In Sickness and In Health

More than halfway to the goal. Yaaaaaay! In less than half the time allotted. Yaaay Yaaaay!
I may want to add another 10 pounds to the goal but we'll see when I get around the beginning of June.

Today didn't go as planned.
The Plan
1. sleep in a little
2. get the kids breakfast
3. review my Sunday school lesson
4. get the kids dressed for church
5. dress myself
6. go to church
7. Lou leaves for Toronto
8. Hot dogs for dinner
9. Early to bed

The actual day
1. sleep in a little
2. talk to Lou about why he's in the bathroom so much
3. be alarmed about the fact that there hasn't been pee since yesterday
4. make arrangements for the kids
5. dress kids
6. drive kids to friends'
7. meet Lou at the hospital
8. sit at hospital for 3 hours
9. try to talk you out of Toronto tomorrow
10. Walmart for prescriptions
11. pick up kids at church
12. dinner
13. pay bills
14. early to bed

Lou has a bladder infection. All should be well in a couple of days. I still think he should stay home and I still know he won't listen.
When he's back from Canada then he will leave on Thursday with the kids to Pennsylvania for the Phillies home opener. It's become somewhat of a tradition but this will be Ryan's first time.
I will be staying behind with the shop since the following week we are off to St Louis for the Frozen Four. Michigan was eliminated last night. They blew two 2 point leads in that game. Michigan State will be there, however.

Tomorrow is also our first 12th anniversary. June 3rd is our second 12th anniversary. Maybe I should explain.

I am a religious girl. Because of this, there was a lot of time of me saying "no". Three years or so if you'd like to know. We were engaged and planning a big wedding at my mom's bed and breakfast with the big tent and the guests and the huge cake - all for June 3rd, 1995. Lou was going to be in California for a business trip in March of 1995 and so I flew out and met him for the weekend since I had lived there and knew people I wanted to visit. Again I found myself in a position to say "no". He said, "Then let's get married." So off we went to Las Vegas. Drove up and down the strip a couple of time and chose this place. It was cute. And a fun thing to do.

It was Sunday. The courthouse is open on Sunday in Las Vegas. As a matter of fact, it is open 24 hours from Friday to Monday. I think it cost a little more than $100. for the marriage license at the time. There's a little counter where you fill out a half sheet of paper with a golf pencil. Then you take it to one of the people at the typewriters (probably computers now) where they type up your license.

We took the wedding chapel limo from the chapel to the courthouse and back. In the same limo with us there was a drunk lady and her man. She just couldn't believe they were doing it. I couldn't either. It was morning and she was already plastered.

After the little ceremony - Elvis free - we went out for a romantic lunch at Arby's and then drove back to Los Angeles as fast as we could since we had a dinner appointment with some friends.

We didn't tell a soul. For years. My parents just found out last year. His parents - still don't know. It's been great fun and I have not regretted that day for one minute.
Not much celebrating this year - due to illness - but I have been reliving that wonderful day in my head for the whole weekend.

As for spinning and knitting. Not much to show.

I'm working on my first skein for the HGA Handspinning COE. It's on a drop spindle. I chose Blue Faced Leicester top. I am spinning it my usual thin way. I think I'm doing a pretty good job but it's been 3 weeks and I have only finished about 0.65 ounces. I need a one ounce skein. Well, I may actually have more done than that because I got a lot done at the hospital today.

I am Emma Thompson

I'm supposed to be entering receipts into Quickbooks but instead I'm cruising my favorite blogs.

I found this over at Smariek Knits

Take the Quiz here!

I took the quiz because I knew that my oldest daughter (Hi Brittney) would be interested in the outcome. No doubt she'll have something to say about it. She's supposed to be studying right now. Finals are less than a month away. Out there in Utah.

For those of you who don't know, she is an English major currently in her Junior year.

Can't wait to see you, Brat.

Finished?

Moving right along on the weight loss front. Many days I feel like I'm running out of steam. I've invested so much energy in this everyday. Wake up, think about food for the day. Although, most days I plan the whole day in the morning and place everything in little containers for all meals and snacks except dinner. Dinner is planned in advance but I just figure it out in the morning. I need to continue thinking about it though because non-thinking is what got me here in the first place and I've been assured that it won;t be this hard or intense forever. I am in week 11 and have 13 weeks of weightloss left if I continue at the current rate of dropping pounds.

