So….Do you wanna win something?

I have a skein up for grabs of the new colorway Secrets.  You want it?

Ohhh Shiny!  Of course you want it!  You do want it don’t you?

Well to get it you need to visit this thread and follow the instructions for a chance to win

Getting Phat for February

February’s Phatfiber theme is Lady’s Boudoir.  

So I decided to name this yarn Secrets….because every lady has her secrets.  Boudoir or not!

Secrets is 50/50 Merino Tencel fingering weight yarn and has 400 yards per skein.

Casting on!

So far so good….I have been working on the Rhiannon Sock and let me tell it was a bit hard getting started.

After the rib row the directions instruct you to purl through the back loop 4 times without dropping the stitches.    THEN purl through the front loop 4 times.  Holy knitting acrobatics batman!

Wanna knit along with us?

Oreo

I promised to introduce you to Oreo eons ago.   But I didn’t.  Sorry.

Oreo is an English Shepherd.  English Shepherd are wonderful herding dogs and we are in love.  

"A farmer's helper, a loyal companion, a child's shadow:
The English Shepherd."  from englishshepherd.org

Why I should be on the S.O.A.P Team…

or please oh please pick me!

What is the S.O.A.P team?   It is a panel of 8 (only 8! ahhhh!) people that help BrambleBerry.com pick 2 new fragrances for Summer 2012.  Interested?  Click here for more details.

Now back to my shameless plea….

The first part of the application is to talk about your favorite Bramble Berry fragrance.  Easy…my favorite is Spellbound Woods.   Scent is all about ambiance for me, it needs to take me somewhere for me to love it.  Spellbound Woods does just that.  I smell it and I am sent into the deep dark forest hiding from wolves in my red cloak.   (I have a vivid imagination.)   I love the depth of the scent, I seem to be able to feel the soil rich with leaves and there is something else…somewhere there are flowers blooming I think.  It is faint but just enough.

The second part is a list of why I should be on the panel…

• I love scent.  It makes me happy.  It makes me sad.  It moves me in many directions.
• I can be clever, making it easier for me to give good descriptions.
• I work well with deadlines. 
• I love to make soap. 
• I am honest.
• I have been making soap for about 2 years.  Long enough that I can make a good bar of soap but not so long that I am an expert.  Because I am bit on the new side I will see things that a more skilled soap maker may miss because they automatically know how to work around it.
• I have 8 kids, it will be great to have an excuse to make soap because I have to!  
• I really, really want to be on the panel!

Shameless plea over.   Have a great day everyone!

Knit Some Socks~!

Over on Ravelry we are doing a sock knitalong.   The only rule is that it has to be a challenge.  

I decided to do Rhiannon Socks by Cookie A.  I have owned this pattern for YEARS and even cast it on once.   There is a tricky bit when the cuff folds over and I got stuck.   Like forever stuck.

I am using the Flying Monkeys colorway from the Wizard of Oz fiber/yarn club.  

Feel free to pop over and join us!

Ile De France Sheep

As I mentioned yesterday, we travelled to Iowa to pick up a full blood Ile De France Ram.

Jacques is 9 months and is 100% Ile De France.   That is important because the breed is relatively new to the US and there are not many of these guys yet.  A program has recently been developed however so that full blood and percentage Ile De France sheep can be registered in the United States.

Ile De France Sheep (named after the region where they were developed) are a cross between Merino and Dishley Leicester breeds and are the main meat breed in France.  They adapt well to any environment, both hot and cold and make good use of any forage that is available to them. 

Although known mostly for their meat confirmation and maternal instincts the wool they produce is between 25-29 microns and a staple length of roughly 4 inches making them a dual purpose breed.