Woolybuns

Another Vivi Update

She finally had the babies Friday night around 11 pm.  I'm always concerned about the outcome when one of my does goes past day 32.  Today is day 33.  Vivi had 2 very large babies, in a poorly constructed nest with very little wool pulled (first time mom with small litter - not an ideal situation).  One survived but was slightly cool.  One baby has a tough time surviving without siblings.  They all sort of gang up to keep each other warm under the blanket of wool.  That left me three choices: leave the single by him/herself and hope for survival, put the new baby in with Angel's 5 day old litter of 8 and hope the new one is strong enough to compete against all those somewhat bigger babies, or take Angel's two smallest babies and convince Vivi she has three survivors.  For now, I'm trying option 3, as option one has a slim chance of working, and option 2 puts Vivi's baby at a distinct disadvantage.   I've seen does take to fostering without any problems.  Vivi is starting out angry, though.  First, I took her babies away, something my does seem quite unhappy about.  Second, Vivi insisted the nest should not be in the box, but it just isn't safe leaving the babies outside the box.  So I rearranged her nest into the box and that had her pretty grumpy.

To introduce kits belonging to another rabbit, I try to disguise the smell of the newcomers.  I put the three kits together away from Vivi for a while, snuggled on DH's warm chest while I tended to the nest. I also dragged a paper towel through Vivi's drop pan to pick up her strong scent, then rubbed the babies and the wool with the paper towel, hoping to transfer that scent to the new occupants of the nest.  In the first few minutes, Vivi has poked her head in the nest and checked things out.  She came out with a foot stomp, so she's not really displaying happy signs.  I'm giving her a bit of alone time to let her settle down.   I don't want to push too much, but the circumstances seem to require a bit of watching.   I may not get a lot of sleep tonight.  I prefer my does to do their own mothering, but since this is a first time mom, I'm being a bit more lenient.  She should do much better the next time.

bookbookbook - More More More!

The Yarn Harlot on tour is even funnier and more attractive in person!  She's got these facial expressions and hand gestures and sprinkles them all with this hybrid giggle, chuckle, evil knowing creature thing that just sneaks right up and tickles your funny spots!  I took a two hour train ride to New York City, walked a half mile to Lord & TAylors, the host last night, to hear Harlot speak for about half hour on her adventures with bookbookbook, At Knit's End.  It was worth it!  I did the oh so not original photo of Harlot photographing the audience of course.  But ... my digital camera is now one with Harlot's computer.  I look at the photos on the screen of the camera.  The camera knows the photos are there.  But the eject button... doesn't.  There sits the disk, still in the camera.  And now the camera says "no disk."  Noooooooooo......  (Maybe dropping the camera on the floor at Lord & Taylor's wasn't such a good idea.)

Oh, wait - a good thunk on the side of the camera and now the camera knows there is a disk in there!  Can I get it out of the camera this time????  Hold on, I'll give it a try.... arrrggghhhh, NO!  Quick call to DH for advice: try taking the battery out (huh?) but no promises that will work.  So, out pops the battery, then slide it back in.  Turn the camera on.  Yay!  The photos show up on the camera.  Hold my breath and push down and to the left on the disk eject button: I hear a release - that's promising.  But, camera says no disk and the disk... stays inside the camera.  Sigh.   DH advised gently maneuvering the disk with my finger (hmmmm, finger size relative to disk opening - ummmm, nahhhhh!).  Instead, I'm off in search of tweezers.  This disk has pictures of The Harlot, for Gawd's sake!  It has to come out!!

Ok, found the tweezers (kids leave things in the darndest places!) and ... alll right!  A gentle tug and out comes the disk.  Now, will the computer see the photos???  Yes!!!!  We have photos!
There she is, documenting her own experience on this part of the tour.  I certainly hope Stephanie is having as much fun as her audience does.  Now, at the Lord & Taylor event, we did not have yarn to tempt our pocketbooks (jewelry, clothes, boots, shoes, purses, and all sorts of luxury things but no yarn).   But we did have pleasant people circulating with grilled shrimp and fresh fruit and chicken salad in tiny tortilla type shells and grilled veggies wrapped jelly roll like in soft tortillas plus glasses of wine and other glasses of sparkling water.  And, on our way out, we each got a bag with a skein of Lion Brand yarn, a flyer about the Dulaan project  and directions to knit a bulky hat and a pair of mittens (also courtesy of Lion Brand yarns - now, as a spinner, I rarely buy yarn but I do appreciate the company's sponsorship of the Yarn Harlot's bookbookbook tour).  And best of all, a complimentary and autographed copy of bookbookbook! 