Cute baby picture for no other reason than this is a cute baby.

Here are some pictures of the room we are working on.

The walls are patched and painted.

We used Ralph Lauren Suede paint.

It is quite pricey but camouflages the uneven walls in a very nice way.

This paint is not washable so I wouldn't recommend it for kids rooms or bathrooms but I love the effect.

Furniture is now being slowly moved into the room and I'm rearranging in my head. I think this is going to be a lovely little escape room for me and Lou

As for the Forest Path progress - NIL.

I followed Faina's advice and took it off the needles.

Here is one of the blocks, unblocked.

Here is the Lily block - blocked. Blech. This yarn is really stretchy but when blocked all of the elasticity disappears. This is definitley not merino. Cashmere / Angora is more likely.

Point is, I am either changing yarns or going down a million needle sizes. I think, changing yarns. Back to the drawing board.

I did finish something this week though.

This is a scarf for the hunny. Made from Louet Gems Merino fingering weight. I wove it on the 8 shaft Baby Wolf. After I got through some fits and starts in the beginning it wove up very nicely and easily.

Thank you so much for all of your input about materials for classes. It really helped and I think I probably will institute a discount for class member on the day of the classes.

Another thing I'm working on is a Sheep Breed Study series. It will be a once monthly class where we will work with 2 different breeds belonging to an individual class of fiber such as fine wools, long wools, down breeds, etc. Each class of wool would be 3 months long and you could sign up for all of the classes or only the 3 months you're interested in. It should take about a year just to get through the fleeces of the breeds I currently have in the shop.

Raving and then Ranting

Buying Freeze Alert. I was checking out Tia and she told me about Ailsa at Knitabulous. They, and possibly others are going to go 3 months without buying anything new - with a couple of exceptions. This sounds like a great idea to me. Beyond the environmental effects there could be great budgetary effects as well. I should be able to few a couple of higher payments on the sucker cards and get them down.

This all begins April 1st and runs through June 30
Here are MY rules:
Fiber (yarn, roving, etc) is included in the deal - for my own personal use. If I'm doing a shop model it's different, but the shop is buying the materials anyway.
If it can be bought from the supermarket I can have it (normal supermarkets, not the right side of Meijer or Walmart).
Basic children's clothing is ok.
A single service-type purchase (eg: haircut) is allowed.
For every 10 pounds lost (total of 32, 42 and 52) I can buy one outfit.
Second hand from thrift stores is ok but no ebay.

Yesterday, Edith left the shop.

Here she is with Tamara - her new best friend.

Here she is in front of the fireplace and also modeling some new threads.

Tamara is a semi - new spinner but as you can see the potential is great. She is also a reenactor so Edith will be a great help in that area too.

I'm very happy for the both of them. In case you are wondering, Edith is an Ashford Traditional double drive with a double treadle upgrade. This girl can spin anything from bulky all the way down to lace weight cashmere. I should know. I've been keeping her in tip top condition in preparation for the right spinner to come along. I predict this will be a long and happy relationship. Especially since Tamara also got the bulky flyer. Now there's nothing she can't do.

Now I have a couple of things to gripe about. First. I got a letter in the mail today from the State of Michigan. Some background information may be helpful. About a month ago I go a speeding ticket. I was going 41 in a 25 zone. Yup, that's me, Speed Racer. In addition, when I got my new insurance card I never put it in my car. I had the expired ones (3 of them) but nothing current.

I went to the Brighton courthouse and paid the fines and showed that I did indeed have insurance coverage. Over 200 dollars in fines thankyouverymuch.

So, to the letter. I got a letter today. I owe a driver responsibility fee to the State of Michigan for not driving with proof of insurance in the car. Yup. Guess how much it is.

Guess.

Guess.

$200.00

What!!!!! I paid the fine. Evidently there's a newish law (2003) that the state can fine you for the same stuff you've already paid for. I'm pissed. Yes, I was speeding. Yes, I didn't have the @#$%%^&* insurance card. I paid the fine within 4 days and showed my insurance card.

This state is ridiculous. Isn't that like going to state prison for a couple of years and then going to federal prison for the same thing. Just cause the fed wants to get its punishment in too?

Anyway, what can I do? I'll pay it. I'll be damned sure I have my card with me from now on.

