WIP Spinning, Ditto Knitting, Winning A Prize

This has been a busy few weeks of plying. So far I've finished some Flawful Fibers Rambouillet in lovely light purple shades, of which the name escapes me at this time. Also, my Tour de Fleece singles, "Cabot", from Creatively Dyed came out lovely.

Halloween was spent at RI Handspun where several of us decided to celebrate the day by either dressing in black/orange or spinning fibers that reminded us of Autumn/Halloween. I spun up the Witch's Brew I had carded at the spinners guild party earlier in the month.

The purple/teal/pink Rambouillet bought at Rhinebeck is spinning up and will be very pretty as a two ply.

"Ditto" is progressing nicely. I've finished the body and started the first sleeve.As I mentioned before, instead of short sleeves, I chose to modify the pattern and make it a long sleeved sweater. Thanks to Sarah for suggesting Elizabeth Zimmerman's book, "Knitting Without Tears". It was easy to figure out what to do.

Sock withdrawal has set in, and, one needs to be started soon. Through the Loops Mystery Sock was tabled so I could start my sweater. The yarn has been sitting next to my desk tempting me for over a month now. It might just be cast on later this evening. :)

Recently I went shopping on Etsy. I found some delicious Milk Silk Latte for sale from CorgiHillFarm. The fiber is so nice I ordered another shipment, along with a luscious batt called "Pomegranate Milkshake". Anna was giving away a $50 gift certificate to her shop with the 500th item sold. I never notice what item number I am when I place an order. I got a happy surprise when I went to check my email and found I had won the gift certificate. Everything in this shop is so tempting, making it hard to decide what to buy with it.

Visiting Rhinebeck For the First Time

As we rode along the highway and roads of Connecticut last Friday morning, the Autumn foliage was breathtaking to see. My knitting needles were steadily moving along on my Ditto sweater as Sandi's car ate up the miles and Monet navigated. We had a detour to pick up some minerals for the sheep, but, this just added to the gorgeous views.

Our hotel was nice, quiet, and conveniently close to Rhinebeck's fairgrounds, which was only about 20 minutes away. There was a fabulous restaurant next door to the hotel where we had a delicious seafood supper on Saturday night. Friday night was spent in our room, relaxing with our friends, Marva and Beth, and spinning on our wheels.

As we pulled up to the fairgrounds and parked, the entrance line was growing. Since we had prepaid for our admission online, we got in very quickly.

The sight of all the fibers, yarns, and related tools and equipment were a sensory overload. I didn't know where to look first. I waited on a bench while Sandi dropped off her fleeces for processing with a mill. This gave me a chance to get my bearings and observe some of the booths/barns.

As we traversed the grounds, the smells from the food vendors was very intoxicating and tempting, especially the artichoke booth. I am very proud to say I didn't buy any fair food. We had made our lunches at the hotel and they were in the cooler waiting for us when we got hungry. The only time I went off my food plan was a little bit for the Saturday night supper. And I lost 2 pounds when I weighed in this week. Yippee!! All the walking helped too.

The food plan wasn't the only restraint I showed. The shopping stayed within my budget too. The only fleece I came home with was a .6 pound Kid Mohair fleece in a beautiful white. One vendor had some luscious Cormo/Bamboo blend that called to me, so I bought 8 ounces of that and a pair of size 10 DPNs. We walked all over the grounds and I didn't buy anything else until almost the last barn of the day where I found Spinners Hill and some lovely Rambouillet fiber. A pound of that came home along with some white. I also got 8 ounces of "Party in a Bag" to spin. On the way to the gate to leave, we stopped at Little Barn where I got some Alpaca/Silk.

Sunday was cold, overcast, and misting rain. We only stayed a couple of hours to do any last minute shopping we wanted. I ended up with another 4 ounces of the Cormo/Bamboo. In the Horticultural Building, I found a pattern for a hooded sweater I really liked. It's a very plain knit, but I am planning to spin for it and the natural shades of the fiber will look great in it.

The ride home wasn't too bad. We only had a little sleet/freezing rain in one area and some snowflakes in another.

Sadly, I never took the camera out of my bag, so don't have any pictures to share of my weekend. I plan to go again in the future. Right now, I am happily spinning my purple/pink/teal Rambo and smiling at the memories of the weekend. :)

Fashion/Trunk Show .... Assessing the Stashes

Wednesday night was the Slater Mill Knitting/Crochet Guild meeting. We were fortunate enough to be given the treat of a fashion/trunk show from Twist Collective. I have narrowed my "must have" list to 4 patterns. Now, I must resist buying them for a little bit. lol

Over on Ravelry, I have joined a group called "Spin Your Stash". The premise of the group is to start to spin from your fiber stash on the Autumn Equinox until the Spring Equinox. There is nothing saying you can't shop, but, I don't plan to. The only shopping exception is Rhinebeck. (New York Sheep and Wool Festival in case you are not familiar with this event.)

So far I have managed to finish plying 8 ounces to be used in the lace part of my February Lady Sweater, which is a free pattern available on Ravelry.

There's almost 4 ounces of singles waiting to be plyed of some lovely hand dyed Rambouillet I forgot wasn't finished. (That one actually frees up a missing bobbin when I finish it.) The next is a Superwash Merino fiber I haven't touched in over a year, which happens to account for another missing bobbin. I did the first 5 ounces, and the other 3 were deserted when some other fiber caught my eye. These last two items were in my WIP spinning bin, so I can now see the bottom of that with only 2 more bags in there. :) I have put a few knitting WIPs in the bin now. ;)

If you are on Ravelry, check out the group. It is a lot of fun. There really are no rules to follow. We are just encouraging each other with our stash busting endeavors.

I also signed up for the "Through the Loops Mystery Sock for October 2009". The pattern is given out in 4 clues. The first one came out today. I now have to go stash diving to find a yarn I think will work with this pattern. A semi-solid seems to be preferred. I do have some Cascade solids and semi-solids, as well as some Knit Picks sock yarns to select from.

"Mystic Embers" is the latest in the series of mystery KALs in the Mystic series. It, too, started this week. I almost missed signing up for this one. Some people are using Knit Picks Shadow Lace for this pattern. Again, I can go stash diving for a nice shade in this yarn. I think I have 3 or 4 different colors to choose from.

My "Ditto" sweater is almost up to the third decrease, so it won't be long before I am simply knitting straight stockinette to the armhole sections. This is my travel project right now since it's easy to work on and I don't have to really pay attention except to measure for the decreases when needed. I do plan to modify it a little and add longer sleeves so I can wear it in colder weather.

I think that is enough projects to keep me busy for a bit. Happy knitting and spinning folks. :)

My Finished Experiment

I took the photos of the alpaca batt now that it is dry.





The color is more purple than it looks in the pictures. The flash made it look pink. The third picture is closest to the real color. You can see the original color of the fiber near the long end of the batt in the first and third photos. The batt isn't felted or flat as it looks in the pictures. If you pick it up, it's nice and fluffy. I tested a corner to see if it would draft easy and it does. There are 2 layers so I can get nice long color repeats. The plan is to spin each layer seperately nice and thin. The ply will either be Navajo or 2 ply to maintain the colors. It's already telling me it wants to be something lacy.

Also included is a photo of the Border Leicester locks you can see peaking out at the top of the second photo above.



This experiment was a lot of fun and I plan to dye some more of the batts at a later time. Right now, I'm in the mood to dye some Halloween colored yarn or fiber.

"Ditto" is Started.... Dye Experiment... Craft room Pictures ...

My Shur'Tugal socks have been finished for a couple of weeks now. This means I was on the hunt for a travel project. I decided to venture away from having a sock as a travel companion for a little while.

After finally washing the yarn I had spun back in February and April, I started the "Ditto" cardigan sweater by Berrocco. It's free pattern and worked in one piece until you get to the sleeves. After you knit the sleeves, you attached them while working the yoke. For now, this will be my travel project until it gets too bulky to carry around. The yarn enjoyed hanging out in the back yard drying.



Today, was spent in my dye craftroom. I have some alpaca which was processed as batts. I wondered if it was possible to dye the fiber since it was in this form. Well, if I didn't try I wouldn't find out. So, I took a layer, wrapped it in tulle, pre-soaked it, then laid it out on the plastic to dye. After dyeing and wrapping, it went into the steamer. It was a very tight fit, but just made it. I did take some pictures of the process. :



The bottom layer of the steamer was some Border Leicester locks I had dyed up as well.

I'll post some pictures of the fiber once it's dry in a few days. I just hope I don't have a big piece of pretty felt.

I also took a couple of pictures of part of the craft room. One is some of the bins and sink; the other is my waist high worktable Pat built me.

Yarn Washing Day and Spinning at the Arts Festival

I managed to wash most of the yarn I've spun recently. Here's a group picture of six skeins of them.




The blue skeins on the ends are from Into the Whirled's Falkland fiber I have named "Seashore". The green is the third skein and the last of my CJ Kopec's Envious Eyes. I love the sparkle from the angelina in this fiber although the camera didn't pick it up very well. The pink is Shady Fiber's "Pink Eeyore" which also has firestar sparkles in it. Peaking out at the top is one of the two skeins of rag yarn I did using one ply of alpaca from Safe Haven Alpacas in CT and one ply of Ashland Bay Merino. I think the color of the Merino is "Woodland".

My garden butterfly also had to get in the photos:



These were also some of the WIPs I've been working on since Tour de Fleece.

Saturday was the monthly spin in at RI Handspun. I took a break from WIP spinning and started another of my DkKnits fibers called "Irish Beach". I might decide to do a simple shawl with it to showcase the colors which range from greens to pinks, and some yellows. It's a very pretty, soft color blend. Sunday was another spinning day with my guild demonstrating at Slater Mill as part of the Pawtucket Arts Festival. Again, I took the "Irish Beach" fiber. I'm just about at the half way point with the first 4 ounces finished. Since the colors have stayed pretty separate while being spun, I'm going to navajo ply this one.

And, lastly, I have started the foot of the second Shur'tugal sock and should have it done in a few days. Another knitting WIP will be scratched from the list. Yay!!

Playing With Dye and Other Fibery Goodness.....

With the sweltering heat of last weekend, I found a cool, comfortable spot in my craft room located in my basement. I turned on the fan, mixed the soak solution, and started the dye process for 3 yarns and about 7 ounces of fiber.

The yarns were all fingering weight. I dyed the first in graduated shades of a robin egg shade of blue from dark to light.. The second is done in 2 shades of pink which I used full strength and diluted. The third is done in 2 shades of purple and a yellow.

Here is the Cormo in different shades of pink. "Dark Pink Peonies"



Here is some Corriedale in a shade of blue, yellow, and green. "Wildflowers in the Field"



I have some more colors planned for the next dye day. I'm not sure which will be yarn and which will be fiber yet.

Currently, the Minstrel is empty. But not for long. I've decided to start spinning the bottom half of my February Lady Sweater. The Sonata has been busy. I'm getting ready to finish spinning and then plying the last of my sea shore fiber so I can submit it for Fiber 4 Ewe's August contest on Ravelry. Then, it's back to another WIP bobbin, of which I have only 3 left to go.

As for knitting, I managed to finish the first Shur'tugal sock and get the ribbing done on the second one. It's a fairly easy pattern and the heel is very different from the usual plain ones in most other patterns. It is holding my interest as I knit it, and works well as a travel project.

Busy Spinning Away

I've been trying to catch up on a lot of stuff lately, but it just seems the more I try to catch up, the more there is to do. I need 30 hour days to possibly accomplish more. lol

I didn't get all of my Tour de Fleece fiber finished. I managed 12 of the 16 ounces. This is really not a bad thing. If I hadn't been trying to finish it, I would not have that much done. My other goal for TdF was to finish some WIP bobbins. I managed to ply up 4 different fibers that have been languishing for weeks, months, and one over a year. It feels good to have them done. Now, I need to take them to the sink and set the twist in all of them.

Saturday was spent at the Foster Old Home Days with some spinning pals at a demo. I've been looking for something to decorate my Minstrel wheel with. A little angel with blue/purple wings and a flower now rides on the tensioner. Barbara and Polly were there with their sheep and were selling their fiber, yarns, and goodies. They also had the Rhody Warm blankets and yarns for sale. The angel was hanging in the shed along with lots of others with different colored wings and/or flowers.

I started a new pair of socks to go along with my Dragon Scale Shawl. I like the pattern picture, but, am not sure if I like the actual pattern as it works up. I might frog it in a little bit. Beads will not be going into the socks. Originally, beads were going to be used in the cuff and at the top of the diamonds in the leg if possible. After some consideration, I decided this might not be good for me since my legs tend to swell. Getting beads poked into me if I cross my ankles would not feel too good.

The garden is still giving me tomatoes, peppers, and cukes. The carrots are doing well. I will try to plant the new lettuce in the next couple of days. The rains have helped everything grow without too much work on my part. I do have to pull the weeds that keep popping up though.

Garden Developments, Spinning Challenges, Junebug's Fleece

There was a second harvest of cherry tomatoes a couple of days ago. Several more are still in the green stage or just starting to turn color. There are quite a few green ones on the big boy tomato plants as well. Sadly, the lettuce is not salvageable thanks to the rains we have had lately. The pot it was in didn't drain well, and the lettuce rotted at the roots. I've another envelope of seeds, fresh soil, and different pots to try again. The peppers are growing. I have one about 3 inches across, but, not quite ready for picking yet. There are a few small ones too. The cucumbers are about an inch long now. I do like the bush plants better than the running ones. I thinned the carrots a bit, but, will re-do that next week after they grow a bit more. The lemon thyme needs trimming again. I can dry that in the house and use it in some cooking. Pat isn't crazy about lemon, so I use it in dishes I make just for me.

It's great to have the canopy up in the back yard too. I sat under it the other day while we were cooking on the grill. It's very cozy under there with plenty of room. I need to drag my wheel out there soon to sit and spin.

Speaking of spinning, I'm still plugging away at the Tour de Fleece. I am just past the half way point with my Seawool fiber. I don't think I will get all of the pound done by next week, but, I'm trying my best.

Today, I went up to the Fibers4Ewe Mill to pick up my "Junebug" fleece. I'll try to take a picture outside in the sun tomorrow. The color is a lovely grayish brown with sutble color shifts in it. It's absolutely beautiful. I am thinking it will become a sweater at least. I might decide to dye a little and see how it looks. I also came away with 8 ounces of fiber dyed and processed by Liz at the mill. Of course, that has some sparklies in it. I took the scenic way home due to road construction on Rte 44. I was going to stop by Holidaze Glass, but, will save that for another day.

It's been a long day, so I think I'll go to bed now. It's after 1:30 a.m. Goodnight.

First Garden Tomatoes and Tour de Fleece Spinning

I picked 4 cherry tomatoes from my garden Saturday.
We washed them and just ate them still warm from the sunshine.

I've decided to spin for the Tour de Fleece again this year. I think I might have over extended myself with my project. I have a pound of "Cabot" Seawool from Creatively Dyed Yarns. So far, I've only managed to spin one ounce. It's definitely a challenge due to it's slipperiness and fluffiness. It tends to drift apart if you don't put extra twist in it. I'm using the smallest whorl on my Sonata for this. Here's a photo of how far I've got on Day 3 of TdF:



and a close up:

The original plan was to also finish some spinning WIPs on the Minstrel. I managed to finish the last of 4 ounces of Falkland from Into the Whirled. I think the seawool take precedence over any other spinning for this. Wish me good luck to get the whole pound spun. Tonight will be devoted to at least another ounce. I'll be spinning next to Pat who had rotator surgery today and is feeling no pain at this time. He is still medicated from the nerve block they gave him, and has pain medicine for later. Now starts the tough part for him - the recovery and not doing everything he usually does.

Latest Animal Pictures

I forgot to post the latest pictures of Pooh, Hanna, Tiger, and Megan. The one with Pooh is the front, was actually taken last. He had to get in there and see what I was doing.



In this one, Hanna seems to be asking "What am I? A hassock?"

Dye Workshop, Re-Evaluating Things

The weekend of June 13th and 14 were spent with 25 wonderful people learning new ways to dye fiber and yarn. The Painted Sheep generously shared her techniques with us. We ranged from first time dyers to seasoned ones who dye fibers and yarns on a more regular basis. I fell into the occasional area myself. It was a fabulous two days and we all came away with new ideas as well as gorgeous fiber and yarns to play with. Here are some pictures of some of the fibers:



I also managed to finish plying up my "Envious Eyes" fiber from CJ Kopec. It was one of the May SAL fibers, but I was slow about getting it finished. Here's a picture of the fiber and singles on the bobbin. I haven't taken a picture of the finished yarn yet.


I also managed to re-ply my batt from ShadyFibers which I've named "Pink Eeyore" in honor of the Coopworth sheep the fiber comes from. One ply is Coopworth, mohair locks, silk, firestar and some other fibers. The other is the same Coopworth dyed a light pretty pink. I got 308 yards from 3 ounces of fiber.



Some other news is that my container garden is growing like crazy thanks to all the rain we have had here. I'm thinking of moving the containers under the canopy tomorrow to give them a day to dry out a bit, though. Too much rain can be just as bad as not enough.

After much thought and deliberation, I decided to trim all my activities a bit. My reasons are personal, so I won't go into them here. Due to this, one of the things I've decided to do is resign as the treasurer of the Spinners Guild. I made the announcement at the meeting last Saturday. I hope to transfer the treasury to the new person at the next guild meeting in July. The sooner the better for me.

Pat is home for a while due to an arm and shoulder injury which needs surgery. It's going to be a long summer for him since he won't be able to do much with the arm. I will have find some things for us to do to keep him occupied a bit.

Fiber Festivals, Veggie Pots, A Rainy Day Makes For Snoring Dogs and Cats

The festival season for New England is just about finished with the exception of Maine this weekend. I will not be attending. In May I skipped the NH Sheep and Wool Festival. I did participate in the RI Festival Fleece to Shawl demo and some shopping was done. Amy's Alpaca's had beautiful fiber, as did the Biltmore Mill Barn. Judy, BallandSkein, was there as well and I bought my only yarn purchase of the festival from her. I also found my friend Gerry from Mar Ger Farms was there with his alpaca fiber. Had to have that one. :)

No plans were made to go to the MA Sheep and Wool Festival. Until my husband offered to take me to it as a day out together. This was especially sweet since it was his birthday. And I got the gift. :) We had a wonderful day together with me coming home with oodles and oodles of more fiber. Spunky Eclectic, Spinner's Hill, Foxfire Fibers, The Wool Peddler and Touch of Twist were some of the vendors I visited with that day. After walking around a few hours,and making two trips to the car to leave fiber bundles, and to eat lunch as the excuse for one of them, I decided I had enough and we came home.

