PaddyPants

Duck goes quack

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:33:00 +0000

I heard the first quack today, so it looks like Sam is a girl, still only peeping from Jade, but fingers crossed. Both are just starting to get feathers on the wing tips, can just see this cute little brown tufty bits appearing. They're still coming indoors at night for the moment so the laundry is a touch funky first thing, but aside from that I'm really enjoying the duck thing. They're not what I'd call friendly yet, but I'm getting better at catching them to pop them in their day or night cage. Will have to go and get some grit tomorrow as well as some other food.

I do wish the local cats hadn't spotted them though, atm I have to keep them in the run during the day as the cats are eyeing them up and dreaming of duck dinner. They should be ok in a few weeks as they'll be big enough to make the cats rethink. The main thing is I don't want to lose one as I need at least 2 ducks so they'll be happy. Ducks don't do well by themselves.

Boy do ducks doo!

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Day 2: Put them outside for what I planned to be the whole day, and then the southerly blew in! I was out at the time but as soon as I got back I took them out of the cage and back into the box for inside. Put the heater on for them while they dried off and a bit longer, more food etc. They were very hungry first thing! Spent the rest of the morning fixing up an interim inside box using an old cardboard box (a big one) and lining the bottom with some Procare PUL to waterproof it. Hot glue gun holds the waterproofing in place and then I covered that with an old woven plastic sack. They look happier in that, more room to move which is good.
I've just put them back outside for a bit and they're splashing around in their mini-pond (litter tray full of water, lol). In the meantime the sack has been rinsed off and is on the lawn drying. It was very mucky so I think I'll have to wash it every day if possible. The water bowl gets several cleans and fills each day too. They'll get one more feed before they come in and any food left over from the evening will go in with them for overnight. In a couple of weeks we'll transition them to sleeping in their box on the deck instead of in the laundry; it's getting a bit cramped in there.

Here's the cage just after I finished making it

The other night the boys got to use sparklers for the first time, I think they enjoyed themselves! They've been asking for more ever since.

Ducky Doo

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:42:00 +0000

We have ducklings!   Dropped off this morning which is why I spent yesterday afternoon frantically making them a moveable cage.   They're 3 weeks old atm and very cute.   George has named them Jade (the lighter one) and Sam (the darker one).   We're hoping they're both girls so we get eggs later.
They're currently in the laundry in a box with straw, water and food and the heater on.   I don't like having that on overnight, but we don't have brooder lamps so they have to keep warm somehow.    They came with some chick crumble and we have plenty of greenery to add to the diet, they are much more fond of the silverbeet than the boys!    Got some wheat today too, so I'll soak some in the morning for them. Still got to get grit, but it's a public holiday here tomorrow so it won't be until the weekend.    Hoping the weather is good so they can be in their outside cage for the next couple of weeks in the day cos they poop heaps and their little indoor box won't cope.   No way will they be let inside without it though.
I'm very proud of the cage, the bottom is open to the ground, has netting on the sides and is nice and sturdy. Has a good waterproof sleeping area too.   Once they're older they won't need it so much so I'll open up the end so they can come and go as they want.   Atm though they're small and vulnerable to the local cat overpopulation so I'm a little protective; not to mention that they're a little skittish and I dont' want them running.   Will have to block off escape routes this weekend with the rest of the chicken wire.   These guys won't be flyers so we don't have to worry about that at least.

And a lovely weekend was had by 2

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:33:00 +0000

A wee while back I posted I'd won a girls night out. Saturday was the day I chose and my knitting friend Joanne and I had a wonderful time! We started at the guild knitting and about 1.20pm we left for the hotel, which was Chateau on the Park in Christchurch. I was working on the beginning of Ingenue (a jersey) from my handspun Romney and Joanne was working on a feather and fan scarf (which looks lovely btw). I've got the neck almost finished over the course of Saturday and Sunday, just 2 repeats to go; and for those wondering, yes I swatched first.
Anyway, getting back to the point. We checked in and half an hour later were on our way to Dressmart in Hornby with the intention of spending our full budgets. I managed, within budget to get 2 skirts, 2 tops, a bra and undies set and my running sneakers. Joanne had a little more to spend, but also did really well with skirts, jeans and tops. We were picked up just on 5pm, back to the hotel and got ready for dinner with a touch of knitting done too.
We had dinner in the restaurant, a fishy theme here. I had the whitebait fritters (a little too eggy) and Joanne had Dory. Then dessert before we paid and left to go and knit. We were meant to go to the movies, but there was only 15 minutes from when we finished to when the movie would have started so we're doing that at another time with the vouchers. Need to give our DH's a little time to recover from looking after the children first.
We did get quite a lot of knitting done that evening instead though, but then Joanne discovered she'd made a mistake so had to undo quite a bit too. We watched "Along Came A Spider" on free to air tv that night and got to bed a little later than planned.
Next morning was a lovely smorgasboard breakfast (pancakes, bacon, hash browns and fruit), followed by; what else? More knitting! And then down for our manicures; J was sneaky and said I could go first, that way she got to knit, lol.
I now have deep burgundy nails, with bling.
Which I then went home and used to start making our new outdoor table, so they're not quite as perfect as they were. I'll post photo's of the start of the jersey and my nails later; as well as the table top. Had to stop before we finished as I was getting blisters.
I guess that's the end of my ramble atm, more ramblings later; maybe after Thursday's spinning meeting.

