Day 3 Post Katrina

I am going to get some pictures posted tonight if I can keep a connection. There is still no power, phone or potable water at my home. Luckily for me, the contractors were dragging their feet on my old house, because the power and phone were restored there today and we all moved over tonight after work! I am so tired from all the work hours and the stress, but I know that I am one of the few very, very lucky people.

They reported today that 97% of Jackson lost power when hurricane force winds came through on Monday and that has only gone down in 75% as of the last report. They are talking in terms of weeks, not days right now. Ordinarily, people from Jackson would be rushing to the aide of people in Hattiesburg and on the Gulf Coast. This time they can't. All of out utilities and workers are tied up. This is so crazy and surreal. People are pulling knives on one another at gas stations here in Jackson. I feel so guilty for having so much. I know that sounds funny, but I sitting in an empty house with the A/C on and a tiny TV that gets one channel and a computer/phone access....and that is the absolute lap of luxury right now. I hope and pray that Cynthia is okay.

My husband went over to the mall and they were open. He bought me a spinach pizza. It was my second hot meal since Sunday and tasted so good. I am almost ashamed to admit how easy I have it and how lucky I am.

I will do my best to download and get some photos posted before too long.

No electricity, no phone, no internet ...

Not a single luxury...like Robinson Cursoe... as primitve as can be.....:-)

We are on a boil water advisory, but with no power, well...you get the picture. Jackson Public Schools will be closed until after Labor Day.

If you are wondering how I made this post, it is because I worked through the hurricane until 7 PM and reported back at 7 AM. It will be some time before power and phone are restored at my house, or so I hear. I have not seen my other house in Ridgeland, the one that is going on the market soon. At least we are all alive and well.

I am most worried about Cyn and her family, they were right in the path of the eye of the storm. I am just hoping that they can't get through for the same reasons that I can't get through. I sure wish she had come up here to ride out the storm. I won't be settled until I hear from her.

I promise to have photos soon if I can.

Got a chance to show off

Lisa came over to try needlework stands for EGA National Seminar and she decided on the Rocky Giraffe. I have it by the stairs and I plan to pack it in my car for her before we head out next Saturday. We also went through what we needed for classes and I gave her some ideas about what I take with me...in the infamous purple tackle box. I never even placed a single stitch on to my name tag today. I was going nuts running around the studio trying to find my CQ name tag holder for the regular seminar and I never found it. Now there's a surprise. NOT.

Anyway, then I brought her downstairs to show her all of my fiber and spindles and what I had on the wheel. She was very impressed with my spindle collection and the fiber I have amassed. LOL We are thinking of trying to go up to a fiber farm north of Atlanta while we are over there. I am really looking forward to the trip. I just can't wait until I can get her as addicted to fiber as I am!

No pictures, but...

I am doing just fine on the wheel. :-)

I did not get much spinning done tonight, but I just decided to post anyway. I am spinning some more of Kae's blue and green Falkland, but I plan to start some in a new colorway for my partner in the Wrist Distaff Exchange on Spindlers. I need to find my Spinner's Choice Deep Cup Spindle...the last time I used it was when I plied the fine yarn last week. I thought it was upstairs between my swift and my ball winder, but it wasn't. The maid came yesterday, so it could be any where. Sometimes I think she just moves things around so we know she was here.

Anyway, I can't do so much as check my email at work, so my computer time is really cutting into my crafting time. Lisa is coming over this weekend so that she can try out embroidery stands. Just over a week until we leave for Atlanta. I am so excited. I really better find some time to finish my name tag!

Spinning wheels have to go round

Well, since Delia asked I thought I should let everyone know, I am getting more comfortable with the wheel. I watched the "Spinning and Weaving the Ashford Way" video and figured out why I was having trouble with the wheel. The wheel was out of whack, the e-clip was missing, and the wheel was way out of alignment. I went to Ace Hardware and got an e-clip and got my allen wrench to tighten up the frame. Then I adjusted the screws on the mother of all and aligned the wheel with the pulleys.

