Grumpy Head Cold. Messages. Happiness a Tiny Dot on the Horizon . . .

Bleah. I've been fighting a head cold for a week-and-a-half. I keep saying to myself: If this isn't better in 2 more days, I'm going to the doctor. Two days later: If this isn't better in 2 more days, I'm going to the doctor. And repeat.

Also, I've received a couple of messages from readers who don't log in when they leave a message. I just wanted to let you know that if you don't log in, I can't reply. There's no address for me to reply to. Unless you leave me your e-mail in the text of the message (?). I guess that would work, too. My understanding of blogging protocols and procedures is rudimentary, at best. But: I didn't want anyone to think I was ignoring them.

I think this head cold is making me a touch paranoid. And maybe a little bit grumpy. Of course the whole reality that it is now dark at 5:15 at night isn't helping, either. Time to pull myself up by my chintzy winter chukkah straps and get happy.

Check back tomorrow for possible attitude improvement. It might happen,it might not. Damn cold.

Big Box on the Front Porch

The Corriedale/CVM blend. Thank you, Jesus!

I **love** a big box on the front porch. I need to order in my paper towels, toilet paper, cat food, furnace filters and what not, just so I can get more big boxes on my font porch. Recently, this arrived:

A Large Box!!

And I recognized the box! This is the box from the cheap roaster oven I bought at Wal-Mart -- excellent for steam setting acid dyed yarn and roving.

I had put my Bond and CVM fleeces in this box 2 weeks ago, and sent them to Spinderella Fiber Mills in Utah. And now . . . Spinderella was using the same box to send the roving back to me! (Recycle! Reuse! Renegotiate! Or something . . .)

So I opened said box and found:

I was apoplectic with roving joy. Here we have almost 4 lbs. of a Corriedale/CVM blend (for some reason Spinderella thought it was a Corriedale/Finn blend), and almost 3 lbs of grey Bond. My Taos wool! Come back home to roost! Can I have a whoop, whoop?!

Oh, it is ** so-ooo** pretty, I am almost swooning. This is light, attenuated roving like I've never seen before. We're talking NO pre-drafting, just sit your butt down on the ottoman and go!
Um . . . I may not have time to blog for a while. I have almost 7 **pounds** of roving to spin! And lovely roving is:

* addictive

* non-fattening

* legal.

Therefore, I must leave you ladies (and Krystofer), to the business of life. For now, I must spin.

Cats Negotiate Truce. Tech Boy Nearly Smiles.

If you've ever added an additional cat to your household, you know the drill. For an unknowable (but hopefully brief) time cat A circles cat B, they make failing-car-transmission noises at each other, then stalk about on stiff legs, swishing tails as broad as feather dusters. They howl and hiss and stomp their little kitty feet. If either of the cats is Siamese, encounters tend to sound like two tone-deaf coloraturas screaming the Best of AC/DC. Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap . . .

After a week-and-a-half, I sat "the boys" down and told them: Enough already. We can't sleep because of the racket, and the husband has taken to calling our upstairs hallway "The de-militarized zone" because of the number and volume of feline attacks. Bailey gave me his usual "huh?" look, but Herbert has an uncanny way of tilting his head when I speak that makes me feel like he's translating. This afternoon, I found this:

All quiet on the Western Front. Shalom, wee kitty cats.

Also, just when I was considering putting Tech Boy out on the curb with a pork chop tied around his neck, I caught him being sweet to his cat.

"Surly Teenager" . . . redundant??

The savage beast soothes the Adolescent Golem of Doom

Closest he's been to a bona fide smile in 2 weeks (thanks, Bailey).

Herbert and Darth

Well, the T’s are dotted and the I’s are crossed – we are officially new parents! Here’s our 3-year-old bouncing baby boy:

Herbert the Tonkinese

I’ve got to tell you a little bit of Herb’s story. Skip down a bit if you’re not a cat person. Herby was surrendered to a local animal shelter because the owner’s son had developed allergies. What most people don’t know about Siamese and Siamese-type breeds is that they tend to have a strong bond with their people – more similar to what dogs have. This trait combined with native intelligence can make a Siamese freak out in a shelter situation – and that’s what happened to Herb. The shelter was going to euthanize him because he was deemed “unadoptable,” “anti-social,” and “catatonic”!!

