I was directed to a link on craftster about a homemade hackle to make your own roving batts. I thought the idea was absolutly fantastic and set out to buy the supplies needed.
Mark built it for me a bit ago and I took the pound of mill ends ( red, black and a bit of white mohair ) that I received in the shop the swap, and got to work on trying it out.
I just loooove the result, its a very very addicting thing to do.
Heres my hackle, with some of the mill ends on it.
Hackle and Mill ends
Alrighty, time for a new list!
* Updated July 19 *
1. Heart Quilt as a wedding gift – Started - 9 Blocks Complete
2. Flower Skirt
3. 2 Summer Skirts
4. Pig Potholder – 25% Complete
5. Cupcake house with bear
6. Postage Stamp Quilt – 1820 Squares counted – 108 Squares Sewn
7. Triangle Pot Holder
8. Felt Santa Stocking
9. Merry Moose – 75% Complete
10. 2x Rudolph Stuffed Animals
11. Christmas Bear – 50% complete
12. Felt food fridge magnets
13. Knit socks for myself - 50 % complete
14. Amish quilted pillow cover
15. Pin cushion
16. Quilted Stocking – 50% Complete
17. 2 Granny Washcloths
18. Spinning Pink Wool – 75% Complete ( 153 yds of fingering weight )
19. Knit Socks – 20% Complete
20. Crochet 4 Totoro Ami’s – Complete 3,
21. Handpsun/Handdyed for katara – Complete
22. Log cabin style pillow cover
23. Wedding Card – Complete
24. sewhelpme postage stamp quilt - 2,304 squares – 32 Squares sewn
25. Crochet Lion – 95% Complete
26. 3 Cross stitch ATC’s – 3 half complete
27. Spin blue rambouillet – Complete
28. Wash and card UCV roving – washed
29. Wash and card unknown gray fleece
Hello fellow blog followers,
I have been extremely quiet the last while so I thought it was time to update on my life and reasons for such sort and distant blogging.
Last month my mom was called for surgury, but the medication they gave her beforehand blocked her bowels and they had to cancel surgury. She was admitted with the blockage anyways for a week, so I spent the week traveling back and forth to Kingston.
She was home for a little over a week before her next surgury date. I sent her up the day before and her surgury went well. She was in the hospital for another week, and was then sent home after she showed signs of her bowels working.
She was home with me taking care of her for a week before I sent her to a different hospital due to infection. She was in that hospital for another week, where they reopened her wound to remove the infection, said she had it from the other hospital and then sent her home a few days ago doing really well.
So, to make a long story short, she is good and eating, her surgury worked but Ive been taking care of her non stop and will be for the next 5 weeks.
Ive been trying to craft as often as I get the chance, so I will have scattered blog posts until she is healed, and then things will go back to normal for me.
My mother in law is due here in 2 weeks, to stay for 2 weeks. My birthday is in a few weeks and the summer heat is here. Its a busy time in eastern ontario 
penguino asked me to crochet a blue totoro for the shop the swap. I found a very pretty blue yarn to use and enjoyed making him.
I shipped him off a bit ago and he should be arriving anyday.
I only have 1 totoro left to send out, heres her blue one.
Blue Totoro
* runs around all excited *
I went to upper canada village yesterday morning for the sheep sheering, and when I arrived he was just getting one of the girls out to sheer her. He asked if anyone wanted to give it a go. I think I may have lit up like a lightbulb and ran faster than he could say ok. But, haha, I got to cut some of the fleece off and then I held her and cuddled her while he finished her up. We took about an hour or more making sure she was nice and even and no poo left etc.
I went to get pics of the sheering, but since I was the one holding her and doing it I couldnt get any, but I did get pics of her when she was finished and of the other sheep.
There was a woman there for an agriculture paper who was taking alot of pics and asking him a bunch of questions and asked me a bunch of questions and then got my name so Im going to be in the paper about it 
IM SO EXCITED
One of the ladies there who was spinning to show people what the fleece turned in to bagged me up some of her fleece so I could clean and card it! * dances around * I also took home the section I cut off.
