Well, there is good news on the fiber front. I finished the chain mail. I sewed it to the leather. I even riveted it to his helm. It took days for my hands to recover from the abuse.

The bad news is that every time he fights, I have to mend chain mail. I'm having my husband make more rings but smaller. They should hold better. :::looking towards heavens:: PLEASE let them hold better.

I've done more work on "the sock". The heel is turned and I'm working on the foot portion now. It shouldn't take too long to finish it. Then I can start on the mate to it.

There seems to be a baby boom within our circle of friends. Four friends are currently preggers and one is planning to be by the end of fall.

I'd like to knit something pretty for each little one on the way. I'm not good enough with a pattern to make a sweater or bonnet, but blankets seem soooooo big and I really don't want something that will take years to finish. I wish our fiber group were meeting when I can get there. I could use some guidance.

In spite of my good intentions, the only thing I've accomplished towards the little pouches with tablet woven edges is cutting out the leather. They've been sitting on my nightstand since I finished them.

On the hand, I have started two new projects. The first is making a chain mail camail for my son's helmet. For those who don't know, we play in the SCA and Taran is an authorized armored combat fighter. He was the FIRST youth authorized to fight with the adults in the Kingdom of Northshield. We were very proud of him.

The camail on his helm was a very sad creation that fit poorly, although it did the job. I wanted something spiffier for him, so, I got the task of creating the chain mail. It's not terribly difficult, however it takes a terrible toll on my hands. I only work on the project in the evenings but after four days of steady work, my hands were so swollen and sore that I had to take a few days off.

The good news is that my hands DID return to normal...more or less. It's almost done. I have to sew it to the leather aventaille on his helm and then make the necessary adjustments. His helm will be unusable during that time. I hope to be done by Sunday.

The second projects is yet another pair of socks. In preparation for an event this past weekend (Ages of War in Silfren Mere), I went through my fiber stash looking for something to inspire me. Since we decided to take all three dogs, I needed something that could be stopped at a moment's notice. Socks seemed the most likley since I was likely only to get through the cuff during the day. The dogs were, happily, very easy to care for during the day and I actually started on the body of the sock.

It felt so nice to get back to knitting socks. These are a lovely blend of blues. I think I'll give them to our CEO for a retirement gift. He'll like that.

I've decided on my next project. I dragged out my leather scraps last night and I'm going to be making these: Leather bag with TW edges

They are little bags/pouches with tablet woven edges.

Fiber!

No matter where I look in my house, it seems that I have fiber needing some form of processing. Of course, at the moment, the largest batch of it is the wool I received from from Jewel Lane Farms in Stacy, MN. It's from Hampshire sheep and is destined for two uses. 1) a mini ger from my Doxie and 2) a felting class for children at our local Barony's SCA event, WW (Warriors and Warlords).

Sooner or later, I'm going to have to tackle the 12 pounds of fleece. I'm just not looking forward to the task. It takes so much HOT water.

I also have the Jacob fleece from last year's Shepherd's Harvest festival. It's half a fleece. Christine Hoyt has the other half. I think hers is in the same state as mine. Well, maybe not quite the same state, but I'd bet it's unwashed. Mine is residing in the freezer until I get to it.

I also have 4 pounds of the softest rambouillet. It's lovely fleece.