Spinning in place . . .

Remember those bobbins of bright green from a couple of weeks ago? Well, I got two of them plied up yesterday.



Would you look at the size of that skein? Eight ounces! On one honkin' big bobbin - so no knots! Lemme tell 'ya, I am SO glad I got the plying head with the new Lendrum wheel. This is only half of this color roving, and I have another pound of a darker green, as well.

I bought this at OFFF last year from Ronnie's Handspun. It languished in the Stash Room since last fall because I thought it was too coarse to be anything but a cardigan or something felted. But now that it's been spun, plied, and given a nice soak, it is unbelievably soft and squishy.



Unfortunately, I found out that Ronnie passed away suddenly last Friday, from a heart attack. I had hoped to buy more from her at OFFF this year. She had such beautiful big braids of kettle-dyed roving last year, and at excellent prices. And she had a great sense of color. I mean, just look at that green!



It reminds me of new grass, fresh asparagus, and just-squeezed limeade. ToolMan says it's the color of Kermit.

Speaking of the Stash Room, Kathleen says she's insanely jealous of someone who has a Stash Room and wanted to see pictures of it. So here's a little tour of my own personal Bat Cave.

In our guest room, there's a small-size door into a small-size room,



Which is guarded by assorted goblins and monsters.



Actually, "Stash Room" is also the off-season repository for my assorted holiday decorations. Hey, where else would you store a witch who can't fly straight?

But it does also store my yarn and fiber,



in assorted plastic bins, bags, and cardboard boxes.



What space hasn't been taken up for fiber-related storage, gets taken up by extra comforters, appliances used only once a year, and camping equipment used even less frequently.



I take no responsibility for that singing fish plaque. It was a "gift" at the white elephant exchange at last year's office Christmas Party. And it's going back again this year. Unless one of my dear readers wants it. If you do, let me know; I'll gladly pass it on to you.

Oh, yeah, and I got some knitting done, this week, too!



Not much, to show, but this is slow-going work. It's gotten wide enough that I can only get 2 or 3 rows done each way on MAX. And then only when I get a seat with enough room to actually knit. With the price of gas going up exponentially, so has the number of riders on Tri-Met.



Just a simple leaf pattern, but the feel of the Bambu and the wine color make it really luxurious feeling.

And last, but not least (no, I haven't forgotten my promise to blog this, Monica), a pair of socks in progress. I was working on these last month, when the Harlot was in town, but Monica and Heide stopped me from starting my perverse heels until I can blog them. As you see, they are both now up to the heel part, so I intend to knit, photograph and blog the method over Memorial Day weekend.



And who says you need two circs to do socks two at a time?

May 5th

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico.

But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York.

The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss.

Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as "Sinko de Mayo."

Hey, it's my birthday, I can make all the bad jokes I want to!

I'm not knitting . . . . .

'cause I'm sick; really sick.

The creeping crud has been going around and I was hoping that my daily low dose of antibiotics would keep me from getting it. But between people in the office being sick and riding MAX every day with the unwashed masses, it was only a matter of time before I was laid low.

It started with a little tickle in the throat on Sunday night; by Monday, it was a stuffy head; and by Tuesday night, the fight was over.

I went to Urgent Care on Wednesday with a headache, earache, sore throat, and cough. They said I had a viral infection, gave me pseudafed tablets and sent me home for 4 days. I was so sick, that I didn't knit while waiting over an hour to see a doctor.

I went back to Urgent Care on Thursday with all of the above, in spades, plus a low fever and yellow goo coming out of my head. They said I have a bacterial infection, gave me amoxicillan and vicodin, and sent me back home again. This time, not only did I not knit while waiting, I didn't read. I slept sitting up. In a waiting room chair. THAT sick.

What with all the drugs in my system, the only thing I've done for the last 3 (4?) days is sleep, drink water, and pee.

Here's all the knitting I haven't done this week:



Seriously. I have not knit a single stitch since Wednesday of last week.

And here's all the spinning I haven't done this week:



I told you I was sick.

Andy Rooney, on the other hand, is feeling better.

