Almost Three Years

Scoot over and let me in - we got some catching up to do!

 

Yup, I still meet every week with the local knitting group, The Fertile Turtles, only our location has since changed.  We're now at Books-A-Million in west Knoxville, every Sunday 11am - 2pm.

I'm still playing World of Warcraft with my guildies The Legends of Azeroth, only these days I'm playing my druid as much as my hunter; reckon they're co-mains.

During SAFF 2011, I bought a little 10" Cricket loom, which turned out to be a gateway drug leading me to the recent acquisition of a 32" Schacht loom!  Aw, c'mon - it's something else with which I can use my yarn!  Several scarves have been cranked out, a rag rug, and two pillows.  I've recently learned that if you sew on your woven fabric where you intend to cut, you can apply sewing patterns to your own weaving!  You know my head exploded.

 

 

Meanwhile, this past summer, a friend introduced me to the Ravelry message board for fans of the TV show, The Walking Dead.  Get this, the group is called The Knitting Dead!  It's been loads of fun, and through it, she roped me into participating in the 2012 Tour de Fleece for Team Knitting Dead.  I also spun for Team Yarn Haven.  It's a spin-along that coincides with and cheers on the Tour de France.  I spun my butt off during them weeks and am right proud of the results!  Dunno why I waited so long before giving the TdFleece a go. 

 

And while doing all that spinning, a thought brewed and percolated . . . I wanted to learn how to process raw wool.  That same friend, Yvonne, came for a visit, and without knowing of my secret wish to wash wool, brought me a bag of raw wool.  Well that settles it, doesn't it?  Serendipity!  A divine message!  The Wool Fairy struck again!  Well now, it simply had to be done, 'cause that bag o' shetland wasn't going to process itself.   So the homework commenced, and I learned how to wash it.  Also found these learn-to-comb and learn-to-card kits at the Woolery's web site.  Those kits also come with raw wool, on which to learn.  I've been a wool-washing, combing and carding fiend ever since they arrived.  Well yes, I ordered them both!   And that order came on the heels of having ordered that big ol' loom from them.  It's been awhile since I've said how much I adore the Woolery.  I think they need a second location right here in my hometown.  My side of town.  Next door, please.

Anyway, all that put me on the trail of learning about different breeds for spinning.  I was already entertaining the notion that the next SAFF trip would see me buying my first whole fleece.  So I gotta learn what to look for, right?  So I read up on books and cruised the web for info.  And then SAFF 2012 brought me and this heavenly 6-pound corriedale fleece together!



And all the while, I've really begun to appreciate how much joy you can get from the same standard-package size of 4 ounces of wool, if you processed it, spun it, dyed it, and then finally knitted it.  When you buy it already ready to go, you miss out on all that time with it.  Talk about getting a bang for your buck, if you do it your own self!  That's a lot of playtime with the same bit of fluff, if you do it all from the beginning. 

How about you all?  Any big yarnish tools obtained?  Any new skills learned?  Any fibery challenges accepted and met?  You can tell me - there's comment boxes and everything.  You've got the past two years to catch me up on.  There's got to be loads to tell!

After the TdFleece 2012 had ended, in which I spun the only way I knew how (short forward draw), I got to try a new-to-me drafting technique, the long draw.  Now that I had some honest-to-gosh carded rolags, I finally got the long draw to work.  And Oh. My. Gawd, is it ever fast!  Having just finished three weeks of tracking my spinning production for the TdFleece, I had something to compare to, and holy crap!  Spinning with the long draw was four times faster! 

Let me say that again - four times faster! 

Well, it wasn't gonna stop there.  That little taste of finally succeeding at a skill that had eluded me before just spurred me on to more new adventures.  Let's re-look at that spinning from the fold thing . . . Can ya tell I was rewatching Drafting the Long and Short Of It with Abby Fanquemont?  Now, the short draw is for a worsted yarn, and the long draw from rolags is for a woolen yarn.  This from the fold technique gives a hybrid.  The resultant yarn was just as elastic and springy as the woolen, but with a smoother finish like the worsted and it was every bit as fast as the long draw. 

I was all a quiver as I proselytized the virtues of spinning from the fold to those on Ravelry who would hear me! 

