I am washing the last alpaca fleece this morning while I get ready for my spinning group, and I am thinking about my fluffy addiction. I believe in my heart that I can in fact spin the wool I have within my lifetime. I am in control of my environment. I have a grip on it. Yet, there is a sneaking suspicion that I may be deluding myself. I just tagged a 4oz skein for the market and realized that I have not spun anything else for sale in 4 weeks. I have only been spinning about 4 oz a week lately and at that rate, 1 pound a month, it will take me a year just to spin the alpaca- nothing else. And what about the other stuff, baby camel, or Yak/merino, or more of that lovely white Cormo-ish stuff. Plus all the other fun fibers that have come into my life- Wensleydale, Shetland, Merino, AnnieFannie Columbia, Beauty Berries, etc. I have colors, I have textures, I have silks and soy.
I have tools and bags of stuff, and they have escaped from the wooly room and invaded the entire house. Everytime I try to herd them back into the room, they start playing with me and I lose my conviction. I want to just sit and play with them all day. They know they have me whipped, too. Just peaking out of their bags they call me to play and the day slips away from me. If I made a slip cover and stuffed all the bags into it. I could make a wall-to-wall bed of bags of wool.
So how do I stop buying? How do I get myself to keep my conviction that I have enough fleece? This is the plan- I must spin 2 pounds of wool products a month, at least 1/2 of it for the market. And it must be from the bags of fleece, not the pretty prepared stuff. Then, I must make at least one item for the market and one item for me (or family) per month from the yarn. This way, I will in fact spin the wool I have, within my lifetime, and not drown in a pile of yarn.
This is the new year's resolution. It started with washing the new stuff, which is almost done. And I will send out some of the old stuff that still needs washing to be processed at Z. Then I will identify all the projects that I am going to make from the yarn. Then I will plan an attack on the spinning work so that it matches the stuff I need to make.
That means I will be spinning Shetland and alpaca this coming month, making a couple of apples and a rug. But what I really want to do is spin the baby camel. So maybe just a little bit of that, too. And the baby alpaca silk blend. Just 2 oz. And maybe I will get a couple more bobbins. Then I could start some weaving, too. That project is already spun and ready to warp.
I can see that this is getting way out of control already. The yarn and wool is calling me and confusing my helpless brain. Must fight the urge. Must, maintain, contro.....
Friday, January 15, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Feelin' good, feelin' fine
It is Yule time and I am feeling very happy and bouncy. My work is nearly done (for other people, that is). I have myself and my sweetie to do things for. That is almost to selfish to imagine. I have been vey busy with other people all year, so now I have only a few little things left to do and I am free to play. It feels good.
I have knitted and woven and spun great mountains of things and have given and sold them. But I am still enjoying spinning and knitting and weaving. I am about to start baking cookies and doing some holiday cooking. I am looking forward to the last and darkest night and the slow but regular return of the sun. My garden is growing spring veges and my trees are dormant. Life is relaxing and calm.
I really needed this, too. This has been a really busy year, and next year will be busy too, so I am resting while I can.
Everyone, you will just have to take care of yourselves while I sleep and refresh myself. I am napping for the next two months. Then, if I see my shadow, we can talk about spring. (snore).
I have knitted and woven and spun great mountains of things and have given and sold them. But I am still enjoying spinning and knitting and weaving. I am about to start baking cookies and doing some holiday cooking. I am looking forward to the last and darkest night and the slow but regular return of the sun. My garden is growing spring veges and my trees are dormant. Life is relaxing and calm.
I really needed this, too. This has been a really busy year, and next year will be busy too, so I am resting while I can.
Everyone, you will just have to take care of yourselves while I sleep and refresh myself. I am napping for the next two months. Then, if I see my shadow, we can talk about spring. (snore).
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Party is Over, back to work
It has been a long year. And it is not yet over, but I am seeing it wind down now. Last night I put my son on a plane to return to China, where he works and lives. This marked the end of a very long party. But it also was the end of some other events along the way. The activity and tension levels have been very high all year, and this appears to be a turning point.
