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A Christmas Wish For All My Blog Readers

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:58:00 +0000

Thank you to all who read my blog or just visit occasionally. You are all wonderful and I am very grateful to 'know' you. I wish you peace and happiness and good health for the coming year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :))

A Christmas Tradition

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:49:00 +0000

Every year I make a big batch of perogi for my son Mirek, who is half Polish (on his father's side). I've been making them for 20 years and have played around with my basic recipe many times. Most perogi can be rather bland tasting so I like to add finely chopped jalapeno, leek and sweet potato for extra flavour and nutrition. I still use regular unbleached flour for the dough because adding whole wheat flour didn't make them taste any better to me.

You can tell they are 'done' when they float to the surface. After cooling the perogi, I carefully place them in large freezer bags and freeze.

It takes me several hours to make a batch of about 70 perogi but I know how much my son luvs them and he looks forward to eating them when he goes back home after Christmas :)

Snow Shoveling Season Is Officially Here

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:18:00 +0000

Can you see my blue box out there at the end of my driveway ? Click for big.

We are getting hit hard today with wind and snow. Fortunately Ontario isn't getting the record breaking freezing temps like Western Canada. It's only a few degrees below zero today. The snow is supposed to turn to rain later in the day. Oh what a mess.....wet snow feels like it weighs a ton when I shovel it.

I'm keeping warm and cosy inside with my knitting. On the right we have my own 3 ply handspun alpaca/wool/silk/angora sock yarn for DH's ribbed socks. To the left is one of my fav patterns. Gull wing socks from SocksX3. I'm using the Scheepjes yarn I purchased in Holland earlier this year.

What you don't see is the pretty Christmas tree and my tea and chocolate, Lindt and Ferrero. Happy Knitting and Spinning to everyone :))

Saturday Afternoon at Hubbert Farms

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:27:00 +0000

The sheep/alpaca coats arrived last week so I helped Kathy

with putting them on the sheep. Sailor was too big for his coat so we have to order another one for him. We decided to coat some of the alpacas born this year too. There is so much waste of their precious cria fleeces.

The bottom pic is a little treat that Kathy gave me. It's a very delicate and shiney, small amount of white alpaca . I wish I could share with you all how soft this is. Oh yes...this is going into my Alpaca Ontario 2010 entries for sure.

Excuse the messed up links...Blogger is messing with me once again :(

A New Sock Blend

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:04:00 +0000

I recently finished plying this laceweightish superfine fawn cria and silk. Buttery soft to the touch, although Spicey's not so sure.

Super long french angora, black alpaca, BFL fleece, red silk and nylon.

First I blended everything but the angora on my drumcarder. As you can see from the batts below, the one on the far left has the angora blended in layers along with the wool and alpaca....there are obvious neps.

Angora is so fine and I wanted to minimize it's passes thru the carder to one time only.

I tried a few different things but what worked the best was adding a layer of the blended batt first, stopping the carder, then lightly layering the angora by hand over the main drum.

It's a tweedy looking yarn but that's ok. This 3 ply yarn will be for DH's Christmas socks.

I have alot of angora but this is the first time that I have ever worked with it.

More Sheep Shots

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:09:00 +0000

This little ewe is my Gypsy. She is a dark moorit and has soft and lustrous fleece. I already snipped a few samples and spun them hehe.

Here they are, all the way from western Canada. The big grey boy (Sailor) is a Gotland/Finn and the two little ewes are actually his daughters. Their mother is Shetland.

Sailor is quite friendly and naturally polled. I brought them some pumpkins and squash to eat.

We are still waiting for the two white finn ewes. Hopefully soon!

My New Fibre Friend

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:11:00 +0000

This is little Katey. She now lives at Hubbert Farms. We don't really know what breed she is but she is definitely a crossbreed with maybe some Shetland in her because she is so small. She was kind of like a rescue sheep from a local meat sheep breeder that didn't have the heart to ...gulp...you know. He got her from a sale barn in Ontario I believe.

Soon (maybe next week I hope) we are getting the sheep that we will begin breeding! They are Gotland and gotland crosses and a couple finns. One of the ewe lambs will be my very own! Their wool will be perfect for adding to the alpaca fleeces for our new line of yarns and rovings. I am totally in luv with Katey as you can see...she has a velvety soft and sweet little face:)

Time for an update!

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Here are 5 of my favourite black things in my house (instead of 7) Zette :)

My rose-grey alpaca and seasilk blend lace scarf is finished. I got to try my new blocking wires and I luv them!!!

My bay black handspun alpaca cardigan is actually starting to look like a sweater. It's knit from the top down.