That's almost got you caught up with my fiber life.  Almost.  In recent months, I've found Pinterest and all the yarny goodness that lives there, and the new Craftsy site, which has some freebies and ran a fantastic sale over the holidays.

Speaking of Pinterest fiber boards, have y'all seen the Ryan Gosling memes in which he tells us girls just what we want to hear?  As it turns out, he's picked up knitting for real!  In a recent interview with Australia's GQ magazine, Ryan Gosling explained, " I did this scene in Lars and the Real Girl where I was in a room full of old ladies who were knitting, and it was an all-day scene, so they showed me how. It was one of the most relaxing days of my life. . . If I had to design my perfect day, that would be it. And you get something out of it at the end. You get a nice present. For someone who wants an oddly shaped, off-putting scarf.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Knittin' & Noddin'

Aren't these some very happy lookin' people?  Check out Mom & Babe, just knittin' and noddin'.  Kristine has her Baby Longlegs as a pattern up on the Knit Picks site - congratulations!  Doesn't Pat make that lace dead sexy?  She had a bamboo tape yarn going into a kimono.  And meet Diane, who brought some wool socks to her first KiP with us.   Raeus and Debra are both doing Ten Stitch Blankets.    Barb worked on a jacket, Jessica worked on a luxury handtowel, and Oliver learned to knit!  For real - not just cranking out Icords on the Wonder Knittr, and not just casting on.  He's knitting them stitches now and reports being past the half-way point in making his doggy a blanket.  We're so proud!

Lynda brought her drop spindle, and had some raspberry & black alpaca/silk going, on which Raeus done called dibs.  I took my wheel out for the first time, and am relieved to report that she travels quite well.  I worked on some more Frabjous Fibers BFL, this time using the Tapestry colorway.  Since last Sunday's knitting group, I've already 2-plied it, soaked it, and hung it to dry.   Dunno what to name this one though.  Summer Stains maybe?

And speaking of colors, dyeing my own fibers is very much on my mind . . . kinda the way spinning was for a long time.  Just kinda gestating in its own little room in my head.  It'll come forward and happen kinda soon, ya know? 

I've been on the prowl for some new podcasts for knitting/spinning ear candy, since the demise of an old favorite.  And folks, I kinda knew there were a lot out there, but sheesh!  I've found more ear candy than I think is possible to follow - but I'm sure gonna try!  I'm really digging the podcast thing while spinning even more than I already did while knitting.  I've found that spinning is more introverted and I don't really want to look up at the TV or anything else.  I just wanna keep my head tucked down, my eyes glazed over in the direction of the spinning, and my ears wide open, catching everything.  It's kind of zoned-meditation and hyper awareness at the same time. 

So what all have I found in podcast land?  I thought you'd never ask!  After weeding out the ones that just don't light my bulb, I'm subscribed to the following:

• Cast On
• Craft Culture
• Destiknit
• Knitmoregirls
• Math4Knitters
• Stash and Burn
• Dyeing to Knit
• The High Fiber Diet
• Spin Control
• Yarnspinner's Tales
• The Best of John Boy and Billy
• Bluegrass Highway
• Jim Harold's Campfire
• Paranormal Podcast
• Podcast Appalachia
• President Obama's Weekly Address
• Call to Auction
• The Instance
• OutDPS!
• World of Warcast
• WoW Insider
• Librivox: Balder Dead
• Librivox: Bulfinch's Mythology
• Librivox: Popular Tales from the Norse
• Librivox: Volsungasaga
• Nordic Drones

Maiden Voyage

So, um, my plans changed. They just had to. I was already having a very hard time acting like a grown-up, last Friday at work, knowing that the very next morning was when I could finally go get my wheel. Phyllis from R & M Yarns in Georgetown called me around 2:30pm to tell me it had arrived in her store intact, and added the teasing remark, "Ya know, if you left right now, you could make it before we close."

Arrrrrgh! I told her that I was at work and had to stay until it would be too late to make it down to Georgetown before her 5:30pm closing time. She then blew me away with offering to meet me back at the store to let me get my wheel, after hours. All I had to do was call her when I got to her town!

Oh. My. Gawd! That's when I really went stupid, turning into a jumping four-year-old. All pretenses at mature grace went right the hell out the window when I realized it would actually be in my hands that very night! I hung in there at work as best I could for a little bit more, when our boss just happened by our office door. Without having planned too, I blurted out, "Would the world come to an end if I left at four?" Despite the coding still being behind, and by all rights the answer should've been 'no,' she said yes.

