Good things come to those who wait. . .

Ana (sadly blogless) waited until the end of the challenge to turn in her hats (she knitted 10 of them), and she's getting the second prize! There is a copy of Knitty Gritty Knits and a pair of bamboo needles working its way through a handful of knitters to her. Ana has to wait for her prize, but it'll get there!

When Ana dropped her hats off at my new office, Mamie (one of my co-workers) asked what they were for and asked if I'd take crocheted ones. I said of course I would; those babies need hats! Since she's going "above and beyond" by making 10 hats, I rustled up a copy of Crocheted Hats and a crochet hook case for her. Mamie has to wait for her "not a prize" until after she produces the hats.

I had to wait for ToolMan to finish my winding station. But what a great payoff in the end! Here's a picture once he got it finished:



It has pegs on the bottom for cones of yarn (I popped the spool of string I use for drive bands and leaders on one), two metal rods for spools, a vertical reel (which makes a 2-yard skein) on one side, and plenty of room on top for my ball winder and swift to clamp on. He's going to add a couple hooks on one side for hanging my orifice hook and WIP tool, and a pocket or basket on the other side to hold a bottle of oil, rag, etc. If you're interested in having him build a winding station for you, either like mine or to your specifications, leave me a comment with an email address and ToolMan will contact you directly.

To give you some idea of the size, here's a picture next to my spinning wheel.



This is where I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon; next to the big sliding door enjoying the sunshine, soft jazz on the radio, a dog lying in the sunspot on the carpet, and spinning.

Here's a picture of the tag ToolMan put on the winding station. I'll overlook that he spelled the name wrong; actually I think I'm going to leave it on forever.



Today, I had brunch with the girls from my old office. We did potluck: quiche, chicken salad, fruit, cheeses, crusty bread, chocolate cake, Mimosas and coffee. This is the first time we've all gotten together since the office closed in July.

We got to talk about what we've each been up to and got to hear about weddings, children and grandchildren, kids getting driver's licenses, kids going off to college, job searches, and how each of us is doing. It was like no time had passed at all; we picked up just where we left off.



I am so glad I know these women. We are, for each other, the sisters we wish we had.




These are women for whom I would go to the ends of the earth and once there, walk through fire to help them. And the best part is, I know they would do the same for me.