That’s when a good-hearted tech (who was familiar with how badly the shelter experience can affect Siamese) called Rocky Mountain Siamese Rescue. The good folks at RMSR picked up Herby and found him a foster home. For 4 months Paige at RMSR fostered him, until my family “discovered” Herb at a local cat show (RMSR had a booth there), just waiting to become part of a forever family.

Here I am on my kitty perch in the window, having a snooze.

Herb is a sweet, loving boy who loves to be petted and talked to. He and Bailey are in negotiations as to who will be the dominant cat. Each day they get a little bit closer to one another, and their “conversations” are getting progressively more civilized. If you’re interested in giving a remarkable kitty a second chance, please check out Rocky Mountain Siamese Rescue. They are great to work with, and their dedication to homeless animals is an inspiration.

_________________________________

Here are my most recent photos of Darth Vader (unblocked). As you can see, I’m almost half done.

(Yes, the back is supposed to be longer than the front. )

There is a little bit of a “neck sag issue” in the back. There is a finishing band added around the edges at the end, and I think I will pick up fewer stitches along the back neck edge than suggested to help tighten the line here.

Ellen from my knit group is also knitting a Ballerina now. It is amazing how different our fabric looks – Ellen’s is much firmer and more “professional” looking. Mine reflects a certain fondness for beer. But, as you can see on Mitzy, it fits, and that’s all that really matters, right?

Right.

What I'm *NOT* Doing Tonight

Another lumpy bag arrived in the mail today. I tried to stifle my excitement as I went looking for the scissors. One quick slice, and there it was:

"Please spin me right away! Darth Vader doesn't mind waiting . . ."

"Please click on me, too! I'm even prettier up close!"

Why the little mohairy vixen. She knows I promised not to spin at all until I have finished Darth's second gusset. Must resist urge to spin. Must be strong!

This forward little roving is from Sakina Needles, an internet store I discovered while surfing last week. Her prices were good, and the colors were even better, so I placed an exceedingly tiny order. Minuscule. Hardly worth mentioning.

Anyway, I placed this atom-sized order on Tuesday, and it arrived in Thursday's mail. Holy Cow, Batman! When I checked the return address, I realized why. Sakina is just 60 miles away. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship . . .

Merino, Mohair, Chair-in-the-Making, and Darth

That's Corriedale on the left, and Bond on the right. I think.

click to see the fleecy goodness up-close and personal.

Tonight I must spend some time with Darth Vader (aka my black Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina jacket). But before I drag my reluctant Scottish patookey off to its dark fate, here is a wee update on recent projects:

On the Bobbin:

I don’t usually like spinning merino, but I **love** this color, and so made an exception with this roving. I got this on my Taos trip -- this is from Taos Sunflower, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it again. Getting used to the “slip” of the merino is a challenge. I found that pre-drafting the heck out of the roving helped a lot. I had to modify my pre-drafting technique a little also: Instead of fewer tugs further apart (works with longer staples), I had to use tiny micro-tugs every few inches (works with Merino). Also adjusted my wheel to a slightly higher ratio, which makes it spin faster.

Once the fiber was as attenuated as it was going to get, I split it in two and spun from that. Makes a nice single. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it.


This is from the mohair roving I bought at the wool market, from Kai Ranch Mohair. I love this funky yarn, and spinning mohair is a blast. If I had a teensy bit more of this roving, I would be tempted to used the bright yarn for the yolk of a circular-knit sweater, with the bottom portion of the sweater either solid black or brown. I've also considered using it with the merino from Taos Sunflower . . . I love them together, but I'm not sure I would love myself clothed in that much screaming green AND orange.

I bought a spinning chair recently on e-bay. When it got here, I was mostly happy with it. Except for the cushion attached to the seat. The cushion was covered with some very slippery silk-like fabric, and the foam inside was very wimpy. When I sat on the chair, I smashed the cushion flat, slid off the slippery fabric, and ended up on the carpet. Clearly there was a problem.

Spinning Chair -- It lost the Evil Teflon Cushion as soon as I could find a screwdriver.