Needless to say, it was spinning much better after all of that. I have an almost full spindle of Muppet Guts. I am debating filling another one and trying regular plying or try Navajo plying! LOL

I really need to get back to working on my name tag for EGA National Seminar. I am so excited that it is less than two weeks away. Lisa is planning to come over this weekend to try out some of my portable frames, because she needs one for her class. I have not even gotten my supplies together! Talk about procrastination. Ugh.

Always Learning

First, here is the wool I dyed with Wilton's Black and spun on my tiny little spindle. I am thinking I might use this for a beaded wrist distaff, but I am not sure. It is very soft and very pretty...and very, very fine.

I took a photo of the three spindles I used today...the Briar Rose Spindle, the Deep Cup Spindle from Spinner's Choice and my Bubinga Quantum Spindle. That is Summer Sherbert (dyed with Wilton's orange and burgundy) on the Quantum. It is on the swift drying right now and I will post a photo tomorrow.

But here is what I actually spent most of the day doing...

Yes, that is Kae's infamous "Muppet Guts" on a borrowed Ashford Traditional Double Drive wheel. I think I am getting it all figured out, but I just don't think I will be giving up my spindles any time soon. To be honest, after a few hours, my back was aching. I did not have a flesh and blood person to show me, but I did have a copy of "Spinning Wool - Basics and Beyond" video. It is very different from spindling. I am not in a place where I can just enjoy the rhythm of the spinning wheel, but I plan to apply myself for at least a week to see if I can be as comfortable with it as I am with a spindle.

This is so fun

I am really enjoying using this ultra tiny spindle. The yarn is so fine, I would hate to knit it, but it really is very pretty. And spinning this thin on that tiny little spindle is absolutely addictive. Way to go Jeanne...now I want one with a notch! :-)

This is the picture I promised of the Falkland from Kae that I spun and plied yesterday...the skein and a good close-up, using a quarter for perspective.

This picture is of the Briar Rose Spindle and my wrist distaff, all loaded and ready to pick back up again. Again, I added the quarter for perspective. :-)

Sometimes it is really hard for me to realize I had one informal less than three months ago. I have really taken to the drip spindle and the whole spinning experience. I truly enjoy the process. I would never have guessed how much I would enjoy spinning with a drop spindle, but I take one with me everywhere.

J'ai marche' dans le merde

I learned a valuable lesson last night...it turned out okay, but I had a near disaster with some yarn I had just washed. Here's the lesson, when you wind fine yarn off a spindle, wind it onto a swift or chair back, so that it is all neat BEFORE you wash it. I guess I have just been lucky in the past. The beautiful periwinkle/purple yarn spun from some of Kae's hand-dyed wool roving was almost a loss and it surely was a mess. I was able to get it all unknotted and wound onto the swift to dry overnight....but I was really suffering last night around 10:00 PM.

Here is a photo of it all set and neatly wound into a pretty skein. I used the quarter for perspective.

I plied and wound and am currently washing/setting the twist on the even thinner blue/green Falkland from Kae, that I spun on the tiny little Briar Rose and plied on the Deep Cup Spinner's Choice spindle. I'll post a picture tomorrow. I have to say it was harder to keep the wound ball under control when the yarn was so thin. I'll post a photo tomorrow.

Briar Rose & Falkland

Okay, I am repeating myself here, but I just can't get over how tiny and perfect this little spindle is. After all that whining, I have spun the absolutely finest yarn on this thing, it really is more like wool thread. I'll post another photo with a coin for perspective after I have plied it. I really have enjoyed spinning this, but I am not sure how exactly I will use it, maybe for another beaded wrist distaff!

I also said I wasn't buying anymore wool, but I am in love with Falkland and saw some in a colorway I just could not resist. I'll post a picture when it arrives.

The addiction is strong with this one.

No way...

What Kind of Dog Are You?

