This is what my first bobbin of totally-Aura-spun yarn looks like. That’s a full 8 ounces of 2-ply yarn and is half of my “sweater lot” corriedale from Spunky Eclectic.

Here are the singles of the second half, spun in record time.

And those singles plied and wound off onto my skein winder.

All in all, I have something like 850 yards of yarn here, though I need to wash the second skein.

BIG skeins, too. I’m loving that the Aura has such huge bobbins!

I got a lot of spinning done today, too. Kim came over and brought her new Schacht Matchless and we and our new wheels hung out and spun for a few hours this morning, which was so much fun. Chappy was delighted too, not least because he got to eat the crumbs from our coffeecake.

Just in case you folks were wondering, I just got the results for Chappy’s latest blood platelet count, and they’re excellent! You’d never know he’d been sick … although he’s still on prednisone, as we wean him off. He’s down to one pill a day, which will drop to half a pill in about two weeks, and presumably none at all a month after that. The vet yesterday said that you’d never know he was on prednisone at all, he looked so good.

Actually, he was adorable at the vet yesterday. When we took him for his last checkup/blood test a month ago, he was impatient. He didn’t want to be there, and he fidgeted through the exam, squirming to get off the table. Not in an out-of-control kind of way, or desperate, just … making sure we all knew that he did NOT want to be there. The vet said that that’s not uncommon with dogs who come frequently, because of course, they really don’t want to be there and seem to think, “But, I was just here, why do I have to do this again?”

Well, Friday, it was like Chappy wanted to show the vet how mature he really is. He sat nicely in the waiting room instead of pacing. (Though I could see his fur vibrating a little from nerves, and of course, he did suggest a few times that we could just go back out the door we came in.) When they called us in to the exam room, he went straight to the scale to be weighed (35.4 lbs, which is perfect for him) and was good while the technician took his temperature. After she left and we were waiting for the actual vet, he sat and just watched the door, waiting. There were some out-of-control kids running around out in the waiting area and he would turn his head every time they ran past the door (I don’t know what their mother was thinking), but mostly, he just SAT, watching the door the vet would come in. When she did come in, he stayed seated, instead of darting away or acting scared or immature. He was so GOOD through the whole exam. A little protest when they drew the blood, but otherwise … such a GOOD boy!

While there, I asked about his eyes, because they always seem dilated (something the vet had mentioned in passing a few visits ago, but when we were more concerned with the blood platelets). I don’t remember what she called it, but apparently there’s something not uncommon to older dogs that make the muscles in the eye unable to contract all the way around the pupil? Her description of it was funny. “Well, he can’t read the newspaper any more.” I just love that analogy for how good/bad his vision is … because, naturally, it’s only puppies who read newspapers every day!

One more look at my pretty yarn. I haven’t counted the wpi, but I’d say it’s about sport/DK weight. All worsted spun, for strength and wear. Love the colors.

And, folks, I know there are still problems with my blog. It still keeps ignoring all my recent posts and putting that October “Weekender” post at the top … but only some of the time. And things are still running slowly, and I have NO idea why. I wish I did. I’m living in fear that they’re going to shut the blog down on me again for exceeding my bandwidth when I have no idea how to fix things. I’m trying not to freak out about it, though.

Tags: Chappy, Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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I blocked my shawl, folded in half on my blocking board, just like last time. I’m so glad I thought of this! It saves space and even doubled-up, it doesn’t take much more time than a single layer. But since it fits on the board without going over the edges, I can then stand up the blocking board–handy since I don’t have the floor space for it.

It came out just lovely, though. As always, I am awed by the magic of blocking lace.

Here’s a photo of my finished merino/silk yarn, skeined, washed, and dried. Pretty stuff.

Chappy was very excited on Thanksgiving, because his breed showed up on the national dog show for the very first time. Welcome, Boykin Spaniels! The dog in the show seemed pretty nervous and didn’t do as professional job as one might hope, but he was adorable (as Boykins are) and got a nice round of applause. Chappy was very chuffed.

Healthwise, he’s doing fine. We should be able to drop the prednisone dosage again this week, so fingers crossed that his numbers continue to do well!

And–yay for me. I told you that I’d been saving for a new spinning wheel but that his vet bills had pretty much eaten that fund? Well, in a practically unprecedented move, my office decided to give Christmas bonuses this year. (Seriously, in the almost-20 years I’ve worked there, I’ve gotten two or three bonuses at most.) So I decided there was no excuse NOT to take the plunge, and ordered it on Wednesday. It should be here in a couple days. I can’t wait.

I hope everyone had a great weekend–extra long, here in the US. We had the family here on Thursday. Chappy got three helpings of turkey. (My goal for the day was to get him FULL, something he claims isn’t possible.) I finished my sweater and just need to sew on buttons. I organized my crafting closet a little better. We went to the movies for the first time (for me) in months–and saw Tangled, which was GREAT fun. I loved it.

And I’ll end with this–a photo of the sunste we had the other night. It was so pretty!

Tags: Family, Finished Knitting, Finished Spinning by --Deb
4 Comments »

It’s not like that’s a long time, or anything, right? The fact that it took me FIVE YEARS to finish spinning this fiber? Remember, I got three pounds of the stuff at my first Rhinebeck, five years ago. It took me five months to fill the first bobbin, and it wasn’t until August 2006 that I finished the first pound of it.

It’s really such pretty fiber. Half merino, half silk, in a gorgeous dark gray that looks like purple in direct light. It’s really lovely.

I finished spinning the last pound last night. November 17th … just over five years after I started. Granted, I took a couple long, deliberate breaks in there, but still!

I finished my “Faraway, So Close” shawl, too, though I haven’t blocked it yet.

This should give you a better idea of its current size. Wasn’t it nice of Chappy to model it for me?

