Weeks & weeks

I hate it when weeks and weeks go by, silently. We're working away on the Wool Rag, which should go to the printer next week; and on the fall knit catalog, which should follow in a couple weeks. Then the next Wool Rag, then the spinning & weaving catalog, followed by another Wool Rag.... it's that time of year that starts feeling rather relentless.

New yarns are arriving almost daily, which is very fun. I like going and seeing what Dwayne, our UPS driver brings. He looks like a younger Kaffe Fassett, which is appropriate, don't you think?

We're going to start a Monday night knit night here, so come on over! We're going to be doing MITTENS - although anybody can knit whatever they like! I want to try something from Selbuvotter
Two color knitting! I've done a little, but want to do more. I simply adore fair isle, and want to do some of that soon. I keep ogling all the yarns and dreaming up color combinations. The possibilities are endless. I can see this getting like sock knitting, and having stacks of mittens soon. Fun! We're going to start the 1st Monday after Labor Day - so Sept 8th, from 5 till 7pm, and open to suggestions too. Join us!

Diane

Wanda's Tour de Fleece report

My challenge was to find time, no matter how short, to spin everyday. I really enjoy spinning but you'd never know it based on my "output" in the last year. So, when Diane emailed me about the Tour De Fleece challenge I jumped on it. Initially, I planned on prepping/spinning this long-neglected fleece, that was solar dyed. My neighbors, being the polite sort, never even asked what the long black container parked (for days!) on my front lawn held.

The fleece took a lot of time to prep and the end result were lovely little fiber "buns" which would've been fine if my goal was to "comb more". So, it was set aside and I turned to other neglected in-progress spinning. I finished spinning & plied a mystery batt on my "meeting" wheel. Poor thing, it hadn't seen action for months! My spindle got a lot of use during the challenge and I put it to work on a wildly colored batt I picked up at this year's BSG. Being able to spindle during waits (kids, errands) and long car trips sometimes was the only way I got any spinning in on a day. Now, it has a home in my purse:)

So, though I don't have miles/pounds of handspun to show at the end of the TDF, participating in it has revived my "spinning life". The challenge is finished but thru it I discovered new ways to keep on spinning. Count me in for TDF 2009!

- Wanda