Things Daughters Should Not Do Again, and Again, and Again...

1. Spend your entire allowance on things like getting your nails done? When you are 14! And then asking your mom for money two days later.
2. Stay after school without telling your mother, and then DEMAND a ride immediately and get angry because your mother cannot as she is still at work so that you can receive an allowance so that you can get your nails done.
3. Promise you will do the load of towels "in a minute".
4. Invite five of your friends over for a dinner they will cook and then not clean the kitchen.
5. Invite five of your friends over for dinner and have them all show up with overnight bags.
6. Invite five of your friends over for dinner and then have five BOYS ring the doorbell.
7. Tell your now 10 friends you have it "covered" and then assume your mother is going to let the boys in the house.
8. Go outside to tell the boys that your mother is some kind of moron and then hold a 15 minute conversation in the street.
9. Drive your brother and his friend out of the family room because you and your five friends are obviously more important than his one friend.
10. Send your sick father to the other end of the house because his stuffy nose is embarrassing.

And After That...

I got on to the more serious work of the weekend.

Washing some fleece. Am I the only one who is not thrilled with the act? Hey, they are just one ounce samples. What the heck! How long can it take? The whole afternoon, that's how long!

The cheviot sample was dark. It contained bits from two clearly different sections of the fleece. The staple length was short in the section that had any lock integrity. And the vegetable matter was horrid! I felt I should have pulled and picked prior to washing, but the staple length was so short, there was no way I could prevent a gummy ball from forming. The other bits had no lock definition whatsover and appeared to be longer, much lighter, and coarser.

The North Country sample had lovely longer staples. I was fearful that the grease may have caused permanent staining, but no fear. It washed to a soft, creamy white after a very short soak.

The dorsets were the next to hit the tub. I expected the short staple length of the horned dorset . However, I am a bit concerned with how to prep this for spinning. As it is drying in its little bag, it is looking a bit too much like cotton balls. The polled dorset has a staple length of over 2.5 inches and the tips were disgusting. After the first soak, I targeted them with extra hot water. It helped some, but I may need to take drastic measures before spinning.

This group is going to force me to change my scouring method. I have been placing the fleece in little "bags" of netting and soaking them in a small wash basin. The other girls have been trying a contraption of household window screening material. Take the rectangle/square - layer the fleece - staple together. This allows for a much tighter package and does not allow the fleece to move around. My netting allows for far too much movement and requires a great deal of re-alignment on my part before moving to the carder or flicker.

Now off to the wheel!

How Was Your Weekend?

Happy Halloween

For the first time in my life there are NO pumpkins on my front porch! How did this happen? How can a person you have been married to for 20 Halloweens, the man who has always selected one pumpkin per person come home empty handed? And on top of it all, seem surprised the entire household was sad, shocked, incredulous? What's next? No Christmas gifts?

Deprivation

Am I the only person in the world who did not attend Rhinebeck this year? Or more specifically, am I the only knitter who has never attended Rhinebeck?

Each year I read the posts and wonder, what am I missing? The yarn and fiber? I can order from almost any vendor on line or via snail mail. Or from one of the six local yarn shops all less than 30 minutes from my house.

The people? I really get a touch anxious around crowds - and hells bells - if they are bussing them in from Boston...

The festival buzz? I have my two little fun fests within an hours' drive.

Aw crap, you caught me! I feel just like the little kid with her nose pressed up against the candy store window, and not a cent in her pocket!

Frogitis or Knit It Again, Sam?

This is a classic example of why nothing is ever finished. Over the summer I knit this. Cute little top town sweater done in the round with Cotton Fleece. Easy. You see that it is a 3/4 length sleeve. I decided that it would make a great short sleeved sweater - maybe because it was the middle of July and 80 plus degrees? I did wear it once. And I hated it. It needs longer sleeves.

I have another sweater started two summers ago. I spent an entire season picking and choosing the exact same shade of 5 different white yarns. I was thinking stripes. The back is finished. I hate it. Why? Because it suddenly dawned on me it would look so much better done in small mitered squares.

Is there a name for this knitting disease?

Odds and Ends

Last night I finished a very interesting book. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank by Ellen Feldman was based on Peter van Pels, the boy who was in hiding with Anne Frank. Feldman's book is based on the premise that Peter survives the camps. The novel follows Peter after his arrival in the United States. He becomes a successful businessman who settles in New Jersey. He loves his wife, worships his children, and is haunted by his past. van Pels turns his back on his religion, vowing that his family will never be taken - that he will be prepared.

My only criticism of the book was one of tone. Peter's voice did not ring true. The words, the concerns, his relationships seemed "off" in a way that I cannot label. But truly, a book worth reading.

The Yarn Harlot just had some kind of fun. How I envy her trip to SOAR. But let it not be said that McPhee is the only one who has fiber filled weekends. I, too, had a weekend of spinning and weaving. Want to see what I was up to? Since Margaret and MaryEllen (October 8)have done all the work, I will not duplicate their efforts. Thanks for taking pix while we all have tootsie pops in our mouths Mags! After spending two days with Patsy Zawistoski, I no longer feel as though I am posing as a spinner. Long draw, double draft, worsted/woolen spin and prep. I got the power! We may not have been catching drop spindles in our teeth, but we had a great time in a beautiful setting with wonderful friends and teachers.