BLUE TOE SPINNER

Since we lost Sugar Bear toward the end of last year, we have been feeling a little out of balance in the dog department. Teddy is too big to play with Taylor or Taylor is too little to play with Teddy. It is a "is the glass half empty or half full" dilemma. We found a sweet 13 week old party poodle in Spanish Fork this weekend. She is white with black spots that threaten to turn "bleu" as she grows older. Her name is Snowflake. She is a real delight except she isn't potty-trained yet. Oh, joy... Pictures to follow later.

I have been spinning and knitting, I just haven't finished anything or done anything noteworthy. Life is good, I love being married!!! Work is "eh". Doggies are doing well. Mumsy is hanging in there. Kids are busy, busy, busy. Sweet Pea is now 2 years old. Little Man will be 5 years old soon. Both are beautiful and a riot to be around. I am just not around much. I'm a bad, lazy Nana. Guild Dye Exchange is next month, I am looking forward to that. Work threw us a wedding shower this month and they gave us gift cards and gift certificates. With the gift certificates they gave us from Wool Cabin, I ordered a Blocking Kit today. I will be able to make big things and try to block them. I haven't been watching the Olympics, they aren't as thrilling as they once were. I think the Salt Lake City Olympics were the best, and every one since then doesn't hold a candle. Okay that is the end of my rambling. Later.

This is the finished Narragansett Bay Hat. It is a bit too small for an adult, but it is soft and lovely. The yarn was spun by Marty, and I got it from her at retreat this year. The yarn is so gorgeous I couldn't resist using the rest of the skein to make some special for someone special to me. So, Taylor has a new and very soft sweater. No pattern, I just kind of shaped it around her. She doesn't like things too tight, so it is good and stretchy. I put it on her and she immediately snuggled into it and went to sleep. She was warm and cozy.

This is how we spent our first day of vacation. Poor Missy Taylor got tangled in her Snuggie while jumping off the bed. She has two breaks. One above you ankle joint and one in her pinkie toe. In this picture she is very sore and very drugged. It makes me so sad to see my injured baby. But, she is a real trouper. On a lighter, more knittier note. Cat's Eye Scarf. And Narragansett Bay Hat, both from A Fine Fleece.

These are Mater's gloves. (Mater isn't her real name, I give everyone sudo names on my blog.) I work with Mater and she was sad when I gave Beker a pair of fingerless gloves and not her. (Beker is diabetic and was trying to warm her hand with a heater on her desk, scary!) I went home and knit my ample tushy off during the weekend. And now we have a happy Mater with happy gloves. They are knit from handspun fiber from Maureen's (I don't have a sudo name for Maureen, but she deserves full credit for the beautiful fiber) masterful carding! The picture really doesn't do the fiber justice. There are little lines of yellow in the design. It is super cool!

These are my new Hearts and Flowers Socks. The pattern is from Wendy D. Johnson's book "Sock from the Toe Up" You will notice right away that the stripes don't match. Is this a unforgiveable sin in the world of knitting? I think I got too anxious. I bought this yarn from Three Wishes during their last anniversay sale. It is Opal Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince yarn by Sockenwolle, colorway Tonks. Unless you are a total HP Geek like me this will mean nothing to you. But, I had the yarn for weeks and I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to knit these socks. I weighed the yarn to divide it in half instead of dividing it by color. They were knit on 60" circular needles, size 1. I knit both sock at the same time using the Magic Loop method. It took me 12 days, because I couldn't knit at work or during sleep. It took too long. I didn't have to frog it. But, I did tink it a little bit. But, the pattern was I kick to knit. I even did the c...

Here are the Black Columbine Peak socks I made for my sweetie. They are a little big, but I think they will be just right after a good wash. But, he said they feel just like socks. I guess that's just what they should feel like. I might make him some more. Now I have a question about socks. Every sock books I have ever read says to measure the feet you are going to knit socks for. My question is how to you adjust the size if the sock has a fun pattern like this one? Do you make the adjustment in the heel side or what? I hope someone how reads this will be able to answer this question.

Hang on to your hats, ladies and gents....IT IS FINISHED!!!! Only four months late. The sheep bag is finished for Teri Jo. It should have been finished before the July Retreat Exchange. I hope she will like it and forgive the lateness. Canvas straps... Black denim lining... Reinforced wool something, something.... I hope she like it. I'm glad it is finished, but I think I will miss it lying around taunting me...Not really.

Do you ever wish you could just carry all your favorite books with you all the time? Golly, now you can!! This is my new toy. It is a Kindle 2. After exhaustive research I chose to go with this one over the Nook from Barnes and Noble and the Sony Reader. I am having a BLAST!! Right now I am reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, and I am loving it! I am spinning too, this is Cinnamon Bun from Greenwood Fiberworks . Isn't it wonderful?? I am spinning this for Retreat Exchange. And I am knitting a pair of socks for my sweetie. Columbine in black. Aren't they pretty?? And in case you missed it. This is Cinnamon Bun on my Woolee Winder. YES, WE LOVE TOYS, TOYS, TOYS!!