It's finished, it's finished, yippee!

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:20:00 +0000

I finished my Aeolian shawl at the guild this afternoon so this is basically a brag post. It's gorgeous, and that's before blocking.

Here it is blocking!

I also tried spinning linen for the first time, it's short bits and not going quite so well, got covered in it! Will keep trying though.

School Holidays and I won something!

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:01:00 +0000

All I can really say for that is that I'm glad it's over! No car for the first week aside from the Thursday so there was way too much computer and tv for the boys. Weather wasn't great either which didn't help.
Monday this week they went to Grandma's place so I could go to the sock knitting day over in Bishopdale with the spinning guild. I then picked Ian up and took him to his first session at the University for a course we're doing there. He spent most of his time telling me he wanted to go home now.
Tuesday we went to Willowbank which was definitely enjoyed if rather quicker than expected. Wednesday both boys went to Grandma's for an overnighter; bliss! I did quite a bit of knitting, a little tidying and Thursday morning went to the Heathcote spinning guild; which I'm going to join! Unfortunately when I picked the boys up I found out they hadn't been very good, so no TV till after 5pm yesterday as well as no Xbox and PC at all for the rest of the week.
Got a phone call yesterday morning from "The Breeze" which is a local radio station. I'd won the ultimate girls getaway, so I've invited Joanne from my knitting group to join me for a night at a hotel, followed by a small shopping trip and a manicure. Should be good. Just waiting to hear back if the night I want is ok with Joanne and if so then I'll ring and hopefully book it. Has to be a weekend night.

Got a bit further on my sock, halfway through the foot of the first one now, also got partway through the first Agave chart for my Aoelian shawl, thought I'd stuffed it up for a while, but in the end it was simply my counting that was off. Need to try and get that finished by the end of next month so I'll be taking it to the guild tomorrow instead of spinning. Part of the reason for that though is that the weather is awful atm and I don't really want to take the wheel when it's peeing down with rain even if she does have a custom made raincoat.

Next week's going to be busy too. Monday is fairly quiet, but I"m going to make a doctor's appointment for the following week for a general checkup. Haven't had one ever and I need my tetanus shots updated anyway. Tuesday I'm doing a spinning demo at school, hope it's reasonably warm as I'll be spinning raw fleece which won't be so easy if it's cold. I'm demoing as it would have been done 100 years ago, so raw is the way to go, no drum carding and I'm not prepared to ruin my combs on raw fleece so I'm using an old flick carder. Once that's done I can then spin the linen. Wednesday is the first parents meeting for the course I'm doing with the University; hope I can find a park. Thursday will be the Heathcote spinners guild again and Friday I'll start back at the gym.

From then on it's Monday and Friday at the gym, Wednesday at University and Thursday at the guild; I do hope Ian starts getting more hours at school so I have a chance to get some other stuff done!

Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:55:00 +0000

First I have to say I had a wonderful time at Glentui and I'm going back next year. I've already paid my deposit. It also looks like I may be joining the Heathcote spinning guild as they've invited me back which is grand.
I finished the yarn I was working on when I left for Glentui and although it's DK rather than fingering, it will still make nice socks. I have also got to the transition on my Aeolian shawl so I'm happy with that.

Now that it's spring I've been sorting things out. The conservatory is now tidy for the first time in ages; we have a lot less toys and I've started going through my fabric stash. There's a mountain on one of the lounge chairs of stuff I'm never going to use, which I'll be putting on the trading post of TNN to see if someone else wants it. I'm hoping I can sell most of it locally as I hate posting things like that. There's microfleece, polarfleece, denim, suiting and all sorts in that pile.

