Nesting – March Tiger Club

The Bird’s Nest by John Drinkwater

I know a place, in the ivy on a tree
Where a bird’s nest is and the eggs are three
And the bird is brown, and the eggs are blue
And the twigs are old but the moss is new
And I go quite near, though I think I should have heard
The sound of me watching, if I had been a bird
______________________________________________
This little poem inspired the March Tiger Club, entitled Nesting.  The soft hand dyed shades of blue, grey, brown, and green tell of the co-mingled dreariness and hope of early spring.

March Tiger Club - Nesting - on Romney

The fiber is a lovely Romney wool that was grown by sheep in Michigan, and processed by Zeilinger’s.  It is quite lovely to spin, I know I grabbed some as soon as the boxes arrived.  I have some new colors of this in the dyepot now, look for Romney to be in the shop in about 2 weeks.

March Tiger Club - Nesting - on Bengal Twist

And what yarn would take the colors just as prettily?  Well, it had to be Bengal Twist.  It loves pale colors, and lend them the beautiful luster of the BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) wool that it is made of.

Did you miss out?  Stop by and sign up for April’s Sock Yarn or Fiber club! There’s a new fiber every month

Posted in Clubs | Comments Off on Nesting – March Tiger Club

Sale – No Fooling!

Hey, it’s April Fool’s Day, and I think it is a great time to have a sale! If you put code ‘Fool’ into the cart, you’ll get 15% off. (Good April 1 only.)

I’m trying to put out a newsletter, but am having some technical difficulties, so if you don’t get a newsletter by about noon on April 1, check my Facebook fan page for more fun. Become a fan on FB anyway, there’ll be some foolishness there either way!

Posted in Tiger Finds | Comments Off on Sale – No Fooling!

New Fibers – Superwash Merino Top

For your spinning pleasure, new hand dyed superwash merino tops. Loving the gradients!

Hand Dyed Superwash Merino Combed Top Update 3-28-11

Posted in Fresh From the Dyepot | Comments Off on New Fibers – Superwash Merino Top

Progress!

I put Tiger Club in the mail on Saturday morning (squees are appearing on Ravelry!), and spent the rest of the weekend on the bathroom project.  Somehow I didn’t take a picture of the thing torn down to the studs, but that keeps me from boring you to tears, right?  Anyway, here is our progress on the new look.

Progress!

Things I learned…..cement board is heavy.  Despite assurances that it cuts and snaps just like drywall, it does not.  Always be sure the line you are measuring from is, indeed, straight to begin with.  Despite comments that thinset can be difficult to get the right consistency, I had no trouble.  And best of all…..Mr. Tiger and I can work on a project together without a fight.

I thought we would be clever and have the tub sprayed white before we put the surround on, but the spray people assured me that we should finish everything up first.  So, we’ll have our bathroom all done in a weekend or two…..except for the pink tub which will get sprayed later in April.

I’ll be very glad to see the backside of this project.  This room was avowed to be the first remodeled when we moved in, yet here it is nearly 5 years later.  I find it amusing, but that’s the way it all worked out.

Off to work on a fiber update, and dinner…..fried rice tonight, and choir practice.

Posted in Life | Tagged | Comments Off on Progress!

Odds and Ends

Last month, I showed you my lovely stack of boxes full of fibery good stuff…..well it is time to show you a preview of what was in the largest two boxes, since it is the March FotM.  I (of course) immediately opened one of the boxes, and out poofed this:

March Club Fiber

Here’s a close up of the loveliness.  This is Michigan raised, and processed just for The Painted Tiger at Zeilinger’s.  It is fabulous (yes, I grabbed some and sat down to spin RIGHT AWAY!!), and I’m so excited to send this fiber out for club this month.  Not in Tiger Club?  I did order plenty, so look for this new wool to appear in the shop in April.March Club Fiber

While the new wool has been stewing up in the dyepots, Mr. Tiger and I have been working on this project over his spring break.  See that lovely 50’s turquoise tile?
Bathroom Reno
Yup, it was all around the tub, and we removed it.  As projects go, we’ve hit a snag, and the walls are currently sitting open to dry out instead of the new and improved shower being there.  Oh well, I’m going to see if the tub spraying place can come by this week and make my lovely dusty pink tub a nice sparkling white.  It’d be easier to do it before we start putting things back together.  Thankfully the other bathroom has a shower, so we don’t have to rush things.

When I get a chance, I’ve been working on this lovely merino/bamboo/nylon blend I bought at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool.  It is turquoise and sage entitled ‘Mountain Mist’.  I originally planned a 3 ply sock, and have been tearing bits off the end to spin from the fold.