There is just no way...I saw this, did it and the result told me I was a Dachshund! Now considering how I feel about my canine children, that makes complete sense. I *really* am their mother, the quiz even told me so! :-)

More than just wooly goodness

Okay, I had a really good mail day yesterday. Jeanne and Paul sent me a Sleeping Beauty with T-notches top and bottom and a Briar Rose Copper Swan from Simple Market Farms. Plus I got in my order of Falkland hand-dyed roving from Kae of FaeryLady Fibers! The Briar Rose is so absolutely perfect and tiny, I can't wait to spin on it and the T-notch design is so very clever.

I really like Jeanne and Paul...they are so nice and working so hard to make affordable spindles available to everyone. They are doing so many things to try to improve their spindles and still keep them reasonably priced. They are so nice and I am so glad that I stumbled on to their website and eBay auction. I like their philosophy and value their friendship. Funny, I feel the same way about Kae, too. It's nice when things come together.

Jeanne wanted me to do a spin time test for her on the Copper Swan Sleeping Beauty, so I had to wind off the periwinkle wool. I decided to use the Bubinga Quantum Spindle to ply it. I had to laugh when I saw the Briar Rose, I mean, if I am spinning this thin on the Sleeping Beauty, how impossibly tiny will my spinning be on a Briar Rose? LOL

Last night was knit night, so I took my Kundert Spindle and some of the merino blend that I dyed last month with me to Borders. I was concentrating on spinning thicker. I want to spin something that I really want to knit. I know that sounds funny, but why I am spinning lace weight yarn if I don't like to knit or crochet with anything thinner than worsted? I also took it with me to work today and spun during breaks at an all day software class. I really love this wool and the color came out so dreamy. And yes, this is some of the roving I dyed with Wilton's Icing Dye.

Just think how much I could actually get done if I did not have a full time job!

Finally, some pictures

Okay, first, let me say that I was the one who beat you all to first choice when Kae posted her new fibers for sale. :-) Yeah, yeah, I hear you...what about your Fiber Diet? What about you *just* saying you never buy dyed wool anymore...well that was BEFORE Kae put out a new batch of Falkland 56s which I have never tried. So you see, I had to do it. I just love everything that Kae has done for me...I could not resist...especially since she is about to close on a new house and the move will keep her away from the dye pot. Okay, it was the steroids!

This a photo of two of the wash cloths I made to replace the ones that are missing. They are knit out of 100% cotton chenille. The single knit came out too loose...so I doubled it. Then I decided to ply it...the wash cloth on the Brittany needles is being made from the same cotton chenille only double plied. :-)

Then after talking to Jeanne about her spindles...and the fact that I use them more than all my other spindles...I thought I would show her how much that meant! Here is my spindle collection. It is pretty much in chronilogical order. :-)

Close up from left to right...starting with the toy wheel spindle from Joan in Mississippi...then my CD spindle...then my first Sleeping Beauty & Rapunzel...then a Turkish Spindle from eBay...then my Birch Quantum Spindle...

Then, the next photo starts with the Quantum Spindle again...followed by a burled walnut & a teak spindle from Dragonfly Turnings...next was the Copper Swan Hook & notched Sleeping Beauty...a medium Kokovoko...Spinner's Choice Deep Cup spindle...Kundert Cherry & Walnut spindle...Funky Flower spindle.

Oh and how could I forget my wrist distaves? Here is a shot of the three I have made and used. I am sending two of them off to Jeanne as soon as I get my act together and go to the Post Office.

Bitchy McScratchy Pants

Back to work today and I was pretty much a meanie. Of course I could blame the constant itchiness or the steroids...but it was also a really rough day. It was one of those difficult days. I did not even get to spin or knit at lunch, I had to take some Benedryl and needed the time to sleep just a little before heading back to the insanity.

I finished two chenille cotton wash cloths, but I have not taken any photos yet. I really need to get off my butt and take some photos. I am now knitting a third one with more cotton chenille, that I plied before knitting. It is so nice knitting on my old walnut Brittany needles. I wish I had more of them. The black walnut is so much nicer than the birch.

I also did not make it to the post office (sorry Jeanne) or the credit union. I was lucky to make it into and out of work. I really should have stayed on the sofa, but then there would have been pandemonium with the incoming medical students tomorrow.