SO: I am looking through my fabric library, trying to find a nice, sturdy cotton brocade. I’ve already purchased a heavy-duty foam cushion. I’m planning on keeping this simple: Make the welting, sew the cushion, staple it onto the seat back with my handy-dandy upholstery staple gun – voila!! – usable spinning chair! (Lord willing.)

And finally, for those who are interested in raw fleece, here's one more pics of staples from the Corriedale and Bond fleeces I sent to Spinderella's last week. I'm amazed by how similar these 2 fleeces are:

Bond and Corriedale. Or Corriedale and Bond. Soon to be picked and processed into roving.

Darth Vader is demanding attention. Sometime this week, I am taking pictures of him. Because it will make me feel better. It will be good to look at tangible proof that this is not the garter stitch time sucking black hole from which I will never escape. “Look,” I can say to myself “Two weeks ago you were only half way done with the first gusset! Now you are clearly three-quarters of the way done with the first gusset!”

May the Force Be With Us All.

Back to Taos . . .

One thing that was good about Casa Cucaracha: It was within easy walking distance of Kit Carson Park, where the wool festival is located. Saturday was a beautiful day . . . maybe 75 degrees with a slight breeze.

This festival looks a lot different than other “wool fests” I’ve been to. First of all, exhibitors are set up in a big open square formation (instead of rows). Second, there is no “main tent.” Instead, each exhibitor has his own mini-tent. I like it. You walk, you duck into a tent when something looks interesting, and if an interesting tent is too crowded the first time around the square, you catch it the second time around. Kit Carson Park is lovely – with big deciduous trees (sorry, I’m not good with naming tree species) providing shade.

The other thing that is very different: Dogs are allowed. Now, I like dogs, but I wasn’t sure how having a bunch of dogs at a fiber festival would work. After 2 days of co-existing with the canines, I have to say it was one of the best doggie groups I have ever witnessed. The dogs were happy, friendly, and their owners were keeping them in line and cleaning up after them. I didn’t witness one episode of bad doggie behavior . . . and I saw Goldens, Corgis (several), a Great Pyrenees, German Shepherds, itty-bitty mystery dogs in purses . . . you name it. It was like they were all on Doggie Probation and knew they had to behave themselves.

I came to the festival looking for: 1.) A fleece. Or two. 2.) Wool combs. 3.) A diz, which is used with wool combs, and 4.) Interesting hand dyed roving. By the time I had almost made my first full loop of the exhibit tents, I was starting to panic. No fleece! (Except for Navajo Churro, which I didn’t want.) No wool combs! No dizzes! Lots of yarn, but not much roving.

Then I saw it: The Natural Colored Fleece Booth. I beetled right over there as fast as my bermuda-shorts clad legs would take me.

Bond and CVM and Teasdale; Corriedale and Alpaca and Merino: Oh my! It was so nice to put my hands in so many different types of fleece. To see (and feel!) the difference those little sheep coats make. I’ll level with you – I forgot to put my camera in my backpack, so I don’t have pictures. You’ll have to imaging rows and rows of bushel baskets, some on the ground, some on shelves higher than my head, but each containing a gem of a fleece – the cream of the crop. Some were bedecked with ribbons won at local fairs.

There were plenty of white, and it was delightful to see all the variations on grey: silver-grey, rose-grey . . . pale dove, almost mauve, salt-and-pepper. “Moorit” is a word I had to look up recently – it means reddish brown – and there were several lovely moorit fleeces as well. I was in heaven as I went from basket to basket, finally putting a sense memory to terms I’d only read about: Broad crimp, fine crimp, lofty, dense, blunt tips, tapering tips.

The ladies staffing the booth were so kind and helpful. At first I was hesitant to open the plastic bags the fleeces were stored in. Right away a kind lady encouraged me to do so, and to pull off a hunk if I wanted to examine the staple length more closely! These ladies knew that their products would sell themselves . . .

Prices varied greatly. I saw some small but lovely Corriedale fleeces for $25-$30. Almost every fleece I examined was coated, and prices reflected that. $15 per pound seemed the average.

After an extended examination and re-examination of all things woolly, I picked out a white CVM (California Variegated Mutant) from Windy Hill Farm in Casper, WY and a medium gray Bond from Gleason’s Fine Woollies in Lyons, CO. Here are some photos I took at home:

Raw Bond Fleece (unwashed)

Washed Bond Fleece. Hard to capture the subtle shifts in color . . .