I went to this event alone.  But you know when you go to a fiber event, you won't be alone even if you travel alone!  Two lovely ladies, both coincidentally from the Harlot's neck of the woods, sat at the same table I did, Mel and Tamara (oh, gosh!  I do hope I got Mel's name right!  I'm really bad remembering names - I did confirm Tamara's name, but if I have your friend's name wrong, please, please correct me!!!).  The lighting was not good for digital photography, so I appologize for the lack of quality of the photos.  But Tamara is the one with that gorgeous curly red hair.  Mel is a transplanted Canadian new to knitting - don't let her kid you: she says she's knitting a simple afghan full of mistakes, but it's really pretty and has lots of pattern so it's not just simple stitching. Tamara is a visiting Canadian who intends to take knitting lessons when she gets home.  Good luck with the knitting and send me your address - I have a skein and pattern for you. 

At every table last night, people were proudly sharing knitting projects.  As you can see in the background, yes, even some men came, men who knit.  A terrific sight, even if my camera didn't like the lighting.  This happy lady brought her current project, a wedding shawl for her June wedding.   I believe she said it is a Baltic Sea shawl.  Whatever it is, the knitting and the yarn are gorgeous!  I brought along my feather and fan scarf for train knitting (it's about 16 repeats of the 4 row pattern from the New Haven train station to Grand Central Terminal for a slow knitter nursing a cranky wrist, only about 5 repeats on the return trip when there is a brand spanking new copy of At Knit's End in your lap!).  I also brought my bulky sweater for market research people to feel.  Based on the reactions to the polwarth, tussah silk, angora yarn, I will have to find another sweet fleece to repeat this blend!

After Harlot's talk, I did the geeky fan thing, stood around waiting to introduce myself, and was rewarded with a nice Harlot hug!  I feel so special!  LOL  She's quite charming in casual conversation, too.  Stephanie will be at NHSW, too, where I have a booth for the weekend.  I did invite her to come see my booth and I will have something for her, too.  :)   She said last night her favorite spinning fiber is wool, unadulterated, touch of history, wool.  Hmmmm, maybe I can tempt her with some of my "adulterated" rovings of wool and angora, or perhaps some dyed angora???  I'd throw in a photo here of some 4 to 5 inch long angora dyed a pastel, icy blue but apparently the camera didn't like being tweezed. 

And no, I didn't forget the baby watch: as of 7 am, no babies, bigger belly, a bit of movement. 

Baby Watch

Vivi spent the rest of yesterday ignoring her nest.  I gave her extra hay last night and she calmly munched it.   This morning, I checked early - no babies.  I gave her some breakfast hay and she calmly sniffed at it and nibbled.   I walked away to give her some "space."  Rabbits, like me, think birthin' is not a spectator sport (why on earth did the hospital where I kindled delivered my daughter put windows in their delivery room doors???).   Now, two hours later, I peeked.  There's Vivi, demolishing the old, perfectly functional and comfy nest in the right spot, and creating a new, very nicely crafted but oh so unsafe nest out of the box next to the wire.  Yes, her house has baby saver wire around the bottom.  But she builds her nest higher than that smaller wire extends.  A vigorous baby could squiggle out of the nest and out of the cage and onto the floor.  That won't do, Vivi! 

So goes the baby watch.

