SP11 Package #2

After a long and aggravating day at work, what could be better than finding a Priority Mail box on your porch?

Nothing.















The tags read "eye candy" and "pet me". Hmmmm... sounds like my kinda stuff! ;-)

Open it! Open it already!!






















O....my.....God...

A spinning package! There are not enough "e"s in SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!! to let you know how happy this package makes me! There is the Fall issue of Spin Off magazine, which the ladies were just telling me that I must subscribe to. After a quick glance at the interior, I know why. Wow!

Then there's the fondling material. Oo la la! 4 oz of 80% merino 20% silk roving in the color "lichen". Not only is the color awesome and perfect, but the feel of this stuff is just exquisite. I'm thinking this will be spun on the spindle so I can prolong the joy. Then there's something special for my tiny handmade spindle - 4 oz of cultivated silk top. Incredible. This stuff is almost too good to put down. You just want to roll around in it nekkid. But, you'll be happy to know I confined myself to an extended cuddle. ;-)

My pal is super. I mean, she is just made of awesome. Thank you thank you thank you! You make me want to be a better Pal. :-)

Now it's on with my lone handknit sock, and off to spinning night to show off my bounty to the jealous masses!

Tah-tah!

O yes I can SPIN!

By Saturday we had the wheel repaired to everyone's satisfaction and it works great! It took a little fiddling, and I learned the importance of ratio, but yarn did happen. There was cursing, foot stomping (yes, I am a frustration stamper), and threats to definistrate the machine altogether, but after a break and a walk around the block, I went back to the box of spare parts and found a much larger spool. That did the trick. And now, I give you, my first yarn spun on a spinning wheel...














It's handpainted BFL from Spunky Eclectic and although I don't think I did it justice, I don't think it's half bad, do you? :-)

This is actually the second spool. The first is not as nice as it was during the ratio learning curve part of the experience. ;-) So I'll spare you that one. lol!

Going shoeless helped, as did taking heed of all Kelly's excellent advice. Thank you so much! I am sitting back in my chair now and I am working about two feet from the orifice. The other trick is to predraft the dickens out of the fiber. It made it so much easier to coordinate my feet and my hands. That part was a little embarassing, I must admit: I'm a biker! I drive a stickshift car! How could it be possible that I can't work my feet and both hands at the same time??? Geez!

I'm not giving up my drop spindles, but this is definately a quicker way to spin up a quantity of yarn. It requires more attention than drop spindling, and it's a little less portable, but I think I really like it.

I have one other piece of knitting news to add, then I've gotta go finish helping cook dinner (hubby is in charge of a big pork roast tonight!). This is especially for my Secret Pal...















I couldn't resist - I cast on for Bee Fields this morning. I made it all the way through the set up rows (although it took me 4 tries to get it right!). It's awesome.

I love autumn so much!

This time of year I just love where I live.

The leaves are just starting to turn...















And soon, the boats will be coming out of the water for the winter, but for now, they're still a handsome sight out there on the river...



















While the leaves are just getting going, the marsh grass is going at it in style. Don't you just love the color?















I'm optimistic that the weather will clear over the weekend and I can get some less gloomy shots.

In the meantime, here's something distinctly more cheery - this week's delivery from Boston Organics. They deliver fresh-to-your-door organic fruit and veg and assorted sundries. And autumn is when the service really shines...















And now for the knitting/spinning content, lookee the spindle I made! There was a discussion on the Spindlers group on Ravelry about making your own spindle with an old knitting needle... a trip to the local bead shop later and I give you, my fine .4 oz spindle:



















That's a bamboo US6 knitting needle, an etched bone disc, and a very pretty glass bead. Viola! Now to order me some of those fancy fibers I've been lusting after - silk hankies, soy silk, bamboo, etc. Wheee!

I feel like a knitting slacker!

I've been wandering around Ravelry this morning and I'm realizing that I've done nothing but knit stupid felted purses for a month! Gah! I promised an undisclosed number of them to a friend's shop by the end of October but they are seriously starting to suck the life out of me. Talk about boring knitting... egad. It's just knit knit knit knit around and around and around. The only "excitement" (and I use that term very loosely) is the occasional color change or short row design. I can't wait to be done with these damn things. What the heck was I thinking? I'm bored to death!

The only thing thats keeping me focused is the knowledge that as of the end of October my knitting will be all about me for awhile. I have so many projects queued up (and I even have the yarn for them!), but don't dare to cast on for anything - I can't afford to be distracted from the purses! If I bail on them now, I know I'll never get back to it, especially with something as delightful as Bee Fields waiting for me! And I'm going to try socks again. Really. I think the superwash wool that I spun will make really nice socks, if I can just decide what pattern to use. The plain rib I tried when I first attempted socks bored the crap out of me, which may have been part of the reason I lost interest.

And then there's my new wheel... I have her set up in the corner of the living room, across from my knitting chair, so I can view her at all times. This weekend I'll have time to unwrap her temporary repair and see what needs to be done. It's killing me to wait, but I don't want to get into anything during the week; by the time I get home, it's already pretty dark, and my vision in low light is just not what it used to be. *sigh*

I do have one exciting new project - Kath's sister is a painter, and she's considering doing a swap with me for one of her pieces! She wants a reddish-brown alpaca cardigan of undetermined, but probably lacy, design. Not only does this sound like a fun project to undertake, but I'll get to play with super yummy yarn. Bonus! Time to dig out the magazines, knitting books, and peruse Ravelry for the perfect designs for her to pick from. But I'll be steering her heavily towards something from Joan McGowan-Michael!