Chappy, incidentally, is doing well. We got the results from his most recent blood test back, and his platelet count was right around 400. He’s losing weight, still, though because of the prednisone. It eats away muscle, you know, so he doesn’t have quite his usual stamina, and with his usual amount of food, he’s losing weight. (Thankfully he’s stopped drinking such excessive amounts of water.) He dropped another half-pound since our last vet visit, though, bringing him down to 33.5, which is light for him, so … I’ve been giving him extra treats. He is really upset about that, as you can imagine.

He’s still extra-hungry, though. And whenever any of us has a snack these days, he sits very, very close in case we drop anything. My mild-mannered little boy has quite a piercing stare, I have to say!

Anyway, the shawl’s color is really hard to photograph, but it came out beautifully.

I laughed when I saw this snippet in Time the other day–in the 50-best-inventions article they had, recapping 2010. Um … since when is FELTING to fill in a hole a hot, new invention?

My next spinning project? A small one, as a breather. 4 oz of Finnish Humbug from International Fleeces.

It looks like caramel.

Speaking of International Fleeces, did you see the new, custom Cooper spinning wheels they’re offering for sale??

Oh, and that sweater I’m making? (Yawn.) It’s coming along. I’ve got about a sleeve and a quarter left to go but am so bored. I thought a primarily garter-stitch sweater would be easy and quick but it turns out that my brain interprets that as “boring” so it’s anything BUT quick because I keep losing interest. No fault of the pattern or the actual sweater. I’m sure it will be lovely when it’s finally done, it’s just … I can’t stop yawning!

Tags: Chappy, Finished Knitting, Finished Spinning, General by --Deb
5 Comments »

This little guy? My Chappy? He’s having a practically perfect weekend. In fact, as “just us, no guests” weekends go? There’s not much that would make it better. (Other than the forecast possible thunderstorms later today.)

First, it’s been blessedly cool compared to, well, basically the entire summer. Like, in the 75-80 degree range, and with no humidity to speak of. You can step outside without automatically saying, “Whoo! It’s hot!” which is a pretty rare event this year.

Then, yesterday, Saturday, we took him out for coffee. That is, Mom and I drank the coffee–Chappy doesn’t need the caffeine. But it wasn’t just the three of us.

Dad came, too! This is practically unheard of, and only happened because bribed him with eggs for breakfast because we had a Mara’s gift-coupon for buy-one-get-one-free.

Afterwards, we walked around town, I stopped at the bank, and Chappy insisted on stopping at the doggy-specialty store, the one with its own bakery. That was funny, actually. The store is on our town’s main street, and we’ve stopped in a few times to buy biscuits. But, they also have an entrance in the back, on Bloomfield Avenue across from the parking lot where the car was. We were walking back tot he car, and Chappy literally pulled me up the stairs to the door, as if he’d read the “Come visit our bakery” sign next to them. It was funny because we’ve NEVER gone in that way and hadn’t even realized that we COULD, but Chappy read the sign or followed his nose and … there we were. So, yes, my clever dog got a package of freshly-baked biscuits. It’s only fair.

We had a nice, lazy afternoon and then, the four of us all went out AGAIN, this time for supper. We went to Stewart’s, which not only has the best root beer, but has car service. You know, where you pull up in your car, and they bring your food on a tray that hangs on the window? They’ve been around for ages and since it’s about the only restaurant we ever take Chappy to (other than coffeeshops), it’s his favorite. They bring Milkbones out to the dogs, too, which he appreciates, even if he prefers bites of hamburgers and fries.

Today, we had a walk, I baked a pound cake, and then I plied a couple hundred yards of yarn while watching “Wag the Dog.” I haven’t seen it in years and had forgotten how much the Political-Science major, cynical-side of me really loves that movie. Dustin Hoffman is wonderfully hilarious as the producer. His response to every set-back is “What? That’s nothing,” followed by some Hollywood anecdote about something that was even worse.

The yarn is all plied, though I lost track counting while I wound it on to the skeinwinder, so I’m not sure what the yardage is. It came out pretty, though, and pretty consistent, which is always a treat. Once again, this is “Sock Hop” yarn from Crown Mountain Farms, in the “Twist and Shout” color, which I’ve had waiting to be spun for a few years now.

Next up for spinning?

If you’ve been reading long enough, you should recognize this.

Five years ago for my birthday, Mom gave me three pounds of this merino/tussah silk roving from the Sheep Shed (bought at Rhinebeck a couple weeks before my birthday). Three pounds of it. I don’t know what I had been thinking. Over the next year or two or three, I spun about two pounds of it, but at different times and different skill levels and after referring to it for months as the “never-ending fiber,” finally ended up stashing the last pound of it.

Well, it’s time it got spun, don’t you think? And right now, while I’m “in practice,” too, so that hopefully all 16 ounces of it will make consistent yarn. Because, yes, I still love the color of the stuff. It makes a beautiful purple-tinged gray yarn. So gorgeous.

And, now? We’re having roast chicken for supper (making the house smell really good, I might add), and Chappy’s getting very excited. He ADORES roast chicken and turkey. I’d venture to say that they’re his favorite kind of meat to eat … he doesn’t get this excited about the chicken in his food dish every day, or when Mom cooks a couple chicken breasts for supper. But … roasted in the oven? Ohhhhh, he loves it. Loves it! The house is starting to smell really yummy, and he’s pacing a bit, not quite able to settle down out of anticipation.

I tell you, this weekend keeps getting better and better for my boy.

Tags: Family, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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I’m getting awfully close to having two sleeves–isn’t it exciting? Just a couple more inches. I only just finished my first skein of yarn, too, about 4 rows back.

And, yes, I’m still loving this yarn.

Here’s a look at my finished green yarn … with that single skein of golden-yellow adding a little accent (and taking me right back to high school, too).

