Buh-bye today, hello tomorrow

I have a little down time while sitting in Denver on the way to San Francisco. I have the lace sock with me to work on, and the Fair Isles Vest that Liz graciously showed me how to proceed on for my hotel room. Get up time today was 0215 so I'm not sure how much I'm going to get done but the thought is there. This weekend we're planning a trip to Sharpsburg to see Antietam. Have a great day everyone! :)

By way of apology for hermiting

June is always a tough month for me, and I know that I tend to become a bit of a hermit (more than flying, and working in general make me). I'm sorry. Today is Flag Day, June 14. It was also the anniversary of my Parents wedding, and the day that is exactly in the middle of the dates on which they passed away. Mom died on June 12 and Dad on June 16, though not in the same year. Needless to say, this time of year I am pretty darn quiet and reflective. And prone to tears...don't worry it isn't PMS! I have actually been trying to keep myself busier than usual, and have gone back to working on a lace sock that I started in January, since the shawl I've been working on during our explorations in the car is in the car as we speak, and the car is at the mechanics being repaired. I'll get a picture as soon as the car and the shawl are returned. I'm off to my volunteer job in a skirt that I made of fabric that Mark picked out yesterday afternoon. Have a good day, everyone. And please, call your Mom and Dad and tell them that you love them if you're lucky enough to have them still with you.

On the trail of History

It was a crisp and windy day and we decided to take a drive down to Point Lookout State Park. That was the site of the largest Prisoner of War camp in the Nation during the War between the States. It has had a section of the Fort rebuilt and there were a couple of tents for demonstration purposes, as well as a unit of reenactors that were talking to visitors. We were quite chilly as the wind whipped over the water and into the area. The prisoners and even some of the guards were housed in tents with some using the boxes that Hard Tack/Crackers came in to build crude walls around the bottom to shield them a little from the weather. That's where the term "Cracker Box Houses" came from. I can't even imagine the hardships they suffered. The "People in Charge" figured that Southern Maryland was a warm place...obviously they'd never been there in the winter time! We then came upon the cemetary that once held the remains of the nearly 4000 prisioners that died at the Point Lookout Prisoner Camp (some Maryland citizens were also jailed there in 1863-5 for having a dissenting opinion to the forces occupying the state at the time). There are 3002 souls still buried in the grounds in the cemetary in unmarked graves, there is a large monument with the known names as one as a smaller one put there by the State of Maryland. Being there was sobering. After a quick trip to St. Mary's City, the site of the first settlement and original Capitol of the State of Maryland, we then stopped at Soloman's Island for a delicious Seafood feast on the way back home. We are fortunate to live in a state full of beauty, history, culture, and things to do.

Busy Day in Pennsylvania

We had a wonderful and busy day in the Pennsylvania countryside yesterday. The day started off with a trip to the Mannings Spinning Seminar, visits with some of the spinners that I know at their large spin-in (I didn't know they were going to be spinning this year so my wheels were at home). Then we headed to Gettysburg where we did a little bit of shopping and then changed our of our "new-fangled" clothing into Period Correct dress for the Ball in the nearby town. We've been going to Victorian Period dancing once a month for a few months this year, and this is the annual end of season ball put on by the Citizens of Gettysburg. It was lovely, with everyone in Period dress, I was, of course, studying dresses and fabrics and trim for future sewing projects and dresses that I'll hopefully make. The one I wore had period correct fabric and trim, and is considered a "fancy day dress" as opposed to a ball gown. I felt that it would be too warm for a satiny ball gown this time of year. Mark went, as most reenactors did, in his uniform, and there were plenty of Civilian dressed men as well. We did so enjoy ourselves and arrived back home tired but feeling great!