This past Sunday found us at the flea market in Mansfield, CT. This is one of my favorite ones to go to. I didn't buy a thing, and had to go rest in the car. My back has been causing me severe pains for the last few months and I have trouble standing or walking for very long lately. The doctor thinks it's just arthritis and a bit of strained muscle. Anyway, I had noticed Safe Haven Alpacas was open when we drove by it on the way to the flea market. On the way home, Pat stopped and waited in the car. This was good and bad. I came out of the store with a huge plastic bag full of alpaca fiber batts. The total was 46 ounces, - 24 cream, and 22 dark gray.

My loom has moved into the craft room since Pat has almost finished putting my sink and counter together in the basement craft room. The majority of the bins are down there now. I'm getting excited about this room now. It's going to be the dye studio and fiber prep room. My drum carder and picker are also going to be in there along with the bags to wash the fleece and my drying racks. I picked up a drying system with a fan attached and 4 shelves. That will eliminate the need for a separate fan for drying fleece/fiber.

Now, I'm ready for this Sunday for the spin in at Sandi's farm. It's the official start of the Happy Handspinners Group. I also can't wait to see how big the lambs have grown.

I managed to leave part of my Sonata wheel at Sue's last Saturday after the spin in and didn't realize it until Monday night when I wanted to finish the fiber on the bobbin. As I went to pull the wheel out of the bag, I noticed I was missing the MOA pouch which fits into the wheel base when the wheel is folded. I was going up on Tuesday for knit night anyway, so I just got it then. I finally sat down with it last night and this morning and finished it. I'll start a fresh bobbin later tonight and try to get the rest done before tomorrow night so I can spin a different fiber for Sunday at Sandi's.

My veggies are growing in leaps and bounds with blossoms on the cherry tomatoes and peppers already. My first lettuce will be ready for picking soon. The carrots and cucumbers are sprouting new green growth as well. My friend, Monet, gave me a couple of tomato plants, but, one didn't make it. The other is hanging in there and about twice the size it was. When I pulled some weeds from the pots yesterday, I noticed a separate tomato plant in that pot. I need to pick up a small bag of soil and get it into it's own pot. Maybe tomorrow would be good for that. On Tuesday, my friend Sue sent me home with some Lemon Thyme. It's the first herb in the garden. At least thanks to Mother Nature, I don't have to worry about watering anything today. It's been a steady rain all day. It's been a dark, dreary, good napping kind of day. The dogs have succumbed to this and are snoring away on the sofa as I type. The cats are all snuggled on their chair or favorite spot snoozing away as well. I think I'm going to take their advice and catch a bit of a nap myself......

A Late Post Due to a Busy Month

Easter has been celebrated. Fiber festivals have started. Warm weather seems to be making plans to stick around for a while. I've been busy lately and haven't had a chance to post.

Easter at my house is a simple quiet day. My meal this year was a stuffed pork roast, scallion and sour cream mashed potatoes, yellow squash, salad, and rolls. Fruit or apple pie and ice cream for dessert was served with coffee.

I decided to try a different way of preparing my roast for stuffing. I did a fillet method. The stuffing was spinach with garlic and cheese, which I've used in pork chops before. After filleting the roast, I seasoned some gluten free bread crumbs first and rolled both sides of the roast in it. Then stuffing was put in the middle, then rolled up jelly roll style, and tied with string.

Roast being prepped (left), and ready for the oven (right): The cooked roast and rest of the meal:It came out quite well except for the string getting a little stuck in the breading on the top. lol

A couple of Wednesdays ago was spent on Sandi N.'s farm during sheep shearing day. She had 19 of her flock left to be sheared. Monet, Marva, Sandi, and myself spent a few hours skirting all the fleeces. Mr. N. helped the shearer with the sheep and cleaning up the shearing board. It was a lot of work, but, we had a good rhythm going and managed to keep up pretty much. Only one sheep "tried to make a run for it" and gave up fairly quickly when she realized she couldn't get out of the barn. I came home with my Junebug's fleece. I've been watching her grow up since she was a day old and waiting patiently for her lovely dark brown/black fleece. I do plan to get some more of Sandi's fleece when she is ready to sell some. All of her sheep have wonderful, gorgeous fiber. It's hard to choose which one to buy. I really do love the gray one from Junebug's brother. :)

I've been spinning for the April CJKopec SAL. My "Midnight Desire" didn't get finished in time for me to post it for voting, but, that's o.k. I think it's beautiful and will make a wonderful yoke in my February Lady sweater. With the black fiber for the lace part, I think it will look better than the "Inquiry" from last month's SAL.

As for knitting, I'm still working on the same projects - Dragon Scale Shawl, a pair of socks and a special gift project.

The last Saturday in April was the CT Sheep and Wool Festival. I went along with Jean, Marva, Sandy C., and Beth. I only bought 2 things, some suri/silk fiber and a bag of alpaca which I split with Marva. I was planning to go to MA Sheep and Wool, but have changed my mind. RI is the week before and I think that will take care of my festival urges this time.

Last Sunday was spent planting my vegetable garden in pots and containers in the back yard. I have 2 cherry tomato plants (2 pots) 2 green peppers (1 pot), lettuce, and carrots. I forgot to get the bush cucumbers and green beans, but the pots are ready. Pat can move them to work on the lawn and put them back after. It's also much easier on my back when I tend to them. I'll put a few of my ceramic "critters" around tomorrow if I get a chance.

Tomorrow will be spent trying to get some organization done in the basement craft room. Hopefully, I can get the loom out of the living room finally and into the craft room on the main floor. Then the living room won't be so cluttered looking.

Finishing Fiber Projects and Starting New Ones

As I sat in the living room last night with my Sonata plying the last of my Coopworth, I thought of the other fiber projects waiting to be finished. "Inquiry" is next to be finished as soon as I finish blending the colors on the drumcarder. If the carder isn't set up tomorrow, there are still a few stragglers waiting for their turn as well. The "Pie Toss" is on the table next to the desk and the last little bit of "Bodice Ripper" Rambouillet is still hanging around. But I think since the jumbo flyer is still on the wheel, I will do some plying with my alpaca single and a wool single. They should be nice and relaxed since I spun them last May. lol

Tonight is my Ocean State Knitting and Crochet Guild meeting. We are having a guest speaker who will teach us Portuguese Knitting. Elsa is a member of my Spinners Guild and has shown us how to do this before. When I mentioned it on this blog, one of the OSKCG ladies asked about it. The result is tonight's lesson.

After I get home, the Coopworth is all heading into a big bucket for it's twist setting bath. In a few days, I can start my sweater. I had a pattern picked out, but now think I might prefer a cardigan. Guess it's time to go through my patterns and Ravelry queue.........

A Fun Mosaic and Game

Thanks to ShadyFibers for posting this. I decided to give it a try and here are my results along with the questions. I really had a good laugh when I searched for "domestic princess" and actually found something.

First, the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page of results, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker (register and log in first, if you haven’t already
Now, the questions:
1. First name?
2. Favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. Favorite color?
5. Celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

Fun Times with Friends......Lovely Curling Locks of Fiber

Yesterday evening was spent with my two friends, Sarah and Marva at Sarah's house. Supper was prepared by her and was delicious. After eating, the wheels were set up and spinning commenced. Sort of. My jumbo flyer "screamed" at us through an entire bobbin. After some of the plyed yarn jumped the bobbin, tangling around the flyer, I took the bobbin off. Before putting it back I decided to oil the daylights out of it. Silence ensued. I hope the girls let me spin with them again after torturing their poor ears with the noisy bobbin. :)

I wanted to finish plying the singles of Coopworth today, but, the wheel never made it out of it's bag. Tomorrow will be another day and I will try to get to it. Maybe I'll sit outside in the warm sun for a bit with it.

Today was the Open Shed at Maybe Tomorrow Farm in Chepachet, RI. Pat and I headed out bright and early to go to the farm and shop for a fleece. I went with the intention to buy a black Rambouillet I saw last year. Since this fleece was still on the hoof for a couple of more weeks, I chose a lovely white Border Leicester. It's 4 3/4 pounds of curly squishy goodness. The black Rambouillet is tagged for me when the sheep is sheared. There are actually two of these sheep, so I don't know which one I will get yet.

It's suppose to be a sunny 60 degrees here tomorrow, so I might decide to work with the Romeldale just to get it out of the shed. Since it's a left over from last summer, it really needs to get processed. I don't like to carry them over for more than a couple of months.

Yes, Spring has sprung with the arrival of freshly shorn fleeces.........

After returning home, I ran a few errands, ending up at the Yarn Outlet in Pawtucket for their Sit and Knit group. I met some lovely ladies as well as seeing a few friends. My current travel project is a sock, so I worked on the heel flap for a while. I actually turned the heel after I got home and am now ready for the gusset tomorrow evening.

Spinning For Sweaters, Knitting A Sock

Since I've spun all the singles of the Coopworth, the plying will be done tonight after I get home from a doctor's appointment. The drumcarder is still holding court in the kitchen for now. I need to finish blending the Inquiry so I can get the carder put away again. I'm really looking forward to spinning the black fiber after these two. The Coopworth needs it's dipping in Eucalan, then I can start knitting with it. There is a problem though. I need to finish a couple of other projects before casting on a new one.

It's time to head out to the doctor's office. My sock tote is ready to go, and a magazine as well. I know the routine with this office, and plan accordingly. I can have anywhere from a 5 minute wait to an hour or so if he is backed up. Bye for now.......

Getting Brave With My Fiber, Craft Room Anticipation

I just didn't like the way my "Inquiry" fiber was spinning up. I tried spinning it straight from the end, from the fold, and even individual colors. Nothing was feeling right to me. No love for the yarn was felt. After a conversation with Sandi, I took out my Louet Jr. drumcarder and went to work. I was like the mad scientist with a "let's see how this works out" attitude. I tore off a piece of fiber, separated the black and purple section, drafted it to the almost falling apart point, put it through the drumcarder, and left it on. Then, I drafted out and put the orange, green, and pink through with the orange on top of the black side. A couple of turns and I took the whole thing off, drafted it out again and put the whole thing through one more time. Here's the results:


I'm very happy with the resulting batts which spun up into this yarn. It's 2.95 ounces, 148.5 yards of Navajo (chain) ply. The photos are prewash. It's drying now:



My plans are to spin enough of this to use in the yoke of a sweater. I'm thinking of the February Lady Sweater for the pattern. The other fiber I want to put with this is a black Coopworth Hogget/Alpaca Cria with a bit of Firestar blend. The "Inquiry" came out dark enough to not be glaring with the black, but, will be complimentary.

In other news, my basement craft room is almost ready for the big move in. Pat is building me a nice table the height of my kitchen island. I won't be bending over trying to dye or drum card this way. He's going to put a shop light right over the table so there will be better light than the current ceiling lights give. Pat wants to paint the floor before we actually put anything in the room. I plan to put an area rug on the floor since they are cement and cold on your feet in the winter. He also found a little white sheep wall plaque in a box of stuff that had belonged to his mom. It will have a place of honor on the wall above the table. Once the table and sinks are in place, I can bring the bins and stuff down. There is a kitchen table and chair set in the main basement room, as well as a t.v., stereo, treadmill, and exercise bike so I can keep myself busy while waiting for steamers/pots to "cook". There's also a rocking chair if I just want to sit and knit.

After moving everything that needs to go downstairs, the loom will hopefully fit in the upstairs craft room and I can clear out the living room. Right now, there is still a lot of stuff around it so the cats can't get under and play with the strings. They don't go in the craft room so this will not be an issue after.

A Scary Start to My Weekend, and Taking Stock of Projects

I'm still nervous and won't leave the house empty for a while. As Pat was getting ready to leave for work Friday, we smelled something burning. We has an electrical fire in the basement. Luckily he got to the circuit box before actual flames came out of the box. The insulation is all melted from the wires and flames were eminent when he got to the box. Thank God he hadn't left for work yet. He disconnected the faulty wires and circuit, spending the better portion of the evening and all weekend rewiring the hot water tank. Everything is safe now, but, we still want to have an electrician come in to double check it. This was the weekend of my Ocean State Knitting and Crochet Guild's retreat. I was going to go for the day today, but, decided not to due to other commitments at this time. Now, I'm glad I decided this since I wouldn't have been able to go.

I decided to take stock of all my UFOs, on needles, hooks, and bobbins.

My Sonata still has the "Inquiry" fiber for CJKopec's Spin A Long "Put Your Twist On It". And my Minstrel still has the Merino on it for a sweater. I need to get the Inquiry done so I can get back to the Coopworth for my other sweater. When these three fibers are done, I need to finish my "Bahhhrahhccuda" color fiber from DkKnits and knit up some socks. I'm going to be the last one done with them, but, that's o.k. Of course that lateness doesn't compare to the wool singles and alpaca singles I spun last May and never plied together. They are definitely on the to do list next. And, then there is the other "Pie Toss" braid of roving from Spunky I need to spin and Navajo so I can make socks with that as well. The only other fiber needing attention is the last little bit of Rambouillet I was spinning as lace weight. I took a "break" from it since I had spent almost 4 months spinning with this 8 ounces of fiber. The last 2 ounces are calling me.

I'm also working on a sock, using a technique I had learned from Sarah. The whole sock is worked on a 12 inch circular needle, except for the heel flap and gusset. Once you get that part in, you go back to the circular to finish the foot. It's coming out nice and I like not having to fiddle with needles or loops. It was a bit of a learning curve to work with the small circs at first. Now, it's mindless. I'm just knitting a plain vanilla sock in some variegated yarn. The cuff was worked on size 2 and the rest of the sock on size 1. I want to be able to turn the cuff over the sock when they are worn.

I also pulled out some of the rows on the Dragon Scale Shawl to re-knit for the third time. Let's hope the third time is the charm and I can call this a FO instead of a WIP soon.

There are a couple of scarves I started in the bin as well as a lonely Butterfly Sock waiting for it's mate. That's it. Not as bad as I thought. I did frog a couple of projects along the way. The bin is next to the loom so I can just grab a project and work on it while sitting in the living room with the t.v. or computer on.

Oh, and the 5 bins of fleece I had in my craft room are now living in the cedar closet in the basement. I was surprised to find the closet was much smaller than I remembered. You can still step into it, but, it's not as deep as I thought. I also put some comforters and bedding in there as well. At least I'm finally getting to use it for it's intended use.

O.K. I'm off to cook some chicken for tomorrow. Once it's in the oven, I can work on the sock or shawl some more......

More Fiber Goodies and News

In the last post I mentioned CJKopec's Spin-A-Long on Ravelry. I've decided to just spin the fiber from the end and see what I get from it. The plan is to possibly use it in the yoke of a sweater. This is "Inquiry":



Other good news is in regards to the Coopworth fiber for my sweater spinning. Sandi met me today and the other pound of fiber came home with me. Yay! Here's some pictures of the yarn so far:



And this closeup:



Between these two things, and DkKnits SAL/KAL with her fiber club, and her sock club, I'm so busy trying to keep up, and, I haven't really knit on anything else. With one exception. I did manage to finish a hat today while sitting at Weight Watchers waiting for the meeting to begin.

Spinning Away the Hours

This past Friday evening was the start of the plying for my Coopworth sweater yarn. I managed to ply the entire 6 1/2 bobbins by Sunday night. The result was 1.5 pounds and 996 yards of worsted weight yarn. I now need to pick up another pound of this lovely fiber from Sandi tomorrow. I don't know where my head was the night I bought the fiber. I know I need between 2 1/2 to 3 pounds to make a sweater to cover my fluffy body. The diet is going well, but, not that well. I know I won't fit into a size large or extra large sweater. Besides, I like them loose and comfy not body forming.

In today's mail, was the fiber for CJKopec's Spin-A-Long. I might start that tonight and see how it looks. Options for spinning are to just grab an end and go for it or tear of sections and spin from the fold. The possibility is a single of each and then ply them together for a different look. I don't know yet.

Well, I'm off to toss the clothes in the washer and dryer. It's the tale of the never ending laundry...........

Snowy Days, Busy Hands, and Sock Woes

March definitely roared in like a lion this year. With the major snow storm last Sunday and Monday, the wheels and needles were very busy.

The Coopworth has almost all the singles spun. I'm finishing up bobbin 6 and don't think I have enough for a full bobbin 7. After switching to the jumbo flyer, I'll ply bobbins 1 and 4 together to see how much yardage I have and calculate how much more fiber i need to buy from Sandi. I'm estimating I should have about 1200 yards when these singles are all plyed. It might be enough for the sweater, but, I'm a plus size girl, so think I need a bit more.

Last Saturday was the monthly Spin In at Sue's shop. I decided to take Millie Minstrel for a change and worked on the Merino for the other sweater. That bobbin is now off the wheel and another started. At this rate I might have 2 sweater's worth of yarn before long. I'm not too worried about getting this one finished though. After all, I started spinning it in February 2008.

The hat is almost ready for decreasing and then that WIP will be an FO. It's coming out really nice. I like the way the natural shading of the fiber shows up in the knitting.

I have sad news to report. There are 2 wounded socks in my house. They are the first to need repair. I have a hole in one where it was caught on something. The other one has some stitches wearing thin and about to break. I made both pairs about 3 years ago, so I shouldn't be surprised they are showing some wear now. For now, they are in the mending basket waiting for me to salvage them.

The Dragon Scale Shawl has been calling to me to finish it. The mistake still looks wrong to me even though I pulled out 20 rows and put them back in. I need to pull them out again and knit it again. This is aggravating since I'm on the last of it. I just need to do the garter stitch rows and it's finished. But, it's calling me, so I guess I will be working on it again soon just to finish it.

The sun is shining even though it's cold. Enjoy the day and I'll post again soon.

Dragons and Spinning

Lately, I've been spending quite a bit of time at the Dragon Cave. I have several eggs and hatchlings right now. It's fun to "catch" or "breed" the eggs and watch them grow into very pretty creatures.

Today is a good day to spend with the wheel. It's a cloudy, rainy day, so inside activities are definitely on my list. I've spent the last few days spinning away at the Rose Gray Coopworth fiber. I'm starting bobbin 4 today, and possibly bobbin 5 by tonight. The plan is to spin all the singles by the beginning of March. Then I'll start plying for the sweater.

My knitting is crying for attention, too. So I guess I need to get to that as well.

I'm off to make some lunch and then sit at the wheel again.......

Look At All the Pretty Colors!

Saturday was our Drumcarding Party at the monthly Spinners Guild meeting. I forgot my camera, so don't have any pictures. (Grrr. I always forget my camera.) There was about 6 drumcarders all in action, along with a picker, several wheels spinning, and the creation of some sculpy clay name tags.

There was white with angelina, blue with a hint of brown which looked like the ocean at the shore, mango-orange sherbet, dark cranberry red, green with red and a hint of angelina, and a few other color combinations when everyone was finished. Each one was lovely, fluffy, and made you want to snuggle into them. I think my favorite was the ocean blue one. I have similar colors in the dye box and might have to try making this one myself.

