Horrible week...

On Monday I went to meet my lawyer in Carson City. Long story short, it was a waste of time, the lawyers offered to not sue ME if we dropped the case. Nice of them huh. Depression fodder.

I had left on Sunday from here and went to my friend Gary Sue's place north of Reno, ate a wonderful dinner, knitted and talked, great visit! I lost my PJs, GS can't find them, I don't have them. The dog musta ate em lol
On the road to Carson I called Mim to let her know I was in town. She had went to the CA state fair the day before, so I wasn't able to contact her Sunday to let her know I was coming down.

After the pointless 'negotiations', I called Mim to tell her I was on my way out to her place. I stopped at Fumares to get DH some cigars, when I noticed I had a low tire. This has been a problem for a couple weeks, so I decided to stop at Les Schwab to have them fix it. Of course, its balder than an eagle down to wires on the inside. I had to buy a new tire.
Mind you, I'm not working, I'm on a fools errand to 'negotiate' with stiffs that don't give a whit that I've lost my son or how, money is the reason for their existence. The money I spend to get to Carson is my own, what little I have, and on top of it all, I have to buy a new tire. Oh My God! I need a vacation from life. It was a very emotional morning, I was drained.

I finally get on the road to Red Rock, and am already starting to grow calmer, knowing where I'm going and who I'm going to visit. If you follow Mim's blog you know she has a very nice place, but you may not know that she is a great person. She may not know this, but I find peace there, in her and her surroundings that I have seldom found anywhere else in my life. So thank you Mim for the sanctuary that you offer and for being who you are.
With the exception of the drama that my daughter caused, until I pointed out to her that I really needed to decompress and to leave me out of it, it was a great evening. I even slept good!

I picked up a few goodies from Mim. She dyes her own fiber and sells it to help keep her sheep in hay, and does a beautiful job of it! I always find something I want to spin. I later will sell the yarn, or what I make from it, so the expense is actually an investment.

 Mostly silk, except for the orangy one, thats BFL and silk.

Love that green!

The REST of the Story:

Sitting here last night, between reading email and spinning, my phone rang.
I have been carrying my phone around with me, day and night, just in case THEY call. They are CNIDC, the dispatch center that will (hopefully) call me when there is work. I look at my phone, think Yay! It's them! and go to answer it, when it freezes. I can't answer it. I hit it, I plead with it, I poke it. By the time I got it to work, the caller had been sent to voice mail. I tried to call back, it was busy. I went online to find their other number, thinking I would get through on that line, and I did, probably within 2 minutes of the call. The center manager tells me he was sorry, but after hanging up from my voice mail he had reached someone else, and that he would call me if they needed anyone in the future. ...really not feeling good at all right now.

Finished Scarf

Yay! It's done! That's even me modeling it!
I've got two more going now, pictures later. I just found out yesterday from my lawyer that I need to be in Carson City Monday morning for a meeting. Plenty of notice there. Its dual purpose in that I will take advantage of being in the area to visit friends :)

Fibery Pursuits

I hope everyone is having a great week so far! I've been stuck at home for the last 10 days or so, cost of gas being what it is, and my employment status doesn't help matters. Though I truly enjoy being at home, I'm going a bit stir crazy. Every few days I go into my fiber hole (spare room) and dig through my stash. I came across this fiber the other day, some that Sam, my dear friend in Moab, had processed and gifted me with... well it was actually more in way of trade for some sheep I had delivered to her farm.

This is a blend of CVM, guanaco, and something else. I can't exactly remember what the 'else' is, its been a year, and I've slept since then. Knowing how I forget things, you'd think that I would put a note in things like this... yeah.
I want to sell a couple of pounds of this ($40/lb), it kind of looks like a brillo pad but is really soft! I've made a few hats out of it, you can see one on my Ravelry projects page here. It's the perfect prep for long draw and spins out fast and evenly. I completed the hat that Jari's wearing in less than a day, spinning and all.

On the Needles
I have the scarf from my last fiber posting still on, I've started into the second skein, this is going to be a very long scarf!

The second scarf I'm knitting out of the yarn below. It has been in my stash since last year, the top bought from a vendor at BSG '10. It is silk and merino. The colors (other than black) are so subtle that I decided to leave it a fairly thin single (maybe a light fingering?) to keep the colors visible, they would have been completely lost in a ply, in my opinion.
This picture is a little washed out because of the flash I think, or maybe just not the right back ground.

