Cheep, cheep, chirp, chirp. That’s the sound in my design room this afternoon coming through the spare bathroom wall. Although I had said earlier that I wanted Maran’s and had a source for them, things didn’t work as I thought they would for timing and cost to ship live birds here; so we changed our plans this morning and I made a trip out to pick up the chicks.
Of course first I called a friend for a few last minute words of advice and boy was I glad I did! I would have gotten the WRONG stuff for the box they’re in and they probably wouldn’t have survived the first couple days. Note to any potential chick owners, you don’t want kitty litter for the base of the box as the birds will eat it and die; also don’t use cedar shavings as the aroma from the cedar, while heavenly to us, is damaging to their lungs and causes death! Did I mention I was REALLY glad I placed that phone call this morning.
Oh, you want to see a picture of what’s making those silly little chirps that are serenading me today? Hmmm, I think I can do that! LOL
Eight pullets (girls) for laying eggs. They should be a mixture of Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red and Dark Red according to the labeling at the store, but I’ll know more for sure once they’re feathered out!
On a different note, yesterday while I made a pampering trip to town for a haircut and manicure, I also stopped at the local Goodwill and found a selection of sweaters to unravel. I’ve never done this before, but the process intrigues me so I thought I’d give it a try. Armed with the latest issue of Spin-Off and a basic understanding of what I thought I needed to look for, I purchased this collection of sweaters:
Less than $20 and the collection contains Mohair, Cashmere, Lambswool, Alpaca, and a Cotton/Silk blend!!!! Of course I didn’t know exactly what to look for and this is a learning experience. Last night I started attempting to reclaim the red Mohair yarn from the little bolero style sweater. It took forever to take the seams apart, and I wondered if the previous owner hadn’t partially felted it with their laundering. As I started attempting to unravel the sweater, it became clear that was exactly what happened. Although, truth be told, it’s listed as a size large and probably would only fit a size 4 or 6, so I should have clued in to that earlier. I’m not sure how much usable yarn I’ll get from it. If I get through one front section and it doesn’t work to unravel usable yarn, I’m going to sew up fingerless gloves from the sleeves, possibly gauntlet style, and call it a lesson learned.
On a more positive note, it was the only sweater except the Cashmere one that looks like it might be a bit felted, and the Cashmere may not get unraveled as it appears to be my size and it’s barely worn!
Off to work now, I’ve got patterns to print and quilts to quilt!