Argiope aurantia

Well, the fiber fest is tomorrow, and I am just about ready.  I am all packed and tonight we will be setting up the tent, and doing last minute checks.  One of the last things I was doing this afternoon was picking some flowers for the barn.  I was clipping some Queen Anne's Lace, and some purple cone flowers...and I wandered over to the Helianthus (hey, they are just flowers for the barn).

As I clipped them, I felt that there was some webby sticky feeling on the leaves.  I suspected that I was touching spider web...so I looked around.  There, towering overhead was the garden spider.  You can sorta see the zig zag web that they are famous for....but with my dinky little camera I could not begin to capture the beauty of this creature.  I am so pleased to see one in my garden...what a compliment!  It pays not to spray!  For a better picture, and to read more about this spider, I googled it and you can check the page by clicking here.

 

 

amaranth on parade

At the entrance to my garden I have several different types of amaranth growing.  These were all volunteers this spring, and I did not think they would survive.  Amaranth is a grain, and I thought for sure the deer would have eaten them by now.  So, since the deer did not get them (yet), I will be using them in the dye pot.  The dark red plant is the Hopi red amaranth...grown from the seed that dropped off by gate last fall.  I did not do a thing to cultivate this...it fell off the wheel barrow, and somehow a few seeds escaped the chickens scratching.  Come to think of it, perhaps they planted it!

This next plant is a cross I believe.  You see, last year I had planted the Hopi red and also the elephant amaranth.  I think this plant is a result of cross pollination.  It is beautiful, and I do not think I could do this if I tried!  I will be sure to save the seed from the flower.  It will be interesting to see if the flower will be the one of the Hopi, or the elephant, or some weird cross between the two.

On the fiber front, I got my great wheel back from the Hatton's workshop, where Fred replace the disk on the minors head that needed repair.  He also made a new spindle for me.  I started trying to spin some wool on it. Fred did a beautiful job at reproducing the disk. You can see the new wood because it is lighter. He also made a new axel, so the wheel spins like butter! (the photo is a bit dark)

The drafting for the Great Wheel is sweeping in its motion.  The yarn is spun off the tip of the spindle with the left hand, while the right hand is turning the wheel.  I am spinning some very soft yarn...and will have to tweak my technique until I get control over what kind of yarn I can make...but hey!  I made some yarn!

eeekkkkk!

So I started to pick my blueberries today...they are starting to ripen just a bit, and I notice these yellow caterpillars all clumped up and eating the leaves of the bush!  Eeekkk!  I almost picked them! 

Last year this same bush had web worm.  These were not web worm, so I had to go inside to consult with the field guide and find out exactly what they were.  A quick check identified them as the yellow necked caterpillar, and then I checked them out online.  Seems they like blueberries.

I have never had these before, and decided, that since they were doing a fast job of devouring the leaves on the bush, and that I did not want to chance having any of them morph into moths that would lay eggs...well....they had to go. 

I pruned off the branches that held the caterpillars, and first offered them to the chickens.  Trial by chicken.  The chickens did not want any of them.  So ...I wandered over to the fish pool and held the branches underwater for the fish.  A few little bubbles came up, and the caterpillars held on for dear life....but the fish did not want them either.

I wound up having to step on them to exterminate them.  If there were just a few, I would have let them be...but they were too destructive.  I work to hard to protect my berry  bushes from the bear and the birds, to let them go to a lowly caterpillar.

listen to the corn grow

It is so hot out there ...pay no mind to the temp reading on the side bar...it is wrong.  It is hot and still and humid around the riverrim...and you can hear the corn growing.  The cicadas started making their song today...and that means 6 weeks until frost...can it be true??  Will we get one of those early frosts this year??  Thinking about frost almost makes me glad that we are in the heat of the summer...it passes so quickly around here.

But when the frost does arrive, I hope this angora shawl will keep its new owner toasty warm.  I finished the shawl just in time for my mothers "milestone" birthday.  We all had such a nice time at her party this past weekend.  It was great to see everyone. 

This is 100% Jack!  That is 100% angora from Jack.  I spun it very thin, and then I navajo plyed it, and wove it on the 5 foot triangle loom, in a basic tabby structure...but it came out rather open weave...and that is nice and light.  I finished the edge with a double crochet all around and went back and added a picot.  My mother was very happy with it...I hope it gives her many warm and cozy moments.

of broccoli and brooches

Wow, it is hot out there....but the broccoli and peas are coming in at a great rate!  Every morning I venture out to the garden, basket and knife in hand, to pick the ripe heads for packing and freezing.  I have been very happy with this years yeild.  I have been waiting for this particular variety of broccoli for several years.  It is called Windsor.