I’m really happy with this. And I adore the color … hard though it is to photograph.

The current spinning, you’ll remember, is the Sock Hop in “Twist and Shout.” I love the blue-green thing, of course, and I’m loving how it’s spinning up.

I love watching the color changes. It’s one of the most fun and satisfying things about spinning multi-colored yarn.

Did you see the preview for the upcoming Interweave Knits? There are several designs in there I think are lovely, but the one that caught my eye the most?

The Hoarfrost Moebius by Annie Modesitt.

So, I’m planning ahead. Because this requires a very specific yarn.

Yep. Lion Brand Yarn’s Stainless Steel Wool. It looks pretty much identical to the Habu yarn that I’ve been looking at for ages but never quite sure what to do with. This pattern, though? I love it. Love the color, love the design, love the amazing drape the steel gives to it … so, I ordered some.

Yes, even despite the fact that I really shouldn’t be spending any unnecessary money at the moment. I told you the other day that I’d gotten a new computer because Mom’s had died, right? It’s the one I’m typing on right now, and it’s a perfectly okay computer … except … that’s all it is. Okay. For basic stuff, it works just fine–MS Word, checking email, tweaking photos. But for heavier-duty internet stuff? Like watching videos, uploading pictures, writing blog posts? Um … not so much.

I can’t upload more than 2 photos at a time on Flickr without it locking. Watching a video on Hulu.com, it freezes several times–which my old computer never did. I’m not fond of the touchpad, either–the buttons are part of the pad, not separate buttons. I know this is the new Mac thing and all, but I’m finding it annoying. It’s true that most of the time I just tap on the touchpad to click, and that works fine, but there are times when it’s helpful to hold down the button–like when selecting more than one file, or something like that. And then, when I lift up my finger to click on the button … the cursor moves, just enough for me NOT to click on what I’m aiming for. Sigh. Add to that the fact that the yellows are kind of weird on the monitor and the slow internet speed for God knows what reason, and … the computer’s going back.

The sad part, though, is that Amazon charges a 15% restocking fee for returned computers (unless they’re DOA), so that’s about an extra $90, plus shipping to return it, in addition to the cost of the new (faster, I hope) computer. So, buying more yarn? Um, yeah, that’s got to stop again for a while … but at least I have this pretty Stainless Steel yarn to play with, huh? Not to mention all that great Peace Fleece from the other day.

(And we won’t discuss the broken cap, right?)

Just … cross your fingers for me that this new computer behaves the way it’s supposed to, okay?

Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
1 Comment »

Today, I washed yarn. I soaked my three skeins of handspun and hung them to dry, and they’ve been dripping in the hallway ever since. I’ve got the lid for my soaking-tub underneath to catch the drips.

And I started spinning my Twist and Shout  “Sock Hop” roving. Blues, greens, splashes of pinkish-purple, and white to keep it bright. All so pretty.

Chappy, though, got a little bored and headed off to his crate for some napping. He does so love that yellow afghan of his!

Otherwise? I made pancakes for breakfast, and baked a cake. We took Chappy out for a walk before it got too hot. I spent some serious time reading this afternoon which was completely nice and relaxing, if not particularly helpful for the whole, Debbie-needs-to-write thing. But hey. At least the spinning looks good, right?

Now? I’m off to finish my review for New England Knits, a book which I LOVED. That brown sweater I’m knitting? Yep, that’s where it’s from. The book is just that good.

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
2 Comments »

First … this looks like not one, but TWO skeins of finished green merino, don’t you think? Each skein is about 320 yards and the color is devilishly hard to photograph.

Next up? Eight ounces of superwash merino in “Twist and Shout” I bought from Crown Mountain Farms about three years ago.

Pretty, huh? It’s been sitting in my stash for far too long.

Knitting-wise, I finished my first sleeve of my sweater. It only took three tries. After the last picture I showed you, I tore it out and started again. The yarn, while Worsted weight, is getting a far different gauge than the Manos called for in the pattern, and there was just no way that  gauge was going to work, ultimately. So I started over again, on larger needles and this time I’m sticking with it.

Can I just tell you how much I adore this color? The flash actually makes it look a trifle washed out, but I keep looking at it and thinking I’m knitting  a tree, the colors are so natural, so gorgeous. I love them.

Oh, and I may have placed another order with Peace Fleece.

You know, just a few skeins of yarn. You’ll remember, the $100-minimum order for the wholesale rates? This order came in at $101.50 before shipping, so about as close as I could get to the minimum.

I’m not altogether happy with the way these colors photographed, either. They look way too bright and over-exposed to me. But then, I’m also working on a different monitor, so ALL the colors look a little different. I’ve never had such a difference in the way my photos look from computer to computer before, so I’m not quite sure how to adjust that.

And yes, you heard me. A different computer. Mom’s crashed and burned again. It’s been having problems for a couple weeks and got infected by a virus and since I don’t know how to actually fix a computer, I bought myself a new one and gave her my old. Not the most economical solution, I know, and I’m hoping I made the right choice because I’m not particularly liking the trackpad on this laptop. The buttons are actually part of the trackpad, which means that when I lift my finger to click a button (usually the right button), the cursor moves ever so slightly, which is kind of frustrating. I’ll adapt, though.

But, meanwhile, I can’t tell how close these colors actually are compared to the yarn. I mean, the camera hasn’t changed, and I know what I was doing with those pictures a couple days ago to tweak colors, and these suddenly look really bright, really over-exposed, so … I’ll have to work on that.

Now, if only I could get iTunes to download to my new computer. I have tried countless times over the last three days, but it freezes up every time. SO frustrating.

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
3 Comments »

See? I have been spinning! I just finished my little Grafton Fibers batt of Corriedale, and I’m loving the colors, golden yellow with the faintest hints of greens. It’s not perfectly even, but considering that I’m a little out of practice, no complaints.