Getting ready for Glentui

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:31:00 +0000

Very busy this week, working frantically as I won't be home to get anything done this weekend. So I'm doing my work for WEFT, cleaned out the car and been making Alpaca/Silk batts to spin up while I'm there. This stuff is so fine my drumcarder isn't really coping as well as I'd like; I'm dreaming of a Pat Green Supercard, but that's never going to happen. They're not even available over here!
I've been doing some work on my Aoelian too, I'm on the second Yucca pattern and I'm really liking it, she's going with me to Glentui as well as my socks as I need something easy as well. I'm also taking my current spinning which is the Dorset/Columbia fibre that I dyed and am spinning for socks. I'll also take some pencil roving that I dyed myself, it's a Merino Acrylic blend which I've never come across before, not sure how it'll wear, but I'm hoping it'll do nice socks. I'm also taking the batts I'm blending atm; that should be plenty I think. I'll take a book; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I've read it before and enjoyed it, but it's not something that will override my spinning mojo.
Gotta get back to work now, Ian's on the computer after having a lot of time drowning the sandpit and being good at school; he's earned this :)

Knitting and spinning and Autism

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Well, I sent off the yarn for the painting themed yarn swap on TNN this morning, have just realised I forgot to take a photo before sending it; duh!   Went to do some work on the shawl I have just started and found that the new needles have a raised bit which is catching on the yarn; luckily Morag at Vintage Purls is putting a replacement set in the post but it still means I can't work on it today.
I've finished the first swatch for my Paloma top, it's dried and is just hanging lightly weighted so I can see if I get gauge.   If I do then I'll cast on for that tonight after I've got some work done. I'm using Elann Lara in the most amazing turquoise.   Should look fantastic when it's done, assuming I do it correctly of course.
Mum's only got a wee way to go on George's jumper too, so he should have that for next winter no problems, though she's just caught a nasty bug and can't get up today.
I'm going to be working on some sock yarn on the weekend, try and get my first 3 ply set up. Technically it's not the first, that was my Merino/Yak/Silk blend, but this is the first I've dyed and spun from scratch. One ply is finished, 2 to go.

Had another meeting with Ian's school and GSE (group special education), no more hours yet as he has no time when he is independent so we're still only getting the time that they have a one-on-one person funded for.   So still only 3 hours, next meeting isn't until the 4th week of next term so if we do get extra time it'll be for 6 weeks max before the Christmas holidays. We're working on getting him a bit more independent at home in the hopes that it will translate into the same thing at school.   They were also doing the application for funding for next year.   It's kind of scary, the max any child can get is 17 hours a week; Ian needs full time support and he's able bodied.   What must it be like for children who can get that 17 hours but are not able to do anything for themselves?

Update

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:48:00 +0000

Interesting times as Terry Pratchett would say. Our PC is effectively now new, it has a new motherboard and CPU plus an extra gig RAM, apparently it wasn't uncommon for the particular motherboard we originally had to cause freezing. We'd already replaced the power supply so there's not much left of the original PC aside from the DVD recorder, case and hard drive. She's definitely faster than she was which is good.
Also been doing more knitting, got to contact Patons about the Inca yarn I'm currently using as there's quite a long bit I can't use as it wasn't spun properly; one bit way too thin and further down is way too thick!
Ian's at school now, 3 hours a day. Had a period of time where the school weren't communicating very well, possibly some fault on our side too but I can't see it myself. He's settling in reasonably well, but has had several days off sick; including today. DH is home looking after us as I'm feeling rotten and the boys have been off school to recover. We have our next meeting on Monday after school and we're really hoping that we get some more time, even if it's only the half hour till lunchtime up till next term. Next term he gets a wee bit more funding so extra hours will be easier.
Spinning up a storm as well, just finished the yarn for the latest TNN yarn swap, no photo's atm as I don't want to spoil the surprise. I carded the fibre first and I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. It's somewhere between a DK and Worsted; a trifle thicker than I wanted, but the blend of down sheep fibres pretty much guaranteed a yarn with a little bloom.

In a couple of weeks I'm going to Glentui for the weekend, it's a weekend of spinning with like-minded people from the various Christchurch guilds, really looking forward to it; especially now that I have a sleeping bag. Speaking of that the spending has gone off slightly with DH's bonus. We now have a new BBQ and a few extra bits coming for it, including a BBQ cover and grill thingie.

Will come back when I'm feeling more with it and update properly.

I'm an addict

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:00:00 +0000

I've finally admitted to myself and most of the people I'm friends with that I'm a shopping addict.   It think I always have been but been scared to admit it cos then I'd have to do something about it.
Today I did my last spending, but it was on things I'd committed to before I realised the problem.   It came out of my spending money for the fortnight and there won't be any more.   Funny thing is I'm feeling quite good, my sewing mojo is on its way back which is great and it actually felt almost freeing knowing that I'm not going to be spending.
I think I may have to spend a little though, the computer is freezing on me, it's been to the shop and nothing wrong with the components and I've reinstalled XP after formatting the hard drive so it's not data related.   I suspect it's due to overheating and wouldn't still be happening if they'd cleaned her like I asked. So tomorrow she's going back into the shop.

One good thing happened today though, aside from my usual session at the guild doing some knitting I went to WWKIP day (world wide knit in public) and I won a competition!   I'd taken Ian's jersey

into the guild to show off. I've been knitting this thing for 3 months now and I've hated it! The pattern was a very large chart with lots of right and left twists resulting in a cabled look. It's called Sherwood and is available on Knitty.com. Unfortunately the yarn I was using which was one of my earlier handspun wasn't suitable for cables, and I didn't have enough of it to do the whole thing. I finished the main part and decided to make it a vest with the wrong side showing. Had to do it at night so the boys didnt' learn any new words.