Funny thing is, that same day i was driving on the freeway 10 miles under the speed limit and thinking to myself how I better speed up a little so people behind me weren't getting mad.

Next is not so much a gripe as a questioning complaint.

I'm not even really sure about whether I'm doing the right thing talking about this because I know that there are a few people who come to my shop who also read this little blog. Lately though I'm feeling a little crabby.

I've been a lesson taking girl all my adult life. I love taking classes. In all of the shops I've taken classes in I have purchased the materials for said classes from the shop in which I'm learning. This goes for quilting, knitting, cross stitch, painting... While I was taking spinning classes at the very same shop i own right now I purchased spinning fibers which were used during the lessons from Betty. Now don;t get me wrong. I picked up fibers at other places. Alegan, Spinner's Flock and on traveling vacations. I just tried not to bring them into her store.

Other people don't seem to be as concerned about this.

Yes, fiber suppliers abound. Ebay, Etsy, local growers. But, I have an abundant supply and I've been doing my best to have a fantastic variety of colors, fiber types, even down to having more than 20 types of fleeces available.

And here come the students with their wheels ( not bought from me) and their wool (not bought from me) and when I advise a book or type of fiber they go off and find it from another place.

What do I do? That $15 isn't really going to help me stay in business unless I get class sizes of over 10 in a group. But then how can I give the attention to my students that they deserve? Do I raise the class prices? Do I make a policy of no outside fiber allowed?

I don't want to be immodest but I am a good teacher. The Ebay and Etsy paople aren't going to help you with your spinning technique and helping you to improve but I can only do that if I can maintain my rent, phone, insurance and all of the things that everybody loves to see when they come in.

Anybody, please help me with what to do. Maybe I should just ignore it an hope that things will change or that I'll keep those people as customers. You guys shop so what can I do?

It's Been A Day

I have plenty to talk about today. First, I weighed in today and please notice that I have crossed the 20 pound threshold!!!!! Hard work. But I am about 2 sizes smaller than I was 2 months ago! Yay!

So, on to the next subject. There's been some room shifting going on in this house. It's pre 1860 house and has had a few additions and so most things don't flow in a way that you would expect. When you walk into my bedroom there is a hallway to the left and you go down that little hallway to get to the laundry room. Right off of that hallway is a tiny room that I originally used as my sewing/craft room before I found out that I was pregnant with Maggie. Then I turned it into a nursery.
While I was pregnant with Ryan we moved Maggie to the bedroom at the top of the stairs and put Ryan in there - not that either of them did any sleeping at all in their own beds before they hit 3 years old.
So now that Chelsea isn't home anymore an Brittney is in College (and I made her room into my sewing/craft room) we moved Maggie to Chelsea's old room and Ryan is in Maggie's previous room.
So the tiny room is going to be a nice little room for just Lou and me. I definitely had to get rid of the baby wallpaper. I've ordered furniture and it is on its way. My plan was to strip the wallpaper today and paint tomorrow.

Did I mention we have an old house? Why do I ever think that things will go smoothly?

The large white part of the wall is where I've stripped wallpaper. The darker part of the wall is where the outside of the wall is coming off and the plaster is crumbling.




Here's a closeup of one of the crumbly parts.





Another closeup.

So I narrowed it down to 2 choices after talking to my mother - the old house master.
I could get some plaster and plaster this large place until it is even with the rest of the wall...or...get the thinnest drywall, stop stripping and just cover the whole room with drywall and be done with it.

I discussed it with Lou when he got home from Texas this afternoon. He got a little excited over the drywall option, saying that then we could move the outlets to normal spots. Whaaaa? No, no, no, I didn't mean to take the whole room down to the lathe. Of course he thinks we should do it "right". I think it needs to be something I can handle when he's out of town next week. I just got an email that the chair I ordered is on its way so that means everything needs to move faster. Plaster it is!

Next up. Look at this kid. Isn't he cute. I was just stepping out of the shower this afternoon, in preparation for my honey coming home, and I hear Maggie yelling for me and Ryan is crying as loud as possible. I called him to me and asked what was wrong. "I have a reraser in my nose." He says through the loud crying.
I immediately searched my brain data bank for what to do in just such a situation.
"Ryan, lay down and stop crying."
So I pressed his unclogged nostril closed and blew hard into his mouth. Out flew the eraser and everything was happy again. Except he told me that wasn't fun. Ryan has promised, by the way, to never stick anything in his nose again.
Do you believe it? Me either.

