Ch-ch-ch-changes!

It was our first trip to Ikea. I was excited!
There was so much to see and lots of things to dream about. This was Chelsea's dream bedroom.

We walked through the whole store and when we were done making our list it was time for lunch!

We both chose the delicious Swedish meatballs. I went with the macaroni and cheese and Chelsea had the mashed taters.

We even had some delicious fizzy juices.

Yummy.

We had a cart with 30 banana fiber baskets.

The bottom right corner of that sign says "not actual size". It made us both giggle.

We had 2 full carts.

Will it fit?

I went back in to buy tie down straps.

We got it all in. It was like a little vacation...until we had to load the car. But we have lots of new ideas for shop shelving now and I found some cute little chairs to get next time we go back. Tomorrow is assembly day and the moving of the Wall O' Fleece. Our goal is to make it more manageable and easier to find fleece types. It'll help Chelsea and it'll help those who are looking for specific breeds. Yay! Photos after it's all rearranged.

When we got home I made some chili for dinner and then we headed off to the salon.

Here's my new hair. It's a lot blonder than it looks in this photo. And it feels like spring.

Spring? and the High Fiber Diet

On Wednesday I wasn't feeling very well and so I came home from the shop early and was greeted with this first sign of spring here in Michigan.
I only bring this up becasue today it's snowing. I'm not sure what to say about this other than I sort of expect one more bigish snowfall in early April and though I will be disappointed I will not be surprised.

Let's talk about fun stuff instead. On Saturday the girls from the Podcast called The High Fiber Diet. It was quite fun to have them in the shop. The lovely lady above is Bam. Hilarious and fun and cute. We talked about her hair getting caught in her spinning and knitting. We talked about all the lovely fibers and I'm most definite that she took plenty of raw fleece home with her.

This is Coggie. We could be best friends. The fibers I love she also loves, the ones I hate she also hates and we both agree that we are happy to have others who love to dye since it is not our favorite. We had long discussions about long draw and why it is that she hasn't looked at the Spindlicity Videos.

And this is BethanyG handing over the cold hard cash cause that's how I roll. We discussed silk and silk hankies and ways to spin them or not spin them and knit right from the stretched out hanky.

The High Fiber Diet is avaialble for download from iTunes for free. I do download it from there and then switch it over to my Zune so if you don't have an iPod don' be scared.

This week there will be loom warping and spinning and fun. I'll try to remember to take pictures.

Free Flowing Gall

So almost two weeks ago I had my gall bladder removed. I was not excited about it but, ya know, it was necessary. My surgeon told me I should take 2 weeks off of work but I was determined that 3 days would do it. I was wrong. He was right. Tomorrow will be the two weeks point and I am finally feeling better. Not all the way back with the energy and I still feel a little pain in two of the incisions but holy crap it feels like it's been a long time.
Now I had the surgery on Monday and Tuesday Lousmith had to run to Toronto until Friday. I was sad about it but I did have Ryan to take care of me. The photo above is of my Wednesday breakfast. That is love right there. Notice the 1/3 of a pound of butter spread so nicely on that bread. Love from a five year old. You really can't beat pretzels for breakfast. I have to be honest here. On Wednesday I was feeling a little sick to my stomach and asked for a slice of bread for breakfast. He was just following my requests.

Before I went to the hospital on Monday I thought hard about what I should work on while I was recovering. I knew there would be pain medication and the projects I have in progress wouldn't work. I had just finished spinning some lovely yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Fiber. It is a blend of merino and mohair. I bought the top from The Fold booth at SOAR last year. I stepped out of my usually box with the colors but I love them.

I found the pattern for this yarn in the 2007 winter issue of Vogue Knitting. It's called Ruffle Scarf. Just some garter stitch and short rows. The yarn was a little finer than what was called for in the pattern and so I added 10 stitches. It wasn't necessary and I see that now but I do love the scarf. I've worn it at least five times already.

The lovely model is the Chelsea who is back at work at the shop and doing a bang up job.

I do love it and though it wasn't the most mind expanding project i am so happy with the final product that I may consider knitting this one again.

I had a skein of Tussah laying around that was spun by Abby - in my signature colors - and since when I grow up I want to be just like Amy Singer - I decided to do the Abby cowl from the Fall 2008 edition of Knittyspin. Here it is with just a couple of rows done. The pattern is very straight forward and very lovely.