Meg's Graduation and catching up a bit

This is a long overdue catch up post about our trip to Michigan for our youngest's High School Graduation (with honors, this proud step-mom has to mention!). We left late Thursday night. This is the New Graduate here with Roses that her Paternal Grandmother (better known as "Nanny") got for her. These pictures were taken the day after the graduation which was held on Friday night at a beautiful pavilion on
the grounds of the local University. It was a beautiful evening, a bit crisp but after a day of off and on rain, the weather cleared up and we enjoyed the graduation. It was a wonderful beginning to a lovely weekend full of family and fun. Mark's Mom and Dad came in from Illinois for the big event, and to spend time with everyone. Friday night we were pleased to have dinner with all three of our boys as well as Nanny and Poppa, then back to the hotel for some very needed rest after driving all night the night before. We went shopping with Nanny and Poppa early in the day after the Graduation while Meg was recovering from her all night party after graduation by sleeping late. Then we met back up with everyone later on for dinner. We had a wonderful Italian dinner together,and Jon was able to get the time off to go as well. Here's a picture of Jon and Meg "computing". On the way from Maryland to Michigan Jon, Mark and I stopped at Frankenmuth to drop off some fleeces that I'd had in the basement...as well as some Llama that had just arrived a day or so before. All together we brought 99.5 pounds of fiber to be processed. I can't wait to get it all back! My own personal fleeces (like my favorite CVM's from Myrtle) were in this load, and I even purchased some Peach colored unidentified roving that was abandonded at the Mill. I think it's Corriedale, and I'm enjoying spinning it on my Louet.

Good things loom ahead

Like many knitters and spinners, my stash definitely exceeds any possible life expectancy that I might have. I've collected yarns for scarves and small projects for awhile now, and continue to do so all the time. I also do demonstrations for kids of spinning and weaving, and was looking for a simple small loom that would fold up and be very portable. I already have a small right heddle table loom, but it isn't well made and is very combersome to thread and use. I decided to try the Ashford Knitter's Loom which is pictured here. The loom has some definite shortcomings if you're a weaver such as no separate harness and reed, you beat the weaving using the rigid heddle itself, but for a non-weaver that wants a way to make up small projects and not have to learn to weave in a more traditional way, it would be perfect. You wind your warp directly onto the loom and threading it is very easy. My practice project was a narrow scarf made of Euroflax Aberdeen Heathered yarn, but it's drying now after a ride in the washer so I didn't have a picture. This scarf is Noro very chunky weight yarn, and took one (very large) skein. The loom is warped with some heathered and variegated wool that I bought for a scarf that would go with my Navy Blue uniform overcoat. I like the way it's turning out already. I did 2 scarves yesterday, it goes very fast.

A weekend in the woods

We spent the weekend camping out along with several other Reenactment units portraying several states at the Steppingstone Museum in Susquehanna State Park. It was wonderfully relaxing and fun, the guys got to skirmish for spectators Saturday and Sunday, I got to teach spindling to several ladies in the Unit, and I brought one of my spinning wheels so I spun while the spectators were in camp and answered questions and gave demonstations. The spectators seemed to enjoy the spinning wheel being there, and learning about it. I sometimes felt a little odd at having people just walk through and take my picture (same with everyone that was in period clothing) but I have kind of gotten used to it from my volunteer work at the Carroll County Farm Museum. I didn't realize until this weekend that along with us having fun and building friendships with fellow reenactors, having us there is a big draw for the museum for bringing folks to watch the skirmishes as well as to walk through camp and see how the people lived in that era.I snuck away from the spinning wheel on Sunday just long enough to watch my two guys on the field. In the first volley of "fire" Mark went down, that's him in the foreground on the grass. The Virginia unit also took heavy casualties due to cannon fire from the Union artillary, but Jonathan and the Maryland group fired the Mountain Howitzer back with lots of noise and flames, much to the delight of the spectators lined up on the hill to watch. After the skirmish was over, there was a group demonstating Victorian Era dancing along with a live musical group.
Here are Mark (far right) and Jonathan (in his red artillary shirt) conferencing with the Major with his wife in the foreground prior to the battle. Our unit is very family oriented and many folks in the unit have kids that are involved, both grown and young. We enjoy each other and have some lively conversations around the campfire with lots of laughter all around! It's all about frienships and teaching living history to the public. We're tired and have a mountain of laundry to do (and I have to go back to work this morning!) but it was well worth it.

