I'll be putting items on Etsy over the next couple of weeks so if you are interested check here.

Here's a peek:




Pine Forest in Falkland and Mourning Dove in merino.

I finished up the Hubble Scarf for Rachel and am pleased with how it turned out. Here is the story in pctures:
the mix

on the bobbin

before plying


the yarn

Update time again at The Yarn Wench! Thanks to all who bought last week - I was especially glad to see the last of the Build a Palettes. I am more than happy to dye up solid colors for anyone still wanting them and they may make an appearance from time to time but they were taking up too much space. My webmaster (Mr. Yarnwench) has not had time to change the code on my website so there is still a category that says Build a Palettes. Pretend it says "This & That" and go take a look! I now have handcarded Wild Card batts in that category along with Mmmbellishments and Mixed Bags. Also, I have lots of new bags of hand-dyed Romney fleece from Sunny Bixby's Liberty Ridge Farm open house this past weekend. We all know her from Rhinebeck and Maryland Sheep & Wool, and other venues across the northeast. Great lady - wonderful wool! Also, just a reminder that it's not too late to get your YW gift certificates! I've had them ordered as late as Christmas Eve! I'm not sure but this may be the last update until the holidays are over - I'll have to see how everything plays out.

Where does it go? We've had lots happening lately and I feel like I need a week to catch up on everything. Over the weekend I went to Liberty Ridge sheep farm and bought a couple of Romney fleece straight off the sheep's back as they were shearing during their holiday open house.

Here is a shot of my fleece being sorted and one of it bagged up.

We visited the Cornell campus and on Monday Rachel had an interview with someone from MIT. The funny thing? The interviewer was a spinner! What are the chances of that?

Today is a snowy day - a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain has been coming down. I guess winter is finally here. Of course, there was only a one hour delay for school. When you live in central NY they assume you have the fortitude of a lumberjack and a dogsled for getting around. Never mind that Kevin crept into work and feared for his life all the way there. To get a day off in central NY you need a plague of locusts and a tsunami to strike similtaneously.

This week has been a bit different work-wise. I have done no wool top dye pots. Instead I've been dyeing up the Romney and doing some handcarded batts:







I also finished up this yarn for Rachel. I promised her a scarf and I spun up Hubble:


This should be a blast to knit up!

Also, I've been working hard on my Spontaneous Journal for the Flickr group. This has been such a good thing for me.
For more of the journal you can go here.

Hope where ever you are, you are warm and dry.

The Spontaneous Journal group on Flickr continues to fuel the fire. This was exactly what I needed to jumpstart a disciplined art journaling experience. The idea is to devote 5 minutes a day to pushing paint, charcoal, pencil, or any medium of choice around the page - the kind of work we did as children but that somehow becomes self-conscious with age. I remember how I colored all skin blue in my coloring books when I was four because it was my favorite color and it made me happy. I remember how I could talk outloud to imaginary characters in public when I was a child and I how I could pull on any article of clothing I wanted (and sometimes leave off a few) and feel absolutely happy in my skin. Where does that go? I'm trying hard to reach for it again - I want to lie on my belly in the grass with my nose an inch away from the anthill, climb trees and hole up in snow forts until my cheeks are frozen. I want that chld back.

This week I went on a journey with my art journal. Earlier this week I did up a batch of handmade paper which I'd not done in several years. I decided to use several of these pieces as the basis for my five minute journaling experience and so I painted for five minutes with acrylics on one and acrylics and mica powder on another. This latter piece whispered in my ear that it wished to be torn into four pieces and so its wish was granted. Then it suggested that it would like to be made into a book and the word "moon" came to mind. You see, this week has been a full-moon week and I have not been able to sleep. Several other people have mentioned the same thing.This week's moon was bright, huge, and humming. Usually I'm not bothered but for some reason I have only gotten one complete night's sleep out of the last seven. So yesterday I went looking through my written journal and found a series of moon haikus that I'd jotted down by the masters Basho, Ransetsu, and Kikaku. The idea for my little moon book came together and I am offering it up this evening in exchange for a good night's sleep. Yes, more than 5 minutes went into this project but it came about in five minute increments and the child in me is excited by the idea that maybe a little bit of magic happened between the moon and me. I'll let you know in the morning...









Oh my...I'm starting to yawn.

The poetry I can't get out of my head these days is that of Mariee Sioux, a young Native American indie singer/songwriter. This sound has lived in my head for many weeks now and I do not tire of it.

