Yo spammers...

As much as I hate to, I've disabled comments so that all of the spammers stop messing up my blog.  Drat...

In the meantime I'll imagine that you have many lovely things to say about my wit and creative writing.

I'm currently waiting for a package from Eastern Canada that was meant to be delivered, but hasn't been.  Heart rending...

What happens when you open a yarn store....

And then your husband decides that he's taking a hike and the whole world collapses in a heap; then to top things off the little one is 17. Enough said. Your blog goes all to heck, that's what. Then one fine day you wake up and realize that you're taking anti-depressants even through you'd rather not be, and the sun is shining and sales are going through the roof and it occurs to you that perhaps you could buy one of those cute apartments they're building in East Village... a two bedroom. One for you and one for the yarn. That's what happens when you open a yarn store.

Toms shoes, aka, tiaras for my feet

I've been wanting a pair of Toms for a little while... Banana wears them, and I learned from her that when you buy a pair of Toms, another pair of shoes is donated to a child in need. Not every 100 pairs, or even every 10 pairs. Every pair. I wanted flats, I wanted plain, I wanted Toms.. but all I could find were fakes. Nothing in my size except one lone pair in Market Mall.

They asked me if I would like to try them on for size, so that I could put another, less sparkly, pair on hold.

Well. You can guess how that ended. (ps: I had to turn the flash off so that the photo would not actually hurt your eyes when viewed.)

I totally love them.

If you

Do this:

And go here.

You could have this while sitting outdoors:

And you would see part of this mountain, right in front of you. You wouldn't even have to crane your neck or sit up tall or.. move:

And I think you would agree that life is better when you get off the couch.

To celebrate 7 days of no carbs

(well.. there was that one giant cookie), today for lunch I went to Thi-Thi and got myself a beautiful peppered beef vietnamese sub. Ya baby... and I washed it down with a coke.

It's been one of those super exciting days that demand carbs.

Through sad circumstances I acquired a trip to Sock Summit in the place of C-MAC. She just wasn't able to go, and asked me if I'd like to. Hell yes. Yes, I would (though I wish it wasn't in adverse circumstances). That was yesterday afternoon... sometime in the evening I discovered that my passport was missing. I spent the next bunch of hours tearing the house apart, and never did locate the passport. Today started with trip upon trip upon trip to get pictures, signatures,forms notarized, false starts, false endings... and then finally some success. A coupon at least, with a claim that possibly, even probably I will have a passport by noon tomorrow. Not a moment too soon, since the plane leaves at around 2pm.

This is my second emergency passport. In 2008, 22 hours before I was to depart to New York, Marilynnie discovered that my passport had expired. 3 hours later, I had a new one in my hand. This time will take longer because the passport is actually lost. Serious indeed.

I'm willing to bet that it's in a knitting project bag, and that I will find it this evening when I pack. I will not relocate the $250.00 it took to replace it.

Maybe it's worth it though... that passport picture really was horrible. If it weren't for a sudden downpour this morning, I would have had a chance at redemption.

So, that's my story... I'm going to Portland to knit, buy yarn for the store, meet people, eat off of food trucks, and go to a sock hop (in an 80's costume).

I think.

You're never going to believe this.

You'll never see this again, I guarantee.


Shocked?

Amazed?

Thrilled?

Confused even?

YES. An entire wall of Addis.

I'm not even going to say the word again until next year.

The Continental Divide.

I'm trying to blog here, but I keep losing my place, deleting text... think I can create anything from this stuttering start?

I was in the Vermillion Pass on Sunday, and by complete fluke I ended up at the Continental Divide. It would have been an excellent place to go intentionally.. to share a picnic.. to have a break; but I was driving to Castle Junction to drop off Mug, realized that there was no cell service, and wondered how I was going to manage to meet up with BFML, when.. boom.. I see him passing me in the other direction. There were roadside turnouts on both sides of the road, so we both screeched to a stop and I crossed over to his side. Instant awesome destination.

The kids enjoyed being in Alberta, BC, Alberta, BC, Alberta, BC, although I hear tell that Anna nearly fell off of Alberta. I had lots of big hugs from BFML, and he was in his funny drama mode.. dancing around doing mosquito victimization impressions and being goofy. I think we benefit from a break now and again so that I can remember that the man is mostly a boy and that is one of the things I most appreciate about him.

I also saw one of my favourite mountains (who is lucky enough to have access to so many mountains that they have favourites?)... it reminded me that I hadn't been in the Rockies in a long time, and that I should take advantage of my surroundings more fully.