And the ball of yarn is what I dyed a few days ago, haven't found the pattern it wants yet, but I am thinking that it might end up being something in a seed stitch. I tried it with a lacy pattern but it just didn't work. The fun colors scream simple pattern. Does that make sense?
I started spinning some raw Gotland I've had for a year or more, it is so soft in places, kind of hard to separate it out from the not so soft bits, but fun none the less.

A Backwards View

I imagine that by now everyone in the spinning community has heard of the wheel that went missing at BSG this year.
I have been reading replies and responses, condolences, and well wishes on the Spin List Yahoo group since it happened.
It came out a few days ago that someone took offense to someone else mentioning in another post that there was a gun show going on near by. This was taken as an accusation by someone that a gun enthusiast must have done the deed and of course this was answered by many that avowed and defended the gun hobbyists. Many of these responses came from people who have conceal carry permits and carry a gun everywhere they go, including into spinning circles and knitting meetings. Other responses were simply from gun owners.
I made a silly comment about being a spinner as well as a gun owner, but never practicing the two at the same time as the combination would be problematic, trying to ease the tension a bit, because I could see the discussion escalating into an argument. Then low and behold, it happened. Someone said, and I hope if she reads this she won't bomb my puter, because I quote:

"I'm incredibly saddened to read that so many who engage in the gentle art of spinning are so terrified of their fellow human beings that they feel the need to endanger everyone else in public settings by carrying weapons." 

She then goes on to say that  "we" should all make sure that before we attend another event that the organizers are conscience of the heath and welfare of the attendants by making the event a 'gun free zone'.
Terrified? Endanger? Really?
I don't know about you all, but this scares me! Besides the fact that the only way a location can become a 'gun free zone' is through legal channels and all the hub-bub and red tape that goes with it (generally reserved for post offices, casinos and the occasional government building), a 'gun free zone' is an invitation to people who will do what they want when they want,  TO whomever they want, because they are outside the law!
Taking into consideration that this is a free country and we are all entitled to speak our minds without fear of reprisal, the quote above is one of the single most ignorant things I have ever read.
For those who don't agree, give me the small consideration of reading on and I will try to edify you.
Control carry permits are not handed out for the asking, they are expensive and tedious to obtain. The Nevada (I can only speak to NV regulations, but I know it is one of the least stringent in the country!) applicant must pass an extensive back ground check as well as hours of class time after which they must pass a written exam, then its off to the gun range for safety training and firearm instruction. These classes are often given by people in law enforcement, the class my husband took was conducted by a local officer and a highway patrolman. Every 5 years my DH is required to renew his permit and must retake the exam and go back to the gun range. The gun they use in the class is registered on the conceal carry permit, and in order to carry any other hand gun, they must pass the gun range tests again with the new weapon. 
I suppose if you weren't as close to weapons as I am most of the time, you might have reservations about sitting next to someone with a hand gun on their hip under their t-shirt. But just remember, those people aren't there to hurt you, they have taken an active roll in their safely as well as taking some responsibility for yours!
For my part, though I roll my eyes at my husband every time he straps on that .45 when we go to town, I feel better knowing that not only are we safer for it, but so are others around us.

Something else to ponder. I saw this in Illinois when I drove through on my way to Ohio a few years ago; If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.

Lil' Helper

Yesterday I decided to spin some more of the Ashland Bay Panda blend that I bought from Mim a year or so ago. I really like it spun in a heavy single.

 I couldn't have done it however, without my spinner-in-waiting! ...Look at her foot.

She helped me treadle for about five minutes! Her attention span doesn't usually 'span' that long. While we were spinning, we were watching her channel, 'Babies First TV', that helped, I'm sure. She was really great about keeping her hands off the wheel, and I was beside myself with delight! I can't wait till she's old enough to take it farther!

Today, I filled up my dye roaster. I saw someone's blog post (sorry, I don't remember where I saw it) about a dye technique where you wrap plastic wrap around parts of a skein to keep it from dying. Most of you have tried this I'm sure, but this is a first for me, and I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure yet I like the results? But I think I do.

The colors are much brighter in person. I wanted more white left in it, and tried actually to make it red, yellow, and orange. Its mostly orange. Pretty though.

Coupleathings - or "Laura's Fuggly Fiber"

This is my yarn for "Team Sprinters" in the Tour de Fleece. I've always liked this alpaca fiber, its soft and heavy, great hand. I used straight alpaca for two of the singles, one is alpaca and silk. It is 20 wpi, right at 171 yards, and 1.3 ounces.

After I finished the last scarf, I wanted to start another. I have gads of handspun lying around my house... not exactly 'lying' around, they are in my knitting bag and in a very large zip lock in my stash room. I usually take that very large bag with me to spin/knit get togethers and sell whatever is in it, normally anything I have spun. But in the last year or so I've started keeping some back. I guess its because I'm more confident in my knitting and really am enjoying it.