On the wheels were reds, greens, white, and gray. I don't think anyone was actually spinning a multi color this time. On my Sonata, I started the Rose Gray Coopworth pin drafted fiber I bought from Sandi and it spins divine! I hardly do any drafting. This is going to be a sweater for me. The shades in the fiber are showing up wonderfully. I am trying to finish the first bobbin today. I plan to spin the entire 2 pounds before plying so I can mix the bobbins according this article from Knitty, written by Amy King a/k/a Spunky Eclectic. If I find I need more fiber, I can pester Sandi for it. My Minstrel is back in Double Drive so I can finish some more of the Merino I started last year for a sweater. In order to get both these fibers done, I'm going to alternate wheels as I fill bobbins.

As for the knitting and crochet, everything is mostly in the same place. Little progress has been made on anything lately. I need to incorporate the 10 Minutes a Day rule again here. The wheels have had all the attention with the finishing of the "Blueberry Hill Yogurt" and "Pie Toss".

The llama locks had a slight mishap. I was a bit too vigorous in the swishing during the rinse and several are tangled together. I have learned not to do this again. I keep separating some every time I walk past the island counter. There's only a small amount left to de-tangle so it should be settled tonight. The plan is to use the combs for it, then, the drumcarder for the shorter leftovers from the combing. I'll blend the shorts with some wool.

As the Llama Turns......

Some of you may remember the fleeces I was given back in June '08. Among them was the blanket from the llama. It's a soft, dark gray fiber... I think. It's very dirty and dusty. It spent the summer, fall, and most of the winter in the shed in the back yard along with a Romeldale fleece I've yet to wash.

A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to share this lovely llama fiber with the 3 ladies who spent those 100 degree days helping me sort and re-bag the fleeces. Then it sat in my kitchen until today. With the temps in the 60s and the sun shining through my window, the temptation to do Springtime fibery things was too much. The snow is still on the ground, so I had to soak it in the house. Right now, part of it's in 2 pans on the counter in the kitchen.

Weekend Spinning and Catching Up

I don't know where the sudden burst of spinning energy came from. "Millie" Minstrel was very well loved this past week. On Thursday, I finished Navajo plying the "Mandy", completing the third skein. Then, I immediately started spinning the fiber from my DkKnits fiber club January shipment, "Blueberry Hill Yogurt". The 4 ounces of singles were finished by Saturday! I never spin 4 ounces in 2 days, so this is a record for me. :)

Just so "Esme" Sonata wouldn't feel lonely, I also finished up the 4 ounces of "Pie Toss" singles on Sunday. This is also good since I can now pop the Jumbo Flyer on and ply each of these up. It was a tight fit at the end of each of the singles' bobbins.

My Morning Surf Scarf also saw some love yesterday. It was time to wash the comforter and blankets, so I had to head off to the Laundromat. I managed to get about 6 rows in while the machines did their thing. I hate to just sit and read at the laundry. My hands need to be busy. Plus I get to talk to my friend when she's not busy with customers.

Tonight, it's back to the wheels to do the plying and then whichever needles call me for the knitting. The shawl is still here along with a scarf in chunky baby alpaca I sort of started but am not happy with. The pattern is developing as I go along and not quite what I want.

Spin In With Friends and Fiber Shopping

Yesterday was our monthly Spin In at RI Handspun in Oakdale, RI. It's right across from the Burriville police station. I managed to get about 3 ounces of my "Pie Toss" spun up. It seemed to be a "red" day with several shade of reds and pinks in the room. A few other colors were present as well.

After the Spin In, Sarah drove Marva and myself to visit our friend Sandi's farm. After a delicious supper at the Green Onion, we went back to the farm to fiber shop. I came home with some rose gray Coopworth pin drafted roving to start a sweater. It's so soft and squishy. Marva and Sarah also got some beautiful fibers. In my opinion, Sandi has the best sense for colors and blending. She knows just how much of each color and what fibers to put together. Sometimes there is a little glitz in her stuff, but some is non sparkly like my recent purchase.

The Fabulously Late KAL started knitting sweaters in January. The plan is for me to use the Coopworth for that as well as for the Spinner Central spin for the quarterly SAL for sweaters which started in January. My Merino hasn't been heard from in a while, but will be back on the Minstrel soon. I was thinking of that fiber yesterday and how it needs to be finished. I still have over 2 pounds to spin.

My wrist has been acting up again, so I have to take a break from working on my crochet and knitting projects. Spinning doesn't bother it. Unfortunately, I won't finish my Dragon Scale Shawl by tonight. I had to pull out 20 rows of lace knitting the other night due to a mistake. I thought I could hide it, but it was too obvious. The scale was not diamond shaped at all. That's what I get for trying to knit with a distraction. Four rows are back in already. I will finish it this week though, once the wrist feels better. After putting those two repeats back in, one more might be enough and it will be ready for blocking.

I need to finish my Morning Surf Scarf from the Ply By Night KAL, too.

Darn Snow Storm.......Shawl Progress.....

Thanks to the lovely snow storm my plans for tomorrow are off. The first meeting of the Slater Mill Knitting/Crochet Guild has been postponed until next Wednesday night, February 4. I was looking forward to it. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to keep working on the shawl at home by myself.

I've spent quite a bit of time on it today. I may even be able to get away with only 17 repeats instead of 18. Pat helped me stretch it out over my back today. With me holding it over my shoulders a bit, he pulled the point down as if to block it. It hits my behind. I'm excited to get it finished. I may be doing a happy dance of my own for Super Bowl with it wrapped around me if I can get it cast off in time. Back to knitting......

Snow, Snow, Go Away.....Spring Wishes and Dreams

The ground is still white with the left over snow from our last storm. There's still plenty of ice on parking lots, steps, sidewalks and drives to make walking dangerous if you are not watching where you are stepping. Now, the latest weather report says more is coming tonight and tomorrow. I have a meeting tomorrow night at Slater Mill for the opening of the Knitting/Crochet guild. If the weather is too bad, I will be staying home.

Can someone please tell Mother Nature we want a few warm days to get rid of some of this? For me personally, I'm ready for Spring and I know we have about 2 more months of this nasty to deal with.

We enclosed the back yard last Fall and I really want a couple of raised box flower beds along the fence near my neighbor's side. I'm thinking of planting a few perennial plants that stay on the small side. One part would also hold some veggie plants. Pat plans to build a deck this Spring as well. I can picture me sitting out there under an awning, with my wheel, spinning in the shade or knitting. We still have one more section to put up to block off the back of the garage so the dogs can go out loose and play. I have several ceramic animals I want to decorate the yard with as well. Then of course I have some candle holders you use for the little tea lights. They will look cute out there in the flower bed too. My plan is to hopefully be able to have a couple of friends over for spontaneous spin-ins in the back yard as well. The dogs just don't allow for this in the house, unless you wear industrial ear plugs to block the barking.

I am about 3 repeats away from having the Dragon Scale Shawl finished. I could quit now and it would be fine, since it's about the size of my Swallowtail Shawl already. Being a queen size lady, I think the additional 3 repeats will be better.The goal is Superbowl Sunday. I might add a different edging to the outside later. I need to think about that. The one on it now is worked as you knit the shawl. I'm thinking of adding the edging from my Swallowtail Shawl, but with beads along the way in certain spots. That would represent the points of the dragon's scales and wings.

Sunday was spent with Sandi and Marva. We were going to get pizza and spend the day knitting and visiting at the farm. Instead, we ended up at the Mohegan Sun Casino where we indulged in the buffet. No gambling took place. Then we returned to the farm for a bit of knitting. Since Sandi lives a good distance from us, and thanks to inclement weather this past month, Christmas gifts were exchanged. She gave me a gorgeous handmade beaded shawl pin/broach and a big bag of different natural fibers for me to spin. I'm going to have so much fun learning about these sheep breeds. She loved the fiber and container I gave her. She also spins with a spindle and liked the idea of the wine containers for toting a spindle and fiber around in.

A few days ago, Sandi and I placed an order at Crown Mountain Farms for white Bamboo, Carbonized Bamboo, and Black Alpaca Silk. Of course, I had to get some dyed stuff for me too. It all arrived yesterday, so I met her in Hope Valley to deliver it to her. She brought the dogs with her for the ride. It was great to see them again so soon.

Lunch is left overs from yesterday. I made pork chops stuffed with spinach, cheese, garlic, and seasoning. Real mashed potatoes finished out the meal. Pat has enough for today too. I barely could eat one chop yesterday. They did come out great if I say so myself.

I'm going to sit and knit on the shawl for a bit, then load the washer and dryer again......

Soup, Seafood, and Yarn

Today was a nice, sunny day, even though it was chilly. Marva and I decided to take a ride to Warren to the Blount Soup Shop where I picked up some Portuguese Kale Soup and some Tuscan Bean Soup and Sausage for Pat. For myself, I got the Corn Chowder. Yum times 3. Marva got a few for herself as well. I think this place will be on her regular food shopping list when she tastes these delicious items.

From there we decided to get some lunch. Tweet's Balzano's Family Restaurant was our destination. After perusing the menu, we decided to get two different entrees and share. The fish and chips were excellent the last time I had them, and they were just as good today. The other choice, Seafood Stuffed Shrimp Supreme, which had a bit of a bite in the seasoning, was also very tasty.

After this lovely meal, we went to Sakonnet Purls where I was moderated, and restrained, from overbuying yarn lovelies. I only bought some Baby Alpaca in a chunky weight for a scarf and hat set, and one color of Happy Feet for a pair of socks. That's it. Honest. Marva did buy some sock yarn for herself as well.

On the way home, Sip N Dip called to us for a nice creamy coffee. I can drink their flavored coffee since it's the beans that are flavored and not an added syrup, or shot. Iced French Vanilla was my choice and hot Pumpkin Spice for my friend. Well, I was not destined to drink that coffee. It fell over in the car, but I rescued the majority of it. When I got home, I when getting out of the car, I grabbed the cup. As soon as my hand was out the car, the lid flew off and the coffee hit the ground, and my pants leg. Oh, well. It smelled good anyway.

Now I am just relaxing for a bit before going to run an errand with Pat. Then I need to cook his chicken and potatoes I promised him. Talk to you later.........

Living History, New Beginnings and Guilds, Fiber Projects Update

It's two days into the new Presidency and I think the country already is feeling more upbeat about the future. According to the polls, people are happier and more confident in our new leader then we were with the old one for a very long time. President Obama has many visions for our country and I think they will become a reality and not just a plan. I hope my governor can learn a few things from President Obama and apply them to help settle the RI state deficit instead of blaming it on state workers and people who need the state funded programs.

Another new beginning is the first meeting at Slater Mill for their newly forming Knitting and Crochet Guild. This includes machine knitting. The first meeting will be held in the yellow building, the Jenks Building, second floor, on Wednesday, January 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. This guild will be part of the Slater Mill Community Guild which already includes quilting, basket making, and spinning guilds. Also, there is hope of a weaving guild in the not too distant future. The idea is to be able to have individual guilds who also come together for a collective meeting called a "pan guild" once a month and share their skills, projects, ideas, and creativity with each other. The present plan is to alternate between a Wednesday night one month and a Sunday the following. This will enable more people to participate in these get togethers. The Community Guild is in the beginning stages and this is a good opportunity for anyone interested to be in on the ground level and help to build it. It's great to have the history of the mill, as well as a beautiful building to meet in, as part of this effort. Please make an effort to come to the meeting if you are interested.

Fiber stuff is moving along. As for my knitting, I'm almost finished with the Dragon Scale Shawl. It's going to be close since Superbowl is looming on the horizon. I stretched it out from under my chin downward and it's about the same length as my Swallowtail Shawl was when finished. I want it to be a bit bigger, so I'm doing a few more repeats. The Morning Surf Scarf is coming along for the Ply By Night group on Ravelry, and I still have the two scarves here to crochet on for the Traveling Scarves. Somewhere along the way, I've got to make a pair of socks for a friend, and finish another pair for someone else. The wheels are also busy lately. Right now, I'm ready to Navajo ply the last bobbin of "Mandy" on Millie, my Minstrel, and "Pie Toss" is waiting on Esme, my Sonata.

Nothing will get touched for a bit this evening, since I have a meeting to go to in Bristol. When I get home, I plan to devote some time to the shawl and hope to complete another repeat tonight. They are getting longer and longer to get across.

Shawl Knitting and Spinning Sunshine

Lately, I've been busy working on my Dragon Scale Shawl. As you see, it's progressing slowly. I started this in September, but haven't been faithful to it. Socks, traveling scarves, spinning and life have interrupted this poor project. Now, I am trying to be sort of monogamous until it's finished. I do have to knit up the Morning Surf Scarf for my Ply By Night group on Ravelry. The yarn, "You are My Sunshine" from Crown Mountain Farm, has been finished for about a week now, so it's time to knit it up. I also have a few more traveling scarves to do for the crochet group.



This past Friday night was a night of fun with some friends. A few of us went to Seven Moons for supper. I tried to stay on course after losing 6 pounds this week. I had a dish with chicken, pork, shrimp, and lots of veggies. It was served in a potato "straw basket", which I tasted, but left most of there. I also ate most of the meal with the chop sticks which made me eat slower.

The next day, Saturday, was our monthly spinners guild meeting. It was held at our new home, Slater Mill, in Pawtucket. The space is big, open, and bright. We are now part of the Slater Mill Community Guild which also includes guilds for basket makers, quilters, and knitting/crochet.

On my Sonata, there is currently some wool from Spunky Eclectic called "Pie Toss" being spun. This looks like the colors in the crust and berries of a pie. I needed a change from the Rambouillet I've been spinning for a while. Since I don't use the Sonata at home as often as the Minstrel, I've been working on the same fiber since September in a lace weight. Occasionally, it does get a workout at home, but usually it's my guild/group spinning wheel. I did take a break to spin the scarf yarn and now this one. I will finish the lace weight Rambouillet next. With the other fibers needing my attention, my Minstrel has been waiting for me to spin the last of the "Mandy" from Spunky. I wanted to finish this before January 1, but didn't quite make it. Here's hoping I get it done before February 1st.

The dogs are being quiet for a little bit. If Pooh hears a car, he's yapping. Hanna is gently snoring in the corner of the sofa with Pooh cuddled up to her. Tiger is stretched across the living room chair. His brother, Tipper, is draped over the arm of the chair with his 4 paws stretched out like he's hanging on. The rest are all in their favorite spots, snoozing away. I would love to have a little snooze too, but, then I won't sleep tonight.

It's time to head downstairs to the washer for the next load. Bye for now........

Goodbye 2008......Hello 2009

It's after 2 a.m, and, the ball has dropped in Time Square. It's a new year. Happy New Year everyone.

I'm not really making resolutions for 2009. Just going to try the usual of losing weight, and, try to get healthier. The only other thing is to work down my yarn/fiber stash and not buy as much. I'll still shop, just try to keep it under control better.

As I look back over 2008, I can see many things that didn't exactly happen as I expected. I knew I would retire in December of 2007, but it didn't really sink in until one morning after my wrist was considered healed and I didn't have to get up to go to work in a snow storm. I've adjusted quite well to being home and keep myself very occupied.

Another thing I didn't expect was to be as involved with my spinners guild. I never thought I would be the treasurer, but, I enjoy doing it. I have several good friends thanks to my two guilds. I've also gotten over being a bit shy with people I don't know thanks to all the demonstrating we did this past year. I thought I would learn to spin. Now, I can take a fleece freshly sheared off the sheep, skirt, wash, and process it, then dye it, and then spin it up. Never thought that was in the works for me. lol

One very important thing is I re-connected with my cousin Christina. We "talk" occasionally thanks to the Internet and can have glimpses into each other's lives. The one sad thing was the passing of my dog, Babs. She was very tired and old at the end. It was tough for her and she's at peace now. I still love and miss her though.

Well, 2009 has several things in store for me as well. Here's to a fantastic beginning and wonderful experiences.

Tuesday night was spent at Panera for Craft Night. There was Donna D. , Marva, Lisa P. (of Cranston), Cindy D., Judy, Carol, and myself. The knitting needles were flying. Cowls, sweaters, scarves, and shawls seemed to be the items of choice. No socks appeared on the needles which was a first for our group. lol Several members were away or unable to make it. It was a great nice with much talk, laughter and fun. Here's hoping everyone can meet up next week, "old" and "newer" Craft Night friends alike.

O.K. This old lady is tired, and heading to bed. Good night all. Sweet dreams.

Me, My Wheel, and the Same Old Fiber

Christmas is over for this year. I'm kind of glad since I really had a hard time having the holiday spirit this year. The tree never got put up over here even though it usually travels back and forth to the front hall to be safe from the felines when unattended.

After dishes were put in the dishwasher and food was put away, I asked Pat to do a bit of an adjustment, on my Sonata wheel, to my footman where it kept hitting. We think we figured out what is wrong, but if it doesn't work, I'll have to contact New Voyager since the problem started being persistent about 2 months after I had the wheel.

My plan was to knit on my shawl after dinner. I started spinning on the Sonata, to see if the adjustment was right. Well, I decided to try to finish the Rambouillet I've been spinning since September. I had 2 braids and it wants to be lace weight. Around 5 p.m. I started spinning. I took a couple of breaks, had a snack, checked the Internet, moved the wheel into the living room and watched a t.v. show with Pat while spinning.

Pat went to bed over an hour ago. I'm just finishing up now. It's now 2 a.m. and the bobbin is finally full enough. The first skein has been done for a while. I plyed it as a center pull bobbin. I have more to put on another bobbin, but, that is my plan for tomorrow night. I plan to do these 2 as a regular ply. I want to start a new fiber and refuse to until this is finished. Maybe I can finish the second bobbin by Saturday and put it aside to "rest" a few days.

Of course, I want to be able to add this to my finished UFOs for the year too. Maybe even the last of the "Mandy" from Spunky will make it off the wheel by December 31st.

Well, I'm tired, so goodnight everyone.

Happy Holidays To Everyone

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season and I wish you all a Happy New Year with lots of good blessings.

Pat and I did our gift exchange last night. I told him not to give me anything else since he already gave me my gifts earlier this month. He got me a nice card and there was cash inside. :) It's going toward some of the fiber I just bought.

Dinner was simple at my house. Roast Pork, mashed potatoes made with "Klondike Rose" potatoes which are a cross between Yukon Gold and Red Skinned one. Delicious. There was also gravy for the meat and taters as well as yellow squash, rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, ice cream with apple pie or apple/cranberry/raisin compote and soda and coffee. I made the compote so Pat would have a nice dessert and all three of us liked it. I didn't over eat, had some of the compote, but no coffee. Pat helped me with the prep and cleanup. The dishwasher has finished, I've been spinning some more of my Rambouillet trying to finish that, and now want a nap.

Snow, Snow, and More Snow.......

If I look out my window I will see snow lit by the night sky, still white, sparkly, and pure. No footprints or snow blower tracks, except where the sidewalks and drives were cleared. There's about a foot of snow blanketing the cold frozen ground. I love the peacefulness of the time after the snowstorm has stopped and people haven't really touched the scenery yet. Tomorrow, the kids will be sliding and playing in it. Cars will be getting it dirty from their exhaust, and dogs will be giving it the golden glow you don't want to touch.

