Not in a long while...

I know, I know. Not much happening here in the last few weeks or months for that matter. Life interrupts again but what would life be without these interruptions? Anyway, I have not had the time to knit much at all (read none). But I wanted to share there love goodies that my dear Knitty SP8 SP (The Garden Gnome or Gnomey and I call her) sent to me in the 2nd package. Insert an little embarrassed emoticon here because we are at the end of the round and any day now the final package should be arriving and I am not only getting to gush about package 2. Many apologies Gnomey!

Here are all the goodies she very caringly sent to me: (the chocolate is missing because I ate it in the car while driving on one of my many recent road trips! Yum!)

1. Tofutsies sock yarn! Love it!
2. Sweater soap - awesome because I do not have any
3. a little felted mouse - not in the picture because the kitties have taken to it and I could not find it to include in the picture.
4. Cotton washcloth in the most gorgeous stitch!
5. Aloe Vera Soap, hand lotion and a little round of another soap inside the washcloth. Very clever!
6. Another magic loop tutorial.
7. And my favorite...a little note with a picture of my SP in her Gnomey hat. That cracked me up no end!

Thanks again for a wonderful surprise!

Nope, not dead...and I have presents!

It has been a l.o.n.g time since I posted. Life is hectic with new things, more recently business ventures that took me in a direction I didn't expect just yet. I guess life is like that. But it is a good thing :)

SPeaking of good things, I joined Knittyboard's SP8 and am blown have such lovely SPs, both upstream and downstream. My upstream SP is amazing....just look what came in the mail recently! I'm very spoiled and grateful. I call her Gnomey as she has designated herself as The Garden Gnome of the Serenity Garden blog. She likes it! Check it out! (Yes, I mean every one of these !!!!!s) Click to make larger.

• Lovely note from my SP detailing the spoils within
• Elbac pattern from Knitty...I live reversible patterns and I had this one earmarked.
• Free Sock pattern from the recent IK...(free on their site)
• zip lock bags for my yarn...smart because my critters love string things, so I protect all from paws and hair...I'm a bit OCD about it.
• Yarn bras! Must support the balls! (that does not sound right...)
• Tip protectors! (I've learned my lesson in the line above, so I'm not going there with these...)
• Nail file from her LYS with yarn background...don't you hate it when you have that little chip in your nail that manages to snag everything like your neat and tidy stitches? Yeah, me too. I've tucked this immediately in my knitting bag. Genious!
• Inox Express l.o.n.g. circulars to do Magic Loop! I am over ready to tame this technique!
• Do you see the yarny goodness attached to my needles?! *pant, pant, pant* It is AMAZING, SINFULLY SOFT, THE PERFECT COLOR...graduated reds...deep rich reds! *gasp* Opal Gems, 2 skeins....I promtly told her I give her permission to got get some for herself it is that yummy!
  
• Speaking of yummy...what you are not seeing in the picture is the Mexican Hot Chocolate (has cinnamon in it) she sent along. It has been cold here and this has been keeping me warm. There was also a packet of another chocolate but I think I prepared it wrong.
  
• Can you see that instruction sheet behind the presents? SHE MADE ME MAGIC LOOP INSTRUCTIONS HERSELF...OF HER OWN HANDS! Tell me I do not have the best SP, I dare you. And, sent me the started ML swatch (that's the loveliness attached to my new needles)
• Best of all, she sent herself. A little Gnomey to sit with me while I knit and silently root me on through the ML.

Thank you SP. You have done so well and I appreciate all the effort and thoughtfulness. I really do :) I think SP really means Special Pal.

End Rant...Let's start fresh, eh?

Okay, I think I have successfully exercised the bad freecycle voodoo out of my system enough that I can snap back and move on...to this. It is the beginning of Tater's Cardi by Marie Grace Smith and is a free pattern on The Garter Belt site.

I had put aside this Plymouth Stone Cotton in bright red for something for my niece and considered a few patterns finally settling on this one. I'm hoping she'll wear it for the upcoming holidays and for knock around days when my sister dresses her in her little jeans with the tartan-colored trim at the cuffs.

I am hoping to have this done by the end of the week and also settle on what yarn to use to make Fantine, a French Girl pattern that I purchased from Yarntopia (you know, Amylovie's and Sheryl's great LYS in TX). I want to make three in total. Me, mom (I'm thinking alpaca), and my sister.