Washed CVM fleece. It washed up so white and lofty!

I washed the wool up in my tub at home. Oh my gosh. I don’t think I will ever deal with a non-coated fleece again! The lanolin floated away, and the resulting wool is just delicious. I decided to send it all to Spinderella’s fiber mill in Utah, as I’ve heard good things about them and their prices seem very reasonable. I’m blending the CVM fleece 50/50 with a lovely Corriedale fleece I already had. I should end up with 4 lbs of white roving and maybe 2.5 lbs of the grey Bond.

I never did find the wool combs in Taos, although I did hear other festival-goers asking for them! The response I heard was “Well, you can always find those on the Internet . . .” I did find some gorgeous mohair roving, which I’ve spun and plied. I’m washing it today, and will have photos later this week.

After a full day at the festival, I dropped my wool off at my room and walked into town. I love the local bookstore, “Moby Dickens,” as well as the funky antique door place, the paper store, and La Lana Wools. I had a nice wander around, and then enjoyed a lovely half carafe of wine and the chicken mango enchiladas at the Apple Tree Restaurant.

I stretched dinner a little, knowing that I had to go home to . . . El Cucaracha. But I didn’t want to walk home in the dark, so I polished off my cake and coffee and headed back to my own wee hotel purgatory.

Dimness suited Casa Cucaracha. Twilight was its friend. Nothing looked quite as bad as it had at noon. There were a group of fiber fanatics (we can spot each other, can’t we?) having an impromptu picnic in the courtyard. I’d opened my window earlier, and the place had aired out a little. I turned back my bedding, and upon seeing pristine cotton sheets I breathed a sigh of relief. (The worst hotel room I’ve ever stayed in had someone else’s hair on my sheets. For a while after that, I travelled with my own sheets.)

I changed into pajamas and settled in to hover over my Wool Festival bounty. I couldn’t help myself – I washed up little handfuls of both fleeces. (Casa Cucaracha did have VERY hot water – great for washing fleece.) I put a towel down in the front hall and left the 2 woolly puffballs to dry.

I’d brought my wheel, but the room was just too dim for spinning. Or for working on Darth Vader. I gave up and settled down to a night of bad TV. I turned in early, amazed at how quiet it was . . . I couldn’t hear another soul . . .

I was awakened at roughly 2 AM by the amorous sounds that always wake you at 2 AM at a bad hotel. Oh, good grief. Keep it down, lady. Nobody wants to hear your high opera in here. I turned to my bedside table, where I had stashed my earplugs earlier in the evening. Once those were safely in place, I passed an uneventful night and slept quite well, actually.

Before leaving I stopped at Michael’s Kitchen. Whenever I visit Taos I have to eat at Michael’s at least once. If you ever go, have the blintzes. They are to die for. After breakfast I circled the exhibit grounds one more time, then headed home.

I made one pit stop on my way out of town, and I’m glad I did. I went a few miles out of my way to visit Taos Sunflower, a fiber store in Arroyo Seco, NM. There I found some great yarns – including a nice selection of Malabrigo lace weight, one of my all time favorites. Their prices were good and their staff was friendly. I’m adding Taos Sunflower to my list of “must visit” places when I’m in Taos.

It was a beautiful day for a drive, and I enjoyed the fresh, sheepy smell of my fleeces all the way home.

Swatch-a-Palooza

ArtFibers Yarns, L to R: Nirvana, Golden Chai, Kyoto, Galicia, Valparaiso (Clickable)

My ArtFibers swatch order came yesterday, and I wasted no time. This is a lovely grouping – heavy on the silk. Here are my reviews.

Notes:
• I’m a very loose knitter, so I generally use a needle 2 sizes smaller than what is recommended.

• I’ve included 2 price listings, one for the smallest skein or cone offered, and one for a theoretical “sweater” quantity.

• For more information on ArtFibers, please see the paragraph which follows the reviews.