I also ended up with a different type of wool that the woman was spinning and told me to try and last week when I went and talked to the mill guy he gave me some jacobs wool from another farm that he carded and wasnt for sale. Ive already spun it.
Sheered Sheep
I know Ive been MIA, real life has gotten away on me.
I spent two nights this week for hours dying in my new large dying pot and must share what Ive completed.
The first I have called “spring” and is my favourite handspun yet, I spent a very very long time spinning and plying this and the way the colours turned out just makes me soo happy!
Spring
Next is a colour choice dear Mark picked out and I just love how rich it turned out, unfortunatly I havent thought of a name for it yet.
unnamed
Ok, I must say, it was a bit of a bad month for crafts. Things got busy and the weather got nice.
Mind you, for some reason I feel like I accomplished alot!
This month I completed 11 things.
This next month my goal is to get all swap packages complete and out the door, it will be a challenge!
* Updated June 8 *
1. Heart Quilt as a wedding gift – Started - 8 Blocks Complete
2. Flower Skirt
3. 2 Summer Skirts
4. Pig Potholder – 25% Complete
5. Cupcake house with bear
6. Postage Stamp Quilt – 1820 Squares counted – 108 Squares Sewn
7. Triangle Pot Holder
8. Felt Santa Stocking
9. Merry Moose – 75% Complete
10. 2x Rudolph Stuffed Animals
11. Christmas Bear – 50% complete
12. Felt food fridge magnets
13. Knit socks for myself
15. Amish quilted pillow cover
16. Pin cushion
17. Quilted Stocking – 50% Complete
18. 2 Granny Washcloths
19. Quilted Squares Afghan - 3 squares complete
20. Spinning Pink Wool – 75% Complete ( 153 yds of fingering weight )
21. Knit Socks – 20% Complete
22. Ply and dye large quantity of handspun - Complete
23. Crochet 4 Totoro Ami’s – Complete 2
24. Ramboulet spun and dyed – Complete
25. Handpsun/Handdyed for katara
26. Log cabin style pillow cover
27. Wedding Card – cross stitch Complete
28. sewhelpme postage stamp quilt - 2,304 squares – 32 Squares sewn
29. Crochet Lion – 45% Complete
30. 3 Cross stitch ATC’s – 3 half complete
31. Spin blue rambouillet – Started
32. Wash and card UCV roving
sheepBlue spoke to me about crafting for her sisters birthday as I mentioned in the kitty hat post. The other item she thought her sister would enjoy would be a crocheted totoro.
I have never crocheted an amigurumi but have been dying to, so after I looked at the pattern and realised that ” heck, I can do this! ” I told her, I would go for it.
After creating this guy, which I had soo much fun making, I offered to others on craftster if they wanted one, which 2 people agreed they would love one.
I also thought it would be in much interest to crochet my bestest mecca one, the japanese lover.
I didnt take a picture of him completely finished, he is missing his mouth and chest arrows etc, but heres a picture I took of him a few days before I shipped it out.
Totoro
When I claimed A2K in the ongoing wish swap, and noticed she wanted pot holders I got to work deciding on what kind of pot holders I wanted to make for her. I ended up choosing crochet and found a very nice, simple pattern on ravelry.
The pattern was called ” Hildes Pot Holders ” and can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hildes-pot-holders—hot-pads
I chose a natural cotton and heres how they turned out – 1 hexagon, and 1 circle
Pot Holders
sheepblue messaged me last month, asking me if I could craft for her sisters birthday. I was very happy to help and asked what she would like me to make. One of the items she asked was for a kitty ear hat in kelly green.
I went through many patterns and finally settled on the kitty ear hat from the stitch n bitch book.
Ive tried it on and took pics and am very happy with how it looks in kelly green!
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