I have to put the finishing touches on my nephew's scarf from last year. Yes, bad aunt had a few finishing issues last year so he'll get it this year. He'll get a matching hat and maybe a rolled neck sweater if I can find a semi bulky pattern that can go rather quickly. I may also knit my niece a hat and scarf set also.

Yes, I am nuts. But two of the little ones that I knit for are moving to Dallas from PA. Do they really need scarves? Maybe some Knitpicks Crayon (cotton) scarves would be better. I'll have to ask and then ship after they get settled in TX. The other, other little ones I knit for live in FL. I'm cursed with warm weather friends. Good thing I live in a cold, damp, 8-months-a year snow belt and can appreciate a warmer weather vacation every now and then ;)

I do complain about the weather, but look where I drove around all day on Wednesday...I'll be doing more lake hoping with a friend this wednesday, weather permitting. I will find my little slice of heaven yet. I'll post more progress on Tater tomorrow.

The Not-So-Warm-and-Fuzzy of Freecycle

I have been on freecycle for months hoping someone would post this very type of computer desk, an armoire style that closes into a cabinet. So yesterday, there it was and only 10 miles from me. I emailed my interest and the owner sent me the dimensions and seemed like all was set. I sent her one final email telling her when I'd be there. I get home and there is an email saying is has been taken. TAKEN! So, I basically have to call back 3 friends who set aside time to help me with this (the owner knew this) and I gave my other desk away this morning to make room. What is wrong with people??? So, here I sit with my computer sprawled on my kitchen table because I no longer have a desk.

/rant

Baby Bolero and booties - FO

I've been back home for a while, but busy with other things to post about knitting. This will be a short post and this weekend is designated to cleaning and reorganising. I'll have more soon.

I'll borrow an FO post format from Laura, so here goes:

Pattern: Baby Bolero from One Skein
Yarn Specs: Mission Falls 1834 Cotton in Maize #209, 100% Cotton, 85yds, 50g skein - I used about 1.5 skeins. Machine Wash & Tumble Dry on Low.
Gauge: I was just off, but the recipient baby is already 2 months old and and growing like a weed. So, I was not ultra concerned about the gauge being a hair off.
Needles: Addi Turbo circs US8 and US9 various lengths. Bamboo was too grabby and made my hands ache.
Size: Only one size given for the pattern and I followed it. Should fit 0-3mos.
Model: Top of my washer.
Things I learned: How to pick up stitches, how to seam properly from Theresa via her wonderful instructions on Knitty. (scroll to the bottom to see all the tutorials)
Comment: Okay, you can laugh. This was challenging and frustrating because I fumbled and had to wait for a friend or two to give me the nod that I was doing it correctly. Such a tiny thing was taking FOREVER. Sheesh! But it got done and I have another in the works but this time I want to do the sleeves in the round. Overall, it came out rather cute and not too terrible for a first sweater-type item. Nothing very wonky, but perhaps that's because the nubby quality of the yarn can hide a multitude of sins. The next will be a non-knubby type yarn.

Pattern: Dreambaby Booties - free online pattern from Fabulous Yarns.
Yarn Specs: Same as above.
Gauge: 3-4 stitches per in in garter.
Needles: Clover bamboo circs US 7 - grabby was good here.
Size: 0-9 months
Model: Same washer.
Things I learned: Having faith that this was actually going to successfully form a bootie. But it did!
Comments: I modified the pattern slightly, by accident really. So, on the 2nd one I tried to follow the original oops and, well, you guessed it, opps again only slightly differently. My solution? Knit a 3rd and match a pair that was the same (stop snickering, Beannie). It was frustrating but I had to laugh at myself *snort*. I will get around to knitting a 4th in the hopes of making a match to the now orphan. One day, I promise.

Be back after...

...the Thanksgiving holiday!

Enjoy your and remember to knit :)

Figures it would end this way...

No knitting to show for today but I will post it once it is blocked and lovely. Promise. For now I'll leave you with the Amazing Death Predictor that I saw on Kathy's blog. It will go like this:

At age 75 a group of children will text message you continuously for three years, eventually distracting you while driving and causing a fatal wreck; your fatal wreck.

...I'm cancelling my cell phone so they can't get through! :P

When I was more specific with my info, I got this:

At age 77 you will start sleeping more and more. After six months of this you will be sleeping 19 hours a day. By month seven, you do not wake up anymore. You cease breathing during month nine.

I was amused so I continued to hit PREDICT! and got:

At age 46 a large monkey will beat you to death, using the antiquated art of fisticuffs.

