From St. Nicholas Magazine Vol. VIII No. 6 (April, 1881)
This really is the latch on my front door. And I do sit by my fire and spin...and I have been known to have a nice glass of rich merlot every now and again...but woe to the woman who wouldn't share any with her neighbors!
"Fast flew around the humming wheel; The steaming kettle hung Above the old wife's snapping fire, And merrily it sung."
Cold weather can make for cabin fever and that can sometimes make me cross...but cold weather is also great for getting fleece washed and dried by the stove. I moved the rabbits grooming table inside and put the drum carder on it..I went through the first batch of finn that I had washed up rather quickly...
"The frost, the diamond window-panes Had trimmed with frozen leaves; The shining icicles hung low Beneath the cottage eaves."
The Finn wool blended nicely with the angora that I had harvested from Jack recently. I still have more to go! The blend is about 25/75...I am having better results when I card a layer of finn, then a layer of angora followed by another layer of finn. On the second pass, I split this down the middle and put the outside edges together.It is also better to distribute the angora on top of the drum...this way, it keeps it from clumping (for lack of a better word).
"The north wind howled around the house,
The kettle sang so gay;
The old wife, at her humming wheel,
Spun out the close of day."
12 comments:
The angora finn is beautiful. So smooth and lucious looking with handsome colors.
Thanks for sharing the poetry link, great reading over there, I almost forgot to come back. :-)
Ed and I love your door latch, how old is it?
I love nursery rhymes. One that often comes to mind late at night:
'To bed, to bed,' said Sleepyhead.
'Tarry awhile,' said Slow.
'Put on the pan,' said Greasy Nan.
'Let's sup before we go.'
Guess which one I am!
Oh that fiber looks so yummy! Cant wait to see it spun.
Love the poem!
Fiberjoy- Glad you enjoyed the link...and the latch!
I imagine it is about the same age as the cabin, which we figure to be some sixty-- maybe more years....(we found some old newspapers in the window sills when we were remodeling)
There are three doors that all have the same design. You can actually take the "handle" out of the door to lock it, but this time of year, a cold wind blows through the hole if you do!
Brigid-
I love the nursery rhymes too, and dare say that there is a little of Sleepyhead, Slow and Greasy Nan in all of us!
Spinner Gal-
Glad you like the fiber, it will have to wait awhile before I get to spin it...I am washing and carding small amounts at a time, and plan to finish it all before I start at the wheel..(think I can resist the temptation to "spin up just a little to see how it looks"?)
You can feel sorry for me because Beau really needs his walk every day and when I took him out it almost hurt to breath! I started to wonder if it would actually be possible to get frostbite on the front of my legs! Brrr! I guess it did ward off the cabin fever!
Love the latch and the fiber.
I love your door latch.
I would like to dive into that fiber. So lovely.
Thanks for the poetry link.
Delightful post!! As always ,I am happy to see that others do too---so one cannot say it's just mothers's pride showing!!!Love you!
I might have to bring you a bottle of merlot and let you card all my fiber for me. I like to wash it, spin it and knit it but I hate to card it. Maybe I am doing it wrong, we will have to plan a carding day.
I love this post! You have just made my whole day. What a wonderful juxtapostion of verse, pictures and fiber. And, the door latch... it is fantasy made functional. Thank you, thank you!
Elise- I am glad you have Beau to "walk you"! Good to get out and about!
C and Tami- Thanks! I like them too! And kitty has the same idea about diving into the fiber...
Hi Mom!! Love you too!! ;-)
Anne- I like the Finn for the same reasons, and-- it has such nice memory and makes up for the angora, which is lacking in that dept...
Judy W- You can bring the bottle of merlot any old time...I'm just sayin...;-)
Judy J- Glad to make your day! This post was fun, and spontaneous..they usually work out the best for me...
Fabulous! The poem, the pictures, everything. If I were your neighbor, I'd love to knock upon your door and share a cup of tea! (Or merlot. I'm not picky.) :o)
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