Here is what we found today.

The ulitmate lazy kate.  Mind you, I’d love to see the size of the plying bobbin for all of this.  You could ply enough lace-weight singles together to make matching sweaters for the entire family – all in one, continuous yarn.  Woohooo!!

Of course, the spinning wheel would have to be a very heavy duty model, but I’ll bet there are some guys out there with wood-working shops who have lightbulbs going off over their noggins right now.  Just call it “The Boss.”

And then, how long would it take you to ply all of this up?  A week?  Two weeks?  Could you hold a record of handspinning and handplying the longest strand of yarn in the world?

What other things can you think of that could be repurposed as fiber tools?  Come on, folks!  We can have lots of fun with this one.

Saturday, Scott and I set up at Lexpo for a day of meeting fans and selling comics.  Troy Hickman also had a table there.  While the crowds were rather light, it wasn’t bad for a first-time show.  I hope the folks who arranged everything and set it up will continue it as I see this could be a growing endeavor.  My only complaint was that there were no food vendors, which meant that we lost the public whenever they got hungry.  Having food vendors there means we have a more captive audience.

The Batmobile was there,…

…as was the Mystery Machine. 

While we were there I spun on some Wensleydale top dyed by Spunky Eclectic. 

This was my first time spinning Wensleydale and once I got the hang of how it wanted to be spun (long draw), it went very quickly.  I spun nearly the entire 4 ounces while we were there.

The most interesting thing that happened, though, was at the hotel as we came down the elevator for breakfast.  Another couple, slightly older than Scott and I, got on with us, and both glanced at my Johnny Saturn T-shirt.  Since you can’t see my shirt very well above, you can go to this link to see what is on my shirt.  They both frowned, glanced at each other and shook their heads.  Then they wouldn’t meet my or Scott’s eyes for the rest of the trip down.  Obviously, my T-shirt had offended them, but it only proved to me that they were the type to judge something they have no clue about.  The scene on my shirt is the villain, the demonic-powered Dr. Synn, being attacked by the good guys.  In the end, the good guys win.  Rather than be offended, they should have asked what it was about, I would have told them.

Sunday and Monday – Well, we rested.  Two busy days in a row and a night in a hotel meant that we just wanted a couple of quiet days once we got home.  I worked on some paperwork yesterday, sorted through some books and magazines, and took a load to Half Price.  I am setting aside several books that I think you guys might be interested in and will have an on-line garage sale in a few weeks.

I sure hope everyone had a great weekend.  The weather, here, was fantastic for once.  The temps were in the low 70’s, the skies were clear and the humidity was low.  It was lovely to be outside.

Do you want to help your Local Yarn Shop in a big way?  Go to Yarn Shop Review and do a review of your favorite shop (or shops).  This helps potential customers find shops in their area (home or vacation) and helps the shops get the word out.

Have you ever wanted to know what care symbols on clothing and yarns mean?  What about how to differentiate between yarn weights.  Here are several great sites to help with these questions. 

The Yarn and Fiber Company

Shibori Dragon Knits

Patons

Textile Affairs

I learned a lot from these.

And last, but very surely not least, remember my weaving student, Kristy of the gorgeous dishtowel fame?  Well, she is a fantastic artist with silk fusion. 

This is about 2 feet X 3 feet and is hanging in the hallway outside of their dining room.  SWIFT is in talks with her about teaching classes on this – a beginners one for those who weren’t able to attend the Celia Quinn workshop this past spring, and a more advanced one for embellishments like she does as well as making things from the fused cloth.  I’m in!

I went to my yoga class last night and we had a terrific workout.  It was a very full class (at least 20 people) and I loved every minute of it.  I wish I could go every week, but I’ll take what I can get.

Who all are planning to be at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival next weekend?  Sandy and I are driving up that Friday night, will be at the festival all day Saturday, and will drive home that Sunday.  We’ve been going through the events book marking all the things we want to do and see.  A couple of the things I want to do are the Shetland Sheep Breeders show and auction (No, I’m not coming home with a Shetland sheep – this year, but I want to learn more so when I do decide it is time to purchase some, I know what to look for in good fiber animals), and the used equipment auction.  I am looking for another workshop loom, Sandy wants a click reel and together we are looking for a good drum carder.  I can hardly wait until next weekend.

For those of you in America, have a great Labor Day weekend, have fun and be safe!  For everyone else – Have a wonderful weekend!!!

This one was her favorite and I’ll be sending her 4 ounces of this as her thank you gift.  This fiber has amazed me as it has been the most popular of all that we sent out.  In fact, I don’t have very much of it left.

She also really liked this one and said it practically spun itself. 

While easy to spin and great for new spinners, this one is a bit coarser than the rest, but it would make a great boiled wool jacket to keep someone warm this winter.

We know this one has some second cuts in it, but they pull out easily or you can leave them in for texture like Roxie did (this one was her favorite).  I’m spinning this up now to ply with another single I have done.