Last year, we (my daughter and many other people) started planning her wedding. My job was "details" and "surprises". There were many but mostly near the end. So the impact was not readily noticeable. I had lots of time to spend on my mother, and E's parents and sibbling. E's father's health collapsed in the spring and this pretty much started the ramp up of tensions. We spent lots of time with E's mom, and cleaning up some of the details with her, then we traveled to see his sister. It was a nice vacation, but it had considerable emotional stress connected to it. Work on the house, the yard, my mom, my business choice all started to complicate our time, plus the growing number of lists for the wedding.
Finally, the wedding shower kicked off the "rush" of activity. All the little house details that we had ignored became big issues. Then there was the "organization" of the wooly room. In October, my son arrived and all the "work" became meaningful. The family, my family, was gathering for the big day. And then the wedding happened. And it seemed to be over, but there was still so much to do. And then the visit ended. And as I look back, it seems like a fog of activity- so much you can't really see any one thing, but there is a lot of stuff in there.
Now, as my son is flying home to China, and I am recovering from a long night of driving, I am starting to melt into a soft puddle.
I started cleaning up the mess of the year long party, and I am very tired. Emotionally tired. Happy, but very tired.
I am looking forward to routine and dark, cold winter nights. I need to hibernate for a month.
Unfortunately, that is not what happens. What really happens is we have to get back to the work of living. So, the laundry is happening. The kitchen is happening. And all the activities of life are happening. But the fog is thinning, and I can see things more clearly.
I had a really good time, but I am glad it is slowing down. I want to spend time focusing on my home and husband. The party is over. Everyone- go home.
Last year, we (my daughter and many other people) started planning her wedding. My job was "details" and "surprises". There were many but mostly near the end. So the impact was not readily noticeable. I had lots of time to spend on my mother, and E's parents and sibbling. E's father's health collapsed in the spring and this pretty much started the ramp up of tensions. We spent lots of time with E's mom, and cleaning up some of the details with her, then we traveled to see his sister. It was a nice vacation, but it had considerable emotional stress connected to it. Work on the house, the yard, my mom, my business choice all started to complicate our time, plus the growing number of lists for the wedding.
Finally, the wedding shower kicked off the "rush" of activity. All the little house details that we had ignored became big issues. Then there was the "organization" of the wooly room. In October, my son arrived and all the "work" became meaningful. The family, my family, was gathering for the big day. And then the wedding happened. And it seemed to be over, but there was still so much to do. And then the visit ended. And as I look back, it seems like a fog of activity- so much you can't really see any one thing, but there is a lot of stuff in there.
Now, as my son is flying home to China, and I am recovering from a long night of driving, I am starting to melt into a soft puddle.
I started cleaning up the mess of the year long party, and I am very tired. Emotionally tired. Happy, but very tired.
I am looking forward to routine and dark, cold winter nights. I need to hibernate for a month.
Unfortunately, that is not what happens. What really happens is we have to get back to the work of living. So, the laundry is happening. The kitchen is happening. And all the activities of life are happening. But the fog is thinning, and I can see things more clearly.
I had a really good time, but I am glad it is slowing down. I want to spend time focusing on my home and husband. The party is over. Everyone- go home.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
My Christmas Present
This is a story about my Christmas present. Not for this coming Christmas, but for Last Christmas.
While we were in Solvang, last November, 2008, I stopped at my favorite fibery store- Village Spinning and Weaving- (plug for the great store, yes!). I found a Joy spinning wheel in the window (a single treadle which I wanted more than a double treadle). And I found a Schacht Flip loom. I had wanted to learn to weave and I thought a small loom would be great fun. But I don't have lots of space and a little folding one seemed like just the right thing. It came home with me and I put it in the wooly room.
I knew it was in there, but as the days went by and things piled up (and stuff piled up), it got buried. Periodically I could hear it cry out for me in muffled tones from under piles of washed fleece, but there just wasn't any time for learning something new and having fun.
The new Joy spinning wheel went right to work, though. And it snickered at the box and chided it. The wheel was the more important new toy so the box got ignored. Well, that wasn't really true. They are both important, but the wheel I already knew how to use. And I could do something with it right away. So the box gathered dust and waited patiently.
Then the wedding plans and parties, house cleaning and re-organizing, medical issues and visits to relatives- all took up the time. The box waited patiently, muffled sobs.
Today, I was cleaning the wooly room. It got to the top of the priority list, finally- my son is coming home for the wedding and will stay with me for awhile. I stuffed the fleeces under the bed, moved some things around, stacked stuff in the garage and, Lo!, there was the box. After a moments thought, I took the box into my bedroom. I didn't want to stack it in the garage or stuff it in a closet. I wanted to actually get out my Christmas present and use it. Sometime in the future, when I was not so tired.