Last winter I loved not having to go out in the morning and worrying about getting home in the afternoon due to bad weather. Now, I look out the window and go back to bed to sleep. When it snows, I don't leave the house if I don't have to. The idea of driving in it terrifies me.

This is perfect weather to snuggle up on the couch or your favorite chair with some knitting, a cup of tea, and a good movie playing. You could also sit and spin for a bit. That's my plan for tomorrow night after I go get my Christmas dinner items. I'll be on the sofa with my Dragon Scale Shawl, tea, and maybe "Northanger Abbey" in the DVD player. That's a lovely way to spend my evening.

Happy Hanakah everyone.

A Night Of "Firsts"

Tonight was a lot of fun. Instead of going to our usual Wednesday night at Panera's, Marva and I joined Sarah at the Providence group at Reflections Coffee Shop.

Before we headed over there, the three of us went for supper. It had been decided by Sarah and Marva the menu was to be sushi. Now, I've never had sushi. I don't think I could deal with the raw fish aspect. Luckily for me, there was also cooked food on the menu. I ended up with a seafood and veggie Tempura platter that was absolutely delicious. The batter was not the usual heavy thick breaded kind. It was light and not greasy at all. I'm glad I didn't choose the meal because I couldn't finish the a la carte selection. I brought most of the veggies home. I did try a piece of Sarah's cooked sushi and liked it very much. There was no fork on the table, just chopsticks. Marva told me they would bring me a fork if I wanted one, but I wanted to try using the chopsticks.

So that's three "firsts" for me: meeting a new knitting/craft group, eating sushi, and learning to use chopsticks. By the way, I didn't do too bad using the chopsticks.

One of the traveling scarves was worked on while sipping coffee at the shop and will be heading out tomorrow if I can get to the Post Office. Friday is suppose to be a snowy day with 4 to 8 inches projected overnight into Saturday morning. Brrr. Winter is here.

Post Office Package Pick Up...

In response to the inquiries in the comments.....Yes there was goodies at the Post Office for me. I got my monthly fiber club from CJKopec and a skein of yarn I had bought from a destash on Ravelry. That's it. As for yesterday and today....Nothing.

Parties and Plays, Nanner Socks, Crochet Scarves, Dragon Shawls.....

Thursday night was my Knitting/Crochet guild party. We had a Yankee Swap and I got a couple of nice cutting boards I really needed. My other two glass ones do double duty as hot plates on the table. We had some wonderful fun and laughs during the swap and the munchies were delicious.

Saturday was my Spinners guild party. We had an ornament swap, bazaar, and lots of food and fun. The ornaments are put on the tree with a number then a box was passed around and you chose a number. You got the matching ornament. I got an adorable miniature sweater and hanger. It's so cute. It may have to sit on my desk with a few other creatures and items after the holidays. I made the sausage, potato, peppers and onion dish and everyone liked it. I make it often since it's so easy to make and Pat always likes it. I'm still spinning the second braid of the same fiber I started in September. I think it's going to get finished at home before January's meeting. I'm getting tired of looking at it every time I pull out the wheel. I started this at Slater Mill during a demo. It is spinning lace weight so that could be why it's taking so long. After the party, several of us went to see "A Christmas Carol" performed in Foster. It was a wonderful rendition of the story with several funny parts.

Well, the Nanner Socks are finally finished on Sunday! When I put them on again, they are about a half inch or so longer at the toe than I need, but that's o.k. since I don't like my toes squished. Now I need to make a pair of socks for a friend who only wears a size 5 1/2. Should go quickly compared to my size 10s.

I've also got 2 scarves here I need to crochet on, but my hands have been bothering me a bit the last couple of days. Crocheting increases the discomfort so I have been holding back on the scarves. I will at least put the yarn with each scarf so it will be ready when my hands co-operate a bit better.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Shawl is now my priority project to finish. I don't do well in public knitting with this since it is lace and I tend to lose my place in the pattern if I don't concentrate on it.

I'm off to pick up some packages I hope are at the Post Office. Then I have a few items for the market that Pat has asked me to grab for him. Have a great night............

First Snow, Spinning and Knitting, More Shopping

We had the first snow of the season. It didn't quite cover the ground. The grass was still peeking out from underneath. More is projected for this weekend. I hope not because I have plans for Saturday to go to the Spinners Guild meeting/party and then a play that evening. I'm planning to bring the sausage, potato, peppers and onions casserole Pat loves so much. Of course, I have to make him some too.

I've been hand carding, spinning, and getting ready to knit some of the fiber for the charity hats. I hope to finish it in time for Saturday when I can give it to Jean for the collection. If I don't quite make it, I know I can give it to her later. Also the Nanner Socks are just about at the rib. I just need to finish the last repeat of the pattern. My Group 9 Traveling Scarves are finished. Mine returned home a little over a week ago. It's very nice and I'll post a picture as soon as I can get one. My Group 38 Crochet Sideways scarves are moving again. I have 2 on the way here. I need to run by the Post Office anyway and maybe they are waiting for me today. That would be good so I can hopefully get them out to the next person by next week.

I've been shopping some more. My Copperpot Woolies order came in the same time as my CJKopec order did. I have another order coming from Loop as well as The Loopy Ewe.

Christmas shopping is almost finished. I just need to take care of my husband's gift. He keeps telling me not to get him anything. Just a card. We go through this every year, and I never listen. Usually, I get him gift certificates that I know he will use. The funny thing is, he has one he can't find. It's for Back to Basics for his special foods. I think it was a good one because he can get a lot of gluten free foods there.

Well, I need to get ready to go out and do some more errands. Tonight is Knit Night at Sue's shop. Marva and I are planning to head up there and I need to pick her up at 5:30 from work. See ya later.......

Early Bird Shopping...Kitty Sneezes...Mail Call....

Four a.m. came earlier than I wanted. I couldn't sleep and finally nodded off at about 1:30. I crawled out of bed at 4:05, washed my face, threw on some clothes and combed my hair. I'm ready. Out the door at 4:15. Then I sat in the parking lot of Circuit City until the doors opened at 5. I only picked up a few movies. Pat was at Pepboy's and got me my GPS, which I love. After I left the store, Dunkin Donuts was the next stop where I grabbed a coffee and croissant with egg and headed for JoAnne's to sit in their parking lot until 6. I picked up several different flannels to make night gowns or maybe just t-shirt tops, a couple of bins, some Wooly Nylon to use in my sock knitting, and a rolling knitting cart. Everything was on sale except the knitting cart, but I had a 50% off coupon for that. When I checked out, I also got to use a 20% off coupon for your entire order. I saved a bundle! Last night I stopped by Ocean State Job Lot and picked up a new bigger scale and thermometer to use with the fiber and dyeing.

After coming home, and calling the vet, a short nap of an hour was next on the list. At 10:30, I headed out to pick up some meds for Megan. She has started sneezing and I don't want everyone to catch it. I played with the GPS and love how it tracked the trip.

The post office was my last stop on the way home. Goodies galore!! My packages were in a big locker and it was stuffed! My fiber from Flawful Fibers was there, along with my latest Loopy Ewe order. The bag with the "Sterling" from Kraemer Yarns was snuggled next to my bag from Loop . And the final package was from my upstream Traveling Scarf partner. It was another scarf for me to work on and .... ta da! ... my scarf is home! It looks really nice and everyone used the colors I said I like.

Well, gotta head out the door to Jean's house and then to the spin-in at Iris's. Hope to see some of you there.

Bye for now.

Happy Thanksgiving...Early Morning Shopping Planned...Alpaca Fiber

My day started with the bird being prepped and put in the oven. With the smell of roasting turkey, I did a quick housecleaning, and prepared the veggies. With help from Pat, the potatoes, turnips, carrots, celery and onions for the stuffing, were all chopped and cut to the sizes I needed. I made bacon cheddar mashed potatoes with red potatoes, broccoli, turnip and carrots, 2 kinds of stuffing, 2 gravies, rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, and butternut squash. Dessert was apple pie a la mode and coffee. I skipped the last part. :)

After the loading of the dishwasher and meal clean up, I managed to Navajo ply 3/4 of a bobbin on the Minstrel. The drive band decided to snap, so that took some time to replace, but, it's working fine now. Tomorrow afternoon will be spent finishing the bobbin. The fiber is BFL from Spunky Eclectic in "Mandy". I still have one braid of the original three of that fiber to spin.

My alpaca fiber from Silver Sun Alpaca came in a couple of days ago, and my Loop order is on the way.

I'm heading to bed now so I can be at the stores for the 5 a.m. sales. I don't know if I will get any of the stuff on my list, but, I will check a few places out. If anyone is going to attempt the Black Friday Crazee, have fun.

My stomach is still full. Goodnight.

Meetings, Show and Tell, and Christmas in November

I'll start with the meetings part. First I went to the spinning guild meeting where we did a show and tell of the stuff we learned and bought. This was fun because I got to see some new to me goodies and techniques. Shawl pins, scarves which were knit or woven, and lessons learned were all shared. I talked about the classes I took, passed around the dyed fibers, and showed the lazy kate Pat had made me. I'm trying to talk him into making a couple more lazy kates, but, he really doesn't want to.

Wednesday of this week was our usual craft night at Panera. A few people were missing due to prior commitments, but most of us were there. I was teased about cheating with the shopping ban because Pat bought me goodies and I didn't have to pay him back. They didn't count. The girls insisted I cheated. lol

Nancy was working on a sewing projects she is teaching her students at school. They are cute baby/toddler hats made of felt. Pam is taking a break from socks to make another Baby Surprise Jacket. She knits them up so fast, I'm sure it was done by today. Sarah was making a Morning Wave scarf in some of her handspun in a pretty sparkly cranberry red. Lisa is on the finishing side of her light blue and white variegated baby blanket for a friend. Marva is in working toward finishing her scarf in a deep green. And I was fussing with my Nanner sock. Everything I did I had to pull out when I got home. Somehow I had 12 extra stitches after finishing the heel flap. It's now fixed, and on the leg.

I did manage to mess up the leg and forget to put the pattern in the back. That meant redoing 8 rows. Here's hoping I can finish them this weekend. I only have a repeat and a half to match the first one. Then I will knit them at the same time until I run out of yarn.

Now for the Christmas in November part. Since my shopping ban is lifted, I had fun online. Now, I can shop now without restrictions. I visited Crown Mountain Farms and bought some sock yarn. Grafton Fibers was having a buy 2 get a 3rd selection free sale, so I now have some batts from there. Then I stopped at CJKopec's Etsy store and fell in love with a new color blend called Pucker and decided to grab it. Also making it's way into my cart were Candy Clouds and Rosey N Mick. I had 4 ounces of Rosey N Mick, but, decided to grab 4 more. Also arriving at the house was my monthly fiber club from CJ. It's called Jammin Nanners and is a wonderful blend of fiber with a fantastic shine from the silk in it. My fiber club from DkKnits also came in at the same time. There is my November and December fiber along with some terrific goodies. I don't want to go into details because some people haven't got their packages yet. Then my Happy Housewife soaps showed up. These are for sale over at LimeNViolet's store. Some scents are limited and some are stock. I got two bars each of Cherry Sugar and Blueberry-Guava. There are also yummy sniffies to match some of the soaps as well as different scents. There are a few series as well as a scent club. I'm in the cupcake club .

Did I mention all this stuff arrived today??? Pat offered to go to the post office for me. He said "Your packages are on the table." I thought he meant two items. Wow, did I get a surprise when I walked into the kitchen. ha-ha

Not yet here is my purchase from Silversunalpacas for some Daffodails which is a alpaca, mohair, and wool blend and looks like daffodils in the woods. Also there is a little purchase from Loop on it's way. Just 2 twin blue batts and some Angelina.

Last week I became a Loopy Groupie over at The Loopy Ewe, so I got my 6th order and loopy groupie goody bag from them as well.

That's it. No more shopping to report. I think I've made up for the ban.

Yes, Sarah and Marva, I will spin and not just pet the fiber. :)

Happy, Tired, and Sneezy

I had a wonderful time at the Gathering this past weekend and can't wait for the Open House next year. The first class was a dyeing class. I learned several new techniques and came home with four 2 ounce pieces of roving to spin. Here's some pictures. The first is dip dyed, second was actually the result of too much dye which blended together, third is dip the middle and then the two ends, fourth was chained fiber that was dyed and set.



One class was Spinning "New Wave" fibers like soysilk, bamboo, tencel, Ingeo, Angelina, and several other fibers. The third and final class was Blending Natural Fibers like wool, cashmere, camel, alpaca, silk, cotton and a few others. Doing different percentages gives different results. I learned so much from all these classes. I know my spinning will be better because of them.

Of course I came home tired, with my head spinning with fiber possibilities. My hands are itching to start something new, but, the bobbins must be emptied first.

Last night was the Knitting Guild meeting which was held at Bella Yarns. It was my first time there. I only picked up some buttons and two skeins of Lamb's Pride to use for a hat.

The other thing I came home this weekend with is a cold. Big doses of zinc and vitamin C are helping me get over it faster. I should be fine by the weekend. As a matter of fact, I think I'll call it a night. Extra rest is also very helpful. Goodnight............

Packed and Ready to Go To the Gathering

The day is finally here!! Yippee!! Everything is packed, waiting for Sandi to pick me up. I hope I haven't forgot anything.

Then it's a weekend of spinning fun. See you when I get back.

Wishing Time Away...

I'm wishing it was Friday already since I'm ready to go to the Gathering in 3 days. I just need to actually put the clothes in the suitcase and a couple of things in my tote bag. The sausage/pepper/potatoes will get cooked Thursday night for Pat to eat on Friday and Saturday. I'm also making him a Shepard Pie for tomorrow and Thursday.

Well, I'm off to vote and run a couple of errands.....

Happy Halloween Everyone!

The candy is given out as much as it's going to be. There's a bit left over, but, I'm giving that to Pat. After the third child was very rude, yelling "Give me some candy" in a very demanding voice, I called it a night. There was one more little girl coming toward my house. She was about 18 months old. I don't know if her hand was covered for a reason or missing. She was adorable and very sweet. I gave her and her parents the last 4 packs of M&Ms I had in the bowl and said have a nice night.

Now the street is quiet and the dogs have calmed down, so I think I will sit here and fix the mistake I made in my Nanner sock while giving out the candy. Then it's going to be an early night.

Tomorrow is the monthly Spin-in at Sue's shop. It's actually October's since she backed it up a week for her schedule. I am riding up with Jean and Lisa from Cranston.

My new picker came in today by UPS. It's a good size, but, unfinished. I think I will have Pat stain it to match my wheels like he is doing for the lazy kate and swift he is making for me.

Tick, Tick, Goes the Clock .... Dragons....

It's ten days until the Gathering. I'm getting excited. I need to finish emptying those bobbins for my Sonata. Some will get finished at Sue's on Saturday. Pat is busy building me a lazy kate and staining the extra bobbins I bought. I plan to take as many bobbins as I can just in case.

Of course, I always tend to over pack whenever I go away for a couple of days. This time, I'm trying to control what goes in the bag. I figure 2 complete sets of clothes, a nightgown, toiletries and meds. As for the spinning stuff, the wheel and it's accessories are ready. I'm going to carry the straw basket to bring my niddy noddy, ball winder, swift, combs and handcarders, a couple of towels for the dye class and any other item I can think of needing. Oh, and a bit of fiber for the spin in during the evenings. I might throw the socks I'm knitting in there too. They won't be done by then, I'm sure. I think that's all I need to bring.

I'm still playing with the Dragons at Dragon Cave. I have one more to grow up to adulthood in the next couple of days. I'm not going to get any eggs now because I won't be here to work with them.

I am thinking of getting a lap top computer to take with me when I'm not home. Right now, I'm weighing the actual amount of use it would get versus the expense. I don't need a fancy one. Hmmm, need to think some more about that one.

Well, I'm heading into bed now. I've managed to get almost all of the first repeat of the lace on the Nanner Sock 2 done tonight. I started knitting later than usual, so didn't accomplish as much as I would have liked. Maybe tomorrow I can get a couple of complete repeats in. I really should take a little time to work on the Dragons Scale Shawl too. It's been sitting in it's bag for a while with very little attention lately.

Good night, everyone.

Latest Knitting and Spinning Update

I posted all those pics in the previous post, and didn't mention my latest progress on my projects.

All Traveling Scarves from both my groups have been sent to their respective downstream partners. As you know there was a deluge from my first group as we play catch up. My scarf has only a few more stops before she returns home to me. In the pictures on Ravelry, it looks pretty. My other group, crochet sideways scarf, is moving speedily along. My upstream is a fast worker. I am having a bit of a problem with these scarves though. Due to my right wrist, thumb, and tendon problem, I can only crochet of about 30 minutes before it becomes too painful. I think it's the way the hook rests on my hand like a pencil. I tried holding it like a hoe or scoop, but that put more pressure. I just take a bit longer than I would like to complete any crocheting right now. I can knit much longer, and spinning doesn't seem to bother it at all.

With the scarves caught up, I can turn my attention back to my projects. Right now, I'm on the leg of my first Nanner Sock. I struggled my way through the short row heel and have no holes. Yay! I hope to finish it by the end of the weekend if no scarves arrive. This has been a good learning experience for me,also. From the toe up pattern, magic loop method, turkish cast on, and short row heel, it's an interesting and challenging project for me.

The Dragon Scales Shawl is growing slowly, also. I have been alternating it with the socks. It's not a good group project for me since I can mess up lace easily. I took it to craft night, but, didn't work on it. My Nanner sock heel was the project of the night.

As for spinning, I'm trying to empty a couple of bobbins this week as well. I have one almost full on each of my 2 wheels, one ready to ply, and another partially full. If I can ply up the 3 that are ready, and empty the fourth, I should be all set. Pat hasn't had a chance to stain the ones I got from Copper Moose yet. He plans to do that tomorrow, Saturday, in the afternoon since it's going to rain. He's also building me a tensioned Lazy Kate that will work better than my basket one. The basket keeps breaking little pieces off where the knitting needles rest if too much pressure is applied to them. I think the wood is very weak. It did it's job, though when I wanted it to. I will probably keep it for holding my bobbins in at home. I broke another bobbin, too. That's 2 or my original 3 with the metal cores, now. It's a good thing I ordered the extra ones from Copper Moose. At this rate I won't have any of the others left. lol The bobbin was sitting on top of the basket and somehow the whole thing got knocked over. I think a cat might have tapped and off balanced it. Anyway, Pat glued it for me, since it didn't break all the way through. I can still use it until it gets to where it can't be salvaged any more. The first casualty is still usable and spinning as if nothing was ever broken on it.

I am going to process the challenge fiber tonight and hopefully get that spun before the Gathering so I can knit a hat in the evenings there. I need to finish that project before the next meeting when we need to gather all of the hats together.

Well, that's it for projects right now. I'm off to work on finishing that last bit on the Minstrel, and then the Sonata..........

