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.

SPA Spinning 2017

February 27, 2017 By Carole

SPA was fabulous, as always. I mean, really, what’s not to love about friends and fiber, food and drink? And speaking of fiber, today I am going to share with you the fruits of my labors from my time away.

I spun, between Thursday and Sunday, five 4 oz batts of singles. That may not sound like much to you non-spinners but it’s actually a pretty significant amount of fiber. It was all Enchanted Knoll and it’s all gorgeous!

This one is called Freshly Signed Divorce Papers. Notice the little bit of red to signify the blood that was shed.

The card for this one is lost but I call it Norwegian Wood. I love all those shades of brown.

Roses in the Snow. Looks a little more orange here than it really is, it’s actually very pink.

Diamond in the Rough. I love these silvery singles and expect this will be the first one I ply.

This one, called Into the Mystic, was purchased on Saturday and spun on Saturday night and Sunday morning. That’s probably the faster turn around time in this spinner’s history.

I think I say this every year but I’ve come home from SPA completely in love with spinning again. I vow that I will spin at least weekly from now on and I’m pretty sure the secret to that is finding a good place at home to keep a wheel set up and ready to go. Wish me luck!

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.

Handspun Hat

March 15, 2012 By Carole

Only 3 days after posting handspun project #1 for 2012, here I am with handspun project #2 for 2012.

Impressive, non? The pattern is Wurm but with fewer repeats of the main section. This was a design decision, as Hannah wouldn’t have liked such a floppy hat, and also a necessary modification as I wouldn’t have had enough yarn to knit all those purl ridges.

Of course I do not remember any details about this particular yarn. It’s probably either Spunky Eclectic or Hello Yarn but honestly, it escapes me. It is fairly bulky, though, and the colors are favorites of Hannah’s.

Speaking of Hannah, she’s having a wonderful week in Florida, wearing a bathing suit instead of a hat. She’s going to be staying a little longer than planned, too, since her flight home for Sunday was with Direct Air and they suddenly suspended all flights as of yesterday. Luckily I was able to book her on a somewhat reasonably priced flight home next Tuesday with JetBlue.

So now I’m out a couple hundred bucks and she gets 3 more days in Florida.

Hunh.

P.S. Please send positive vibes for a safe and uneventful trip home for her, would you? Thanks.

Handspun Legwarmers

March 12, 2012 By Carole

One of my knitting goals for 2012 is to actually knit with my handspun. To be more precise, I set a goal of knitting at least 3 projects with my handspun. Allow me to present handspun project #1 for this year:

Legwarmers for Hannah. Don’t ask me any details about this yarn because I don’t remember any. I can tell you that it’s a heavy worsted weight. And I can tell you exactly how I made these:

Cast on 44 stitches and knit in 2×2 rib for 2 inches
Switch to stockinette and continue until 4.5 inches total
Decrease 8 stitches evenly across for a total of 36 stitches
Knit until 16 inches total
Knit 5 rows of ribbing
Bind of in ribbing pattern

And that’s it.

I love the way they look peeking out of the top of Hannah’s boots. They are slouchy and colorful and will go with lots of things.

They were very fast to knit and that makes me quite happy. And they put a smile on my beautiful daughter’s face and that makes me happiest of all.