Then, after I had vaccuumed, dusted, stuffed and reorganized- I wanted to sit down and rest. But, instead- I got the box out and opened it. I could hear the little loom squeal with happiness- finally some light and air. After staring at it for bit, and reading the instructions a couple of times, I decided on a project and started to assemble the loom. The first part was easy enough, but then I needed to "warp" it.
It took a couple of times, but I did get it warped, and I have woven the first inch on it. I like the little fellow and am still thinking of a name for him- definitely a boy name like "Flip Wilson" or "Flipper". And I can see many wonderful projects coming down the path. I want to make a bag for him to match the one I made for the Joy. I have enough fabric left. And I think he would like something more comfortable than a box.
So that is the story of my Christmas present. It has taken almost a year to open the box. I am really glad I did. I will take it to the wedding with me so that I can weave in the evening after dinner at the lodge. I think he will like that, too.
While we were in Solvang, last November, 2008, I stopped at my favorite fibery store- Village Spinning and Weaving- (plug for the great store, yes!). I found a Joy spinning wheel in the window (a single treadle which I wanted more than a double treadle). And I found a Schacht Flip loom. I had wanted to learn to weave and I thought a small loom would be great fun. But I don't have lots of space and a little folding one seemed like just the right thing. It came home with me and I put it in the wooly room.
I knew it was in there, but as the days went by and things piled up (and stuff piled up), it got buried. Periodically I could hear it cry out for me in muffled tones from under piles of washed fleece, but there just wasn't any time for learning something new and having fun.
The new Joy spinning wheel went right to work, though. And it snickered at the box and chided it. The wheel was the more important new toy so the box got ignored. Well, that wasn't really true. They are both important, but the wheel I already knew how to use. And I could do something with it right away. So the box gathered dust and waited patiently.
Then the wedding plans and parties, house cleaning and re-organizing, medical issues and visits to relatives- all took up the time. The box waited patiently, muffled sobs.
Today, I was cleaning the wooly room. It got to the top of the priority list, finally- my son is coming home for the wedding and will stay with me for awhile. I stuffed the fleeces under the bed, moved some things around, stacked stuff in the garage and, Lo!, there was the box. After a moments thought, I took the box into my bedroom. I didn't want to stack it in the garage or stuff it in a closet. I wanted to actually get out my Christmas present and use it. Sometime in the future, when I was not so tired.
Then, after I had vaccuumed, dusted, stuffed and reorganized- I wanted to sit down and rest. But, instead- I got the box out and opened it. I could hear the little loom squeal with happiness- finally some light and air. After staring at it for bit, and reading the instructions a couple of times, I decided on a project and started to assemble the loom. The first part was easy enough, but then I needed to "warp" it.
It took a couple of times, but I did get it warped, and I have woven the first inch on it. I like the little fellow and am still thinking of a name for him- definitely a boy name like "Flip Wilson" or "Flipper". And I can see many wonderful projects coming down the path. I want to make a bag for him to match the one I made for the Joy. I have enough fabric left. And I think he would like something more comfortable than a box.
So that is the story of my Christmas present. It has taken almost a year to open the box. I am really glad I did. I will take it to the wedding with me so that I can weave in the evening after dinner at the lodge. I think he will like that, too.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Those pesky little details
I decided early on that I would not be in charge of any of the large details of my daughter's wedding. Actually she decided that for herself, but I didn't argue with her. She got the site, arranged the accomodations, found an officiant, tasted cakes, secured a chef and menu, bought a dress, designed the rings, ordered the invitations, made a guest list, tried on shoes, contracted a photographer, and has been tracking all this stuff for a year.
I have agreed, nay, more like insisted, that I take care of small details- like wedding music. Very small details, like hemming a bride's maid's dress. And some minute details- like baking 300 cookies. There are lots of these details, which is good because I like to make lists. So this is the list of known details-
Public Address system so that we can hear the officiant and wedding couple.
Decorative boxes (decorated by me) for the 300 cookies- to go at each place setting (Appx. 90)
Stereo system with speakers for the wedding hall.
Ipod loaded with selected music for the night.
