Handworks Crochet and then Some!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long.. I was on a roll too! But the holidays started rolling in.. I took on some online classes .. breeding season is upon us...I've been making Christmas presents and trying to keep my Etsy store half way stocked up! And today my xtra wonderful husband is bringing me home 4 new Icelandic sheep with dairy genetics as well as gorgeous wool genetics to add to my flock. I feel blessed, and excited and very grateful. God is so good . Hopefully I'll get back on track blogging soon! I love looking back at my own posts to see what I was up to and how and if I've improved my skills! Until then! Be blessed! 

Buying a whole fleece to process is huge! Even just an average 5 pounds of fleece can yield a lot of yarn! And because you hold the key to how and what it's processed into you can get many different yarns and projects from that one fleece. I would have never bought a whole fleece as a beginner. It's just to much!  But I bought sheep ... so there I was with a couple of whole fleeces!  My first fleece came from a dairy sheep I called Bo Peep. This was in 2013. She was a great milking sheep with an average mid grade type white fleece. And it, like my other dairy sheep fleece did not felt. Made it very unintimidating to wash as I had been told horror stories of washing wool wrong or to rough and ending up with a big felted ball of ruined wool! Low in lanolin and not being super fine it was an easy fleece to clean. Crimpy and strong , average length also made it a perfect for a beginner spinner like me!  It carded super easy too!  I hit the ground spinning with that fleec...

I am very much in to healthy whole food eating. But if I don't plan some meals.. Especially lunches I grab easy things like nuts or a green juice.. not enough to keep this body going! something I started a few weeks ago on Monday was what I call marathon cooking. I make up a couple of high protein desserts and snacks , a couple of easy things for a few lunches and dinner with enough leftovers for the next days dinner or more lunches. A couple hours in the kitchen and solid healthy food for days! While things are in baking/cooking mode I use that down time to organize patterns , work a simple project or promote/check social media. Don't let ok at it as, yuck 2 hours of cooking .. I look at it as 2 productive hours of multitasking.  Today's marathon cooking consisted of,, simple egg salad that we like put on a low carb wrap with spinach. Huge Baked sweet potatoes which I'll cut in half and eat for lunch or a snack with butter and goat cheese mashed up! Super yum!  A huge ...

Granny square project!! Who loves squares projects?? So easy so versatile for so many different items.  Recently in a Facebook group I saw they had started a square along project.. any kind of squares! Being primarily a crocheter I immediately think of the granny square but I don't feel like a granny square blanket...  so I disregard starting anything but then I see someone making granny squares for a tote!!! And well,, I always want  need  a new bag! Perfect! I remembered some cute bags in magazines I have ( I'm hopelessly addicted to magazines!) and here it is. From the magazine For the love of crochet , My squares project.. A hobo bag!! How stinking cute is this bag!? And so simple..Blue denim color yarn  with off white and brown tweed yarns! Perfect bag for fall or winter.. should it take me that long to get it done. The holidays tend to slow down 'all about me' projects!  I have 8 more white squares to make then I can start the flowers. Need to find th...

There are so so many WIP this week! And I've finished a lot too... but with Christmas right around the corner my WIP list lengthens greatly!  An ongoing WIP is my Etsy store. And dealing with over stock of fiber and fiber goods.  It's a lot to keep up with. Keeping a nice assortment of things I offer , filling orders quickly and organizing everything so it's easy to find. Also coupon codes, ads and updates need to be done regularly. With the vast amount of talented people on Etsy and the internet in general it's easy to get lost if you don't stay on top of it.  But fiber hoarding is the worst thing I face!! I absolutely love raw fleece and fluffy roving!  So I made a rule for myself.. for every item I sell I add two new items to help me keep stocked up and help keep me from hoarding. It's really helped keep my shop from getting to low on inventory. I hope to build up over 100 items by next year though. Slow and steady!!!  These two pics are from the fall shearin...

I've got so many projects going right now it's kinda crazy! Besides trying to remake the dining room into a fiber studio I'm turning a corner of the living room into a sewing nook. Everything is a mess! I'm in the process of making a Tunisian ribbed hat, entrelac cowl, a cute boho hobo bag and the Tunisian scarf CAL I talked about yesterday.  I want to work on them all at once!!  Little shorn angora goat😍  At least fall shearing is off the to do list! I'm really loving tweed yarns and the fur pompoms that are all the rage right now and looking for ways to incorporate them into what I'm making. Planning Christmas presents I want to make is high on list! Although custom orders need to be completed first. I've got some great presents planned though!! Specialty candies, unique canned goods, of course some handmade knit and crochet items. Handmade Soaps usually end up in people's bag of goodies too 😊 I'm also in the process of writing my first crochet p...

Tunisian crochet (aka. Afghan stitch , Scottish knitting ) is all the rage now it seems! It's in all my magazines.. even the ones I get from the U.K., There are so many books on it now too! I gotta say.. I love it!  It's the knitted look without dealing with the needles. Yes please!!!! Although it's not as fast as regular crochet , it's still faster than knitting. At least for me but I'm a very speedy crocheter! Yep, I'm just learning it but I'm loving it! That's my first attempt. A couple of washcloths that turned out pretty nice! Done in the Tunisian simple stitch and the Tunisian knit stitch. Crochet now from the U.K. Actually has a Tunisian sampler scarf crochet along! And the magazine even came with the hook. Love that magazine. Please ignore than my scarf colors do not coordinate and look super ugly. But my stitches look good! I didn't want to use good yarn in case it turned out that I was terrible at it. I'm prob...