Sunday, June 03, 2007

A Magnificent Surprise

Happy Dance

Saturday I spent the entire day making good on a Mother's Day present and when I got home, hot and tired and riddled with muscle cramps, there was a medium sized UPS box with my name on it. The return address said Pacific Wool & Fiber but I knew I hadn't ordered anything. I opened it and discovered it was a surprise from my secret pal, Joanie. I had almost forgotten mentioning somewhere recently that I've been wanting to learn to spin but hadn't managed to get my act together and try. So guess what she sent me?

A drop spindle!!!
And beautiful fiber!!! (described on the packaging as "Colonial Heather Top Vineyard")

There was much dancing and cheering and ohhing and ahhing on my part. Followed by several valiant, if unsuccessful, attempts at trying to explain to my Mister what all the giddiness was about.

I spent a little while last night trying to spin, with only moderate success...I was very tired. I will try again tomorrow. This fiber is so so soft and stunningly beautiful - the picture doesn't do it justice. I had some roving on hand and have been practicing with it. I think I want to practice a bit more before diving into the wonderful Colonial Heather Top Vineyard. THANK YOU, JOANIE!!! You are the best pal a girl could ever hope for!

Crochet, The Devil's Handiwork

Friday evening, I unburied the crochet hooks and made up a sample of the crochet project. (I haven't done one in a long time and thought I should dust of my skills before trying to teach them to someone else.) Here's the sample. Any guesses? (Robyn, you are not allowed to guess.) As if the fact that it is crocheted were not enough, the yarn is about 90% fun fur and similar novelty yarn. I am so ashamed.

I'll make Lisa pose with it Wednesday at KnitNight when I teach her how to do the devil's work. (And actually, the yarn shop calls it "Girl's Night Out" but I prefer to refer to it as KnitNight. Umm.)

Sock-o-rific
At long last, I feel like I am making actual, noteworthy progress on the socks. I have made some more progress on Sock #2 (left) since I took this picture and it is about one inch from the start of the heel flap. I will try to get that far before I go to bed tonight. These guys have spent an awful lot of time huddled together in my knitting bag. I may have to ship them off to Dr. B, who I think, with her special knack for sock conversations, is in fact a Sock Whisperer.

Tonight I've been knitting and catching up on tivo'ed episodes of Planet Earth. The squalls of the baby polar bears woke up my helper. (Sally and I both prefer Deadliest Catch, but we're all caught up on Deadliest Catch.)



Today's Post:


“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you like it!

They were nice enough to send me a little sample of the roving too. So far, everything I've gotten there has been very nice.

I have to know what the crocheting is. I learned to crochet when I was a kid, so I can practically do it in my sleep. I love the colors in that.

Jo

RC said...

oohhhhh ! excellent suprise! Way to go secret pal!
I cannot stand crocheting with FF.. bleh.

oh so I was watching Deadliest Catch last night on your recommendation and got "hooked". They had a little marathon and I just kept it on till news time.

have fun with the spindle and LMK if you need a bit more practice roving.

Charity said...

What a fun package! I can't wait to see how you enjoy the spinning. :0)

MLFTC said...

I am so ashamed of what I am going to tell you. But I can explain it all. Really. I can.

Knit Picks has a podcast on iTunes.

You may already know that. But thought I would share just in case.

Please do not mention this to any of my normal non-knitting friends. I don't need their sympathy.

Lovies!

marit said...

Great drop spindle! Exactly like the one my sister gave me some time ago, which I have conveniantly "forgotten" in the drawer...
This weekend we will have to gather the sheep and start shearing...maybe there will be some spinning too!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm lousy at replying, sorry about that. But I read your blog daily.
Sally is cute! A dachs?

Dr. B. said...

A Sock Whisperer? That's hilarious!

One minute you're all, "I'm thinking of knitting socks, but I've never knit socks before." And the next minute you're all, "I knit socks all the time. I churn them out like it's nothing."

Seriously. I may tempt you to do lots of things, but you actually do them. (Unlike some doctors I know.) Impressive!

Also? Your puppers continues to be super adorable!!

Dorothy said...

Aww, poor Sally. She doesn't need any beauty sleep, but she does look darn cozy.

That roving looks fabulous!