Technology is making me angry. The computer program at work started it in being inflexible and requiring me to leave a paper trail of "mistakes" because I can't simply edit things to get them in the completely irrational order they need to be in to please the client (silly me had them organized rationally). Then, all I wanted to do when I got home (after years of not remembering the name and then finally finding it) was download City Connection on the Wii and play it. Well, that'd be fine, except the wireless has been screwed up for the Wii for months. Now that I've tried to fix it (with phone help from Big Man, who is currently out of town), it sees the network, won't connect to it, and then I thought I was going to to be out of a regular internet connection for the entire weekend because that disappeared too for no apparent reason. Obviously it came back--also for no apparent reason.
I think it's time to pick up a book, curl up with a cat, and enjoy the same sort of thing people have for centuries. There will be a decent blog post this weekend, with pictures and everything--just not yet.
Aug 29, 2008
Aug 21, 2008
wow....
A friend who is kind enough to buy my handspun wholesale (aka, the ginormo order from last weekend) told me that she sold 20 skeins of it today at the local fair. TWENTY SKEINS, and that people from the fiber tent were asking how I do it, and someone wants two skeins of a sold out colorway. I told my husband that if I can figure out a way to sell that much every day, I'm sure as hell quitting my job (you know, since I would then be the primary breadwinner in the family!). I feel...awed, and a bit sad I didn't send more than 31 skeins for the weekend!
Wish me luck in my hoping and finger crossing that a magical way to sell that much every day appears before me :).
Did I mention she sold twenty freaking skeins?!?
Wish me luck in my hoping and finger crossing that a magical way to sell that much every day appears before me :).
Did I mention she sold twenty freaking skeins?!?
Aug 17, 2008
I'm actually tired of spinning
Wednesday: I find out a wholesale customer needs more yarn ASAP, as much as I can make.
Wed night: I begin spinning singles with the goal of sending a box on Monday--got 11 done.
Thursday: Work. But I wanted to be home spinning!
Thurs night: Plying, plying, plying. I plied 9 of them, was too tired by the end to do anything else.
Friday: Work again, but wishing I had my wheels.
Fri night: Out to dinner for a friend's birthday. I had fun, but also worried I would get behind.
Fri late night: Wound all the plied yarns onto my niddy noddy one at a time and set the twist.
Saturday morning: Got the brakes fixed, and began designing a DIY shawl kit while sitting there (more on those later)
Saturday and night: Spin, spin, spin, spin...I think I spun another 10 singles (11 counting the one from yesterday) and plied 10. Was again too tired to wind off, so I went to sleep.
Sunday morning: Wake up to a 6lb cat who is more effective than any alarm clock. Unfortunately, it was only about 5.5 hours after I went to bed. Get up and wind off the plied yarns from last night and set the twist.
Sunday and early evening: Spin another 6 singles and then ply all of them (7, remember, there was one from yesterday?). Intermittently worry that neighbor's kitten (who shouldn't be outside) is attacking your yarns as they dry in the sun on the front porch (he did once, but I intercepted before damage was done). Wind the 7 plied yarns off and set the twist.
Sunday just a few minutes ago: Get excited about the prospect of making real food for a late dinner and relaxing (maybe even bathing!), and then remember there are still 26 tags to be written and attached to the yarns, for which you must weigh and find yardage on all the damn skeins. Crap.
Did you notice there's almost no mention of eating or bathing or any of those everyday activities in there? The only reason the cat got food is because hers is easier to fix than mine! Big Man is out of town for work, so I have been subsisting on things like bagels and crackers and other readily prepared foods. I also told her I'd see how many I could get done by Weds and send those too.
Complaining aside, I am very thankful for the business and for my new wheel because I'm able to ply these yarns about 3 times faster than before. It really allows me to streamline my process, which is wonderful. Speaking of wonderful, I think I will go shower before I write the tags...or do I want to eat instead?
There are still 7 skeins not shown--they're drying.
I didn't do the HUGE skein in the middle during this period--I just finally got around to taking a picture of it.
Wed night: I begin spinning singles with the goal of sending a box on Monday--got 11 done.
