I can show you something!

I’ve finished the lace test knit, and it’s blocking. While I can’t tell/show all, I can give you a few tidbits.

soaking- in my new washer!

See that pretty blueness in my pretty new washer (yes, I’m still in love with it).

This is a lace stole written by Carol- it will be the first of many BBF (Black Bunny Fiber) patterns to come. She’s hoping to have this on her website and Ravelry by Labor Day. As that time approaches, I can show you more, but for now, this pre-block shot is all I can give you.

What will it be?

As usual for Carol’s patterns, its perfect. Stay tuned, it’ll be well worth it.

My kids were prowling around the corners (and top shelves) of the house (they tried to tell me that’s what I get for not letting them play video games 24/7- but guess what? I’m not convinced. Ha.) I knew this was in the house somewhere, but couldn’t remember where.

Teddy

A 48-year old teddy bear named Teddy. He was my brother’s, then mine. He looks well-loved, doesn’t he? The discoloration on his leg is rust from the music box that was inside him- once upon a time he played Brahms’ Lullaby. Does he stay this way forever, or do I have him restored one day? For now, he’s safely stored on the top shelf of my closet (until the next bout of boredom).

You need some goatie pictures, don’t ya?

prety goats all in a row

Fluff has been all about mooching during wine time.

Can I have a sip, pretty please?

Have you noticed what’s been happening from all this time spent with my goats? Look:

I'm growing mohair!

Do you think I should worry?

Untitled

Just cuz I couldn’t think of one.

It’s been a pretty mild summer. Except for the period of rain then heat that caused the parasite problems for all the goat farmers. Today has been cloudy and cool, so after I finished up my bunny chores this morning I decided to take all the kids for a walk. It’s been awhile since I’ve done that, with very good reason, as some of you may remember. It went well this time (whew). We crossed onto the beautiful field behind my property where A-the-hay-god runs his cows. (he really is a hay god- i think he grows goat-nip if such a thing exists- the goats love his hay- and he delivers- yay A). The cows are slacking, cuz the grass was waist high. We felt a little vulnerable about ticks- not being safe in our guinea-patrolled yard, but we braved it. Saw tons of blackberry bushes (note- call A and ask if he minds if we pick blackberries). We made it to the creek- I love this spot.

The sight and sound of water in motion is so soothing and mesmerizing.

mini waterfall

I could stare into the tiny pool at the bottom of this waterfall forever- trying to capture that illusive color of water.

better than hypnosis

See- mesmerizing. But the kids can only be still for so long.

putting the sand back in the water

heading back home

It really was a nice walk.

pretty sky

They’ve been calling for rain today- hoping it holds off until after evening wine. Wouldn’t want to disappoint the wine moochers.

Working on a test knit these days- (move along, nothing to see here) but also have a baby blanket that’s been ordered. I will get a picture of that for you next time. I’ve put a bin over by the computer, and I’ll start putting stuff in it that needs to have pictures taken. In my never ending quest for organization and productivity, I’m thinking of assigning certain days (or times of day) for certain tasks. (mondays- take pictures, tuesdays- list in etsy, wednesday- skirt fleeces- you get the idea). Stay tuned to see how that one goes.

I have not forgotten the raffle from the AIDS walk. Soon.

Just a few goatie pictures. First- look at Baby Evan’s pretty mohair.

baby mohair

It is so soft and silky. I need to get you some good pictures of the babies over the next few weeks. Jonathan will be here to shear the beginning of August. They looks so cute in full fleece. Here’s pretty Rosie.

Beautiful Rosie

I didn’t really get a good shot of Renesmee that evening, and the one I have of Evan is slightly blurry.

Evan says hi

OK, its wine time. I’ll take the camera with me…

Summer silliness

It’s 11:30 at night, and all the kids are outside. My daughter has a friend over, so instead of just C and I going down to tuck the goaties in, it ended up being C, her friend C, and the boys (cuz they just have to follow the girls when there is someone over) and me. Sometime on the way back up, my daughter turned into a werewolf. You can just imagine the chaos. I should probably put a stop to it, but its summer, and they’re only little and crazy once. So the next question is- why am I on the computer when I have free knitting time???? (never mind that I’m too tired to form a stitch properly, and I’m working on lace now. On second thought, maybe I’ll go guard the goaties by moonlight…)

I can wash clothes!

I know that’s normally not a big deal, and often even a dreaded chore, but I’m ecstatic! My washing machine has been slowly dying for several months now. Had many “discussions” over whether or not it was fixable, but when I was faced with paying $250 just for parts, I decided that was… silly. So Lowes just brought my new washer today. (complete with a 5 year warranty that even covers lanolin damage- ha!)(have you ever noticed that I make sure all my warranties cover some kind of goat damage? Cameras, washers…). It’s currently washing its first load. Get this- you don’t have a load size selector- it does that automatically. Cool, huh? I imagine I’ll get some fleece in it within the next few weeks.

