Navajo plying

This morning I found a really great Youtube video of Sara Anderson Navajo plying. Awesome. Relaxed.

Dear Butterfly,

Dear bird, dear star.

If you came to me today, that would be good.

Mommy

Turkish Delight

Calorie free, and just as yummy...

A long time ago I wrote to the Jenkins' and asked for a spalted tamarind Turkish Delight spindle, only to find out that there was no more raw material to make one. Sigh...

Out of the blue, I received a note from Wanda Jenkins saying that they were able to make one more, and that it was ready for me, if I still wanted it.

Hell yes.

What I want to share with you is the amazing customer service that you can expect from the Jenkins'. When the spindle arrived, it was wrapped and re-wrapped in tissue paper, hand dyed silk hankies, and some undyed fiber to try. There was a hand written note from Wanda, wishing me joy in my spinning. Honestly, a perfect little spindle, in the wood that I dreamed of, was simply an aside compared to the love and kindness that went into the package.

This the kind of business I want to send my money too.

One thing, should you have the good sense to purchase a Turkish Delight, know that if you drop it the shaft will be tapped into the blades of the spindle. After a few drops it is quite difficult to remove, and there is a chance that the shaft could break during the process. If you drop your spindle as you spin, take a second and give the shaft a quick twist to make sure it remains untrapped.

The year of Estonian/Orenburg Lace

I thought I'd talk about it, even though putting the intention out into the universe makes me wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew.

You may know that I've been collecting some Qivuit and that I've been spinning it on a tiny drop spindle (on and off for more than a year). I also have about 5 ounces of Bison that I've been spinning on Donna's Rose. So, here is the plan.

In 2010 I'm going to use the Bison to knit something from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia; most likely Miralda's Triangular Shawl. If that goes well, then I'm going to use all of the Qivuit to make a more difficult, and larger piece. I haven't decided on a pattern yet, but I've been doing some research on Galena Khmeleva's work. (fyi.. If you Google 'Galena Khmeleva Estonian Lace', the 5th entry is a blog post by Aunty Tink. I kid you not)

I am wondering what the difference is between Orenburg and Estonian lace, if anything. Chime in Aunty Tink.

So there you have it. No finished objects for me in 2010, that is for certain. If you were hoping for socks, it's looking poor.

What makes you happy?

This morning, after BFML and the dogs went downstairs, I laid in bed for nearly an hour watching Youtube videos.. Found the ones shown above. Happy. For sure.

Post a comment, won't you? Tell me what makes you happy.

Blocked swatch

Just sayin.

Japanese knitting patterns

Having mentioned that I am the blessed recipient of a Let's Knit Series pattern book, I thought I'd also share a link where you can download a document to help with translating Japanese patterns (and buy a few too!).. just in case you'd like to jump on the bandwagon with me. Keeping in mind that 2010 is the year of Estonian Lace knitting (aka: the year of no fo's)... we'll have to shoehorn this teeny tiny endeavor into the schedule. Doable.

Some eye candy for your enjoyment.

A random act of charm

.. and kindness ..

My friend's mom traveled to Japan some time ago, and she asked me if there was anything I would like.

I now own a beautiful Japanese pattern book. I'm totally thrilled.

And thankful.

Geoache link

Here's a video that explains a little about geocaching. It's a really great way to spend some time outdoors, and I love the treasure hunting aspect (tho, I rarely keep anything.. I just like the hunt). The kids are over it right now, but BFML and I are not. We are team 6Rabitts.



Some photos I had previously promised:








Strangest thing, this. We were caching, and I told BFML that I thought the cache might be close to a house I did a LOT LOT LOT of work in when I was still doing floors. It was one of those jobs that you just don't forget.. house is closing in on mansion status, lady was nasty, I was accidentally locked out of the house with no jacket, no keys, and it's.. hmmm.. about 40 below zero at the time... and finally, it is the very last place in the world where I still experienced feeling in the tip of my left index finger. It was on that job that I smashed the finger and wrecked it forever. It was just weird to be there, by that bad memory house.. I was remembering everything and I looked up; there, hanging from barbed wire - surrounding a municipal waterworks gadget - was a rubber fishing lure. Just the weirdest thing, overall.



Just in case you think I don't knit any longer, here is the Girasole I'm working on. It's in a light worsted alpaca, and I think it's gonna be gorgeous. It's sitting on the dashboard of the truck while we were out geocaching.



Crazy, huh? We found piles and piles and piles of hail in the grass by a weigh station near Calgary. You don't expect to hold ice in your hand in August, that's for sure; unless it came out of your beer cooler perhaps... but in the grass?

And finally,



A gratuitous puppy photo, and one beautiful eye (if you don't mind me taking credit for one of my loveliest creations).

A little geocaching video from earlier today

Gazillion pictures to follow.