Dye Day and Summer Demo Yarn Pictures

Be warned that there are quite a few pictures this time. I finally got around to downloading the pictures from this summer as well as taking a couple of the yarn and fiber I did on the last dye day a few weeks ago.

First, here's some of the yarns spun or plyed at Washington County Fair back in August. Please bear in mind these pictures are before I washed the yarns, so they look a little fluffier now.
This is the kool ade I solar dyed in the pickle jar. I had spun it at home, and Navajo plyed it at the fair.


This is from DkKnits, "Mandeville Trellis". I spun the first bobbin at home, and Navajo plyed it at the fair. I started the second bobbin on the last day of the fair, but, don't have a pic of that one.


The next one I had spun back in June, but, had to learn to Navajo ply before I could finish it. I think it came out really nice. It's from Allspunup and I've named it "Beach". It's also my June fiber for the Spinner Central monthly fiber on Ravelry.


This one is the BFL and Silk I dyed with some friends last spring. I named it in memory of my mother, "Evelyn's Roses". The BFL was spun at home in July, and the Silk was spun at the fair. Both skeins were plyed at the fair. The front skein is 1 ply silk, and 1 ply BFL. The back skein is a 2-ply BFL.


Here is the latest attempt at dyeing fiber. It's Rambouillet I bought from Flawfulfibers and I just love how this fiber feels when you spin it. It practically spins by itself, letting me do a modified long draw. I've named this one "Pansies in the Sun". The color in the pic is a bit off. The purple looks blue and the raspberry pink looks purple. The purple skein is a 50/50 blend of Merino/Silk dyed in 3 shades of purple. One has a blue undertone. I love the shine from the silk. It is an extremely squishy yarn.

Impromptu Dye Day, Smith Castle Harvest Fair, Tunis Fleece Washing

Last Sunday, Oct. 12th, was a beautiful, sunny day without a rain cloud anywhere in sight. I spent the day with a couple of friends, our wheels, and knitting. Of course, fiber and yarns were brought along just in case the dye pot came out. It did. I made a beautiful tri-shaded purple yarn I'm naming "Purple Passion" and then 4 ounces of Rambouillet fiber in a bright happy yellow, purple, and raspberry. Where the colors met, greens and oranges were created. This is called "Pansies in the Sun". After we finished setting up the second round on the steamers, we took a ride and after meeting up with another friend, decided to stop at a New York Pizza restaurant. Delicious pizza and garlic bumps were served fresh from the oven, piping hot, along with cold sodas. After that we headed back and packed up for the day.

Wednesday was Craft Night as usual at Panera. Again, it was a small group. I think some of the missing friends will be back this week. One was in Italy on vacation and I know she will have stories to tell.

This past Saturday was another impromptu adventure. Marva and I were going to head to the Fiber Hop event in Hopkinton/Hope Valley. Instead, since we had a late start, we decided to check out Smith Castle's Harvest Fair. Several familiar faces were demonstrating and selling things. We ran into the lady, Janet Austin, who gave our Tapestry Workshop last spring. Jonne was there with one of his wheels demonstrating. One of the nurses I used to work with was doing a candle dipping demo. Also, there was natural dyeing, a blacksmith demo, soap, jewelry, alpacas and fiber/yarn, fresh cheese, bread, johnny cakes, apple cider, and of course, the Museum. Many people were in period dress. I think it made the event more festive.We were there until 4 p.m. and had a great time. An invitation was issued for the RI Spinners Guild to come to the Strawberry Festival in May and the next Harvest Festival in 2009 to do demonstrations.

Today, I washed another fleece. This one was the Tunis and is a pretty creamy color. It's not really white, but, more of a soft buttery color. It's drying downstairs since it's too cold to process anything outside now or leave in the shed to dry. We used a pump to empty the bins after the washings and the rinses were done in the washer.

That's it for now. I am going to head down to the drug store to get my meds and then call it a night. Have an enjoyable evening. :)

Fence Installation, Another Scarf is Sent Traveling, and Spinners Guild Meeting

The sun was barely up this morning when Pat got me out of bed to help him with the new fence. We started at 6:45 and worked until about 10 a.m. with the result of 6 sections installed as well as the connector to the house. Now one side is finished. Did I mention these are 8 foot sections??? I was so tired, I had to take a power nap which turned into an hour. Of course, the other reason I was so tired was I just couldn't sleep last night. I think I got 4 hours.

I hope we can get the other side installed next week, and then the gate can be put up. This will enclose the yard, keeping unintended visitors of the 2 and 4 legged variety from straying into it. It will also give me great privacy if I wish to sit out with my wheel while the weather is nice. The back has a chain link for now, but will be receiving a stockade later. The dogs are going to love running and frolicking once it's finished. Next comes the deck. Yippee!!

I rushed after waking up to get showered and dressed to head out to the post office and mail another Traveling Scarf on it's way.

Then it was time to head down to Gilbert Stuart Museum in South County for our meeting. The fall foliage is starting to show it's glorious self and the ride was very soothing. It's a true wonder to watch nature at work.

I got there with 5 minutes to spare. It was nice to see so many friends again and listen to the wheels whirr away. Since we have so many new members, and continue to grow, we went around the room and introduced and gave a little history about ourselves.

Two members, Dave W. and Richard, had their wheels set up to give us great demonstrations and tutorials in flax preparation and spinning. It was quite interesting to see it up close. Dave had done a demo at Coggeshall Farm last month, but, I didn't get to really see it. I don't think I will actually work with this fiber in the near future, but, it is nice to understand it better.

All the Pretty Colors in My Head, A Quiet Craft Night

Well, as far as washing the fleece and getting the scarves out of here are concerned - it didn't happen. I got busy with other stuff and none of that was accomplished.

Craft night was quiet with only Lisa, Marva, and myself. I worked on my Dragon Scales Shawl only to have to frog back over two rows to fix a mistake. Marva was working on a pretty new scarf pattern she had just got, and Lisa was working on an adorable baby blanket. There was much counting and a bit of frogging from all of us.

Today was a doctor's appointment. Not a biggie, just an annual. Everything is fine. I did mention my funky moods the other day. She thinks it's just my age and tried to attribute it to my being home. I explained that I have a busier social life now than when I worked. I'm not going to worry about it.

I did do a bit of spinning on the Minstrel, since I really want to empty out both of those bobbins and return them to the Sonata.

Now, the colors in my head are in regard to some dyeing I want to do. I've come up with about eight different themes, mostly centered around winter and the holidays. I have Merino, BFL, Rambouillet, silk, bamboo, and Corriedale all here I could dye up. Plus sock yarns. I just need to order the dyes to get started.

Pat has said I can use the small room in the basement for my stuff, so I think I will use it as a dyeing studio. It's away from the animals and I won't have to worry about them being safe from the chemicals and things. The lighting is good and has plenty of outlets to plug things into.. My glass studio will have to stay upstairs though. The room isn't big enough to handle both things. I might have him hook the phone line back up in there as well so I will have a phone handy while down there and not have to run upstairs for it. There's a sink in the laundry room that will work.

Well I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow is housework day and the never ending laundry will be needing attention again too.

Jane Austen Quiz

I joined the "Jane Austen Book Club" group on Ravelry and this quiz was posted in a thread. I had took it a while ago and am still the same character.

Take the Quiz here!

Feeling Better and Plugging Along on Projects

Today finds me in a better frame of mind and spirit. I've got an appointment in an hour at the podiatrist and will feel better after dealing with that. I'm taking my Nanner Sock with me to work on in the waiting room, just in case. Usually I get in rather quickly there, but, you never know. After posting last night, it took me another 2 hours to finally get to bed. I started doing a couple of things and the next thing I knew Pat was home.

The plan is to wash a fleece tomorrow and get that out of the way. If I can get to it, I'm going to set my drum carder up tonight and work on some of the fiber I have in the bins that need processing.

The crochet scarf is also on the agenda for tonight. I would like to drop that one in the mail tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, there won't be one waiting for me so I can catch up with the last knit one. That one will be going to Craft Night with me I think.

Well, I need to get ready to go to the doctor so I'll see you all later......

Fiber Update and a Whiny Post, So Be Warned....

Yesterday was the National Spin/Weave/Knit event at Slater Mill. Several basket makers, quilters, knitters, crocheters, weavers, and spinners were all present demonstrating their love of textiles crafts. It was great to meet so many people there from Ravelry, and see and catch up with friends not visited in a long time. I finally got to meet Guido from It's a Purl Man Podcast. He and his wife were very nice to talk to. Three more people have joined the RI Spinners Guild as well. It was a fun day with about a half bobbin filled of the Ramboullet fiber I started last month at Sue's Sit and Spin. I hope to finish that one this weekend maybe at my Spinners Guild meeting Saturday. The plan is to then get back to a couple of other bobbins awaiting plying. One from a center pull ball, and the other a 2-ply of an alpaca single and a wool single which were spun back in May. The Minstrel still has part of the 12 ounces of BFL from Spunky Eclectic in "Mandy" on it. Here's hoping I get a bit more of that done too, since my Sonata bobbins are tied up in that fiber by accident. If possible, and Mother Nature permits, I want to wash another fleece Friday or Sunday. I just need to to do the wash part outside. I don't like to let the grease/lanolin go down my pipes. The rinses I do in the washer, then lay the fiber on elevated screens to dry.

Several Traveling Scarves have been knit or crocheted on lately and headed to their next destination as well. I have one of each sitting here today and plan to finish them both by Thursday or Friday. The crochet is next since a knit one went out today. As for my own knitting, it's sitting on the sidelines while I tend to the scarves and spinning.

For the last few weeks my hand has been sore. This is the hand in which I have a tendinitis type thing from the broken wrist last winter. The cortisone is mostly worn off and this is the cause of the pain. I can only crochet for about thirty minutes and have to stop, put the ice or heat on and rest it. It's not bad with the knitting or spinning. Jars are very hard to open, baskets and things are difficult to carry, and trying to pick up a cat or dog is tricky. Groceries are carried on the left arm and take a few trips to the car.

In the morning I have to do range of motion and sometimes the pain makes me catch my breath. Calling the doctor won't really help. He will just advise me to do what I already am. Of course, this is also my dominant hand and writing can also be awkward at times if the pain starts.

I dread the onset of winter because my hands and feet are always cold. This started about 7 years ago when I learned I was diabetic.

Tonight I'm in a funky mood. Earlier I was fine, then cranky, now mopey. I don't know what's wrong with me today. I don't feel sick, just don't want to be bothered. Little things are aggravating me for no reason. Uggh! Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. I also have a sore toe and am going to the podiatrist tomorrow to have a procedure to take care of it.

Well, that's enough whining for one night. I think I will straighten out the desk and call it an early night for me. It's only a bit after 11:00, but I think I'm ready to snooze. Good night all........

A New Spin Group and The Gremlins Strike Again.....

I was invited to the Bayberry Spinners meeting last night. It was fun to see so many familiar faces again. My wheel was making a clunky noise, so when I got home it got a thorough cleaning. Pat looked at it, and tried a few things. First, he tried to tighten the footman arm at the top. The brass piece is kind of loose, but I think it's better now. Then he took the right treadle apart and tightened one of the screws which was a bit higher than the others, checked the hinge, oiled it and put it back together. Well it was still making a noise, but a little different. He adjusted something else and now Esmeralda is quiet again. And boy was it dirty in the hinges. I think originally a piece of sand or a pebble might have been stuck from when I was at the demos outside. There was some stuff on the table after we did the treadle.

As I've mentioned before, there are gremlins living in my house stealing knitting needles. Well, I think they have advanced to bigger things. I searched last night for bobbins after realizing I didn't have one to ply with on the Sonata. I know I have 5 for this wheel. Finally about an hour ago, I found the last one. One's on the wheel, one is full waiting for plying, one is in another fiber started, and one is on the Minstrel. I wasn't thinking when I went back to spin on Millicent and started a new bobbin, using my other nylon core one. Duh! I've got 6 metal core sitting here empty. Now, I need to finish up something in order to ply on the Sonata. Of course, I could take the bobbin off the Minstrel and use one of the metal core bobbins for it. Hmmm, might be a good idea.

By the way, the Gremlins still have not returned the circulars or my Dolphin shaped notions case......

Harvest Fair, Swamp Yankee Days, Fiber Twist, Sunshine, and Rain...

On Saturday, Sept 20th I was at Coggeshall Farm with my spinner friends for a demo. It was a bit cool in the morning, but the day quickly warmed up. We were under a period replica tent and awning so the sunshine was not beating on us too much. Some actually sat out and enjoyed the warmth of the day. If I did that, I would be red as a tomato. It was good to see some people I hadn't seen since the RI Sheep and Wool Festival last May, or even since the retreat last February.

I managed to get a good portion of the same fiber I've been spinning on my Sonata done. It's the "good and plenty" from DkKnits.

There were many period activities for children including a rope ladder over hay bales and a magician. Food was available and several people said was very good. I'm trying to stay on my diet plan, so brought my lunch with me.

Sunday was spent with my husband. We went to the Mansfield CT Flea Market where I scored a luggage carrier to roll my wheel bag, chair, and tote bag around with instead of carrying it across fields and such. At another spot I found a nice big stainless steel stock pot for dyeing. Pat found a couple of tools and some hinges to use on the new fence gate. From there, we headed 6 miles up the road to the Coventry Farmer's Market and Fiber Twist. He bought me some fiber from the Painted Sheep, and after resting in the car a bit, we went back in to watch the dyeing demo by her. Sandi, Marva, and Lisa had rode up together, and Gigi was there with her husband and baby too. It was a sunshine, fiber, and friend filled day.

On Sunday evening I had a sore throat. By Monday morning I had trouble taking deep breaths. My husband wanted me to get checked out on Tuesday, but I waited until Wednesday to see my own doctor. My heart is fine. It was a bug in the lungs that is going around. It makes it hard to breath in a deep breath. Also, upon moving too much or too fast, I was short winded. I'm fine now, but, it took a few days resting. The only other thing is I'm having a good amount of pain in the right hand from the cortisone wearing off. I'm trying not to call the doctor yet. The exercises and night brace do help in the morning. Unfortunately, this does cut down on my spin, knit, and crochet time.

Then last weekend was Swamp Yankee Days. Thanks to a few tropical storms, and a nor'easter, it was decided that next year would be a better choice. My plan was to go on Sunday. I heard the puddles were the size of small lakes or ponds on Monday. I can only imagine how it looked and felt on the weekend. I had already decided to skip the Saturday because it was the monthly Sit and Spin at Sue's.

Judy, Cindy, Iris, Paula, Marva and myself spent some enjoyable time together with Sue. I managed to finish the fiber I was working on at Coggeshall Farm and start my first try at Ramboullet. This fiber wants to almost spin by itself. I'm managing sort of a modified long draw at times. Here's hoping I can finish it this week and ply the aforementioned fiber. I'm leaning toward a 2 ply with that since there are so many colors, Navajo ply will not preserve the color repeats and may muddy it too much.

I did manage to mail out 2 knitted and 1 crocheted Traveling Scarves. I have another ready to go, maybe today if I get to the Post Office.

Spinning on My Spindle, Demonstrating, Learning New Things

Saturday was a fun filled day of demonstrating at Casey Farm at the Farmer's Market. With the weather being unpredictable, I did bring my Golding spindle as well as my wheel. The wheel stayed snug and dry in my trunk because the clouds were overhead the whole morning.

After the Farmer's Market, many of us met up at Iris' and Dave's for a progressive meeting which included a lesson in Portuguese knitting. I like this method very much because my hands don't feel the stress as much as they do with my English style knitting. I plan to make something using this style in the near future. There was lots of good food, company, and conversation as always whenever we get together.

When I got home, there were more sheep to add to my little flock of stitch markers. They are so adorable. One is lavender. If I can let them go, a couple are destined for travels.

Sunday was a quiet day at home with Pat. We did the usual running to the market, errands, house things, and just relaxed a bit.

I'm still knitting on the Dragon Scales Shawl and Nanner Socks. On Friday, I found my size 1 30 inch circular needle, so I transferred from the size 0 24 inch circular needle and it is much easier to navigate the stitches without stretching them. I've not felt that great lately, so my knitting has suffered a bit.

Tonight, I plan to work on the shawl for a bit, but, need to make something for supper first. Also, I need to throw the laundry in the washer.....

Meeting Old Friends and Sharing Good Times

Wednesday night was the usual Craft Night with most of the regulars. A few were sadly missed, but, hopefully they will make it again soon.

Tonight was the monthly Knitting and Crochet Guild meeting. It was nice to see everyone again after not being able to go to the July meeting and missing the August one. I need to pay attention to the fact that the October meeting is a week later due to a holiday that day.

I've been alternating between the Dragon Scales Shawl and the Nanner Sock. The sock is easier for me to work on when with friends. The lace of the shawl means I need to concentrate a bit more and can't talk or participate in my surroundings as easily.

Tomorrow will be a quiet day to work around the house and get caught up on some things I need to finish here. Maybe even wash a fleece.

Saturday, the Spinners Guild is going to be demonstrating at Casey Farm in the morning at the Farmer's Market, and then there's a progressive meeting at Iris and Dave's house in the afternoon to learn Portuguese knitting. I think I will bring my Golding spindle and my Grafton Fibers I got from the NH Sheep and Wool Festival, in case it rains. I don't think it would be a good idea to have the Sonata get wet while I try to put it back in the bag if it decides to downpour. I came home tonight and took the spindle out and played with it a little bit. It spins so smooth.

I got my sheep stitch markers in the mail yesterday and today. They are so adorable and I love them all. I can now say have a flock of sheep, even though they are pink. I also have one in white and one in cocoa brown.

Cloudy Days, Fun Afternoons With Friends, and Spinning

Today was a dreary, cloudy, rainy day. The rains were sporadic though, so it was possible to do some things without getting soaked. The main event for today was Sit and Spin at Sue's shop. Arriving about 11:30, we were met by many familiar faces. Several happy feet were treadling away as the conversation flowed back and forth and around the room. Fiber was fed to the spinning wheels almost as if second nature from our hands. Spindles also were twirling away. There were subtle naturals, shiny black and greys, and some bright colors. Knitting needles were busy as well. Some beautiful lace was progressing on the needles in a vibrant green. Of course, there was shopping done by some, but, I only bought a set of size 0 circs so I can start my Nanner sock. The Knit Picks needles are still lost to the gremlins here. When I looked at the clock it was 5:30. Where did the afternoon escape to???

After taking my friend Jean home, I drove home and went to run a few errands with Pat. The highlight of the evening was a simple supper of ham and beans with some sauteed onions added. Cut up watermelon was served for dessert. He also had some smoked sausage he recently discovered as gluten free. Now, it's time to relax and play with the animals before crawling into bed for a good sleep.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions......

While at Craft Night yesterday evening, I obtained the opinions of some knitting pals in regards to the bead selection and placement for my Dragon Scale Shawl. The final choice was the emerald green beads and scattered throughout the entire shawl. The other option was an iridescent bead and just beading the two scales on the ends all the way up. These beads seemed to disappear into the yarn color and just didn't work well. The other color, teal, was just the wrong shade. I get to start working on this next Thursday evening when football season officially begins.

