It's Been A While.....

It's been a while since I've posted so I have quite a bit to "catch up" on. Illness and work sometimes intervene making it a bit difficult to find the time to post!

I had caught a stomach virus last week, so I had to miss a couple of planned knitting/spinning events. I missed my knitting guild meeting where I was to present the "Learn a Stitch" lace kit from TKGA. At the last minute, I had to have a friend stop by and deliver it to the group. The meeting went OK in spite of the missing presentation - the kit itself provided most of the evenings activities. I also had to miss a "Spin-In" with a bunch of my spinning buddies. I was quite bummed out as I'd been hoping to snag some special roving (angora, angora blends, etc), see the newborn bunnies, see my friend Jo's new wheel - a Louet Victoria, and basically bask in the company of several other spinners. Oh, well....life goes on.

On Sunday, my friend Lisa invited me to join her on a visit to a local yarn shop....she DEFINITELY didn't have to ask twice! Since I was feeling better, and was suffering from a severe lack of "fiber related stimuli", I jumped at the chance to go to Hunt Country Yarns for the last day of Bob's "Anniversary Sale". I found some great deals! I love the Nashua Woolly Stripes, but at full price with a rather low yardage, I couldn't get past the cost. However, at the sale, it was half off! Wahoo!

I found the PERFECT color to make a bag for my yoga mat. I'm just amazed at how the blues and turquoise perfectly match my bag! I also picked up some in purple/pink (imagine that!!!) so I can make a felted bag of some sort. Even though the "Anniversary Sale" is over, he's still planning on have some great deals to whittle down the inventory prior to his move to "The Plains"....so definitely stop by if you get the chance - I'm sure you'll find something that you just "have to have"!

I have been woefully negligent of Mystery Stole 3. I've only completed 10 rows of Clue 4, so tomorrow morning, I'll be officially "behind". The virus I caught made me quite dizzy, so doing lace - actually doing any knitting at all - was impossible. This week, I'm feeling much better, so I hope to get "back on track" before next week's clue! (This also gives me more time to ponder the mystery of a life line at row 287!)

I did finally manage to get some spinning done at my spinning group on Tuesday. There were 3 of us spinning this week with the rest knitting and/or chatting. I finished one bobbin of the green multi-colored wool. The picture is a bit blurry...sorry about that. I let the yarn spin back on itself in the foreground to provide an idea of what the plied yarn will look like. It's quite pretty.

Colleen had some fabulous yarn dyed with Easter Egg dye! The skein I ogled was blueish-green and magenta. She had a lot of fun doing it....the easy way! She pre-soaked the yarn in vinegar (for the mordant). She prepared the first color. She'd wound the yarn into a ball, and set it in the first bowl of Easter Egg dye in the microwave, nuked it for several minutes, then let it remain there all day. She then repeated the process with the second color....only this time, setting the other side of the ball in the dye preparation. (The dye liquid in the bowls covered less than half of the ball when the ball was set in the bowl.) What a fun "no effort" way to dye! The resultant skein looked good enough to eat!

Lynn showed off the purple silk she'd spun - it's gorgeous! I tried to "accidentally" drop her bobbin in my bag, but she had a keen eye on me as I caressed it, so I never got the chance. Darn it! She also showed off some of the angora blend she'd spun....from Colleen's goats! You can see Colleen's "herd" on her website, Giant Cricket Farm. Oh....and just in case you're interested, she now has an etsy shop where you too can become the proud owner of some of her fleeces and/or yarns. (It's really hard on those of us that live here....we get to touch and feel her fabulous fibers....and are constantly tempted to buy it!) Her etsy shop is under Giant Cricket Farm Etsy Store.

Oh.....some other friends of mine also showed up to knit/chat on Tuesday...and the birthday celebration continued! My friend Tiffany brought me some La Gran Mohair (yum!) and a really cute hedgehog book, "Hedgie Loves to Read". I even got my choice of which color of mohair I preferred....purple or teal! What a tough choice! Purple won out......Colleen helped me decide! Thanks Tiffany!

Update on the missed Spin-In - I'm making a special trip up to Westminster (the site of the Spin-In) to check out the new bunnies....and to pick up the Kromski Harp Loom and stand that I purchased from the hostess of the Spin-in! I'll post pictures later this weekend.
(I had been ogling the Knitters Loom since it folds and can travel, but was not impressed. I preferred the Harp - it's much prettier and this one is 32" wide - a great weaving width!

On a rather depressing note, the drought here in Virginia and Maryland continues. Many farmers are suffering big time as the crops are withering in the intense heat and there has been little or no rain. We actually had a touch of rain last week, but not much. There's no rain in site either. I noticed that besides the obvious brown grass, the trees are starting to "rebel" against the heat and dryness as well. Some of my bushes have gone dormant (barberry bushes "sleep" all winter and look "dead"....half of mine are doing this now....or at least I HOPE they're just going dormant! The photo on the right shows my neighbors tree in late July. It looks like an "October" tree - the leaves are turning yellow and brown and dropping to the ground. The maple in my front yard is doing the same. I guess the trees are just trying to conserve moisture by going dormant....it makes for an eerie landscape though! Our weather is in sharp contrast to the horrendous flooding my British friends have been dealing with! It appears that it's either one extreme or the other! Here's to hoping that August is a better month....wetter for some, dryer for others.