This is Sweetheart, my almost 2 year old chocolate Jersey Wooly doe. She came to live with me this past spring...she was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada on February 14th, 2005. She's such a good bunny....I try to groom her every couple of weeks and save all the fiber. Whatever I collect from her will be spun and knit into something special for me to remember her by when her time on earth is done. Whenever I'm through with her grooming, she gets to run around for about and hour. Our kitten, Angel, was so curious about her! They wouldn't stand still long enough for me to get a clear photo of them together. But I'll keep trying!

About 2 1/2 weeks ago the kids got a day off from school...the lake effect snow hit and we received about 18"! This is our van...I was looking out my computer room window. It was still snowing....so what is on the van in the photo is not all we received! The kids had a blast playing...but about a week later...it became unseasonably warm and melted it all. It's finally snowing again today...I can just hear what my son is saying while at school...he'll notice that it's snowing...and he won't be able to wait to get home to play in it!

This set is finally finished and the new little owner, Emma, just loves it! The yarn is Blue-Faced Leicester that was dyed by Winderwood Farm. I spun all four ounces...some about a worsted weight...which I used for the hat and the doll scarf. The other skein was spun to about a baby-sport weight and the scarf is all in garter stitch using a size 5 needle.

Just a quick post to let my readers know that I have a new website! It covers my spinning fees and will showcase anything I have to sell. I have two pages of handmade beaded bookmarks for sale, with MANY more to come. And soon I will be creating new pages to offer my handspun yarn as well as any knitted or crocheted items.
Please let me know what you think of my site and if there are any broken links. I value any feedback you have to offer!!
Whirlwind Handspuns

Destined to be a scarf as a gift! I dyed the roving with 3 shades of green and left a little white. Both this yarn and the yarn below are a Merino/Targhee/Rambouillet blend.

This fun yarn I spun super thick and thin, then plied it. I think there's almost 3 ounces here...don't know about the yardage yet. Tomorrow it will be washed and hung out to dry....since here in Central NY it's supposed to be close to 70F!!!
Tomorrow I will also be rainbow dyeing skeins of white alpaca for a local farm...as well as more roving. I have to take advantage of warm weather and the fact that my clothesline is still hanging!
This skein will be for sale...and posted on my new website soon.

This is an order I'm working on for a friend's daughter. The yarn is Blue-Faced Leicester that I spun from dyed roving purchased from Winderwood Farm on Ebay. It's very soft...one of my favorite wools. I will also be knitting a scarf to match. Photos of the finished items will be posted.

This hat is another for my brother-in-law...at his request. The gray handspun is my own blend of grey alpaca and white Merino/Targhee/Rambouillet wool. The maroon yarn is Corriedale wool. I love the maroon and gray together!

Caitlin...my, how's she's growing!

As you can see, Caitlin's finger is in her mouth...her last 4 teeth are almost totally in. I'm looking forward to when I can no longer see drool all over her chin!!

She was posing for me for some of the pictures...she is quite the ham! She was also trying to watch The Aristocats, I think...so I was interrupting a bit.

Can you believe it??? Caitlin is now 22 1/2 months old...almost 2! Where have the days gone??? She is really trying to say more words. "Me", "Baby", "Momma"(though she did say "Mommy" tonight!), and "Dada" are her coherent words. She knows many animal sounds and can understand just about everything we ask or tell her. I'm not worried at all about any delay...I think it's normal for the younger ones to talk later....big brother and sister do it all!

Caitlin has begun to throw tantrums when she doesn't get her way or what she wants. Dealing with this is tough some days...especially when she can't tell me in words what she's thinking. She has a very strong personality and I can see challenges ahead!

FINALLY.....New Kitten Photos!

Angel is about 13 weeks old in these photos. She's just so pretty...I love to take her picture when she's sleeping. It's tough to get good photos of her standing still when she's awake....but I'll keep trying. Her and her momma are buddies...they love to sleep on Cara's bed during the day and when they're awake, they often wrestle. Angel can hold her own even though she's less than half the size of Gracie!

Angel is sleeping on my lap as I'm working on this...that's where she's to be found in the evenings. I suppose my lap is the warmest place, especially when I'm knitting or spinning! (Of course, I do pet her A LOT...so I'm sure she likes that too!)

Don't you just love the coloring on her legs!!?? Looks like a little calico is trying to peek through.

A bit of reminiscing....this is my husband and I the night we were engaged, December 14th, 1996. The company we worked for (he still does) held a Christmas party at Lemoyne Manor in Syracuse. Let's see, I was 19 and he was 21. This Wednesday, the 25th of October, we are celebrating 9 years of marriage. He surprised me the other night with the news that he was taking that day off from work and taking me out to lunch! His mom will be watching Caitlin while Cara and Brendan are in school. I am SO looking forward to spending all day with him.

I love you Sweetie!

And then there was one..... Tigger, the second male kitten went to his new home Sunday night. His new owner LOVES him and is so excited! She will take very good care of him. We will miss him a lot...he's such a sweet cat.

Angel has been keeping busy playing by herself and with her mommy. The two of them have actually been quiet at night, so we let them have the run of the house now.

A finished project!! This pretty scarf was a request from our neighbor's 11-year-old daughter. I used a Merino blend wool and dyed it jade green, turquoise, steel grey and black. I then spun a thick and thin single ply and plied it with white sewing thread to make a fun boucle yarn! Then I knit the length of the scarf in garter stitch with size 11 or 13 needles..now I don't remember! The outside edge was crocheted with a K hook and I added fringe from the same leftover yarn and some similar chunky handspun.