My Spinning friend, Sarah, and her friend, Katie, came to Craft Night for the first time. We had an enjoyable evening of knitting and learning a new cast on. It's for the long tail cast on and gives a stretchier and much neater edge.

Another decision is in regards to the Butterfly Sock debacle. Sarah also suggested my first original option I posted about. I'm knitting the butterflies on a size larger needle, and returning to the original size to finish the sock. I still needed to frog sock 1 and rework it anyway. After working the butterflies of sock 2 I'm going to slide the stitches to a waste yarn, with the beginning stitch marked, and try it on. Here's hoping this works, otherwise, it's back to the drawing board and the one butterfly per leg option.

My size 1s and 0s circulars are hiding from me somewhere in my bedroom. I know they are there, just don't see them. The knitting gremlins are at work again. This meant I couldn't start the Nanner Socks as planned.

School opened so many of our regulars were not at Craft Night. I wish them many enjoyable and fulfilling days with the young minds they are helping grow and mentor.

A Hitchhiker, Finished Ravelympic Projects, a Sad Discovery, and a New KAL

Thursday was a nice day around here. Tiger and I headed to the vet's in the early afternoon, to have his ear checked, with very vocal protests from him. As I was about to turn onto the main road from the end of my street, I looked out my driver's window to see a little tiny yellow jacket bee on the glass. I hoped he would fly off before I got to the highway where I feared he would be squished from the wind. I tried slowing down so he would fly off. Nope, the little guy clung on with all his might. He finally flew off when I exited the highway and had to stop at the end of the exit. I hope he was o.k. Tiger did well at the vet and never saw the bee.

I finished the "test knit socks" for the WIP Wrestling for Team Splurk. They look o.k. I can't post a picture, since they have not been published yet.

Unfortunately, the Butterfly Sock has met a demise. I had finished the first sock a while ago and just never bothered to try it on. Well, sadly, it doesn't fit my big, fat, swollen foot. The plan is to revise the pattern so I can get it to fit me with looser stranding. I'm thinking of doing the stranded part on size 3 needles and the rest of the sock on my size 2's. The other option is to only put one butterfly instead of the four on the leg of the sock. Actually, now I think of it, this may be a better option. Stay tuned for further sock surgery.

I finished spinning the Mandevilla Trellis from DkKnits and it's so pretty. At this time, I'm not sure what it wants to be. After Navajo plying it, I have more than enough for socks, so maybe a nice scarf or lacy shoulder shawl.

I've been busy with my Dragon Cave eggs and hatchlings. There's a group on Ravelry now for them and a KAL/CAL has been started for a shawl. The two patterns are Dragon Scales Shawl for knit or Dragon Shawl for crochet. I chose the knit option, with DkKnits Dream yarn in Violet Vixen. To me, purple is a good dragon color. There's also a group started for people who don't really follow football season. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a sports enthusiast. The group is 2008 Football KAL and I'm doing the same shawl for that.

Well, I better go get the ball winder and swift out to get the yarn ready. The pattern is printed and waiting for me.......

And the Wheels Go Round and Round......

In an old wooden building with lots of antique farm and farmhouse equipment, the spinning wheels were turning round and round, creating beautiful yarns from soft, fluffy fiber. There were natural brown, beige, and white as well as bright solid and multi colored fibers. Some even had a bit of sparkle and shine to them. A few times the fiber was silk. For five days the wheels spun and produced some beautiful yarns, which were displayed on the wall behind the display table. On the table were scarves, shawls, and socks, knitted or crocheted by the demonstrators. Also cakes of fiber processed at the mill to show some of the beauty that can be created with handpainted or handspun yarns and fiber. My Swallowtail Shawl was pinned to the wall too.



There was a tri-loom set up and a triangular shawl was worked on during the fair, with the finished item draped across a screen to show the pretty colors and design. There were squares of color in the finished item causing it to have a checkered look. The black fiber with the bits of color matched well with the purple.

On the floor loom, a complete set of place mats was created as well as an extra as a centerpiece. A soft scarf was also woven from a wool and alpaca blend incorporating some very tiny beads into the finished item.

There was a table with fluffy white wool, spindles, handcarders, and some small looms for people to try. It was a very inviting area.

During all of the spinning people came and went in the building, stopping to see what we were doing and asking questions. There was quite a bit of interest and a few even decided to join the Spinners Guild.

Across from our area was a children's play kitchen. I think this was the busiest place in the fair. Children of all ages played constantly in the kitchen "cooking" and "making tea" as well as outside on the washboard "washing clothes".

I had a wonderful time, but, am glad it's finished for this year. Can't wait until next year. I'm already planning what to spin.......

Swallowtail pictures

The first two are the shawl pinned out to block on foam blocking boards on my bed.
These two are me trying to show the beads and full size of the shawl

The Recipe For Debbie

3 parts Intensity 2 parts Craftiness 1 part Panache Splash of Elegance Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

What's" the Recipe for Your Personality?

My First Ravelympics Item is Finished.

I finished the Swallowtail Shawl, Monday, at 11:58 p.m. I didn't do nupps, using beads instead. Here's the details:
Team: Splurk
Yarn: DkKnits Technicolor Dreams Toes in Molly Ringwald (I had just enough with one skein because of beads. Plan to make matching socks with the other skein.)
Beads: size 6 light pink with silver lining from Fire Mountain Gems
Needle: Knit Picks Harmony circulars size 7
Actual start date: 7/15/08 (had to change date to 8/08/08 for Ravelympic entry)
Finish date: 8/11/08
Picture to follow after blocking.

Now, on to the toe decreases of that "test knit sock", and then the other Butterfly Sock with the Fair Isle.

Spinning will commence on Wednesday at the fair.

It's 3 a.m. and I'm still awake.

I have got to stop staying up like this. In the morning, it will be a fight to crawl out of the bed before 9 or so. Since I retired, I have reverted back to my old 2nd shift routine of staying up until 3 or 4 and sleeping until 10 or so. This is not good. My husband works 2nd shift and is usually asleep and then awake before me lately.

Let's put the blame on the fiber and yarn. First it was Tour de Fleece. Now it's Ravelympics. The knitting needles are flying trying to finish my Swallowtail Shawl in the next day or so. I only have 7 rows to go, but, it's kicking my butt. It took me all day just to finally get 5 rows in correctly today. Both my wheels are looking at me accusingly since I haven't touched either in over a week. The Sonata is going to the Washington County Fair with me this coming week. The Minstrel will have to just sit there stewing a bit longer. I promise to work on the yellow silk as soon as the fair is over. I need to finish that darn silk for the Ravelympic project. It would be nice to ply it to the BFL but that isn't part of the project.

I still need to knit that other fair isle sock this week too. I plan to toss that in the basket heading to the fair with me as well so I can take a spinning break and knit a bit. The test knit sock, as I call the pattern, just needs toe decreases and kitchenering on the toe. That will be done before the fair isle sock.

At least some of the dyeing project is done. I cheated. I used Kool Aid in the pickle jar. Well, technically it's not cheating. I AM dyeing some yarn, just not using the steamer and handpainting it. If I have time next weekend, or one night next week, I might try to get together with a friend and dye some fiber.

After all, I have a whole 15 days left to accomplish all of this fibery goodness.....

Goodnight, and sweet dreams........

Raising Dragon Eggs.....

I found this on Ravelry and thought it was cute. You click on each other's eggs to "hatch" baby dragons and help them grow up. I now have a few myself. Check them out by clicking on each one and maybe getting one or a few for yourself.

http://dragcave.net/user/calicokitty6

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! Ravelympics Has Begun!!......Missed Meeting.....

As the Olympic flame was lit today at 8p.m. in China, the official beginning of this fiber event started. Since I'm on the East Coast of the USA, I'm 12 hours behind China and it actually was 8 a.m. here, I still managed to miss the beginning. I was up until almost 6 a.m. and slept until about noon. Of course, after taking my meds, and eating "breakfast" I started to work on my Swallowtail Shawl for the WIP Wrestling event. I am on the lace edging part and after finishing that part, only need to do the scalloped edge. Here's a picture when I was just finished with the bud section:



The plan was to finish it in time to block it Monday and take it with me to the Knitting Guild meeting this Tuesday. Well, unfortunately, I got the date wrong and missed the meeting. It was last Tuesday. I am so disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing everyone and spending the evening with them. Also, it was elections for the guild. I received a phone call to let me know I had been elected Secretary. I have to decline this generous offer at this time because since becoming the Spinning Guild Treasurer, I'm busy with that. Next year will be another, and possibly better opportunity for me to accept an office with the knitting guild.

My Tiger has a sore ear. I'm not sure if he scratched it himself, if something bit him, or if possibly Pooh dragged him by it. We had a 7 day dosage of amoxi left over from the respiratory problem, so he has been on that, along with ear cleansing and antibiotic ointment treatment. It looks better, but if it's not healed by next Friday, I have a vet appointment for him. They said we are doing everything right. As far a pain, he doesn't appear to be bothered by it, and is playing and running around as usual.

The weather is icky so I can't wash another fleece outside right now. Hopefully I can get one done between tomorrow and Tuesday and let it dry in the shed. I think I will take a ride on Tuesday and drop off the Romedale one to the mill.

Well, back to the knitting......

My Color Is....Blue

I was reading some blogs on Ravelry and found this quiz on CWJerry's. It's not quite what I thought I would end up with for an answer. I do love blue, so it's not too off. Feel free to take the quiz and see what color you are.

you are lightskyblue #87CEFA

Your dominant hues are cyan and blue. You like people and enjoy making friends. You're conservative and like to make sure things make sense before you step into them, especially in relationships. You are curious but respected for your opinions by people who you sometimes wouldn't even suspect. Your saturation level is lower than average - You don't stress out over things and don't understand people who do. Finishing projects may sometimes be a challenge, but you schedule time as you see fit and the important things all happen in the end, even if not everyone sees your grand master plan. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

It's Official! I'm Going to the Gathering! YIPPEE!!

I've been anxiously awaiting confirmation of my place at the NEHA "Gathering" in November. I got it today. Also, included was the fact I'm able to go to my first choices for all three classes. Now, I need to get my list of things needed organized. The list will be revised several times before the event gets here. lol This is going to be a blast! I can't wait.

Tour de Fleece, Ravelympics, Strange Weather

The Tour de Fleece finished on July 27th. I didn't get to spin all the silk to ply with the yellow fiber. I did meet my personal challenge though. Learning Navajo, (chain) plying, using a new to me fiber, Corriedale, and using the Sonata for this.

The latest fiber/yarn thing is over on Ravelry and is called Ravelympics. Of course, after some encouragement (not much needed) I have joined Team Splurk and am participating in three events. One is the Homespun Heptathalon where I spin fiber, the next is the Dyed Hurdles where I do some dyeing. The last is the easiest part. It's WIP Wrestling. Now, don't go thinking whipped cream. It's short for "Works in Progress". I plan to finish the Butterfly Socks and a couple of other projects. I won't even attempt to finish the Swallowtail in 17 days. During the Knitting Olympics I was ready to scream while I rushed to finish the Lady Eleanor. I made it with a day to spare.

Lately we have had severe thunderstorms, and even a couple of tornadoes. Did I mention I live in RI not in the Midwest? The sky has been getting this strange reddish orangey glow before the storms hit. Thankfully, nothing here has been damaged by the hail, lightning, downpours, and high winds. And the tornado wasn't close to me. It was about 30 miles away on the other end of my small state.

Sun Dyed Yarn, Fair Spinning, Knitting with Friends, Fleece Washing...

O.K. The Pickle Jar sat on the counter taunting me to do something with it. Finally 4 packs of Kool Aid was added, 2 strawberry lemonade and 2 plain lemonade. Then about an inch of vinegar and water and mixed the whole thing with a vigorous shake. The final item, a lovely skein of superwash/nylon sock yarn, was put in and the cover closed tightly again. Out to the yard to ferment/cook it went. After 2 days and an occasional check to see how it was doing, I emptied the jar. I knew superwash would take the color differently than fiber or regular wool. Here's the results. I'm calling it "Unripe Watermelon" because it reminds me of the part right near the rind after the white.



I brought it to knit night last Tuesday at Sue's shop and to craft night at Panera on Wednesday. It also traveled to the Foster Old Home Days with me on Friday and Saturday. Now, it's so tired from riding around, I'm letting it sit and rest in the house.

Speaking of Foster, I had a great time spinning on the Sonata in the Spinners' Tent. I managed to Navajo ply my third bobbin of Corriedale and it's getting better. There's a discussion on Ravelry that it should be called chain plyed not Navajo. I don't know. I'm just learning the technique and can call it whatever is preferred. I also managed to start spinning some of my DkKnits fiber. It's coming so fine and thin, making me very happy.

There's been a few more people joining the Wednesday night group at Panera. We have a wonderful group and always have a great time. Some people haven't been in a while and they are missed.

The current knitting projects are still the Butterfly Socks and the Swallowtail Shawl. I had trouble wrapping my head around picking up stitches with the provisional cast on. I got the chain and those stitches fine. The problem was undoing the chain and picking up there. I decided to do the optional regular cast on and will sit down and learn the provisional later. I'm on repeat 10 of the 14 bud repeats. So far it's an easy pattern, but I know the lily of the valley part is the real challenge. Another Traveling Scarf arrived yesterday, and I'm going to work on that tonight at a local concert near the water.

Today is fleece washing day. Right now, I've washed the Santa Cruz fleece in the buckets in the back yard. The 2 mesh bags are currently in the washer for the rinse cycle. I don't like to do the wash in the machine because of all the grease/lanolin going down the pipes. I did 3 washes because this was a very high grease fleece. It will get at least 2 more rinses, possibly 3 before it's put on screens to dry. Right now, it's snow white and feels so soft, even though it's very wet. Time to go drain the washer..........

Spinning at the Fair, Learning New Things, Dyeing Fiber, Vet Visit and Late Nights

Last Sunday was a warm, not too sunny day. I decided to put the Kool Ade in the pickle jar with the vinegar and water for an attempt at sun dyeing. The test fiber was the rest of the BFL I had took to Sandi's back in June for our impromptu dye day. So I stuck about 3 1/2 ounces of fiber in the jar, put the lid on and stuck it in the back yard. It sat there for 4 days. I didn't think it was taking because the water was still red. Well, when Pat brought in the jar and I dumped it out, the fiber is a bright, deep red and the water was clear.



I will definitely be playing with Kool Ade again. Maybe tomorrow since it's suppose to be a nice day......

Last Thursday and Friday evenings were spent at North Stonington, CT's fair. I took the Sonata and had a great time with all the other spinners who were there. There was a very good concert on Friday night to spin by as well. I got home quite late on both nights, but, it was not really a problem since I'm a night owl anyway.

As well as learning how to spin on the Sonata, I finally tried Navajo Plying last night for the first time. It looks bad. Honestly. Because I'm still not used to the Sonata's treadle, I tend to treat it to the same amount of speed/rhythm I use on the Minstrel. This does not work because the wheel is larger and requires less treadle speed. As a result, my singles were "a bit" over twisted for the Navajo ply. After much patience on Marva's part while showing me, I managed to muddle my way with two bobbins of barfy ply at the end. I plan to make a hat with this and possibly full or felt it to hide some of the really bad parts. This is part of my self-challenge during the Tour de Fleece. The rest of my challenge is to spin the silk for the yellow BFL. I have a few more days before the TdF ends so I think I can make it. I've decided to spin it on the Minstrel. I pre-drafted it the other night, so it's ready to go for Thursday evening.

Saturday is the guild meeting and cook out at Sandi's farm. Nice warm day, good company, good eats, and lots of laughter, plenty of spin time, and animal visitation is the menu of the day.

Another thing I have been attempting is the fair isle knitting of the Butterfly Sock for the DkKnits KAL. I started it on the smaller size 2 DPNs in my Knit Picks set and, after reading some of the Ravelry threads of how it was too tight in cases, I decided to switch to the larger size 2. Seems to be o.k. now. The fair isle isn't as hard as I thought it would be and I'm pretty happy with the end result. As of today, I have most of one leg done. Tomorrow is craft night at Panera and I plan to finish the leg and maybe start the butterfly on the heel flap. The heel flap may have to wait until I'm home and not distracted though.

Hanna went to the vet today to have her teeth cleaned and had a tooth pulled at the same time. Pooh was beside himself when she left with Pat this morning. When she came home with me this afternoon, he was all over her. ha-ha



I'm heading off to bed now. It's almost 3 a.m. Good night all.....

Fiber Goodies, Yarn, and It's A Warm, Sleepless Summer Night....

The time is a few minutes after 4 a.m. and I can't sleep. Every time I try, my legs are jumpy as well as my mind. I don't know what going on lately. I've had several of these nights where I'm tired, but, just can't sleep. Usually I just get up and come out to the living room so my poor husband can sleep. The a/c is on in the bedroom, so that's not the cause. Maybe I'm just getting to that age where this starts to happen. What sucks is I'll be dragging my butt around in the morning and not wanting to get up, leading to another wasted morning. Grrrr.

For now, I'm knitting on my basic sock, which is almost ready for the toe decreases. Just about 2 more inches and they start. Here's hoping I zone out from the boring knitting and can go back to bed. I do have a busy day planned for today, including errands, housework, laundry, cooking, and craft night. I know. Not too exciting, but necessary stuff.

I took a break from spinning today because the wrist is a bit sore after finishing all the BFL in two days. Maybe tomorrow I can spin a bit of the silk on the spindle. I think it's going to be on the Butterflygirl one.

My order from CJKopec came in today. It's three different fiber blends and she included a nice fiber gift for me as well. Thanks, Coby. Also arriving today was my order from DkKnits which consisted of my Seaside Bond Collection yarn , two other skeins of yarn , and some roving she had dyed. Lovely stuff.

Well, let me finish this row and try to go to bed again.......

Day 3 of Tour de Fleece...Fiber Dyeing....and Humid Summer Days

As Day 3 arrives, I'm looking at what I accomplished for Day 1 and 2 of this ongoing event I decided to participate in. So far, I've used the Sonata and spun a bobbin full of Corriedale to use to learn how to Navajo ply. The Minstrel is being used for the "Evelyn's Roses" BFL we dyed last month. So far, I've spun 3/4 of a bobbin of that. After realizing how much the BFL poofed up after it was dried from dyeing, I decided to spin it fingering weight. After I ply the matching silk single, I think it will poof again when washed and finished. I chose to use the Minstrel for this so I could have two projects going at once for the Tour de Fleece. It also made sense since I'm still getting used to the Sonata that my spinning tends to be a bit thicker than I wanted for the yellow BFL. I need to decide which will give me the better result, spindle or wheel, for the silk. If the spindle is going to be used, I have my new Golding and two from Butterflygirldesigns to pick from. It needs to be a fine, thin, laceweight for this project. I'm hoping to get enough finished product to make a nice scarf or small shoulder scarf similar in size to Swallowtail which is already on the needles in a different yarn. I don't have a pattern in mind yet. As the yarn develops, I'm going to let it "tell" me what it wants to be knit as. Definitely something lacy.