Mountain Mist MBN

Mountain Mist MBN

The more I watch the color blend and go by, the more I want to preserve this color structure, and I want it to go further.  So the current plan is to spin it all up, dye something solid to coordinate or enhance it, and knit a shawl, perhaps in entrelac to show off the undulating color changes.  Will I wear a shawl?  I dunno, so the plan my change again.  Suggestions for project or color to ply this with are welcome!
Hawk!

And I’ll leave you with one of our marvelous neighborhood friends.  This hawk and mate nest in our neighborhood, and posed nicely for me the other day.

Posted in Clubs, Life, spinning, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Odds and Ends

Tiger Club Reveal – Feb

Time for February Reveal! Here is Spiced Chai on Bengal and Shetland:

Spiced Chai, February 2011 Tiger Club - Panda

Spiced Chai, February 2011 Tiger Club - Shetland Wool

Here’s a bit I’ve spun up….

Spiced Chai on the spindle

There has been a request for more of the Shetland, if anyone in the club is interested let me know….a full batch per my recipe is one pound, if there are 2 interested in 8oz or 4 in 4oz, I’d be happy to run another batch.

There are a few more days (until the 15th) to sign up to get Tiger Club for March. The fiber hails from Michigan sheep, and was processed just for me by a smaller mill…..you know it will be special!

Posted in Clubs | Comments Off on Tiger Club Reveal – Feb

Fresh From the Dyepot – MCN

Well, this may be a bit fashionably late, but I finally have some MCN (that’s superwash merino, cashmere, and nylon sock yarn) up in the shop in 5 scrumptious colors. It is as soft as you imagine, and will make stunning socks, mitts, hats, scarves, you name it! The rest of the update is Tiger Twist. Squishy as always!

Sock Yarn Update 3-5-11

The colors I’ve started with are kettle variegated, and would look amazing woven up on a rigid heddle loom.  Whip out your Cricket and get some scarves put away for next Christmas’ giving!

Posted in Fresh From the Dyepot | Tagged | Comments Off on Fresh From the Dyepot – MCN

Dixon

RiverChor at Dixon

This here is what I did with my President’s Day weekend!  RiverChor (the community choir I sing with) was part of the 100th birthday celebration for Ronald Reagan in his childhood town of Dixon, Illinois.  We sang a half hour set, then Eureka College Chamber Singers did a set.  After intermission, the Dixon Municipal Band performed several selections.  Finally, we all massed together (and added the Rockford Choral Union) on a commissioned piece.  Composer Dr. David Holesinger was on hand to conduct “Reagan of Illinois”.  We performed the entire concert twice on Saturday, and I really enjoyed the performance time, plus the down time in between to get to know my fellow choir members better.

This week, I’m busy dyeing up club (ack, why does February have to be so short?!?!!), and catching up on things….including sleep.  We had all enjoyed coming out of hibernation with the lovely sunny warm weather, but the snow and damp and cold are back, so it can be hard to get moving sometimes!  For those occasions, a nice warm beverage can help, and that is just what Tiger Club members will receive for their February shipment……tease, tease!

Posted in Life | Comments Off on Dixon

Fresh from the Dyepot – Silk!

Well, I had hoped to triumphantly show you at least one finished mawata silk glove in this post, but I just haven’t had the time to work on this that I thought I would have……so this will have to do for now!

Finger of Silk Mawata Gloves

I have been dyeing up silk hankies to add to the site, they take longer than you would think…..that silk just does not like to get wet, and then it loves to sluuuuuuuuurp up the dye!  Here’s the newly added hankies, some sets, some singles.
Green - Hand Dyed Mawata Silk Hankie
Aurora - Mawata Silk Hankie Set
Flame - Mawata Silk Hankie SetForest - Mawata Silk Hankie Set
Leafy Chestnut - Silk Hankie

I’ve been a busy bee, so watch soon for a sock yarn update….I have Tiger Twist and a new MCN yarn for you.  And don’t forget….you have until the 15th to sign up for the February Tiger Club!  Wouldn’t that be a great thing to receive from your Valentine?  😉

Posted in Fresh From the Dyepot | 1 Comment

Sun Dog!

Have you ever seen a sun dog?  It’s a halo around the sun when there’s an atmospheric flurry of ice crystals, but they show up much better when the sun is low in the sky.  We had one this morning, and I thought you’d like to see it!

Sun dog

Posted in Interesting stuff, Life, Wildlife | Comments Off on Sun Dog!