So I squirmed and coded until 4:00 and then hauled ass in my v8 caddy to Georgetown!

If you local folks will recall, Friday evening was when our region of Tennessee got that monsoon of a downpour, up to four inches that night in the parts I was in. Yeah, I drove right through that storm and emerged out the other side of it just as I got off the exit at her town. The sun popped back out and my wheel was inside that sunlight, very nearby. I'm glad their local law enforcement wasn't looking that evening, 'cause I didn't slow down.

She and her hubby were already there waiting for me, and there was my wheel with my name on a piece of paper taped to the box!

Chillbumps and tingles is all I can say 'bout that moment.

Then I hugged Phyllis. Then I shopped the daylights out of her store. Roving, sock yarn, and a purple Zuma Namaste bag also went back home with me that night (chuckle).

The weather stayed nice the rest of the night, so, with all that goodness in my trunk, I drove home up 75N on damp roads, with freshly washed pines flanking me for an hour, partly cloudy skies, a setting sun, and much lighter traffic. Perfection!

And as soon as I got home, it was a moment to pee, about two moments to change into my pajamas, and then the assembly of my new wheel commenced.

As is tradition with the Ladybug wheels, I first took a moment to find where on mine the bejeweled ladybug was hidden. Ah, she's right where I can always see her while I spin - more perfection!

This is how she came out of the box, only needing her treadle pedals to be attached. The flywheel assembly isn't on yet, but it's an on-n-off kinda thing anyway, so it doesn't count towards the assembly.

Ya know, putting them pedals on myself, and reading through where all the drive band and spring string goes, went a long ways towards learning all of its parts and what they do. The bonding 'tween the wheel and me had begun.

And here she is all complete!

I had a small amount of purple fiber (unknown what kind), that was part of the massive amount of fiber gifted to me by a friend who can no longer knit/spin due to carpal tunnel syndrom. It was too small of an amount to do much with, project-wise, but that made it perfect for experimenting.

So I loaded it up, and (it's gotta be said) gave it a spin! Another pleasant surprise was how quickly it spun up. I know wheels are faster than drop spindles, which is part of why I wanted to take that next step into Wheel Land. But holy crap, that was so fast!

This was when I messed with the tension settings and the two different grooves (different ratios) on that medium whorl. Once that was a tightly spun single, I tried something else about which I've been curious: Navajo plying. I might as well, with just one single, ya know? As messy, clumsy, and downright gnarly as that seemed while doing it for my first time, the result was yet another good surprise. I gotta practice that little manuever, 'cause I can see me using it a lot in the days to come.

So I made some newbie-lookin' purple yarn.

By then, it was pert near midnight, and I had been awake since 4am. I finally went to sleep, with a grin on my face. My first conscious thought Saturday morning was, "I got my wheel!"

Since then, I've spun up some of the Frabjous Fiber BFL Top I had gotten last Christmas, in the Atlantis colorway. Like a lot of beginner spinners' yarns, this one starts out kinda rough at the beginning, but then gets more even about midway. It's currently hanging up to dry and set, after it's soaking. Yeah, I spun up 4 ounces of it on Saturday and then 2-plied it on Sunday.


This closeup photo is currently the wallpaper for my 'puter's desktop, because I just can't stop lookin' at it!

I'm calling it Maiden Voyage, since it's my first wheel-spun, and as a salute to the roving's color name. And the play on words of 'maiden' in relation to a spinning wheel didn't escape me.



Both days saw my spinning done before and after our WoW guild's scheduled raids. Saturday, we did a guild 10-man run back through the Ice Crown Citadel, and folks, we finally got Festergut down! We took a peek at his brother Rotface, just to see how that fight looks, since it was a first time look-see for a lot of us. We couldn't really pursue that fight though, 'cause by then some guildmates had to log off for the night.

Sunday, yesterday, our guild's 10-man team buddied up with a similar guild's team to form a 25-man raid. Yeah, we pugged some, but it was all good. I'm so proud of what all we've been able to do, and have fun doing, as a friends-n-family style of guild, instead of a hard core raiding guild. From what I'm hearing, ICC is causing those serious guilds enough stress, that it's becoming a guild-breaker. Huh. We're progressing and having a blast doing it. Maybe it's 'cause we're more about playing together every weekend than we are about what we do in game. I'd do the in-game fishing if I could do it with my friends, ya know?