Nail Biting Time

This is a nesting doe.  Nesting does are probably the most determined animals I have seen.  Their focus is only on nesting.  They gather impossibly large amounts of hay  quite frantically, and stuff it into what they consider the appropriate spot for hiding a bunch of babies.  They carefully arrange the hay to include a nest bowl  which will help keep kits contained in a small area.  Keeping the kits together is vital for warmth, as the babies are born naked and cannot regulate their own body temp.  Once the hay is arranged to her liking, the doe pulls wool from herself, often to the point of stripping large areas of her body naked.  This doe is Vivi, a pure German angora, 75% import lines (the producer of that wonderfully large amount of fiber I mentioned earlier).   She has built the hay part of her nest about two or three times per day since last Friday.  In between each nesting session, she eats the nest.  Today is day 31 of gestation, which is the most common day of gestation that my does kindle (have babies).  Only one of my does consistently kindles on day 32 (Vivi's mom, so perhaps today will be a day of nothing, perhaps Vivi will kindle - I have no idea which at this point).  And any of my does that have gone past day 32 has delivered one or two huge kits too big to survive birth.  So I get kind of antsy on day 31.  It's even worse when the expectant doe is a first time mom - they often don't know what to do.  The fact that Vivi is building her nest so intently is a very good sign.  Does that don't build a nest until after the kits are born (or not at all) don't have a good success rate with the litter because the babies chill so quickly.   Nesting on due day is also a good indication she is actually pregnant.  Vivi is a first time mom, also a large doe.  Those two things together make it difficult for me to feel any babies clearly.  I think I felt some.  But not enough to be fully confident they are there (I'm too wimpy about palpating - I don't want to hurt anything in there!).   I would be much more confident if I had felt baby movement (yes, it's almost as exciting as it was feeling my own babies moving in utero so long ago).  I really want a litter from this doe and I really want to find at least 5 or 6 babies!  No more than 8 though, if the bunny goddess is listening and feels benevolent.   Perhaps I should offer up a sacrificial carrot?

Raising baby rabbits is not for everyone, for many reasons.  First, you need to be able to find appropriate homes for the babies - since they can have 8 or more babies in a litter, you can be quickly overwhelmed with bunny babies.  Dumping them at pet stores pretty much guarantees many of them will end up in homes that will not care for them properly, either through ignorance or just because many people are not responsible pet owners.  Second, it's a lot of work to raise animal babies responsibly. And third, when the litter is not successful, it can break your heart.  Many things can go wrong, particularly with the first time moms.  One friend last fall had a doe struggling to deliver her kits and finally tried to assist her (common practice with other animals, like sheep).  The end result for that friend's litter: the doe died from uterine prolapse 24 hours after kindling, then the babies all one by one died from lack of nutrition/hydration.  The friend tried to bottle feed them, but it's quite difficult with bunny babies.   The horror of such an experience stays with any of us who love our rabbits.  Thankfully, it's not common.   But we have no way of predicting which ones will have trouble and which ones won't.  If a doe has had trouble once, that doesn't mean she will again.  But if a doe has trouble the second time, I don't take a chance on her life again.   So please, anyone who reads of the joy of raising any kind of animal, thoroughly  consider all aspects of the experience and do not jump into it on impulse. 

Ok, back to my day of frustration baby watch.  Will she have babies today?  If not, how about tomorrow?  Will they survive?  Tune in later, if you can handle it!

I'm Jazzed!