Don't get any ideas, Ms. Rodent. I know how your mind works.

At age 91 you will die from wounds delivered by a blender after trying to make your sixteenth magarita of the day. (And it's on 3:00pm, shame on you!)

At age 45 a tiger will maul you. Don't ask why, but you will be in a Burmese jungle.

So I'm thinking Burma is off the vacation list.

At age 57 you will die while partaking in a particularly intense meditation session.

Well, they say everything in moderate, right?

Almost there...

So, I have attempted many types of knits only to get stuck and not be able to work through it without the help of an actual person. LYSs are too far and my schedule just didn't allow for it. Now I had the help pf two friends and things are coming together. I wanted to take a little something for a friend's new baby. I started something and stopped. Then came across the sweetest little pattern in the One Skein book. Baby Bolero. Here it is, needing some finishing work that should get done tomorrow evening. I'll post details when it is all done.

What became of your first FO?

That was the question seen on the Knitty board. I still have mine. A 2x2 rib scarf made with Debbie Bliss alpaca silk in teal with an eyelash yarn...because I wanted 1 fuzzy scarf. Friends call it my snufalopagous scarf and I love the feel and warmth of it. Keeps the cold winter wind and chill off my neck and chest. The colors are gorgeous and not as drab as the pics portray. I am at the mercy of my finicky camera.

So, maybe the Universe is not quite so bad afterall...

A friend called me this Thursday evening and as we chatted about different topics, it became clear to me that the funk I had been feeling all day was a little worse than I thought. I've been dealing with a few things, mostly health and $$. I'll admit that there are days where staying positive is a chore, but I do try to keep things light and happy. Not always successful. Not on Thursday night, certainly. I choked on my words a few times and my friend was helpful in trying to be supportive.
I told her of an important appointment that I was only able to get in early December. I explained to the appointment lady that I would make myself available if she had any cancellations. They are rare. In any case, my friend and I closed the conversation with her suggestion. Go to bed and meditate on quieting my mind and let the powers that be know that I would love to get a call moving my appointment up.

I did just that and woke up leaving most of yesterday's funk on the pillow. It was about 11 when I got morning's chores and calls completed and I hoped in the shower. Through the shower water and the closed bathroom door I heard the familiar sound of my cell phone vibrating. Yes, I'm one of those...a vibrator, so sue me. It comes from being in classes 6 days a week for 4 years and not wanting the phone to ring in the middle of lecture and getting the look.
Anyway, it was the appointment lady asking if I could fill a cancellation for next week! (insert little bug-eyed smiley here). Yes! Definitely! And thanked her no end. I jumped in the shower feeling so jubilant. Finally, the universe cutting me a break. I'll take it.

I headed up to campus to check my mail box and bumped into an ex-professor of mine. I filled him in on the appointment thing and chuckled. I went back to his office and he showed me a DVD he wanted me to watch and promptly leant it to me. It is something I had wanted to see for a while and it was so appropriate to things going on with me lately.

I finally got home and focused on the mailbox contents. How did I miss this? There was a good-sized envelope with an address and name I didn't recognize. I sat a comfy chair and tucked my legs under me. Yes, bad posture. *slaps her own hand* I opened the packed still not understanding who, what, why. Examining the wrapped contents, a dreaded feeling washed over me. OMG! Did I join an SP round and FORGET?! OMG! Did I flake on someone?! I was panicked at the thought of potentially making another person feel icky and flaked upon. Then there was the note with the best handwriting I've seen in a while. It said TESORO. I opened it and nearly cried.

A RAK! A RAK from the lovely Carrieknits all the way from California! So many lovely things. I was practicall yteary-eyed as I opened each one. Yes, I'm enjoying hormonal moments lately too. Wonderful. Isn't life grand? Not Wanna see inside? Me took, let's...

Carrie wrote me a sweet note on a pretty card and sent me more of the same blank plus others she picked up at an art museum in Oregon. Next were two movies - Girl With A Pearl Earring and The Business of Strangers. Awesome! Movie night! Them there was a pretty green sport weight alpaca yarn. A.L.P.A.C.A...*sigh* Then Carrie sent me some Chasing Rainbows mohair boucle in grays, blues and plum with a note tucked inside for a suggestion of a 3x2 rib scarf. My first boucle! I'll have to see if there is enough for a skinny scarf. And lastly is a ball of Lorna's Laces yarn she had leftover from making One Skein's cable footies (I have that book). My first Lorna's Laces! Enough to make a sweet baby hat in prescious muted colors of blue, plum and rose. The Boo wrapping paper contained yummy chocolate treats that help ease my funk away. No picture of the chocolate...I ate it while unwrapping the other goodies. I'm not dumb! :D
Thank you, Carrie, for your tremendous and timely generosity!
Maybe the Universe isn't so bad afterall? *smile*

Shoe Pr0n...Dansko on parade....and cheap!

