SPA Friends

February 28, 2017 By Carole

That there is a not-that-great picture of a truly-great group of women. Some of them I see frequently, some occasionally and some only once or twice a year.

And yet.

Every one of them is my friend. Every one of them gets the bond that exists among members of this fabulous fiber community. Our friendship exists because of a mutual need to create and play with wool. It also exists because we all have a healthy appreciation for snark and an underlying need to avoid all drama at all costs.

They are a fabulous bunch and I’m so very fortunate to call them mine.

Fiber Revival 2015

August 10, 2015 By Carole

I believe, and I’m not being corny, that every day is a gift. Every morning we get a chance to do the things we love, to spend time with family and friends, to work hard and play hard and to live. Some days, though, the things we get to do are a bit more fun. Vacation days, Jimmy Buffett concert days (this coming Saturday – eeeek!), SPA, beach days, and – of course – Fiber Revival. It was this past Saturday and it was just as good as ever.

The weather? Perfect. No humidity, blue skies and slight breezes and comfortable temperatures.

The food? Delicious. Sandwiches and cookies (even the ones Sharon brought that had kale in them) and snacks galore.

The beer? The Ipswich Beer Truck was there. Need I say more?

The shopping? All of my favorite vendors. Hand’s down.

The fiber? There’s nothing like one of Josette’s batts on my wheel to make me fall in love with spinning all over again.

The scenery? The Spencer Peirce Little Farm is a hidden gem, my friends.

And speaking of friends? Absolutely perfect. Having the chance to spin and knit and catch up with these friends of mine is my favorite thing about Fiber Revival. There is nothing, and I truly mean this, but nothing like sharing stories while spinning. Truths are told, hearts are revealed, laughs are shared and tears are shed, it’s a tremendous time of bonding and I’m so blessed to be a part of this circle of women and so lucky to call them my friends.

So, yes, every day on this side of the grass is a good one. But some days? Days like Fiber Revival? They might just be better than the others.

Weekending. Yes, On A Wednesday

March 4, 2015 By Carole

I must have my days all mixed up – last week I did Eye Candy Friday on Thursday and this week I’m doing Weekending on Wednesday. I’d say I’m being flexible but you all know me better than that so I’ll just say I’m adjusting my blogging to fit my life rather than the other way around.

And so, the weekend.

SPA was, in a word, fantastic. I mean, really, what’s not fantastic about 3+ days with some of my favorite people on earth? Not to mention that those days are filled with spinning and shopping, delicious food and cocktails, knitting and yarn and fiber and not a bit of anything that isn’t 100% F.U.N.

Jo-Ann and I headed up on Thursday and our first stop, per tradition, was it Gritty McDuff’s. Not only did with both get flights of beer but we both got lobster tacos. And let me tell you, those tacos were delicious! I made a vow right then and there to have lobster every day while we were in Maine. Turns out, those tacos were the only time I had lobster, so I’m glad they were really good.

We spent the rest of the afternoon greeting friends, settling into our room, doing some knitting and maybe a leetle drinking. Dinner that night was a wonderful cheese tray followed by even better pizza at the Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro with our friends Kelly and Diane.

Friday we were (finally!) joined by Sharon. The day passed quickly as we greeted even more friends, set up our wheels and did some spinning, shopped at the vendors, and sampled a bit of bourbon. The bourbon sampling was prompted by this article and the fact that I found two of those bourbons at the awesome grocery store right around the corner from the hotel. Dinner on Friday night was a bigger crowd – there were 14 of us! – at the Broad Arrow Tavern located in the Harraseeket Inn. I had a wonderfully tender filet mignon and that, along with the company of my friends, made it a perfect dinner.

Saturday was more of the same but that shouldn’t be construed as being anything but awesome. More spinning. More laughing. More shopping and more yarn and fiber. More, more, more = good, good, good. We had to take an earlier than normal dinner reservation because of our party of 12 but, honestly, what a good problem to have, right? I kept thinking, how lucky am I that all these people want to have dinner together and that they trust me to arrange it?

Anyway, back to the Tuscan Bistro we went and I had the amazing short ribs, a repeat of what I had last year. They weren’t on the menu but I had mentioned how much I loved them when I made the reservation and – guess what? – the chef made them for me and also offered them to anyone else in our group.

