to humanitarian efforts at my friend's church.

Knifty Knitter, fiber sources

The Knifty Knitter!! Knitting on a loom goes back centuries,and I have discovered that it is so easy and fun. I got the Knifty Knitter round loom kit at Wal-Mart for $11 and I've made 4 child-sized hats in two days, out of my own yarn! All kinds of patterns and ideas can be found here:
http://www.provocraft.com/products/detail.php?cl=knifty%20knitter&scl=looms&cat=&item=21-0100

Or, check out purlingsprite's youtube videos--she also has a new book out:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PurlingSprite

I'm so excited to finally have something to do with my yarn, since I'm not the greatest crocheter, and knitting with 2 needles is apparently beyond my capability.

As for fiber sources, I have found some good ones. Paradise Fibers has great prices and ships crazy fast. I ordered some columbia/dorset and some blue-faced leicester from them. Great customer service! The columbia/dorset is really nice, and I don't like the blue-faced leicester as much as I thought. Surprising, since it reviews very well.
My other favorite fiber store is Crown Mountain Farms. EXCELLENT! Beautiful hand-dyed silk hankies, which I love, love, love to spin. So pretty!
Both of these places can be found on the web, and I will order more from them for sure.

Gradutaions!!

Both girls had graduation ceremonies this week. They have both loved school so much, especially Elsa who is just in love with her teachers. St. John's rocks!!

Emma was awarded the principal's award for being a positive role model and always giving 100% effort at school, as well as an academic award. Elsa performed her Zoo Phonics song perfectly at her ceremony, and knew all the sign language signs for the animals.

Here are a few pictures. Happy summer!

Last week of school!

It's the last few days of school for my girls. Here comes summer! This week is crazy, with activities at both girls' schools. Emma's last day is Thursday, Elsa's is Friday. Both girls are getting awards for academics and for being good in class. Yay, girls!! We have gone this entire year with no time-outs or reprimands of any kind--at school, not at home. :)

I have also started babysitting a cute little 1-year-old boy named Brandon to make some money over the summer. My girls love him and Evan is thrilled to have another "dude" who understands about trucks and airplanes.

Emma is 6 today!

I can't believe it! We celebrated with Charles and Denise, Anne' and her kids, and my parents. Drew made a yummy pancake breakfast for everyone and then we went to the baseball fields for frisbee and general crazy running around! Tomorrow I'm bringing cupcakes to Emma's kindergarten class for a small celebration, and her big party is next Saturday.