Itchy McScratchy Pants

I did not got to work today, which seems to have upset my boss a little, but it could not be helped. I was going insane from the itching and lack of quality sleep, plus I was getting new *blooms* so I had go see my doctor. He gave me a shot and put me on oral steroids...and $200 later...I am starting to feel better. Of course, I am also thinking that is half the cost of a spinning wheel! I am sick on so many levels, you know?

So now I will have even more reason for looking fat when I see my mom...besides the whole Hashimoto's Thyroiditis/hypothyroidism thing...just what I need. I told him I was freaked about the weight and he gave me something for that too. LOL I really like my doctor, he is very understanding and sympathetic...and best of all, he takes walk-ins without an appointment.

I put away some fiber trying to clean up just a little today. I really love the merino/targhee/ramboulet blend that I got on eBay. I already dyed up two pounds and have been spinning it, so I was *watching* for it to be listed again. I got desperate and wrote the seller, she said she had just listed her last ten pounds. Someone got there ahead of me, well two someones, and they each bought three pounds. So I did the only thing I *could* do and bought the last four pounds she had listed! Even shipping it parcel post, it got to me amazingly fast. Now it is in the cedar wardrobe with the rest of my fibery goodness. I have several muslin bags, several white zippered cotton pillow case covers, and even some pillow cases.
I hung a wire hanger in there and have been hanging my empty spindles. Since there are only a few, it seemed like a functionally workable idea.

I also knit a new wash cloth out of some cotton chenille, because my friends are coming back up this weekend and I can't find the box where my old ones are stored. Doh! Next time, I will ply the chenille instead of just holding it double.

Getting Ready for National Seminar

I have paid for my classes and my kit fees. In fact, the benefit to having to pay for seminar so early is that it is paid off before I actually get to Atlanta, so that I can feel better about spending money at the Boutique, Merchandise Night and Ruth Kern's Bookstore. I am counting down the days! :-)

Lisa and I will stay at my mom's to save on hotel costs...and so I can spend a little time with Mom. We have a lot of evening events, but hopefully it will give us visiting time.

I am taking two classes with Judy Jeroy. I am very pleased about that. I have to spend a little time getting ready for my classes and refreshing myself on Crewel stitches. Maybe it will inspire me to start stitching again. :-)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I am still itching like crazy! I stayed home today, because I was so miserable this morning and I needed to strip and wash the sofa, in case the dogs tracked oil there. I keep getting new *blooms.* I have washed almost everything with hot water and bleach at this point.

I'm so itchy....

Well, I have been quiet this weekend, because I have been doped up on bendryl. The sweet, tiny dogs must have walked through poison ivy and brought it into my home. It really sucks.

I spent a lot of time watching things I recorded on TiVo and not so much time working on anything craft related. Well, I made a wrist distaff out of the dyed Look to the Cookie roving. I'll try to post a photo tomorrow.

My husband has been going out into the yard and spraying all the poison ivy, since he is not sensitive to it. He has also been stuck hearing me whine a lot. Poor guy, how does he stand it?

My Growing Spindle Collection

I have been spinning a couple of fibers. On the original Sleeping Beauty, I have Sherbert Surprise! This was wool from Simple Market Farms that came with the spindle and I dyed with Wilton's. A knit night on Monday, I told someone I was spindling some of the Merino/Targhee blend I dyed with Violet, but I figured out last night that it was actually some wool I bought from Kae of Faery Lady Fibers.

The more I use Jeanne and Paul's spindles, the more I like them. They really are fun. They look good, they spin well and they are inexpensive enough to own several. Next I want to try the notched spindle from them. LOL



I also used some of eBay money to buy a Kundert spindle, since everyone talked about how nice they were. It spins forever and is notched, which I love, but it is a little out of whack. It might be that the hook is out of alignment. I also got a Deep Cup Spindle from SpinnersChoice, as you can see from the photo, it is absolutely tiny! It is perfectly balanced, but it is just so small, which was sort of a surprise for me.