Flooring

After a long day twelve hours on Saturday we managed to get the great room and hallway flooring finished.  Sunday we did the trim work, polished/waxed the floor and replaced the heating vents.  The project took quite a bit longer than what we planned.  Some of the old flooring had been glued down and was rather difficult to remove.  Plus the fifty gazillion staples that needed to be pulled up didn't help matters.  What does help and is awesome, is Tylenol and lots of it! 

That's Roper in the big chair on the left.  He supervised us this weekend and made sure everything was square and layed down correctly.

We did a bit of redecorating with the furniture.  The room seems more spacious and we both really like facing the tv rather than having it in between the windows.  The little black fuzzy guy under the window on the right is Kiwi our house bunny.  He is litter box trained and really cool.   

The plan is to put the new floor in our bedroom this weekend.  It's a smaller area with less cutting (we hope) and should go a bit faster.  It's a lot of work, but we are saving a ton of money by doing it ourselves.  Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself.  Saving money on labor means more yarn money.  Yeah that's the ticket!

Spinning

My goal this January was to card and spin the Jacob fleece that I purchased two years ago at Maryland Sheep & Wool.  It was a small fleece, just two pounds before scouring.  It was really fine with a short staple of about 1 1/2 - 2" and had little grease/lanolin.  One of the volunteers working the fleece sale helped me and told me that she thought this was most likely a lamb's fleece.  While it's not quite as soft as merino, it's pretty darn close. 

Andy helped me do a bit of the carding when my arm got tired from cranking the drum carder.  It was a fun challenge during January and helped to keep the winter dull drums at bay.  I wound up with a total of 1,005 yards of a nice worsted weight.  Enough I hope for a short sleeved sweater.

In the middle of spinning the Jacob fleece I got a note from my friend Jamee' asking me to do some spinning for her.  She and her mom Joyce have llamas, goats and sheep.  Joyce's farm is Posy Thisisit Llamas.  I always love it when they ask me to spin!  So far Ive spun up a total of 2,204 yards of worsted weight yarn for them.  Just in February!  It's really helping to keep my legs in shape too which is a nice added benefit.

Bobbins of plied yarn waiting to be skeined.  This fiber came from Ivy Lace, Jamee's llama.  It's a beautiful oatmeal color.

Skeins of the same yarn waiting to be washed. 

Im taking this weekend off from work so Andy and I can install a new floor in our great room, hallway and bedrooms.  That doesn't really sound like time off...

Here is a before picture:

The carpet doesn't look bad from a distance.  Up close is another story. 

To be continued.

Snow!

It seemed like winter never really arrived in Virginia this year.  Daffodills had started to bloom and I noticed that a few redbud tree's had started to get little buds on them.  When we heard the forecast for snow yesterday Andy and I chuckled a bit.  Well it turns out the joke was on us.  We had a little over eight inches of snow yesterday.  It's the kind that sparkles like glitter in the sun which is my favorite. 

When I lived in Maine I couldn't wait for winter to be over.  Some winters there is so much snow that it is overwhelming.  We had 99 - ninety nine - inches of snow the last year I lived there.  All the shoveling, plowing, and snow blowing became very tiresome to say the least.  Living in Virginia has been a refreshing experience.  Businesses and schools shut down at the near mention what would be considered flurries in Maine.  Grocery stores get wiped out of bread, milk and eggs before a storm so a little planning is helpful if you know that snow is coming.  A few people who are native to the area have said to me that the snow here is much worse than what comes down in Maine.  They have the impression that snow in Maine is light and fluffy and pretty much what you would see in a holiday movie.  That ice storms just don't happen that far north.  I can tell you from first hand experience that  there are ice storms and the snow in Maine is just as heavy as snow in Virginia.  The snow in Maine doesn't melt in a day or two like it does here though.  The ground there freezes to the density of granite which helps keep the snow around for the entire winter. 

Im going to enjoy the snow here while it lasts and be thankful that it will be gone in a day or two.