I've known her for 18 years. We celebrated my 21st birthday together and she was one of my first official roommates in college. Her daughter's middle name is a version of mine, in my honor. We wanted to live closer to each other FOREVER but I was in NY and she in CO. Then she came to PA and it was only 6 hours away. We were thrilled. That was 2.5 years ago and now she is moving to Dallas where hubby found his dream job and I'm so happy for them. She knows that I will visit yearly at least. But why, oh why did she not mention that the ONLY DANSKO OUTLET was only 15 minutes from her PA home? They sell half off their retail price. I just found this out 2 weeks ago. I could have been hoarding shoes for 2.5 years! Oh, and I am a champion shoe hoarder. Blue ribbon and everything. I get it from my mom. Not purses though. I don't hoard purses. They just don't get me all giddy.

When I moved to the beautiful Finger Lakes region in Upstate NY over 4 years ago, my friends helped me load the moving truck. I can still hear my friend Anthony in my memory to this day. He carried out a dresser drawer. While walking he looked down in the drawer at the contents and exclaimed, "How the @#$% many black shoes do you have?!!!!" "Wha?!" I replied. "They are all different for different outfits...etc." This from a guy that had exactly one pair of brown shoes, one black and a pair sneakers. That's it. No way could he have understood the difference between flats and heels, smooth leather and suede, casual and dressy. Forget wrapping his brain around boots. The bottom of his bachelor closet was pathetic. Thank goodness he is married now and his lovely wife has remedied his lack of shoe choices. Don't get me wrong. I don't have tons of frivolous shoes, but I do hoard when shoes that I like and are good for me are on sale. SO I decided to invest some grad gift $$ on shoes that I could wear for years.
On to the SHOE PRON...woot!

Front row: Brown oiled box clog, Black oiled box clog. Each were $60.
Back row: Olivey-tan shoe $45, Dress pump in black leather and a deep rich gorgeous red/wine. Each $68.

If you are not nearby, you can also buy throught www.danskooutlet.com. They have a few more styles at the store, than listed online. But, as these are factory seconds, the best to do is make a special trip, try them on and hoard away. Go ahead. I give you permission. ;)

My So Called Scarf...the instructions

This is NOT my pattern. It can be found here: http://www.sheepinthecity.prettyposies.com/archives/000079.html

But I have made a few and folks who are confused with the stitches often ask me to help so here goes...
In this example, I am only casting on 10 stitches (via longtail cast-on) just to show you how this goes.
So go ahead and cast-on. I’ll wait... Oh yeah, click the pictures to make them bigger.

Row 1
Knit the 1st stitch. (Call this stitch 1)
Slip the next stitch from the left-hand needle to the right as if you were purling and leave it there. (Call this stitch 2)

Knit the next stitch. (Call this stitch 3)

Take your left-hand needle (LHN) and from the front put it through stitch 2.

Now take your working yarn from the back and loop it over the right-hand needle (RHN) counter clockwise.

Okay, now take your LHN that is resting under stitch 2 and lift stitch 2 up and over stitch 3 and the yarn you just looped over the RHN.

Now drop it.

Should have 3 stitches on the RHN now, yes? I know its a lot of words but once you do it you’ll understand what I describing.

Let's repeat this sequence with the next stitches...
slip stitch 4 purl wise, knit stitch 5, stick you LHN under stitch 4 from the front, loop your yarn around your RHN, lift stitch 4 up and over stitch 5 and the looped yarn and drop. Now you’ve done this stitch process twice. Keep going until you are at the last stitch on the left-hand needle and knit it. You'll notice that the stitches bunch together in 2s. That's what it is supposed to look like:

You have completed row 1, so flip your work and let’s tackle row 2.

ROW 2
Bring your yarn to the front because we are purling. Purl two stitches together by slipping your RHN under stitches 1 and 2 on the LHN.

BEFORE you drop the stitches, I want you to poke your RHN between stitches 1 and 2 so that you can purl stitch 1 again.