Then I started this. I’ve got 16 oz of this green Merino from the Sheep Shed at Rhinebeck a year or two ago. The color is being tricky for photographing, but it’s really a lovely shade. You know how I love green. Here, you can see half the bobbin, with my tail of unspun fiber draped over the top–so you can see the before and the after. It’s just … not quite the right color.

The problem with the spinning, though, is that for some reason lately, when I spin, my shoulder hurts. The top of my right shoulder, around the rotator cuff. I’m just not sure why. Since I mostly do short, forward worsted-style drafting, my right hand doesn’t actually move very much, and I TRY to keep my shoulders level and even, though I notice that I have a tendency to hunch the right shoulder up toward my ear a bit … just don’t know why.

Of course, my right shoulder is the one spot that I regularly get sore, so that could have something to do with it. It’s because of my shoulder that I use a trackball at work to save having to move the mouse all the time. (Ditto the trackpad on the laptop–easier on the joints because the shoulder and upper arm don’t have to move as much.) I don’t suppose any of you have exercises to suggest, do you?

Oh, and I finished watching Battlestar Galactica, all four seasons. Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, I had some issues with the way it ended. Apparently Capricans don’t have movies showing how difficult it can be, approaching “uncivilized” tribes and managing not to get killed. And, flying around on those space ships I’m SURE made everyone fit to just wander off into the wilderness with a bag or two. (I bet THEY don’t know how to spin their own yarn.) Aren’t they afraid there may be some microbes they haven’t met yet that could cause some damage without their real medical knowledge? And–spreading everyone out over the planet? Now, I can’t imagine, say, everyone in my town having the skills to completely start over in the wilds of Africa (or wherever) with no tools or supplies without a certain amount of, shall we say, attrition.

I understand that they were trying to blend the BSG folks in with our actual history, but I would have bought them, say, all settling together in the Mediterranean where their mythology would set the foundation for the Greek and Roman myths we all grew up with. And … they found Hera’s bones, but never any signs of disabled Raptors? I get it, but think the ending wasn’t quite as perfect as it could have been. (And, poor Lee, now completely alone. And what, he’s going to explore the entire planet on his two feet? I liked Col. Tigh so much more after he realized he was one of the five. And am so, so grateful Baltar finally cut his hair.)

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
4 Comments »

Chappy’s going to have a rough week.

Power cleaning the building?

Painting?

Staining the decks? AKA his bathroom?

Ooooooh, boy.

I sense a lot of barking coming, and a lot of trips out the front door on a leash … with extra, bonus barking when WALKING out the front door for potty stops and seeing the men washing, painting, etcetera.

Of course, we humans who already miss the doggy door he had in our old house but are more than willing to open the deck doors for him, are going to miss access to the decks even more. Because, naturally, we can’t let him out there to go to the bathroom when they’ve just power-cleaned them. Or when they’re freshly painted and stained … especially while they’re still wet!

How about another look at that newly-spun brown yarn, huh? That’s 16 oz of merino from the Sheep Shed, bought at Rhinebeck two years ago.

The lighter picture is untouched by photo software, but is pretty much how it looks in direct sun. The darker picture I needed to tweak a bit, but is closer to what it looks like in normal, indoor light. It’s brown, very brown, but with the occasional hint of blue.

How brown?

I’m thinking the colorway should be named “Chappy.” I mean, so far as I know, the Sheep Shed doesn’t name their colors, but … could there really be a question?

And, oh yes, there was one other thing I did today–baked a lemon meringue pie!

Tags: Finished Spinning, General by --Deb
3 Comments »

I took 20 minutes after supper and finished plying my last bobbin of MVFF cormo. (Last from the Spring 2008 share, that is.)

Of course, looking at the picture, I think it looks a trifle underplied, but that’s okay!

I did pretty well balancing my bobbins, too. This is how much cormo I had left when the first bobbin ran out. Not bad!

Naturally, Chappy was very impressed.

Next? Continuing the theme, here’s the Cormo I got from my FALL share. At least, I think it was Cormo. The bag the braid was in wasn’t labeled, but since the one that had the cormo/kid mohair blend WAS, I’m assuming this braid is it by process of elimination.

I’ve noticed, in the last couple of weeks, that the keyboard on my laptop feels … mushier. It’s never had quite the crisp feel I truly love in a keyboard, but suddenly, it’s less crisp still. So–even though I really have no place to put it–I ordered an external keyboard for it. A slim, Logitech diNovo keyboard that hopefully won’t take up too much room. I have doubts about the fact that if I use an external keyboard, my hands will be nowhere near the touchpad mouse which is going to make computing more difficult, but the deal was too good to pass up. A normally $90 keyboard on sale for $50, but with a $30 rebate available–so all that typing goodness for $20. (Although, hmm, it looks like the rebate might not be eligible after all, since the keyboard won’t arrive until after the deadline. Drat. But–still a good keyboard. Assuming the mouse-thing works okay.)

The fact that I’m trying to get RID of stuff is irrelevant, right?

It doesn’t help that I’m lusting after this nice, basic, 50mm lens (f/1.4) for my camera. Or even this one (f/1.8), though that one I’d have to manually focus. Heck, I’d like this 35mm, too. I keep hearing how amazing prime lenses are, what a joy they are to use, how much sharper the pictures are than with the kit lenses. And, darn it, I want to PLAY!

For that matter, knowing how drastically what spending money I have is about to be curtailed, I feel like going on a spending spree right now, no matter how modest. Right now, while there’s still time. The book-culling process … that painful, heartbreaking weeding out of books that I love … is making me want a Kindle more and more. I’ve been drooling over them at the same time I’m regretfully shaking my head over the price. I’ve been looking at the Apple iTouch, too, which can not only read Kindle books, but can, you know, play music and stuff too.