I grew it before, in  2000, but after that, I was unable to get the seed.  Each seed catalog that supplied it always contained the same footnote:  *sorry, crop failure.  I was beginning to think I would not be able to get it again, but my farmer friend called me this past spring with a "heads up" that Stokes was supplying it.  I don't ordinarily order from Stokes, mostly because they are not certified Organic, but this year was an exception.  They offered the Windsor seeds in an untreated packet, so I ordered some.  It has preformed beautifully as you can see.

I have packed over 6 gallons so far, and there are nice side shoots coming in for fresh eating (great in pasta salads).  My wasps that I raised in the greenhouse this spring, and then transfered out to the broccoli patch, have been patroling the plants with success.  I see them hovering like little black hawk helicopters, in search of the cabbage worms.  They have done a marvelous job of picking and devouring the little buggers.  Of the 6 gallons of broccoli that I have packed, I found a total of 4 worms, and 2 egg cases.  I love the fact that I do not have to spray for cabbage worms.  My kale that I grow for the rabbits and chickens, is also clean.  Nature is a marvel.  I highly recommend this form of pest control.  Now if I can just identify a predator for the cucumber beetle, I might consider growing curbits again.

I have been making some examples of needle felted jewelry for the workshop demonstration coming up at the end of the month.  Back in May, while parusing the blogosphere, I found that Claire of Little Fish Creations was making some very unusual pins, so I asked her how she was doing it.  She explained the process -and I thought it was very interesting and very creative.  They are actually little quilts that are stitched and cut and stitched again.  I liked the effect, and it inspired me to try some needle felted brooches, (or if you rather, broaches...)  I don't normally think of fiber in the same context as jewels.  It seems sort of redundant to wear textiles (clothing) with more textile (fiber)...but in an odd way it works for me!  Besides, they were really fun to make...and a nice exercise for the imagination...and yet another example of what you can make with the fabulous tool known as the felting needle.

The hardest part of this project was securing the pin to the back of the brooch to get it to hang properly.  Placement was a big factor.  I started out centering the pin on the back of the brooch, however, this proved to be a mistake because of the weight of the brooch....and it caused the brooch to pitch forward, or look like it was sagging.  So then I moved it to the top portion of the brooch, and that worked much better.  I used the little sticky back pins, and when I liked the placement, I then used a needle and thread to tack it down permantly.
The ring was an after thought, that took all of about 5 minutes to make...and is quite comfortable to wear.  There is almost no weight to the ring, and after awhile, I forgot I was even wearing it.

r&r & n&n

this past holiday weekend gave us a chance to just kick back and enjoy the summer, which is in full swing around here.  One sure sign is the new fawn which has been seen taking a daily walk through the yard on the way to the river.  I resist the temptation to get to know her and respect the fact that she should keep her distance from humans...I have made the mistake of befriending fawns before and will not do it again.

 

However, the idea of taking a walk down to the river is not a bad one...and the heat wave sent us down to the swimming hole for some R&R.  The stepping stones that my husband constructed for me to get out to the big rock had all been discombobulated due the ice and high waters of the past winter and spring...so he set to work re-arranging them (so much for his R&R).  It was very refreshing by the water, and I even took a half-dip...mountain water is not warm enough for me until the end of the month!  There were about 20 tree swallows all darting around and skimming the surface of the water...a joy to watch.  This is one of my favorite places to be at this time of year.

 

Now, onto the N&N...needlefelting and nalbinding.  I have been fooling around with both, getting ready for the workshops at the end of the month.  There is a great book that I had on loan from the library of congress.  The name of it is "Ancient Danish Textiles Bogs and Burials"   This book has some wonderful history in it, and great pictures and instructions for how to re-create some very old techniques.  Nalbinding preceded both knitting and crochet.  I learned that the word is a Scandinavian combination of the words for needle and sewing.  The technique is not complicated, but makes a very sturdy finished product that would wear well around the curved areas of the body.  I have started making something which may become a bag.  I am making it from some angora that came from one of my first rabbits...but I am not sure it is the best choice of yarn for nalbinding because you really cannot see the definition of the stitches...

 

I have also brought my felting needles out of hibernation, and tried my hand at rabbits and sheep...I am presently working with mohair, making some broaches...I was inspired by the mini quilted jewelry that Claire was working on a few weeks ago.  They still need some more finishing details, I am looking for some embellishments or found objects to spark them up a bit.  Not enough hours in the day to play with this...the currents need picking, so do the peas and broccoli...and after I pick, so starts the freezing and packing..yes indeed...summer is in full swing.

here is my little lagamorph and the sheep, who needs some shorter ears I think...