Anyway- I’ve got a few weeks’ worth of laundry to wade through, so I’ll be busy. In the meantime, take a look at Lucky-

Lucky

He came to me 3 years ago in March as a bottle baby.

Look what I've got

He was hanging out on the front steps with me the other day when my youngest brought me some flowers. He was very sweet about it and let me give them to the goats (good thing, since they probably would have taken them anyway…)

(that’s sweet little Izzy mooching in the background)

Sounds like my washer is ready for its next load- I’m having fun!.

Note to self re: filling the wine glass

If I’m not going to be drinking the wine with the moochers (Fluff, Sirius, and Izzy) then don’t fill the glass all the way. (especially if current deadline project is lace) (but it really tastes so good).

If it tastes so good, I really should have gone down there in the dark and shared with Fluff…

Who is contributing to whose delinquincy?

Ok, let’s get back on track

Still sad, but things are ok. Yesterday Baby Justine was limping, and one leg was swollen, but I’ve about decided (w/ Kid Hollow’s help) that she just hurt her leg. So she got a shot of goatie aspirin, and she’s fine today. But I think I’m going to be paranoid and overly cautious for awhile.

My camera came back from Miss Mad for Knit’s today- and it actually still had enough battery in it for a few goatie shots. But first, here is the train as it pulled into the station the Friday morning I left for Boston.

My first train

My sweet father waited at the train station for the train with me- I tried to send him home, but he wouldn’t. This was the first time I’d gone anywhere on a train- and I highly recommend it. Oh, the knitting time! 12 hours later I was being hugged by Miss Mad for Knit- yay! She took me home, fed me a yummy dinner, then tucked me into bed under the very first Kaffe quilt she ever made.

Morpheous reclines on the Kaffe quilt

(that’s the stuffed goat my daughter gave me who goes everywhere when I stay over night. I’ll give you that story on a low content day) Gorgeous quilt, huh? Saturday we went to WEBS with Babycocktails, and a wonderful lunch afterwards. No pictures- it was pretty overwhelming. I’ll show you stash enhancement another day. Saturday evening we relaxed at home and knit, then Sunday was the walk.

As I walked, I knit on a beret for the current service project for Knitters for Obama on Ravelry- if you’re not on Ravelry, let me know and I’ll get you the details (but first, sign up for Ravelry!). Miss Mad for Knit was knitting, as well.

Walking and knitting, knitting and walking

The walk took a different route than I remembered- though it was 14 years ago. There were many, many more walkers. It was amazing.

pretty skyline

It was beautiful, and we kept the conversation light, Carol kept me nicely distracted, and it was only very sad at the end. We finished the walk- but my brother never will again.

We had toyed with looking up his old apartments, but in the end, I didn’t need that this time. There will be another time- and it will be ok.

I promised you all a raffle for donations, and a raffle there will be. Since the walk is still accepting donations until the 30th, I thought I’d give the donation link one more time, then in the meantime get pictures of the raffle prizes, and draw after the 30th. More next post.

A few goatie pictures- cuz I can now.

Baby Justine in a bin

Isn’t she cute? If you look closely, you can see where her mohair has static from the plastic bin and is standing up.

Baby Evan being cute

As if he could be anything but!

A little more sadness

One of my sweet goaties, Lister, passed away yesterday morning. We don’t really know what happened. Their wonderful vet is out of town this week. The first person I called (always, aside from Dr. Melinda when it comes to these babies) is Pat from Kid Hollow- which is where all my goats originate. She had lost one this week, too. We’re thinking parasites- with all the rain and wet we’ve had, the worms and organisms can quickly overload a goat. She also speculated about pneumonia- and maybe he could have had it without showing symptoms. Whatever the cause, my sweet goat is gone. (I’m trying to get through this as detached as possible- not working too well).

Pat came up and took his body for me, so I wouldn’t have to deal with that. A very kind neighbor, Ian, was on standby in case Pat and I couldn’t load him in the truck by ourselves. Actually, my kids helped- I was very proud of them. Then another friend, Connie (who I vend with at the smaller festivals) came out and we did a massive deworming and antibioticing- just in case. I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends who would come like that at the drop of a hat. That means everything.

Lister didn’t get mentioned too much, but he was a very sweet goat. Just the day before he was beside me on the porch getting his face scratched and his nose kissed.  He was 4 years old, as most of my goats are. I’ll leave you with a few pictures of him. Safe journey, Mister Lister- to a field and woods with the best leaves ever.

