PippiKneeSocks.com

i’ve missed saturday sky two weeks in a row.
these were taken at 7am. nearly 3 hours later i’m getting around to posting them. (i should add that the sky looks nicer now; but oh well.)

without further ado.

south/southeast

south

south/southwest

if you can’t tell; it is another HHH day

that is some haze right there.

i interrupt this installment of saturday sky, to bring you, ’saturday sink hole’.

a storm rolled in yesterday, mid morning.
it came fast and furrious. this hole is about 2 feet deep

we had a river running thru our driveway.

the lower part, which i couldn’t get a shot of, has a deeper crevasse or chasm running thru it.
luckily, there are two ends to the driveway.
i’m surprised that this didn’t happen this spring, with all of the flooding and such.

~in other news; i am having a bad hair day.
i think i need my haris cut off again.
now back to my regularly scheduled corralling of the children.

♥

as the title implies, i’ve been doing some ‘effing round these days. (but not only with fiber, i admit. plenty of the ‘in general type’ effing around. perhaps it is some growing pains; perhaps. i’m not too sure these days which end is up; let alone trying to figure out why up is up and sideways is sideways..)
it has been so hot and so humid for too long now, it seems. my dyepots have sat inactive, and the fiber on my bobbins has nary been added to.
yesterday, i thought it would be a good day to go outside with the garden hose and attempt wet felting again. i’m always trying, and my skilz are limited to balls and soaps, they are pretty rudimentary. i look at some of the felted creations out there and just go ga-gah. what i’m about to show you is FAR from that level. as matt said about them yesterday “they look very elementary… no, they look kindergarten-y” (then again, i don’t put too much stock in his opinion; he never likes anything i make. with the exception of some yarn here and there. i can’t even tell you the number of hats i have made him in the past 6 years. i’ve given that up…. and he won’t wear hand knit socks… there is no accounting for taste, i suppose…~ it will have to be one cold day in hell before i knit him anything else.)
i digress; what i am about to show you is slightly embarrassing & quite elementary honest.
but one really can’t acquire new skills by osmosis. trial and error are needed; or in my case, lots of trial and much error.

i used to be the person that was afraid to show off my mistakes; but i discovered that was being dishonest.
and even the best one is seriously lacking

you can’t tell by the photo, really, but the hand print is black, and the other elements are purple.
taking a class would be cool, but who has time or money for a class? not i.

another one of my elementary skills is knitting.
i did a bit of that this week.

i am enjoying the simple elements here. basic, basic. (i have more to say about that, which is another post in and of itself.)

i love the way the recycled silk sari pops up every here and there & how the fabric glistens.
nothing fancy. (and that is what is said about the yarn once i finished it too. it is it’s overall simple nature that demands emotion out of me.)
although, it is a pisser that i have SSS while the first one is still working…. (i’m acutely aware of the fact that i won’t have time for knitting much in the next two weeks.)

i also did some grunt work this week. i forced myself to tend to the weeds in the garden.
i tended to the peppers and carrots mostly. and i’ve deemed the greens ‘done for’.. we have this woody vine all over the property, and i tried and tired to keep it out of most of the garden; but it just creeps back up. sigh.
tomatoes are still green. i check on them at least twice a day; but still green. (watched pot syndrome??)
i do have a few cukes tho!
.
and some happy little flowers

it is already miserably hot and humid, again today. i’m really contemplating turning on the AC. i haven’t been turning it on during the day, tying to conserve energy and all of that good stuff. but, i have a feeling i could actually get some stuff done, if it wasn’t a million degrees in here, (with a heat index of 2 million)

well, i’ve gone and rambled enough for one post.
the children are requesting some pancakes for brunch & it seems i need to brew another pot of coffee, because this pot tastes like ass.

♥

if you haven’t heard of the Charkhas for Africa project; perhaps you have been busy, or not reading your bloglines, or living on a hill top in a tumble down tin shack, with out water or electricity. it is a wonderful project that Therese Cruz of Jump Sheep, is really getting off the ground.
yesterday, i was lucky enough to get an email form Angela and Renee of material whirled; asking for fiber artists to lend a hand to this project. they are collecting donations of cash and/or fiber related goods. proceeds from the sale of said fiber related goods. are going directly to the purchase of fiber tools; hand carders and charkhas.
yesterday, i ’sent over’ this batt set

hydro
composed of 4 shades of green wool, ranging from apple to hunter,
optimally blended with green hand dyed hemp noils with silver & hand dyed green nylon tinkle for sparking crystal action.

60% wool
25% nylon
15% hemp

4+ ounces
they are priced at ONLY $20.00 and I pick up the shipping.
~i’m going to work on making something special for them today.

so, not only can you feed your stash; you can lend a hand to a great project.
as i WAHM, i find this project sitting close to my heart. i can relate to ’spinning to survive’. fortunately, my circumstances are FAR more privileged; there is no comparison; really. my day to day reality can not truly encompass the hard facts. i do know the hard facts of my family; and if i multiply that, by say, a million or three; i can nearly grasp the facts. i can empathise, and have compassion; and i can do my little bit.
that’s the thing, if we all do our little bit; we can make a difference.
every little bit, like a drop in a bucket.
soon, there is a whole bucket filled.
then, there are two filled buckets.

do yourself a favor, and go over to Therese’s blog, jumpsheep and read about what she has been doing on her trips to Africa. then head over to renee and angela’s fund rasier at material whirled. buy something, give something or just spread the word. every drop adds up.

