Thursday, November 30, 2006

My Boss Spent Two Weeks In Africa and all he brought me was...

This AMAZINGLY beautiful ball skein of Mohair!!



He was so proud of himself for getting Mohair - he even printed out the Wikopedia definition of Mohair - just in case I didn't know what it was... :) Oh, and it was my other boss who corrected him when he said "ball" and updated it to "skein". I'm so happy that I can be their small bit of Diversity learning once in a while...

Did anyone see Gilmore Girls this week? They had a KNIT-A-THON!!! Dozens of women, all knitting together in the same room, on TV!!

Last week was a great week - 10 year holiday party - see the pic? I thought it was a pretty good one, and shows off the mystery shawl quite nicely.


So, rumor has it that I will soon receive my final package from my Spooky Secret Pal... yes, it's been a wait, but I understand it will be TOTALLY worth it!! (She's been knitting me something, but since I don't know who she is yet, I can't even go explore her blog to find out what it is....) Next week...and of course I'll post pics as soon as it arrives!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

In the Nick of Time!

I got my first Winter Secret Pal package yesterday, and the timing COULD NOT have been better!!

As was suggested in a comment on an earlier post, my SP found me a BEAUTIFUL shawl pin - not sure, but it looks like it's made of Ebony...or at the very least Ebony-like materials. In addition to the lovely Shawl pin, she also sent me one of those great Sheep Tape measures (just pull his tail! :))

Here's a picture of the contents of the package:


The reason the timing was so good, is that last night was my 10-year anniversary dinner with the company! It was a good time, AWESOME food, and got to spend some time with a couple of friends, as well as a great excuse to spend the night at the resort! My room was pretty close to the party area, so that worked out very well...especially since the temperature is down in the 30's and 40's these nights... So, here's a picture with me and a few of my friends - note the shawl and shawl pin!


On another note, I got this cute PostCard today from my Spooky SP:


She just wanted to let me know that my final package is almost done and will be on it's way soon!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and have a wonderful and WARM weekend whatever way you can!!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Knitting in Brooksville Area...

This link was posted in the Hurricane Knitters group today...it's a meetup group that is attempting to organize in the Brooksville/Tampa areas. If you live in Brooksville or nearby, check out this link and find some nearby knitters!! Happy Knitting West Central Florida!!

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

*I* Know what I need....

I need a Shawl Pin! Yep, it's true, I've been wearing the Grape Arbor Shawl - unblocked. Actually, I'm considering NOT blocking it...stretched out across my back the pattern shows up very well, and I really don't want it to be any bigger. Maybe I'll wet and lay flat to dry without actually stretching it...that might be the solution.

Regardless, I think I need a shawl pin. I've never been a big shawl person in the past, so I'm not used to this "keeping it on the shoulders" thing...and it's driving me a little batty. Oh well, just had to share...am working on pictures, I promise...

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Pioneer Day 2006

Pioneer Day was awesome. Melody and I participated. We had a small canopy that we set up, and us with our two wheels, a rug for our feet, and a small table behind us with displays of fibers, spun yarns, and of course the recently completed Grape Arbor Shawl in handspun Colonial Teal Top.


We were there as demo only, did not have anything for sale. We did have a few of Melody's lovely baskets as part of our display. Coincidentally, we were placed right next to the basket weaver. We didn't really keep a count, but we had a large number of people come out. Sometimes it was one or two, sometimes it was 8 or 10 people all crowded around us. We explained the nature of the wools, talked about carpet wools vs garment wools, the differences in our wheels - my DT Lendrum, Melody's ST Traditional Kromski, what you can make from the yarn, the mechanics of how a wheel works, the "history" - ie drop spindles. Sometimes we tag teamed the conversations, other times we had so many people that each of us was carrying on a separate conversation with a separate group of people!


One of the re-enactors who came by early in the day was looking for information on Bobbin Lace. She wanted to learn how. We referred her to the Central Florida Fair. Half an hour later a woman came by, and was talking about how she used to spin up North, but doesn't now, would love to find a spinning group in the Spring Hill area, and pretty much just does Bobbin Lace at this point... M and I both perked up immediately at that, sending her off in search of the re-enactor. When I made my tour of the event a little later on, I heard that they had gotten together and exchanged info, and that the Bobbin Lace person was going to teach the re-enactor how to do it! She wants to have a bobbin lace project that she can display and work on at events.

We met a number of other people as well, looking for spinners or knitters in the Spring Hill/Brooksville area. I referred several people to the Hurricane Knitters list, so I'm hoping that they'll all show up at the same time and be able to connect up with each other. I know there are a couple of other people in that area, but I don't think there are actually any groups out there. Hopefully if they find a half dozen people who all want to knit and spin, one of them will be able to do some simple "organization" and find a library conference room or something to get together in. I suggested B&N and was quickly told that there aren't any.

It would be great it there was a group formed, then next year when we go, we could direct people to their local group! Ok, it's true, Interguild Liaison is the perfect title for me...I just can't help trying to get fiber people together with other fiber people!!

Friday, November 03, 2006

Eureka!!

THE GRAPE ARBOR SHAWL IS COMPLETE!!!

I have to say, this one's been a nail-biter all the way...when I was working on it during my vacation in NY, it occurred to me that I would not have enough of my handspun Colonial Teal yarn to complete the vines AND the leaves. So, I cut the vines short (you would never know if I didn't tell you) and "finished" the vines in preparation for adding the leaves. Then I put it down, knit 4 Guidepost sweaters, a Wallaby sweater, etc. Picked it back up last weekend and have been doing the edging ever since. And, well, each step of the way, I kept glancing at my remaining ball. When asked 4 days ago, I predicted that I would NOT have enough yarn to complete it.

The Verdict?

I have one the order of *2 YARDS* of handspun yarn left upon completion of this shawl!!

The Picture?

While I didn't block the "2nd" one, because it was a linen-silk blend and really wasn't necessary, this one is wool handspun, and DOES need to be blocked. Hopefully I'll be able to find a time or place to block it next week. Once it's done, I'll take some lovely photos to share it with you. Also have photos of the Wallaby and Guidepost sweaters, but they are on my camera which is currently packed in preparation for an early departure tomorrow morning.

Melody and I will be spending the entire day at the Pioneer Day event, in costume :) It will be nice to spend an entire day spinning, and getting the opportunity to spend time chatting and relaxing as well. I have decided I will spin up some fiber for my newest Secret Pal...a win-win...I get to spin, and someone else gets to figure out what to do with that lovely wool yarn!