Fun at Hubbert Farms Alpaca Farm Day

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:54:00 +0000

My view from the Alpaca Boutique

Great niece Kaylie

Paige and Tani feeding alpacas

Me, helping Paige feed the horses a treat

Niece Miranda with her youngest...baby Olivia

Kaylie

Miranda's guy Greg with guard dog Matza

Alpaca Farm Days!

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Hubbert Farms @ 600 Lily Lake Road R. R. #2 Peterborough, Ontario. Please join us for Alpaca Farm Days at the above address on Saturday September 26 and Sunday September 27 from 10am to 8pm. There will be new crias with their moms in the barn for you to see up close and personal and petting is encouraged! Kathy McConnell has been working very hard to get things ready and she wants to show off her beautiful alpacas. The Farm Shop will be open for business and you may purchase yarns and rovings if you wish. I will be spinning and helping out. See you there!

Busy with Spinning and Knitting

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:30:00 +0000

fawn cria and silk blend

3 ply sock yarn with alpaca/shetland/silk.

sweater yarn drying

sweater yarn.....2 ply worsted weight bay black alpaca

drumcarded fibre

World Wide Spin In Public Day!

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:17:00 +0000

This Saturday (from 10am to 5pm) at Memorial Park in Port Hope. Hosted by http://www.theblacklamb.ca/ I will be bringing lots of alpaca fleece goodies to sell or trade. Hope to see you there!

Goodies from the Knitter's Fair

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:38:00 +0000

25 grams of pure Buffalo roving

1 oz prime Satin Angora in an apricot colour

2 1/4 oz prime light grey French Angora, beautiful long staple

1 oz prime French Angora in a fawn colour

1.1 oz Qiviut roving....lovely quality (should be for the price !)

Treenway handdyed tussah silk

More of the Treenway in a different colour

My first cultivated silk....I wanted to try a higher quality silk

Fibre-Isle yarns were just as lovely as you could imagine and I

couldn't believe it when Jacques handed me this little kit to try

for free. Their shawls were so beautiful to see in person and here

is a link so you can see them for yourself.

http://www.bisonyarn.com/about.html

2 oz of pure cashmere roving from Becky

http://www.rovingwindsfarm.ca/

In December I will hopefully be helping Becky with her goats

in exchange for some of her coloured cashmere

Lots of great deals on needles! I wanted to try the Addi Lace ones.

I luv the Bryspuns for mittens and gloves. I already have the shorter

size for fingers and thumbs

This is a pattern I have been eyeing for several years and

http://www.needleartsbookshop.com/ kindly brought one for me

to pick up at their booth.

I ordered these blocking wires from

http://www.geminifibres.com/ and they brought

them to the Fair for me.

Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:36:00 +0000

This was my first time going to the Knitter's Fair as both consumer and vendor. It was fantastic to meet so many wonderful knitters and spinners of all ages! I even saw a few people that I met previously at the Alpaca Ontario show in April.

While I scurried around the two showrooms looking for all the goodies on my 'to buy' list, the crowds were waiting at the doors to be let inside. I am happy to report that I did manage to find almost everything I wanted to buy and I will show you on my next post!

Old/New Fair Isle Book

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:19:00 +0000

Hurrah it has finally arrived! I borrowed the original version of this book from my library (they wouldn't sell it to me darn it) and I luved it so much. Now I have my own. This one is not a hard cover though.

The second pic of the Fair Isle gloves will be the first item I make from this book. It will be knit in a variety of handspun alpaca yarns.....black, greys and white. This is a great book and I highly recommend it to all knitters.

More Pics of Gouda

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:21:00 +0000

One of my favourite food groups...kaas (cheese) and some of the best in the world is made in Holland.

I forget what these travelling musical makers are called but they are always at the markets in Holland. Dh says they are called draaiorgel http://www.draaiorgel.org/english/index.htm

When you order a 'sandwich' this is what you get!

I luv a Dutch cappuccino in the downtown market. It's fun just to sit and enjoy watching all the shoppers. There are no cars allowed. I wish North America would adopt that idea. Quebec has some nice places like that.

A Little Bit of Knitting

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:29:00 +0000

I am knitting another pair of 3ply handspun alpaca socks. The yarn is a blend of grey alpaca, white corriedale fleece and nylon.

Since arriving back from vacation, I have finished spinning and plying my Rose Grey alpaca and seasilk yarn. It's hard to capture the colour and the shine in pictures.