Now drop the stitches. Still with me? If yes, you now know how to knit the entire purl row. It is exactly the same all the way across. So when you are done with row 2, flip your work and tackle row 3, which is the exact same as row 1. Then you get this...the lovely cross-hatch, herringbone-like pattern!

That’s all there is to it. Easy, once you are not confused by the stitches. I wish I could make a little video for you, but I’m not that equipped. Let me know how you do :)

I'm back!

More on this later...have to answer a few burning questions first...see next post above.

On a delay...

So. Here I sit. Sitting and waiting for it to be 2pm. Why you ask? Small but annoying car issue delay and because I am not fond of NYC traffic or the way it spills over and on to LI roads fo hours before and after rush hour. 495/LIE to be exact. I don't miss traffic. Life is so much better without it.

Gah! *taps fingers and looks around for the 10th time to make sure apt is clean and orderly before departure*

On a happy note, I decided to pack some knitting to do at night after a long day. My Petal Bib and Baby Bolero from the One Skein book.
And I think I will try my hand at *gulp* Clapotis again. I have some lovely Malabrigo Boutone in the Cuatro colorway of mostly browns, golds, purples, wines and greens. Lovely.

Handpaintedyarns also has a yarn with my sister's name and I recently found an old novel in a used bookstore for $1 with her name as the title. Maybe I'll send her an "It's all about you!" package in the mail with a Clapotis and the book. Not that I think this will bury the hatchet in anyway but... *sigh*

Moving on...maybe I can do the same for my mother. I already know Vittadini discontinued a yarn with my name, mispelled slightly but that is a commom occurance with my name. Only 1 "L" kids! Sheesh..is it really that difficult? *sigh* Annnnnyway, I am (my yarn) described as "a scrumptious merino/cashmere that gives good stitch def and really makes the cables POP." Hehehe. I thinkI'm on to the perfect holiday presents for us three...books with our name as the title and a Clapotis made with same name. Thoughts? Go ahead, you know you want to ;P

More later...time to drive.

Serenity Garden

On a delay...

So. Here I sit. Sitting and waiting for it to be 2pm. Why you ask? Small but annoying car issue delay and because I am not fond of NYC traffic or the way it spills over and on to LI roads fo hours before and after rush hour. 495/LIE to be exact. I don't miss traffic. Life is so much better without it.

Gah! *taps fingers and looks around for the 10th time to make sure apt is clean and orderly before departure*

On a happy note, I decided to pack some knitting to do at night after a long day. My Petal Bib and Baby Bolero from the One Skein book.
And I think I will try my hand at *gulp* Clapotis again. I have some lovely Malabrigo Boutone in the Cuatro colorway of mostly browns, golds, purples, wines and greens. Lovely.

Handpaintedyarns also has a yarn with my sister's name and I recently found an old novel in a used bookstore for $1 with her name as the title. Maybe I'll send her an "It's all about you!" package in the mail with a Clapotis and the book. Not that I think this will bury the hatchet in anyway but... *sigh*

Moving on...maybe I can do the same for my mother. I already know Vittadini discontinued a yarn with my name, mispelled slightly but that is a commom occurance with my name. Only 1 "L" kids! Sheesh..is it really that difficult? *sigh* Annnnnyway, I am (my yarn) described as "a scrumptious merino/cashmere that gives good stitch def and really makes the cables POP." Hehehe. I thinkI'm on to the perfect holiday presents for us three...books with our name as the title and a Clapotis made with same name. Thoughts? Go ahead, you know you want to ;P

More later...time to drive.

On a delay...

So. Here I sit. Sitting and waiting for it to be 2pm. Why you ask? Small but annoying car issue delay and because I am not fond of NYC traffic or the way it spills over and on to LI roads fo hours before and after rush hour. 495/LIE to be exact. I don't miss traffic. Life is so much better without it.

Gah! *taps fingers and looks around for the 10th time to make sure apt is clean and orderly before departure*

On a happy note, I decided to pack some knitting to do at night after a long day. My Petal Bib and Baby Bolero from the One Skein book.
And I think I will try my hand at *gulp* Clapotis again. I have some lovely Malabrigo Boutone in the Cuatro colorway of mostly browns, golds, purples, wines and greens. Lovely.