And, last is Ulf.  This is my personal favorite and I have dibs on his flecce every year. 

Kimberley’s Sample Sheet

And here is the pdf of Kimberly’s answers for all the questionnaires.  If you want to compare all that we have received so far, here are the rest as well.

Dave’s Samples Sheet

Roxie’s Samples Sheet-sm

Cindy’s Samples Sheet-sm

This has been lots of fun and I thank every one who has helped us with this.  I have one more coming and I’ll get it posted as soon as it arrives.

I can hardly believe this.  Someone pinch me… On other hand, don’t because I tend to bruise easily.  I think this is going to take a few days to sink in.  I was asked a couple of weeks ago, but everything was finalized yesterday and now it is set in stone.

The Saturday Night Spin-In is on the night before Halloween and everyone is encouraged to be in costume.  I gotta think about that one.  Hmmm…   What could I go as?

Saturday, a friend of mine (named Sandy, but not to be confused with my co-worker and fiber partner Sandy) and I went to the Allen County Public Library to do some genealogical research.  When we got there, I sat up my laptop, decided on the family line I wanted to work on and took off to look at the library’s catalog of over 350,000 volumes – and that’s just in the genealogical department. 

Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that you can just go to a courthouse and ask for the information you need and bingo, there you are – back to some king from the Dark Ages.  Instead, this takes some serious time to do unless you have the $20+ per hour to hire someone else to do your research for you.  I don’t, besides I enjoy the scavenger-hunt feeling of looking for lost ancestors.

Many times when we do research together, neither of us find anything, sometimes we will find a date or confirm something we already suspected.  On very few occasions, one of us actually finds something that makes the hour and a half drive and 9 hours research worth it.  Saturday, I lucked out.  I found the maiden name of one of my female line ancestors as well as the names of her parents, their parents and the name of her paternal great-grandfather.  I got some dates, too, and found out they came from Switzerland.

Also, I found out the reason I couldn’t find further back on another line was because there was a spelling change in the surname.  I have been looking for years for Jacob Cotner in South Carolina.  What I found was that Cotner was originally Gortner and it was changed to fit how it sounded by someone whose spelling left a lot to be desired.  With that, I was able to go back two more generations, but ran into the problem of there being two men of about the same age, with the same name and I don’t know, yet, which one of these I belong to.  More research, but that’s okay.  At least I’m not staring at the same old names over and over again.

The Allen County Public Library was completely rebuilt a couple of years ago, and the new library is beautiful, well lit and well organized.  If you are interested in doing your genealogy and you live in the Midwest, I would recommend you coming to Fort. Wayne, Indiana.  Saturday, there were people there from many different states if you could go by the accents of the people.

Then, yesterday, I went to Kristy’s to help rewarp her loom.  We tried our best to do what took two days last month in one day, and we came very close, but we didn’t get it quite done.  I believe Kristy and her husband can finish it, but I like to finish what I start and I feel bad for not being able to get it done.  Her newest project of towels is in two shades of blue and white and is threaded 1-2-3-4-3-2.  If you have the book “The Handweaver’s Pattern Directory“, look on pages 72 and 72 and you’ll see what she’s planning to weave.  I think they will be very pretty.

I have a busy week ahead of me getting everything ready for Graphic Engagement at Purdue and the comic show in Lafayette.  Then Sandy and I’ll dye 20 shirts, and I plan to get at least two fleeces washed on Sunday and Monday.  People joke that I have to come to work to rest.  I laugh, too, but mostly the laugh is rueful.  I half-way agree with them.

So what do I have to show for my two weeks?  Well, I’ve finished a sock…

…started its mate…

…Warped a loom and wove a little.

I’ve gotten the laundry caught up – for now.

And I’ve gotten someone else to mow my yard that was quickly turning into a hay field.

But mostly, I have worked and slept.  For some reason, my energy level has been on the low side.  Knowing what I’ve got coming up in the next two and a half months, it’s just conserving energy, probably.

For example, tomorrow, a friend and I will be going to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to the second largest genealogical library in the United States for a day of research.  I have been researching my family’s history since I was 16 when my grandmother gave me her mother’s family history notes for a school project.  During this time, I have found out that I have nearly every western European country in my blood-line along with Jewish, African and Cherokee Indian.  Our wonderful president joked that he was a “mutt.”  Well, let me tell you, he ain’t got nuthin’ on me, folks.

Then, on Sunday, I’ll be heading back to Greensburg to help Kristy rewarp her loom for her next set of dishtowels as well as to check out her first batch in person.  I enjoy working with her and her husband, David, and it will be a fun day.

Of course, I’ll take pictures.

Then on Labor Day weekend, Scott and I will be at Graphic Engagement  at Purdue University on Friday as part of the round-table discussion from 3 until 4:30.  Saturday, we’ll be at Lexpo meeting all our Johnny Saturn fans, which is always fun.  Sunday, Sandy will be over for a T-shirt dyeing session, and Monday, Labor Day itself, I’ll be washing out those T-shirts and cleaning house.

