Bummed, but not defeated

Good morning, everyone. It is unfortunate and displeasing to note that I have dropped out of the Tour de Fleece. It is to no one's fault, but my own. I've over booked myself, which means dates with my Kromski Sonata are suffering. She sits in her case at the foot of the bed all folded up with some fiber I was meaning to spin into a 3-ply sock yarn. Seeing her sitting there at night evokes the feelings of the spouse who continually comes home late from work and never calls. I wonder if she thinks that I'm cheating on her. If so, it is only for a short period of time.

This past Monday began a new era in my education. I am going back to school, again. This time it is for a Bachelor's of Business Administration specializing in Marketing at American InterContinental University Online. Each class is five weeks long. There is a paper due every week by Sunday and discussion board posts throughout the week. I'm also learning to write in the APA style, which is a little tougher than MLA to grasp. Then again MLA style has been beat into the children of Alden-Hebron High School since the fifth grade.

Overbooking is the mother of all my problems.  I am responsible for the following things: cooking three to four days per week, cleaning, weeding, watching my stepdaughter, chair of the church's monthly flea market, attending confirmation classes, occasionally watching dogs, and my business. It's a bit on my plate. Now, let's add everything for just this week alone. My sister-in-law had knee replacement surgery on her left knee, which resulted in being at the hospital for a while on Monday. Courses started on Monday as well. Co-chairs need to be assigned and money deposited for the flea market. Last night we had our confirmation classes. This weekend we are driving up to Steven's Point, WI, to visit my uncle and his girlfriend. Also, we are taking my niece, Izzy, with us because she rarely gets to see Uncle Glen. Keeping in mind that Peter has been working his normal four day and twelve hour shifts plus two more nights just to be back again on Sunday for another three day work week. Yes, the pay check will be fantastic, but I need him here to deal with his child when I'm trying to do school work. There are a lot of things left to get done before Friday afternoon, including laundry.

This blog and the studio are sitting unattended. It adds to the depression. Right now I find it hard to work down in the basement because it is a mess. Peter thinks it's a catch all for the things he doesn't want to look at or put back in the barn. I had to rearrange down there because my parents decided they were going to get a larger freezer. They decided against it in the last few days. Due to lack of time or Peter asleep during the day I have not had a chance to get in there to organize everything. Very soon there will be a mad destash of all sorts of things that I do not use regularly. It's either that or I need to get crafting.

After this weekend I can start to plan some quality spinning time with my gal. The studio will be organized and perhaps even ready to work in. Next Friday, Stephanie leaves for Ohio. There will be one responsibility gone for a time. Duties in the garden and flower beds will still be there, but at least they will be winding down as fall comes into play. Maybe, just maybe, old girl and I can work out an arrangement to be together in the fall and winter. Then she can have some rest and my garden can be my summer lover.

Depending on how school goes, I may have to tone down some of the voluntary things going on. We'll see. I am hopeful that it will not be anything to do with the studio or this blog. Where there may be less postings, at least they will be long and more meaningful posts.

Ta ta for now!
<3

Day 7 - July 6th

It is already the seventh day of the Tour de Fleece. I've been very busy on my wheel. My swap buddy gave  me a 4 ounce braid of BFL/Silk handpainted by Fiber Fancy. It is a really wonderful blend of fiber and color. My plan is for a true three ply yarn. What project I'll knit is a whole other topic. There is a request for a cowl with this yarn, but we'll see. At this moment there are one and one half bobbins full of this lovely yarn.

The technique I'm using is a semi-woolen draw with a clockwise single and counter clockwise ply. Spinning a true woolen single has been a trouble for me, but slowly it will be a technique I perfect. Of course, there are plenty of other techniques in between I've been going back to. The worsted technique is one I just finished. Believe it or not, I finally mastered a perfectly balanced single!

Also, today we bought Bailey his first toy! It "is" one of those toys on a string with feathers and a bell. I only say "is" because he destroyed it within the first hour of playing with it. At first he wasn't sure of what to make of the whole thing. Keep in mind this is his first toy ever. I estimate his age to be three or four years old. This is a big deal who has never seen fluorescent yellow and green feathers. Nothing moves ever that slow, jumps as high, or even flies that slow and low. For him, it was peculiar and scary. That was until I started walking around the yard with it trailed behind me. He then realized I was in control of this "thing". That was this toy's undoing. Some of the feathers came loose. Then the tug-o-war began and resulted in the complete detachment of the toy part and stick. On the bright side the toy part is still well intact. This just means it needs an emergency fish pole operation. Then it can jump further distances and run back at a more controlled pace. Until we can find a pole at Goodwill, Mr. Toy will have to remain in the basement operation waiting room.

That is all for today. I hope to post more this week!
<3

Independence Day 2012

Happy Independence Day, everyone! 

I certainly hope that everyone is having a wonderful day. Although there are a few states prohibiting fireworks displays, it is not the end of the world. Well, at least not for my family. We're being kept safe by our local governments during this big drought. I do not want a fire destroying my personal property because common sense isn't that common. Unfortunately there are people who do not watch the news, and cannot think beyond the tips of their noses. For instance, a gentleman in Colorado threw a fit because he was not allowed to have a camp fire. Yes, ladies and gents. If this man would walk down a few miles, then he'd  have the largest camp fire in the world. There is always the hope for this man to win a Darwin Award for deciding to camp overnight there.

