stella maris

i'm just home from the weekend retreat known as 'stella maris'. i struggle to find the best words to explain what we do, the fun we have, how much we learn, and the touches of kindness that are shared. it starts on friday when the forty participants arrive. folks unload cars, find their beds and start spinning, knitting and chatting.

we were graced with a lovely evening for deck spinning, and the sunset over the lake was worth the effort to put on a fleece :)

we work late into the evening, finding our way to our beds giddy with the promise of another day of fiber.
food is catered, so everyone pitches in to set things out and clean up leaving lots of time to learn a new technique, walk about the grounds, or take a snooze, start a new project, or finished a current one. i finally cast off the 198 yds of hell heaven. i added rows to the body, sacrificing a bit of the edging.

i was the food transporter, so while out gather the lunch, brenda and sandy blocked it.....

it is an understatement to say how fantastic this came out! even with the glaring mistakes, once it was dry and on my shoulders, i was reluctant to take it off.
as with all wonderful things, ours came to an end sunday morning. but before i left, i received a lesson on drop spindling. i may have found yet another addiction :)

my love affair continues

i spent last evening and parts of today spinning with the hansen e-spinner. we bonded. i am in love. i zipped through 8 ounces of fiber like nobody's buisness and filled the bobbin. as i am returning her to her rightful owner, i had to wind it off to be plied later.

i'm taking my time..... but boy, isn't this beautiful??? my sister called this evening while i was in the midst of my moments and threatened to have me hauled off for a psych evaluation..... those non-fiber folks, just don't get it!

i may need a new toy..

sandy traveled to visit me this week and we got her set up on ravelry (a resource site for fiber folks). i like to believe that i have a bit of cyber-savy, so when we started i thought it would be a breeze. well, several hours later we finally figured out how to get the images where we wanted them, the size we wanted, the language just so, only to hit 'save' and have it all disappear. we replenished ourselves with lunch, then went back at it. the second time i documented everything we wrote ( and you know where this is going ) hit save, and voila... a new group was born. the labor was arduous, but worth it.
i asked her to bring her electric spinner and give me a quick lesson. well, after the computer trauma sucked the life out of us  project,  we didn't have an opportunity to do it. here's the most excellent part of the story... she let me borrow it to try! eek... i'm still aflutter!
i waited until the quiet of the evening descended upon the home, then got that baby out. it is surprising how easy it is to use and how well we are getting along.

i may need to tap into that wheel fund :)

still spinning

i went sorting through my fiber stash a while ago and unearthed all sorts of treasures. when i was first spinning and buying fibers, i went on a mohair kick. i have lots and lots of wool/mohair blends in lovely colorways, so i decided to pull some out and take them for a whirl. ~jasper beach~ was the first one i tried. i soon remembered why i stopped buying these blends. it was full of chaff and grit and all sorts of chacha.  i kept picking it out, it was all over my lap and in general a fairly dirty mess. but the colors of the fiber were divine. i Navajo plied (thanks to erin's you tube post) and was quite happy with the finished product. the down side was the limited amount of yarn the i had. i think i've found a pattern, so i'll be posting soo.

right now i 've got a beautiful bump of romney lamb in 'herb garden' from maple row farm. lovely

the biggest excitement has been the weather. drove home this afternoon in a blizzard, only to have the sun come out and melt the snow, only to have the blizzard start again. got to love spring in new york!