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| Wishing You Well |
| 10.31.04 (6:47 pm) [edit] |
This is my last post before the trip, so I am wishing everyone a great week! Of course, I know several of you have the KR Retreat coming up at the end of the week. Stay safe and have fun.
Not much else to say tonight. I am going to see if I can finish spinning my sock yarn to take along with me.
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| The Heat is Off |
| 10.30.04 (1:11 pm) [edit] |
Yesterday, I had to do a "hurry up and clean the house" routine, as Phillip decided to bring his new girlfriend, Jessie, home for a visit. Now, I guess I am sort of backwards. Usually, it would be the girlfriend nervous about meeting the parents. Well, it seems I was the nervous one in this case. Well, now, after the initial meeting and a nice lunch together at Barbara Jean's, one of our favorite local eateries, things are much more calm and relaxed, and Bill and I both seemed to have a great first impression of the young lady. (And she already knows how to crochet, at least a little - hmm... possibilities!)
Tomorrow will be a day of frenzied packing for the big trip to San Francisco. I have been thinking it is going to be strange. We likely will not find out the election results until sometime on Wednesday, as with the 3 hour time change (and the additional hour gained from going off Daylight Savings Time), we would have to stay up half the night to catch the end of the election. Last time we went to the west coast (Seattle), we were in bed by 9:30 their time and woke up raring to go at about 4 am!!
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| All Covered Up |
| 10.27.04 (3:52 pm) [edit] |
We're home, and my bed is still full of "things" I have to put up, suitcase is only halfway unpacked and laundry beckons. Very uninspiring, but... and it's a big one... I am now off until November 8. It is going to feel good to be at home for a few days before we fly off into the wild blue yonder.
I forgot to mention that I bought 2 "notebooks" of knitting patterns at an antique store for a grand total of $6.00 for both. These were originally published in the 80's, so some of the patterns are dated, but there are plenty that are not, and some are absolutely fabulous. Very well designed, if I must say so myself. When you think that your average knitting magazine cost $6.00, I think it was a very good deal.
It was gratifying to get to wear my poncho this weekend, and have several people comment on it and want to know how to make it. This was not only at the fiber festival, but also in two antique stores. I guess just about everybody in Tennessee knits to a certain extent. I wish it would trickle on down to southeast Georgia sometime.
And here are a whole string of pictures...
Cannonsburgh, in Murfreesboro, TN, where the fiber festival was held:

A handspinner and her daughter:

Luscious silk roving:

Merino/silk blend, which you see I have already been playing with:

Brindle roving of burgundy and ice blue merino, blended with camel (YUM!)

And here is one of my favorite items from the knitting notebooks:

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| Fiber Frolicking |
| 10.25.04 (11:14 pm) [edit] |
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The little fiber festival in Murfreesboro, TN was not big enough to keep someone busy all day long, but I met some very nice people and bought some fiber. There were no workshops, but people were willing to teach and demonstrate if you asked them. There was not all that much yarn, but there was enough fiber to satisfy an addicted spinner. Actually, there were not really all that many vendors. There were a couple of vendors selling alpaca fiber, a couple of vendors selling angora fiber (one of these was also selling rabbits!) There was a lady selling hand dyed (not rainbow) yarns, a lady selling mostly spindles, a couple selling Ashland Bay and Louet fibers, a lady selling romney, coopworth and luscious silk and silk/merino handpainted rovings by Nancy Finn of "Chasing Rainbows" (the lady who dyed the fiber for the silk scarf on the current issue of Spin Off). And then... Ohio Valley Natural Fibers was there. They took the biggest chunk of my cash - I bought 2 lb. of a burgundy/ice blue merino roving that was blended with camel. Oh luscious!! I will supply pictures when I get home and have the capability to upload. The festival was held in a quaint little re-created pioneer village. There were also lye soap making and blacksmithing demonstrations, sheep shearings, an apple cider vendor, several vendors selling felted items and a vendor selling home preserves. In addition to the roving, I bought 2 oz of the bombyx/merino Chasing Rainbows roving and 2 oz. of tussah silk Chasing Rainbows roving. I also bagged a Turkish Spindle. So, all in all, I had a great time. We also visited some antique shops where I found two sisters of Amie's antique wheel,Loreig. While of about the same beauty as Loreig, these two little lady wheels were MUCH more conceited, as one of them wanted $325.00 to be adopted and the other wanted $299.00 to be adopted. Needless to say, neither came home with me.
Tonight, I visited Borders and picked up Scarf Style. I was prepared not to like this book, but I was truly awed at all the unusual and lovely scarves. And yes, I DID adopt the book.
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| Floating Along |
| 10.25.04 (12:30 pm) [edit] |
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I'm back... Well, sort of. I'm not at home yet, but am at a hotel with internet access. It is time to leave for work, but I will try to do an update on the festival sometime tonight, if possible. (Yes, I bought fiber!!)
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| Going North |
| 10.22.04 (10:46 am) [edit] |
Well, I am leaving this morning for Tennessee and the fiber festival! I know this will be one of the smaller ones, but I will give a report on it when I return.
In other news, I passed the new yarn shop, Wild Fibres, on the way to one of my Savannah accounts yesterday. Now, at least I know where it is located. I was running late and unable to stop :( I got a peek through the window and saw all sorts of beautiful yarns and colors. Well, that must wait for another day, but it will give me something else to look forward to.
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| Wow! |
| 10.20.04 (10:44 pm) [edit] |
I am testing, since we just got DSL (woo hoo). I just uploaded a picture, and it was almost instantaneous. This is not knitting, but I am sharing the picture anyway.