Besides spending 6 hours with the wheel yesterday, I washed half a fleece and set out the pickle jar full of KoolAde and about 3 ounces of BFL roving to sun dye. Since the sun then decided not to co operate and it became a cloudy, humid day, the jar is still out there "cooking".

Today, I plan to finish the 1/4 bobbin of yellow fiber and start a second one. This morning was also a dump in the trash morning. I tossed a couple of things I'm not planning to use, or feel are useful to anyone else. This is the only way to get a handle on some of my "stashes" other than fiber, yarn, and glass. I'm talking about clothes and odds and ends. The garbage truck just picked up the bag. :)

As I said, it's been high humidity and cloudy the last couple of days around here. The cats and dogs don't seem to mind. It's lay around and chill for them as usual. Katy has decided the big windowsill is her permanent perch and rarely leaves it. She looks so content and plump snoozing away right now. She used to be so tiny as in slinky. Since she became diabetic and went on the insulin, she has gained over 3 pounds and now weighs over 8 pounds. For the first 10 years of her life, she was never more than 5 or 6 pounds. She even has a rounder face now. The attitude is still there so her nickname of "Katitude" is still suitable.

Now we no longer have to worry about "accidents" from sweet Babs, the gate is always open and Hanna and Pooh have the run of the house, except the bedrooms. They are much happier with this than just the kitchen area. The cats have all adjusted well to the two dogs invading their turf, the living room. Megan lets Pooh know he is not allowed to bother her. lol It's funny, that now the gate is open, the cats are in the kitchen more and the dogs still prefer to sleep out there at night.

Tour De Fleece, Summer Fairs, The Gathering, and Dog Grooming

Recently, I signed up for the Tour de Fleece, which is a spinning event. You spin every day when the Tour de France starts until it finishes. You also are setting a spinning challenge for yourself. The start date is July 5, and ending on July 27th. I haven't figured out which fiber to spin yet. I'm thinking of the yellow we dyed a few weeks ago. I could use my new Sonata for the occasion, since I had planned to spin this fiber on that wheel. This sounds like a plan.

Spinning demos are planned for the North Stonington Fair and Washington County Fair for this summer. I plan to be at both and hope to get quite a bit spun.

Today is the day I am sending in my choices and payment for the Gathering. The postmark couldn't be before today.

Last night, Hanna and Pooh both received the full treatment. Baths, haircuts, and nail trimming was the order of the night. They were not the happiest little dogs after, but, seem to be recovered now. lol

Well, I need to get ready to go to the vet's with them now. Wish me luck. :)

It's Here!!! Yay For my New Wheel!!!

I was snoozing, thinking of getting up, when my husband came in the bedroom to wake me up by announcing my new wheel was here. This is my anniversary gift from him. It's a Kromski Sonata!! The finish is Walnut like my other wheel, the Minstrel. I love both of these wheels. The Sonata will work great as a traveling wheel. The traveling case, and three bobbins are standard when you get this wheel. There were also two extra bobbins and two pounds of Corridale fiber included. Of course, I do have to be careful not to show favoritism and make the Minstrel jealous. I don't need her to throw a hissy fit and not spin properly for me. lol

Tomorrow is the monthly sit and spin at Sue's shop, RI Handspun, in Burriville and I plan to bring the Sonata to her "play date" with the other wheels. I think she will behave very nicely and not fight with me or others. lol

I need to name her, but, haven't really decided. Esmeralda keeps coming to mind as does Suzie. Esmeralda because she spin so magically and Suzie because she is so cute. Maybe she will get a hyphenated name. lol The Minstrel is Millicent, and Millie for short.

Back to spinning for a bit.....

Mail Delivery....

I had ordered some custom dyed yarn from Skein Queen over in Great Britain. She also had an update yesterday at her shop which I missed due to my need to go to Weight Watchers. As a result, I was sad to have missed the two colors I really liked and had decided to buy. I can get them later as another custom order, so it's really no big deal.... Today, Pat came home and handed me a bright purple bag. Yep. It's from Great Britain and contains my three skeins of yarn. "Rose Red", "Sunset Tango", and "Plum Betty" are now happily residing in my stash. I'll add pictures later when I dig out the camera again. I now have something to "show" at Panera tonight. :)

Thunderstorms, Shivering Dogs, Sick Cats, Presents, Fleece, and Doctors

The last few days' weather has been very diverse. It's been sunny and then downpours with thunder and lightning that shook the ground when it hit. I love thunderstorms, day or night, so this doesn't bother me. I do try to leave electronics off during them and won't talk on the phone. My poor dog, Hanna, is having issues with them. She never had a problem until a couple of years ago. Her mama, Babs, had issues until I think she stopped sensing them. Then Hanna took over. I had a stressed out 12 year old dog climbing up my leg to get on my lap during them this time. Luckily, she only weighs around 15 pounds and sits quietly, pants, and shivers once she is held. Pooh was stressing because I was holding her. He had to be held too. He's about 20 pounds. I had them both on my lap together. lol

After the storms passed she was exhausted and slept for a few hours at my feet, never leaving my side. The cats are starting to make a good to fair recovery. Megan did come down with it too, but, was put on the amoxi right away. She doesn't seem as sick as some of the others. Thank goodness it's almost over.

Now, for the present......... My fourth wedding anniversary is this Sunday. My dear, sweet, wonderful husband, Patrick, ordered me my Sonata wheel!!! Yippee!!! It should be here on Friday. After I practice on it for a bit, I already have the first fiber I want to spin on it picked out. It's going to be the one I dyed recently. "Evelyn's Roses". It's a special roving and will be a special memory for me. :)

Right now, I'm washing a CVM hogget fleece a bit at a time. This one seems to have a bit more lanolin than the Romney and Border Leicester fleeces I've washed previously. It dried and still has that greasy feeling. I'm going to give it another cycle of wash/rinse/dry and see if it makes a difference. I have one Romeldale which I may send to the mill for processing. I'll think about that for a bit. I also have a Santa Cruz to process. That one has a very short staple and will be interesting to see the result. I know it will take a lot of twist to hold together when I get ready to spin it.

My other news is..... I got my Merino Lamb fleece back from the mill. It's gorgeous!! So soft, white, and fluffy. I had it pin drafted and this will make spinning easier. The plan is to dye some of it. Liz bagged it up into 4 bags, so handling it is easy.

I need to make my final selections and fill out my paperwork for the Gathering in November. The paperwork and check has to be mailed on July 1st. bright and early in the morning. I can't mail it before that or it will be rejected. It's going to be a fun weekend with friends, and learning new things.

Tonight is Panera in Cranston. I hope to see everyone again. We had such a good time last week. I always bring stuff for "show and tell", but this week I don't really have anything to bring to "show". I can "tell" them about my Sonata, though.

I'm still knitting away on the same projects, making little bits of progress. I recently discovered Plurk which is an online chat, similar to something called Twitter. It's a great way to have several conversations with several people at the same time. I'm in a knitting/spinning group of course. Search for me there, and be added to my friend list.

I went to the Diabetes doctor on Monday. It was a very depressing visit. I'm now on another med on top of all the others I already take. At least it wasn't the Byetta shots yet. I have to go back in 3 months.

Off to finish the laundry and make lunch....

Update on My Kitty....Fiber Mill Visit....and Forgotten to Mention Items...

I took Katy, the diabetic kitty, to the vet today for her glucose testing follow up appointment. Her numbers were good and she had gained about half a pound at 8.10. That's the heaviest she has ever been. She's a little tiny cat who never weighed more than 5 or 6 pounds before the diabetes. She is very sick with the upper respiratory problem and we think she's allergic to amoxi. The vet gave me a different antibiotic for her. Katy also got her rabies shot, which she wasn't too happy about. Right now, she's resting on the living room window sill away from the dog, Pooh.

I forgot to mention I had gone to knit night at Panera on this Wednesday. It was so nice to see Audrey, Pam, Paula, and Allison again. Marva was there too. We all knit, spun, laughed, ate, and had a great time together. My friend from work, Mary, stopped by to say hi to me and was invited to join us any time she would like.

I'm going tomorrow to pick up my Merino Lamb fleece from Fibers 4 Ewe Mill .
I got the call today that it's ready!! Yippee!!!!! I did the happy dance after getting off the phone. I can't wait to see it. I knew I would lose a lot (possibly half) because of the lanolin (grease). Originally it was a 6.25 pound fleece. I'm getting back 3.8 pounds. I think that's a good return for this breed. I wonder how the CVM will fair when it's time for that one to process......

Sneaky Viruses....Computers and Cats....and KALs...Change of Destinations...

Recently, there was another crop of computer viruses making the rounds. I have my anti-virus set to scan and update once daily. Several knitting friends of Ravelry have been discussing this situation over on the Lime N Violet Group. When I heard about the influx, I started scanning in the morning and evening, plus the preset scanning time. My coverage caught one attempt and nothing has made it into my computer yet. Thank goodness.

I've not been so lucky with my cats. Buddy started sneezing on Tuesday. Wednesday morning, Tiger was coughing and by the afternoon, Katy had started to sneeze. I called and switched out Katy's appointment to get Buddy in since he was the start of it and seemed the worse. Tipper had a couple of sneezes in the late afternoon. Then Isabella started sneezing late last night. Five cats all with an upper respiratory problem ~ wonderful.

I took Buddy to the vet today and had it confirmed. Eye ointment for him because he has the runny eyes. Anyone else who starts with the eyes gets ointment too. All five of them are on amoxicillin for seven days. Thankfully, it's only one pill a day I have to battle down their throats. They all look so miserable. :(

I finished both Traveling Scarves square and plan to send one off tomorrow and the other off a few days later so they don't arrive together. I meant to send one yesterday and then again today, but didn't get to the post office in time to ship it out.

Right now, I am trying to start my Flutterby KAL socks for the DkKnits group on Ravelry, and my Swallowtail Shawl for the Fashionably Late KAL Blog.

As you all know, I recently got a bunch of fleeces which I shared with some friends. After this a decision was made. Instead of going to Rhinebeck, I'm going to the North East Handspinners Association "Gathering". Because the two events were only a few weeks apart, I didn't really want to be away from home that soon after Rhinebeck. I joined this association a few months ago. The Gathering is a bi-annual event and is hosted by a different state each time. There are classes where you can learn so much, and vendors to do more damage.....ummmm....I mean shop. There's also a spin-in every evening and I have been told the whole thing is a lot of fun. Hopefully, I will have my Sonata soon and can take it with me instead of the Minstrel.

Special Farms and Fleece and Guild Happenings

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, so I thought today would be a good time to catch up a bit.

I went to the Open House at SVF Farm in Newport and watched the shearing demos on June 7th. It's the only day of the year the farm is open to the public. This was truly a beautiful place to spend some quiet time just drinking in the attraction of nature. My three friends and I watched the sheep shearing, and I met a couple of other friends there as well.

On Monday I was given about 30 fleeces for free. I ended up calling up the troops. Marva and Beth met me in Hope Valley and we headed over to Sandi's farm in North Stonington where we spent about 3 hours sorting and re-bagging all these fleeces. They were in black plastic trash bags which you need to take them out of as soon as possible. With the excessive heat and humidity they could mold rather quickly if left in them. We put them all into individual lawn/leaf bags and labeled them. It was an exhausting, grueling, dirty job and we were all soaked with sweat and very dirty when finished. If Sandi had not offered her barn and skirting table, along with Marva and Beth to help, it would have been a lot worse to do. I thank Sandi, Marva, and Beth so much for helping me with this. My plan was to donate some to the spinners guild this past Saturday at the monthly meeting. I gave Sandi hers, and Marva and Beth took their choices home, so I had less to deal with. I took mine and as many of the ones I could fit in my car to be donated home with me. Some of the bags had gotten wet on the bottom from a rain storm the day before I picked them up which had gotten the floor they had been sitting on wet. These had to be laid out to dry a few days. We went and picked these up on Wednesday evening. Beth was nice enough to keep these for me until Saturday's meeting.

Marva posted to our group that there would be a surprise at the meeting. After she made the announcement, some of us carried all the bags in and let the feeding frenzy begin. I was worried they would not want them. I wish I had more to share since they went fast. There was just enough to go around. I'm already promised more fleeces next year, so hopefully, I can get the same amount or a few more than this year and share them too.

The other thing that happened at the meeting was we had a tapestry weaving lesson. I have absolutely no plans to learn to weave. I just don't have the time or space to start another hobby, but the use of different colors and technique was interesting. I can use some of the ideas in my stained glass too.

I also was elected to be the new treasurer of the guild, since Renay decided it was time for her to hand it off to someone else. She has been doing it for 5 years and I was told she did an excellent job. It seems like something I can do and I can ask Renay any questions I have if necessary.

This past Thursday night was my monthly Knitting and Crochet Guild meeting. We had a stash swap raffle. Items were brought, tickets handed out, then you put them in the cups in front of the items you wanted to win. Tickets were picked and prizes awarded to everyone. The grand prizes were 4 gift certificates to local yarn shops. I was surprised and lucky enough to win one of these along with a book, and some yarns. It was a fun night for everyone.

As far as my own spinning ~ I have a full bobbin of the merino to ply with the alpaca finished. I'm not plying right now because I wanted to participate in the Spinner Central monthly SAL. I'm spinning some fiber from Allspunup in pretty shades of blue, white and a hint of greenish brown. The theme of the June spin along is to spin superwash, tweed, beach vacation. This fiber is superwash Merino and reminds me of the beach with the blues for sea and sky and the other colors being the edge of the water where it can be cloudy and greenish. You can choose to do all three things, just one or two. It's actually a personal challenge.

As far as knitting ~ today is the beginning of the DkKnits Flutterby KAL on Ravelry. I'm in her sock club and this month's shipment was the yarn to use in the KAL. The sock is a Fair Isle pattern, and this is definitely going to be a challenge for me because I've never knit Fair Isle before. I'm also busy knitting squares on two scarves from the Traveling Scarves group on Ravelry. I don't have any other plans this week that I can think of so I am hoping to get these two squares finished and mailed in a few days. I am suppose to have them back in the mail 10 days after receiving them. That means I have 5 days to get them there. I've also been knitting on a second sock that has been sitting around for a few months waiting to be finished.

The animals are adjusting to not having the matriarch of the family around. Hanna still is a bit depressed and comes over and sits or lays at my feet. Sometimes she stands up and puts her little head on my leg for petting and lovings. As time goes on, she's adjusting, but I think it will take her quite a while. She was with her mommy her whole life, almost 12 years. Pooh is his usual bossy, fresh self. lol The cats are letting him know, just because he is running around now we can leave the gate open, doesn't mean he can take over their turf, (the living room). I had to open the door to the craft room so the air conditioning could cool it down. Rosebud was a bit nervous at first, but I've put my big square folding table across the door and wedged it so no one can get over or around it. She feels safe now and stands in the middle of the floor and "talks" to me when I stand at the door. She's such a sweet cat.

Pat is getting ready to build another shed in the back yard, then the fence and deck will go up. I've found a patio set I want to buy and put out there, so I hope he builds it soon.

Yesterday was spent playing in a dye pot with some BFL and silk. I chose a few shades of yellow and a green to make "Evelyn's Roses" in memory of my mom. She loved yellow and roses. It's drying now and is looking so pretty and fluffy. I'm going to spin the BFL and silk separately then ply them together.

Here's the dried fiber and silk:

Goodbye My Furry Friend and Companion.....




The sun was shining, birds singing, and a light breeze was in the air as we headed out to the car with Babs in Pat's arms. This was the last car ride for her. As many of you who have read this blog already know, this trip had been coming for a long time. She had cataracts, was hard of hearing, a bit confused, and had started to be incontinent. She also would fall over if you touched her hips the wrong way and had trouble walking. I think she may have started to go into kidney failure as well. The only time she perked up was for food. Babs would tip her head sideways so she could sort of see the food near her mouth. Her spacial judgement was way off as far as distance as well.

Babs was 17 1/2 years old. She lived with her almost 12 year old daughter Hannah, a puppy, Pooh, and several cat companions as well as my husband and me. She was a very intelligent dog who was extremely friendly. The only time I saw her snap at anyone was to steal food. It was funny to see her antics while walking with her. If we came to a yard with a big dog, she would act ferocious and fierce, snapping and barking. Little tough girl attitude happening here. lol She was an excellent mommy dog as well as a great cat baby sitter. The only animal in the house she wasn't that happy about was the puppy, Pooh. I think that Babs thought he was her sister, his grandmother. Babs and Kissy hated each other.

As we rode along, she perked up and seemed to really enjoy the fresh air and warm sun on her head. Babs managed to walk on the grass better than she had been able to in a long time.



We did some videos and took some pictures of her before leaving the house as well as in the front lawn of the vet's office.



The house is so quiet without her barking at air or growling in her "postal" attack mode. Hanna and Pooh know something is different, too. Hanna cries near the door every now and then for her momma. It will take her some time to adjust. I'm playing with them extra, especially with Hanna to keep them distracted.

Goodbye my old furry buddy. I'll miss you with all my heart, but, I know you are running around with the cats, Dee, Sammy, and Tiffany, and having a wonderful time. There's no more pain or confusion for you to suffer through. I love you dearly.......

Handwriting quiz.....

I found this on Yarn Tales' blog and thought it would be fun to try

What Your Handwriting Says About You

You are a fairly energetic person. You know how do pace yourself, and you deal well with stress. You are very extroverted and outgoing. You are loving, friendly, and supportive. However, you are also manipulative and controlling at times. You are balanced and grounded. You know how to get along well with others. You need a bit of space in your life, but you're not a recluse. You expect people to give you a small amount of privacy, and you respect their privacy as well. You are somewhat traditional, but you are also open to change. You listen to your head and your heart. You are a good communicator. You work hard to get your ideas across effectively.

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?

Sheep Shearing, Festival Hopping.....

It's been a couple of busy weeks around here.

On Saturday, May 10, I attended my first sheep shearing at Watson's Farm in Jamestown, RI. I learned a lot about the sheep as well as picked out 2 fleece to purchase. One, a Border Leicester and Cheviot cross, was "yelling" and looking right at me. I think he was demanding I buy his fiber. He kept baaaaa-ing at me and coming up close to the pen door where I was standing, and up the fence to me outside in the shearing yard. Today was a lovely day for fleece washing. His fleece is drying in the shed right now and is snowy white. The other fleece is a texel cross and I didn't see the animal it was from since this was one of the first fleece to be shorn before I got there. We had a fun day talking to people and spinning into the late afternoon. Here's a table of freshly shorn fleece, sheep shearing, and a lamb from the farm.