Shelly Lampshire was in on Saturday for her class.
Sorry for the poor picture but here are two of my favorite pieces. Those are needle felted, people! The bear is on ebay as we speak. I think they are 16 inches tall.


Here is the class. There were 9 students and everybody was almost finished with their piece before they went home. It really was a great day and I'm trying to figure out when I can schedule her again.

And finally, Polworth.

Dirty locks and clean.

Look at that crimp. It's a pleasure to spin and I wouldn't be surprised if this particular fleece were very close in fineness to merino.

Attached

Just got back from the lace knitters group. I think I am going to rip out my forest path stole. Well, maybe not rip right away. Since I was having a little issue about extra stitches and couldn't get myself to get going on it again I took it with me to show Faina. She said that she would recommend a smaller needle size and also that I block a swatch and see how the yarn is going to work in the end. I didn't block my initial swatch and I don't have it anymore. So, that said, I may just put my blocks on holders and block them right on the border as they are and see what happens to the yarn.

It was a busy day at the shop. Weaving, spinning, knitting and shopping. One of the Schacht wheels went away. It's always a little sad for me when they leave. I've spun on them all and I feel attached to them. They all have strengths and I use them for those strengths when I need a sample. It is important for me to spin on them regularly to keep them in good working order so when someone comes in to try them out there isn 't a lot of creaking and clicking from lack of use and oil. I was getting very attached to that DT Schacht Matchless. But soon I'll be able to bring in my favorite baby - Schacht Reeves 24 inch Saxony. Named Baby.

Also on the way are Kromski Prelude and Kromski Polonaise. I've spun on the darling Prelude several times but this will be my first acquaintance with Polonaise. It has a 24 inch wheel and looks like a Norwegian style wheel to me. They should be arriving on Wednesday and then we all become very close friends as I assemble them.

How can I get attached to 15 spinning wheels you ask? I have no clue.

Beauty

Almost to 20 pounds! 20 pounds is going to sound so much more substantial. It's definitely a motivator to keep going.
Today I was checking out Hesira who told me to go check out Susan. So I did. O always do what she tells me whether she knows it or not. Anyway, Susan was talking about the Dove Real Beauty campaign. I watched the little video and was quite surprised. I mean, I knew that they used touch up software to get rid of pimples and cellulite but I had no idea that they actually change the shape of someones body for advertising. It's ... appalling? rude? ridiculous? I don't have an appropriate word to describe my feelings.

Honestly, this is beauty to me. Me and my darlin'.

My face is a little thinner now but I still feel the same happiness with him as I did at Thanksgiving or the one before that, or the one before that...

The weight loss that is happening around here is for my health. Of course I feel cuter in my clothes but my current goal weight is 150. Not skinny by any means. I have a huge amount of Diabetes in my family on my mother's side and I'm very nervous about it. I was diabetic with both of the little kids pregnancies so I definitely have to get this eating under control.

In other news, I have no new pictures for you because even though I have been snapping pictures right and left - even of Maggie's birthday party - I neglected to put the memory card back into the camera a week ago.

I got the new Lace Addis in the shop. I haven't knit anything with them yet but the cables are very flexible, the joins are soooo smooth and the points are fab. In addition, I love that they have a gold color to them. So far I only have the 24 inch length because I didn't want to get all invested if I didn't like them but I'll definitely be ordering more. I also have the Naturas for those who don't prefer metal. They are also nice but the smallest they come is a US2.

I've begun work on the Handweavers Guild of America Certificate of Excellence in Handspinning. There will be evaluations this year and the next time will be in 2009. I came up with a working schedule that I think is achievable and it will take me until April of 2009 to complete all of the work. At that point, I can reevaluate the early work and redo what is necessary. I'm a little nervous about it and the rules of packaging and presentation alone can be quite overwhelming. No matter what happens this work can only make me a better spinning teacher because it will cause me to stop and break things down into parts and learn how to communicate the things I know.

Tomorrow is my needlefelting workshop with Shelly Lampshire. I am quite excited!!

Better get to bed so I can be well rested and cheerful.

Peek-A-Boo

Here I am.

I wasn't really hiding but there was a lot of stuff going on this week and so I've been neglectful of this here blog stuff.

First, the progress.

