A few of my favorite quotes.

I believe that when combined the following quotes make a great philosophy of life.

I Thessalonians 4: 11,12 (KJV) "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we command you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and [that] ye may have lack of nothing."

"To live content with small means ; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion ; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich: to listen to stars and birds,babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk, gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common ... this is my symphony."
William Henry Channing


Remember the three R's : Respect for self, Respect for others : and Responsibility for all your actions.
(Not certain of the source.)

Have a blessed week!

It's still too hot!

It is still crazy hot and humid here in southern Indiana. We get these little pop up storms and instead of cooling things down they only raise the humidity even more. I apologize for being a whiny baby but dang I would like to enjoy some of the summer.

I raided the savings account and bought a laptop at WalMart this morning. It was a good deal on an Acer Aspire 5251. (Good thing I like Ramen noodles, oats, and other cheap foods!) Some of my Library customers use net books and like them very much. While I like the portability of the smaller size reading from the small screen and typing on that small keyboard would get old in a hurry.

We have several free Wi-Fi places in Bedford, including the Library, so I may wait a bit before I get service at home.

Angela's visit to the neurosurgeon didn't go as we had hoped. Because of the pleurisy, cracked rib and some capillary swelling in her brain it may be December before the surgery happens. =(

The photo is one Angela took a few weeks ago when Jaidy and her Meme (my sis DebJo) came to visit the chickies. We love how her lil rounded cheeks show the bit of baby girl still in her face.

Jaidy hadn't seen the girls since they were very small and was quite amazed at how large they were now. She knew she must not chase them but decided to try out her recently acquired "skipping" skills. Too funny! The girls did not think much of this so we only let her make a couple of laps in the pen.

Stay cool and have a blessed week!

Cleaning, Dyeing & Life

While I've been neglecting the blog I haven't been a total slacker.

With the help of my neighbor, Nicholas, my backporch has become an outdoor living room. We cleaned out, scrubbed and rearranged to make a pleasant sitting/work area that I have been enjoying immensely. It's been so nice to sit in one of my wicker chairs and relax with a cool drink after work. A simple pleasure. Smile

My indigo vat is up and running. I remove the lid of the vat (a five gallon bucket) move the "flower" to the side then immerse a skein of wool yarn. The yarn comes out a strange yellow/green color but after it is rinsed and exposed to the air it changes to blue. Very cool!

Nicholas has taught me Shibori and I love it. We did a few samples (pictured above) using small squares of muslin and after I practice a bit more will move on to silk scarves.

This has been one of the hottest and wettest summers I can remember! The farmers (my daddy included) should be on their second cutting of hay but many are just now finishing the first cut. This first cutting is not the best hay. It is heavy and rank so it is slow to cure. I hope the humidity drops down soon so our animals have good, and plentiful, winter rations.

My chickens are doing very well. No eggs yet but Daddy has already made them a nest box. It is a bit large for their hutch but should work just fine.

Angela has a pre-opt appointment with the neurosurgeon tomorrow. She still has pleurisy and a cracked rib (I think it is the fourth cracked rib this summer) which must be healed before surgery. Sigh

The heat advisory is suppose to be over at 7:00 p.m. so I think I will head home and throw a few skeins of wool into the indigo vat. I have super wash sock yarn plus a few skeins of worsted I want to dye for Market on Saturday.

Stay cool!

Happy Independence Day!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Let the Dyeing Begin!

Yay my order arrived yesterday.

I bought a Indigo kit, several dyes (for cotton), a few inexpensive silk scarves (for practice), a good hand cleaner (because I rarely remember my gloves), soda ash and Synthrapol.

It should be a good start to fabric dyeing and Shibori. I plan to practice the fabric dyeing on muslin then move on to the better quality "Bella" by Moda. We will use more muslin and the silk scarves to practice the Shibori.

I bought a book on Shibori and it seems pretty straight forward. Basically anything goes when it comes to finding objects to use in the resistance dyeing. Marbles, popcorn, rubber bands, coins, PVC pipe, wooden blanks .... it's all good.

Angela is making diaper covers (longies and shorties) out of wool yarn and we are planning a "Dye Day" . She enjoys playing with the colors too so we should have a lot of fun. =)

This a little unique.

Saturday is Market at Orleans, Indiana followed by a wedding on the Orleans Square. The couple met at Market three years ago and decided that was where they wanted to be married. Everyone is to bring a clean mason jar and a hoe or rake. The farmers market will provide flowers to place in the mason jars for us to hold during the ceremony and then we'll all form an Arch of Hoes and Rakes for the happy, married couple to stroll under after being pronounced husband and wife. Angela and I decided to forgo the hoe/rake arch ... with our junky hands we would probably lose our grip and clobber the bride and groom!

Chicken Update

The girls were finally moved into their pen last week. They weren't certain of what to make of all the space available to them. The pen is 10' x 22' so it seems huge to four pullets.

The first picture is of my neighbor Nicholas holding Cicely (Red Star). The middle one is Rosemary (Red Star) and Marguerite (Buff Orpington). All four of them enjoy scratching out the grit onto the grass. The last photo is Cicely and Tansy (Buff Orpington). We hope to get some better shots soon. The girls were distracted by the company and didn't want to pose. =)

I appreciate all the time and effort my Daddy spent helping me to make a nice home for the girls.