Now, a week which starts with  a much hoped for litter of blue and opal bunnies, as well as 50+ pounds of yarn, really ought to be enough.  And I am truly appreciating the goodness life brought me with those two events, and of course the other pleasantries in my life.  But something else wonderful happened today.  Something I've been awaiting for 5 years and feared would never happen.   I took first steps toward this last December, when finally my spine seemed ready to consider full function again.  And today, It happened.  In December, I started riding lessons, using my trainer's school horses.  Today, I graduated.  Today, I rode my horse, Jazz.  Jazz is an 8 year old Anglo Arabian mare, a flaming red chestnut with personality to match!  She and I first met in January 2000.  She joined my family about 2 weeks later.  I majored in horse management at a two year college in Wyoming more than a few years ago, but when I graduated and returned home, I couldn't afford horses anymore, then came the US Air Force, marriage and children.  I really didn't expect to share time with a horse again, but DH, who apparently understands at least part of my psyche, announced at the end of 1999 he thought it was time for me to get a horse.  I went looking for an Appaloosa, which is what my first two horses were.  I think fate somehow played a bit with me, leading me to Jazz.   When I answered the ad for Jazz, I didn't even know what an Anglo Arab was.  In my ignorance, I even ended up with good bloodlines behind her (Khemosabi ++++// , Bask and Cognac, on the Arab side).  Jazz was to be a turning point for me, but somehow, the turning point was not quite what I had in mind.  Within a few months of getting her, my health kind of left me.   At the end of the first year, the only riding I had done resulted in Jazz tossing me like a rag, I came to the painful conclusion I had to sell her.  But a greenbroke 5  year old with attitude isn't quite a hot seller.  Not to mention, I just plain fell deeply, passionately in love with this mare at first sight of that sassy attitude.   And selling her also pretty much meant giving up on myself, agreeing that I'd never recover and I would have to settle for a broken, painful life.   I just couldn't give her up, so never really pushed hard to sell her.  Between the understanding husband and a terrific trainer who also appreciated the potential in Jazz, somehow, Jazz and I stayed partners.  On the ground only though.  The trainer put other folks on Jazz, mostly teenagers and a couple of preteens.  I confess, it was quite difficult accepting that.  But jealousy also proved to be a good motivator.  Everytime I thought "that should be me on that horse," I became even more determined to get there. Under the care of a fantastic chiropractor, I have finally succeeded!  It feels good!  And Jazz and I will keep at it.

Other WIPs

The bulky sweater progresses, with one sleeve now at the joining point and the other one cast on.  I have tried the sleeve on about half a dozen times now and am delighted with the fit, the feel, and the anticipation of the finished object!  My goal is to wear it at NHSW a few weeks hence.  I'll need it - I'm sleeping in a tent for the weekend!

Newly cast on is my travel and don't have to think about it much project, another feather and fan lace scarf.  Like the Skinny Scarf I made in time for Rhinebeck last fall, this one is only one repeat of the pattern.  But the yarn is fatter, so this scarf will be a normal width, not a skinny.  I won't make it as long, either.  The yarn is my handspun, a merino/silk blend I bought at MDSW two years ago, and the color is really a blue and pink, not the grayed out version I see on my monitor.   I hope to have this scarf finished in time for NHSW also, as I'd like to put it up for sale.   If it doesn't sell, it will be a good present for either the chiropractor's wife or perhaps a trainer somewhere.

And of course, also progressing nicely are these two adventurous little hoppers.   

The Beast Roars Again

It cannot be quieted, that tricky beast.  No sooner did I get my stash under control, then this happens.  All I did was spend a weekend visiting relatives.  Ok, so I went to a mini fiber event too, but I promise, I bought not a thing besides a sandwich, a drink, and a couple small brownies.  No, these skeins of yarn fell into my possession because of the simple act of visiting my relatives, who just happened to be retired shepherds.   I ended up with bags full of skeins stuffed in every available nook and cranny hiding in my car (a good excuse to not get a station wagon - or get one, depending on your point of view).  We did a kind of quick estimate and there seem to be somewhere between 200 and 250 or more 4 oz skeins, which I think translates into somewhere between 50 and less than 70 pounds of wool yarn.  I'm having a great deal of trouble wrapping my mind around that.  So much so, that I just made the 16 yo do the math for me.  Four times.  How did I manage to clear my house of about 20 pounds of fiber only to replace it with 50 to less than 70 pounds?????   Fortunately, these skeins are all for sale.  Once I get them counted and organized, I'll post photos in my for sale album.  They are the last of my uncle's fleeces which he got processed and mill spun, then my Mom hand dyed most of them.  Some are still natural dark brown.  I plan to buy only one dye lot of I think 7 skeins - a very pretty variegated lot in soft orange, coral, and yellow tones (if I'm remembering it correctly)  and even that, I'm trying to think second thoughts.  This dye lot is actually a hold over from my Mom's flock.  I fell in love with it the first time I saw it in Mom's booth at Common Ground Fair.  Someone else reserved it, so Mom put it aside but the woman never came back to get it.  Now it's come back to me.  Does that mean it's fate and I have to buy it?  <G>  Now, anyone out there interested in some maroon wool skeins?  Or hunter green?  Perhaps dark blue suits you better? 

