ANOTHER FLOOD IS ON THE WAY

The postman's bag is getting heavier again. The first of the bounty o' books (there are at least three more on the way) arrived last week but Internet problems at home make it hard to post.

I have long been a fan of Jane Slicer-Smith, though have never made any of her designs as they seem to be available in kit form. This book was worth the wait and more than passes the "three items I might knit" test. She has designed a gorgeous collection of drapes that would be lovely in many of the handspun yarns in my collection. I can hardly wait to tackle them but still have the Halloween costumes to finish!

Packing for SOAR starts this week. Wahoo!

KNITTED VILLAGE

This is too cute--these women knitted a replica of their entire village. I don't know how long this article will remain active, but check it out as it has pictures of the actual buildings.

I still want to knit Zora the garden for her bed and this is real inspiration to get it done. It seemed like such a major, and it is, project when I knit the first test square earlier this year but now that I no longer have the conference as an excuse...

MORE BOOKS

Two more of the summer's bounty and also one of my favorite designers. Sally Melville is someone I like to go to for inspiration. I think that she has a wide breath of design ideas and her knit, pearl and color series had some real classics.

The Sally Melville Styles book has included an interesting technique of weaving another yarn through the pearl stitches in garter. While I thought that her design was just ok, I could see the possibilities of weaving on top of an item. It is also possibly a way to use up those scraps we all seem to hang on to.

Her newest book, Mother-Daughter Knits has a wide variety of patterns and lots of tips and techniques to insure a garment that fits your body. I am still looking at this one.

Here it is Fall and 100+ degrees. It's a little hot to think about sweaters, though I am busy trying to finish my vest. I got some more Ripe Avocado fiber from Chameleon Colorworks and spun up it doesn't look like it will be enough to finish my square, knit the collar and the bottom trim. Nancy.......

Yet to come: pre-ordered my copy of Susana Lewis' Lace Knitting Workshop. It is being republished by Schoolhouse Press for $30 and will be here on 10/15! Wahoo.

TOO BUSY TO BREATHE

A couple of weekends ago a group of my gal pals and I went up to my sister's cabin above Running Springs to hang out, spin, knit and whatever. It was a weekend that was eight months in the planning to get all the schedules synchronized and so worth it. We had a lovely time and for the most part were above all the smoke in the valley.

Projects are happening and a couple are on the verge of being FOs! I want to finish my scarf out of the KA mitt leftovers for the gallery at SOAR and my vest out of the handspun ripe avocado to wear at the same event.

Work has been kicking my butt all summer and probably will keep up through the month of November. Right now I am just hanging in until the last week of October when SOAR happens.

A FEAST OF BOOKS

This summer has been one of much too much introspection and escapism into books. As much as I do love the indie bookstores, I really love how Amazon fuels my need for instant gratification. Unfortunately most of the local libraries, including us, do not buy to my information needs and tastes so there I am pressing the order button and making the over-worked postal employee lug countless packages to my door.

This summer saw the publication of three new spinning books and while all had something to say and some interesting photos, only one had any real use and that was the Judith's Intentional Spinner. She breaks the basics down into manageable parts and also adds in many extras (I wish that I had studied the bit on bobble yarn before GGFI). This is definitely one every spinner should have in their ready reference library.

Spin, Dye and Stitch tries to cover too much and spincontrol is too narrowly focused but with that being said, both are worth taking a look at as they have some interesting examples and ideas. If you are not building a library as I am then try to get your local library to borrow these from some of the bigger ones so that you can check them out instead of purchasing.

A FO AND A MILESTONE

My finished scarf from the Golden Gate Fiber Institute--handspun warp and weft (Nancy Finn's merino silk) , mohair boucle and a handspun yarn beaded thread.

This Blog was started back in August 2005 to record my progess as a spinner, knitter and ??? Four years and three spinning wheels later I am still at it inspite of many moments of creative crisis. Unfortunately several of the items in those first posts are still UFO's or were frogged and the patterns bought at the FFF are still unsewn! But on a more positive note much of the fiber has been spun and lingers away in the stash.

GOLDEN GATE FIBER INSTITUTE

I just got home from one of those fabu life altering weeks at the Golden Gate Fiber Institute (Carolina Homespun's Morgaine Wilder and Judith the spinning goddess).

Of course I did not remember to take my camera out at all and have lifted these photos. The scenic shot is the one seen each morning on the way to class and of unknown origin. The Institute is held at a YMCA camp on the Marin headlands and lovely. This photo does not show the actuality of the weather though as it was cloudy and wet the
entire week--a lovely respite from the heat of the San Gabriel basin where the temperatures have been in the 100 degree range.

The second picture is me laying out wool for my felted vest project, my afternoon class and the third is the assembled work in progress. These photos I purloined from Lori Lawson's Capistrano Fiber Arts site--thanks Lori for taking pictures of my work. However this one is still a work in progress as it is still too large. I tried it on again when I got home and am not happy with the size but with felt that is not a
problem.

My other class was spinning for weaving and I spun the warp and weft threads for a project which is finished with the exception of the fringe. Hopefully there will be photos by the end of the week. This was a great experience--wonderful classes, wonderful people, lovely location. I'm putting it on my calendar and saving my pennies and vacation days for next year!