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/

Fiber Festivals Plans, Lastest Purchases, Bad Pooh Puppy....

Well, I'll start with the bad Pooh puppy first. He is now over a year old and hasn't been chewing on anything. All of a sudden, he's after the kitchen cabinet door trim. Pat had to block it for now with a long board to keep him away from it. I picked up a package of four rawhide bagel chewies that will hopefully deter him from the cabinets. He won't share with Hanna and Babs, so only one is given at a time. He will just keep taking them away from the others if they have them and sit with a pile in front of himselt. Greedy little munchkin.

I stopped by Yarns at Lace Wings just to see what was on sale, if anything. I came out with enough Cascade 220, not on sale, for another sweater. Now, I have no pattern in mind at this time. The color just called to me. It's a shade of blue with a subtle hint of green if you are in the right light. While I don't usually like greens on me, this one was too pretty to pass up. I bought 10 skeins. I know I don't need that much, but don't want to be short when I get to the end of a sleeve or the neck edges. If I have full skeins left, I will probably use them for a mittens and hat set. The excess will probably go in a pile with some other yarns. I'm playing with the idea of crocheting a blanket from scraps and left overs. That's all I bought.

Now, for the festival part. I'm planning on attending the CT Festival at the end of April. I would like to go to the NH Festival on Mother's Day weekend, as well, but don't know if I can due to other commitments. The Annual Pottowamut Family Yard Sale is the same weekend and so is my spinning guild meeting which is also being held at a sheep shearing at Watson Farm in Jamestown. The following Saturday, May 17th, is the 2nd RI Annual Wool and Fiber Festival held at Coggeshall Farm in Bristol, RI. My wheel and I are participating as well as attending that one.

Other exciting things are in the works as well, but until something definite is planned, I won't post about them here.

Pain the the Wrist, Rainy Days, and Fiber .....

I'm sitting here debating if I should take a short nap before heading out in about an hour to meet some friends at Panera for Craft Night. It snowed last night, but, the dreary heavy downpours of today have washed it all away. It's been dark and gray and miserable weather all day. If it was snow instead of rain, we would have had nasty blizzard conditions to deal with. On the other hand, it is good snoozing weather, or a cuddle up on the sofa with some knitting and a good movie kind of day.

Instead of doing either of those things, I had to go to the doctor's for my wrist followup. I thought it had improved with the therapy exercises even though I have been having tightness in the mornings. Nope. He decides the tendons and muscles were too tight. This meant a Cortizone shot. If you have ever had one you know how painful it can be. If you've never had one, consider yourself extremely lucky. I only accept getting these as a last resort for relief of pain. My first experience was with a shoulder injury in 2000 and it was horrific. No pre-numbing spray and that doctor missed the spot. When I needed one in my ankle, in 2004, I made the doctor wait a month before giving into it. That one was no where near as bad as the first. The one today wasn't too bad. My ortho doctor was a gentle as he could be and also sent me home with a wrist/thumb support to wear as needed and instructions to ice the wrist, which I've done.

On the way home, I stopped and checked the mail box. Goodies galore were waiting for me. My sock yarns from DKKnits had arrived and are snuggly soft and vibrant as always. Another box held my black Icelandic roving from Annawolfsong , from Ravelry, who has been doing a major de-shash over there. The third and smallest package was the Buffing Polish I had ordered for my wheel. It smells of lavender and will make my wheel shine so nicely. It needs a good cleaning again with all the spinning I've been doing lately anyway so this is perfect timing.

O.K. My bag is ready to go in an hour, so I think I will snooze for a half hour now.......

Spinning Retreat, Alpacas, Newborn Lambs, and Knitting.....

The Spinning Retreat from last weekend, February 1st until the 3rd, was so much fun. The Bayberry Spinners hosted the retreat and invited the RI Spinners to attend. The place was fantastic. The "house" was in Watch Hill, RI and is huge. It had a double kitchen, dining room, room for the food to be served in, sitting room and huge living room/great room for us to gather in. There were two wide staircases so no one had to navigate around anyone going up or down the stairs. The bedrooms and several baths were on the second and third floors with panoramic views of the ocean. There was also a terrific stone porch for us to sit and spin, knit, work with a drum carder, or just relax on. The food was tremendous and more than anyone could need. There was a "snack" table set up the entire weekend for nibbling. Wine, water, soda, and coffee were available to all whenever they wanted a drink. There was much laughter, spinning, knitting, sharing, and good fun happening. There was even a sock teaching session and a fiber/yarn swap held.

One of the retreat participants mentioned a local alpaca farm and arrangements were made for a visit. These sweet animals let us feed and pet them until our hearts content. They were so friendly, trotting up to the fence, as they were making humming noises at us. I would love to attend another retreat in the future.

My wrist was a bit sore on Monday, but I think I moved it the wrong way while helping to rearrange the furniture. I lifted the sofa with the hand more than the wrist. I still have tightness in the mornings, but, work it out during the day until it doesn't hurt as much.

I decided to buy a Woolee Winder, which was being offered for sale on Ravelry, for my wheel. It came in Friday, but I need to finish the bobbin I have on the wheel before switching it to try it out and have fun with it.

Last Wednesday evening was the Panera meetup with Marva and Donna. We knit, ate, and had a good time together as usual. Yesterday, Saturday was our monthly Spinner's Guild meeting. It was held at Jen's house. Her ewes are delivering lambs this week. There was a week and a half old, a two day old, and a one day old lamb for us to see. The oldest is white and the other two are black or brown. They are just so sweet and precious to see. I went to The Beads Go On with Marva after the meeting, but was good and didn't buy anything.

Today, I had to buy a new driveband for my wheel, so Marva met me at the LFS. After that, we decided to go to Sakonnet Purls, since she had never been there. Because I knew how to get there I drove. I also knew, thanks to an email newsletter from them, they had solid Alpaca Sox Yarn in as well as a book I was interested in. I came home with both these items plus yarn for socks from the sale shed. Marva shopped for some goodies, too. From there we went to Cracker Barrel in Coventry for delicious pork chops. They have an antique drum carder on one wall and sock blocker on another wall. No spinning wheel though. We headed across to the SuperWalmart, did some shopping, and came out of the store to snow falling so hard, you couldn't see in front of you. The squall stopped before I got back to her car in Warwick. Then I headed home for the night to fix my driveband and spin or knit. I've restarted my Pi Shawl four times now and hope this time it's correct.