Anyway, I put it in a competition at the WWKIP and it came second! I won some lovely 10 ply yarn from Amy as well as a couple of magazines and a set of DPN's. Was so chuffed :). The ladies at the guild were all very impressed as well and now that I've finished it I actually quite like it. Ian gets it for his birthday tomorrow.

Wish me luck with the horrible PC, we can't afford a new one so they'd best be able to fix it!

The concrete weekend

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:46:00 +0000

Last weekend was very busy, I didn't go to spinning simply so we could get our concreting done. The area we're concreting started off as an interlocking paver covered weed section and a weedy throughway to the shed. It's now a nicely concreted area, with a 1.5' gap where we ran out of concrete. So tomorrow I'm picking up more cement, builders mix and have booked the mixer in again for Sunday to get it finished. We'll also get the last 8 piles for the deck concreted in and then the deck is all we have to finish outside.

Saturday had a slight hiccup in the evening though, DH went to get fish and chips with eldest and some idjit ran into them on a roundabout. So I have been organising panelbeaters and insurance etc this week. Also started losing oil, luckily that turned out to simply be a faulty oil filter which was free to fix. The panelbeater can't get the car in till 30th March, but once he realised we have 2 children he's offered a courtesy car for a smaller fee than normal. I said we couldn't really afford $20 +GST per day, but I was wondering how we'd cope for a week or so with no car. Luckily he's offered us a Kia something or other for $50 total. Going to get the car and George fitted for a new carseat tomorrow and then fax the quote to the insurance company. Once that's approved then it's all plain sailing insurance wise. I'll be really glad once it's all done though.

Inside I'm working on the bathroom area still, wallpaper is all off and I've finished patching holes and things. Sanding tomorrow, including the wood if I have time. Then on Monday I'll seal the gib while Ian's at Grandma's. Then it's lots more painting, before we can get the vinyl tiles laid. Haven't heard back on the shower room yet, so not much to report there aside from the fact that we're not going with a full wet room, $7000 is a bit too much to spend.

On the crafting side I finally have my electronic spinning wheel sorted so I'll be plying the 8 bobbins for my jersey which will tell me if I've spun enough or not. If I have then I get dyeing as brownish grey isn't really a flattering colour on me. Also got to read the instructions for my spinning course too, the fibre isn't here yet but it's been paid for so I hope it's not too far away. I'd like to get it washed before the winter sets in.

Home Improvement

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Been very busy recently organising a revolving credit part for our mortgage. With that we've paid off the credit cards, which is how they're going to stay.   We've also put the floating part of the mortgage on it and are doing some improvements to the house.

1. The one that started us on the mortgage change - a home ventilation system. After talking to all of them we've gone with Healthaire which filters to 0.2 microns and is custom designed to your home. It's not cheap, but was still cheaper than the best known one in NZ and significantly cheaper than the heat exchange versions. It's being installed on Tuesday next week.

2. Bathroom area. We're replacing the carpet with vinyl, going from cream carpet (a nightmare with a pre-schooler who misses) to a deep peacock tile look vinyl, the walls are being stripped of wallpaper and painted in Resene Duck Egg Blue (I think that's right); it's a lovely light green with a blue tinge. The rimu is all being sanded back and varnished; we're keeping the current toilet, bath and hand basin. Have got a new wall mirror/cupboard which is also rimu.
The shower is going to be replaced, it's not coping with DH's weight and is making some rather alarming noises; it's also chipped on the base and not really large enough. DH wants to transform the room into a step-in shower, which I'm ok with depending on cost. Should find out if that's viable next week.

3. Outside. The service area outside the back door and walkway to the shed is being concreted, the reinforcing wire for that is arriving tomorrow and then we can box it all up ready to go. Needs to be compacted too.   It was all in interlocking cobbles and was always growing weeds, this will be so much better.   Outside the conservatory which is the BBQ area is going to be a deck, all the stuff for that is arriving tomorrow too.   There's going to be a lot of work, but it will look much better after it's all done.

Once all that's done there are a couple of smaller things like upgrading the PC and getting an expensive service done on the car. We'll then be paying it all off before putting a room onto the side of the garage for my craft room so the boys can have separate rooms inside the house.   It's all very exciting and a little scary.

Healthy living

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:22:00 +0000

This is something I started on a week or so back, fell over on the weekend with a crunchie bar, but back on track now.

I'm aiming at a healthy body and mind, both for me and the boys (DH is doing some too, he's cut down to 4 cups of coffee a day). Here's what I'm doing:

* No TV until 5pm, this started yesterday and applies to the boys PC as well, unfortunately the PC is currently on as DH promised George he could have it after school. He now knows better. I noticed on the weekend that George and Ian play more and are better behaved without them.