This is my Forest Path Stole. I've finished the second rectangle. This is very slow for me because there are two little kids and one big man who insist on talking to me every time I pick it up. As I am not yet familiar with the chart I can't talk and knit on this at the same time.

The other problem is that with the second rectangle I had an extra stitch that didn't get worked into the pattern.

I don't know. I'll try again and see what's happening.

Here's the progress on my Rowena Cardigan. Now this is what I need right now. Brainless, pretty and soft. Reminds me of some girls I used to know - heh.



Alright, one thing about this. I'm using my Lantern Moon Destiny circulars for this. I love the needle. I am o.k. with the join. I hate the cable. See how it's still all curly. I can't get it to relax.



And, by the way, you guys were no help with my needles decision for the shop so I had to make the decision alone. Well, not alone. Betty and Pam helped me (my spinning teacher and my lace knitting and spinning friend). I went with the Addi Lace needles and the Addi Naturas. I started with only the 24 inch length because I want to see how it goes. I'll probably expand the inventory in the next couple of months.





Last Monday was my birthday. I am now 42 - though I feel much younger.



Lou got me these fabulous roses and we went out to dinner - which I neglected to take pictures of. Let me just say that we went to Macaroni Grill and the diet was out the window. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!

These roses come from the local flower shop and they are still fresh today like the day I got them. That is the best florist we have ever found.




And finally here's Buster.
























Just a boy and his goldfish (crackers).

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance. You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver. You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

Mishmash

Yup! I've broken the 15 pound barrier. Next is passing the weight I was when Lou and I got married 11 years ago. I don't think I've been below that since before we were married.



So here are the pictures I promised yesterday. Oh, before I start that, thank you for all of your well wishes while hiding your giggles behind your hand. I especially appreciate Marie's helpful advice to attach a key to the dog's leash. I will be taking care of that this week.

Alrighty, here is the second sock of the never ending broadripple pair. As you can see the heal has been conquered and it's all down hill from here.


Now for my next topic. I need to get some needles for the shop. Here are the things I'm thinking and I would appreciate your input.

First Fiddlesticks Needles. These are bamboo and if you can't see it in the craptastic picture the cord is attached right to the wood with no metal.
These circulars do come in sizes all the way down to size 1 (2.25 mm) but from size 0 to 4 they are only in the 16 inch length.
Retail price of these needles is about $7 to $8 and the double points are about the same cost.
They feel good and are very smooth to the touch. they also have the size in American and mm very clearly stamped on them. I'm concerned about the cord because it seems to be a hollow tube that could get a kink in it where your yarn could get caught.

Remember I am thinking about these from the point of view of a lace knitter as that is the customer I am trying to serve.

Next are the KA needles. These seem to be based on the Crystal Palace needles and, from what I understand, the main difference is that the bamboo is just not aged as long. These are also very smooth and the join is exactly like my Crystal Palace needles. The size is not as prominently displayed ad the Fiddlesticks. The price is about the same. These are available in 16 and 24 inch all the way down to size 0 (2.0 mm).

And finally, Lantern Moon Destiny Circulars. I LOVE Ebony and Rosewood needles. I have a lot of Suzannes in both ebony and rosewood. LOVE. I have rosewood Holz & Stein. LOVE. So I really want to get these. BUT they don't come in any sizes, in circular, smaller than a 4. And the price is $24.00 per set.

Now here's what I'm thinking. I get either the Fiddlesticks or KA in circulars and I get the Lantern Moon double points.

Please let me know about your favorite needles and why they are your favorite. Lace knitters, I am especially interested in your input.

Here's what I started yesterday and promised to tell you about.

The Rowena Cardigan from Knit 2 Together.

I'm using Brooks Farm Duet (55% mohair and 45% wool). I got this at Rhinebeck with this very sweater in mind. It took me a little effort to get the gauge I needed - due to stupidity - but it all worked out and I'm only one needle size down from what was suggested in the pattern.

My current bust measures a little less than 41 inches but I cast on for the 38 inch size since I'm losing weight and I don't want to knit a whole sweater and not fit it when I'm done. I do love it and will be hunting for the perfect ribbon to weave in.

I have nothing to show for the Forest Path Stole but I hope to remedy that by working on it tonight.