Valparaiso
50% baby alpaca, 50% merino
My gauge: 4.5 st/in & 6 rows/in
My needles: #4 bamboos
Price: 290 yard cone / $19
1015 yards/$66.50

This sport/light worsted weight 10-ply yarn has a soft, cottony hand – so soft, in fact, that I kept going back to it in wonder. There is NO itch factor (I’m sensitive to wool), so if you’re looking for a good wool blend for next-to-skin wear, this one should be perfect. It comes in 10 softly variegated solid-ish colors. I swatched this using a size 4 needle, but probably should have used a 3.

Kyoto
69% silk, 25% super kid mohair, 6% extrafine wool
My gauge: 3.5 st/in & 4.5 rows/in
My needles: #9 Brittney birch
Price: 220 yard cone / $22
990 yards / $99

I love this yarn, but I don’t think the color I chose really shows it off to its best advantage. Kyoto is a great combination of silken shininess and mohairy fuzziness. It feels fluffy on the skin, and should make great hats, mittens and scarves. There are 19 colors offered, each a super-subtle variegated solid. This yarn feels quite luxurious – I’m hard pressed to think of anything in my LYS of comparable richness, especially for the price.

Golden Chai
100% Golden Tussah Silk
My gauge: 4.5 st/in, 5 rows/in
My needles: #4 bamboo
Price: 330 yard cone / $22
990 yards / $66

In terms of general **sigh** factor, this yarn delivers. It’s a thick and thin silk single-ply that just dances on whatever needles you put it on. And while the silk wows with its rich patina, the varying thickness of the yarn supplies a terrific rustic counterpoint. This really is one of my all-time favorite yarns. And I can’t think of another 100% silk sport weight yarn available for this price. 18 marvelous colors – everything from subtle and girly to metallic and mod. In addition, 9 solid colors are offered of essentially the same yarn under the name “Golden Siam.”

Once again, I should have swatched this with a smaller needle. I do think it would be tough for a loose knitter like me to get a “solid” fabric out of one ply of this yarn -- perhaps double-stranding it might fix this issue. I dream of a slightly oversized, drapey simple pullover made out of Golden Chai.

Nirvana
50% cashmere, 50% silk
My gauge: 5 st/in, 6.5 rows/in
My needles: #4 bamboo
Price: 274 yard cone / $18
959 yards / $63

I wasn’t bowled over by this yarn. What’s not to like about silk and cashmere? Rubbing my fingers over the firm strand I thought “Great cabling yarn . . .” but when I rubbed it on my neck I felt a definite itch! From cashmere? Hmm.

It swatched up nicely, and of all the yarns I sampled, Nirvana seems the most forgiving of uneven tension – the stitches lined up perfectly no matter what I did. After washing, the little swatch “bloomed” and turned into a lovely fabric. The itch was still there, though. Perhaps there are issues with the quality of the cashmere? Seven colors offered, mostly semi-solid pastels.

Galicia
90% silk, 9% super kid mohair, 2% wool
My gauge: 4.5 st/in, 5.5 rows/in
My needles: #5 Brittney birch
Price: 216 yard cone / $24
972 yards / $108

This is subtle 2-ply tweed, and it is my favorite of the lot. I am always overheating, so most wool sweaters are just too much for me. This clever mostly-silk yarn has a definite wooliness” (that’s the mohair) that makes me think of winter sweaters I will actually wear!

Galicia is similar to Kyoto (reviewed above), but on a much smaller scale. The silk gleams under a subtle cloud of mohair. It is currently offered in just 4 jewel-tone colors. And of course, since it’s my favorite, it has to be the most expensive. That being said, $12 per 100 yds is still a great deal for yarn of this quality.

About ArtFibers
ArtFibers is a yarn store in the San Francisco Bay area that also makes yarn under the ArtFibers brand name. They are currently offering free yarn "tastings” to bloggers (see full information below). I’ve ordered from them in the past, and am always amazed at their cost/quality ratio (low/high, respectively).

AF has recently reworked its website and pricing. I like the new pricing structure, but it is somewhat complex. Their yarns are sold on cones of 100, 150, 200, and 250 grams. The nice thing about this is you can combine cone sizes to get the precise amount of yarn your project requires with a minimum of waste and weaving in of yarn ends. Yarns are also available undyed at a price about 30% less than the dyed versions.