Thursday: Work. But I wanted to be home spinning!
Thurs night: Plying, plying, plying. I plied 9 of them, was too tired by the end to do anything else.
Friday: Work again, but wishing I had my wheels.
Fri night: Out to dinner for a friend's birthday. I had fun, but also worried I would get behind.
Fri late night: Wound all the plied yarns onto my niddy noddy one at a time and set the twist.
Saturday morning: Got the brakes fixed, and began designing a DIY shawl kit while sitting there (more on those later)
Saturday and night: Spin, spin, spin, spin...I think I spun another 10 singles (11 counting the one from yesterday) and plied 10. Was again too tired to wind off, so I went to sleep.
Sunday morning: Wake up to a 6lb cat who is more effective than any alarm clock. Unfortunately, it was only about 5.5 hours after I went to bed. Get up and wind off the plied yarns from last night and set the twist.
Sunday and early evening: Spin another 6 singles and then ply all of them (7, remember, there was one from yesterday?). Intermittently worry that neighbor's kitten (who shouldn't be outside) is attacking your yarns as they dry in the sun on the front porch (he did once, but I intercepted before damage was done). Wind the 7 plied yarns off and set the twist.
Sunday just a few minutes ago: Get excited about the prospect of making real food for a late dinner and relaxing (maybe even bathing!), and then remember there are still 26 tags to be written and attached to the yarns, for which you must weigh and find yardage on all the damn skeins. Crap.
Did you notice there's almost no mention of eating or bathing or any of those everyday activities in there? The only reason the cat got food is because hers is easier to fix than mine! Big Man is out of town for work, so I have been subsisting on things like bagels and crackers and other readily prepared foods. I also told her I'd see how many I could get done by Weds and send those too.
Complaining aside, I am very thankful for the business and for my new wheel because I'm able to ply these yarns about 3 times faster than before. It really allows me to streamline my process, which is wonderful. Speaking of wonderful, I think I will go shower before I write the tags...or do I want to eat instead?
There are still 7 skeins not shown--they're drying.
I didn't do the HUGE skein in the middle during this period--I just finally got around to taking a picture of it.Aug 15, 2008
I am still around, really...
I've not been posting as much lately, I know. I keep thinking of things to write, but I always feel like there should be at least one photo to relieve the monotony of text, and I don't have any pictures to post.
In the last couple of days, I've had a rush rush wholesale order come in, so I've been working on that, and *loving* my new Country Spinner, Molly. Instead of plying on my jumbo Sonata flyer and not fitting the whole 4oz skein on there and having to wind the last bits by hand because the flyer won't turn around the overly full bobbin anymore, I am now plying one onto Molly, then simply tying the next one on and plying that right onto the same bobbin. I stopped because I was sleepy last night, and I had 9 skeins on one bobbin, and room for at least one or two more! Plus, it's approximately three times faster than doing it on my Sonata (sorry Cora!), so I think I can actually do proper wholesale now with that sort of yarn, which is wonderful. Now I just have to approach my local yarn shops about it...
As you might imagine, treadling a bobbin that big AND full of yarn gets pretty darn heavy--my calves will be too big for my jeans soon, I bet! Oh, and I will snap a quick picture of the wholesale yarns before they leave me so you have something pretty to look at.
In the last couple of days, I've had a rush rush wholesale order come in, so I've been working on that, and *loving* my new Country Spinner, Molly. Instead of plying on my jumbo Sonata flyer and not fitting the whole 4oz skein on there and having to wind the last bits by hand because the flyer won't turn around the overly full bobbin anymore, I am now plying one onto Molly, then simply tying the next one on and plying that right onto the same bobbin. I stopped because I was sleepy last night, and I had 9 skeins on one bobbin, and room for at least one or two more! Plus, it's approximately three times faster than doing it on my Sonata (sorry Cora!), so I think I can actually do proper wholesale now with that sort of yarn, which is wonderful. Now I just have to approach my local yarn shops about it...
As you might imagine, treadling a bobbin that big AND full of yarn gets pretty darn heavy--my calves will be too big for my jeans soon, I bet! Oh, and I will snap a quick picture of the wholesale yarns before they leave me so you have something pretty to look at.
