Now, it might not LOOK like these two bobbins are spun from the same stuff, but they are. I just, for a change, thought ahead about how to deal with the colors.

There are three colors here–red, yellow, and a combination of the two. So, what I did for the first bobbin (the one on the right) was to divide each color into 16 strips and then randomly select them as I spun, so it’s a fairly frequent change of color, in no particular sequence. For the second bobbin, I separate the colors into only four strips each and and then spun them in the same sequence–yellow, mixed, red, yellow, mixed, red–so that its color changes are further apart and always in the same order.

What effect will this have on the finished yarn? I have no idea . . . yet. I’m about half way through with the plying, and I won’t know until it’s wound off, skeined, washed, and so on. If it comes out as nicely as I hope, though, I’m thinking I might use this as my prize for my Millennial contest . . . what do you think? The colors sure are pretty, and since the fiber is superwash, silk, and a touch of nylon, it would make fantastic socks . . . you know, assuming I can bear to part with it . . .

Next up? Arrived with perfect timing–Celebrations, the July offering from the Spunky Eclectic club. It looks like a fabulous color combination, and I’m particularly happy because it doesn’t look like something I would have actually picked myself and yet it looks great, which is exactly what makes these monthly clubs fun–stretching the boundaries of the comfort zone.

So, that cabled shawl I was talking about yesterday? Yeah, it’s pretty much history on the "Debbie’s Most-Wanted" list. I still think it’s gorgeous, but it’s just too much work to get that pattern set up as something I can actually USE. It’s not that I couldn’t chart it, you understand, but I resent the need to. It irks me (possibly beyond reason) that the publisher and/or the designer couldn’t be bothered to provide both charts and text for such complicated cables, leaving the onus on me. It’s like inviting a friend to dinner and making her do the cooking. Or making someone wrap their own birthday present. It’s possible, sure (and, if you’re helping out someone who is sick and couldn’t wrap the present*, that’s not even unreasonable), but is it right to expect it? I don’t think so. Isn’t it up to the pattern publisher to make sure that the reader gets something that, all other things like gauge and needle-size being equal, is immediately usable? Because the more I look at the layout of that pattern, the more peeved I feel. If I wanted to peel my own potatoes, chop my own onions, I’d just design something from scratch myself.

I did get a nice surprise today. Remember my Tannenbaum hat pattern from 2005? It must have gotten a mention on some message board somewhere because when I logged into my AOL email tonight (something I usually only do once a day), I had three orders and two requests for information, and I’ve had one more order come in since. Which is pretty great, I think–I love that there are people interested in that pattern, since I’m really quite proud of it–but it makes me curious, too. That’s more orders than I’ve receive for it in the last 12 months put together. Maybe it’s a new trend?

*And, I actually did that once. About seven years ago, Mom was flat on her back with neck/shoulder pain for about a month before my birthday, so that year, I went to the store with her credit card and bought myself my present, and then came home and wrapped it . . . it was a unique experience. Unwrapping it in front of the family on my birthday, *I* was the only person who knew what was in the box! I also cooked my own birthday dinner and picked up my own birthday cake that year, and really? It was kind of fun . . . although, I wouldn’t want to make a habit of it.

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