I'm very tired out from the workshop today but I think it was pretty good and everybody seemed to be satisfied. I had to stand all day because I didn't have enough chairs. I'll be prepared for the next one though. I learn from my mistakes. Keys on Tuesday, Chairs on Saturday.

Here are some action shots of the fam.

Too much action for me. I'm going to bed.

And also, go check out Tia Knits latest post. I feel so much better now.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Oh yeah, one more thing I forgot I wanted to write about.

Tuesday night was snowy. We only got about 5 inches I think. South and west of here was worse. But it was COLD and WINDY. I actually thought I'd leave the shop early. Didn't think anyone would come in. Tuesday is my day to be there late. My Tuesday spinning student did come but she was 1.5 hours later than usual so I didn't leave early.

I got home a little after 8PM and sent the babysitter home with instructions to turn around and come back if the roads were too bad.

I thought, before going to be, I should take the dog out.

In about December I broke the door knob and Lou changed it to a more beautiful model. This one can open on the inside even if it is locked.

See where this is going?

I didn't have a coat on.
Lou was in Toronto.

So then there's a bright idea. I'll just go around back and go in through the garage. Unfortunately for me the garage door broke about 2 weeks ago and won't open anymore.
I tried all of the doors and all were locked.

The kids were in their sleeping and ringing the door bell wasn't waking anyone.

By now about 25 minutes has gone by. It is about 2 degrees Fahrenheit and did I mention I wasn't wearing a coat?

I went next door, where a 20 year old guy and his girlfriend live, and I asked to use the phone. This fine young neighbor did the right thing and brought the phone to the door and gave it to me on the porch. Yup, he didn't ask me in.

I called 911. Who else would I call? Luckily the nice young man's girlfriend came by and did the right thing and asked me to come in while I waited for the officers to show up.

Less than 5 minutes later two police cars showed up and back out to the cold I went.

They tried breaking in every door. No luck. Good news I guess. Unless I'm on the wrong side of the door.

One officer got a snow shovel and pounded on the shutter outside Maggie's room while I yelled for her. She didn't wake up.

I rang the doorbell some more. No one budged.

Finally the other officer took out the screens one by one until he found a vulnerable window to go through. That window is no longer vulnerable but I'm glad it wasn't latched on Tuesday.

By the time I got inside I had been out in the freeze for almost an hour. It took a long time to get warm - even under my down comforter.

I'm getting a spare key made to hide.

I now know I should have taken a hot shower. But you live and learn.

I haven't been posting because I keep forgetting to take pictures.

I started a new project today from Knit 2 Together. I don't know what it is and I don't know what yarn I'm using. I'm in bed and I'm warm and I'm not getting out. Tomorrow I'll have a picture and all the info you want.

I've made no progress on the Forest Path Stole because I've been weaving and spinning and planning to start other things.

Tomorrow is my Drop Spindle workshop. I'm a little nervous. I hope it all goes well. It's my first all day workshop where I'm the teacher. I know how to use a drop spindle. I love doing it and I'm pretty good at it - if I do say so myself. But I'm worried about translating what my hands do into the English language in an intelligible way. I've read all I can and have enough spindles to try out so if all else fails...I'll tell jokes.

I'll be back tomorrow I promise with all of the rest of the story.

Love

It's my husband's high school ring. I found it when I was putting something away in his tiny closet. It was very dull and tarnished so I gave it a good shine and started to wear it. He doesn't care. He wore it for all of an hour after he got it. I was surprised that he even had one. He won't even wear a watch and isn't overly thrilled to wear a wedding band. Evidently his mom wanted him to have it.

I wanted a high school ring. We never had much money in my family and my mom said - You'll be going to college in a year and then you'll want a college ring and never wear the high school one so just wait.

Well, I planned to go to college and finally started taking some classes when Brittney was about 5 and Chelsea was 6 and I was a single parent and worked full time in a lab growing cells and trying to come up with more efficient ways to grow these cells and have them produce more antibodies.

I wanted to be a Chemical engineer. Trying to study engineering physics at the same time as calculus and go to work and study with two VERY energetic little girls...well, let's just say that it was hard.

I do really regret not having that degree. I should have done it BEFORE the kids. Yeah, that's the ticket.

The point is that my sweetheart gave me his ring and now we're going steady.