And that other guild we partnered with yesterday? They're a lot like us, so it was a fun, stress-free, playful kinda way to spend time in-game. Pardon my moment of elitism here, but them serious guilds that get all cranky during their raids could really take a page out of our book and remember that it's a game, and it's supposed to be fun.

cue the music

Regardless of what the calendar says, I know summer’s been here for a week already. Last week, my local grocery stores had Grainger County tomatoes and Vidalia onions for sale! And if that ain’t proof enough for ya, I got eat up by a hateful skeeter this morning.

Ironic that today was also Wax Day at the dermatology clinic where I work, in which we employees enjoy the perk of having our eyebrows done for free by one of our aestheticians. So I now have welts over my eyes to match the skeeter bite bumps on my elbow, wrist, and knee. Yeah, this was the state in which I returned home from the skin clinic. Ya just gotta laugh.

Speaking of work, I’m still digging the coding and my coworkers there, and the recent overtime for us two coders still continues. That proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer, in that I predict we’ll be all caught up really soon.

But the extra work has already put my spinning wheel savings over the goal, and it’s time to finally get my wheel and bring her home! But alas, the Loopy Ewe, where I was going to order from , won’t have any more in stock for a long time. And the Coppermoose, which I’m delighted to have found, would have some in by today, according to the phone call a few days ago. But they can’t mail it to me before this weekend, which is when I’m determined to have it. This is a three-day-weekend coming up, and what better way to do this? You know I’m gonna want several days to indulge in my new toy, and having it arrive in the mail on a busy week day would just be a cruel turn of fate.

So no. I want it in time to spin with it during this long weekend! And I’ve found one close enough to drive to it on Saturday morning. R&M Yarns, a little over an hour’s drive south of here, carries my coveted Ladybug wheels. I spoke to Phyllis on the phone, and she said her UPS tracking has them arriving in her store Friday. I shall be there early Saturday morning waiting for her to unlock the store and sell one to me! She’s getting two, with one already spoken for. I got the official dibs on the other one.

By my reckonings, I shall be spinning my brains out by 12:30pm that day.

In the meantime, my fellow Fertile Turtle yarnies, my favorite LYS, my spinning books, my drop spindle with the alpaca, and my actual knitting have kept me occupied enough so that my head hasn’t yet exploded from anticipation. Check out Sandy’s blog for a recap of the Pajama Party – I’m the one in braids.

Speaking of the Yarn Haven, their latest charity drive is knitting prosthetics for those who’ve had a mastectomy. It’s called the Knoxville Knockers Club – for real! The pattern is actually what Mary Beth adapted to make my blue-footed booby.






That and a couple of raids with my WoW guild, The Legends of Azeroth. Festergut still hasn’t fallen yet, but we’ve got Saurfang’s butt thoroughly whooped. This weekend, we’re buddy-ing up with a similar guild to form a 25-man team for Ice Crown Citadel. I can’t think of much else that would tear me away from my wheel, and it probably wouldn’t if I hadn’t already had a day with it by then. That is, if all goes according to plan (cue the ominous music right about here).

I gotta confess to a bit of mixed feelings about our ultimate goal of killing Arthas the Lich King. Yeah, by all lore accounts, he’s got to be killed. But, he’s kinda hot – I’m just sayin’ . . .





I’ve spent the past couple of weeks culling my knitting magazines and doing some more de-stashing, both in the spirit of spring cleaning and in preparation for our Yarn Swap. That ended up being a two-weekend event, just to be sure everyone got a chance to de-stash and pick up some goodies. What’s in this photo is only a fraction of what all was up for grabs.

Our beloved Oliver picked up some freebie needles and yarn, and found some how-to videos online, and has at least learned to cast on. We’ve yet to see him do it, so I dunno . . . That was two weeks ago, when the espresso machine was out of order, ‘causing me to whine just a little.

The leftovers, you know, the stuff that nobody took, is going to the charity, Knit & Crochet for TN Flood Victims, courtesy of Luna who made those arrangements.

