I went down to my LYS today to get a spinning lesson from my friend Linda, who owns the shop. Ok, it’s a bit fiddly, and it took me a little bit to get the hang of it… but I made yarn! Lookie!
My very own first handspun yarn. I am all proud of myself and stuff. *strut*
Seriously.. I’m really enjoying this, and I’m planning on spinning up that whole batch of churro that I bought this weekend. Linda is going to bring her spinning wheel to the shop tomorrow for the Friday “Stitch and Bitch”, and I’ll see if I can play with that for a bit.
Fun! Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to do with it once I spin it. 
I would like to apologize to anyone who’s been trying to read the blog and keeps getting errors. Apparently, my web host (1&1) has been having issues with the server my sites are on. I called them this morning due to the third outage in as many weeks, and they’re “working on the problem”.
I’m a bit annoyed, as I have received no notifications of outages… and one was for three days while I was out of town. Grrr. No offer of reimbursement, either. I’d switch hosting providers, but I’ve used them for years and I’m lazy… and moving three sites to a new host would be a pain in the rump, especially since one of them is my guild forum for World of Warcraft. So, I put up with them for now. If this keeps up, I’ll definitely be looking for a new host. Suggestions are welcome.
So… Saturday I went to Pagosa Springs for the Fiber Festival, and managed not to spend too much money. Of course, hubby was with me, so I showed a bit of restraint. You would be proud of me.
First purchase of the day was a lovely drop spindle from Crazy Monkey Creations. Beautiful and handmade, the colors are gorgeous and it spins perfectly. Now I just need to learn how to use it.
The roving that it’s sitting on is Navajo Churro, from Pam Dyer at Dyers Wool. She helped me pick out the best roving for a total novice. Apparently, the staple length of churro is quite long and easier to spin. I have no idea, but I’ll trust her. The owner of my LYS is going to show me how to use the spindle, so we’ll find out!
I also picked up two skeins of handspun merino from Cat Mountain Fiber Arts. Soft and silky and oh so pretty. No idea what I’m going to make with it yet, but I’m sure something will come up.
I wish we would have stayed longer, there was so much yarn! It tested my resolve, but I managed to leave without spending too much. I so wanted one of the cute little alpacas… so soft and cuddly. One of these days I’ll have a couple of them, but there’s nowhere to put them here.
Due to my lack of enthusiasm for the computer for the weekend, I have been neglecting my blog. Updates tomorrow on the Pagosa Springs Fiber Festival, and pictures of what I bought.
Now, in no particular order, are five things that make me happy:
- The new Knit Picks catalog. Lace!
- Amish friendship bread from my LYS owner. Thanks, Linda!
- Getting all my bills paid on time. Early, even!
- New allergy medicine that works, and doesn’t make me sleep all day.
- Four day weekends.
Updates tomorrow, I promise!
Ok, it’s time for someone to volunteer to climb up on my roof and uncover the air conditioner. It is officially hot. WAY too hot. It’s not extreme or anything, it only got into the 80’s today… but after that really cold winter I am seriously unprepared for this.
I hope it rains tonight. That will help.
Here, in random order, are five things that make me happy:
- XM Radio on my computer
- Four day weekends
- Antique stores
- My local yarn store
- Chocolate
Well, I got back to my computer sooner than I thought I would, so I’ve had time to choose a winner.
And the winner is….
Kitten with a Whiplash with his very appropriate haiku:
Little unmatched sock!
Was your mate lost in dryer
or just never knit?
Congratulations, Kitten! Send an email to kaessa (at) kaessa (dot) com with your mailing instructions, and I’ll get the yarn and the stitch markers out to you first thing next week.
Thank you SO much to everyone who participated in the contest. It was not easy to choose a winner… there are just so many good haiku! I will have to make a haiku page to display all of the entries.
Congrats again, Kitten, and thank you again to everyone who participated. You are all wonderful! 
Get your haiku in now!
Speaking of the contest, I wanted to let everyone know I will not be able to announce the winner until Monday. I am going to be without internet for the weekend (including Thursday), and so will not be able to post to the blog. 
First thing Monday morning, though. Promise. Good luck, everyone!
Alley is the oldest of the three cats that came with my husband when I met him, at nearly 8 years old (we think). She is the Queen, the “grand old lady” of the house. She is the sweetest cat, but she has very little patience with you if you do things “wrong”. Like pet her in the wrong way, or don’t pet her when she wants you to, or just generally do anything that she doesn’t want you to do. Fortunately, you get one warning before she kills you… sharp teeth in your hand or arm. This means, “Whatever you are doing right at this minute, stop doing it and do what I tell you.” She’s very serious about it. If you continue, you will bleed.
Fortunately, she is a benevolent leader, and lets us mere mortals and dogs get away with a lot of stuff. I adore this cat. Once you learn her little quirks, she’s very easy to get along with, and she’s a very loving cat. She adopted the dogs and Ozzy when we brought them home, and taught them to behave. Ozzy adores her, but the dogs are a bit afraid of her. They love her, though.
All hail the Queen. 
Another Monday! Here, in random order, are five things that make me happy.
- A working backup for my computer (Yay! Finally!)
- Knitting books.
- Dogs that behave when you take them for a walk.
- A long weekend.
- Ice cream.
Hope you have a great Monday!