Happy Mother's day to everyone! :)

A Happy Mom's day (I know, a day late) to everyone out there. Mine started out nicely with a "Happy Mother's Day" message on My-space from my DSD Meghann. It definitely made me smile. Then my DS Jonathan called and later came over to take DH and me out for a wonderful Mother's Day buffet at one of our favorite places. He drove us all the way up to Yokumtown, PA to KClinger's Tavern where they were having an all you can eat buffet that was absolutely wonderful! Then he gave me my gift which as you can see is a beautiful old oil burning lamp. He found it in an antique shop in Northeast, Maryland. It'll be perfect for re-enactment weekends, and he has it already filled with lamp oil for me. I got a special treat, my son-by-choice (and son-in-law) Michael called me from Iraq to say Happy Mother's day. He and I talked for quite some time before going to dinner with the boys. Then that evening my DD Jennifer called from Virginia to say Happy Mother's Day. Then I got to talk to my favorite Grandma, "Nanny" who is Mark's mom and one of my favorite people. Then my DSS Matt called Mark and asked him to relay his Mother's day wishes. All in all, a really great day full of family and good cheer.

Knitting and spinning progress report

These last couple of weeks have brought me the time to organize a little bit, and to spindle with two new spindles that have come into my life. These two beautiful spindles are by Cascabeles through the Kendig Cottage Ebay store. They spin really wonderfully, and though I love all of my spindles, these are the newest and just had to be tried out. I've been working on some Merino and Cultivated silk blend in a variegated colorway. It spins very nicely on these mid-weight spindles (they're each about 1.4 ounces) but then again, I like a little heavier weight spindle. I'm getting a very fine, lace weight thread, and have been spinning while I demonstrate at the Museum.
I have now spun about 12 ounces (it was in a bag marked 1 pound) of Iclandic down roving that I purchased at the New York Sheep and Wool show last fall. It spun nicely on my wheel while I was at the museum, but I like to have shawls that are over a pound of fiber. I had this brown fleece that comes from a sheep named "Wendy", I think she's BFL and Romney. I had this processed into roving locally, and honestly, it spins so nicely and so quickly that it's nearly effortless! This is the first 4 ounce skein, I have nearly 2 bobbins already done for the the next skein. I think I have a little bit over 2 pounds of this fiber, I can't decide if I want to use it with the grey Icelandic yarn for a shawl or make it into something on its own. I will wait to see how much I get from the fleece. It has a nice tiny bit of variegation due to the sunburned tips on the fleece, and I like the interest that it added.
Here's the knitting project, about 3 inches got done while I was on vacation. I have around 2 inches give or take before I start the steeks for the armholes and neckline. I haven't been working on this much at home as lately I've been spending my evening hours sewing or taking in some of the clothes I already have. I had a marathon "try on" last week of my period things so I could mark where to move the hooks and eyes to for fit and also where to put darts and such so I can wear everything I already had. Last year about this time I was 30 pounds heavier so some adjustments were necessary. Thank you to the good program and supportive staff at Weight Watchers!

A week at the museum in period dress

I had another week of vacation left, and Mark was on a business trip so I spent each morning interacting with the children that came to the Living History museum as field trips, with evenings spent working on the business, and on being creative. I have started decorating hats for period wear, I love them! I did a felted "spoon" hat that started life as dark brown, and I actually did a couple of different straw hats, this was just the most accessible to take a picture of. With beginning to sew again, I can have a whole bunch of different things to wear for less that what I would have paid for one outfit, so I'm enjoying the creative process. But then again, that's also why I've been quiet, I'm busier now than I've ever been before. But busy is good, and it feels so good to see what I've made, or to wear a new outfit and have comments made upon it. We have a reenactment weekend coming up (actually at least one per month for the season) so I'll have more opportunity to wear my newly created things.