This photo shows what all I brought home with me from the swap. No worries; I definitely de-stashed more than I picked up. My trunk was full of yarn and magazines, and I drive an old Cadillac Deville!






I nearly brought these Moon Beams skeins home too, just because of their name!











We did manage to get some knitting done, and on the second swap weekend, the espresso machine was in full swing too. Check out Pam’s latest pair of Rainbow Ripples, poised on her finished baby Sail Boat blanket. Ssshh! She had a birthday last week!

And if ya missed it, ya missed hearing Barb serenade us with her rendition of Pants on the Ground.

You also missed seeing Raeus' alpaca and silk jacket all finished up! But I’m sure when cooler weather returns, we’ll see her in it plenty.

I recently finished knitting the little scarflett on the cover of Knitscene Easy 2010. Need to block it still, before snapping a photo. And ear candy for my home knitting has been the audio book version of Charlaine Harris’ latest Dead in the Family.

On my way home from work today, I stopped and picked up a copy of The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing and the blu-ray of Beowulf & Grendel. This weekend I shall not only spin, but I’ll do so with high def Viking men in my den. Don’t bother peeking; I’ll have the blinds closed.

He said he made a graveyard

The Sunday after SAFF, a lot of us played hooky from the knitting group from shear, I mean sheer, exhaustion. The Sunday after that, last week, the men in my family lost their minds for a few days and my mother meddled madly. I understand that the planet Mars was doing something wonky along about then, and lots of us women found our men-folk a bit odd. True or not, let’s just go ahead and blame Mars, shall we? So I didn’t make it to that knit-together either.
So yeah, by the time yesterday rolled around, I was in dire need of some fiber therapy and the company of sane women! I brought a scarf I’m knitting for a gift and my alpaca to spin on the spindle. And I bought a book, ‘cause it’s just been that kind of week. A two-bags-of-candybars kind of week. I finally got my own copy of Cookie’s Sock Innovation. Maybe tonight I’ll curl up with some hot chocolate and that book.

Don’t these folks look great together? And a couple of strangers, one of which was knitting, were spotted on the other side of the café. Introductions were made, of course, along with invites to join us anytime. And yet another lady introduced herself to us, approaching ‘cause she’d heard of our group and was curious. She was just shopping though, at that moment, and didn’t have her knitting with her. I’m so proud of and honored by our group – did you know we’re three years old now?
Three years ago, I taught a one-afternoon beginners workshop there in that café, to about 10 folks. Eight went away as new knitters. Of the other two, one was blind and the other a child of about 8 or 10 years old, but they almost got it too. What? I’m just sayin’. Didn’t realize until later that the young newlywed couple were very new – on their honeymoon to be exact! That would be Daphne and Jason. Jason rarely knits anymore, but is always playing with a new crafty thing. When I sat down yesterday and asked them how they were doing, he responded, “I made a graveyard last night!” It involved old beer empties, I dunno.
Anyhoo, they didn’t want to stop knitting. Together. In that café. Ever. And we’ve grown in leaps and bounds and have knitted together for three years now. We keep up with our longevity by asking Daphne and Jason how long they’ve been married. Daphne has a very snuggley-looking, worsted weight, lace wrap nearly done. Jason’s mom, Angelika, was knitting another dishcloth, and this one looks too pretty to use!
Raeus was wearing her finished shrug and has begun a lace-weight wrap with some of her SAFF haul. Kim came back to us for some knitting, and has a holiday gift on her needles. Dunno if I should declare it here, so I won’t. Speaking of Kims, Kimberly also joined us today. My given name is Kim, so it was a Knitting Kims kinda afternoon.
Barbara started another duck to stuff – have you seen the photo of her first one, on Sandy’s blog? And Caitlyn worked some more on her Clapotis, this time with that excel chart in hand. Anastasia is on sock #2 of that pair she’s learning on, but took a break from it to cast on for her second project ever – a lace cardigan. What’s with us and lace lately? I’ve got the FLS and two lacey sock patterns going my own self.

Mary Beth declared her star illusion blanket done. See, no stars.

But when you tilt it to change your point of view, the stars emerge. Nifty huh? Debra is about half way through the alien scarf that started this illusion knitting craze.