* No sweets or junk food. Finished the last thing of chips today and there's no sweets in the house aside from a thing of lollypops thats a couple of years old.

* Trying to make meals more healthy too, today isn't a great example as we're having chicken pie from Couplands, but there will be more veges than normal, all from our garden.

* Exercising more. Taken yesterday off as we shifted 4 tonnes of interlocking pavers and scraped the dirt off them over the weekend so we've done enough. Did some jogging into kindy this morning though. Have my personal trainer tomorrow, we'll probably do some boxing.

* Using my juicer, just finishing off a yummy fruit and vege juice now. I hope this will help me detox.

It's raining, it's pouring; we're all wet!

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Weekend before last a storm front came through on the Sunday. Started with a lot of hail which blocked up the drains, then came the downpour! Our gutters didn't cope and normally this isn't a problem, but for some reason this time they sent the water over the interior lip of the gutter, into the overhangs and down the inside of the windows. Had to run around frantically putting towels on window sills and unplugging electrics. Then went outside where it was cold (been 30 deg cent before then). Unblocked all the downpipes except one which I had to remove alltogether as it was just too blocked up. We'll have to reattach that one to the house as the bracket was broken.
Next weekend we're taking an inch off all the bottoms of the downpipes so there's a gap between them and the grating, and we'll be installing an overflow system using poly pipe inserted into the guttering and placed a little higher than the bottom of the gutter so that it'll only let water through if the gutter fills up.

I think Sunday's are a day when important things happen, cos this Sunday just gone no downpour, but Dennis the Menace had a stroke and had to be put down. RIP furrball.

He's now in the garden permanently. Seems strange not having to close down the laundry at night and not having to check for cat before setting the alarm when we go out. Hoping to get a dog at some point now, wish us luck.

Still spinning and knitting. Almost finished my second pair of socks and 3 bobbins into the 2.4kg of Romney that I"m spinning up to make myself a cardigan. Will probably dye the fibre once it's all spun up.

Busy, busy, busy!

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:12:00 +0000

Been very busy recently. Got all the Christmas presents sorted and engraved. I actually used DH's Dremel to do the engraving, so it's not quite as pretty as the professionals, but it's not bad for a first-timer! I'll let you know what they all are after Christmas day. Don't want to spoil the surprise for the family.

Speaking of family, there's one less now. Unfortunately my BIL's wife decided to leave him with no warning a few weeks back. Atm he has custody and she gets the boys on a regular basis. We're hoping that he will be able to move back here to Christchurch once everything's sorted, but I don't know how long that will take.

We're having issues of our own, but not marriage issues. Ian is being a right pain to get to sleep at night. We've tried Tart Cherry juice with natural melatonin with no luck, Rescue Remedy Sleep and am now trying a new thing from a Bach flower practitioner. Unfortunately because the boys share rooms it means George is tired during the day and his concentration at school is suffering. I'm trying a different remedy for him.
On a positive note we found the Trip Trap chair worked well for Ian so our occupational therapist is applying for funding for one for him. Now that it's gone back to them we've noticed he's much harder to keep at the table at meal times again. She's pretty sure we'll get funding, but doesn't know how long it'll take. Fingers crossed it'll be soon! Aside from that Ian's vocab is increasing slowly and he's starting to get interested in what I do, helped bake some muffins the other day which was great; well, apart from the small flour and cocoa powder explosion. Didn't take a photo as the SD card in the camera was sick. Got a new one now though.
George is getting really independant, wants to walk to school by himself. Unfortunately we have a dangerous intersection on the way so I'm insisting on walking him to the school gate. He'll just have to live with that.

Vege garden is all planted. We've got 4 zuchinni (courgette) plants, a couple of rows of peas, lettuces, tomatoes, potatoes and corn all doing well. Carrots are thinking about it, went with the purple ones this year instead of the usual orange. George is even taking carrots for lunch at school so I'll have to plant more soon.

Am knitting and spinning still, have a couple of sewing projects ready to start and am dyeing fibre too. Having a ball! I've just finished a couple of lots of yarn. One in BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) and one in Romney. This is the BFL, I haven't photographed the Romney, but it's in muted pastels.

I've also finished my first pair of 4-ply socks for me, definitely have to do this again.

My next pair will be from some hand-dyed yarn from a TNN swap we did recently.

I've done some dyeing myself too, this for a Ravelry swap. It's merino dyed in pink and purple. I didn't want to send it cos I'm in love! Luckily I did send it though as it's recipient is also in love :)

My current knitting is the Morning Surf scarf done in the red and yellow Rambouillet that I posted a photo of back in September. It's looking really good, but no photo's until it's finished. Once that's done I'll start the socks in the above red, green and blue yarn. I'm about to start spinning some merino/cashmere in a similar colourway to the above merino next. It'll be for the December spin-along on one of my Ravelry groups. I also have some mohair to spin, but I think that I may try out my new drumcarder to blend with something else. Not sure yet.

