Hello, fellow prisoners

He’s really done gone and lost it now.

I respect his military experience, and have great empathy for the effects his years of captivity have no doubt had on his life.  But I can’t respect the politician.  Nope.  And now it looks like the strain of it all is really wearing him down.

Lots of knitting is being done.  I remain sans camera battery, however.  I need to buy one before Rhinebeck.  I’ll get pictures up here before long, I promise.

Rhinebeck!!!!  Just over a week, and I’ll be there.  It’s that thought that gets me through the week.  Yeah.  I’m on call again.

Blech.

Gearing up for Rhinebeck

Maybe the title should read, “Purl’s list of greed”, or “How to piss away $500 in one afternoon.”  Either way, it would be accurate.

I am going to spread out the greed over two events, I think.  The Finger Lakes Sheep and Wool Festival is in Hemlock on September 20 and 21st.  I have already coerced a coworker into going with me to that one.  I am thrilled at this prospect, because A) it sort of looks like I have a friend, and B) I can buy a Bossie and maybe the Golding I lust after, thereby relieving the stress of finding them at Rhinebeck, along with everything else I want.  

(I want, I want, I want…to breathe in the autumn air…to see the leaves on a sunny afternoon…to wander around and pet soft, gentle creatures…to inhale the scent of the sheep barns (my mother, if she’s reading this, will likely being muttering, “that smells like sheep shit!”  I can’t help it; I love the smell, shit or not)…to get totally overwhelmed by color and sensation…and go home feeling simultaneously satisfied and wishing the day had lasted just a bit longer…to spend the evening pawing through my treasures, knowing they’ll bring me a whole year of happiness.)

Oh, yes, and the other rationale for spreading out the greed is that my mother will be none the wiser about the spindles I pick up at Hemlock. She already thinks I’m nuts; no sense in worsening that sentiment.

Here’s the spindle from Tom Golding that I’d like to purchase.  

I looked at it several times last year, but for some reason chose a plain ring spindle with an ebony whorl. Don’t get me wrong; I love the spindle I have.  

 

But I love the new tree spindle, too, and must have it.

Bosworth spindles are another breed.  I put myself on the waiting list for a Moosie.  I love, love, love the idea of a Moosie.  The antlers of moose that are either shed (do they shed their antlers?) or found on deceased animals found in the wild are carved into spindles. I believe the Bosworth’s when they assure me that no creatures whatsoever are harmed in their endeavor.   Rather, a naturally occurring thing of beauty is recycled into a useful tool.  I like to think the spirit of the moose lives on.  Anyway, this special spindle takes a long time to manifest itself.  First they have to wait for the right season to find the antlers to begin with.  Then it takes Jonathon a good bit of time to fashion the material into well balanced spindles.  So, my expected date of shipment is somewhere around May of 2009, which is really nice, as that is my birthday month, and I can rationalize nearly any purchase then.

Here.  I lifted the Bosworth’s photo of their moosie off the website.  I’m sure they won’t mind, particularly if I include the link to get your very own moosie.

My daughter returns to Oswego on Tuesday, so today we’re spending the day together, and I can’t wait.  We’re going to American Eagle so she can find some (more) jeans for school.  We’re going to Verizon so she can check out the new cell phones, because her contract is up for renewal.  We’re going to Sephora so we can play with all the goodies.  Then we’re going to see the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and then we’re going to California Rollin for a sushi dinner.

Things I’ve finished since I posted last:

1) a washcloth.

Things I’m working on, still.

1) Blue/green Noro silk garden light clapotis.  (Dear lord, will it ever end?)

Things I started:

1) My so-called scarf

2) Assorted Solstice gifts which cannot be shared.

Hey, I’m really liking Joe Biden for VP.

I’m also liking this sentiment. Yeah.  

So there.

Blogging:1, Rhinebeck:3

Ah. A week’s vacation.

I knew I’d need a rest after the chaos that is Rhinebeck.

I also knew I wanted to publish a blog, but never found the time in those minimal hours between work and sleep.

So. Here’s my blog. My name is Ann. I am 48 years old in body, and about 29.5 years in mind and spirit. I live and work in Rochester, NY with a large gray tomcat, who you’ll meet in a minute. I have two college aged kids and a boyfriend who orbits around my moon (light side vs. dark side) on a regular basis.

Vacation goals. Blog. Check.

Rhinebeck. Check. Oh, yes. Check. Check! Check!

Rhinebeck is full of fiber producing creatures. This lovely llama had a bit of the drama in her. Note her haughty posturing and disdainful expression. I was fearful of being spit at, so kept my distance.

And the sheep. The sheep! They were all clean and fluffy, with none of the usual caked on sheep poop/grass/mud stuff going on on their butts. Nor were they recognizable as the usual dumb variety of farm sheep. These creatures appeared to have functioning independent brain cells. No group think for these guys!

Despite my less than glowing opinion of the relative intelligence of farm animals, let me assure you that I am an animal lover. I have my very own animal, even. His name is Harrison. Harrison P. Cat. Sometimes known as H.P. Cat.

Dallas had J.R. Ewing, the library has J.D. Salinger, and I have H.P. Cat.

A fiber artist/weaver at Rhinebeck, Gloria Scannell, fiberart@mhonline.net made wonderful catnip mice stuffed with this absolutely primo ‘nip her mother grows in the garden. Harrison found it a fine diversion to an otherwise boring Tuesday afternoon.

Anyway. Rhinebeck. It was my third New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. (And this is my first time blogging, hence the title of today’s post. Clever, aren’t I?)

THE HAUL.

Here’s a listing of what I got.

1) 2oz ball of llama fiber from an animal named Luna. Who could NOT buy something that came from a llama named Luna?

2) 4oz of wool/merino blend roving from Wellspring Farm (same vendor of Luna’s fiber above), and a cloud blue ball of wool/mohair roving, also from Wellspring.

3) A Golding’s spindle! This one is 2.6 oz., made from ebony and walnut. Perfection.

4) A much smaller/lighter spindle from I’m-sorry-I-don’t-remember-where-and-I-misplaced-the-tag.

5) 4 skeins of Brooks Farms wool/silk for a Clapotis. The color…oh, well…here…have a look.

6) a skein of Decadent Fibers super bulky in all these wild rainbow colors that knit up like stained glass. (I knit a scarf. All it needs is a good blocking and some black wool fringe.)

7) As one who can use all the healing properties she can get, a smoky quartz ring to keep me grounded in reality, and a flourite ring to make my spiritual self soar…

A teddy bear made of fur from a llama named Annie. Annie the llama is quite funny looking, with brown and black and gray spots, so there was no way in hell I could leave that bear made from her funny looking self on the shelf — because I’m “Annie” sometimes, too, and more than a little funny looking. Her fur is a reminder that even us Annie’s of the world are beautiful creatures, indeed.

9) My mom bought me a pewter pin in the shape of a ram, because I “needed” a sheep pin to commemorate the weekend with.

Note those two spindles. I just took a spindling class from Village Yarns in E. Rochester last week. My first skein of yarn turned out like this.

I put the Golding spindle to good use. My singles are getting more consistent, don’t you think? Harrison is impressed with his human’s burgeoning spinning skills, too. See his gray ear flicking at the bottom of the picture.

Tomorrow, some WIP’s, and thoughts on blogging and the new breed of socialization it brings.

And maybe some more control of Typepad. Though not bad for a first day blogging…