Now, that little mention of the fiber event - it was held in Woolwich, Maine last Saturday, organized by Kelly of Romney Ridge Farm.  A few vendors, a few workshops, a bake sale, and a spin in.  A fun gathering.  I went as a workshop presenter. Deb quite happily shows off the felted mitten she made. Linda Earls was probably thinking snow while she fibered with Rikki Gallagher of Whimsical Works in Wool. And Betty    
Stover showed off her delightful duster (or fairy wand, if you happen to bump into Betsy Baily).  All in all, it was a pretty nifty way to spend a drizzly then soaking wet day.

Hoppily Singing The Blues

Angel had babies on Sunday.  Yay!  A healthy, chubby litter of 8, all of them either opal or blue.  First look suggested perhaps 2 self blue babies, but color on the babies evolves over several days (several weeks on occasion, particularly with the torte colors).  As of a few minutes ago, it looks like there could be 4 self blue.   No guarantees on that yet though! Self blue means the rabbit's hair shafts are not separated into alternating bands of color.  Now, that doesn't mean the hair shaft will be solid blue from root to tip - they can and often are very light at the root end.  But self is still considered a solid color.  Blue on angora rabbits is about the color of a Russian Blue cat.   It knits up to be quite a lovely natural color, one of my personal favorites.  This lovely opal lady is grandma to these new babies.  Opal is the agouti pattern version of blue, which means the bunny's coat color is separated into bands (or layers) of creamy white, blue and creamy tan.   On the rabbit, the coat looks a silvery light blue.   Spun up, the strand of yarn itself is mostly blue, with the lovely angora bloom pretty much that creamy tan color. 

A Very Pleasant Time

Stonington is started!  A very slow start (that's only up to row 20 on the center square), but she's officially on the needles now and officially pleasing me.  It took about 3 hours to wind the almost mile and a half of yarn into that ball.  And then I started Stonington at least 8 times.  Not so pleasing. Seems to be a recurring theme with my knitting.  Once I finally get going, I'm usually ok, but the starting - ouch.  Knitting with laceweight, at least for me, is distinctly different than knitting with sport or bigger yarn.  Part of it is the old eyesight thing, of course.  And this color is pretty pale, so my eyes have trouble seeing it, as a result, I do have to fight the tendency for the knitting to end up at about the tip of my nose, leaving me cross eyed and probably a bit cross tempered too.  Much more comfortable and practical when I hold it closer to my lap.  I don't know if my Stonington will match the gauge it's supposed to be.  I tend to knit loosely and am using one size smaller needles than the pattern calls for.  I tried the suggested size but I just couldn't get that fat tip underneath that skinny yarn!   But, I ain't gonna sweat the gauge!  The stitch Make 1 and I are on friendly terms, and SSk with the laceweight is so far mostly tolerant of my clumsy fingers.  Perhaps by the end of Stonington, that stitch and I will be buddies too. 

The glorious spring weather yesterday prompted another moving day.   Sassy's babies are big enough that they are now roaming the hutch, so I put the family in a bigger "maternity/nursery" hutch.  I will keep the remains of their nest in with them for a few days as they adjust to all the new sights, sounds and movements that come with a change in locale.  But these two little bruisers don't seem to have any qualms about the new digs.  They are quite happy hopping in and out of the food bowls - well, scrambling is a more accurate description at this age.  Personalities are emerging.  Though neither of them are  what I would call small, one is a titch tinier than the other.  That one is much more outgoing and ready to meet adventures.  The other one still scoots for cover when I open the door.  One of these two is definitely a boy, the other I'm pretty sure is a boy but I hate to be "definite" about it yet.  They can surprise you!  Moving the babies meant shifting other rabbits around also, with hopefully pending mothers moving into the shed where I can run the heat lamp if the nights get too cold around due dates and after birth.