O.K. fine. I'll talk about the knitting. Forest Path Stole. I have finished the border, and the right side triangle. Seed stitch. I am slow at it. I will be starting the first lace block tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.
I got the yarn today for the huck lace project but I just started warping the loom for my husband's scarf. Don't look at me that way. I've been busy. I've been working on my spinning and also working on samples for the alpaca spin off. Oh, guess I didn't mention that before. I think it's for the Michigan Alpaca Breeders Show in September. I've gotten some samples along with the judging criteria. I need to judge the samples and send them back by the end of this week. If all goes as planned, I will be the judging coordinator for the show with at least 75 samples to judge and spin at least one ounce. I'll have the whole summer to do it and I've enlisted the help of Pam and Betty so that's only 25 samples each. No problem.

I've also decide to work on the Spinning COE program from the Handweavers Guild of America. I think it's challenging but will make me expand my skills and also make me a better teacher.

I need to ask everyone to do me a little favor. My website doen't show up in any searches. From what I understand, the more web links you have, the better your chances for Google to pick up your site. So, if you are willing, I would be grateful if you could put even the tiniest most inconspicuous link to my website www.thespinningloft.com. If you want to be less inconspicuous you could even use the button I have in the sidebar. Thank you so much. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Spinning, Weaving, Knitting. Where Does the Time Go?

Things are still going well on the weight loss front. If this keeps up I will hopefully be staving off the diabetes that runs rampant in my family. I'll also be able to better keep up with the three year old kid.

Thanks for all the nice comments about my weaving. I did order some silk for my next Huck Lace project and I wound the warp for an interim project while I wait for the silk. My husband said I could weave him a scarf. I asked him what color he wanted and he said whatever I have the most of in the store. Hmmmm, black, bright pink, orange, lilac. Won't that be a lovely scarf?
Actually I looked at what I had in the merino Gems and I've chosen a dark taupe and a dark golden color. I also found an 8 shaft pattern that I like and will give me some practice for the Huck project.

I need to talk for a moment for the lovely person I spoiled during SP9. Kimberly, Oh how I love her. She sent me a lovely package, that of course I forgot to photograph. It had a most beautiful ball of sock yarn, a ram key chain, some maple candies and vanilla maple syrup (she's from Vermont) along with a pair of circular needles which I have been drooling over - Lantern Moon. She is now my best friend. Sorry Dana - although the delicious chocolate is very great. Now I'm confused about who is my best friend. O.k. I'm going back to Dana because of the long term friendship but Kimberly, you are very close. (hee)

Monday night was the lace knitters group which meets in Okemos. It was fabulous. I was also a little star struck.

This is Sharon Winsauer from here and here. Well there are many more but these are fab. She is a lovely woman and very warm.

Here is Faina, Faina Letoutchaia. Yup, that same one from the Forest Path Stole. She's showing us a new cast on in this picture.

I love them both. There are about 7 other women there too and I'm sure I will learn their names soon. I'm going to go every month. They are working on a project that I want to get in on. More about that later.

So far on the Forest Path Stole, I have the bottom border done and if I could stop typing I would be starting to add the bottom setup triangles. I'll have a picture of that as soon as I knit the triangles.

And back, for a moment, to the weaving. I think I've been thinking about weaving too much. I have a weaving teacher at the shop. I really need to be working on my spinning and become a better teacher. I need to find a way to split up my free time in the shop between organizing, weaving and perfecting my spinning. Any ideas?

Alright, I'm missing Grey's Anatomy and also some important knitting time.

Unrelated Topics

Here is my completed weaving project. I used mercerized cotton with an overshot design from the Learning to Weave Book by Deborah Chandler. It's a great book and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn to weave. It is 76" long, not including the 8 inches of fringe on each side. It is about 24" wide. I love how it looks. I wish I had used a yarn that was a little thinner but it was for a class and a lot of the others in the class are making place mats so they needed something thicker and more substantial.

Here is a pretty good closeup. I like how weaving with the flax color toned down the rest of the colors.

I've ordered some spun silk for my next project. I ordered three different sizes and I'll think about it when I get the yarn. I want to do some huck lace. I'd like it to be a little lighter in weight than this. The yarn I'm actually leaning toward is about 5000 ypp and I'm not sure I'm ready for a project to take that long..

I'll do a little more thinking when I get the yarn. I can always knit lace with any of the yarns I ordered. I'm getting at least one cone of each so that will make a pretty good shawl.