Binding rope for the wedding ceremony. (Research materials and shop for such)- sew for 4 hours.
Altar and altar cloth.
Containers to take home left overs, ice chest and ice.
Continental Breakfast for 40 on the Saturday morning of the wedding.
Hemmed aforesaid dress.
Research wedding music- find musicians and contract said performers.
Custom ordered, hand crafted wedding book for my sweeties (I love it!)
Host wedding shower. (and clean my house twice, before and after)
Hand made special gift for the bride- still in progress.
Mail invitations with instructions (by Google Earth) on getting to the site.
Data base and spread sheet with RSVP information and label program for Said invitations.
Regular attendance update to the Bride and Groom for their records.
Clean up guest room for my son, so that he can stay and play with me.
As we wind through the last weeks before the wedding, many of these details have been completed and are starting to get "boxed" for the final trip to the wedding site. Each box has a label for its contents. But many things need to wait until the last minute- the last minute details, like buying food and ice.
Yet, in all this planning and shopping, fussing and making, gluing and sewing, spinning and knitting, tasting and listening- in all of this, no one has said anything about who will get the marriage license.
I hope someone remembers. That is not one of my details on my list.
I have agreed, nay, more like insisted, that I take care of small details- like wedding music. Very small details, like hemming a bride's maid's dress. And some minute details- like baking 300 cookies. There are lots of these details, which is good because I like to make lists. So this is the list of known details-
Public Address system so that we can hear the officiant and wedding couple.
Decorative boxes (decorated by me) for the 300 cookies- to go at each place setting (Appx. 90)
Stereo system with speakers for the wedding hall.
Ipod loaded with selected music for the night.
Binding rope for the wedding ceremony. (Research materials and shop for such)- sew for 4 hours.
Altar and altar cloth.
Containers to take home left overs, ice chest and ice.
Continental Breakfast for 40 on the Saturday morning of the wedding.
Hemmed aforesaid dress.
Research wedding music- find musicians and contract said performers.
Custom ordered, hand crafted wedding book for my sweeties (I love it!)
Host wedding shower. (and clean my house twice, before and after)
Hand made special gift for the bride- still in progress.
Mail invitations with instructions (by Google Earth) on getting to the site.
Data base and spread sheet with RSVP information and label program for Said invitations.
Regular attendance update to the Bride and Groom for their records.
Clean up guest room for my son, so that he can stay and play with me.
As we wind through the last weeks before the wedding, many of these details have been completed and are starting to get "boxed" for the final trip to the wedding site. Each box has a label for its contents. But many things need to wait until the last minute- the last minute details, like buying food and ice.
Yet, in all this planning and shopping, fussing and making, gluing and sewing, spinning and knitting, tasting and listening- in all of this, no one has said anything about who will get the marriage license.
I hope someone remembers. That is not one of my details on my list.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
A Wonderful Party
Is going to happen at my house. A Wedding Shower for my daughter. I am really excited. And with that excitement comes- house cleaning. Well, more like a remodel, than just a cleaning. This is the story.
Last year, in July we tore the living room apart to put in new windows and a door. Our plan was to have bookshelves built in, move the entertainment area to the other side of the room, get new carpet, pour a patio slab, re-route the water lines to the back yard, paint and patch the walls, and settle in for xmas. About a week after the windows got in, my mom had a stroke event. And life got really complicated. Eduard's father started slipping very fast toward his end from his emphysema, and his mom's cancer started growing again. Our project screeched to a halt and we have lived in chaos for 15 months.
So it is just not possible to have everything done by the Wedding Shower this Saturday. But it is possible to clean it up a bit. We boxed up some stuff and got the dining room into a semi-permanent configuration. We re-arranged the existing furniture to simulate the completed configuration of the living room. And we threw out lots of stuff. We have been cleaning for a week and it is beginning to look really nice. Just a few more details in the kitchen and we will be presentable.
Part of this re-organization included some new equipment. I bought a new vacuum cleaner. And I think I really like it, so far. I also put the exercise bike back into the bedroom- and have actually used it again. The Bedroom got some re-org clean up as well and is a much more pleasant place to visit. I have a stack of tile in the garage waiting for its moment of installation, but that won't be until after Thanksgiving.
All in all I think we have been working our butts off. But it is a really nice result for all the work.