Maryland Sheep & Wool...some unusual buys

Yes, I bought some fiber too. I got about 2 pounds of Navajo Churro and 1 pound of Navajo Churro/Lincoln cross roving while I was there. But the real finds this time for me were when I went to look at the Navajo rugs. There was a gentleman by the name of Rick Ortiz that was there with his grandmother, who was one of the Navajo weavers. He was a silversmith and made some beautiful jewelry. I'd bought an inlaid silver saguaro while in Arizona, so I was very happy to have found some earings that will match both the Saguro and my new Bear charm. I got a couple of other small things from him as well. I really enjoy the culture and artistry of the Native people so finding these was a real treat!

Mark and Vicki's Excellent Arizona Adventure

I had so many pictures from vacation that I knew family and friends might want to see, that I made up webpages with them. They all have clickable links to larger versions of the pictures and are found at this link: Arizona Vacation.There are three pages each with links to the others as well as back to my blog. It has taken me many hours to put it all together so I hope you enjoy it and that it doesn't take too long to load on the computers of it's viewers. We're glad to be back but we really enjoyed our vacation.

Finished project before vacation

This is the dress that I finished on a icky rainy weekend before vacation. It's the one that I pictured in the sewing stage in an earlier post. I wore it to the museum today and got Mark to take my picture before I left. I've got two other dresses cut out right now, and hope to have a little time to work on them before I have to go back to work.

And a huge Thank you to Gabe

This beautiful spindle was made by Gabe Jaramillo of Cascabeles Handspindles. It's title is "Hopi Butterfly Maiden" and I think it's just exquisite. Gabe sent this to me as a gift, and I am very, very touched and grateful. It spins beautifully and it's especially beautiful in light of the vacation that Mark and I just returned from in Arizona. Thank you, Gabe! :)

Ok, I've been a hermit

Truly I have been a hermit.. I have been flying massive hours and it's already volunteering season at the Farm Museum! I've spent time as a living historian on 3 days this season so far, and it's just the beginning. It's so worth spending the time when the kids ask good questions and really are touched by seeing folks in period dress doing traditional arts.
But, the big reason I've been out of touch is that I've been sewing.I purchased a "Tea Dress" in Gettysburg (Civil War era) for an upcoming dance, and though it is beautiful, I spent a lot of money on it. Then one day I happened to look at the $2 a yard fabric at the local Wal-Mart, and you guessed it, there was my Tea Dress fabric. I got angry at myself and decided that I would get my sewing machine out and work on some outfits for myself rather than paying the high prices for already made ones. Since I posted last, I have made (left to right) Blue floral skirt to go with a blouse I already had, Tea Dress which is a duplicate pattern-wise to the one that I bought, and purple skirt and Zouve jacket which will be worn with a white blouse. However, I want you to know that the Tea Dress that I made took at least 20 hours of work on my part and it wasn't $2 a yard fabric...so the price I paid was really worth the money when you figure in the time of the person that made it. The skirt in the one I made has 6 yards of fabric in it. The least that any of the reenactment skirts has is a little under 4 yards. This is the latest project that I started last night. It's a bodice and skirt, but it'll look like a dress when worn together. I'm no seamstress, believe me, I made some dresses for my daughter when she was younger, and some Halloween Costumes for the kids, but mostly I made "easy to sew" things. These are reproduction patterns and they assume that you know what you are doing, the instructions aren't very complete. And they are honestly the most difficult patterns I've ever sewn. But I'm learning as I go and since the outfits aren't for everyday wear, I think they'll be ok. The outfit I'm working on now has piping around the neck, sleeve, and cuff, the first time I've ever done that. And all the skirts have kick plates made of thicker material, and tape added to the bottom, and there are many hooks and eyes to sew into everything by hand. Time consuming, but I enjoy wearing the finished product. I always say I like to sew when the garment is finished, but not before! So please forgive my hermitness...I've got an awful lot of fabric in my stash to get to. :)

Branching out

Every one of our weekends is packed full, and every week day is occupied either by flying or by working with the business, and I'm sorely behind on that! So what did I do? I started another project! I started making hair ornaments for victorian/Civil War era dresses as I just wasn't going to pay those prices that most places in Gettysburg were charging. I am letting my hair grow longer, but for now I have a hair fall that I needed a lacy comb to cover up where it meets my own hair. I've been getting ribbons and flowers and hope to have more of a selection in the future to share with the ladies in my group.
But lest you think I'm not doing anything fibery, here's the "Rosemarkie" vest at it's present state. I have about 3.5 inches to go before I begin the steeks for the armholes. I'm enjoying the pattern and the process even though I have little time to work on it with my flying schedule. And if I'm not busy enough, I bought several period patterns so now I have to dig out my sewing machine and express my creative side through making clothing. That's another story, but no hurry on that!