I also split an incredible burrata appetizer with Jo-Ann and we shared this great chocolate cake as well.

That chocolate cake must have served me well because I managed to stay up until 1:30am. Those of you who know me well know that I am definitely not a night owl so this was unusual. It was also incredibly fun and I had a great time, first spinning until well after 11:30 and then hanging out in Kelly’s room, drinking cosmos and laughing and just really reveling in our last night together.

Sunday morning arrived with a whoooosh. We had our last breakfast at the hotel, shopped the vendors one last time, and sat at our wheels together for the last bit of spinning we could eke out of the weekend.

I am so blessed to have these friends, to share this time together, to practice our craft and share our stories, to talk about books and movies, to confide in each other and support each other and catch up and make plans for next time. Because, if I have any say in the matter, there will most definitely be a next time.

Maybe I’ll even take pictures of things besides booze and food. Maybe.

Fiber Revival 2014

August 11, 2014 By Carole

I meant it when I said I wanted an uneventful weekend. That didn’t, however, mean I wanted a weekend without fun. And lo and behold, I had fun with my spinning and knitting friends at Fiber Revival.

Blogless Sharon and I were up and on the road Saturday morning at 8am and arrived in Newburyport at 9:30. Nice and early so that we would have all the time we needed to visit and shop and spin and knit. And we did all of that and then some!

The vendors at this event are dear friends and it was fun to see them and buy from them – I may have once again succumbed to the persuasive powers of JessaLu, the beautiful batts that Josette dyes, and the gorgeous new gradient kits that Kim is offering. By the way, Manise and Kathy and Cheryl and I have decided that gradients are the new variegated. We have stated it so it must be so.

The very popular Ipswich Ale beer truck was on site with Summer Ale. And the lunch (I had the chipotle chicken pita pocket) was terrific.

Believe it or not, between all the eating, drinking, shopping & visiting, I still managed to find time to spin. And friends, I have not spun since SPA, I think, so I was way overdue to sit down at my wheel. As always when I spin, I enjoy it like crazy and wonder why I don’t do it more often.

The event may have ended at 4pm but the day wasn’t over for us – there was still dinner and a small group of us – let’s see, it was Kelly (organizer extraordinaire for this event) and Josette, Sharon and I, Diane (dear friend to all and best storyteller ever!), Wendy (a new friend I made on Saturday), JessaLu and Heather of Mad Color and Terry – went out for sushi and more chatting and talking, everything from books to yarn to designers and more. It was the perfect way to end this time with friends but – guess what? – it still wasn’t over because Sharon and I came back to my house and watched . . .

wait for it . . .

Episode One of Outlander on Starz. We loved it and I’m so glad we got to watch it together since Sharon is the one who first told me about this book series and I’m so grateful she did. I may have had to clean the drool off my couch once we were done watching but it was worth it, I’ll tell you that.

So, to recap my Saturday:

friends, wool, knitting, alpacas, beer, lunch, shopping, spinning, gossiping, sushi, Outlander, Jamie Fraser, tequila.

What more could a girl ask for?

SPA Recap 2014

March 3, 2014 By Carole

I feel like I could just copy and past the post I wrote about SPA last year. And the year before. And the year before. Etc, etc. Because, truly, SPA is always a fantastic time. And truly, what else could it be when you put together great friends and a shared love of the fiber arts in a town with excellent shopping and dining opportunities?

Here are just a few of the reasons why it’s so awesome.

I get to share a room with the best roommates ever, Sharon and Jo-Ann. As Sharon would say – we travel well together. No muss, no fuss, no drama, just lots of laughs and stories.

I get to spend time with people I see only rarely and that time is often spent spinning and chatting. It’s the perfect chance to catch up and relax.

I get to plan our dining excursions. It requires some effort and some organizing but, you know, I like to be in charge and I enjoy doing it. I hit a home run on Saturday night for sure when I got us a private room at the Tuscan Brick Oven Bistro – from the rabbit to the braised short ribs to the scallops, everything was fresh and flavorful and delicious.

I get to shop. There are my favorite fiber vendors, of course, but there are also outlets. And L.L. Bean. Enough said.

I get to knit and spin and relax.

I get to have the time of my life.