Apparently the yarn store over in Maryville, the Knitting Nest, was having a sale, so Carol opted to help out with that. And I had missed Pat, when I came in kinda late, as she had knitted her bit and then dashed off to shop. Wonder if she went to the sale?
Brook’s Icarus shawl saw the last few rows of chart #2 done yesterday, and she’s shopping for some sort of toy that caused the following phrase to waft towards my end of the tables, “ . . . hamsters you turn on.” I almost didn’t ask what that was about, ‘cause it was just so funny by itself.
Okay, a lot of our humor is the sort for which you just would’ve had to be there. Like when that same end of the table somehow got to talking about Mumps progressing enough to involve genitalia. Yeah, the expression that flowed from that was, “mumps on bumps,” which was very nearly the title of this blog entry!
Several of us were knitting holiday gifts (how many more knitting days until Christmas?) and the beginning murmurs of having our own holiday party were heard. Yup, I reckon the season has begun.
Something I was there in time to see was Oliver’s secret talent – check him out!

We didn't do it!

So I made it to my first fiber festival and back home again in one piece; exhausted, broke, and deliriously happy! I'm already kinda plannin' ahead for next year's festival!

Yesterday morning, my alarm clock started me off at 4am. The car had already been cleaned up the night before, my purse was packed with a portable knitting project and a balanced check book, and the programmable coffee pot was cheerfully waiting for me. This much yarn and fiber shopping was not to be taken lightly.

And yeah, I was the first one to arrive at an empty Borders parking lot at 6:50am (chuckle). But the others arrived right on time, and by 7:30 a minivan of six and my car with three more were eastbound to Fletcher, North Carolina for the SAFF: Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival. After a stop at McDonalds first, just right around the corner. It was kinda funny when the cashier looked at a lobby full of predawn women covered in knitwear and asked, "Are you all together?"

Folks, just the drive over there was something to remember. Good company and breathtaking fall colors in our decidious foothills of the Smoky Mountains. The colors popped under dark cloudy dawn skies that were underlit by the sun still being so low. If you've ever seen hills glow on a day like yesterday, you'll know what I mean. It just got prettier and prettier as we drove on.

We got there and parked around 10-ish. The air was crisp, but not chilly, and the breeze was gentle: the perfect autumn mood-setter for knitterly things . . . and the agricultural center's grounds were packed with knitters that I would guesstimate to number over a thousand. Seemed that way in a good way. I would later observe to my husband that large groups of any other kind of people wouldn't have been such an enjoyable experience. All day, strangers browsing the goods beside me would comment to me as if we had been shopping together all day. Well, I reckon a bujillion of us were doing just that.

Before the magical moment of walking through the door of the first building, we decided that we would meet there at those doors every two hours, just to check in with each other.

And then we entered . . . my first fiber festival ever . . . and I was squealing already just five feet in the door! Gasp! Little miniature sheep dolls made of fleece. SAFF t-shirts and mugs, knitters' jewelry, and then . . . the first booth with yarn . . . and fleece . . . and more yarn . . . and more fleece . . . dyeing kits . . . spindles . . . wheels . . . needles . . . patterns . . . things to put them things in . . . ! Oh. My. Gawd! By then, I was about 30 feet inside the door on the first of two levels (with several more buildings and barns to go yet) and just a little dizzy. I'm not sure if there was an agreement amongst us Fertile Turtles to split off and start shopping, or if I just wandered off in a daze and just . . . started shopping.

Next thing I knew, I had a bulging bag of sock yarn from just that first level. I stopped buzzing enough to realize I was awfully thirsty and in need of a cigarette. That, and there's the other level and them other buildings, and wasn't there supposed to be some animals around here? And a 'sales' area? What time is it, anyway? I got me a soda, made the check point, and felt normal for the first time since we'd gotten there. We all played show 'n tell with our purchases, compared notes as to what all we had found and where, and devised individual gameplans as to where to go next.

Heard tell that the sheep shearing barn (the blue barn) had little goody bags they were giving away, so I headed up there with Daphne and Jason. We walked in just in time to see the last one given away - oh well. But what I ended up coming away with, was soooo much more precious and generous than any ol' goody bag!

You know I want a spinning wheel. Anybody who's spent more than just a few minutes with me knows that. And there I was among acres of wheels. Sooooo . . . . I politely asked this lady in that blue barn (found out her name is Barbara) if I could just tredle on hers . . . just to feel what's it like to work double tredles. Okay, if you're not a fiber person (and somehow still reading this), this is not an unusual request in such a festival setting. Or so I had read in beginner spinning books.