Tigger and Angel(top) love this basket to sleep and play in. They were in the middle of a wrestling match when I snapped this photo. They were in constant motion...it was tough to get a clear shot!

Both Gracie and son(I'm not sure which one this is) fell asleep...just a cute photo!

I was spinning this alpaca the other night and the kitties finished playing and climbed in....soft and warm...just like mom. They slept here for quite a while....not even stirring when I needed more of the fiber!

Toesies went to live with his new family this past Monday. I know he will be well taken care of....and he'll grow up with a little girl who is about 2 years old now. We'll miss you Toesies!!

Tigger will find a home soon....there are many who are interested. We will miss him very much.....he is a darling, sweet, laid-back kitten. He will make an awesome pet!

Tigger....curious about the camera. Tigger is very calm and laid back, except of course when playing with his brother and sister. :) His eyes have not changed color yet. And I don't think Toesies have either. Angel's eyes have...they are turning yellow/gold like her mother's.
A pile of kittens....they love to nap together. It's tough to tell what parts belong to which kitten!
This is Toesies. He's the troublemaker of the three....unless it's nap time. He was the first to climb over the baby gate and he's always the loudest....crying for food.
And here's Angel and Cara. Angel almost fell asleep sitting up...it was so funny! I should have taken a video of it with my camera. She finally laid down and dozed off...slept through a lot of noise plus Caitlin crawling all over the couch.
Cara wanted me to take this....she loves the kittens. I think she's taking after me and my love of animals.

Something sorta new....back in high school, art was my thing. Once children came along, I lost interest....now it's back!! :) This is a pastel for my mom-in-law....monarchs are a special reminder of her two sisters that passed away from cancer.

Two skeins of super-soft Merino blend boucle yarn I spun for my neighbor's daughter...she requested a scarf and I let her choose her colors.
A knit wool hat with black llama stripes. All handspun. This one is for another neighbor's oldest son.
I've made slow but sure progress on this hat. This yarn is Opal Magic sock yarn. I should have used larger needles...it's taking me forever! But it's adorable and I hope to have it finished within the next week.

More kittens photos...they are now four weeks old!

They've discovered a basket and my spinning chair....
Angel....I love her coloring. Very different from her brothers.
This is Tigger....he's very shy, but eventually warms up...he was curious about the camera.
I think this is Toesies...he's the VERY curious one. He's always crying to come out of the play area in our downstairs bathroom...already he's trying to climb the baby gate.

Another knit hat....rose gray alpaca and black/brown llama. This one was a request from a neighbor.
Finally I had a decent day to dye some wool! This is a whole pound. The black/turquoise/jade green wool will be spun and knit into a scarf for our neighbor's oldest daughter. I let her choose her colors.
This lovely yarn will be sold together. The darker skein is my own blend of Suri Llama and white Satin Angora. The lighter skein is also my own blend of Appaloosa Llama and white Satin Angora. They are both very soft! I may be offering these on Ebay in the next couple days. E-mail me if interested!

My latest trip to The Salvation Army.....I happened to go when three of the four colored tags were 50% off! These 7 items cost me only $12!!! And they are all name brands...Old Navy, Aeropostale, The Limited & NY&C....stores I never go to to buy new. The hooded jacket on the bottom is a deep blue velour...I just love it....I wear it everyday.

I finally remembered to bring my camera along to snap a couple photos of him getting on the bus. He loves school and looks forward to going back every day! He gives his bus driver a high five every day...so cute!

These lovely batts are 100% Tibetan Terrier dog hair! This batch weighs 6 ounces...a lot of time to get the hair to this point. I have to use two small dog slicker brushes to pull the balls of hair apart and straighten, then it's all put through my drum carder to make the batts...these are ready to spin into a yummy bulky yarn.
This yarn turned out prettier than I thought! It's Superwash Merino...about 4 ounces. This yarn will be knit into a baby boy's vest and if I have enough, a matching hat or booties.
And this yarn is the finished alpaca from a previous post. I ended up with 257 yards. It's not very soft, reminds more of a mohair yarn. If anyone is interested in this yarn...I will be either listing it on Ebay(ID is whirlwindhandspuns) or my Etsy shop.

New Kitten Photos!

This is one of the little boys....the calmer of the two. They were all curious of the camera and me.
Here are the boys getting ready to go back to sleep. Next week I will start them on moistened Kitten Chow and they'll begin weaning from Gracie. As of today, they are 20 days old.
And here's Miss Angel. Isn't she pretty? Her coloring is similar to Gracie's, with a little more orange popping through on her head. She is very timid and has a very quiet meow.
Angel again....just watching me...I just love her pink mouth! Too cute!
And lastly, all three cuddled together napping. I have moved them to under the stairs in our half bath. We hang coats there and behind that is some empty space. I've blocked it off with a baby gate for now, but once they start climbing, DH may need to build something they can't climb...that way they have a safe place to be when we're not home.

**FOR SALE**

Set of 7 Stitch Markers. Glass beads. Fits up to a suize 10 1/2 knitting needle. Just over 1" long.

$3.50 + $1.00 First Class shipping

**FOR SALE**

Set of 9 Stitch Markers. Glass beads. Fits up to size 10 1/2 knitting needles.

1 1/4" long.

$4.50 + $1.00 First Class shipping