If I could change one thing at the ArtFibers website, it would be their color numbering system. I greatly prefer a name to a number. Any description, say “a mix of silvery grains,” is better than “#7”. I’m not sure why so many yarn companies don’t use color names / descriptions any more – they can be so helpful, especially when shopping on the ‘net. I spend a lot of time on the AF site puzzling over little swatch pictures, thinking: “Now is that silver, or taupe, or what?”

Next up: Taos. Wool. Really.

(My color names, top-to-bottom:

acorn, silver shale, electric mango, spring bud, basil)

(hint, hint.)

So, about the Taos Wool Festival:

I have wanted to go to this shindig for years, but never seem to have the wherewithal to get organized and make the trip. Last month I made the decision: I was going. I called around to a bunch of Taos hotels and listened to the hoots of laughter: You want a room when? Don’t you know that’s the Wool Festival weekend?

Well, yes, I do.

I finally found a hotel willing to give me a room. I have very mixed feelings about this hotel. On the one hand, it was one of the worst hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. On the other hand, it wasn’t THE worst hotel room I’ve ever stayed in (that honor belongs, coincidentally, to another Taos hotel). E-mail me if you want to know its actual name. For now I’ll just call it Casa Cucaracha.

The grounds of this hotel are nice, with the biggest cottonwood trees I’ve ever seen towering over the little hotel complex:

Also, a nice little courtyard:




But as I approached the door, I had a sinking feeling.

And then I went inside.

I wish I could blog in smell-o-vision, because that was at least half the problem. Musty cigarette-y mystery smell splashed with copious amounts of “Oust” or some similar liquid stink-masker. To my Calvinist soul it smelled like “Eau de Mortal Sin.”

But this was it. There were no other hotel rooms. I shook out the cotton blanket I travel with and covered the bed. I did a closer inspection, and discovered there really wasn’t anything super objectionable . . . the bathroom was passably clean, although in a sad state of disrepair . . . ditto the main room. . .



And then I saw it. In the framed artwork. Ack!! . . .

Maybe it’s not a roach, but it looks mighty roachy to me. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I decided to not think about it (never underestimate the power of denial) and walk over to the Wool Market. I would deal with Casa Cucaracha when I absolutely had to and no earlier.

Tomorrow:
Woolly Goodness.

Darth Vader, Wool in Taos and Herbert

Hello all! Yes, it has been a dog’s age since I posted. There are various forces which have conspired to keep me from the blogosphere. Nothing sinister, just life and its constant mutability.

First off, I have been doggedly garter-stitching along on my Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina jacket, which I have nicknamed “Darth Vader.” Why? Because it is big and black and it is kicking my butt. My advice to you: Never knit a HF kit in black unless you possess youth and a sunny disposition.

I, however, have neither -- and knitting gazillions of black stitches on size 2 needles tends to give me a headache and the blues simultaneously. Ick.

But I persevere, because I will finish this jacket or die trying. (Note to spouse: If I do die trying, I want to be buried in however much of it I’ve completed.)

Also, as much as the Mystery Shawl 3 was fun to photograph – you could really see progress on the shawl from week to week – the Ballerina is not. I can work on it for 2 days and all I have to show is . . . 2 more inches of black garter stitch. On a really exciting day, perhaps half of a striped gore.

So while I will post some updates on the Ballerina in the future, I don’t think I will be taking many pictures of it.

And, in other news, I have been spending much of my crafting time spinning and working with various fibers. I’m going through a honeymoon phase right now with all things spinning-related, and I just wasn’t sure if my blog readers cared how I (finally) got most of the poop out of the Tunis.

So, gentle reader, this blog will have a subtle shift of focus, at least for a while. . . I just got back from the Taos Wool Festival, and I bought 2 lovely fleeces. One is soaking in my bathtub right now, and I will try to have pictures and more information soon. . .

And finally . . . there may be an addition to my family. Yes, we may soon be hearing the pitter-patter of little paws. Our kitty, Bailey, really needs a playmate, and I fell in love with a Tonkinese named Herbert at a recent local cat show. Herbert is a foster cat in Siamese Rescue, and I have to fill out about a metric ton of paperwork in order to be considered as an adoptive kitty mom. (Getting a kid is much easier than getting a cat.) But I have my hopes up. Here he is:

"Dear Bailey: Here's how to look dignified. Your pal, Herbert."