Anyhoo, she did more than allow that. She pulled her work off of it, loaded up an empty bobbin, snatched up a handful of wool (from thin air, upon thinking back on it), and gave the three of us an impromptu beginner's lesson! She explained the parts of the wheel (it was a Lendrum), how and why to adjust all them parts, what she was doing with her hands, and in turn what that did to the fiber, etc. She's done this before, it showed. And she was the most comfortable, soothing, empowering teacher I've ever met, paid for or stumbled upon! Then she stood up, and handed me the rest of that little fluff of wool. She simply said, "Now you do it," and let me have her wheel for a few precious minutes.

It was clumsy and comical at first, with me somehow pedalling the wheel back and forth instead of round and round. Without saying a word, she reached down and with her hand spun the wheel to keep me from backing it up. She did it with the body language and nonchalance of a mother dusting off a fallen toddler. That little boost and straightening out gave me a few moments from the constant motion (hands and feet and whirling things all at once) to think. And then I was spinning. As simple and magical a moment as that. I forgot about my feet and just turned them loose. The wheel's speed found me, or I found it, but we matched up and I was spinning. If I can do that in just a few minutes (with a spinning guardian angel nearby), think what I could do if given a lifetime to bond with a specific wheel! It was nearly spiritual. Okay, no 'nearly' about it. It was a glorious recognition of sorts, that's what it was.

You do know, now, that there will be no living with me until I get a wheel of my own! All the way home later that day, I kept chanting in a childish voice, "Iwannawheel, I wannawheel, Iwannawheel!" Daphne and Jason were good sports about it, and let me carry on. But ya know, it's hubby that's gonna hear me whimper until I get one . . . and it's out there somewhere, just waiting for me to bring it home. Hang in there Love, I'm saving as quick as I can.

Okay, so we left the blue barn, I shook it off, and the exploring recommenced. I wandered back to the blue barn at the posted once-a-day shearing demo time, and learned the story behind the sheep they were going to shave. They were rescue sheep, and the one for yesterday's demo was named Elsabeth. She had been two years without shearing when they found her, but the handler said she believed that Elsabeth had once been a show animal, by her behavior.

Elsabeth was a very good sport too. Her poor fleece was so overgrown! So the shearing wasn't like one of those Australian things we see on TV. It was a kinder, family-ish, healing, downright mothering kind of thing to watch. The handler's helpers were her family, it turned out, and even the youngest little girl was perfectly comfortable following the older woman's instructions in handling the animal, while she did what had to be done. She got some vaccine syringes ready while telling the crowd Eslabeth's story. The younger women and girls got into place to help secure the sheep, and then the shearing began. We the crowd had grown very empathetic towards Elsabeth in those few minutes of hearing her story, and were anxious to see her freed from that overweight encasement.

And the first glimmer of freedom for Elsabeth was a tail that could finally wag freely! Yeah, she got a little knick on her leg, but it was okay.

Our new sheep friend just munched on her grain while the ladies continued giving her a makeover.

And then the alpaca's caught my eye in the next barn over. Just look at those faces and those ridicously huge brown eyes!

And um, yeah, some were for sale. Could you just see me coming home with one of these in the back seat of my old cadillac? Yarn Boys, you have competition!

So, I scored some sock yarn, three skeins of Dream in Color's Smooshy.

And some of the elusive Bugga! came home with me too.

And some dyed alpaca roving . . .

and natural, undyed alpaca roving . . .

And a nifty little basket just made for drop spindle spinning.

oh yeah, and a new spindle too.

And then this morning, while browsing the 'net, I found this on our local news station's homepage: Rock slide closes I-40. I just want to go on record as stating that it had been at least eleven hours since we drove through there, so we didn't do it!

Slap Happy

About last week. I had declared that that Sunday would be a Pajama Day, as I hadn’t had one in a very long time. And so it was.

I did my first Russian join, using the Malabrigo worsted weight in that scarf – and wow! How have I played with yarn for over 30 years without learning that maneuver before now? That will see lots of use in the years yet to come, no doubt.

