Getting ready for yarnover

With less than two weeks to go to yarn over, most of my time is spent spinning.  Not a bad way to spend a snowy sleety spring mn  day.  Sad but true.  But at least I am spinning.

The joy of music

Music has long been a source of solace for me. Most people who know me now don’t realize how much music was my life in my teens and 20’s. I sang a lot. I sang at my grandparents funerals. I sang for my sister’s wedding. I was actually quite good, my senior year of high school I auditioned and was accepted into a national choir that performed Philadelphia,in New York’s Carnegie Hall (do you know how cool it is to realize I got to walk in the artists entrance?) before leaving and touring Europe where we performed in various cities and amazing locations including Notre Dame Cathedral. I was a 17 year old girl from a small farm town in Minnesota and I left the country for my first time and traveled to Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland and England before returning home. It opened up the world to me. I had never traveled alone before and Ilearned I could do a lot of things I wasn’t sure I could.

Singing and playing the piano was a place of refuge for me. I sang in college andlater joined church choirs. I’ve always listened to a wide range of music and still do. I can listen to classical, country, Christian, blues, jazz, Broadway, old and new, it didn’t matter to me, I loved music. I haven’t sung in public for probably 15+ years. It just fell away, I’m not sure why. Sometimes I felt people never knew who I was, only that I could sing and that got tiresome. Once I had the girls it was hard to find the time to join a church choir. I think I’d like to do it again, but it just doesn’t fit in my life at the moment. I don’t play piano anymore either. I have my piano and won’t let mom sell it, but I haven’t sat down to play in a very long time.

Listening to music is still part of my life and how I deal with stress I think. I use music as a way to talk to God. I use music to change my mood. While I have an ipod, I still mostly choose to listen via cds. My girls laugh at me, but it suites me. When I pull out old cds I remember where I was in life or something that happened when I listen to that cd. Today I pulled out my old Rich Mullins cds. Lord I had forgotten how I loved him. And it reminds me of living in Dallas. So today I sit wrapped in the musical cocoon of Rich Mullins filling my head with encouragement and faith. It is holding me together and soothing my jangled nerves.

Working my way back

I've been silent for a while, now I've been spinning and knitting nearly all the time, I just needed a bit of a break from writing.  But to tease you a bit, look what I recently got from Ginny at Fat Cat Knits

 Isn't this a wonderful box of fiber?  I get them delivered at work so I can enjoy them all day long.  I kept shifting fiber from the bottom of the box to the top as the day went so I could ogle every colorway in turn.  What you say?  There is more?  Why yes there is...this is the next layer in the box of fiber goodness.

See what I mean?  To have 7 pounds of fiber sitting in a paper filled cube all day literally had me smelling fiber fumes happily all day.  People on my floor now know to watch for these types of boxes and readily stop over to squeeze and relish in the joy of Ginny's amazing colorways.  Me?  I just dream of spinning all day.  Can't hurt that is for sure.

I'm heading back to Duluth to Yarn Harbor for another spinning demo day on March 23.  If you are in the area, stop by, I'll be spinning (see box of fiber) and laughing with all the wonderful people who come and go during the day.  And a month from then, on April 27th, I'll be at Yarnover, the annual knitting all day extravaganza held at the Hopkins High School.  They have an amazing line up of nationally known teachers, Stephanie Pearl McPhee, Stephen West, Annie Modesitt among a few.  They also have a market place all day filled to the rafters with amazing yarns and fibers and just all things related to fiber.  I'll be there and can't wait to see everyone. 

I finished a Leftie scarf recently.  See how pretty?  And one of the beauties of using my hand spun is that it does a lot of the work for you.  See the different colors of the leaves?  Well all I did was use a skein of my hand spun and knit and it created the most magical array of colors.  Makes it look like I really am much better than I am with color.  This is a super easy pattern to knit and one that with the variegated yarn really turns out well.  I'll have this scarf at Yarnover as a sample, but currently it can be found at Needlework Unlimited as they are the newest store that is stocking my hand spun yarn.  smile...I'm thrilled to add them to the other stores selling my yarn.  Stop in and say hi to Karen and the gang and tell them I sent you!

I took a much needed respite last month with a friend.  We drove up to Grand Marais and stayed in a beautiful hotel suite which was basically a mini apartment right on Lake Superior.  It is one of the first times I've been up there in the dead of winter and I loved it.  How could you not love views like this?

This was taken from our balcony.  Grand Marais is turning into my hiding place.  A wonderful soothing place when I can truly relax and let my spirit sing. 

I'll try and be back at a more normal pace, I thank those who may still be reading.  I appreciate it.

The wonderful world of silk

Last year at Shepherd's Harvest, I bought one entire pound of pure white silk roving.  It was the softest most glorious thing I'd ever seen or felt.  Emily was with me and her eyes shone when we pulled it off the hook and handed it over to the vendor.  I've only spun silk once before and I really didn't know what I was doing.  It turned out fine, but not what I wanted this silk to be.  It has been nearly 7 months since I bought that roving.  It sat on the top of my roving stash, just waiting for me to decide to take the plunge.  Well last week I did.  The silk is amazing.  I swear I've never felt anything like this slip through my fingers.  After spinning for a week, this is what I have. 

I just love it.  It is heavy, strong, soft, and I can't imagine what it can become.  I got two beautiful skeins, not sure of the yardage yet, but it is just stunning.  I immediately started spinning the next 8 ounces, this time the single is even thinner. 

The only problem is, silk is floating through the air in my bedroom.  It is everywhere, I roller my clothes and still end up at work with bits of a silk film on my legs, top.  smile...and I don't mind a bit.