This lovely lady, Vivi, is full sister to the two babies.  She had a date with the scissors on Saturday.  Because I like a slightly longer fiber staple than I get with the 90 day shearing schedule for German angoras, I don't always stick to the 90 days.  But for accurate fiber total info purposes, I did plan Vivi's shearing for the 90 days.   She of course decided to have a rather nasty butt two days before her shearing date, so I lost some to that.  And rather than take the time to brush the hay out of her feet, I just tossed that fiber too (I'm estimating it was about 30 grams).  Her grand total without the tossed fiber?  375 grams (13.23 ounces) of angora in 90 days.  Most of that, 345 grams, is a delicious, clean and matt free prime spinning fiber of 3 inch staple.  Only about 30 grams was second grade (clean, matt free, 2 to 2 1/2 inch staple).  That's 90 days without brushing or other grooming attention, other than the butt cut two days earlier.   I'm pleased. 

The Grounds Walk

Every year, DH and I walk the grounds of our property to inspect and plan.  Now, mind you, on a 100 x 250 foot suburban lot, that's not a lot of walking!  But I look forward to it as part of the annual progression of seasons.  The annual renewal, I suppose.  Now that the crocuses are dying back, it's time for one of my all time favorites: the brilliant and oh so cheerful forsythia bushes!   We have a hedge of it lining the entire 100 feet of the back edge of our property.  I love it growing free and wild, like it was meant to be.  Neighbors further down the street seem to have an issue with theirs: folks on one side of the property line like it au natural as I do, while the folks on the other side of the property line prefer it clipped into forced shape.  So that poor hedge is gorgeously long and free flowing on the one side, constrained and wretched on the other.  That sad sight always makes me think of people with ADD: encourage their natural tendencies and they burst forth with fabulous growth, but force them into society's rigid mold and you have a life long fight on your hands.   

We did discover on our walk just how much deer love hydrangea.  Our bushes are not dead, there is some new growth.  But the tips of almost every branch on both bushes is chomped off.  I don't intend to try to fight that battle.  No coyote urine (or bottled DH pee for that matter) will sprinkle my bushes.  I might toss some netting over the bush to see if that's any help, but the plan is to see if we get enough growth, and if not,  just replace them with lovely but not so inviting to deer mountain laurel.   And maybe we'll finally fence the yard too.

A Peek In My Window

This beauty started as a clipping off my mom's plant.  When I posted photos of the same kind of plant that blooms at Christmas time, I referred to it as a Christmas cactus.  One kind reader emailed me the correct identification on it.  I thought I had saved that info so when next I posted about these gorgeous and rewarding plants, I could do so with correct info.  But in a frenzy of inbox cleaning, I apparently deleted that email.  Sigh.  This particular plant at last count had 8 buds in various stages of development.   This is the first bud to fully open.  Based on the time frame for this one, I've got a few more weeks of watching this baby! 

My orchids are also quite rewarding lately.  I've had a steady stream of them sending out flowers for a couple years now.  They obviously like my window!  It's a garden window above the kitchen sink, which makes for very easy watering!  DH got it for me as a Christmas present a few years ago.   This orchid is unfortunately not labeled so I don't remember what kind it is.  I also have a paphiopedilum very similar to this that bloomed non-stop with a succession of buds for about 13 months straight.  It left one last unbloomed bud over the winter.  That bud has now started to grow so I think it may go on to bloom.  Check out these photos for the wonderful range of paphiopedilum.  For me, this type of orchid is easy to grow.  My approach to orchids is find the ones that pretty much grow themselves where I want it.  In other words: find out what orchids naturally like the environment I have rather than try to change the environment to suit the needs of a particular orchid.  Much more rewarding that way.   This orchid is labeled as P. Taipei Gold 'Gold Star' x P. (Gold Ambain x Sentra), which means it is a hybrid of two species (or possibly hybrid of hybrids).  The  genus is Phalaenopsis, from Greek meaning moth orchid. Lucky me, my house supports the growth and bloom of these lovelies too.    I can't get blooms from the popular corsage orchids, Cymbidiums - my house is too warm at night (though it never seems like it to me, a fact which encourages the knitting habit!). 