I did indeed acquire some better circulars in the size needed for them New Vol socks, so they’re once again being done with the 2-at-a-time method. Addi Lace Turbos for the win! I got ‘em both past the heels (my first ever short-row heel), and am now stitching up the legs towards the cuff. Despite working on my orange and white socks while watching the games on TV, and despite having the groomer put orange ribbons and nail polish on my dog . . . the Vols still ain’t doin’ that well. So much for bringing them luck. I know folks are griping about our quarterback, Crompton. But hey, at least he’s pretty to look at. Well he is – I’m just sayin’. . .

These past two weeks had me dodge a cold via the Zicam tablets, only to later scratch my eye badly with a metal mascara comb. You know the wirey sharp ones? Yeah, one of them. It landed my hiney in the ER and swelled up my eye something awful. Fortunately, eye wounds heal quickly, and now it’s like it never happened. But I was an ugly, snotty mess there for awhile.

In yet other news, remember that vest I made recently with Fiesta's La Boheme yarn? Fiesta is using my pic of it for their Ravelry page for the pattern - how cool is that?









Two weeks ago, I forgot to mention that our knitting group got the collective idea to caravan to North Carolina in a few weeks for the SAFF, Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival. Right then, I put my silly spending on hold and have been saving in earnest. Yeah buddy, I intend to do some serious financial damage on that particular Saturday. Yup, it’s just going to be one of those day trip things, but oh what a doozy this one will be! I feel like a four-year-old waitin’ for Santa!

I’m still kinda wanting them clear clogs though . . . that might still happen. What?

And I did splurge on a book today, while at the Fertile Turtles knitting group. I picked up a copy of Spin Dye Knit. Excellent beginner info with enough pictures to make the text make some sense, bless her. But that’s it – no more frivolous spending for me until I get to the SAFF.

I wore my latest Calorimetry today, and I just can’t say enough how much I adore these things. They’re really fun and quick to knit, making single-skein-shopping a heady thrill. And I really love wearing ‘em for both the warmth and to keep my cave-woman-tresses under control.





And when I arrived, Pam identified the yarn I used for this one right away . . . yup, she used the same stuff to make the very same thing just a week or so ago. She was working on the other Monkey sock, and will have the pair in no time at all. She had her completed pair of Rainbow Ripple socks on today, and definitely had me inspired . . . to buy them clear clogs and get to work on the two pairs I have on the needles still. Too much knitting to be done for just one life time, I swear.


Raeus brought in her completed Entwined Shoulder Shawl, which made me squee! Just look at it! She’s got a purple shrug going on her needles now.

Jane returned to us with a blue hat on her needles that will be felted, and some more yarn she donated to the Zimbabwe thing. She’s got some things going on at home that may keep her away from the knit-togethers for a bit, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Debra is half way through the body of her cotton February Lady Sweater.

Mary Beth worked on some more of that little witch’s anatomy while wearing her own Colonnade Shawl. She pointed out that there are charities out there that accept just single socks for amputees – no kidding! Never mind what I found trying to google that one. If anybody out there knows of such an organization, please, do tell.

Barbara has the sleeves going now, for that little baby cardigan, and is closer to being finished than she is willing to believe. Mary Beth had to separate Barb from Carol, for just a little while, when Barb got a bit slap-happy. Sigh.

Speaking of Carol, she has a new part time job with Dutch Valley Antiques that sounds like a lot of fun. She was wearing a gorgeous cardigan she knitted awhile back, while working on this brilliantly bizarre scarf. Dunno if you can tell in the photo, or if I can explain it right. But the upshot is that she’s using this railroad ribbon yarn, but only knitting into the edge thread of it. It’s creating this really nifty dimensional fabric that just fascinated me.

Angelika came in with dishcloths on her mind and cast one for one. I cast on for yet another Calorimetry. Shush you.

Ginger made it in, and has some fun ideas for making Fertile Turtle canvas bags for us. She’s aiming to have ‘em done in time for us to tote them to the SAFF, when we invade en masse. She dipped a toe back in to the sock-knitting-waters today, casting on while with us. Seems a lot of us cast on something new while we were together. Neato.

By the end of the afternoon, Oliver had entertained us with his Ladder Trick, and I had caught up with Jami for a brief gossip catch up. And we left the pushed-together-tables just in time for the next group meeting to arrive and need them. Sundays ain’t dead at that particular Borders, at least not in the last coupla years.