Cake Dyeing Experiment

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Deborah

Sounds yummy doesn’t it? Cake Dyeing…. Unfortunately no yummy cakes were baked, dyed or consumed for this project.

Cake dyeing is taking a skein of yarn and winding it into a “cake” with a ball winder and then dyeing it. The word “cake” came about due to the resemblance of the wound yarn to a stacked layer cake. This creates a centre-pull “ball” of yarn to knit from.

Ok, enough of word origins, on to the experiment! I found 3 balls of sad looking yarn in the “free bin” in our condo craft room. 2 were an ugly golden-yellow colour, … Read more...

Meet Alexandr McIntosh

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Deborah

He is a handsome fellow, showing very few wrinkles for his age, considering he was born in 1867. He is of slight build and heavy for his actual size, which would be the dense hardwood that makes up the bulk of his body. Although he may be heavy, he is delicate at the same time. Lovingly carved spokes on his drive wheel, curvacious turnings on the maidens and legs, remind me of Marilyn Monroe…perhaps “He” is a “She” after all. Ah…there you go, I have found her new name. Marilyn.

I discovered Marilyn when I was least expecting her. I … Read more...

I’m Not A Deer Hat & Scarf

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Deborah

I thought I made a post last Fall about the hat that I knit for deer hunting season….but upon close inspection of past articles, nope, found nothing.

To back track a wee smidgeon, last Fall I went for a walk, around the first week of November, or whenever deer hunting season (with guns) starts in Ontario. As I am walking down the road (my daily ritual), hunters in full gear on ATV’s whizzed by me with their guns strapped to the backracks.

Hmmm I thought, not a good place to be out walking with all these hunters around with nothing … Read more...

Atomic Sunrise & Goosebumps

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Deborah

I tried something new on the weekend and ended up with an Atomic Sunrise and Goosebumps. No, those are not new cocktail ideas…although they could be, I will have to think on those a spell.

Anyway, back to my new adventures. I have oodles of Wilton’s Food colouring gels in the kitchen not being used up since I don’t bake as much as I used to (lots of reasons, and hubby being one of them). With closing the Northern Homestead for the winter, all my natural dye supplies are up there waiting for Spring to arrive and me with it. … Read more...

The Great Avocado Dye Experiment!

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Deborah

Yesterday I posted a recipe using avocados, and in that recipe I said to save the pits and skins for later use. I guess I *should* have been more specific, but I thought it would be interesting to see how many people would be wracking their brains wondering what the heck would you use them for. I mean, they are inedible after all, and unless you are wanting to grow an avocado tree, why save the pit?

So here is what I do with them….

To one 500ml canning jar, I added 3 oz of chopped avocado pits. Combined 3/4 … Read more...

From Ewe To Me

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Deborah

With Love.

Which is absolutely spot on.

Over a year in the making, I have finally completed a project that started with roving from sheep fleece, spun it into yarn, then wove it into a blanket.

This is my ‘practice’ blanket. I have another one planned for the alpaca I am still spinning, but this was a test to see if my handspun can hold up to the high tension requirements of loom weaving. It is comprised of rough, lumpy, bumpy yarn that were mostly spun a year ago, which I then spent last summer experimenting with natural dyes and … Read more...

2016 ~ The Year of the Wheel!

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Deborah

Happy New Year to everyone! Yes, it has been awhile, but how many of you had the time to try and keep up a blog AND do all things Christmas-y? Baking, cooking, shopping, wrapping, visiting, etc?

That is my defence and I am sticking to it.

I can also add spinning, knitting and weaving into the above as many of you who follow me on Facebook can attest to as I regularly post pics of FO’s or WIP’s (Finished Objects or Work in Progress) to brighten the days of those cruising on FB.

Now that the holidays are fading in … Read more...

Alpaca Throw Blanket

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Deborah

I have a serious flaw. I come up with crazy thoughts and ideas that cause me to spend days, weeks and even months doing something that results in an object I could have gone to the store and bought. This time? I am making an alpaca throw blanket from scratch. Way more fun than buying a made-in-China-piece-of-crap-knockoff.

Last Fall my lovely daughter and her husband visited an Alpaca farm just outside Niagara Falls and brought me back 2 alpaca fleeces. As I was in the throes of Christmas prep, house renovations and purging/packing to move, the two fleeces were washed … Read more...

2015 Summer Vacation

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Deborah

*Hello*!

Can you see me waving?

No, not the loon (who seems to be waving) but me! 😉

Long time, no chat everyone! Totally my fault though as the past year has been nothing short of controlled chaos (and I use that term loosely). Last summer hubby and I started getting our house ready for sale, meaning de-cluttering, purging, building a new bathroom, gutting and renovating the original bathroom and sprucing up the property. All that effort eventually paid off, even if it tried our patience (and bank account) as we sold promptly this past March in 3 days.

After … Read more...

Ever Run A Marathon?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Deborah

No? I haven’t either. But after the last 2-3 months, I certainly feel like I have. We have successfully sold the Southern Homestead, bought a 1+1 bedroom condo apartment and have moved in a little over 2 weeks ago. Still trying to get my bearings and figure out where the heck I put things, but I am absolutely LOVING condo life. When I want to head to the Northern Homestead, I walk out the door, turn the key and that’s it. No lawn and yard maintenance, no pool maintenance, nothing to worry about, just pack my clothes and head out.… Read more...