Tri-spinning

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:39:00 +0000

2 bobbins of singles from a silk, merino, mohair and yak blend spun up on my old Little Peggy wheel.

1 Bobbin of silk singles on my new Little Grace wheel. The silk is tussah and was hand-dyed by me.

My first ever 3-ply. I plied it on my old Traditional with the jumbo flyer. There's 2 plies of the blend and one of the silk and it's so soft! 235m of beauty. All my wheels did a beautiful job, unfortunately I can't keep all of them due to space constraints, so I'll be putting Little Peggy on Trademe to sell soon. DH has the camera this weekend though so she's got a few days grace.
My Little Grace did a beautiful job; just as well considering how much she cost me! I am definitely in love though and already planning my next project. I have 50g of Romney to finish and some more silk to go with it to do my next 3-ply. I'm loving doing silk, even if this is not dyed by me it's still beautiful.

My wool combs are coming together now too. I've got all bar one of the first row of tines in one comb. Hoping to get the next row in today if I get time, but DH is away at a wargaming thing in the day so I'm kidwrangling today and tomorrow. I also got very little sleep last night due to having a nasty cold so I'm not sure if I'll be up for it yet. The weather's not great though so won't be gardening until tomorrow so I should get it done today. The boys will be watching tv today.

Tomorrow I'll be doing the traditional activity for Labour Weekend; gardening. I'll be planting corn, zuchhini and pumpkins (baby ones). My tomatoes aren't quite big enough yet; they'll go in later this month.

Wheel picture

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:04:00 +0000

This isn't my wheel as she's not quite ready yet, but it's what she will look like when I do get her.

A Yippee moment!

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:32:00 +0000

Today I checked my savings account and I have enough in there for my new spinning wheel which was originally due to be ready next month (there's a waiting list). I emailed Mike to let him know that I'd saved enough; and no, I'm not going to tell you how much!
My Little Grace with tensioned lazy kate and 9 bobbins will be ready in about 2 weeks; he will then courier it down and if I'm lucky I'll have a small amount of English Leicester coming with it if I can get it organised. There will then be no further spending for a very long time! I've cancelled my Visa to make sure of this; the GE card is in the freezer in the middle of a block of ice and my Farmers card is only available for new Disney DVD releases and any necessary health supplements like the boys fish oils. No wool, fibre, fabric, other DVD's, sweets, icecreams etc.
I will endeavour to save a little as well so I can eventually afford my own drum carder for finer wools; my current second-hand one is more for stronger fibres. Merino or alpaca would die in it if I tried them.

Once everything's paid off then we'll look at saving to do the shower room and the flooring in the living areas and also pay off extra on the mortgage. We also have a couple of interest free HP's to clear. I think if I can stop the internet shopping it won't be that hard though, it's my uncontrolled spending that's caused the problem and I'm hoping that the fact that I now can't do that will interrupt my habit and form new, healthier habits. Saving and paying off all debt are 2 habits I'd like to have.

School holidays are almost over, thank goodness! George spent a couple of nights at Grandma's with his cousin and as a result Ian is now having issues with going to bed. He's just too bouncy and tonight he got his foot caught between the headboard and the mattress which didn't help. Hopefully a few nights will get things back to normal. Today was spent mostly watching TV with some outside interludes; tomorrow we'll drop off at my work, get some milk and then attack the vege garden. The winter crops will be dug in along with some compost so it's all ready for the potatoes and corn to be planted in the front garden. The back garden will need some serious work and I've told DH that he needs to help if he wants his peas this year. They really need to go in quite soon so that'll be his project this weekend.

Wool Combs

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 02:54:00 +0000

This is starting to take shape. The handle and head are together, just got to drill the holes now. Have cut some of the tines; 27 12" and 3 9" tines, but I need quite a few more. I'm going to have to get another 34 rods to get enough tines. Then will have to sharpen each tine (there are 70 for each comb). I'm making 2 of these combs so it'll take a while!
Once it's done I'll be able to prepare my own fibre. I've also got to check how many TPI my drum carder is too, once I know that I'll know if I need to replace the carding cloth on it.

Apologies for the tardy blog

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:19:00 +0000

I just don't seem to remember to blog, I post finished objects on Ravelry and TNN, but not here. It's not like I've been doing nothing either.
I've done some cleaning and tidying, kitchen and hall cupboards are all gone through and some stuff sold on TradeMe as a result. More to sell yet, really need to go through my wool stash and sell off some of that to make room for what's coming from Elann. Also cleaned the fireplace for the summer and done the rust kill and repaint of the top. Turned the compost and planted spring seeds. Still have to turn over the vege garden and dig in the compost before planting my spuds. They're sprouting quite happily. Will also plant corn in that section of the garden. Not sure what I'll do in the back though as all the winter vege are still there and are only just now starting to move.
On the sewing front not much has happened as I still can't find the sewing room, I need to tidy that desparately, however despite that I've made a couple of pull-up overnight nappies for George and a cover for Ian (which I've since lost). Need to make a couple more as I'd really like to get G trained overnight this summer.
On the knitting front I've made a neckwarmer and a scarf. This is the neckwarmer, it's knitted from a 2 ply yarn I spun from some Gotland samples and it's seriously yummy to wear!