O Maine, how I love thee...

We had a lovely trip up to Maine, taking the more scenic coastal route 295 through Portland and up through Brunswick and then across to Lisbon. It was unseasonably warm, and there were some incredible views, which we did take time out to admire...

Above is the view from Spunky Eclectic shop (which we are told is having a Grand Opening Extravaganza the first weekend in November!)

We took a side trip through beautiful Brunswick, getting totally lost wandering around the back roads. :-) It's all good! It was a little colder and more hazy/foggy/cloudy down by the water, but I did get a couple of halfway decent shots...











































And, o yeah! I got a wheel!!! Some roving may have worked it's way into the plan as well... who can blame me - it's handpainted Blue-Faced Leicester! droool!



















A close up of Amy's awesome artwork...











What could be cooler than flaming purple balls of yarn??? I meant to dig out all my motocycle gear and do a big fancy layout shot, but honestly I'd been up since the crack of dawn today trying to get a yard sale accomplished in the pouring rain (you can guess how that went) and I still had promised a beef stew dinner to The Usual Suspects, so I wasn't really up for the big dramatic shot. ;-) Maybe another day, when I actually have her running.

She's in great shape, by the way. The base of the upright has a couple of cracks and it definitely needs reinforcing before she sees any real action, but I'm sure we can get her fixed up. I'm dying to try her out but I'm resisting temptation until she gets her fracture set. The last thing I want to do is make things worse.

Also, considering it took me - what, 6 years? - to pick up and use my spindle, I may need a little encouragment to dive in. Mechanically inclined, I am not. Heh.

It's a spinning extravaganza!

I am just so thrilled with Ravelry....

I have a wheel!!! Zowieee!

Boogie of Spunky Eclectic had a spare, broken Babe wheel that she offered for free in the Beginning Spinners group on Ravelry. Three of us asked for it, and when the name was pulled from the hat, it was ME!! I am never ever lucky like that. Not lottery, nor door prizes, nor raffles - forget it, they'll never pick my number. But this time, this one wonderful time... I was lucky! I have a wheel!!

The Mister and I are headed up there tomorrow to pick her up. The ladies at Tuesday knitting circle are sure we can fix her up just fine. Aren't they wonderful? I'll take loads of pictures of the drive up and back (Maine in the fall... drool!!) as well as some shots of the wheel. Wait until you see her - it's a total scream. So a biker chick's wheel... just you wait. I may even dig out my biker gear for the first "spin". lol

While I was running in circles squealing about the wheel yesterday afternoon, I heard a truck pull up out front and a mystery package was delivered to our door. What could it be?

MY FLEECE!!!! My fleece is done!

I bought this half a fleece years and years ago at The Common Ground Fair and dropped it off with Pogo at Friends Folly Farm when I was at the Fair last month. I was expecting to not hear from them for at least 6 weeks, but here it is! All done!

And I guess I did a good enough job cleaning it because all I was charged for was carding. Are you ready for this? A whole $17, including shipping. Wow. For two glorious pounds of my very own chosen fleece. I have long since forgotten what breed it's from, but Pogo seemed to think it might be a Romney/Corriedale cross. Whatever it is, it's just lovely.

Here are the before and after pictures:

Before (this shot is from before I had even washed it):




After:

















It's everything I had dreamed it would be. It's soft and fluffy and all the colors a sheep can be - it's grey and brown and even has some black in it. It is going to be so beautiful. It's going to make the most wonderful heathery yarn. SQUEEEEE!!!!!

Now to have the nerve to dive in and spin it. This is definately getting spun on the wheel. No question.

to act or to be

It's autumn in a tourist town, and the local theater season is winding down. And that can mean only one thing - it's time for the local talent to run amok! It's time again for Random Acts, a local project held here in town where the local actors, writers and directors are given the challenge of creating and producing a 10 minute play in 24 hours.

Here's how it works.

Day 1. Evening. A collection of writers is divided randomly into pairs and given a line, or several, and are told how many people of what sex are in their play (two men, a man and a women, three men, etc.). They then have until midnight (or so) to write a 10 minute play based on these criteria.

Day 2. Early morning. The actors and directors gather at the theater and put their names in a hat. The plays are taken up one by one and randomly assigned a director and actors. The groups then divide up and are given their scripts and a location to rehearse. By 8pm that night, everyone is back at the theater and the plays are performed, on book, for the general public.

It is super cool.

Last year I "angeled" for the productions, meaning that if they needed anything - a prop, for example - they had my cell number and I was at their disposal to find it and bring it to them. There were three of us last year and we had a ball. But having "angeled", I now have first choice to act this year.

Act. Me. On stage. In front of, you know, people.

... eep ...

Now granted, it is on book, meaning that you have the script right in your hands the whole time you're on stage, and I have done informal readings before. I've taken a few of Marc Clopton's classes too, so I have some idea of what to do, and I am married to a director and have helped him produce plays before, so I also have a basic understanding of staging and blocking and such.

But to actually be up there, on stage, in front of strangers.

yipes.

...

I think I'm gonna do it. :-)