I can even almost justify the cost of this as a last-hurrah kind of thing because I’ve got about $150 of Amazon gift certificates saved up from a year’s worth of using my credit card … but I’d still feel guilty. (Though, I’m regretting that keyboard already, since I can’t get the rebate after all, and it’s already shipped, so there’s no going back.)

One recent expense I don’t regret?

I just renewed my domain name for AfterHappilyEver.com … the title of my unpublished book that I persist in having faith in. Maintaining the domain name is an act of faith. In fact, while I was renewing it last night, I bought AfterTitanic.com, too, for the exact same reason.

Here are some links for you (because I know how much you enjoy random links).

Ooh–this is very cool. A 1930 newsreel video of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. Helen Keller is one of my heroes–have you ever read any of her work? Brilliant writer.

Or, how about this 1892 article (yes, it was contemporary for her) about Louisa May Alcott’s writing habits?

Did you know that Dean Koontz has a new book out? But, unlike his usual, this is not a horror story. No, this one is the sweet and lovable story of his dog, Trixie. (Check out this promotional video.) The title is A Big Little Life and it looks wonderful.

Do you ever take pictures of kids? (Or dogs?) Because these tips–and the accompanying, illustrative photos–are fantastic.

One more thing–I had fun setting up my Eye Candy Friday post for tomorrow. So CLEVER, even if I can’t take credit for the cleverness.

Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
2 Comments »

One more bobbin of singles to spin, then one more skein to ply, and I’ll have spun all the yarn that came in my first MVFF share. You know, my two pounds of Cormo from the Spring 2008 Shearing. The one Mom, Chappy, and I went to the Vineyard to witness.

Half of my Cormo I gave to Jessica to dye for me, in the MVFF colors. It spun up into something between lace- and sport-weight yarn, and I’ve already turned some of it into the Fountain Pen Shawl, which I gave to my sister for her birthday in June.

Well, I finished my first skein in November, and now (I’ve lost track of the yardage), but I now have three complete skeins of natural Cormo, and, as I said, half of the last one is spun into singles. I just need to spin the last bobbin.

Isn’t that a pretty pile of yarn? And, let’s see, I signed up for my first share at the end of 2007. The shearing in April, the arrival of the wool, the excitement of having half of it dyed. The Winter Solstice party last December. Susan’s birthday surprise in April and this year’s Spring shearing. Not to mention the revelry on Ravelry, and the fun this Spring of the Lambcam. I had thought that a share seemed kind of expensive, but … I’ve got to say I think it’s more than worth the money. Just think of all the hours of spinning pleasure is in this pile! And that doesn’t even count the knitting part (or the Fall share, still in my closet).

So, thanks again, Susan for thinking of this whole fiber CSA thing!

On an unrelated note?

How sad that John Hughes died! The man behind Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off … I feel like my high school years just died. And … who else remembers the Brat Pack? Check out this New York Magazine article about the “cool kids” from way back when.

Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning, Martha's Vineyard by --Deb
3 Comments »

You know the saying, it never rains but it pours?

Chappy finally seemed to be feeling better, and acting a bit more like himself, and then I think I went and accidentally food-poisoned him.

He’s FINE, mind you, so far as his tummy goes, but he DID spend most of the afternoon throwing up in various places around the house. (Great thanks to Chappy’s Grandma for doing all the cleanup while I was at work.)

Here’s the story of my stupidity. It’s not even a long story. As you know, I cook for Chappy, using the Sojourner Farms food mix, and when I was making his supper last night, I realized I didn’t have enough left in the container for breakfast. So, we quickly defrosted the usual package of chicken/package of beef so I could get a batch on the stove as quickly as possible.

There are a couple problems that came up next. First, our microwave is getting older and isn’t that efficient any more, but since we mostly just use it to defrost meat, it’s not that big a deal. Except that the meat came out still half-frozen, but I figured I was going to be cooking it anyway, so just tossed it in the pot with the food mix and the water, and cooked it as usual.

An hour or so later, after my shower, I was making a cup of tea and Mom came into the kitchen. “What is that smell?” “It must be the garbage,” I said. And it was–because as soon as we emptied it, the bad smell was gone.

Except, the pieces I didn’t put together were that the only thing IN the garbage at that point were the two empty meat packages from Chappy’s food.

The SMART thing would have been to put two and two together and realize that, if the packages the meat came in smelled so badly, chances are there was something wrong with the meat.

But, somehow, concerned, loving mother that I am, I still missed it. The cooked food on the stove smelled like it normally did, after all, and I just didn’t THINK. And so, this morning, I fed him the food and went blithely off to work. He was fine when I came home at lunch, too. About 90% himself for the first time since I found that bug bite last week.

Then, the thunderstorms rolled in, and he got nervous. My guess is that that triggered an already iffy stomach and … well, you don’t really need the gory details, do you? Let’s just say his good, wonderful, loving grandma went through a lot of papertowels.

Obviously, I’ve thrown away that batch of food. And the batch I made this evening? I sniffed everything. I cooked it more thoroughly than usual, too, and chopped up the pieces more finely than I usually need to, when I fed him his (small) supper, too. He was just grateful to be getting supper–you know how dogs are. The minute their stomachs feel the least bit better, they’re ready to eat again!

Now, I guess I won’t miss our Pathmark that much any more. Mom found out last week that it’s closing, and she’s been doing her weekly grocery shopping there since it opened, somewhere around 1975.

On a happier note, I finished plying that bobbin of Cormo last night. And, see the little bit on the fresh bobbin on the wheel? That’s all I had left–not bad for almost-equal spinning for my two plies, huh?

Now, I’ve got some book reviews to write … in between petting my poor little boy, who is sitting RIGHT next to me as another string of thunderstorms rolls overhead.

