The scamers and spamers are at it again. I've had to withdraw my loom ad from craigslist. I've received no less than 20 offers from these weirdo's. Its still for sale, just not on that web site. Our weather has been wonderful for most of the winter this year. The last couple weeks has been near or in the 40's. I'm wanting to get the garden weeded and ready to plant something new. Now, if I could just keep Bella from digging elephant-size holes everywhere ... like the driveway, the front yard ... she loves digging! And so big and strong now she can just about go through concrete. I've been spinning up the blue / green baby alpaca (Wasabi's) I dyed last year. I want to make a baby hat for a friend's new baby. Hope I get the yarn done before the little guy's a teenager! We were finally able to find a new home for the Q-bed. A friend is coming today to pick it up and take it to the family. I'm so glad they can use it. My little Harley will be gelded next Sat. He has gotten so amorous with me! I'm sorry to do it to him, but it will be better. The two other little guys aren't ready yet but the vet says he can 'fix' that so we can do them this year (I hope).

For Sale: Ashford 24" Tapestry Loom - $350 (Cost New $525) I will be at the Log Cabin Spin-In in Post Falls in March and can deliver it then. Or you can see it / pick it up at my home studio. Email me at WovenDreamsFarm@wildblue.net if you want more pictures or have any questions.

I guess its time for me to pass this beautiful loom along to someone else. I purchased it used about five years ago from a nice lady in Wisconson. I have never used it and realize now I probably won't. I have four other looms and although I have always wanted to learn how to do Navajo weaving or make a wall tapestry, I just don't have the time any more. So I am downsizing a bit. This is a great deal for someone with the time. Whoever purchases this has to promise to send me pictures of what they made with it, though!!

Poodwaddle.com

A friend sent me this utube video link. I had to post it here as it is one of the best I have ever seen. Take a look at this and be sure your sound on on. All I can say is Beautiful ... Bravo, Bravo!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8ryWd5aFw
I also have it listed under Favorite Links. Here is the email I received with the link:
In November 2009 at the central market in Valencia, Spain, opera
singers disguised as shopkeepers were selling produce at the
various stalls there. Suddenly music from Verdi's Il
Trovatore starts playing over the loudspeakers & they burst
into song. None of the shoppers has a clue what's going on. Sort of
like candid camera but completely charming.
Click on this & watch and enjoy the music and the faces in the crowd.

What a beautiful month we've had. Rather than snowing, its been raining. So different that the last couple years. The tree and bush branches are starting to have some color so buds won't be far behind. Sure hope we don't have a hard freeze in Feb which would kill off the new growth. I went to a natural dye class Sat. The product we used is called Earthues and is mostly comprised of bugs and roots and is a very ancient form of dyeing used around the world. The picture shows the nine different applications. We used cochineal, logwood purple, cutch, Qyellow, Qred, pomegranate, weld, lac and chestnut. Cochineal and lac are bugs, the rest are roots or seeds and plants. We were told not to wash the yarn for at least a week so assume it will soften the colors just a little when I do. It was very interesting and a lot of fun. I've used other dyes, but never anything like these. The colors don't turn out like you would imagine so a basic class is helpful. I've more confidence now and would love to try them. They are very expensive so I'd sure hate to mess it up. Got to get my tax stuff done this week as my appointment with the tax preparer is next week. No playing and fun for me until its done.

WELCOME 2010 !

The new year is finally here. Out with the old, in with the new. Just like our lives we throw away what we don't need any more. One of the things I like and will continue in 2010 is recycling. We usually re-home our older clothes to the Salvation Army, reuse grocery plastic bags and all the stuff most folks do also. One or two interesting ideas is to shop thrift stores, find a sweater (or whatever they have) that's not particularly attractive but the colors are beautiful. Then frog it, or unravel it. Knit or weave the new yarn to make yourself a scarf or hat for near to nothing pricewise. Last summer I carded small batches of left over fiber together and got some very interesting combinations. Some people (not me) use the thurms from weaving and spin them in with other fibers for a colorful interesting yarn. I'm still working on spinning the brown / white / black alpaca. It will be a 2-ply yarn and so far I have one bobbin full, ready to start of the second bobbin. If finances get better this year I would love to get an electric spinner to be used for plying. That's the only part that makes me so tired, because there's a lot of it and I'm always anxious to get it done (so I can play with it!). My resolution for this year is to get my desk cleaned off. Happy New Year everyone.

Six days until Christmas. I finished up my shopping and things I was making this last week. No more trips to the mall. WooHoo! I had done most of my grocery shopping for Christmas before Thanksgiving and put a lot of stuff in the freezer in the spare refrigerator. Right after turkey day I cleaned out that frig and turned it off. Unfortunately I also turned off the freezer somehow and we just discovered everything was lost. All the meat including my beautiful big lamb roast I was planning on for the 25th. Another trip to the dump was in order. I did manage to get the hat finished for my daughter. Now I'm working on a little crochet purse for her that I don't know if I will finish or not. Pix when I do. We still don't have any snow to speak of. We had about 3" this last week, but today its raining and most of its gone now. We got Bella spayed this week. She did just fine. I'm disappointed because I wanted to breed her in a year or so but with all the coyotes up here I was too afraid one might get through our fence and get to her. So now, she can just concentrate on her wonderful guarding capabilities. Already she's a great watch dog. And at 7 mo old and nearly 75 pounds, I would certainly be afraid. I've been reading on-line about a new dyeing technique I'm anxious to try. Its similar to tie-dyeing but with a much different look. As soon as the holidays are over and things calm down again I am heading back into the studio. BTW, here's a picture of my poor bamboo scarf that got 'kitty-handled'. Keep in mind that threads in this are about the size of sewing thread.