Today was Maggie's baptism day. She was baptised along with her BFF McKenna. Look how cute they look. The even sang a song for us. It was a happy day but now I'm pretty tired.

There are several shop things to talk about. Schacht is having a contest called "I Made It On My Schacht". Check out the details on their website or contact me and I'll be happy to send you a brochure about it. This is a very exciting opportunity to win some very valuable tools! You should all go for it. Weave something on your new Cricket even. Make a Youtube video. All great fun. I already know what I'm doing. And if you enter and mention my shop it'll help me win something special for dealers.

They are also having a limited special edition Cherry Matchless available beginning in June. I have ordered a couple of these wheels and will have one available in June and one in September. Let me know if you are interested in more details. Layaway is available and all of the usual bonus stuff will come with these wheels. Let me know if you'd like to reserve one.

Louet is also having some exciting deals right now too! With many of their older style wheels they are including a skein winder with the wheel purchase. This is around $150 value.

If you purchase either a Julia or Victoria you will get a Manufacturer's rebate coupon worth $200. This coupon is redeemable directly to Louet or through the Spinning Loft. If you redeem it through the Spinning Loft I will give you license to choose whatever fiber you'd like in the whole shop. It doesn't have to be only Louet Fiber. Any fiber you want! Really!

So if any of this sounds interesting or exciting to you just let me know and I can give you more information or hook you up with some new loot!

O.K Off to bed. Got a big week ahead.

Birthdays and Trips and Visits

So let's go back in time a little to mid February. There was a party at the shop for my happy birthday. I love throwing parties for myself. Chelsea did the decorating. I bought the snacks.
And then we waited for people to show up.

It was an orange and pink theme and there were discount cards with surprise discounts inside.
Later Evil Michelle brought me a completely home made red velvet cake that was delicious!
It was a great party. People did actually come and share the love and I turned thirty fourteen.

Then there was the trip to PA:-(

When we got back there were some unexpected events and plenty of crap so I needed a mini vacation so I headed south to Ohio.
Abby taught me how to spin.
Ryan played with tiny umbrellas and drank as much root beer and Vernor's as he could.
This is the living room even after we cleaned it up...so imagine how we trashed her house.
And I petted my pretend cat a lot.

There was plenty of spinning and lots of just hanging around. I tried to confiscate some stuff and actually did manage to make it out of the house with some great stuff. The food is always good at Abby's and the feeling is always relaxed. I love to go there.

Ryan and I drove back on Friday and Saturday we were back in the shop.
Poor Sandra came for her second lesson and the shop was full of naughty girls. I did my best to impart the spinning wisdom in the midst of the naughtiness.
Tracey came and so did Karen but I didn't get a good photo of her. They both promised to come back soon...we shall see.
Naughty, Naughty Kat came all the way from Holland because of love. She would kill me if I put the picture of her cause it was terrible. Carla, Erica and the Queen of Moist herself all came as well as Jillian's neighbor Kathy who needs to get together with spinners more often.

Did I forget anyone? it was crowded and naughty and fun and just what I needed.
And there's the Chelsea, looking cute at her perch.

So tomorrow I am going to have a tiny bit of myself removed and I am prepared to feel better and I will have less gall. Just sayin'

For those of you waiting on a shop newsletter, I promise it is coming. There have been too many happenings and I have been overwhelmed. Things will be back to normal soon.

Grammy

Margaret Rhoads
July 11, 1923 to February 18, 2009

The picture is of my Grammy with little Maggie in the summer of 2007. Grammy's name was also Maggie.

My grammy was very dear to me. All my life I remember her as full of energy and full of trouble. Always with a naughty joke - some she would only tell Lou when I wasn't in the room.

When we were little she had a ceramics class for us every week at her house. She had the paints and she would get the little figures and mugs fired for us so we could use them. I still have one of those figures and I treasure it.

She told me all my life that I could do anything I wanted to. That all I needed to do was to try.
She taught me to knit and to crochet when I was very young. She wanted me to quilt but I didn't start until I had moved to Michigan 10 years ago. She told me many times that at the end of this life you can't take the stuff with you but you always have the things you've learned.

No matter what, I always knew that Grammy loved me and was excited for my accomplishments. When my baby was born 8 years ago next week I named her for this woman that I had loved and looked up to for so long.

