Sam the dog

I have finished a drawing! This is Sam the happy dog, a drawing I started a while ago. Even after all the hours of drawing time, his face still makes me happy! I found the photo on Flickr, and the fellow who took it didn't know the dog, he just liked him. And you gotta love a happy dog.

The drawing is about 8" x 8" square and was done with my Prismacolor colored pencils on 300 lb Fabriani hot press watercolor paper. I have found both paper and pencils I really like, after some experimentation with different papers.

I think it will look a lot nicer once I get it matted in something with color. I thought about doing the grassy background in the photo but didn't want to risk messing it up! Plus, it's time to move on to the next drawing in my course. I believe it's a horse, in bridle and reins, which is new territory for me. Wish me luck!

Still spinning. . .

I've really enjoyed spinning lately. My latest project is 2.4 oz. of border leicester that I bought off ETSY from geek pixie. The colors on the monitor are brighter than the roving, but the color of the spun singles seems to be correct.


The border leicester is also easy to spin, not quite as nice as blue faced leicester perhaps, but it certainly drafts easily. I think it will result in a fluffier yarn than BFL, at least in my fiber experiments. Once again, I don't know how much yardage I will have in the end, or what I will do with it.


I've been looking through the book A Fine Fleece. The projects I really like are the sweaters, which take at least a pound of wool. However, there are a few nice scarves that would be suitable for my small spinning output.

Latest Handspun

Thought I'd show you my latest handspun. I have another blog post about it, but it came from Homestead Wool and Gift Farm in Wisconsin and is from a Romney/Lincoln cross named Happy. I found it lots of fun to spin with the bits of firestar and all the different colors in it. Although I really wanted to spin "thick," I can't figure out how to do it; it just does what it does. Here's the roving, with the bits of firestar clearly visible:

Another Amy Butler tote

I cranked out this tote bag in a hurry for mom's birthday celebration yesterday. She had picked out this Kaffe Fassett fabric ages ago and I finally got around to making it up. It turned out cute, and I especially like the vegetable fabric on the inside (the green is just tissue paper). The bag is reversible, and I used thick interfacing so it would hold its shape. It's the perfect size for a small knitting project. The pattern is Amy Butler's Chelsea bag, and I think I've made seven of them to date!