Just for fun...which ewe are you? http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/whicheweareyou/whicheweareyou.swf

First of all look at how cute these outfits are on Sweet Pea and Little Man!! Their mom, the amazing seamstress, made these very stylish clothes. Too Cute!! And here are some poor photos of my Ply-on-the-Fly skein. I shot about 8 pictures and these were the best, sorry. But, I can tell it is as near perfect as I have every done. I will bring it to Guild Meeting. So Cool.

I love Sundays. They are in fact my favorite day of the week. I take the whole "Sunday being a day of rest" thing very seriously. Taylor and her friends Ted and Sugar are all pooped out for the evening. It is quiet and peaceful. I'm sitting here watching the Dallas/Philadelphia game. My sweetie is a Cowboy fan, (it's his only flaw), I'm a Packer fan. But, I root for his team as long as my team isn't playing them. Anyhoo, football games are great times to knit or spin. The black Columbine sock is back on track, I haven't made it to the same point I was when I frogged it, but I am making progress and I don't hate the sock. I am enjoying the evening, but I know next week will be less peaceful. Packers play the Cowboys!

This is my rambling Friday...which I hope is better than no post at all. Can I just tell you how much I adore the Ply-on-the-Fly technique? Yes, I guess I will. With all the major changes in my life recently, I'm not sitting at the wheel as much as I would like. But, I can always throw a little on my drop spindle. And being able to spin and ply as I spend a few minutes spinning, allow me to feel that I am making some progress. Thank you Kathleen for showing us at our Guild meeting. Now for some sad news....my Monique came unglued. It's a good thing Elizabeth is not too far away. I just have to find the time to get it to her. I won't even attempt to do it myself. Elizabeth will make sure it is perfectly repaired and in balance again. I don't have pictures but I am working on a pair of black socks for my sweetie. I frogged them last night, so that is going well...ha ha. Oh, I never mention how great the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair was. It was sooo much fun!!!! I even took...

I had an amazing September. Mumsy gave me a gift certificate for a Woolee Winder and an extra bobbin. It is for Christmas, Hanukah, birthday, Mother's Day, etc. for the next couple years, I think. It took a couple weeks to get the particulars straight on my crazy wheel but I finally got it. And it is FABULOUS!! Don't you think it's pretty? Yes Donna, I am spoiled. But, I don't have anything to do with it. It is all Mumsy's doing. In case you don't have anything to do this weekend...it's Witch's Night at Gardner Village this Friday and Saturday. Come join the coven and dance and shop under the stars with the rest of us. But dress warmly!!!

This is the weekend to come to the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair. See you there!!!

I am spinning this for Retreat Exchange. I will show the colors later as the spinning progresses. I have finished some loose-end spinning. Some bobbins that have sat around for awhile. This is some lavender roving I spun, but I don't recall the origin of the roving. I spun it two different ways. This is fine and fairly evenly plied. This roving I received as a prize at Retreat this year. From Kathy Caldwell, and I have been spinning it on my Damsel Monique Greensleeves spindle. This is the first skein, I think it is very lovely. This is the other lavender spinning this is kind of unevenly spun and the plying has alot of over twist. I think is will do well in a felted project. This roving was won by Mumsy. It is some of Maureen Wilson's carded creations. Isn't it amazing?!! All the colors in it show so well in the yarn. I love it!! This is the Pink Handspun Irish Hiking Scarf. I knitted it for a dear neighbor, Pat Sorensen. The scarf is about 34 inches. Pat is a little wis...

I haven't been spinning very much lately. (The spinning I have been doing has been on my lovely Monique Spindle.) I've been busy packing to move, making Wedding Invitations for Mumsy, working on the Woolpack Meeting Schedule, working my day job and working very hard on the GBFAF Website. I'm not a proud momma, but I'm having a great time creating. If you haven't been to the website, please take a few minutes to check it out. It's http://www.greatbasinfiberartsfair.org/ Let me know what you think, feel, love, hate, want it to show.

These are the treats I got at this year's Kathy's Meadow Retreat. This beautiful yarn that Marti spun... ...along with is outrageously beautiful bag!! Here is another shot. And another shot. Isn't it pretty. Sorry Donna. This is what I managed to spin the two days I was at Retreat. Fiber from Judy Gunn; Colorway: Lothlorien. This is a sample of Milk Silk Fiber Carolyn shared with us. I got this really cute sheep soap from the prize tent. Thanks Debbie ! I bought this pretty pink yarn from Janet . Colorway: Powder Puff Pink. I bought this Blue Face Leister from Judy . Colorway: Clear Lake I got this from the prize tent. Fine Range Wool; Colorway: Hidden Canyon. Also one of Judy's fibers. I got this from the prize tent. Thank you Donna and Tara! And I bought this from Carolyn . 60/40 Merino/Bamboo; Colorway: Earthen Hues. All this fiber and my honey didn't even bat an eye. Not to mention the Greensleeves Spindle . What a great man!! I had a great time!!

At Retreat at Kathy's Meadow I was enable into adopting a spindle from Greensleeves . I don't regret anything except the length of time it took me to acquire one of these beauties. Thanks Katie!! Here are a couple photos of this baby: Isn't she beautiful?

I'm just curious...did anyone get to go to the Sock Summit. If you did tell me all about it. I wanted to go so badly. I hope they have another one some day.