♥

for the past few days, i’ve been thinking about that phrase when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and how it applies, or doesn’t apply to me. i used to think i was a tough cookie; but it seems that i am not doing well under pressure lately. (i used to do really well with deadlines; and in fact, excel.) but, me, the un-tough version, i’ve just been running around here like a decapitated chicken.
amy boogie said the other day; “My gardens are as ignored as the housework. Makes me wonder what I do all day long.” ~ this pretty much sums up the scenario here. i swear, months have gone by and i’ve wondered what on earth i’ve accomplished. i really don’t know where my time goes. i do know that i should have better use of it. (i swear, i’ve tried to whip myself into submission; but it doesn’t work. i think i need to swipe mike e’s ADD medication from his medicine cabinet. (just kidding, dad, you can start breathing again.) but, you know, when i get thinking like this, it does no good. yesterday i didn’t think about it. i didn’t dwell in unproductive guilt. and i got a bunch done.

~
some handpaints

both sport and lace weight. ~ i’m going to keep that one on the far right for myself.

~
some washed carded & dyed churro (with corresponding tinkles~ black tinkle!!?!)

i don’t have plans for any of these yet. i just got motivated to dye them up.
~
and some washed churro fleece

~
i had no intention whatsoever to wash up any fleece yesterday.
but, once again, i was forced to.
while i was on the front porch flick carding some wool, my son, went around back, truned on the garden hose and decided it would be a good day to clean out the mudroom. i found his “cleaning event” fairly quickly; but the damage was already done. two inches of water on the floor of the mudroom. the above fleece was stored in the mudroom in a burlap sack. on the upside; the mudroom floor got mopped, and another pound of this churro is washed. on the down side, last night, i totally collapsed.
if i could only be this productive every day.
but then again, i think my body would rebel. i have a fever and i’m feeling ‘flare-y’ and my arms and ears appear to be sprouting some new rashes. a total downer to be a slave to not only my mental limitations, but my physical ones as well. ha.

now, who wants to come over and help me clean the house? i’ll send you home with some washed rare breed wool. (and possibly one very spirited 2.5 year old boy; in ‘like new’ condition.)
♥

Haile Selassie I

july 23, 1892 - august 27, 1975

happy birthday.

today also marks an anniversary of sorts for me.

on this day in herstory, about 7 or 8 years ago, i rolled a rented “thrifty” van 12 times on interstate 89. i’m no longer allowed to rent cars from thrifty. almost the dramatic changing point of my life. *almost*….

the shop has been updated!

i’ve added 3 handspun bulky thick and thin singles

it may not look like alot, but those three hanks represent 1,000 yards of yarn!
each hank is enough for some good sized projects.

you can view everything in the shop using this link or you can see everything that is new
♥

moms has been in town all week. this translates into lots of shopping (i loathe shopping, unless it is for yarn and fibers.)
and not alot of other things getting done in these parts.
but, “we” (er, she) was shopping for school clothes for bella.
so, shopping, cranky PMS me, two kids, and my mom. good times; good times.
since i live out in the middle of nowhere, shopping involves driving.
riding in my mother’s car drives me ape shit.
now i know how matt feels when he rides with me. it must be crazy making.
but, for the amount of driving we did, we only got into one near accident.
gotta love yelling “HEADS UP MOM!!” just in time for her to slam on the brakes to avoid plowing into the turning car in front of us.
gotta love reminding her, “the speed limit is 50 on this road” (very embarrassing, as i could here the thoughts of the people in the line of cars behind us… ‘dayum out-of-staters’)
i digress, shopping…….i feel for everyone who works in retail; what a thankless job. but, i need to know who on earth does the hiring at one office supply store; (rhymes with maples). every time i’ve ever been to a ‘maples’ it has turned out bad; or at least left me shaking my head in disbelief. maybe because they sell office supplies, they are picking up default office rage? could be??.
another interesting observation i had, was the retail shopper. they have this look in their eyes.. no where else is this look more apparent than at the ‘christmas tree shops’ (no good rhyme for that. bistmas lee mops??). but, in case you aren’t from new england, you aren’t going to understand the hypno powers of these shops. it is crazy. people are in actual trances as they go up and down the isles of cheap goods made in china. all i could think about the whole time i was there (well, besides, ‘could i find a fiber storage system’ had to try hard to shake that thought out of my head….) was …”people! world war 3 is happening outside your door, and all you can do is purchase that 4.99$ plant stand?” i don’t know what else to say about my retail experiences these past few days, but it was a good metaphor for the total apathy that is so prevalent here in these united states.

so, all these days i’ve been spending shopping, i haven’t been spinning or dyeing much (plus, the oppressive freaking heat! i’m wilting) today, i did wash up 3 huge hanks i spun last week. this time “off” was very poorly timed. i find myself even further behind in projects, and stuff for the shop; aye!

my gardens have been suffering too.
the lower garden is pretty much done for. it is over run with horsetail and other weeds. it is so sad.
the front patch is okay,
some cukes.

the side patch is doing better, but i was too lazy to run many extension cords out there to get a photo. ha.
~

i was wondering, anyone with school age children out there; that don’t vax?
if your kids are attending school, how did you go about getting the philosophical exemption.
vermont allows it; i am just clueless how i go about submitting that into our school. (do i just print out the law and hand it in??)
any pointers would be most helpful. TIA!

♥

it’s Hazy, Hot, and Humid; i must be among the few crazy people on the planet thinking about wool.
regardless, i’ve updated the spinning fibers page today.

i’ve added some delicious hand carded batts, some hand painted tops, as well as a few spindles and a spindle kit.

(all weights have been rounded down due to the humidity.)

see something that you like, but it’s already gone? hook up with my newsletter

now, off to jump in the kiddie pool.
♥

ps. BIG thanks to mike e for BLOWING my freaking mind this morning. turns out, we know eachother. from another time’s forgotten space. i had a feeling we might have known some of the same folx, since we were around at the same time….but, i didn’t think we had known eachother… crazy little world. 3 cheers for time spent doing random blog searches.