This is the scarf, it was knitted in Shepherds 3 ply baby wool using the Branching Out pattern from Knitty.com. It was my first ever lace and as a result there are some errors, but overall I'm very happy with it; especially after I dyed it pink.

As well as all the knitting above I'm also working on a felted evening bag from the One-Skein Wonders book, I need to trial hand-felting using the John Q DK wool. I'd do it in the machine, but mine's a front loader so there's no control. Looking forward to this, I reckon it should look really good. I'm also doing a jersey for me in Patons Inca, part-way up the back atm and seriously considering having a third item on the needles; a pair of socks. Have to ball up the yarn first as it's currently in skein form, I got it as part of a swap from a talented Australian dyer Kattwings. I'm going to knit a toe-up pattern, just got to decide which one.

Now as well as all the above, I've also been working on a couple of new skills. I've tried needle felting and love it, so need to get some more of the needles as the ones I have are all fine and I need some coarser ones too. I'm also dyeing my own roving which is great fun. My first one was in shades of teal, spruce and sapphire and is truly beautiful; unfortunately I have other things to spin up first. My second was for a yarn swap on TNN so I can't give any details here until she's got it; won't be long though as I posted it yesterday. Suffice it to say that the colours aren't ones I'd normally use, but it looked fantastic after I spun it up and I hope she'll be very happy with it. I still have 800gms of merino to dye up yet, I can guarantee I'll be doing more and if I continue to get these sorts of results I may even sell the odd one. Here's the first one anyway
I am so in love with this that it's not funny. Gotta do more.......
I am also teaching myself to spindle spin so that I can spin when I'm out and not able to access my wheel or not in the mood to knit. Really enjoying it, though oddly I'm using my left hand to draft and my right to hold the fibre, whereas when using the wheel I'm the other way around. It's interesting to see how much more quickly I'm improving on the spindle than I did on the wheel, I've only been doing it a week and I've already gone from slubs to an almost uniform single. I'm using a 65mm Ashford top-whorl atm but have a Kokovoko bottom whorl to try and a Ghstworks spindle on the way (top-whorl). Yet another addiction to add to the list.

Spinning wheel has been busy too, this is some of what I've spun in the last wee while; hope I haven't doubled up on previous posts.
This is a Rambouillet/Targhee/Merino blend and it spun up really nicely. It's not in a colourway I'd normally go for, but I love it all the same. It's a Squoosh roving. Not sure what it'll be yet.
This is Rambouillet from ColorfulWorld (I think), Rambouillet is a bit harder to spin than the blend, but it was still nice. It's going to be a scarf.
This is a Romney from TaiTap Wool Carders, the roving was blue with a red streak and has spun up looking purple. It's not soft enough for a scarf, but would probably make nice mits; will see how I feel when I'm ready for it. Love the colour though.

The Important Stuff
The boys. George has been having some issues at school again, a bit of hitting and not concentrating in class. Have to try and remember to give him the fish oil to see if that helps. Other than that his new teacher is great with him, she's working with him and us to help him get past these issues and he is definitely improving. His reading has gone up a level and when he reads at home it's much better; he's sounding out words without me having to fight for it which is great! He's also starting to write stories. He got to bring the toy for the best person of the day home on Friday (Pumpkin) and wrote a little story about how Pumpkin watched him in the bath. I was very impressed. He's still addicted to the computer though, and the TV. He did spend some time outside this afternoon though after he realised I wasn't allowing either of them to go on this afternoon.
Ian is talking a lot now, we've had some definite progress in that but still having issues with the dinner table and some of his physicality. He's still trying to climb all over us and kicks out when frustrated. We're hoping that will abate as his language increases. He'll have to stop a bit anyway as DH has just had cortisone injections for a bad shoulder and isn't allowed to do the usual stuff with Ian for 2 weeks or more. Aside from all that Ian is still running away if you give him a chance so he's still in the pram atm. He's run away from Grandma's twice in the last month and also tried to commit suicide when leaving kindy by heading for an SUV on the road. Luckily I got him just in time; gosh he's fast though! I'm really hoping that will improve as we need to try and get him walking with us rather than away from us by the time he starts school in June.

Endings and new beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:39:00 +0000

Endings: Finished spinning my first lot of fibre ever last night, just have to skein the final plyed bobbin off and then I can wash and whack!