This is the yarn I spun out of Laura's Fuggly Fiber that I bought from her a few months ago and posted about here. The colors are really very pretty, for being the 'red-headed-step-child' of the dye pot :)

Yes! Meatballs!

It turned out great! I bought the rice at Railey's, its a chicken flavored saffron rice (I've been sorely tempted to strain the rice out and use the saffron to dye something with, but the rice is really good). The meats, as previously posted, were beef burger, lamb burger and mild Italian sausage, approximately a half a pound of each. The rest is up to you :)
Happy Meatballs!

Meatballs?

I mentioned in an earlier post, I love to cook. I don't however, love to follow recipes. Normally, I decide what I want to cook, look on the internet for ideas, find a good recipe, and proceed to change it, make it mine.

I try to spend at least one night a week with my Mom; eating, watching a movie, playing a game, whatever she wants to do, usually a Sunday, especially if Derek is on nights.
We decided to go to her house tonight instead of having her out, our DVD player is not right, I'm pretty sure we'd get her out here and it wouldn't work, and she would still not have seen the first half of the last Harry Potter movie.
I asked her what she wanted for dinner; I would cook it here and take it there, picking the movie up on the way. "Meatballs" she said. "And what?" I said. "Rice." she said. "That's it?" I said. "Yep." she said. Well that's pretty much the conversation, maybe not verbatim. That was after she had mentioned lamb, I said I have a little lamb burger left, so decided to use it. Then I got to thinking that I had thawed out some beef burger earlier, might as well use that... come to think of it, I had some mild Italian sausage in the fridge too, why not blend them all together? I cut up two thin slices off a medium onion (into small pieces, I don't like big pieces of anything in my food), grabbed my favorite rosemary/thyme/marjoram seasoning and sprinkled it in, followed by a beef bullion cube, and a bit of salt. I opened the fridge for something and saw the shredded parmesan cheese from our spaghetti dinner the other night and threw that in too, oh and an egg to make it less crumbly. Then I called my Mom to find out what she would do with two inch meatballs in an oven. Temp? Time? What will I ever do without her? I went with 350, and testing in 40 minutes (she said thirty, but I still know more than she does... right?)
So, in the oven as I type is a dish of lamb/beef/sausage/parmesan meatballs, with onion powder, a bit of garlic seasoning and pepper sprinkled over them. Mom also said she wants some kind of sauce, maybe mushroom soup gravy. I think I want corn with it too. If it turns out good, I will post pictures, if not, I might delete this post :)

And now, for something entirely different!

It was pointed out to me the other day by one of my bestest buds (Mim) that I have neglected to post pictures of Joy lately. I agree! Also haven't had any of Kevin! So without further ado...

The 4th was a long day for us; it was hotter than Hades, my brother decided to have his promise ceremony at 1pm, outside, in the heat. Oh my gosh. I only lasted about an hour and a half, it was just too much for me. Joy had a blast wandering around and getting cooed at. She went to her Dad's for a bit, then came to watch fireworks with us that evening. By 9:30, she was out. Derek's lap is amazing, he used to be able to put our kids to sleep just by letting them sit in his lap.

Kevin is in Virginia, he'll graduate on the 22nd of July, then he will go either to the west coast or to Japan or South Korea. If he goes abroad he'll get to come home for two weeks. This picture was taken right after MCT in June.

The raw wool from the last picture has been dyed, and I was all fired up about running it through my drum carder, when I went in to get it and remembered that I had loaned it out. Damn I hate it when that happens lol So it is sitting in a box, waiting for the carder to return. I will blend the gray and the white (now red and dark red) together, thinking it will be pretty.

When it occurred to me to dye this wool, I stood in the kitchen, looking at my 7 quart (or whatever it is, big) stainless steel pot and thinking "this isn't going to work" and trying to figure out how I was going to dye all that wool together. Then I remembered that years ago I acquired an old electric roaster and had kept it just for this eventuality. I knew that some time in the future, I'd be standing in my kitchen, wondering what I was going to do with all that wool.... ok, no I didn't. But I musta known I'd need it somehow.

I've seen and heard of other people using them to dye, sure am glad I kept it :)

Hello? ...Is this thing on?