Our state, Wisconsin, is one of those banning fires, fireworks, and other fire related activities. Our last date of rain was June 16th. This truly a very dry place. Anyone can see where the water runs out from our house. It's the only green grass around. We are diligently watering the garden every other night. Our onions, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and gourds are doing very well. The weeds are loving the water, too. In the back of my mind I hear, perhaps this wasn't the year to start a garden. Oh, well. Not much I could have done to predict this drought.

The last time we had a drought of this magnitude was 1988. I was six years old at the time. My father had just moved to Lake Geneva, WI, while my mother, sister, and I stayed in Hebron, IL. It was a dismal summer. I remember this summer because the trees were wilting and turning brown. All of the grass turned golden brown. Of course, this was way back before we had air conditioning, let alone central air in our homes. We played in the sprinkler a lot that summer. Even where the sprinkler was being run was still brown. I'm surprised our dog, Bo, didn't die of heat stroke. Bo was an American Sheepdog with very long hair. He didn't mind running away in all this heat. I swear that dog lived to run away. In some ways I believe Bo was reincarnated into our second dog, Sparky. May they both rest in peace.

Today our temperature is supposed to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat index extends the temperature to 105. This is the second straight day of these triple digit temperatures. My hope is to have 100% humidity. This is where the temperature and the dew point temperature are the same. For those readers living in the Southeast states, you'll understand why I want this. It means rain and a small cool down. I'll never forget seeing sunny blue skies while it rained in Pensacola, Florida, at NATTC.

While the temperatures soar I intend on spinning. It is the fifth day of the Tour de Fleece. I haven't been very productive this TDF. In fact, I did not spin on the first day. Our family had an emergency. Dear husband's step-mom was in ICU. We went to the hospital to visit and support my father-in-law. I spent time knitting, deciding what to do for dinner, shopping, and then dinner. After dinner our family did a lot of gardening after dinner. I was drained by all this activity. (Yes, these are excuses, but very valid excuses.) Yesterday, I did not spin either. I've been babysitting for our neighbors, and start before Peter comes home with the vehicle. Rather than walking half an acre with my wheel and accessories in terrible heat and humidity I brought knitting. In truth a whole lot of knitting didn't get done either. For some reason, my body is not getting enough sleep. I kept fall asleep while knitting and watching television. So, after I got home it was nap time. From there it was dinner, shopping for ice cream, eating ice cream, college orientation, and zoning out while spending time with the family. The best part of the evening was probably eating ice cream, which was closely followed by my bedtime reading. I simply adore All Wound Up. There are definitely parallels in our lives. Sometimes I wonder if we are distantly related.

Day 2 spinning and plying - 400 yards of BFL/Silk

Pictured above is the pre-fulling and twist setting four ply yarn from Day 2. I had to finish spinning some singles and then ply my arse off! There are some left over singles from my first four ply yarn. Those are being navajo plied today. Yes, today. I fully intend on spinning some new singles today.

This is what I plan on spinning. It's some gorgeous stuff. I also intend on drinking some of that yummy yummy tea! Thank you Kathy for this lovely swap package! I am truly in love.

I hope that everyone is having a lovely day away from the heat. May it be full of fun fibery projects!
<3

TDF: Team Phat 2012

 Hello!! If you're joining or have already joined Team Phat for the 2012 Tour de Fleece don't forget to pick up the new Ravatar:

 

What do you have in your stash that you're going to bust this season? 

I'm busting some white Cormo roving, Cloudlover stash, and some of the unseen yummies my stash swap partner is sending me. I love swaps! There are so many fun yummies that are so unseen. I plan on sending my swap buddy a second installment of just locks in the middle of the tour. She's going to be a lucky lady. 

What are your obstacles on the course? Are you planning on learning a different kind of spinning? Do you have a technique you're concentrating on? Perhaps you'd like to learn how to navajo ply or spin in scrap yarns? There is so much freedom and fun involved in this lovely event. 

I'd love to hear more about your ideas and excitement! 

<3

Studio Tour de Fleece Sale Begins

Starting today there will be two offers going on:

Spend $30 and save $5 

(TDF-5of30)

or

Spend $50 and save $15

(TDF-15of50)

There are so many fun things in the shop for spinning. I hope you buy them all. This sale includes the Angry Birds Batt-acular and Yarn-aganza Club Subscriptions. Don't forget the subscriptions close on June 30th. 

Discount is taken before shipping is added to cart's total.

Tour de Fleece 2012

The Tour de Fleece is very near. On June 30th the spinners of the land gather by their wheels and spin through July 22nd. Gathered in teams or even solo, we spin and spin through rain, sleet, and snow with the bicycle race known as the Tour de France. In the end to the victors go the spoils.

This year I am on Team Phat. It should be most fun as we have so many people signed up already. Last year, I was on two teams, but that was a lot of posting! Holy cow! Perhaps next year we will get an LMS Studio Arts team.

Would anyone like to do a pre-TDF swap? I've got lots of fiber to spin.

Don't forget to visit the studio to stash up!
<3