And, for the record, I’m assuming that if he keeps his supper down and doesn’t get sick again (either vomiting-sick, or just seeming ill), he’ll be fine. If he seems ill again tomorrow, I’ll call the vet. I’m just kicking myself for not realizing what I was doing with that meat yesterday … Mommy Demerits!

Tags: Chappy, Finished Spinning by --Deb
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Just a little spinning eye candy for you. My MVFF fiber, straight off the skeiner. I’ve since washed it and it’s drying in the bathroom as we speak. It looks like ocean waves, doesn’t it? (Hey, work with me, here.)

And my “Thinking About Fall” yarn came out just lovely. I got this last year at the Garden State Sheep and Fiber Festival from Jessica. It was such a cold day, Mom was wearing this braid of roving around her neck as a scarf … I wonder if she’d like it made into a real scarf, now that it’s yarn?

Sad news about Walter Cronkite, a man whose death is generating lots of well-written and touching tributes, like this one from Roger Ebert. Cronkite was already a legend by the time I was born, but I grew up listening to him give the evening news, and am sad to think he’s gone. I mean, 92 years old. It’s not like it was a tragically short life, but still.

Actually, the tragic, short lives right now are the ones that Susan at the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm lost this last week. I had known that they lost Agnes to listeriosis, but she posted yesterday how they’d lost more goats, including one of the youngest set of “O” twins born in May. She said that they didn’t know where the bacteria came from, but when the flock on Martha’s Vineyard got sick, along with the flock in the Hudson Valley, the figured out it was from the hay–a bale that had gotten moldy. Talk about heart-breaking! It sounds like the rest of the flock is responding to treatment, but to have lost three animals when she so obviously loves every one of them? So sad.

One more link for you–if you read books at all, of any kind, check out this post from the Bunch of Grapes about the importance of buying books, where you buy them, and what kind you buy. With the ironic “disappearance” of some Kindle books by George Orwell, author of 1984, it’s that much more interesting.

Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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Yep. That’s a biiiiig bobbin of yarn. And it’s not even full! But still, a lot of yarn. My MVFF cormo, you’ll remember, dyed by Jessica.

For comparison’s sake? Here it is next to the two bobbins that my singles were on. And with my bobbin of “Thinking of Fall” sitting on top.

Please note the two empty bobbins. Yes, you can see the leaders, but do you see how much yarn was left on the left bobbin when the right one emptied?

Not too much. Considering the amount of yardage, I’m pretty happy with this. Maybe 10 yards leftover.

Next step? Skeining and washing. This is going to be pretty!

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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You’re probably wondering if I do anything OTHER than watch the Lambcam and Chuck these days, right?

Well, yes.

You know, of course, that I finished my afghan the other day. I love it, and my only problem with it is with the ruffly border. It LOOKS great, but makes it almost impossible to fold neatly, so it doesn’t look as lovely draped over my red chair as it really deserves to look. But, well, I can deal with that. (And didn’t I tell you this color was going to be just smashing against my gold-yellow walls?)

My current project … well, there are two. One is to make Chappy some kind of smallish blanket out of the remaining 7 skeins of yarn leftover from the Sylvi afghan. He doesn’t really like having a big blanket in his crate, anyway. He’s had a towel to snuggle with in his crate since he was a puppy–one of this big, bath towels. (Ideal for puppies because they can chew on the ends without causing too much damage, and they’re easy to clean in case of accidents.) On the occasions when I’ve given him a second towel, though–if it’s a particularly cold night, or he’s still damp from a bath–it takes him longer to settle down and get comfy. I think it gets in his way.

This, of course, is one of my main arguments for him as to why he really can’t have my pretty, large afghan for his crate! But, a smaller one, made from the remaining seven skeins? That should be just about right. I’ll probably just cast on 50 stitches and knit in seed stitch until I run out of yarn … although, I wonder if he’d like a border?

My other project is the Fountain Pen Shawl which I just started. Actually, I started it just before Mom and I went dog-sitting at the beginning of the month because I needed a more portable project than the Sylvi Afghan. But then, we were so busy entertaining all the dogs, I never actually had time to sit and knit. (Besides, I only ever knit when I’m socializing or when I’m watching television, and since the only thing we watched while we were away was Friday Night Lights and I was busy petting Silas at the time, knitting wasn’t really an option.) So, basically, I’ve been technically working on this since March, but, really, have only just got going.

The yarn I’m using for it (and this was supposed to be particularly appropriate) is my MVFF Cormo that Jessica dyed for me in the MVFF colors. You know, because I was bringing it back to Martha’s Vineyard to knit. But, well, at least it visited the island, right? And, as always, it is a sheer pleasure knitting with yarn I’ve spun myself. I almost went for a solid lace yarn out of my stash because I think this pattern is gorgeous and variated yarns can draw away some attention, but, well … it’s my handspun. I couldn’t resist.

And the color is really washed out in that picture. I’ll try to do better next time. It looks more like this … because, well, it’s the same stuff:

Actually, it’s kind of interesting. Right now, I’m not only knitting some of that MVFF-colored MVFF Cormo into a shawl, but I have a new skein of the plied yarn, right off the wheel.

AND I have a bobbin being spun of some of the still unspun roving. Which means that at this moment, I still have some of the dyed-but-unspun wool, I have an active bobbin being spun, I have a bobbin of singles that I made on Saturday that’s waiting to be plied, I have a completed skein that just needs to be washed, and I have a ball of yarn being knitted into a shawl … all from the same batch of dyed Cormo.

How cool is that? It’s like the Lifecycle of Roving.

Did you know it’s Liz/Lizzy B’s birthday today? And, to celebrate, she actually wrote a blog post!

