A Funny Thing Happened

I've had trouble getting into my very own blog. There's supposed to be a little orange square with a B in it up in the left hand corner of my blog that lets me enter when I want to make a post. My B has been missing in action!! Only this morning, as I tried once more, it appeared & let me into the NEW POST section. Whoo Hoo!! Not that there's much to report around here in the Basement these days. I am inundated with Red Geraniums! I was a flower PIG when they got marked down & I bought too many so there's pots of them everywhere. I rescued an Orchid that almost died due to neglect & it's flowering again for me!! My Taro didn't die over the winter like I thought but put up a new leaf & is now churning them out like crazy. The Fern Garden is healthy & the Christmas Cacti are blooming again - second time this year!!! And, I'd like to report that my sore right knee seems to be getting better - I can actually walk up stairs almost like an adult again!! I've been sweltering in Orthopedic sneakers this August whilst most of you wear sandals but it seems to have stabilized my knee. Let that be a lesson, slopping about in Thongs is bad for you when you get OLD.

I DID start winding off all that Black Sheep mill end yarn I've been spinning on the Old Indian spinner. My knee's been too sore to spin. I'd been working on finishing all the 'lumps' in the 15lb grab bag I bought several years ago from the Sheep Shed Studios. Even though I shared that bag with Gail, it still left an awful lot of really nice wool to spin. I got mostly lovely wool/mohair roving & lumps or knots left over from the spinning machine. I preferred the feel of the 'lumps' & chose to spin them first. The biggest problem with them is that they breed in the bag when you're not looking. At least that's how it seems - just when I think I'm finished, I find another handful!! So, I had an overflowing giant bobbin - it holds a pound or two, can't remember which but it's a lot - spun up to fingering sized singles. I have 8 other skeins of the same - it's plain wool which reminds me a lot of Polworth - almost spongey, a very soft springy wool - & I wanted to dye the whole lot at the same time so I could use it in a larger project. Winding off that huge bobbin is a royal pain in the ass!! I have to wind it onto a 2 yard niddy noddy before steaming & dyeing. I'd like to keep it uncut & on a cone of some sort but, I guess if I want to dye it, that's out.

All along I wanted to knit this yarn into a Kimono style sweater/jacket. I have the Knit Kimono & Knit Kimono Too books by Vicky Square & have fallen for a couple of the patterns. I think the hand spun will work well for Kimono styles.

Now all I have to do is win the Lotto so I have the time to spend my Golden Years in the pursuit of fibre, spinning, knitting & dyeing.