Aug 7, 2008
The internet is pretty amazing.
Yes, I'm a nerd sometimes. Maybe I should get out more. But, I can’t imagine how empty my life would be without the internet--I wouldn’t have my shop, I wouldn’t have met many of my fibery friends, I wouldn’t be able to keep in touch as easily with my cross-country family, and I wouldn’t have been able to teach myself how to knit and spin. Most recently, I wouldn't have been able to so easily solve (or hope I've solved) a big problem for a loved one without advice from a kind person I've never met who happened to answer my forum post. Actually, I’m pretty darn grateful for the internet (and for Barbara, the wonderful stranger--thanks a million)!
How would your life be different (or better, or worse) without the internet?
How would your life be different (or better, or worse) without the internet?
Aug 6, 2008
I'm so excited! or, Maggie is a big nerd.
In the last few weeks, there's been some new construction near my office. I work in a sort of planned community type area--there's plenty of homes, some condos, office parks, and (now) retail. On my walk back to Big Man's office today (he works right across the street, about 15 min walk thanks to traffic laws, and we carpool in the morning and evening, and I walk to my office), I noticed a big sign announcing what was going in the new construction, a whopping 300 yards from my office:
We have what seems to be a billion of these bags in our kitchen.
HOORAY! Not that it's awfully far, but our current TJ's is about 7 miles away (all highway). This one will (I'm quite certain) be a daily stop now! I wonder if I could ask them to hurry it along...
The only thing that could be better is if they put a Whole Foods in within 10 miles of my house--I'd think I'd died and gone to food nerd heaven ;)
We have what seems to be a billion of these bags in our kitchen.HOORAY! Not that it's awfully far, but our current TJ's is about 7 miles away (all highway). This one will (I'm quite certain) be a daily stop now! I wonder if I could ask them to hurry it along...
The only thing that could be better is if they put a Whole Foods in within 10 miles of my house--I'd think I'd died and gone to food nerd heaven ;)
Aug 4, 2008
We're baaaaaack...
It was a lovely time! If you want to skip straight to the fiber, feel free--it's at the bottom of this post, after the video.
Our hotel was just outside Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, as you can see in this shot from our balcony.
It was too damn hot to go outside for much of anything except the pool, so that'll have to do. What, it couldn't have been *that* hot, you say? Take a look at the car's exterior thermometer reading (admittedly taken while just outside Baker CA, home of the world's tallest thermometer, but it was pretty dang hot in Vegas too!)
Like I said, a tad warmish. However, the pool was lovely, the food delicious, and we mostly stayed off the Strip. One thing I dragged Big Man to (as I do every time we go to Vegas) was the Bellagio Conservatory. It's so neat to see how they change it every season or holiday. I think I'd seen some of the elements before that they used in this particular installation, but lovely nonetheless. One thing to remember--just about everything in these pictures is made from some sort of organic material, like in the Rose Parade.
A replica of the HUGE sign on the Strip (the Cirque ad is made from beans and grains)
Well, this is behind the front desk (note all the poor folks waiting to check out). But equally gorgeous!
I was quite entranced with the miniature Bellagio--it was just perfectly fascinating how well they captured an enormous casino in such detail!
On to the fiber! I snapped a quick horrible shot of the wholesale yarns before they got stuffed into a box
If you like them, head over to the Farmers' Market on Martha's Vineyard! Or, contact me about how to get them without a plane ticket...
I took along some superwash merino sock yarn dyed by Ginny of FatCatKnits to occupy my time on the drive. No, I don't knit socks, but it was too pretty to pass up, so I had to find another use! It is being turned into a cowl for me to wear on my short walk to work during the "cold" winter months here in San Diego (though using a doubled strand of yarn, as I have little patience, and it's what the pattern calls for).
photographic proof I don't kill *everything* I try to grow! Just most things...
I think I'm going to rip out the bottom (I know it's difficult--but I've done it before, albeit carefully) and redo it so it has a more structured pattern, as the suggested pattern looks a bit haphazard. I also did the suggested changes in the cast-on and the increasing.