I wasn't going to do it again before the end of the year but I am drowning in fiber still and need to clear some of it out! Today through noon tomorrow I will be having a 10% off everything sale on my website except for the Build a Palettes WHICH WILL BE 50% OFF! I am discontinuing that line to make way for batts and other goodies so swing on by and check out what's left - the BAPs are great for needlefelting and adding into your yarns and batts. And hey - there is a ton of really lovely assorted and often prize-winning fleece left on the site that I am sorely tempted to spin up myself so check it out. Also, many great yarns - need a gift for a knittin' buddy?








This is just a small sampling! As always, thanks for stopping by!

Yesterday was really lovely. I got to see my uncle for the first time in 31 years and he got to meet my daughters. We'd lost contact over the years and I found an email address for him when my father died - I wanted to let him know of his passing. We began emailing regularly and getting to know each other - it's been a nice surprise to find how quickly we connected. My uncle is my mother's brother but they have had little contact over the years. He lives in the Atlanta area but used to live in Lake George, NY and was visiting his wife's family and they took a bit of a detour and came by for the day. Alex cooked us a fabulous meal of portobello lasagna and we spent the afternoon visiting. I hope we don't let another 31 years go by...:)

Today I sat down at the wheel and finished the moss yarn for Ravelry's Novelty and Art Yarn Spinners group. A rolling stone may gather no moss but my spinning wheel definitely did:



I had a wonderful time spinning this yarn but a terrible time capturing the color. It is mainly olive and bronze with a bit of gray and rust.

Hope those of you celebrating had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was a very nice day around here - lots of good smells and food, and quiet family time with the four of us - the new Wii is seeing lots of action and half the family members have sore arms:)

I am very much enjoying my new spinning wheel (thank you, Bennie!!) and this week I'm working on my Moss yarn for the Novelty and Art Yarn Spinners group on ravelry. I dyed up some delicious Coopworth and Wenslydale from Sandy at Homestead Wool & Gift and some Border Leicester that I got at Finger Lakes Fiber Festival, threw some angelina in the bunch and some commercial snippets and lovely shell beads and ended up with a very inspiring mix. I am about half-way through spinning the yarn but I'll give you a sneak peek:

The ingredients
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On the bobbin
I may try to finish it up tomorrow though I'm getting ready for a Saturday visit from my uncle whom I've not seen in 31 years!

I'm also having a wonderful time working on the Spontaneous Journal on Flickr - what a great group we have going over there. Here are my five minute entries from yesterday and today:

I absolutely love having a 5 minute limit to work on these. I am painting like a mad woman during that time and it is so much fun.

Well, that's about it for now. I should probably call it a day as I have a lot to do tomorrow. Until then, good night!

This is a week off for me. Actually, it started on Friday as we took Rachel out of school for the day and headed to Rochester to tour RIT and U of R. Had a great, though exhausting, trip. Got to spend the evening with Alex and took everyone out for seafood.

The past couple of days I have been wildly cleaning house, which involves massive amounts of hair removal. Between the cats and the wool this place is unbelievably hairy. I have been making amazing progress though and the house is starting to actually look good - it's been a while! I also had a painter in yesterday and he will be back this afternoon to finish up on my stairwell going down into the media room. That was left unpainted for over a year so it will be nice to have that finished.

Tonight Alex arrives with her boyfriend Dominic for her Thanksgiving holiday. It will be so nice to have her home. She just took her GRE over the weekend and is an incredibly busy girl. She is an RA and a student orientation coordinator at her college and was just offered a TA position for next semester. My little girl will be helping to teach Modern Sociological Theory - I think I got that right! Busy, busy, busy.

I picked up my new glasses on Monday and they are very fun! I love all the selection these days! I have given up on contacts after 30 years of wearing them. Bifocal contacts worked for me up to a point but no longer give me the amount of focus I need to see up-close work. So here are the new specs:

My yarn can now see...
They are port colored on the outside and bright turquoise on the inside! I wear lots of turquoises/teals and a few purples so that works well for me. I still have my olive green/aqua glasses too as my prescription didn't change. I've never had two pairs at once so it feels like a luxury.

This weekend my uncle whom I've not seen in 31 years is stopping by to visit! I can't wait! We hadn't spoken since I got out of college but reconnected online this summer when my father died.

Anyway, that's it for now. I actually do have a dyepot going right now for a challenge I'm doing over on Ravelry but other than that it is a no work week! Thanksgiving break starts in an hour for Rachel! Yay - no setting alarm clocks!