Green Sky At Night...

We had our first serious thunderstorm yesterday morning and it was all I could do to pull Dave off the deck before the hail hit.  I love a little thunder and lightening storm but I don't want any damage to my house and I got really nervous as soon as I saw that green sky behind the border cloud.  I grew up in a ranch style home next to a field on the edge of a tiny north Iowa town.  When I was 3 years old, a tornado ripped the roof off our garage but didn't touch the house and my brother and I were in the upstairs bathtub when it happened!  Hopefully that is the closest I'll ever come to a tornado in my lifetime but Dave wants to see one up close.  As soon as I got him in the house, he headed downstairs and called over his shoulder, "I'll be in the garage!"  Crazy man.  Thankfully the hail was pea to marble sized and only lasted a minute or two so we didn't have any major damage.  Even my garden is going to be OK for the most part.

Before the weather arrived, I quick ran out to take some pictures of my latest quilt while we still had some decent light.  I collected these woodland prints years ago and it was next on my jellyroll stash-busting project list. 

I backed it with a print that reminded me of marble paper in browns and greens.  I'd gotten it for $1/yard and not even with this project in mind.  The design and color scheme is almost so ugly it would go with anything, but it worked so well with this blend of woodland greens.  Once again, Stash Karma saves the day!

Over Mother's Day weekend, Mom and I quickly ran out to the Shepherd's Harvest Wool Festival.  I had more family arriving to the house later that day so we didn't stick around for any demonstrations.  We were there strictly to shop!

Every year I want to buy a new spinning wheel or at least a refurbished one and every year Dave tells me I don't need one because I "never" use the one I have, so I have to spin a little just to spite him.  I got this bag of dyed locks from Black Cat Farmstead and I think I paid $2.75/ounce for it.  I got $17ish worth and loved the colors.

I never did ask her what breed of sheep the locks came from but I love the crimp that some of the wool had.  This gal was also demonstrating flax spinning and they grow/process/promote it on their farmstead. 

I spun two singles to ply them together into a worsted weight yarn.  Here it is on the spool of my reliable old Ashford Scholar wheel.

Here it is plied and wound into a skein.  I got a scant 300 yards so maybe I'll consider knitting a pair of gloves out of it.  I don't know how it will wear or if it will fuzz up or pill.  I know they have a spinning category at the state fair but I'll have to see about the Ramsey or Washington County fairs.