I also took some glamor shots of my new Ashford Country Spinner, which I put together after only a few coats of poly because I just couldn't wait anymore! Her name is Molly, as that's what a female mule is called, and she is as stubborn and strong as one (or seemed that way as I tried to begin spinning!). Please note how HUGE the bobbin and flyer are!
Molly and my neighbor's very inquisitive little kitten (who I worry about, as I've seen coyotes in our parking lot before, but that's another post)
ENORMOUS bobbin shown with 8oz of merino from FatCatKnits--it's going to have a total of 20oz before I'm done, and still only be just over half full!
I *told* you it was HUGE
The cat again, cause he's so dang cute (even if his name is Simba)
I think that's it for now. I've been bitten by the cleaning and organizing bug, so I don't know if I'll have anything exciting to write about for a little while (since I'm sure you won't find a reorganized bedroom or a new shower curtain quite as great as I do!)
Our hotel was just outside Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, as you can see in this shot from our balcony.
It was too damn hot to go outside for much of anything except the pool, so that'll have to do. What, it couldn't have been *that* hot, you say? Take a look at the car's exterior thermometer reading (admittedly taken while just outside Baker CA, home of the world's tallest thermometer, but it was pretty dang hot in Vegas too!)
Like I said, a tad warmish. However, the pool was lovely, the food delicious, and we mostly stayed off the Strip. One thing I dragged Big Man to (as I do every time we go to Vegas) was the Bellagio Conservatory. It's so neat to see how they change it every season or holiday. I think I'd seen some of the elements before that they used in this particular installation, but lovely nonetheless. One thing to remember--just about everything in these pictures is made from some sort of organic material, like in the Rose Parade.
Poppa Bear was taller than me!
A replica of the HUGE sign on the Strip (the Cirque ad is made from beans and grains)
Well, this is behind the front desk (note all the poor folks waiting to check out). But equally gorgeous!On to the fiber! I snapped a quick horrible shot of the wholesale yarns before they got stuffed into a box
If you like them, head over to the Farmers' Market on Martha's Vineyard! Or, contact me about how to get them without a plane ticket...
I took along some superwash merino sock yarn dyed by Ginny of FatCatKnits to occupy my time on the drive. No, I don't knit socks, but it was too pretty to pass up, so I had to find another use! It is being turned into a cowl for me to wear on my short walk to work during the "cold" winter months here in San Diego (though using a doubled strand of yarn, as I have little patience, and it's what the pattern calls for).
photographic proof I don't kill *everything* I try to grow! Just most things...I think I'm going to rip out the bottom (I know it's difficult--but I've done it before, albeit carefully) and redo it so it has a more structured pattern, as the suggested pattern looks a bit haphazard. I also did the suggested changes in the cast-on and the increasing.
I also took some glamor shots of my new Ashford Country Spinner, which I put together after only a few coats of poly because I just couldn't wait anymore! Her name is Molly, as that's what a female mule is called, and she is as stubborn and strong as one (or seemed that way as I tried to begin spinning!). Please note how HUGE the bobbin and flyer are!
Molly and my neighbor's very inquisitive little kitten (who I worry about, as I've seen coyotes in our parking lot before, but that's another post)
ENORMOUS bobbin shown with 8oz of merino from FatCatKnits--it's going to have a total of 20oz before I'm done, and still only be just over half full!
I *told* you it was HUGE
The cat again, cause he's so dang cute (even if his name is Simba)I think that's it for now. I've been bitten by the cleaning and organizing bug, so I don't know if I'll have anything exciting to write about for a little while (since I'm sure you won't find a reorganized bedroom or a new shower curtain quite as great as I do!)
Aug 1, 2008
Vegas baby!
Pretty, no? Well, that's not what our vegas is going to look like this weekend. Ours will look like this
with some of this thrown in
Big Man and I are taking a quick road trip to Vegas this weekend to celebrate both our first wedding anniversary (this past Monday) and my 28th birthday (today, actually). I'm only telling you it's my 28th so you'll believe it's my 29th next year!
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