Handpaintedyarns also has a yarn with my sister's name and I recently found an old novel in a used bookstore for $1 with her name as the title. Maybe I'll send her an "It's all about you!" package in the mail with a Clapotis and the book. Not that I think this will bury the hatchet in anyway but... *sigh*

Moving on...maybe I can do the same for my mother. I already know Vittadini discontinued a yarn with my name, mispelled slightly but that is a commom occurance with my name. Only 1 "L" kids! Sheesh..is it really that difficult? *sigh* Annnnnyway, I am (my yarn) described as "a scrumptious merino/cashmere that gives good stitch def and really makes the cables POP." Hehehe.

I thinkI'm on to the perfect holiday presents for us three...books with our name as the title and a Clapotis made with same name. Thoughts? Go ahead, you know you want to ;P

More later...time to drive.

test post

just trying out a few things...

So far so good...

with the cedar litter, that is. I think I may possibly have found a solution. I just put a more plush rug remnant down after the outdoor mat thingy. This seems to catch almost all of the cedar so vacuuming has decreased. I'll be out of town for conferences, so we'll see how the kitties do with the tracking. Cross your fingers. I'll report on it when I get back at the end of the month.

The litter experiment...can you do better?

So. Yes, I am going to vent, complain, kvetch (sp?), and generally roll my eyes while I type about litter. Litter. I had to say it again. * sigh *

The problem: tracking - all the time, everywhere. I hate scooping too, but that's another issue. TRACKING is the monkey on my back.

Solutions I have tried:
1. Covered top on the litter pan
2. Remnant rug under the covered litter pan so they step on that when entering/exiting
3. Special cat litter mat (think outdoor mat with those plastic finger-like projections) on the remnant rug, etc.
4. Clay litter with larger granules (all brands)
5. Clay litter with smaller granules (all brands)
6. Scoopable (every imaginable brand, old version, new and improved, etc.)
7. Crystal absorbent pearl-like stuff
8. Feline Pine – weird odor and yup, tracks
9. Cedar – light weight and cheap, but the worst tracing of all
10. YOUR SUGGESTION HERE

I spend WAY too much time vacuuming and this issue makes me nutty.

Help?! Yes there are bigger problems in the world. But, but, but...*sigh*

...and no I’m not giving them away and they must be indoor cats...too many strays out there, busy neighborhood, have always been indoor cats, nasty evil neighborhood cat is not allowed to terrorize my kitties.

Back to the Fair and step on it!

Another friend wanted to go to the fair and twisted (not) my arm. Weeee! This was a chance for me to pick up missed business cards, see things I missed during yesterday’s sensory overload and chat with more folks.

I followed along while today’s friend and fiber enthusiast wandered through the vending barns. We stopped at Just My Yarn to see the Turnstyles spindles a friend purchased yesterday. Dianne was just as great and patient with today’s friend and soon she was coming home with two Turnstyles spindles. I have my mind set on getting one as soon as I can afford to...I'm now a huge fan :)

In an attempt to get yesterday’s friend a few things she missed, I got into a conversation with the super friendly and helpful owner of Golden Oak Alpaca Farm. I believe her name was Barb Green. See yesterdays’ post to about needle felting we did at their booth. Fun! In chatting we came to find out we both know the same person. She promptly invited us to their open house in October and to participate in their “name the alpaca” contest. I’m SO there!

Also met the absolutely fabulous owner, Elizabeth McLelland of Yorkshire Meadows, a shop in Mansfield, PA. We chatted and she taught me a simple way to do I-cord. I thought it was this terrible thing that everyone hated and took forever.

And there was Dianna of Hand Crafted Heirlooms, also in PA, who had a gorgeous silk wool stole in mahogany tones that I wish, wish, wish I could have taken home with me. It wanted to, but the wallet was not willing. Some day...

One defining moment came when I took my friend into the smaller building to show her the silk worms. She wasn’t into it but when we turned around, something caught my eye. There were three spinners working on wheels and one woman had the exact same roving braid on her lap that I bought yesterday. Great! Now is my chance to see what this will look like spun up in the hands of someone more expert than I. The ladies were all helping at the fair and were part of the Genesee Valley Guild. They talked about their spinning and their experiences, preferences of wheels and even gave me a good place to search out a less expensive option. See, they knew that I was destined to spin. One of the ladies named pat let us pet her handspun, hand knit, cashmere capelet. I said cashmere...need i say more. It melted in my hand. She told me that we were destined to meet and I agree. I love the universe...*sigh*
It was a great weekend and I’m so glad that I had the chance to spend time with my friends and share the fair.