Artfibers Has Such a Deal for Bloggers!

I had to pass this along: Artfibers in San Francisco (see their web site here) currently has a great promotion going for bloggers. You can receive 5 free "tastings" of their yarns (It's about 10-15 yards per "taste"), if you e-mail them and let them know:

1.) which yarns you would like, including colors
2.) your blog's URL
3.) your shipping address.

That's it -- free for nothing! Tastings are retail priced at $2.50 each, so this is at least a $15 value, as postage is free as well. Yes, I will be doing reviews when my Artfibers freebies get here!

I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph . . .

Here are some recent projects . . . in no particular order:

My Hanne Falkenberg Jacket thus far. This is the left front, side gore, and part of the left sleeve.

Dirty, dirty alpaca batt.

Anyone know how to remove this crap?

Cotswold I'm selling on e-bay.

Ho, ho, ho!

Some of the discount fiber I got at the Red Needle's going out of business sale. This is about half of a 4 ounce bundle of hand-dyed roving I bought. It's very fun to spin, and is inspiring me to dye some more roving . . .

A close-up of the merino/cashmere 2-ply I'm spinning. This is soft as a duck's belly, and the brown is very complex and interesting. There are hints of lavender, gold, teal and purple throughout. Click for a close-up, and you'll see what I mean . . .

This skein is a little over 200 yards. That brings my grand total spun so far (of this fiber) to about 450 yards. I still have a fair amount of this to spin -- not sure exactly how much.

And now, because I am trying to be a good, disciplined girl, I will sign off and peruse the want ads. Ick.

Eentsy-teensy Update

We don’t have pictures, but we do have UPDATE:

I am up to the first sleeve of the Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina jacket. The pattern is intimidating, as it is printed in a puny font, and assumes that I am a way better knitter than I am. I enlarged it 200%, and generally need to read each section of instructions 3-4 times before it gels in my brain. Many times, when the instructions seem incomprehensible, I am reduced to "sleeping on it."

It's a vague magic, but it seems to work, The next day I stumble on, one row at a time. So far (knock on wood), so good.

I knitted about half a sock in the padded footlet pattern before I decided I would rather gargle tacks than knit one more row. I tore it out, and started a similar pattern from knitty. com (find it here), which seems much more congenial.

Washed, picked, and bundled up about 2-1/2 pounds of Cotswold (So why did I buy a Cotswold fleece, if i didn't really want a Cotswold fleece? I think I had it confused with Corriedale . . .) and am selling most of it on e-bay. Cotswold works great for Santa beards . . .

In the process of processing a 3.5 lb Alpaca fleece that is full of grass, hay and ?&*!!. The alpaca itself is lovely, if only I could remove all of the grass, hay and ?&*!!. Any suggestions?

In general, spinning like a mad woman. I have almost a pound of a fabu merino-cashmere blend, and I’m hoping for enough 2-ply to make a sweater. So far I’ve spun about half (8 oz.), and I have one large bobbin full currently waiting to be skeined and set.

Still looking, lackadaisically, for a job. Since it seems that one is not going to crawl up my front walk and accost me, I might need to be a wee bit more vigorous in my search. As you all know (sigh), fiber ain’t free.

Tomorrow: Photos! Lord willing or the crick don’t rise!

Field Trip to Franktown / Warming up the Pfaff

Occasionally, Bailey channels Janis Joplin.

"Oh Lord / Won't you buy me / a Pound of Catnip?"

I forgot to put the link to Melanie's site in my last entry. She is the multi-talented knitter/ spinner/ designer of Mystery Stole 3 (the "winged" stole shown below). If you're interested in purchasing the pattern, she will have it available at her web site somewhere around the end of August/beginning of September. Find all things Melanie -- including additional lace stole designs – here.

I've started a few new sewing projects:
Mostly because I'm cheap and refuse to spend $115 for a spinning wheel carry bag, I'm designing and making my own. I'm using some old upholstery fabric I had left over from another project, so even if the bag doesn't work out, I'm only minus the cost of zippers and lining. If all goes well, I will try to post photos later this week.

I'm also sewing little carry bags for my new swift (alas, a cheap and ugly metal version, but it seems to work fine -- much better than my knees), extra spinning bobbins, and niddy-noddy. I love this type of project, as these bags are quick, easy, and use up fabric I already have.

