Off the Loom, Kitty Update and Moving Mountains

Off the Loom

It’s been a busy week and weekend but I finished my second weaving project yesterday morning before heading in to work…

It’s a 12×64 inch scarf using two colors on the warp (vertical) and one in the weft (horizontal). I used leftover yarn from an afghan I made for our bed years ago.

I learned a few more things while working on it such as the importance of deciding how you want to ‘hem’ your project before you even start. All I knew was that I wanted to finish it in some fashion that did not involve tying the ends in knots. I thought I could decide after I was finished with the weaving but NO!!! I quickly discovered that I should have figured out how I wanted the hemstitch beforehand and then gone ahead and hemmed the beginning of the scarf after weaving several inches. Doing so would’ve saved me a LOT of trouble in the long run.

After searching Pinterest for a hemstitch that was appealing to me I finally came across a tutorial for the Italian Hemstitch. I must’ve read and tried it thirty times before the light bulb finally went off and I figured it out…

Once I finished hemming the end I had to cut the warp threads, tie them back on to the warp bar and then roll the scarf back up to the beginning…

It was a pain in the neck but really no big deal – just a bump in the road.

I really like that it lays flat and is also decorative…

I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about weaving and the process of making a ‘thought’ into something real and useful. In fact, I’m already pondering my next project!

Kitty Update

The kitties, Missy & Sissy, are recovering nicely…

They spent their first day back at home lounging around (probably because it was raining, ha) but the following day they were back to their usual kitty antics.

Since animals that have been spayed or neutered are ‘marked’ nowadays I had asked if the vet would notch opposite ears so we could tell them apart rather than tattooing them. I was expecting a simple, subtle, barely noticeable V-notch in the backside of their ear like Creamsicle and Greyfus have but instead they cut the tip completely off. I was SO upset and immediately regretted my request but what could I do now – after-the-fact. ugh. If I had known I would’ve simply let them be. Thankfully, as you can see below, it has not bothered them one iota but I’m still regretting my request. sigh.

Something sure is fun to roll around in!

Moving Mountains

About a month ago we noticed that the terrain on our hillside was starting to shift. The ground to the left when facing the hillside has begun to sink creating quite a drop-off…

Until recently this ground was all the same level. CountryBoy was able to drive up and down it with the tractor to bush hog and keep the hillside tidy. Bush hogging this area will be much more tedious now although we don’t plan on getting near it with a tractor any time in the near future since it’s obviously still shifting…

The drop-off begins at the far left by the ravine, sweeps around to the right, as you can see above, and continues on down the hillside almost to the bottom. The bottom not being quite as noticeable…

It will be interesting to see what transpires over the next several months. Will it all eventually slide into the ravine that is to the left of the hillside? Will it simply settle in place? What will become of our hillside? Only time will tell.

I do know that we have had a very wet winter following a very wet 2018 which has created very soggy and spongy land. We have water flowing out of the mountain creating small ruts in the land…

Some day we would like to dig a pond at the end of this stream. Meanwhile it’s been too wet to do much of anything that involves ground work. If the ground is going to move it is going to do it on its own as witnessed above! Mother Nature is moving mountains!