It was one of those crazy days full of moments... the whole day seemed like a million snapshots. Mug, asleep in the car, smelling like corndogs (ok, ewwww); dreaming about her paycheques? An elk, dead on the side of the highway, head towards the ditch. A small fire off the highway as we went West turned into a huge, dangerous valley full of acrid smoke on the trip East. Absolutely perfect light at 8:02, 8:12 and 8:30. Perfect. All of the colours of the mountains, flora, fauna were turned up to high. There was a split second when all traffic slowed to pass an emergency airlift; a helicopter thrumming above us. A field of lavender flowers. An emerald green stream. Suspicious flash as I passed through a small tunnel... will I have a speeding ticket in the mail a few days from now? Some very, very happy dogs when I arrived home, 3 hours late for their dinner schedule.

I prayed a lot when I realized (coming down the pass on 93) that the brakes were not working well, and I would not be able to do a sudden stop in the next 2 full hours. More prayer when the car started to jitter every time I drove over a hole or bump in the road. BFML will tell me that: it needs attention. Ahem. Yes, it does.

And finally, so tired when I got home that I neither knit, nor c'worded. Didn't spin. Didn't dye.

I just sat and thought about snapshots.

Tomorrow.. Knitting. I promise.

It's OVER over.

Here you have BFML messing with his iPhone and taking a funny stampede picture of himself. I had to take a deep breath when I saw it, because I felt transported into a HeeHaw script. He's good that way, the BFML... he doesn't care what he does to his face in photos; it's all for the love of art. Or something. Perhaps it's just for fun. He makes me smile every time, but that particular photo made me laugh out loud.

But it's OVER. Stampede I mean. When I arrived at work this morning, I was was met with this big pile outside of a nearby office. I can still smell fireworks (well, not really, but you get my drift), but it's time to get.that.crap.outa.here.

I can remember working at Nova, and being so thrilled to wear jeans to work. By the middle of the week I would be wishing that I could stop dressing up as a cowgirl, and just get back to 'normal'. I think the dudes down the building from me had that same exact feeling when they arrived at 8:00 and had the place ditched out by 8:15. Cowboy hat and all.

Following you will find Mug's new normal! She worked for 11 days at the Stampede, selling corndogs and lemonade. I have to say that the corndogs were horrible (I'm glad to say that she didn't prepare them), but the lemonade was fantastic (Proud to say that she did!). Mug received a cheque for her first 3 days, and she was quite delighted. Me too. I've very proud of her. As you can see by her photo, she was very, very thrilled to discover her mother in line taking pictures of her.

I think that I'm going to try to get back on track with blogging. I miss doing it, and often imaginary-blog in my head. Since my computer crashed, I just haven't had the energy to make a new situation work. So.. let's see how it goes.

Soon I'll talk about knitting, and then everything will get back to normal!

It's official!

I've left The Knitting Room to spend the next month working on The Loop!

Yarn and accessories are starting to arrive, the painting is almost done, and we're starting to work on a logo and graphics. We hope for a grand opening near May 1, but starting this Thursday we'll be hosting knit nights! It'll be a jobsite, but we'll be there knitting.

See you there!

Ps: In my wisdom, I forgot to include the address! You can find The Loop at 1978 Kensington Road NW, in Calgary. Our phone number is 403-457-3020 (and should be hooked up tomorrow afternoon)

To answer a few questions...

If you are hoping to see anything beyond an empty green room, you'll probably be better off waiting a little while! There are no retail products (or even shelving) on site at present. If you'd like to knit in the midst of chaos and dirt, well come on down! You'll be welcome after 5pm. We currently have about 10 chairs.

Thanks Nestor

I had a plan to put birdhouses on the top of our uncut fence posts. BFML and I found one on a geocaching trip a few years ago. We found another at a garage sale (I think... to be honest I can't remember how it got on my desk, where it has resided for a number of years).

Recently I bought a handmade birdhouse from Nestor. He makes them himself, and what I love about them is that they are so natural.. So here are mine. Finally installed, thanks to a little inspiration from Nestor's handiwork.

Flat out

In order of importance, as perceived by Spike.

Me and Them discuss contract knitting

by Gale.

Hair mask

Did you hear about the time I had banana head? I heard that mashed banana was a good hair mask, so I tried it. Short on details, I left it in my hair too long and was picking hunks of banana, and banana seeds out of my hair for some time. Kim cut my hair during the banana days, and the quote is: Well. (pause) That's a first.


So tonight I invented a concoction of my own, involving mayo, an egg yolk, honey and some apple cider vinegar.



Pray for me.

The Aeolian is cruising towards the finish line. I'm on the last chart. I really love it.

Oh duh

It just struck me that I could put more than one bead on a crochet hook at a time, and therefore speed up the process of inserting them.

I've been knitting the Aeolian, and so far, so good. It requires approximately 2250 beads; the discovery was significant.

The Columbia from AK



Some BFL/Silk that I'm spinning. 4 oz down, 4 to go.

Red garter stitch

I dreamed of it last night... a simple piece of red garter stitch that was so beautiful that I remembered the dream this morning. A piece that you might imagine came from the needles of the marvelous Mr. Flood. That kind of.. simple.