This is my little pet bird, Skippy.
Tomorrow we leave to work in Savannah tomorrow, and then travel on farther up north for the fiber festival weekend. I hope I will have some interesting stuff to report afterwards.
I am ecstatic to find out from Donna that there is a new fiber shop in Savannah. I finally found a listing for it on the internet, which describes the shop as knitting, spinning and weaving. Donna's husband had some awesome spindles there for sale. Check out what they look like on her site. I cannot wait to see what all is in the shop. A fiber shop within less than a 2 hour drive - it's too good to be true, almost!
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| Little Things Mean a Lot |
| 10.19.04 (11:01 pm) [edit] |
After a very good adjustment by the chiropractor, I am feeling much better. I actually slept all night last night - I cannot remember the last time I have slept comfortably and all night long. And... tada... I even felt refreshed. What a novel idea. I had the second adjustment this afternoon and am feeling a little less comfortable, but still no cramps in the back and shoulders. What a relief!
I don't like to talk much about work, but I had a particularly difficult time yesterday and today. Numerous problems to sort through. I guess it was a good thing I was well rested.
This weekend, we are going back to our home state of Tennessee. About 30 minutes from where we used to live is the Cannonsburgh Harvest Days and Fiber Festival, which will be held on Saturday. I have no idea what to expect other than a sheep shearing and some fiber vendors. There is not a listing anywhere on the internet to give me a clue as to who the vendors will be. Also, we will try to hook up with some of our friends and eat in our very favorite restaurant ever.
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| Work in Progress |
| 10.17.04 (11:03 pm) [edit] |
It is not much, but here is a picture of my Not So Interesting Warm Jacket. I warned you ahead of time that it is not much to look at! Hopefully, it will finally shape up into something nice.

I tried a little spinning this weekend - the spinning itself did not bother the shoulder, but plying was a little bit rougher. I have really not done too much all weekend - just tried to recuperate. And yes, I seem to be feeling much better.
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| In a Rut |
| 10.15.04 (10:47 am) [edit] |
Well, I have missed a few days of posting lately. Not because I did not want to. I have just had a hard time thinking of anything to say. My knitting has stalled somewhat - I am working on the Not So Warm Jacket (see, this time, I called it by its right name). But it is only endless, endless brown rectangular garter stitch with a not-so-inspiring, definitely outerwear quality wool. Maybe there will be a picture later, but even that is not going to be very noteworthy - just a brown, squarish thing. My spinning is likewise slowed, mostly on account of my back and shoulder pain. I am going to the chiropractor today to try to get it all sorted out. Driving seems to aggravate it quite a bit, and I have done a bunch of that this week, maybe to the tune of 800 or 900 miles. Boy, vacation is sounding better and better all the time!! I have also been feeling rather "hermit-ish" lately - getting up, going to work, coming straight back home (when I am not away for the night), and just piddling around knitting, reading, lurking the knitting boards, etc.
It is finally starting to cool down some here. No, it does not feel like a traditional fall, but we have lost the stifling heat, and that is a good thing. I am looking forward to being in San Francisco, where I will be able to wear my poncho. I may take a shawl, too. Those convention meeting rooms can get pretty chilly. I am registered there as as spouse, but I will attend some of the seminars, regardless, since this is also my area of work. I just did not need the continuing education hours, and it saved some money to do it this way. We are going to have Tuesday and Friday to look around town. I have done a bit of research on yarn shops there - the list seems to be endless, which is a good thing, since we will be relying on public transportation and walking mostly - I am sure to run into one or two of them somewhere in the course of the trip.
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| Just Another Day |
| 10.12.04 (6:21 pm) [edit] |
No knitting or spinning to report on to speak of. I have an incredibly sore neck and shoulder - I really should schedule a visit to the chiropractor, I suppose. So, I guess I will not be doing any spinning today.
The bright spot of the day was that I finished work early today (1 pm, to be exact), drove home and went to the election commission and voted, since I will be in California on election day. All I can say, it surely felt good to have that done with and out of the way. Next on the "must do" agenda is to go and renew my driver's license. (Hey, don't I have an interesting life - LOL )
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| Spinning in a Woolee Wonderland |
| 10.10.04 (4:30 pm) [edit] |
Yesterday, we spent a lovely day in Savannah visiting our son, where he introduced us to Leopold's Ice Cream. This shop has been opened by Hollywood Film Director, Stratton Leopold. I have to confess, this establishment has the best ice cream I have every tasted! I got the Tutti Frutti - not the anemic version you see most places - this was a rum based ice cream with pecan and candied fruits in it. YUM!!! They also had other intriguing flavors - I was torn between that, the Rum Bisque and the Banana Split flavors. Must get back again soon.
Anyway, upon our (late) return home last night, my Woolee Winder was waiting at the doorstep. I got a chance this afternoon to try it out. What a wonderful invention! I am so amazed at the simplicity and the smooth operation. I used it to ply, and was really wanting to speed up more and more, it ran that easily.
Thanks to all for the kind congratulations for my Bill and our upcoming trip and also for the wonderful comments about my sock yarn and socks.
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| California, Here I Come!! |
| 10.09.04 (2:06 am) [edit] |
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Slap me, I must be dreaming!! But, no, I really am going - it just hasn't sunk in yet. My dear Bill found out today that he is being named regional consultant of the year with our company. The best part is a trip to our professional society's annual convention. The company is paying for me to go along to see him get his award. This year, the meeting is being held in San Francisco. I ADORE San Francisco!! If I am not making sense, it is because I am still up in the clouds :D
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| As the Whorl Turns |
| 10.08.04 (11:46 am) [edit] |
Thanks to Amie, we now have a cool spinning blog ring, The Spinning Wheel, where we can keep up with the antics of our fellow spinners and the tap of a button! Thanks, Amie, for setting this up. :wink:
Here is the cuff I knitted from my 50yd. of handblended, hand dyed, handspun sock yarn. Now I know that 50 yd. will produce approx 5 1/2 inches of sock tube. Now back to the spinning wheel. I have found it that it is murder to have to rejoin fibers if this stuff breaks. I suppose it is due to the Tencel content.
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| May I Present? |
| 10.06.04 (12:06 pm) [edit] |
Here are photos of my first ever "real" sock yarn. By real, I mean, it is blended with Tencel for strength, so I don't have to feel guilty about wearing handspun socks.
First the roving, as it was drying:

Then pictures of the skeined wool:

Another shot of the yarn. Notice the sparkly accents from the Tencel:

Now I must cast on and see what I will come up with. Still much more spinning to do, as this is only 50 yd.
In other news, I started The Not So Cold Jacket (lightweight version of the Einstein Coat.) Coincidentally, I happen to have a huge cone of yarn just about the same color as what is in the picture.
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| In Case You are Wondering |
| 10.04.04 (6:44 pm) [edit] |
No, I did not go to Jacksonville and indulge in a yarn frenzy with the money. In fact, I never even mentioned it to Bill that I would like to use that money. It turns it, it pays to be nice. I had mentioned some time ago that I would like to get a Woolee Winder for my birthday. Well, yesterday, he ordered me one, and it is not my birthday until the end of next month. So, the money did not go to waste, so you see. :P
A big congratulations to Bess and Amie, who both bagged prizes at the Fall Fiber Festival. I don't like to say, I told you so, but I think in this case, it's allright. Please take a bow, ladies!
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| Double, Double Toil and Trouble? |
| 10.02.04 (2:09 pm) [edit] |
Well, not anymore. This morning I carded some tencel and merino and leaped into a dyeing frenzy. This time, I used the convenient and quick method that Rhonda demonstrated to us at the Fiber In. It truly was a piece of cake. Such an improvement over the method I had been using. Instead of using bottles with a tapered tip to apply the dye, I used paint brushes, as Rhonda recommends. Also, this time, I used the "good" Saran wrap, wrapped those packets up into a little sausage like roll and taped both ends and the center. Right now, they are steaming away in the pot. I really want to try the solar dyeing, but haven't gotten my hands on a wide-mouthed large glass jar with a lid. I woke up this morning and realized where I might go to request one, so that will be my next project.
Well, to go downstairs to a more mundane duty of cleaning the bathroom.
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| Isn't it Tempting? |
| 10.02.04 (12:47 am) [edit] |
What do you do with money that is truly unexpected? Do you use it to pay bills, save it or spend it on yarn? We got a check in the mail today, literally out of nowhere. Apparently it was a settlement of one of those huge class action suits - we did not apply for any of the money or initiate any type of proceedings. It just rained down on us like money falling from the sky. So, the question is... do I go with my higher nature and let it go into the general account, or do I run down to Jacksonville and wallow in a yarn frenzy!?!? Well, actually, I don't NEED any yarn, so we shall see. But maybe I need some fiber or something... or maybe I need to check E-Bay for deals... Now wait a minute - this is starting to get ugly, so maybe I'd better just stop writing before I talk myself into it. :oops:
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