Busy, busy, busy

Horizon Restoration has been cleaning up the smoke damage since Wednesday.  The crew they sent has been excellent; they've washed, cleaned, vacuumed, and put back every single item in our house.  Every. Single. Item.  Every glass, fork, knife, spoon, pot, pan, bowl, cup, mug, plate, dish, knick knack, picture, etc.  Every drawer, closet, shelf, cabinet, rack, pantry, and basket has been emptied, cleaned, the items cleaned, and put back.  They emptied the bedroom closet, cleaned the walls and hangers, cleaned the shoes and shoe racks, and put everything back.  On Monday, they'll take down the old cabinets, start repairing the wall, replace the stove and vent, repaint, and clean the upholstered furniture.  Last will be cleaning the carpets.

Yesterday was World Wide Spin In Public Day, so I joined a bunch of spinning sisters Spinnerati in downtown Hillsboro Farmers Market to demonstrate spinning and answer questions.  I did take my camera, but totally forgot to take pictures.  Go on over to Rachel and Tami's blogs; they have good pictures and descriptions of the goodie bags.  Tami organizes this every year and does a bang-up job of it!  She wrangles enough volunteers to sew bags and indie fiber folks to make sure they're filled to the brim.  Here's the one I got this year:

I love the print with all the vintage lamps, and it's got double drawstrings, so it'll make a dandy project bag.  I did get some spinning done on the coral top that I was working on, but everyone seemed to be spinning worsted or plying, so I pulled out the last bit of "exploded clown" and spun woolen long draw.  It always fascinates people to see yarn magically appear in mid-air out of a cloud of fuzz. 

Tami also had arranged for door prizes from some local vendors.  My number was the first one drawn, so I got first choice!  I picked a 2011 calendar of antique wheels that I can hang in my office,



and another bag with two little buns of fiber that Duffy carded and a bar of spearmint soap from Peace of Soap. 



The goodie bag had a soap also, so I might send one of these to Mom with her socks. 

I'm working on the socks; I'm pretty well into the cuff on both of them now.



The pictures really do not do justice to this yarn; the colors are much more pronounced.  And the fiber is just delish!  This pattern has the gusset increases on the bottom of the sole, ala' Cat Bordhi, and this is the first time I've used that method.  I'm a little afraid these might be a tad big for Mom; I'm hoping they'll shrink a bit when they're washed and blocked. 

Mom has another pair of socks I made her a couple years ago but she says they're a smidge too small, so ToolMan cut out a pair of sock blockers for her.  He's got them all sanded and finished, just waiting for socks to be put on them and shipped back east.

Last but not least, ToolMan decided to start an ArtFire Studio to sell his handmade shawl pins, hat pins, and buttons.  The pictures are pretty, but really don't do them justice.  Each one is unique, one of a kind, completely hand made.  He does a great job of making pretty things!