I also finished spinning some lovely fiber from Fat Cat Knits.  It is called Autumn Hills

It also hasn't been soaked or finished yet, but I think it is so nice.

It is late, I'm tired, but I'm so happy with how my spinning is going.  I wonder where I'd be without my spinning.  I don't think I'd like to know. 

Ninja wars part duex?

Well I didn't intend to fall silent.  But life happens.  Work has been a bubbling cauldron of turmoil, but I'm hopeful it has gone down to a simmer at least.  I've been spinning and spinning and spinning.  I'm slowly rebuilding my stock.  I applied to be a vendor at the DFW Fiber Festival but sadly did not get a spot for 2013.  You know I'm an adopted Texan.  I lived there for many years, Anna was brought home to Dallas from China.  I've always called her my Chinese Swedish Texan baby.  I was sad that we could not come to Dallas in April as a vendor for the festival, I was encouraged to resubmit my application for the 2014 event as they are moving to a larger venue and they will have more spots for vendors.  So I'll see what happens next year.  This means however, that I'm probably taking the plunge this year and applying for a vendor spot at Shepherd's Harvest.  I'll do Yarnover again as well.  So that makes a busy spring schedule for me.  So I need to keep spinning as much as I can to ensure I have a good supply of skeins for both events.  Stay tuned.

One of the issues I've had with blogging is I used to do my updates at work on my lunch or breaks.  They've since blocked all access to so many web sites to rein in the data usage.  I get it, but it really has been a challenge for me to change my routine to include finding time to blog and upload pictures etc from my home computer.  While it is fine, it isn't nearly as nice as my work computer so I'm working through the picture issues. 

In an effort to continue using my handspun when I do knit, I needed new mittens.  I wore my last pair literally out.  My mittens I've worn for the last 3 years were the first stranded things I ever made.  I loved them and last year as spring finally crept into Minnesota I realized the thumbs had completely worn out and had holes.  So I grudgingly threw them away.  Thinking, I have MONTHS to knit a new pair before it gets cold.  ya well, guess what.  It is COLD (finally) here.  In fact, it snowed.  Yes there is snow on the ground.  Which means my hands are COLD.  So a couple weeks ago I started knitting.  I pulled a pretty 3 ply, goldish but with flecks of reds/browns in it.  I found a fun pattern that was simple and would show off my handspun (I'm going to try and insert the links but probably not right now, stay tuned) so I started knitting.  After a few inches I realized it was geared for Sasquatch, so I ripped it out, went down a size (I have large hands, really I've never had to downsize ANYTHING for my hands) and started knitting again, got past the last spot, felt it was better, kept knitting. Until I forced myself to admit that yes, they were still too big, this time merely grizzly bear big.  RIPPPPPPP again.  sigh.  Now I was knitting using the smallest size. SMALL?  for my hands?  really?  But that seemed to be just right.  So knit, knit, knit.  The third time is the charm.  I gloated as I happily knit away, now I'm past both spots I ripped back and am merely working on the thumb gusset.  Yes it fits just fine I say, knit, knit, knit.  I happen to look in my knitting bag, oh no.  Turn away, keep knitting, knit, knit, knit.  peek back into the bag.  sigh.  Slowly take out my yarn cake.  My full big yarn cake that now that my mitten is 3/4 done, is not so full or big.  It is not so cake like, rather more CUPcake like.  I slowly take out my scale, weigh my cupcake of yarn, weigh my perfectly fitting 3/4 mitten.  And sit down hard.  I do not have enough yarn to make TWO mittens.  sigh.  Two mittens for two hands is pretty much a requirement here in MN in January.  Or you will find yourself with only one hand, which while would solve the mitten dilemma would create all sorts of new issues in trying to knit or spin with only one hand.  So yes, you guessed it.  I ripped it out yet again.  I swear I haven't had this much trouble knitting something that will fit since the Ninja socks.  See the saga here  Ninja wins .  And we all know how that turned out!  But I carefully RIPPPPPPEEEEEDDDD it out yet again.  And went back to the basket of completed handspun.  Rethought where all my issues had been and reselected a yarn, this is still golden, a BFL and silk blend so it will be plenty warm and in an effort to be sure I have enough yarn, I'm adding a commercial yarn for part of the cuff section.  And restarted it for a FOURTH time.  After knitting a lot in the last 2 weeks I've finished the cuff section and am starting on the hand.  Only time will tell if these mittens will follow the Ninja socks or whether I will finally triumph.  Frankly? I'm betting on me. 

p.s. - if you are still reading, thank you.  You are more than kind.  I'll work out the picture kinks soon.

Amazing!  I just found out that the spinning class is filled at Lila and Claudine's!  Now I'm a bit scared!  But it will be a fun time.  See you there!

Upcoming Spinning Class

 I've been given an opportunity to teach a spinning class!  Kirstin and Polly at Lila and Claudine's invited me to teach a spinning class.  I'm working out the details but watch here or at Lila and Claudine's and I'll have the dates and times.  Right now I believe it will start mid-October and run every two weeks for 4 classes.  It is a bit scary to think about teaching a spinning class.  I'm virtually self taught.  There is so MUCH I don't know.  But what I can do, is teach what I do know.  And I'm excited.  There is nothing better than being surrounded by people who get excited about the same things I do, fiber and yarn.  smile...

And to my two girls, tomorrow is the start of a new school year, Emily's a bus patrol and so very excited...Anna is settled into high school.  Have a GREAT year!