I showed you pictures of Baby N being born live on the Lambcam the other night, but did I tell you that Susan said that I get to pick the name? How cool is that, huh? All because I picked up my phone and called them to help them position the camera so all of us in internet-land could view the birth as it happened. The rule is that the name has to be a font, and it has to start with an N. So what did I pick? Nickelodeon.

And yes, of course, I DID watch Chuck last night and it was amazing. The hardest part right now is (1) seeing how great it is and how the writers are completely changing the basis of the entire show and (2) not knowing if it’s coming back to explore that. Not to mention that, much as I am encouraging all of you who haven’t watched to watch … well, is it fair to get you hooked when there’s only one episode left? (That we know of.) I’m drawing comfort from the fact that the sets haven’t been broken down and that there are so many really great articles from professional television watchers raving about the show. It’s not just crazy fans, you know? What I hope is that NBC really does plan to renew it but is riding the wave of incredibly good free publicity. I mean, if they told us now that they were renewing it, we’d all breathe a sigh of relief and shut up, and stop talking about it so much. I mean, you can’t buy this kind of free press, and if I have to pay for a third season by (1) shilling this show to every person I know and (2) living at the very end of my nerve endings until the Fall schedule is announced on May 5th, so be it. I am willing to suffer for two more weeks SO LONG AS THE SHOW COMES BACK!

Oh, and as soon as I’m done here, I’m going to go check out what music was played in last night’s episode, because it was fantastic. It’s really appalling how few of the artists I’ve heard of–especially since so many of them are from the 80s. But this is my main way of expanding my musical horizons these days–by following up on songs played in favorite tv shows. (Hey, it works.)

Tags: Eye-Candy Friday, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading by --Deb
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Family fun. Good food. Plenty of sunshine (even if it was also windy and about 40 degrees).

I even got some spinning done. Please note that I spun these singles on my Journey wheel–the most time we’ve spent together in months. I finished the singles just before we ate dinner at 1:30, and then plied them with my Woolee Winder on my Little Gem and promptly skeined them. This is the Spunky Eclectic “Pie for Everyone” from the monthly fiber club I was in in 2007.

Hey, the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm finally got its first baby goat of the year. (Lambcam has been on baby-watch since 3/26.) Little baby Arno. So, so cute!

Tags: Family, Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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As promised, here’s me in my Briar Rose sweater. (And, hmm, the t-shirt color doesn’t look as good with the yarn as I thought it did when I got dressed this  morning!)

Some more yarn pictures. This cormo–especially the undyed skein–is so light and airy, I keep worrying it’s going to float away!

And then, my afghan.

I started to lay it down to show you how big it’s getting, and…

My helper came in.

Wasn’t it nice of him to come and provide the picture with something for scale?

Now. First, I laid down my orange throw blanket on the floor, and then my in-progress afghan on top, for comparison’s sake. The orange blanket is good size for me, after all. Dad thinks it’s too small, but he’s 6’2″ so he’s got an extra foot of body length to cover up with a blanket.

What I’m thinking of doing–instead of putting two side panels alongside the main one–is just adding a wide, cabled border around the four sides. By the time I’m done knitting this part, adding a border that’s, say, 8″ around should make this just about the same size as that orange blanket.

And I think I found the perfect cable for it, too.

There’s just one problem.

Chappy says it belongs to him, now!

Oh–do you know anybody with a yarn shop? Read (and point them to) this fabulous post of advice for LYS-owners. Really GREAT tips on how to get, keep, satisfy customers–some of which is obvious, but some of which I’ve never heard before. Seriously. Most of you readers are knitters and you probably know a yarn shop … send them that link. It’s pure gold!

Tags: Finished Knitting, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
11 Comments »

Working on the 2-yards per turn of my skeiner, those two skeins of yarn from yesterday come out to just about 736 yards.

About 314 yards of the white.

About 422 yards of the dyed yarn.

Don’t they look pretty together?

Now, they just need a hot, relaxing bath after all this stress. They’re both a little tense, but really lovely.

Of course, the MVFF color ends up being a little “pastel” for my tastes. I wonder if I could find a really good, dark gray yarn of similar weight, because that would make for some gorgeous color-work!

You’ll be pleased to know that my legs ARE working today. I know that I was relieved! Now, if only I could get my lungs on board and have them start behaving themselves.

Oh, and I’ve got my orange Briar Rose sweater blocking, so a modelled shot shouldn’t be far away!

This is so sad. The squeaky-toy sneaker that Chappy has in our bedroom? The one that was Katy’s before him and got handed down and has been the only toy he’s allowed to have upstairs (other than a Nylabone) since he was a puppy? Suddenly, about 10 minutes ago, it’s squeak stopped working. (Darn, and after only 8 years? They just don’t make toys the way they used to.) It hasn’t stopped him playing with it, though. In fact, he seems determined to make it WORK. (“Wait, I’ll fix it!”)

Hey–any tips on a good tutorial on how to take a cable pattern and convert it into a corner for, I don’t know, an afghan, maybe? Like, say, if someone wanted to knit a cabled border onto the edges of an afghan and around the edges? Purely hypothetical, of course!

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
4 Comments »

Okay, maybe not literally, but you know those four bobbins of singles I told you about?

They are singles no more!

What you see here is the two empty bobbins, the two left with some singles (since I never can manage to have things come out even), and my hat with the next bobbin’s worth of yarn ready to spin AND the two bobbins of plied yarn.

One is the original, undyed white Cormo (from MVFF), and the other is from the Cormo that Jessica dyed for me in the MVFF colors. Isn’t it pretty?

I have NO idea of the yardage, but I can tell you it took hours to ply it all.

I did the plying on my Lendrum … a wheel that doesn’t get used all that often these days, and I now remember why. It’s a lot harder to treadle than my Majacraft Little Gem, and a lot noisier (especially with the Woolee Winder clicking away as it moves back and forth).