Brrrrrrrr. Temps much colder than they should be. Here's a sample from around 6am Tues morning. Bella is tolerating the cold by sleeping comfortably outside every night. So does Dolly with the alpacas and goats. I visualize them all huddling together in the sheds. Probably not. I'm trying to get my second bamboo scarf done. I've set a goal of six inches each day. I can't seem to stay on schedule every day but was doing pretty well until I found one of our kitties had sharpened his / her nails on the woven part. What a mess. I will have to un-weave about the last four inches and just hope the warp isn't damaged. The weft isn't so important and it could be replaced. Right now I have the bamboo warp on the Ashford, I'm winding the wool warp in the studio and plan to space-dye it when its all wound off, I have white-brown-black alpaca blended and on the spinning wheel, a hat for my daughter about half done with the knitting, my knitted sox about 3/4 finished, a cashmere knitted hat started, and a knitted scarf from dyed alpaca roving started. Anything else? I'll never remember. In addition, I've ordered two more painted warps and have one I want to paint myself and make a scarf. With only a couple weeks left until Christmas there is so much other stuff to do I wonder when I can get back to my studio. I went shopping yesterday and returned home nearly empty-handed. I can't seem to find what I want and the rest is way too expensive. We have no snow yet, just cold and wind. At least that wind has stopped for the time being. Good excuse to stay in and complete at least one project.

Thanksgiving is past and only three weeks until Christmas. I'd like to impress by saying my shopping is done, but sadly not so. Who knows when that will happen. Its an hour drive each way to town, then shopping, a couple of errands probably and the day is gone. We feed the livestock in the morning so never get away from the farm until around 10am. Change clothes (yes! a must) and don't get back home until around 3 or 4pm. Phew! Makes me tired. Thanksgiving was fun, the only mis-hap was when Bella wanted some Pumpkin Dessert that was sitting on the kitchen counter. She tried to be sneaky and get it herself but only succeeded in pulling it off the counter on to the floor. Broke my dish but we only had a tiny little taste before it happened. One of my sisters lives in Spokane WA and came for dinner. And she brought home-made fudge. Thank goodness. She admired the rayon chainette / cotton scarf I had woven so I gifted her with it. She can't wear wool, so that worked out perfectly. And, its her colors too. Not much spinning or weaving going on right now. Who's got time? I am knitting a hat for my daughter, frogged it three times already but I think I have a good start this time. I will post a picture when its done, after Christmas. Its a surprise and I don't want her to see it. Nights are getting a lot colder, in the single-digits this week. Sunday its supposed to be windy and cold, nearly zero on Monday. Ouch. Animals are all holding up well to the cold. Bella likes it cold and I think the alpacas do too. Glad its them and not me out there. :-)

Nearly Thanksgiving! No, I'm not ready, but almost. Don't mention Christmas yet. We've been getting ready for winter by taking care of all our outside chores, stacking wood, putting away anything that might get broken or puppy would chew up. I ordered some beautiful space-dyed chenille yarn last week. The delivery person so kindly put it somewhere near the front porch where the 60+ lb puppy was so sweet to open the box for me. I found the yarn cone on the other side of the yard with the bottom all chewed out. I'm sure the pieces of yarn will be about 12" long when I unroll it. Oh well, it was only a 2 lb cone! I did finish the 12/2 bamboo scarf this fall that has been on the loom for the last two summers. I sent it to one of my sisters. She liked it! So now I'm working on the second half of that white warp. The first scarf was woven with a beautiful yellow, the second one will be lime green. I've also got three more warps ready to go when I finish this. The big Herald loom has steel heddles and I'm not sure if I want to stress the warp on it like I did with the Leicester Longwool scarf. Of course that was handspun which made it a little more fragile that these will be. Here's a pic of the yellow bamboo one.

Brrrr, a little chilly this morning. Foggy, damp and around 38. Not as cold as its been but with the dark skies it sure seems so. All our four-legged friends are doing well. The alpacas and goats have been famished when I feed in the morning. Wonder if they are putting on extra weight because its going to be colder or something this winter. We've taken in another motherless litter of kittens. We lost one right away, then another wasn't doing so well. We did take them to the nice vet and got some medicine, put an extra heater near their cage and lots of TLC. The two are doing so much better. One we named Big Mike. He's so big and robust and bright orange, and can play with Angel, the little kitty I found in the pasture one morning. The other little girl has been named Mini because she is. She's a tortoise colored mostly black with a tiny little orange nose. She is so much more fragile and apparently isn't as advanced as Big Mike. She prefers to sit in the cage and watch most of the time. I finally got my black alpaca yarn spun and washed. It is so soft. I want to either knit a hat or will weave a scarf. Pix if I ever get it done. I tried getting pix of the two little ones this morning, but they are too fast. Here's one of Angel.

The wind has been blowing all night. It was so noisy at one point I got out of bed to make sure we didn't have anything 'bad' going on outside. Flashlight in hand I made it downstairs only to find all the motion lights outside were on. I guess when the power went out and came back on a few minutes later it tripped something and they had to all be unplugged this morning. At midnight, I wasn't about to go out and do it. The only mishap (so far) has been my beautiful little maple in the front yard. I have always suspected it would split but thought it would be several years before that happened. When it stops blowing later this week I will be out doing cleanup on the property. I always pray none of our big trees comes down on any outbuildings. Last year one did come down on the fence and just barely missed my neighbor's house by inches. God is so good.