Back To Fiber

I made my first foray into the delightful Stonington shawl early this morning while the rest of the occupants of the house still lingered, lazy bum like, in bed.  My progress so far tells me much about knitting with lace weight(first thing is that yes, it's faster to dig through and find the swift, set it up and use it than to rely on the knees to hold a skein)!  I spent 45 minutes winding my luscious baby rose superfine merino lace weight from Lisa Knits into that ball.  45 minutes!  How much progress is that?  Not much!  Here is the comparative photo.   As you can see, I am not even close to half way wound up.  LOL Obviously, Stonington falls into the category of long term project.   Later today, I intend to put some time into the much more fast moving bulky sweater.  Since I am now at the point to start the sleeves, that requires a trip for new needles to LYS of choice, probably either Needleworks or Yarns, LTD.  There are compelling reasons for both of them: Needleworks has a great sale going on in advance of temporary closing due to expansion, while Yarns LTD is a new place I've not yet explored. 

SnB Newington

A few of us from the SnB Harford group kind of got attached to a different meeting spot than the Hartford group usually meets at.  So, we started our own group, SnB Newington.  Any knitters, future knitters, wanna be knitters or interested by standers are welcome to join us!

And, for any of you who haven't yet checked out The Yarn Harlot's tourtourtour, read about her exciting stop to come in NY.  I sent in my request for reservation!

Good For The Soul

I have a confession to make.  I did something last night I am not proud of.  Now, please understand, it was entirely accidental.  I truly had no prior knowledge of what I was about to do or I'd have done things differently.  But here it is: I went to a live  Village People concert.  Ugh!  Not an experience I ever wanted, much less would have planned. Now the whole pelvic thrust and tushy twitch experience is ruined for me.  Perhaps forever, unless I get to a Chippendales revue soon.    How on earth did I accidentally end up at such a performance, you ask (or not, I'll tell you anyway)?   I bought for my daughter's Christmas present tickets for the two of us to go see Cher Farewell Tour.  Who'd a thunk they'd have The Village People opening for Cher????!!!!  And was the lack of warning about the opening act intentional??   We did try to hang on to some dignity: DD and I did not stand for nor participate in YMCA.  A woman in front of us told us, "C'mon.  Don't pretend you're too cool to do YMCA."  DD quickly said, "We're not pretending."    Folks, I truly found that part of yesterday's experience downright painful.   DD and I have agreed to not speak of this again.

Cher, on the other hand, is an experience I will enjoy via memories over and over again.  Her show is, in her own so unabashedly self promoting word: fabulous!  Those costumes!  The color!  The glitz!  The staging!  Acrobats, dancers, film clips, confetti shot into the audience.  And then, of course, that incredible voice.  Updated versions of several of her old songs.  And how does she make all those fast costume changes?  It has to take extra time to put on so little and be able to keep it all in place without embarrassment!  Ok, so the costumes probably include some stuff like body suits invisible to the audience but still.   She did suggest at one point she didn't bother with underwear, but Cher can get away with that.  I also found myself fascinated with the logo for her farewell tour.  It cries out to be nuno felted!  Wonder if I could find an address to send her a present?  Ok, getting too campy, now. The show is worth it.  If you can find tickets still, go.  Enjoy.

Truly Grand

Grandchildren are so appropriately termed.  I started yesterday babysitting my two year old grandson, CJ.  What a sweet, generous, loving child!  I don't see him that often (he has two other sets of grandparents who live much closer to him) but still he greeted me with a big grin and open arms.   He loves playing This Little Piggie and Pat-a-cake, and obviously also loves his toys.   The toy he most enjoyed yesterday was my little sheepie tape measure.  Over and over he pulled that tail out and squeezed all over until he chanced on the rewind button and then he'd jump up and down squealing "I did it!  I did it!"   He also loves playing with spinning wheels.  I just disconnect the drive bands and make sure there isn't much fiber dangling, then watch him closely.  He likes to spin the wheel and as long as that's all he's doing, the wheels are fine.  I did deliberately leave some angora locks on Serendipity yesterday for CJ to find.  Looks like he enjoyed it!

A Somewhat Tamed Beast

In advance of CJ's visit, I did indeed spend much time on the stash beast.  I think about 20 pounds of fiber left the house over the weekend.  Now, the bulk of that will eventually come back, though I hope only for a short time.  But a few pounds is thankfully gone forever from my house.   And here is how it looks now.