Even though I took several breaks, I can feel this in my legs … they are going to be TIRED tomorrow. You know, considering that they’re tired right now (grin).

Now, Marcia had left instructions on rewinding my Majacraft bobbins onto my Lendrum bobbins to free up the Majacraft ones, but by the time I saw that, I’d already started plying the first batch and my Lendrum was busy. And after the reminder of how obstinate it can get about treadling, I figured I didn’t want to have to treadle those singles through any more than I absolutely had to, hence plying the second bobbin-full.

What do the rest of you do? Do any of you re-wind your bobbins of singles? It certainly seems like a handy thing to do!

Oh, and while I was NOT sitting in front of my spinning wheel, treadling my heart out? I baked banana bread, and made pot roast (using beef, carmelized onions, and leftover coffee from breakfast). I blocked my Briar Rose sweater (finally). I also found a little time to read, but did NOT get Chappy the haircut he so badly needs. Nor did I get any work done at the computer.

But … that yarn sure came out pretty, don’t you think?

I think I’ll wait to wind it into skeins until at least tomorrow, though…

Tags: Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
16 Comments »

How pretty is this, huh? Remember my 2 lbs of Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm Cormo? This is the first 4 oz, all spun up. About 240 yds, and so, so pretty. I mean, really pretty. The cormo is wonderfully fluffy and clean, and a beautiful creamy color. This is right off my skein-winder, and it’s drip-drying in the bathroom right now.

The challenging part? When I plied it, I didn’t get quite enough twist in it, but since I really didn’t decide that until I was halfway through the skein, I decided that I would finish the bobbin at the rate I was going, and then would re-ply a second time to add a little more twist. The problem? When I took the bobbin off the wheel, my Little Gem’s brake band broke.

So … first question. For those of you with spinning wheels (preferably Majacraft), what do you use for your brake band? Right now, I’ve got a length of leftover Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy doing its best, but who knows how long that will last? But, back to the story.

Well, I wanted to get this done, so what I decided to do was (gasp) use my Lendrum. My poor Lendrum hasn’t been used in, oh, about two years … since I got my Little Gem. So you can imagine its delight at getting to spin its wheel again. And it wasn’t until after I finished that that I tried to come up with another brake band for my Gem. Really, both wheels are happy, I think.

The tricky part is going to be … when I do the next bobbin, um, I really want the twist to match from skein to skein, so getting them the same with just one pass (I hope) might be a little more challenging.

Because, have I said how beautiful this yarn is, and how delighted I am with the way it feels and looks?

Okay–now, in other news, Chappy had a rough day.

I don’t just mean because of the lawn guys outside, blowing away autumn leaves for something like six hours. And, you know, a self-respecting watch dog simply must keep an eye on them … no matter how he feels.

Because … at 12:00, I come back to my desk and find a voicemail from Mom. An urgent, “Call me.” So I do, and she’s all worried–Chappy’s not putting any weight on his back left leg, and is panting like he’s in pain, I think you should call the vet.

So, I do, and the first appointment is 2:00. I make the appointment, call Mom, and “Can’t you get anything earlier? Now he’s throwing up, and he’s drooling a LOT.” Okay–I call the vet back, and they still don’t have any earlier appointments, but if it’s an emergency, they can get one of the vets to hold off leaving for lunch while we come over. Did he eat anything suspicious? Is his leg sore? I, of course, can’t answer these questions–I’m still at work! But then I remember that I can do a conference call, so I call home, get Mom on the phone with the vet, and she’s worried, so we all decide that yes, I’ll hurry home, get Chappy, and get him to the vet. I run and tell my boss and that I don’t know if I’ll be back after lunch or not, shut my computer down, and hurry home.

Where … I walk in the door and get greeted by a happy, tail-wagging Chappy. Sure, his back leg looks a little stiff as he leapt off his pillow to come running to the door, but he’s happy. His eyes are sparkling, he’s jumping up to say hello, he’s just delighted. Well, of course, I get that reaction every time I walk into a room (grin), so I try to calm him down–it could just be adrenalin, and I don’t want him to hurt himself any further. But, no … even after the “Mommy’s home” excitement dies down, he seem, well, like Chappy. Favoring his back leg a little, maybe, but more like it’s stiff than because it’s HURT.

So, right away, I call the vet and tell them that I don’t think we need that emergency visit. I’m not sure if they charge extra for that or not, but well, there’s no reason–with Chappy prancing around looking all happy and healthy–that the vet can’t go eat his lunch. We’ll just take that 2:00 appointment instead … Oh, it’s been taken? Okay, 2:30. I eat my lunch, give Chappy a few extra hugs, and head back to the office for at least one more hour of work … Except, really, he seems FINE. And, why pay for the vet visit if he’s perfectly healthy? Don’t get me wrong–he’s totally worth it–but, well, if it’s not necessary, um … why? So, we cancelled that, too.

All the while, both my parents are saying, “He really seemed sick an hour ago.” “I’ve never seen him drool like that before.” As if I wouldn’t believe them, that they were making it up (grin). But they are GOOD grandparents. Not only did they clean up the floor, but they both sat (or crouched) next to him as he curled up on his pillow in the kitchen, and massaged his leg for him. Wasn’t that nice of them? If his Mommy wasn’t there to make him feel better, at least his grandparents did an excellent job of pinch-hitting, huh? (Or, you know, so they claim.)

For the record, since I’ve been home from work, Chappy seems perfectly healthy. Once or twice, when he’s first gotten up after sleeping, that back leg has seemed just a little stiff–just like my right shoulder is stiff on some mornings when I wake up. We even pulled out the heating pad, just in case it helped. I mean, hey, it made us feel better!

Tags: Chappy, Finished Spinning, Knitting/Spinning by --Deb
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