Wonderful Pat in Elizabeth, CO sent me an e-mail a few weeks ago letting me know that The Red Needle (knit/spin/weave store) in Franktown was closing up shop and liquidating their inventory.

So of course I had to go and have a look-see. The half-hour drive was glorious. Animals I saw on the way there: Clydesdale-typehorses in pasture, buffalo (bison?), sheep, llamas, cows (of course), lots of lovely horses, alpacas, hawks, bluebirds, yellow finches, and more. Tumbleweeds rolled across the road, and I thought about how I would love to live in the country . . . with llamas and antelope for neighbors. . .

There was much lovely fiber at the Red Needle, all at a very tempting discount. I browsed and browsed, and ended up taking home a little cashmere/merino blend, some flax, almost a pound of BFL, and other goodies.

I was about ready to drive home, when I saw that the store next door (which looked like a nail salon), had a sign in the window saying they also sold spinning wheels! Now this is my type of establishment -- get your nails done (mine always look like gardening implements, which they are), buy a new drive band, peruse the mothers-of-all. I went in.

It was a very cool multi-purpose store. Several "dabs" of products nicely arranged: craft books, jewelry, knitting needles, hand combs, weaving doo-dads (I don't weave, so I can't do any better than that.) And tucked in a corner: A yarn swift marked 40% off. I pounced.

I got home with my booty and sorted it into ziploc bags. Set up my ball winder and wound away. The cat lounged very close to my merino fleece, until finally I caught him with his head in the bag and his motor running at full throttle.

I did not get a manicure. I ran out of cash. The bottom line: I'd rather have a new swift than professionally tended nails. Can I get an "Amen"?

Just the Facts, Ma'am / Photo Lagniappe

My son (aka “the black hole of need”) came into my room last night to ask me for lunch money and I hissed at him. I was on row 190 of my mystery stole, and like a horse smelling the barn at feeding time, I was undistractable.

Never has a bind off seemed so long. I felt like I lived a whole alternative life while binding off this stole. Cool bind-off, though. Will definitely use it again.

Finally! The Last stitch was bound off and soon the ends were woven in. I soaked the rascal in Eucalan for 15 minutes or so, wrapped him snuggly in a towel, and dragged out my “blocking towel” – a huge beach towel that I like to block on because it is printed with large squares that make blocking easier – as well as blocking wires, pins, yard sticks, etc.

The ugly, though useful, blocking towel

For those of you who like all the details, here is how my stole measured up in the end:

Length: 70.5”
Width: 22.5”
Section #1 length: 40.5”
Wing length: 30”
Wing curve length: 41”
Depth of wing (at midpoint): 26”

Other details:

Yarn: Malabrigo “Velvet Grapes” lace weight – a dream to knit. I used 2 skeins, and have approximately 150 yards (15 grams) left. So I used about 790 yards for this stole.

Finished Weight:
Total weight: 114 grams (about 4 ounces)
Yarn weight: 85 grams (3 ounces)
Bead weight: 29 grams (1 ounce)

*I made all of today’s photos clickable for those who want close-up views.

And looking at my MS3 now, I’m pretty tickled. The merino is so soft, and I love the variegations that run throughout. The weight of the beads helps it stay on. I used 2 different kinds of beads, and that combined with the variegated yarn makes the stole feel a little gypsy-ish. Maybe a little more Carmen than Swan Lake, but that’s fine, too. There are definitely mistakes here, but they aren’t bothering me.

Right now I’m sitting in bed wearing the thing. With the air conditioning on. Feeling a wee bit princess-ish, in my luxury stole – even though I haven’t yet changed out of my pajamas or brushed my hair or teeth. Life is good.

Thanks, Melanie! (Times 100, at least. What a good, generous heart she has.)

And for those of you feeling sorry for the kid whose mother hissed at him: Don't. The kid is 16, and is more effective than the IRS at getting money out of the 'rents. Plus he has a job, and has more money in his checking account than I do in mine. (Of course, HE doesn't have a spinning/knitting jones.) And yet I still feel guilty . . . where is that wallet ?

beading close-up, straight section


Beading close-up, wing

Fetching rear view