Now fast forward, because my computer crashed, I ran out of time, and the party is over. I am just now getting a chance to finish this blog entry. Can you believe it? It is time to clean the house again. Damn! And the list of stuff for the wedding is on the top of the plate of priorities. Well, life is busy, and happy. It was a good party. The house was beautiful and clean. We had enough chairs. Eduard was granted sainthood by my ex-mother-in-law, in front of her son (my ex). My daughter and son-in-law(en potentia) have been properly celebrated. It doesn't get any better than that. So I will clean up and stop complaining.
Last year, in July we tore the living room apart to put in new windows and a door. Our plan was to have bookshelves built in, move the entertainment area to the other side of the room, get new carpet, pour a patio slab, re-route the water lines to the back yard, paint and patch the walls, and settle in for xmas. About a week after the windows got in, my mom had a stroke event. And life got really complicated. Eduard's father started slipping very fast toward his end from his emphysema, and his mom's cancer started growing again. Our project screeched to a halt and we have lived in chaos for 15 months.
So it is just not possible to have everything done by the Wedding Shower this Saturday. But it is possible to clean it up a bit. We boxed up some stuff and got the dining room into a semi-permanent configuration. We re-arranged the existing furniture to simulate the completed configuration of the living room. And we threw out lots of stuff. We have been cleaning for a week and it is beginning to look really nice. Just a few more details in the kitchen and we will be presentable.
Part of this re-organization included some new equipment. I bought a new vacuum cleaner. And I think I really like it, so far. I also put the exercise bike back into the bedroom- and have actually used it again. The Bedroom got some re-org clean up as well and is a much more pleasant place to visit. I have a stack of tile in the garage waiting for its moment of installation, but that won't be until after Thanksgiving.
All in all I think we have been working our butts off. But it is a really nice result for all the work.
Now fast forward, because my computer crashed, I ran out of time, and the party is over. I am just now getting a chance to finish this blog entry. Can you believe it? It is time to clean the house again. Damn! And the list of stuff for the wedding is on the top of the plate of priorities. Well, life is busy, and happy. It was a good party. The house was beautiful and clean. We had enough chairs. Eduard was granted sainthood by my ex-mother-in-law, in front of her son (my ex). My daughter and son-in-law(en potentia) have been properly celebrated. It doesn't get any better than that. So I will clean up and stop complaining.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Windows Corruption
Lately, my old Mac hand-me-down has become very temperamental. I have a new Mac laptop to replace the old baby, but I haven't had time to clean off my desk and transfer files, and dock, and learn new stuff. And it has been busy being a "portable" unit for most of the summer.
So today, I couldn't log on to blog because the memory was corrupted. Had to turn it off and back on. It had been on for about 1/2 hour and done mostly nothing. On any given day, I have to do this little procedure 5 or 6 times. Applications crash, spinning pizza of death, frozen keyboard, won't wake up from nap, can't find mouse, ... lots of annoyance.
As I was waiting for it to re-boot, I realized that the old Mac sits right next to my old PC/Windows unit. There may even be a latent network connection between the two, even though the PC has been off for two years. I am beginning to think the PC is trying to enter the brain of my Mac and channel Windows issues though it. It is leaking little commando electrons though the cabling and slowly infiltrating my OS, bit by byte. The parallels are just too suspicious.
Naw. I am just getting paranoid. But I must say that it makes me nervous to think about the possibilities. An entire world, taken over by WindowsOS.
But now I think I need to go back up my disk, just in case I have another Windows moment.
So today, I couldn't log on to blog because the memory was corrupted. Had to turn it off and back on. It had been on for about 1/2 hour and done mostly nothing. On any given day, I have to do this little procedure 5 or 6 times. Applications crash, spinning pizza of death, frozen keyboard, won't wake up from nap, can't find mouse, ... lots of annoyance.
As I was waiting for it to re-boot, I realized that the old Mac sits right next to my old PC/Windows unit. There may even be a latent network connection between the two, even though the PC has been off for two years. I am beginning to think the PC is trying to enter the brain of my Mac and channel Windows issues though it. It is leaking little commando electrons though the cabling and slowly infiltrating my OS, bit by byte. The parallels are just too suspicious.
Naw. I am just getting paranoid. But I must say that it makes me nervous to think about the possibilities. An entire world, taken over by WindowsOS.
But now I think I need to go back up my disk, just in case I have another Windows moment.
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