Now I know this picture is sideways and that's just pure laziness on my part but look at how this dog is sitting. Lou is rubbing her neck pretty hard here and she is just making the funniest noises. Crazy dog.

Who's idea was it to get a dog anyway.

Things are getting better with her. I'm chalking all of the bad behavior up to adolescence and hoping we can work through it.

This is my final package from my Secret Pal. She is Samantha from Zan Knits. A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT! She was great and very thoughtful the whole time. I never would have guessed it. She spins cotton on a charkha, makes her own stitch markers, knits...all while trying to get into NYU or Rutgers or SMU. Hey Kate, can you help her out? I know it's a different department but it doesn't hurt to ask.

And lookee what she sent me. Knit picks yarn in both lace weight and sock weight and patterns to match and Simple Socks and Knitted Gifts. I don't own any of this stuff and if you saw my book collection you would see what a miracle it is.

I love this girl. Thanks Sam.

Here are some extreme closeups from this morning. This kids love when I do this.

This month I turn 42. I left home to go to California when I was 18. I stayed there until Brittney was 2 1/2 and Chelsea was 1 1/2 so I was in my 23rd year. Had enough of the nonsense with their dad and went back to Pennsylvania. I started dating Lou when Brittney was 3 1/2, I think. We got married when Brittney was 9 and Chelsea was 8.

Our family moved from Pennsylvania to Michigan in 1999 so it will be 8 years since I've been away from home this second time.

My point of all of this is that I am still home sick. Sometimes more than others. Now is a more time. My grandmother on my mother's side is getting up there - I think she'll be 83 this year. I miss her a lot. My parents are still great and young. Lou's parents have had a lot of health problems over the last year and a half and I wish I could be there to be a bigger help. I miss our families. I'm not saying I'm not happy here. I am. I don't know what's gotten into me. It hit me yesterday morning on my way to weigh in. I think it was a song on the radio that reminded me of home and ... well, I'll be better tomorrow.

Monday is always a busy day at the shop. I have a spinning student from 12:30 to 2. I think I remember somebody else is joining the class tomorrow too. And then weaving class from 2:30 to 4:30 and they are never out in time. It's a great class though and I love them all.

Side note: Why is Prince wearing that rag on his head that women used to put on around their curlers? (I'm watching the Superbowl Halftime show)

After the shop closes I am going to the lace knitting group that meets at Yarn For Ewe. I'm very excited. I hope I can knit well enough for this group because they are definitely something.

I have to get knitting now because I wanted to have at least the lower border rows done on my Forest Path Stole before I go to meet the group tomorrow night.

Weaving and Such

I would just like to say that I am averaging 2.6 pound per week so far. Now don't get me wrong. I understand that as I get closer to my goal the weight loss will slow down and get a little harder. I'm savoring this for now. I'm not cheating so please don't offer me any donuts. I paid for this program and I am going to do it.

I don't have any new pictures of my weaving but there was an accident. I didn't look hard enough at the pattern when I started weaving. The pattern started a partial repeat about 2/3 down the page. I was just weaving along and I had done maybe 5 repeats of the pattern as printed. While I was weaving I kept saying to myself, "Self, does something look a little off to you?" I never answered so I kept on going. On Monday when I went into the shop I laid on the floor under the loom and looked at what I had done - about 20 inches I think. I looked at the weaving and then at the pattern. Weaving then pattern. Weaving then pattern.
C -R - A - P
So I started weaving the pattern correctly. It looks beautiful - except for those first many inches. Betty came in (the weaving teacher). She overheard me talking to another student about it and said just keep going with the mistake. Too late, says I.
I figure I'll wear the mistake part on my left shoulder and swing the correct part over the left shoulder - problem hidden. Chalk it up to a learning experience.
I'm maybe halfway done now. Hope to have it finished in another week so I started planning the next project. A huck lace shawl out of silk. I found my silk tonight and I may order it tomorrow.
Knitting wise I'm about 10 rows down on the Forest Path Stole. I think the yarn is going to work after all. I swatched with something thicker but didn't love it.
And my last Secret Pal 9 package went out this morning. I hope she likes it. My pal was Kimberly. She was very fun to send stuff to. I think I'm going to sit out the next secret pal. I feel like I was always late because I'm currently other directed.
Anyhoo, I don't have any pictures today and I really need to get some knitting and newsletter writing done.