summer's here...

and i'm back to my summer spinning routine. watching the water (and water inhabitants) and spinning on the break wall.

it was hot. really really hot. so hot i had to put myself into the lake to cool down enough to keep spinning. i'm working on one of the bags that i got from ~stash stew~
i was explaining the concept to the sweet neighbor, and when she got that glazed look on her face, i finished the explanation quickly by saying it was from my fiber group. which really is true. i'm spinning a bit of everyone that contributed to the project, and that is pretty cool.
i wasn't sure if i liked it when i started. in the bag the fiber was lovely, but as i started spinning it just didn't grab me until i hit the second bobbin. when i ply it the yarn will be great.

catch up

there has been lots of fiber and lots of life going on in my world. i'll stick with the fiber, it's the most fun. i was asked to join some fiber-friends to visit a new festival in the area. by "in the area" i really mean 'you can drive there, do the festival, drive home, in a day'. sadly the day we went the rain would not stop falling from the sky. we chose the scenic route (we got lost) and arrived later than we had anticipated. the festival was on a campgrounds in large (think circus) tents. there were about 15 vendors in a tent and the rain just kept coming. i just got one picture of the day and it was this fine fellow and his charge. there were lots of animals at this festival, and some unique vendors. i purchased icelandic roving to try, organic merino hand-paint yarn, and ordered a spinning basket. i  also got lots of knitting done on the afternoon tea shawl. in fact, that is all i've been knitting on. i'm really ready to be finished with it so i just keep knitting on it every where i go.

early summer

i have been on a shawl knitting frenzy. i was late to the party with the lala knit-a-long, finally jumping on board and completing one in no time.
then amythefibergoddess pushed my off the bridge into shawl-wrap insanity! first, 198 yds of heaven, which turned into way more than 198 yds. then it was the traveling woman, then the afternoon tea shawl,  color affection, wingspan..... the list is growing.
i found yarn that was from my first spinners basket. the plan was to knit a sunrise circle sweater. big plans, not happening. I thought that the traveling woman shawl would be a perfect fit for this yarn. as i was blocking it, i noticed that bind off edge was very tight. so tight, that it snapped. i ripped it out and went several rows in, then re knit ending with a much nicer cast off. i re-blocked and couldn't be happier.

just perfect! i'm glad i found that yarn.

repaired

when i got home from my maryland adventure, i was anxious to get spinning. life was frantic and demanded all of my attention, so it just didn't happen. i looked forward to having relatively undisturbed spinning at the shepard's market. i took my wheel, got some great fiber, started spinning and felt my wheel clunking. i had several spinners look at my wheel and decided to contact majacraft for advice. they were amazing! i received three responses and one of the suggestions resolved my problem. they even offered to send me the piece i needed. the challenge was keeping my patience as it traveled from new zealand...... by canoe!
the piece arrived today, and i'm back in spinning bliss! the biggest challenge is deciding what to do.

my poor wheel. it seems that it had suffered an injury while i was away. no one living in my house had any knowledge of the accident. no one. the most likely culprit just isn't talking. but i love her still