I have started knitting a lace scarf with it. The pattern is a free one from here http://www.purlbee.com/checkerboard-lace-scarf/

My Lack of Yarn Shop Pics

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:30:00 +0000

This is a Dutch yarn/craft shop nearby Gouda. The one in Gouda has even less yarn. When I lived in Holland, these were pretty much the only kind of double point needles I could find. Not great for sock or mitten knitting because they are so long. I still have a few sets.

This is the wall of yarn.

My only yarn shop purchase...real Dutch wool.

A swan.....a common sight in Netherlands. I remember when my son and I first moved to Holland and we were riding our bikes along a bike path. All of a sudden a swan came crashing out of the bushes to attack us! We rode our bikes as hard as we could to get outta there! We didn't realize it was mating season and the swans had little ones to protect. That's when they can become aggressive.

Anyhow back to my lack of yarn shop pics. I did finally manage to visit la droguerie in Paris but they were closed! It's quite common in Europe to have shops close for the summer holiday and also some will close on a Monday. I didn't find any yarn shops in the part of Switzerland and Italy that I visited. I am not dissappointed though because I have the Knitter's Fair coming up in September and there will be lots of goodies there. I will be a vendor for Hubbert Farms.

Paris

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:57:00 +0000

The view from our 5th floor hotel room.

This was just outside the Louvre.

DH taking pics inside the Louvre.

Mona Lisa!

Inside the Louvre

Outside the Louvre

Another museum we visited had a huge, amazing collection of armour.

One of the bridges in Paris.

A cemetary where there are many famous people buried.

DH and I by the Eiffel Tower at night.

BTW.....DH and I flew back to Toronto on Saturday, Aug. 8 so I am at home now.

Lugano, Bellagio and Laglio

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:45:00 +0000

Me in Laglio, Italy on Lake Como. George Clooney's villa was here but unfortunately I did not know exactly which house was his! DH, me and stepdaughter in Bellagio, Italy enjoying our morning cappuccino.

DH and I on the top of Mount Generoso, Switzerland.

Our view from the top of the mountain.

Stepdaughter Vera and I in Bellagio, Italy.

We took a train partway up Mount Generoso and decided to hike the rest of the way up the mountain. It was very hot and scarey too if you looked over the edge.

I took a several photos of the pretty cows that were eating grass on the mountain.

No fear of heights!!

I am enjoying the delicious Swiss chocolate that comes from these cows, as I am writing this post :)

Back in Lugano, Switzerland and on our way to supper. It was uphill walking and hot, but what a beautiful place to be!

Next stop........ Paris.

Hello from Holland

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:19:00 +0000

Crazy tourists!

Catharina Gasthuis (a little museum in Gouda)

The Stadhuis (top and bottom pics) is where we were married. We stood on these same steps for our wedding pic.

My European Vacation

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Tomorrow (Wednesday) DH and I leave for Holland. We will be staying with my stepdaughter and her guy in their new house in Naaldwijk. Next week all four of us will travel by car to south of Switzerland (Lugano) for 4 nights. A couple boat trips into Italy are on our itinerary. Then we drive north to Paris for another 4 nights and it's back to spend the rest of our time with family in Holland. I will maybe post with some pics while there if possible...if not I will have plenty of pics when I come home on the 8th of August! Tot ziens!

Luxury Rose Grey Batts

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:13:00 +0000

The blend: rose grey alpaca fleece and seasilk (60/40 seacell/silk) Two passes thru the Fancicard Frosted pale lavender My Birch Leaf socks are done! Knit in 3 ply handspun grey alpaca with 20% nylon fibre. The fibre was handcombed by moi.

More Fleece Pics

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:14:00 +0000

I had to show more....I mean it's that time of year isn't it? The sheep/alpacas have been sheared and the sun dries the fleeces quickly. The two Rose Greys (all my new fleeces are huacaya BTW) are the most beautiful alpaca fleeces I have ever seen. Mind you, I am partial to the Rose Greys but these are exceptional. Incredibly soft and full of luster...they both have that WOW factor. The Rose Grey fleece you see at the top has a frosted lavender colour. I will knit lace and maybe some gloves for sure. Enjoy!

Some Special Alpaca Fleeces

cinnabar_38@yahoo.com (Jody) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Colour is somewhat washed out but these are two Rose grey cria fleeces. They are stunning in person and silky soft. Second shearing two blacks and a bay black. First one is another rare colour....maroon cria and second shearing medium brown. First staple is a silky dark grey cria and the other two are silver grey. Hi everyone.....I hope your summer is going great. I can't complain about the weather...it's been kinda sunny...a little cool but that's good enough for me. My summer just got better with this new delivery all for me!