At least, we think he's doing better; it now takes both of us to hold him down for his shots. That's better, right?

Bustin' out all over

Things are bustin' out all over: the leaves on trees, flowers popping out on bushes and trees, the sun (finally!), new cars in driveways . . .

That's ToolMan's new baby; a brand new Scion xD. Although the Toyota minivan has served us faithfully for the past several years, hauling lumber from Lowe's, paint from Bi-Mart, furniture from Costco, me to OFFF, and knitters to Yarnia, it was time to trade it in. It wasn't giving us any problems; on the contrary, it still ran like a top and will probably still be going years from now. But, pulling into the gas station with a 1/4 tank, and still paying $65 to fill up, made up our minds for us; we needed something more economical.

ToolMan did the shopping and negotiating last week while I was at work. How luxurious to leave that task to someone who enjoys it so! The Scion website says the xD "features urban sophistication, utilitarian tendencies, and simple yet stylish flair." I'm not entirely sure that meshes with how ToolMan and I see ourselves. Actually the only things we really cared about were, in order: (1) the gas mileage, (2) does it have a fairly indestructible interior and can Andy Rooney see out the windows without climbing the doors, and (3) will the spinning wheel fit in the cargo compartment?

Speaking of bustin' out all over, my fiber area in the family room is fairly bustin' at the seams.

Why yes, that is a second spinning wheel you see there.

That's a Lendrum Complete that just came to live with us on Saturday! ToolMan and I went out for our usual Saturday morning breakfast out and then we headed for Costco. At least, that's where I thought we were going until Toolman kept heading west. Once we hit Forest Grove, I knew where we were headed: Woodland Woolworks. ToolMan said since I had a birthday coming up, he wanted to go buy my birthday present, and since it was such nice weather, and we had a new car, he knew just the place to go buy a spinning wheel. (After almost 20 years, he knows me pretty well!) He knew I'd been lusting after a Lendrum Complete and now that I've taken this spinning thing so seriously, it was time I had my dream wheel.

When we arrived, I went in the Discontinued Room (always my first stop), and admired a Schact Matchless and a couple of Saxony-style wheels before taking a turn through the yarns and books. Then we headed upstairs, and who do we run into? Duffy! She and I had a great time trying out all the wheels. We tried out the Hitchhiker, Louets, Ashfords, Kromskis, Majacraft, and of course, the Lendrums. Interestingly, we both liked the same features of wheels, but for entirely different reasons!

Then wonderful gals packed up my new baby, along with the lazy kate, extra bobbins, fast flyer, and plying head, and all my assorted goodies for me. I used my craft dollars to get a set of Majacraft mini-combs but they're on back order and will be mailed to me when they come in.

If you look closely, you'll see one bobbin from the Country Craftsman on the horizontal rod of the winding station; it took me 3 hours to spin those 2 ounces last weekend. But up there on top is a full 4 ounce Lendrum bobbin, plus another 1/2 full bobbin on the Lendrum. I did both of those in 3 hours! I bought a pound of this last year at OFFF and originally intended to ply it with some darker green. But now that I've unbraided it and started spinning, I'm not sure I'll do that. It was kettle dyed, so it has some lovely variegation as well as shades of yellow-green and blue green which should give a nice tweed to the finished yarn.

I think I'll spin and ply the darker green separately and then alternate the two in a Fibonacci sequence for an Adult Surprise Jacket. It'll be perfect for taking Andy Rooney to Hondo Dog Park next fall.

Speaking of Andy Rooney, I want to say thanks to everybody who asked about how he's doing. He's become a regular at the vet clinic, but he's doing MUCH better. We've been able to reduce his morning insulin dosage, he's lost 10 pounds, his appetite is back, and he's starting to get that bounce back in his step.

He had a good romp today at Hondo, although we made him stay in the "Small and Timid" area; he's not quite up to running with the big dogs again, but don't tell him that. After about 20 minutes, we cleaned him up and put him back in the car. He wasn't asleep by the time we got home, although he did nap all afternoon. But, boy, was it ever nice to see him chasing and wrestling with his friends again!