Lister- not quite one

Lister- a little over two

whispering goatie secrets

Feeling quiet

And since I seem to be the only quiet one in this house… (right now the other “adult” in the house is teaching the kids how to yell and scream at video games. I’m gonna hafta open another bottle of wine.)

Remember how I told you I’m hopelessly scattered? I guess I felt the need to prove it and left a pair of socks (not knit, so not important in the least), my sweat jacket (the 2nd MD S & W sweatshirt I’ve left behind, so kinda important), and my camera (ok, that one is really important) in Boston. (once you’re done saying what a scattered ditz I am, if you listen carefully you can hear my father saying I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached. That’s ok. When he’s right, he’s right) Luckily- I left them at Miss Mad for Knit’s place, so they should be making their way back to me shortly. By the way, if she ever invites you to stay with her, accept without hesitation- I had a fantastic time, she took me to WEBS, they took better care of me than I ever remember being taken care of, she took me to WEBS, she was with me every step of the way on the walk, she introduced me to Babycocktails, she took me to WEBS, she let me sleep under her first Kaffe quilt (picture when camera returns), her children let me hug them because I missed mine- and did I mention she took me to WEBS? (ok, WEBS was cool, and I did get a few things, but truly, it wasn’t the highlight. The highlight was spending a wonderful weekend with a friend who knew that dragging my ass to Boston for this walk would be the right thing to do- thank you from the bottom of my heart.)

I’ll have about 2 pictures to show you regarding the trip when the camera comes back. As far as the goat show- again- a wonderful time. It’s great to be surrounded by people who love goats (almost) as much as I do, and who don’t think I’m (too) crazy. A friend there will forward me some pictures of my babies, so I’ll tell you about that then.

Now I’m home for the summer. I’ve got lots going on the knitting and spinning front. I’m planning on getting more stuff listed on my website, reopening the Etsy shop, and getting stuff done! I’ve got some testknitting things going that I won’t be able to show you yet, but I promise to get them up as soon as I can, plus a couple of design requests I’m working on.

A bit of sadness. I realized the other day was the anniversary of my friend Erika’s death from pancreatic cancer. Miss Mad for Knit will be doing the run for cancer again this year, so as soon as the details are up for donating, I’ll let you know. Then Wed. night, one of our sweet hamsters, Olivia, died. It’s amazing how attached you can get to a little thing that only lives for 2 years. She died in my arms, so I know it wasn’t too painful- and I like knowing that they know they are loved at that last minute. It was heart failure, which isn’t too bad for a 2+ year old hammie. Safe journey, Olivia.

Yummy eggplant parmesan- score!

You guys have a great weekend! If my camera hasn’t made it back here soon, I’ll throw up some old goatie pictures to distract you, and I’ll update you on the website and etsy shop soon.

Just passing through

The AIDS Walk was a very good experience- and I’ll tell you all about when I get back. Right now, I’m getting ready to head out to the EAGMA show- the Eastern Angora Goat and Mohair Association’s show. For the first time I’m showing some goats- Rosie, Evan, and Renesmee. Details on that when I get back too. I’m also vending there, so I have to throw all that stuff in the car, plus grab a shower and pack. Soooooo- have a great weekend, and I’ll be back next week! (I’d ask Carol to entertain you, but that lucky girl is headed to TNNA this weekend. I’d be going too, but they are holding the goat show on a different weekend than usual. I’m gonna make sure that’s fixed next year…)

Catching a train

This is sooo early for me. My dad will be here in a bit to pick me up to take me to the train station. I switch trains in New York, then should be in Boston with Miss Mad for Knit around 8 tonight. The AIDS Walk is Sunday morning. I know this will be good, and I shouldn’t be sad, or look at it as being in Boston without my brother being there, because in a way, he will be. And I am looking forward to this, but I am sad, too. Even though he is present somewhere, and probably keeping an eye on my sister and me, he’s not here where we can talk to him- and have him talk back. (stupid AIDS).

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, and for all of the good wishes I know you’ll be sending me- you guys are fantastic! (oh, and there will be a raffle, I have handspun yarn from Ducky, Carol will be donating a signed book, I’ll have handspun and roving, and Miss Mad for Knit has a quilt for the really high donors (over 100). So if you want to get in on this, the “donated” link above will take you there, and I will do the raffle in mid-June.)

My internet is back- woohoo! Thanks, Carol, for stepping in while it was out, and for giving everyone real, concrete reasons for why goats are so wonderful- beyond all my mushy “I love my goats” stuff.

Fluff loves me

Have a great weekend!