It'll stick in my head until I spin something suitable, until I can come up with the right pattern, until I can turn the dream into reality. Or, until something else catches my attention.

And in that mode, Sherri, Tracy and her blackandredness, AnneK, have been helping me out with another dream; this time some simple, white lace. The longest time ago Sherri have me a partial bag of Columbia fiber from one of Tracy's sheep. I didn't know how to clean fleece, and had no idea how to use raw fiber, so it sat around for the longest time. Eventually I thought.. gosh, what a great piece to start with. Small bag.. nothing to lose.

Pfft.

It washed up sparkling white, and after being carded into the crudest rolag, spun into the most precious little skein of light fingering yarn.

I've been wishing and wishing that I could do some more; thinner, for a shawl.

Initially Tracy let me take all I wanted from a large bag of Columbia, but unfortunately the colour wasn't quite right (tho the yarn will be beautiful one day) I asked AnneK if she had any to spare. Affirmative! She brought a nice big bag of locks to the store on my birthday. Since then I've given it all a good wash and it's dried and ready to go. Tonight I pulled the locks apart and flick carded them.. then spun. I've got a really fine, white single that's looking fantastic on the bobbin. It's going to be perfect.

And simple.

In 15 minutes

I'll turn 53 for the second time. I really, really loved the first time; especially when the kinds commented on my ability to subtract 1957 from 2009. Turns out it's a number ending with a 2. Imagine my surprise!

Tomorrow is also TKR's knit night, so I'm hoping to see lots of people and have plenty of laughs. While knitting.

I hope your 0909 is as fun.

Why it's good to toss your stash

Because you find stuff.

Like a sweater's worth of yarn I had forgotten I had.

Jacinda's Tibetan spindle.

The Girasol.

Edlyn's Clapotis that Jocelyn fixed for me. (Thank you Joce.. it looks great!). It's about 2/3rd's complete.

THE SECOND SKEIN OF SILK KOIGU FROM NEW YORK!!!! yayyyyy!

A skein of handspun Optim that I had been looking for, given up on, and passed it's sibling along to Dida.

A big fat Addi Turbo.

The labels for the cashmere I dyed for Marilynnie.

A piece of fabric that I promised to Bess.

I also organized all of my yarn and fiber, and it's all in good shape with no surprises. Honestly, that's the best part of all.

ok.. I've got some stuff for sale

Prices do not include shipping. Heavier items such as the wheel and the fabric cannot be shipped. Email me at spinknit@me.com if you see something you'd like, or you have further questions.



A Rubbermaid container full of soap making materials. Dyes, fragrances, essential oils, molds, a book, etc. $15.00



Here's an interesting story.... A few years ago I had the honour of purchasing the estate of one of the Lethbridge Spinner & Weaver guild founders. One of the things included was this bag of vintage handspun. It's a big bag, the yarn is sound, and some of it is labelled with handwritten notes such as: Carded by Donna. :) $25.00



Anybody still have a VHS machine? Here's an Ashford how to spin instructional tape. Buy something else, and I'll throw it in if you ask for it.



A small bag of Suri and a bit of tinsel. Buy something else and I'll throw it in if you ask.




Kid Merino, hand dyed locks. $5.00 each.



Some Rose Llama from Saskatchewan, hand dyed rose to.. well, rose it up. $7.50 SOLD



A Yak sample. $5.00 SOLD






Miscellaneous bags of hand dyed BFL. $10.00 each.




This is a whole lot of scoured and drum carded Shetland. I bought a small fleece from Linda Wendelboe at Olds (you know she rocks!). You have have this and the balance of the unscoured fleece for $25.00






This fabric is 100% silk, 6 yards, and the colour is golden not taupe



This is a large Rubbermaid container full of yards and yards of fabric. At one time I was doing some costuming, and this fabric is from that period. There are maybe one or two small pieces, and the balance is yards and yards and yards per piece. There are silks, upholstery fabric, cottons, muslins, etc... Spectacular! $200.00 for the works, which is approximately what I paid for the silk alone.





Here's the wheel I mentioned the other day. It's an Indian Princess Style with a massive bobbin; mostly used for spinning art yarn. The wheel is rustic, but spins just fine. Speaking of fine, I put some tension on the bobbin, and I was shocked to find that I could spin quite a fine yarn with it. So.. It's up to you what your final result is. $75.00



Loads of bags of pretty marbles and polished river stones. The very second you buy this, I'll remember what I was going to do with them. $15.00 for all of them.



A mixed bag of fun stuff to spin art yarn (or.. for crafts!). Ribbons, flowers, buttons, crochet thread, giant paperclips, novelty yarn, a cute little bird... too much to mention. Everything for $15.00




A large bag containing many, many balls of handspun singles. Wool is not identified. Also included is a back, two fronts and a part of a sleeve for a partially knitted men's cabled sweater. An intermediate to advanced knitter would easily be able to complete this garment. All for $30