Before and After

On our last vacation in Maine Andy and I stopped at a little junk shop in Limerick.  This lamp was there and just had to come home with us.  She survived the trip back in the car and has sat in my craft room.  Perhaps feeling a bit neglected and desiring a little make over. Her faded and dented shade a reminder of style choices that could have been a bit better.   

Here she is newly dressed

What lady doesn't look good in a little black dress? 

What happened to the knitting?  I thought this was a knitting blog!  A little taste of what's been going on and off the needles:

Slöfock Cap in Honey Worsted Black Truffle Pattern by Anne Hanson

Matching mitt's

Capitola Socks in Zoe Sock Mint Latte' 

Pattern by IrishGirlieKnits

Ive also carded an entire fleece since January 1 and hope to have it spun by the last day of January!  Pictures to come on that. 

 

Spinning Stool

Andy and I are very careful about recycling.  We were talking the other day and he pointed out that we actually are doing more than what I thought.  By buying used or re-purposing things that we already have, we are essentially recycling.  A few things in our living room were looking a little dated or worn so Andy has been refinishing them.  We have a whole new look for a small amount of money and very little impact on the environment.

One thing we purchased is this cute spinning stool at a local antique shop for $10.00.  The legs were loose, the finish scratched and the seat fabric a bit dated. 

Andy spent a few hours refurbishing it on Saturday.  First he took it apart and gave it a good sanding.

After removing any dust left from sanding he put several coats of paint on it.

While he was doing all the hard work I was having fun hooking a new seat cover for it. The gray yarn is hand spun jacob, the green/purple is hand spun merino and the pink is

Peace Fleece in Moscow Magic.

 We brought our two projects together yesterday.  Andy did a great job putting it back together too.  It's now sturdy and looks like a brand new stool.

We added a new layer of high density foam under the cover for a bit of extra comfort. 

 Total cost for this project was about $17.00.  $10 for the stool, $3 for paint, and $4 for foam.  The yarn and rug fabric were left over from other projects. 

Next time you are looking for something new to add to your home try picturing what you have with a different finish or fabric.  It's easier than you think to change the color of something.  Not to mention the huge savings.

It is cold here today.

In case it goes back to being completely unreasonably warm for the rest of this winter I am attempting to wear as many hand knit items at one time as possible.  Yes, I am aware none of them match or are even from the same yarn. No, I don't care.  And I went out in public this way.  Muh huh huh!

What is your favorite Christmas memory?

Christmas when I was growing up was not always stellar or spectacular.  My mom was famous for saying bah humbug and being in a terrible mood from just before Thanksgiving until well past Christmas.  We weren't allowed to put our tree up until Christmas Eve. When we finally got the tree it was mostly me decorating it with a bit of help here and there from my brother who really wasn't enthused about the whole ordeal.

Christmas got better when I was a teenager because my maternal grandparents moved to Maine and across the street from where I grew up.  They moved in with my great grandparents, Sophie and John, to help care for them and to get my grandfather, who had Alzheimer's, out of the city.  My grandmother, Olga, was and still is one of the strongest women Ive ever known.  Through all that was going on with caring for her aging parents and very sick husband she still had time to make Christmas wonderful for her family.

On Christmas day I would go across the street to her house to help set the table and hang out.  Olga would be cooking and direct me as to what to do then shoo me off into the living room.  My great grandmother would be sitting in her spot on the sofa next to the wood stove and she was always knitting. She made everyone in the family socks, mittens, gloves and sweaters.   I would sit with her and sneak candy from the coffee table and she would tell me story's of when she was young girl in Russia and how she came to America.

Dinner time would come and we would all gather at the table and have a fantastic feast. Throughout dinner Sophie would continually say she couldn't hear those who were speaking to her, particularly those she wasn't fond of.  After dinner she and I would retreat into the kitchen to wash and dry the dishes.  If I spoke to her she would sush me so she could evesdrop on what was being said in the dining room!  Selective hearing gotta love it! 

Those are the best Christmas memories I have, and possibly the best memories of my childhood.

So, what's your favorite Christmas memory?