year's end

as the year draw's to a close, i've been reflecting on all the fiberlicious fun i've had in 2011. the sweater that did not want to be spun was completed and worn. it was my very first handspun sweater and i love it. i met my spinning goal during the tour-de-fleece and have beautiful yarn waiting. there were wooly trips to maryland sheep and wool, rhinebeck, and new england fiber fest. and the fiber friends. my life is truly completed by my dear fiber friends. our common love binds us together and enriches my spirit in ways that i can not describe.
i'm sure that the new year will bring me adventures and projects and fibers and thrills. and i'll have my herd to share in the journey!

christmas socks

at the spinning meeting last weekend, there was a spinner with handmade holiday socks. just plain socks, but knit with a holiday yarn. they were so festive and such a great project for a knitter. who doesn't need holiday socks on the holiday?
it bounced around in my brain that i never asked where she got the yarn, but with the internet i was sure i could find some. then the light bulb went off and i realized that this would be an awesome yarn that amythefibergoddess could create. so a few days later when she left a message, i wasn't surprised. i love that i have a cohort who mind-melds with me. the only hitch, was while i was thinking that amy would dye the yarn, she was thinking that we would buy the yarn.

with a little internet searching, the yarn was found and at my door in two days. so next year, holiday socks! ( even i'm not nutty enough to think i'd have them done this year )

fiber friend

my dear fiber friend joan was unable to spin with us at the last guild meeting. she has surgery to repair torn stuff in her knee. so to brighten her day (and have an excuse to spin) cc and i shuffled off to buffalo. we stopped for sustenance and arrived early afternoon enjoying a fabulous day of spinning, chatting, and fibery fun. this is luna is enjoying her special spot under the tree. luna came to joan this fall and has settled into the rhythm of a lovely fiber dog. i was able to get two skeins plied....and even more bottle cardigans done.
as crazy as it seems, i'm still knitting cardigans. power knitting as they are being sold for holiday gifts and you know the holiday is like soon!!! i sent three off this morning and have yet another on the needles to finish. non-fiber people just have no clue.

what do you do for fun....

on a saturday night??  why, decorate gingerbread houses of course!

our annual tradition continues. home made gingerbread baked into house-parts. edible frosting and candy.... the good stuff. it seems that this year the goal was to 'out-tacky' each other.
we were successful!

gno

every few months, the gals in my family set a date to get together for dinner,shopping and most importantly a chance to catch up. really catch up. an opportunity to sit down without interruptions (kids, husbands, you know.... life) and talk about what is going on in our lives, challenges, work and plan events.
so tonight was our night. everyone met at my place. while we were waiting, the mail was delivered and in it was a package. not just any package, but one from my cousin. linda and i keep in touch with our blogs. she reads mine and i keep track of her on hers. i'll admit, she is a much better blogger. she highlights her stamping passion with generous dollops about her life. i tend to be too technical about fiber, yarn, patterns, blah, blah blah.
a bit ago she offered several of her stamp sets to anyone who wanted them. there were several sets that i didn't have that tickled the fancy of the stampers in my home. so, i commented and today this arrived....

a box full of goodies! extra special because they came from someone so special in my life. i'm eager to get into those stamps and get going.
thank you linda, i'm thrilled to have a part of you!

even with a test knit, i still found pattern errors. forgot an entire row. i'd like to blame it on something other than my ineptitude, but i can't. i may have to do one more, entirely by the pattern and then be done. this cardigan is from my handspun, in fact it matches the sweater that i did this spring. i love everything about it, except the buttons. i'll have to do a button search at joann's and find some that look better.

since i'm done with these for the moment, i got spinning again. i had several bobbins that needed to be plied of fiber that i had taken for a spin before all the fall festivals.  i love each one and i'm only sorry that i did not buy more. then i remembered that amythefibergoddess had pointed out how much i did actually purchase on the way home from rhinebeck, so i started spinning the bfl from miss bab's

i'm putting some thought into this. a bit thicker on the single, trying to not add tooooo much twist so that it stays light and lofty. i've got one bobbin done, so i'm off to a good start.