Nowhere To Hide

Yup, what you're seeing is the 10 lb box from the Sheep Shed Studios overflowing with fiber. It seems to grow each day, like dough rising on one's kitchen counter. I've punched a little hole at the top so I could sneak a few pieces of roving out and I've even spun a few, and it's just wonderful! In fact, I just learned how to navajo-ply on the Hitchhiker wheel with one of the pieces - bar some back spin here and there though, I think I did a pretty good job.

Can't wait to navajo-ply on my two other wheels though - the Julia and the Fricke.

In the meantime, I've been busy with school (Physiology) and my own teaching schedule (Thai Herbal Massage and Thai Foot Reflexology). My massage practice is in there somewhere...at least I've relegated my practice to 3 days a week, which works out great. Last weekend I taught the herbal class, and this weekend, I'm teaching the reflexology class, complete with the Thai 'stick' used to press the points. One of the things I'm finding is that I really like teaching!

Where was I? Got side-tracked for a moment and had a brain-fart. Remember that old drab looking pink handspun yarn I won at the WWKIP day last June? Well, I started making a scarflette with it, and after finishing about 70% of it, found it too drab and too boring. So I frogged it and thought, maybe I should just donate the yarn?

Well, after re-hanking (is there such a word?) it, it looks fantastic! Much more fantastic than it looked back when it was in a center pull ball, that's for sure. Now I want to find a pattern to show off the amazing qualities of this yarn (I'm really totally pulling your leg here...). But really, it looks 100% better in a hank.


As for the Halloween swap that I joined, I'm still waiting for the specifics. So far, these are the rules:

On with the swap guidelines:

THE HALLOWEEN SHORT STORY SWAP (for the writers) Write a halloween short story and spin a yarn to go with it. A questionnaire is shown below and included your partner can decide if they want the yarn to be halloween themed or not. Include some goodies - I will also include food related questions on the questionnaire.

THE HALLOWEEN ART SWAP (for the visual artists) Create a piece of art that is halloween themed. This can be a painting, sculpture, altered art, jewellery piece, embroidery, etc. Also, spin a yarn to go with it. A questionnaire is shown below and included your partner can decide if they want the yarn to be halloween themed or not. Include some goodies - I will also include food related questions on the questionnaire.

THE HALLOWEEN RECIPE SWAP (for the bakers and chefs) Pick out a favourite recipe from your collection and send it to your partner. Also, spin a yarn to go with it. A questionnaire is shown below and included your partner can decide if they want the yarn to be halloween themed or not. Include some goodies - I will also include food related questions on the questionnaire.

TIMELINES:

TO TAKE PART - Comment in this thread by September 30, 2008 to participate. PLEASE INCLUDE WHICH SWAP YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN - EITHER SHORT STORY, RECIPE OR ART.

CONTACT YOUR PARTNER - Please do so by October 5, 2008. If you do not receive contact from your partner by this date - please let me know via a private message. I will then attempt contact with them. If we do not hear back by October 7, 2008 - the person who did not make contact will be eliminated from the swap and you will be reassigned a different partner.

SEND BACK YOUR QUESTIONNAIRE TO YOUR PARTNER - Please do so by October 8, 2008.

MAIL YOUR PACKAGE - Please do so by October 20, 2008. It is normal for the mail to take a couple of weeks depending on where the package is coming from so keep in mind you may receive your package after Halloween. I suggest that all participants keep their shipping receipts. I have found this is a good practice.

POST PICTURES OF YOUR PACKAGE: Please do so by November 25, 2008.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE:

a. name + address to send package to:
b. email:
c. website or blog:
d. would you like the yarn halloween themed, or no?
e. anything you “collect”
f. candy:yes/no, faves?
g. fibers you love/hate or any allergies to fibers/foods (anything that could arrive in a package)
h. knit, crochet, weave, other?
i. color loves + dislikes
j. description of the kinds of yarns you love, favourite traits
k. Music genres you enjoy
l. Are you new to either spinning or art yarn spinning?
m. favourite shopping destination
n. any other info that would help your partner make this package wonderful for you.
o. favourite foods

It's already Oct 2nd but only a few people have really signed on to this one. I think it is a difficult challenge...and of course, I had to pick it, right? But I'm sure it will be fun. I am a Halloween type of girl - not the dress-up-and-party-till-you-drop kinda girl (been there done that), but the oh-did-you-know-Halloween-falls-under-the-pagan-new-year? type of girl.

Well, we'll just wait and see what happens, and what contraption of a yarn I'll be spinning!


As if I had nothing better to do, I also joined the Spindlers' quarterly challenge! I love my Ghstworks 3.1 drop spindle and I also love the shetland roving that I got from Shunklies on Etsy a while back. And so I am planning on spinning the entire 4 oz on my drop spindle for this challenge. I'm calling this one "Emerald Isle" because once it's all spun on my spindle, the emerald green hues are just so divine!

Let's see...these are the details on this particular challenge (I tell ya - people take these things seriously!):

Calm/soft fibers/variegated but monochrome

Rules

Your yarn must be spun completely on a spindle. No plying on a wheel.
Your yarn must measure at least 200 yards in its completed form (eg. if plied the plied yarn must be 200 yards). There is no way to physically enforce this so we’re using the honor system here. Also, it’s fairly easy to tell in a picture what’s close to 200 yards and what’s not.
You must start and complete your yarn between September 1, 2008 and November 30, 2008 7pm EST. Check here for the proper eastern standard time.

Anyway, here are a few shots of our garden at the moment. Love the flowers! They'll be my inspiration when I set about dyeing the box of mill ends that is just too impossible to hide from Leo at its current state. Being someone who has no sense os fashion or interior design, I wonder how I'll do in the color department...?