And the weekend after that?  Sandy and I are going to Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival!!!  We’ll drive up Friday night, shop ‘til we drop all day Saturday, then drive home on Sunday.  I cannot wait!  My LYS will have a booth there, so if you are at the Wisconsin fair that weekend, stop by The Trading Post for Fiber Arts’ booth.  Susan always has tons of the coolest spinning fibers and yarns around.

And, yes, I’ll take pictures. 

Remember last month when I went to a student’s house to give her private weaving lessons on her own loom?  Remember how we warped up her loom for her first real weaving project with 8/2 cotton for dishtowels?  Well, Kristy has been working diligently getting all of the towels woven up and she just sent me the pictures of them all washed and hemmed.

Now, tell me, does this look like the weaving of a newbie?  Look at how perfect the 45 degree angle is in the twill!  Look at how square her squares are!  I am so proud of this I could pop!

Here are all seven of the towels she wove.  I know that part, if not all, are destined to be a Christmas present for, I think, her daughter-in-law.  Lucky lady!

Kristy is all ready to rewarp her loom and I am going down there on Sunday to help her with it.  She is getting the warp all measured off so that we can dive right in with the sleying and threading when I get there.  Then, with her husband’s help, we’ll get it wound on, tied off and she’ll be ready to weave her next set.

Kristy told me that she must have been a weaver in a previous life because she loves it so much and is so comfortable doing it.  Her first project is worlds better than mine was and I am thrilled to have been a part in bringing this joy to her life.

Watch out world, Kristy is going to be a Weaver – with a capital W.

I love autumn colors and this range is particularly attractive to me.  My winter coat is close to the burgandy color in this, so it ought to go well with it this winter.  And if it doesn’t – too bad because it’s MINE!

Because this colorway gradually shifts from one color to the next in sequence, it was important that I keep track of the order I wound off the bobbins.

I am really looking forward to seeing how the colors shift while I am weaving it.  In some areas the patterns will show up very well and in then it should gradually sift until the pattern shows up in other areas while some all but disappear. 

This illustrates what I mean.  The weft color blends in very well on the right side of the loom, but shows up very well against the warp on the left side.  As I weave, these colors will shift, blend, and pop in different areas.  So far I am enjoying the weaving of this very much, even if it is just on my small 4-harness table-top loom. 

Actually, it is nice to be able to warp a loom and get to weave on it myself for once.  It has been over a year since I have had the chance to do this – since last year’s Weaver’s Swap fabric.  I’m a little rusty and since I have lots of weaving planned for this winter, this little scarf project is just what I need to get my weaving chops back in gear.

Other than getting this project started this morning, I have done little else this weekend.  Well, I am doing laundry, but since that seems to be a never-ending chore, it doesn’t count.  I am ALWAYS doing laundry.

This is my last free weekend until the middle of November, so I am taking full advantage of it.  We rewatched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Friday night, watched Shrek the Third last night and there has been mention of rewatching The Producers tonight.  Ahhh…  This is the life.  Now if I could get someone to mow my yard, cook my supper and finish my laundry for me.

So, a couple of weeks ago, Sandy and I attended a “gentle” yoga class as drop-ins to see if we would like it.  Since it was the first class, I had a hard time understanding parts of it, and the whole breathing thing threw me because I wanted to breathe in and out the opposite way than was instructed.  I found myself holding my breath a lot.

This class taught me that I need to take more of them.  The gentle stretching I need because flexible I am not (although I was quite flexible as a teenager and could put both ankles behind my neck and “walk” on my butt), and the core strength workouts will help my lower back troubles, but mostly I realize that my not knowing how to breathe properly while exercising means I could be getting more out of my other workouts.

So, last night I signed up for a 10 class package deal.  I can go only every other Wednesday night because BASK is on the 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday nights of the month and I will not miss them.  They are too important to me.  But on those nights I can go, I can take what I learn forward with me and keep practicing it each night so that the next time I go it will be easier for me.  Once I feel comfortable enough to move from the “gentle” class on into the Basic Yoga class I will.  I know several people who go to classes regularly and they love the benefits they get from it.

In this class (and I don’t know if this is with all yoga classes since I am so new at it), the last 15 minutes are dedicated to meditation with the teacher talking us through several steps.  I really enjoy these and feel that this time is important both to relax after the stretches and to relax the mind and center it on the body and spirit.

It always amazes me, though, how quickly some people fall to sleep during this.  I mean 5 minutes into the meditation and at least one person is snoring away.  I think it is sad in a way because they miss out on something special.

Do any of you practice yoga or take classes?  What do you get out of them?  What can I expect when I move up the level into the more difficult classes?  What have your experiences been?  Should I do the workouts daily or less often?