I got nearly all my roving stash from last year’s Fiber Festival spun. I have about 2 lbs of babydoll southdown left that I want to try my hand at dying, information pills and about 1/2 lb of the alpaca/mohair blend left. Here’s what I have hanging ready to be made into skeins:

And, of course, some close ups:

Teal mystery roving.

Chocolate Babydoll Southdown: (This is the second batch after I spun 2 lbs for Brian’s sweater.  This is slated for a hat/scarf/gloves project.  I love this because it’s a natural chocolate brown!)

Leicester multi-hued yarn:

And here’some roving, rolags, and finished projects!

This is the Romney & Corriedale that I made the hat from.

The shawl was knit from a purchase of alpaca/wool yarn. The black and multi striped bag on the bottom was made from yarn left by Chris when he moved out and left it here too long. I made a hat out of it as well that he got and promptly gave to his wife. Never leave yarn here, folks. It gets made into things! Brian’s sweater parts are in the bottom bin along with some cotton roving.

Today I am making a huge vat of chicken stock so that I can freeze it and to also make a nice Chicken Potato Leek soup tonight for dinner. Tomorrow is the 17th Annual Mt. Bruce Sheep & Wool Festival and a stop at an orchard so that Sunday will be for making and devouring an apple pie and lots of spinning!!

I was able to photo document most of the appetizers upon presentation save for one that wasn’t done until people had started to arrive.

Clicking on the photo will take you to the recipe.

The biscotti were wonderful the next morning with coffee as well as a good, dense cookie for a sweet, yet bold appetizer.

The sage cookies were a huge hit. The texture and taste was unexpected and as savory as it was sweet. The biggest surprise is that they are made with cornmeal and had a marvelous texture.

Paula Dean came through with the puff pastry pinwheels. The only modification I made to her recipe was to add a 1/4 teaspoon of thyme to the mushrooms for a richer taste. These were wonderfully easy to make.

The tartlettes were fun to put together and were visually lovely. A time saving feature was to get the refridgerated pie crusts. After cutting out the rounds for the tartlettes, I cut small stars in the remaining pie dough, brushed them with a bit of melted butter and sprinkled them with Mrs. Dash Table Blend. Simple and yet it got super raves from my guests.

Ham roll-ups are so well known, and I wanted to add some meat to the appetizer choices, so I did a slight variation that were well recieved. I used an onion & chive cream cheese along with a sun-dried tomato and bourbon spread I created.

A last minute taste inspirtion helped me create the filling for this amazing crescent roll wreath. Ricotta and parmesan cheeses with marinated artichoke hearts and green onions made it the best dish of the night. It came out of the oven as people were arriving so it didn’t make it to the table in time for proper presentation.

My dear friend and artist Jen brought a lovely surprise for ever guest. A martini glass charm keepsake so that everyone could identify their glasses. She made them from their personal Live Journal icons!

She also made a set of 6 for me and Brian to keep. These are so clever and fun!

The Martini Flavors:

Coffee Lover’s Martini: Vanilla vodka, Coffee liqueur, Frangelico

Yoohoo Martini: Vanilla vodka, Godiva cream liqueur, Chambord

Chocolate Orange Martini: Vodka, Godiva liqueur, Triple Sec

Windex Martini: Vodka, Blue Curacao, Pineapple Juice

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini: Vanilla vodka, Pineapple Juice, Grenadine

Appletini: Apple Vodka, Apple Pucker

This is without a doubt my favorite way to knit up the thumbs. I just love the symmetry and the comfort.

I also made a fantastic duck dinner last night. Click on the picture if you’d like the story and the recipe.

Of course, this site the dinner and the gloves came after spending several hours stacking the wood that Brian split yesterday. Who says Sundays are lazy days?