The Little Things

This week I've been focusing all my attention on getting the house in order: cleaning, updating, rearranging. Through the process, I've noticed it's the little things that make me happy.

A fresh new curtain in the guest room.



Blue glass bottles in the window.



Sundial shells I picked up on the beach.



And the knowledge that in a week or two when all this housework is done, I can get back to knitting and spinning.

What little things around your house make you smile?

Snippets

I've been practicing.



This time I'm using a Schacht spindle. It's a little heavier and probably a better weight to learn on. I'm improving, but have a long way to go before I feel comfortable with spindling.

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It didn't feel like I knitted very much at all last week, but the sock is progressing never the less. It has grown to just past the heel and should be finished soon.



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Our weather for the weekend was supposed to be nice and sunny, but things change quickly around here. Instead, the remnants of hurricane Lorenzo brought rain to the Texas Gulf Coast.



It was not bad enough to keep us from the beach though. The sky looked ominous at times and the winds were churning up the waters, but the rain held off while we were there. It was beautiful in a different way.

Psalm 93:2-4

Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.

The seas have lifted up, O LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is mighty.

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I want to thank everyone that commented on Friday's post. The consensus is that I do indeed own an antique yarn winder minus the stand. However, no one is certain of how it is intended to be used. My only guess is that yarn is wound onto it and then knitted straight off the wheel or wound into a ball instead of being removed as a hank. If I ever find out any more information, I'll let you know.

What Is This?

It measures 20.5 inches tall by 25 inches wide when set up like this.



My neighbor bought it at an antique store several years ago. It was labeled "yarn winder". Her intention was to use it to display towels on, but it ended up forgotten in her garage. She came across it the other day and gave it to me because she knows I like to knit.

At first glance it does appear that it could be a yarn winder, but the design is wrong. Even if it was mounted on a base, there is no way to slip the yarn off after it is wound.



There are some empty holes in a few of the "spokes" and by the looks of it, something used to be attached there.



The way the pieces are joined makes the thing somewhat collapsible. You can tell it has been stored in a different position than it is now.

I have no idea what the true purpose of this object is, but I'm hoping someone can help me figure it out or guide me to a source that will know.

The only thing I feel certain about is that it once belonged to R. Hartman.



And now it belongs to me.

Easy Spun

Now that I own a beautiful Greensleeves spindle, I want to learn how to use it. I've read the book Spinning in the Old Way by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts. She clearly explains the process of high-whorling. She makes it sound so simple. Surely this is something I can do.

I felt motivated the other day to give it a try. So out came the spindle, the book and a bit of newly purchased Lincoln Longwool roving. I was all excited to figure this out...to learn something new...until...I began to fumble with the spindle and roving. My motivation quickly faded and I only managed to spin a couple of yards of yarn.



I guess my heart wasn't into learning something new like I thought. What I really desired to do was just spin yarn. When I realized this, I abandoned the spindle for the wheel and got to work on some Fine Brown Shetland roving. Now this was easy spinning: relaxing and fun. I spun up a couple of bobbins that afternoon.



And the next day I plied both together. Two-ply easy spun yarn straight off the niddy-noddy. I'll soak it and set the twist when I finish up the rest of the roving.



As for learning how to use a handspindle, I think I'll have to make sure my next attempt happens when I'm away from home and there is no wheel in sight to tempt me to give up.

Summer's End

The weather was so beautiful this last weekend of summer that we had to get out and enjoy it. John and I spent Friday afternoon at Matagorda Beach. It's about an hour from our house and offers something for both of us.

For John, it's fishing...of course, you knew that.



For me, it's a chance to find a treasure from the gulf, take pictures, knit or just enjoy the scenery.

The first sock of the pair I started last week is finished.



It's made from Online Supersocke Cotton (Beach Color 946). I've found that this yarn is "just right" for our climate and it holds up well to machine washing and machine drying. The first pair I made from it a year ago still looks like new even though it's been worn more than any other pair I own.

We stayed at the beach until dark. On the drive home we talked about what we would do on Saturday.



Not surprisingly, we ended up back at Matagorda. This time I brought along the second sock of the pair.



Summer has ended on a good note. Welcome fall.

Just Ducky

For most of the summer, Friday's posts have been reserved for flower pictures, so it seems only natural to continue with a non-knitting theme on Fridays. Today it's photos of a duck I saw at Silver Lake in Utah. She was quite willing to pose for the camera. You can click these for a bigger view.









Enjoy your weekend! It's the last one the summer.

The Best Day (Part II)

After leaving the fiber fair, John and I drove to the mountains. We took the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. Our destination was Mirror Lake, but our first stop was the Upper Provo River.

John tried his luck with the fly rod.



I explored the area and added another flower photo to my collection.



The sky was beautiful--a deep shade of blue mixed with puffy white clouds.



While John continued fishing upriver, I found a place to sit and knit.



Another pair of socks is underway. Again I'm using Online Supersocke Cotton. This time it's Beach Color 946. The colors may be reminiscent of the beach, but I think they look quite at home in the mountains.

After catching a few fish and knitting a few rounds, we headed for Mirror Lake.



Definitely one of my favorite places! It's so beautiful that it's hard to capture the true feeling of it in photographs.



It takes about an hour to walk around the entire lake. At first glance it doesn't appear to be that big, but when you walk the perimeter you realize there is so much more to see. The scenery seems to change with each stop along the trail.



I kept my eyes open for wildlife. I saw chipmunks, various birds, a muskrat (I think) and a few squirrels. This guy thought I wouldn't be able to see him if he sat as still as he possibly could.



We left just before dark hoping to spot a moose on our drive down from the mountains, but no luck. We did however get held up by traffic...of a different sort.



Hundreds of sheep!



Not the type of traffic jam we're used to in Houston, that's for sure.

(Click the last two pictures for a bigger view.)