A beautiful day in Maryland

It was a beautiful and a bit windy spring day in the Maryland countryside. Our reenactment/living history group met another group at the Union Mills Homestead for a day of play, friendship, and enjoyment of the weather. As you can see, it was blustery, a little bit challenging when wearing hoops and many layers of petticoats, I nearly got blown over a few times. I tried to knit while watching the units play, but the yarn kept being blown around so I quickly gave that up.
Jon learned to fire the mountain howitzer (blanks, of course) and all about safety, and at the end of the skirmish with the South Carolina unit, learned about bluffing when you're out of ammo! I was able to get a couple of good photos of the smoke coming out of the cannon...pretty impressive. I had no idea there were so many people needed for the procedure and so very many safety rules. I enjoyed watching the process.
This is my guy all dressed up and smiling because he got to fire a musket and run around and hide behind trees and just have fun. The looks on the faces of all involved said it all, fun and more fun. The unit had quite a group of spectators, even as the museum isn't even open for visitors this early in the year. After we finished, we went to Gettysburg to look around at the shops and then to a good dinner and home to put everything away. I'm sure everyone is going to sleep well tonight! Tomorrow I knit again! :)

A little progress

I've made only a limited amount of progress this week on my vest. I took Mark's sweater with me and did a couple of rows on the way to Los Angeles on Wednesday, but due to working so much, I haven't been knitting a whole lot. I do love the interplay of colors in the vest so far, I've finished one pattern repeat and I'm just starting the second. I have a long way to go. Knit on!

A new UFO has begun

This is the "RoseMarkie" vest from one of my new books. It's billed as a "one star" or easiest pattern, and since I've not done steeks before, I thought I'd stick with the easy patterns until I'm comfortable. The pattern calls for warm colors, oranges and browns, but I love the blues and purples so I made it my own colorway. This is how it looks today after working many hours this weekend.
My intent was to post this picture of my progress last week after I frogged the entire ribbing and had to re-do it, but when I signed on Wednesday morning before work (that would have made it around 0300) the site wasn't functioning. My apologies. And yes, I'm still working on my Aran sweater for my dear husband. I was getting burned out and needed a little break from that, hence the new UnFinished Object. There's just not much time in the day after working and doing everything else, but I do try to knit at least a little bit each day. Have a great day and Knit Happy!

Trying to get back to the usual me :)

I had thought I'd have at least a picture of the beginnings of my "RoseMarkie" vest to show for the last two night's knitting. I had cast on and knit about 8 or 9 rows of the two colored (on my 4th color addition) ribbing. On a brand new size 2 circular needle. I carefully checked before joining the stitches to make sure there wasn't a twist on the new and therefore by nature, twisted needle. I've been home from work sick with clogged ears and this cold, so the only knitting I've been doing has been while watching TV. I guess I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been. I don't know what made me double check, but all of a sudden, I thought "I should look at how the colors come together in the evolving ribbing" and all of a sudden I realize what I'm seeing. That's right. A moibus. Now, no proper lady would ever use any questionable language when she found out what has happened and that she has to rip out two night's work, of course. And after blaming the pattern designer for good measure, I had to take the responsibility that I'd messed up. I tried to come up with a quick fix that would allow me to continue knitting, but there just wasn't one. And it doesn't affect my mood at all that it's PMS time and my sinus' feel like there are garden gnomes in them with pickaxes. Sigh. The moibus is now ripped out, but I don't think I have the heart to start again tonight. So here's my picture for today's post, I'll bet these guys are laughing at me behind my back. I suppose they never knit Moibus's unless they plan on them...