Purchasing

Karen  has a washing machine horror story worth checking out, particularly for anyone planning to buy a washer soon.   And once you've read her story, you might want to check out this for more information, which includes top rated model info as well as the lawsuit info. 

Fortunately, my most recent purchase has been quite delightful!  Which bodes not well for the health of my checking account!  On the EZasPi list, Ellen shared her pleasant purchasing experience with vendor Lisa Souza.  Now I've been quite content not purchasing yarn.  I indulge with fiber to make my own yarn, can't possibly knit all the yarn I produce (can't even keep up with spinning  all the dang fiber that comes my way!), and have long wondered why other spinners always seem to be buying yarn from other people.  Such naivete!  My first step down that wayward path was in deciding to participate in EZasPi's next KAL, the Stonington Shawl (list mom Eliane Elaine is much too persuasive!).   I set out spinning my BFL/angora but after the first skein was done, I realized I probably didn't have enough fiber to spin the yardage for the shawl and would have to prepare more.  All of that would take a good amount of time and I was filled with feelings I'm sure all you spinners who buy yarn regardless of your own output are quite familiar with: I wanted to start Stonington NOW.  So that was the point at which Ellen so wickedly said "gee, I've had great  buying experiences with Lisa."  Folks, if you want to remain strong in your resolve, do not check out someone else's links!  Kim posts them, Risa posts them, all bloggers post them!  We are bad people!  But, yes, I am very happy with my new yarn, all 7500 yards of it!  Yup, 2500 yards per skein of so very soft superfine merino, recommended needle size 1.  Yikes!  And the purchasing process was just as nice: Lisa was quite prompt, enabling helpful, and very friendly. 

Taming The Beast

So that's how we all end up with our own private beast, the STASH, whether it's yarn, fiber, fabric, or some combination.   My Beast is now multi-headed, with long tentacles reaching every nook and cranny of this house.  I kid you not.  Here is the concrete evidence.  That room is supposed to be a dining room. More stash is hiding in another corner of the same room.  And then there is the living room.   And all of its crannies.  What you are not seeing is the family room, nor the laundry room (ok, that's actually fiber in the process of being used - my slowly budding dye studio is evolving down there).  Clearly, with my very active two year old grandson about to spend some time here soon, it was time to drag out the whips and chains to try to bring this beast under control.  Ten pounds of fiber actually left the house yesterday.  A few more pounds will leave probably Wednesday.  I've got some room to work now, at least for a few weeks, if Rick (Twist of Fate processing mill) and Greg and Deirdre ( Still River Mill) take their time!   So today, it's gird the loins time.  I have to get this organized! 

BTW, all that poundage will be traveling with me to NHSW in hopes that some of you will feed your own beast and let mine do a little starving.  Of course, there are many very cute reasons why my stash will continue out of control.  This one is Avillion's Dancing Queen, a chinchilla color German hybrid doe.  I love that color!  It's an agouti pattern color, which means the fiber is alternating bands of color.  In a black chinchilla, those bands are silvery white, light gray and black.  A chocolate chinchilla is more a creamy white with soft chocolate tips.  A wild gray rabbit (genetically the same as chestnut, but assorted genetic modifiers do lend a different look to the colors) has alternating bands of white, gray and tan.  Spun up, that has quite an attractive bit of uniqueness you cannot duplicate by dyeing: the yarn itself is gray but the fabulous bloom you get from angora is tan.  What you can do with an agouti color fiber is overdye it, which results in a delicious range of colors all on the same fiber lock.  Yum! 

And speaking of yum, this is one of Sassy's now 12 day old babies.  I did a first guess gender check on Saturday, and thought perhaps one buck, one doe.  But this morning's gender check looks much more like two bucks.  In true boy fashion, both of them responded to my invasion of their privacy by squirting me!  Amazing how much those little bodies can hold!   Both babies have opened their eyes right on schedule, ears are now starting to stand up.   They will soon be emerging from the nest box of their own accord.  And eventually, of course, they too will be feeding my Beast!