I guess I have to be patient, right? OK, I can do that :)

I came across a couple of fleeces the other day looking for things to spin for the Tour that I had bought at BSG in 2010. I had claimed the fleece of a CVM ram the year before when I had seen him show as a lamb at OFFF (Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival), it was so pretty on him! I was a little disappointed when it came off last year, it wasn't near as soft as I had expected it to be, although it was still nice eye candy. So now I'm a little off track from my spinning for the TdF, but not completely, I still spun a little today... oh, I need to go post my daily pic :)
The other fleece was a Romney that had won first place in its class in the BSG wool show. I had washed a little of it at Mim's before coming home after the trip, but hadn't really looked at it since.
I washed some of each this evening and it is now drying on my bed.

Zip, my aussie-golden retriever cross bestest friend in the world dog got his first shave today. He is close to 14 years old, and had so much hair that I was uncomfortable looking at him, even sitting in the house with the AC, just knowing how hot that fur coat must be on his old self. I've never had him shaved before because I've always been told that their hair just grows in thicker, but since I can't imagine him living long enough now for that to matter, I gave in. Maybe I should have done it years ago, but whats done is done. He looks so comfortable now. If what they say about 'dog years' is right, he's right about a hundred years old.

He is almost deaf now, I found out over the 4th. He has always been terribly afraid of the noise that always goes with the holiday, and would never stay outside for longer than he had to. Cujo almost broke down the door when someone shot fireworks off down the road, while Zip laid on the porch, oblivious. I had noticed him not responding well before this but that cinched it. One of his eyes is getting a bit cloudy, thank goodness its not bad or in both eyes. He was my truck dog (he can't even jump in the car now) but Tad was his boy, and I will miss him very much when he is gone.

Off to play in fuzzy stuff!

I know, right?

Another post already?
I know, right? Oh, I already said that...

Well, I have a few things to share!
Yesterday I was sitting here, minding my own business, when the dogs went insane! We don't get many visitors out here so after I peeled myself off the ceiling, I went to the door and one of the Basque men that has sheep here had come to tell me that there was a shearer coming to town from Idaho, he'd be shearing tomorrow (today). Nothing like a little notice, huh? This is the same Basque that bought three sheep from me a couple weeks ago. I sold Misty (the Suffolk), Eliza (the Dorset) and a lamb out of Scarlet. The beginning of the end.
Then, yesterday evening, when the dogs went ga-ga again, I was a little less inclined to hit the ceiling (desensitized as it were) another of the Basque men that has sheep here was escorting the shearer around to the places where he would be shearing sheep. The shearer said he would be here at 6:30 am. Ok, I'm not a morning person, but ok. I couldn't sleep. So I finished this.

This is a very pretty pattern and of course pretty yarn :) It was so easy! Took me what... 3 days? Pretty good for someone who doesn't knit. (hehe, inside joke)
I finally got to sleep about 4, I think, then up at 6 to get the sheep ready. We only sheared three, I had sheared the others last fall and will let them be until next spring again. And this shearer knows how to shear for a spinner! Yay! He even has a Merino, and his parents raise Romneys in Idaho. Can't remember the name of the farm right now...
We sheared Honey, Scarlet and 'the wether'. He doesn't have a name yet because I wasn't sure if I was going to keep him. I might yet. His wool actually puts me in mind of Merino as to the look of it, but the hand is a little courser.

After flicking it is very fluffy and will make a nice yarn. I'll post more about it later.
Ta-ta for now! :)

Tour is off to a fine start!

I saw a post on Michelle's blog about the Tour de Fleece that occurs on Ravelry every year, and decided I would give it a spin... pun intended :)

This is the first time for me, so I went and read ...a lot.  There is a huge amount of traffic in and out of that group today! I can't imagine what kind of bandwidth 4300 members (and counting, people are still joining every few minutes), running in and out, posting, and 'love'ing, reading, and uploading pictures would take! Holy-servers, Batman!

When I decided to participate, I went into my stash room to see what I wanted to work with over the next 22 days. I found a bag of cotton top that I bought at BSG in '10, that will be my challenge on the 22nd; a bag of 'Gracie' that I washed a few years ago and didn't finish; 2 ounces of super soft grey alpaca that I LOVE and am going to turn into a super fine, three ply lace (that's the plan anyway); and on the wheel for todays adventure is the other half of the beautiful hand dyed roving I bought from Laura a couple months ago.

The brown skein is the qiviut that was shown in the same post as Laura's fiber. I got aggravated with it, because, even though it is still the most awesome fiber known to man, with or without neps, it got difficult to spin. I couldn't see tossing it (??? Never!) so I ran it and some of my targhee roving through my drum carder. It was a little easier to spin, and it actually made a decent yarn. Any-who, it was on my bobbin when I sat down this morning so I had to ply it before I could move on with the tour.
More pictures later!

ps. Yes, I am aware that the bobbins were dusty. 'Were' being operative :)