On Sunday, May 11, I spent the day with my husband. We rarely get an entire day together since we are both so busy. He took me to the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Show where I met a few of my friends. I was riding up with them, but when Pat said he wanted to take me, I gave up my seat in the van. Another person canceled her seat and went with her husband, too. It worked out well, because others needed a ride. I found the Golding booth and bought a very nice walnut finished 1.9 ounce spindle. At the other end of the same building, I found Grafton Fibers and bought a bright pink, fuschia, and purple batt. We spent some time walking around for a while looking at everything, and taking pictures of the Alpacas.
I loved the speckle spots on this one. The black alpaca kept humming to me.

Near the alpacas, I found EOW Farm who was selling some pretty roving. I ended up with a pink and a blue one.

The only other purchase I made was at BallandSkein. On the display wall was the laceweight I had been looking at online. Three skeins of "Pokeberry" which is a blue/purple color is now in my stash. My totebag was getting full, so I stopped shopping. On the way home, Pat and I stopped to visit friends in Massachusetts.

On this past Saturday, May 17, the day was spent at Coggeshall Farm at the RI 2nd Annual Wool & Fiber Festival. This is a working historical farm which does have tours. Some of the booths:

It was so great to meet so many Ravelry friends. After many attempts to meet, DkKnits and I finally succeeded. It was Becky's first try at a festival and I think it went well for her. I know she had some gorgeous selections of hand dyed sock, lace, and silk yarns. Personally, I bought eleven skeins. There were a few more I could have added, but, wouldn't allow myself to do it. I also was given a beautiful skein of yarn as a thank you from her for suggesting the festival to her. Her bright pink columns made her booth stand out. She also had lettering on the front top where you walked into the booth and on the back wall. Here's a shot of myself and Becky.

As you know from previous posts, DkKnits group on Ravelry was having a KAL for the No Purl Monkey sock. Becky made posters with pictures of all our finished socks and had them displayed in the booth. It was fun to see all the socks and it gave people a good idea of how some of the colors looked knitted up, since everyone had used a different colorway.

Next door to DkKnits was Manmade By Jonne. I bought a set of Indigo Hound combs from him to work some of my longer fiber with. These are serious dangerous tools. I think I will have to use them outside so the cats don't accidently get stabbed with the lethal tines.

On the other side of Becky was Fibers4Ewe Mill with Liz and Sandi. I bought the other fiber I had lusted after in CT. It's a deep red with angelina sparkles in it.

I also bought a skein of laceweight yarn which was from Sandi's sheep. The fiber was sheared from her sheep, processed and spun into laceweight all before she dyed it inthe most scruptious raspberry pink color.
I seem to be back on my purple/pink/blue kick again. I know these are my favorite colors, but I have been trying to venture away from them a bit. It just seems I head back to them all the time. lol

I did buy some Alpaca fiber and some Merino/silk fiber. Then I stopped shopping.

The Bayberry Spinners and the RI Spinner Guild were doing a fleece to shawl demonstration. Both shawls came out beautifully. The fiber used was from the sheep at Coggeshall Farm. The shawls were then part of a silent auction with the winning bid benefiting the farm. This is a picture of the RI Spinner Guild Shawl.

Of course there was the usual Wednesday night at Panera last week. This week, I was alone. Everyone was busy with other things. I wasn't going to go, but the soup and half sandwich called to me as I drove down Reservior Ave.

I'm not sure about MA Festival right now. I might still go. I will see what happens during the week.

Harry Potter Quiz

I have never read any of the Harry Potter stories, but, took the test anyway. Someday I'll get around to reading them. Here's my results with a link if you want to take this quiz and see which house you belong to.

The sorting hat says that I belong in Hufflepuff!

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Diggory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.

Take the most scientific Harry Potter Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

CT Festival, Wrist Woes, and No Purl Monkeys Socks....

I had a great time at the festival. I was truly conservative and only bought one Merino Lamb Fleece, which was promptly and immediately brought to the booth of Sandi and Liz from the Fibers4Ewe Mill to be processed. They had some gorgeous pink fiber, "Lips of an Angel" which kind of jumped into my arms and cried to come home with me, not once but twice. I ended up with 8 ounces.

My only other purchase was a pretty shawl pin to hold my Lady Eleanor up. It kept slipping and really needed that pin to hold it. Since it was a bit chilly, I was very glad I brought it along to snuggle up in. After a while, I had to take it off because it got too warm. There was so much to see and buy, but, I plan to go to NH's festival on Mother's Day, so saved some choices for there. My fleece was in here, and then,
I did meet these guys

While at therapy Tuesday, my wrist did it's click click dance when my therapist was holding my hand stretching the thumb. She stopped working on me and asked what that sensation was. I explained that is what has been happening since the brace came off. I was told to rest my hand, keep the brace on and just wait until I saw the doctor. My ortho doctor decided to give me a second cortisone shot in the wrist Thursday. The follow up therapy was very limited and I am in the brace again. This is causing me much anguish since I can't spin or really knit. The knitting is very slow with this hard plastic thing on my wrist.

I have managed to finish the No Purl Monkey Sock for the KAL over on Ravelry in the DkKnits group. Just need to kitchener the toe up and it's ready for it's photo shoot tomorrow.

Well, that's all for now. This one is short and sweet......

Springtime, Cats, Meetups, and Swollen Feet.....

Well, the birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, grass is greening up, flowers are starting to poke their heads out and reach for the sunshine and warmth, and my cats are looking out the window at it all trying to figure it out.

I love the springtime when everything comes back to life and it's still cool enough to need a sweater in some days or most evenings. My only problem is that along with all the good things about this time of year comes one bad thing. My ankles and feet start swelling as the temperature rises. My doctor told me to elevate my legs, which I do try to do as often as I can. Sometimes, I put in a movie, climb up on the bed, prop my legs up on pillows, grab my knitting and plant myself for a couple of hours. It works. I get three things done at once ~ legs elevated, movie watched, and knitting done.

Wednesday was the weekly meetup at Panera. It was nice to see Donna again, along with Marva. We laughed over my yarn acquisitions from DkKnits because I've been so busy ordering, I forgot what I ordered and thought these were another group. We also discussed the best way to spin some fibers, and how to tie certain knots for drive bands on spinning wheels. Marva was working on the pink sweater, Donna on a sock, and myself on the No Purl Monkey socks. I messed up a pattern repeat and had to rip out about 7 rows. I'm trying to finish this thing by tomorrow.

The black fleece is completely washed and is now drying in the shed. I promise to take pictures of it when it is weighed and ready to be packed in it's new clear plastic bin with all the accompanying critter preventions. (Eucalyptus leaves, a bar of Irish Spring).

Well, I'm off to get ready for tomorrow's festival.......

Spinning Away, Knitting Socks, Learning New Techniques, New Fleeces.....

I finished spinning and then plying the Rebel Rebel batt. Here's a couple pictures before washing and setting the twist.



I started spinning the Alpaca I bought from Safe Haven Alpaca Farm a long time ago. While visiting with Marva, she noticed I was having a problem with it. After conferring with Sandi on the phone, it was decided I needed to try Scotch Tension. Marva set my wheel up, explaining as she went along, and spun the alpaca for a while. Now, I think I like spinning this way. I can see where each technique works differently to achieve different results.

Sock 1 of the No Purl Monkeys is finished and I'm about 3/4 done with the leg of sock 2. I hope to finish this sock by Thursday or Friday. This is now one of my favorite sock patterns.


Last Saturday was the Open Shed Sale for fleeces. As usual, I got lost. After passing a farm with a name that was very familiar, I traveled down the road about a mile, turned around and went back to the farm. I met two ladies from my Knitting Guild, Gail and Cindy, who were also fleece shopping. After much indecision, I ended up with two Border Leicester fleeces, one black and one white. Gail had decided to pass on the black and encouraged me several times to take it. They're both gorgeous. I did go down the road to the other farm, but, decided to wait on another fleece. This Saturday is the CT Sheep and Wool Festival, and my intention is to buy at least one more fleece.

Food Diet, Yarn Diet, A Get Together....

Yesterday was my weigh in day at Weight Watchers. I lost 5.6 pounds. YIPPEE!! With the half pound from last week, that's 6 in two weeks. Maybe I'm back on track. I'm writing every bite down faithfully, because after 2 good weeks, I usually back slide and gain on the third one.

The Yarn Diet is not so good..... It's all Etsy's fault, you know. I just can't resist some of those yummy yarns and fibers. lol

Tonight was Panera in Cranston. It was a nice surprise to see Donna and Pat from the Bayberry Spinners. Donna usually tries to meet up with us at least once a month or so. Donna, Pat, and myself were knitting on socks and Marva was working on a sweater.

Thursday is my Knitting Guild and Saturday is my Spinning Guild meetings. More fiber news to follow them.....

Fiber Festival Curiosity

This will be my first year attending any Fiber Festivals and I am curious as to which, if any, people pick as their favorite(s), so I created a fun poll. I put it at the top of the blog, so please vote. CT is the first one I am planning on attending, and I am hoping to attend NH. I'll definitely be at RI. Not sure about MA yet.

It will be fun to see the results at the end......

Socks, Lace, Fiber, and A Slap from my Cat.....

The first sock of the test knit is finished except for the kitchener of the toe which will be done tonight. Sock 2 will also get started today or tomorrow. The MS3 (Swan Lake) has been taken out of it's bag, snuggled, looked at and put back without a stitch more knit. The Modified Pi Shawl is waiting patiently for me to pick it back up. It has traveled with me a couple of times, though to Panera and other places. The "Rebel, Rebel" red batt is over half spun and hopefully I can finish that this week and get it plyed before the Saturday Spinners Guild meeting.

Over on Ravelry, I've joined a KAL for DkKnits yarns using "No Purl Monkeys" as the pattern. You follow Cookie A's pattern for the Monkey sock which can be found at Knitty in the archives. But don't purl any stitches. Just knit them. So far, I have the first sock cast on and about 4 rows of ribbing done. I'm trying to follow my forced rule of no new projects until one is completed. With the first sock of the test knit just about done, I can justify the cast on of sock 1 for this KAL. I'm using a color called "Wicked Witch of the East" for my pair. I figured it was a good association between the witch and her monkeys.

My sweet cat, Tipper, is not so sweet sometimes. He was cuddling in my arms the other night and head butting my chin, purring like a little motor boat. All of a sudden the little sucker took a swipe at me, catching me on the cheek with his claws. He was promptly tossed on the floor with much name calling and yelling from me. Of course, my cheek was bleeding for a while, and now has a nasty scratch. Tipper just gets these "don't bother me" moments without warning and does this. Usually his siblings are the target, not his humans. A little while after the "slap" he came back to me looking for lovings again. "Get away from me you ......" was my response, for about 15 minutes, then I forgave him. He is a lovebug after all.......

Alpaca Visit, Knitting, Spinning, Stash Arranging, and Hand Issues......

It's been a busy month. Two Saturdays ago, I went to the Spinners Guild meeting and after showing my beautiful Rebel, Rebel batt from Copperpot Woolies was encouraged to start spinning it right then on my empty bobbin. We laughed, talked, and ate goodies as usual.

I had a chance to catch up with Kimberly last Wednesday night at Borders, which was fun.
Last weekend, I had a terrific day with Sandi and Marva. After a delicious lunch in Hope Valley with both of them, Marva and I headed off to the alpaca farm in Westerly. The "boys" greeted us by checking out the car as we drove up. We were also greeted by the 2 dogs, chickens and roosters. After a cup of hot tea and crackers with homemade pepper jelly, and fun conversation, both of us bought some lovely alpaca roving for spinning. Then we got to visit with the newly hatched chicks along with the other creatures.

After leaving the farm, we did a bit of shopping at Job Lot. I finally found a deep fryer I liked and a rug to use when spinning on my new spindle. I was afraid of dropping the spindle and having it break since it is stone/glass. I still haven't had a chance to use it yet. There were several steamers on the shelf as well, so I picked another one up. Someone had mentioned wanting one, but, if she doesn't care to take it now, I will just use it myself. Not a big deal. In the food department were several gluten free mixes, so I got corn bread, chocolate cookies, pancake, and 13 bean mix for Pat. Maybe tomorrow I can make him pancakes before I take off for part of the day. It would be a treat for him since he hasn't had them in a long time.

This Wednesday, I was at Panera with Ceecee, Marva, and Richard (he's from the Spinner's Guild) where we watched Ceecee work her magic with her Cricut machine as the three of us knit on our socks. Richard was knitting with some of his beautiful handspun yarn, Marva was starting a pair with Happy Feet from Plymouth yarn and I was using my Tofutsies from SWTC. As Ceecee created the card characters, it was fascinating to watch them develop as she puts them together. It also takes a lot of time and effort for each one.

This week also saw the treadmill finally moved downstairs and me re-arranging my yarns and fiber stashes in a more orderly manner to go into the craft room. I now have the yarns separated by weights. There's a bin of lace, worsted, dyeables, and three bins of fingering/sock. Then there's the four bins of fibers. I tried to keep them organized by putting fibers from the same person all in the same bin. One is mostly from my WEBS trip Pat took me on last Friday. I did some serious fiber shopping that day. Also, I picked up a couple of books and some hand dyed sock and lace yarns.

My red batt is still half spun. I'll work on it tomorrow at the Sit and Spin at Sue's shop in Chepachet. I'm trying to finish the test knit socks first, so that I can concentrate on my two shawls and the DkKnits KAL I'm in.

On Tuesday, my therapist told me she thinks my hand is as good as it's going to be without surgery. On Thursday, the hand specialist told me he doesn't think I need surgery at this time, but, is sending me to a hand specialty therapist. I stopped there to make the appointment and was lucky to get on for the same day at 3pm. I now have a "tape brace" on my thumb, wrist and arm. I can take a shower and not worry about it getting wet, just pat it dry and let it finish air drying. I'm to keep it on as long as I can and see her on next Tuesday again. I think it will be on until then without a problem unless the glue wears out. For something so minor, it gives a nice support to my thumb and wrist. I also was told to continue with the spinning and knitting, just remember to take a break and stretch the hands about every 20 minutes or so.

I'm heading out now for a bit of grocery shopping. I also feel like having some fish for supper, so that's on the list too. Maybe a piece of salmon with some lemon and a baked potato and salad......Hmmm...sounds good.......

Knit Nights and Spinning Saturday.....KnitPicks Order

This week has become very busy. Last night, Tuesday, was Knitting Night at RI Handspun located across from the Burriville police station. There was much laughter and knitting happening there as well as some fiber/yarn stash enhancements. I finally found a wool blend to ply with my natural/ cream alpaca I've had for a while. That's all I bought. I was very good because just before leaving, in the corner, I spotted some merino/tencel on sale. It's still there ...... until my next visit. I passed the new spindle around and all the spinners tried a bit on it. It spins like a dream.

Tonight is Panera in Cranston, where I am planning to see Caroline who is from New Hampshire, Donna, Marva, and maybe some of the girls from the Craft Night group. I will have to bring my goodies from yesterday to show to a couple of the ladies tonight.

Thursday night is the Knitting/Crochet Guild meeting. Always a good time there, too.

Saturday is to be the shearing demo and then Spinners Guild meeting.

I don't plan to buy anything else in the fiber/yarn area for a while, now. I am still looking for that cabinet to help house some of my eye candy already residing here..........

My Knit Picks order arrived a couple of days ago. There are all my new needles, Harmony DPNs and Options fixed circs, as well as a couple of tool containers, the Hippo and the Dolphin, to accommodate my sundry of tools. There is some lovely Bare in the Merino/Silk blend for me to try with the "Lily of the Valley" sock pattern I also bought. I am in a mood to make a sweater, so there is also enough of another yarn to make one. Some lace weight was on sale, so that's there, too. Oh my, I did make quite a big order, didn't I???????

What Deborah Means

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous. You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things. Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

New Fiber Snuggles and Yarn Cuddles

Recently, I have been finding some irresistible fiber and yarns online, especially at copperpotwoolies which is one of my favorites places now. The fibers are breathtakingly lovely and the service in phenomenal. Delivery is super-fast. I fell in love with so many of her fiber mixes, they just fell into my shopping cart and begged to come home with me. I ended up with several including "Rebel, Rebel" and "Sultry Shadows" which are special blends. Out of her regular rovings I picked up"Mango Berry", "Shooting Star", "Pixie Dust" which is full of sparkly bling, and some white in both Merino and Blue Face Leister. There was also a "Mystery Blend"ordered of which she sent me two. I now have the decision of which to spin first.

Over on another etsy site, butterflygirldesigns I found handmade spindles and more fiber. I chose a "Pink Opalite" spindle, along with fibers in "Strawberry Swirl", "Citrus Fizzi", and "New Fallen Snow II" to accompany it.

Then I headed over to dkknits , where I bought a huge amount of sock yarn. She has theme collections and I fell in love with the "Franks Fem Fatales" which is based on Wizard of Oz. Then between that visit and another one, I managed to pick up another 9 skeins of sock love. One was "Ruby Slippers" which is merino and tencel, has a soft gleam to them.

After all that Etsy shopping, I dropped in at spunkyeclectic and picked up the color of the month, "Walking in the Sun" in BFL roving and sock yarn. A second recent visit found this month's color, "Neopolitan", along with "Thin Ice" and "Mountain Majesty", all in BFL roving in my basket crying to come home with me. These three arrived yesterday.

On top of all this fiber goodness, I bought some more yarn from MomSue84 on Ravelry.

On a shopping trip to Walmart, I picked up two more big clear plastic bins to house all the new additions. Unfortunately, I need another bin because I found some "missing" fiber packages that were in the bedroom. These were items I had bought a while ago and put away until I was ready to spin them up. I did such a great job of this, I completely forgot about them until going through some things in that room. It was a nice surprise to find them, and was like buying them all over again.

My husband is promising to get my treadmill downstairs in the basement and to build me a nice, big bookcase for my craft room so I can organize all my books in one spot instead of two smaller bookcases. This will free up a bin which is presently full of fiber books, and floor space, as well as create a better looking room. Sadly, I will have to fill up the space with all the bins presently stored in the bedroom and living room. I think he has started to question the size of the stashes as the bins keep arriving and filling. There must be a way to camouflage them somehow.........

I'm off to look for a big cabinet to hide yarn/fiber in and to buy another bin...........

I've been Meme tagged!!

I've been tagged by Sherill, at http://nowandthen.blogspot.com/ with this meme. Here's what you do:

Post the rules on your blog. Link to the person who tagged you. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. Let’s go:

1. I love thunderstorms, even the day ones.
2. I rarely go to bed before midnight or 1 a.m.
3. Waffles with peanut butter and jelly are tasty.
4. I need to face the door to fall asleep at night.
5. My favorite books to read are romances, especially historicals.
6. I love ice coffee, but am allergic to the flavor shot used in most coffee shops, so I have to drink it plain. The beans are o.k.

O.K. Now here's my links:

AnnaMarie at http://www.princessofpink.net/

Donna at http://knit1spin2.blogspot.com/

Lisa at http://www.nativeknits.com/

Sarah at http://sarahmackenzie.wordpress.com/

Anne at http://carpoolknitter.wordpress.com/

Caroline at http://dipndip.blogspot.com/