I know that the things she taught me will be with me. I will think of her often as I have for so many years. I miss her already.

No way to fill you in...

on all the stuff that has happened since my last post. Let's just say it's been eventful and fun and busy and tiring and overwhelming and crazy and maddening and well you get the picture. I've been sick since last Wednesday and have had little to no voice for the last two days.
BUT! Lousmith is my hero.
Cause once again I got my favorite of all favorite Valentine's gifts.
The large Godiva heart. I will make this last through March by having only one piece of candy per day. Delicious.

Tomorrow is my Birthday Party/Sale at the shop so if you are nearby stop in for some snacks and some fun and if you need some fiber there is a secret sale. If you aren't nearby check out the website for a secret discount on the fibery goods:-)

Off to rest and hope my voice comes back.

So there was this mouse....

I'm in love with the mouse. I would go and visit him twice a year if I could. This year we went on his cruise. He loves us so much that he greeted us at the door of the ship.

This post will be slightly out of order at first because I want to talk a little about the highlight of our trip. It was Ryan in the talent show on the last night of the cruise. We went to watch it and he told us that he had talents. We asked him what they were and he reminded us of his break dancing talent. We had missed the signups and rehearsal but Ryan and I went to see if it was too late for him to join in. It was his lucky day.

The other pretty boring acts were over and then it was Ryan's turn. He was the grand finale.
Here he is with the MC named David. He's answering questions about his talent and where he lives but I can see he's raring to go.
The music "Pump Up the Jam" begins and he is off. I wish we had video.



It was quite entertaining and he was definitely the star of the show. But let me go back to the very beginning.

We flew to Florida on January 9th. Lou's birthday. (Also, Abby's birthday.)
That night we had dinner at the Hoop Dee Doo Review. A family favorite. We only had one night in Florida and the next day we caught the Disney Cruise Line bus to Port Canaveral.
I'm showing this photo of me unpacking so that you can see the stupid amounts of fiber I took along on a week long trip. Those few zip lock bags on top of both suitcases all have fiber and yarn. That doesn't include what I had in my carry on along with 5 spindles. Couldn't help myself. After a little unpacking it was time for the life boat drill and then the Bon Voyage party on deck 8.
Everyone who was anyone was there. It was a great party and we were off floating on the Atlantic ocean on our way to exotic places....
Like the southernmost point in the USA and only 90 miles from Cuba. Key West Florida was quite an interesting stop. We took the Conch Train Tour, walked Duval Street, did a little shopping and then it was time to get back to the ship.
But not so fast. In my vacation research I had found information about chocolate covered Key Lime pie on a stick and I wasn't leaving without a bite of that. It was delicious. There were four things I wanted on this cruise and three of them had to do with food. Pie on a stick, souffle, duck, and sitting down time. I got a little of each.
Back on the ship and the next morning we had breakfast with Mickey and the gang. We all got lovely hats made from napkins. Here are my mom and dad with Maggie and Ryan all wearing their cute hats.
That evening the kids were chosen to be in the show and play dwarfs. They are the 2nd and 3rd dwarfs in this photo. I wish I could have been on stage with Snow White.
But we did get a great photo with Mickey on Formal night. It's a cute picture of us and also inspiration to me to get serious about the weight loss......
Alice was there. Ryan has a crush on her. Can't even speak when she's around.
We made a stop at Grand Cayman and took a Semi-Submarine Tour. It was really great. There were two ship wrecks and beautiful fish. This diver went in to feed the fish for our benefit.
The next day was the Pirate Party. Notice how Mickey has a great outfit for every day?
Some little pirates couldn't make it through dinner.
Other little pirates were just excited about towel animals.
I won;t bore you with all of the details. Suffice it to say the trip was fantastic. Being on the beach in January was lovely. The Disney owned island in the Bahamas was really nice. I haven;t talked about Cozumel because it rained all that day. My mom and I got off the ship and went shopping. New jewels were acquired and we ran back in the rain.
On Disney's Island they have placed the Black Pearl from the Prates of the Caribbean movies. It really does look scary. You can't get very close to it though.
And this is the sky on the morning we got back to Florida. It was just a wonderful trip. Also, we missed the below zero temperatures for the whole week we were gone and I am not sad.
Before I close, here is my favorite pirate from the whole trip.

Now it's back to work for us all.