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......