Beginnings: A new wheel, though it is second hand. I picked up my Little Peggy today, looks really nice and I'll probably set it up as a double drive. Also got about 12kg of raw fleece from my BIL who went through it all for me, he used to work for the wool board so knows good fleece when he sees it. This is pretty dirty and a fair amount of VM, but it's got good length and a nice creamy white. I can see I'll be using the paddling pool to clean it. Admittedly we had a long trip to get it (Christchurch to Waimate and back again), but it was worth it! I'll take photo's later, might not be tomorrow though as the weather will be icky and we also have a baptism to attend.

Bad Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:48:00 +0000

I've been very bad of late, despite me getting lots done I've not blogged about any of it. I have now got my kitchen aid mixer, the school uniform fabric and the heater for the boys room. The new spinning wheel is ordered and I have set up a savings account for it, at the same time I'm paying off the cards so by the end of the year we should be debt free apart from the mortgage and I will have a new Little Grace wheel.
Have almost finished spinning my romney and George's school jersey only has the sleeves and neckline to go, can then do a hat for a birthday present and maybe something for me!

Most important though, Ian has turned 4 and is trying to talk; yippee! We've gone from no words to "up, down, quack, hi, car" and is attempting numbers and letters as well plus definite attempts at lots of others too. He is still a problem when it comes to walking to school and kindy or biking. Atm he's lost those privileges and is stuck in the pram, unfortunately the foot rest for that has broken and I don't know how well my "repair" will work, or how long it will last. He's starting school in a year and I'm hoping that in the next six months he'll be talking well and be a bit more cooperative in the walking department. It's not like he can't, he just doesn't want to and he can make it very difficult for me!
He had a great birthday though, friends of ours brought over a bouncy castle and all the kids had a fantastic time!

Small post

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:59:00 +0000

Not much going on atm. I've been knitting a jersey for George for school in the round and still working on the scarf for me. Ordered more wool and several books about knitting and have now put away the credit card. I am now concentrating on paying that off, once it's paid off I have several things I need to save for:
New spinning wheel
Benchtop mixer
New flooring for bathroom
Heater for boys room and our room

Other than that I also have to order fabric for school uniforms and pay for my spinning guild membership. I love spinning so that's a must! Would have been easier if my pay had worked out correctly, but my holiday pay didn't go in and I'm not sure if my boss can fix it for this week. Will find out tomorrow. I only have stuff on one co-op atm which is good, once that's paid for I'll close them all down for a while; after all it's not like I need any more fabric, lol! Don't need anymore wool either now (have enough sock wool now and ordered some 2ply cashmere). Have enough fibre for a short while, including some Romney that the guild sold me for 50 cents! It's a bit coarse, but will make a lovely bag. Once I've finished spinning up my current lot of fibre that'll be the next one; at that price it doesn't matter if its' not quite perfect.

Spinning around and around

noreply@blogger.com (RaCie Baby) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:35:00 +0000

The weekend before last I packed up my Ashford Traditional spinning wheel and went to learn how to use it. 2 hours later I had half a bobbin full of thick'n'thin which was apparently pretty good for a newbie and was in love! On Monday I had a child-free day and spent most of it spinning; I filled that bobbin and one other and then plied the singles together. They were a little overplied and overspun, but they're mine and I love them. After that I soaked them and the next day dyed them with Kool Aid and George's help. I have 2 skeins, one in Cherry and the other in Lime. They will become a hand-bag with maybe a little help from a commercial yarn for the base as I'm not sure I have enough to do the whole thing in my yarn.

Here's the first bobbin

Plied together

The lime

And the cherry

Went back again yesterday and I am now spinning reasonably consistent yarn that might ply up to about a 12 ply; very little thick bits which is great! I'm still in love and now dreaming about new wheels (how did that happen?). I won't be getting one for a while yet though, need to pay off the Visa first.

I've also done some knitting; almost finished the multi-coloured jumper for Ian, I'll post a pic once it's done. I've knitted it in DK Utiku Bazar from The Wool Company. It's my first ever go at cables and I'm going to do another in the same colour for George, but his will have the cable section in a plain turquoise to go with the Bazar. He'll have to wait a bit for his though as his school jersey comes first along with a hat for a friends daughter's birthday. Another thing finished is the roman blinds. They are now up at my brothers place and I've handed back all the leftovers. I'm glad it's all done and I can now tidy up the sewing room a bit. They look good and I think I did a good job considering I'm not a professional!

Also been gardening. I now have leeks, kale, collard hi crop, broccoli, cauliflower, mangelbeet, lettuces and onions in the garden as well as the broad beans. Still have bright beets and radicchio to add yet, but that'll go in during the week after I've finished sorting the garden. Should really do a green compost type crop, but don't have the room atm or the time. Hopefully this year will give me some idea of how much I need to plant so I can start a rotation for the green manure around the edible crops.