The View from the Couch

 Now that I have gotten all the business tax stuff into spread sheets and ready to go I now have totes taking over the living room.  I have been pulled in 14 different directions lately and just haven't had the time to post or much else for that matter.

This is what I have staring at me in my living room that needs to be photographed.....

 Yarn and fiber fiber and yarn and of course the silk hankies.  Then there are the extras like the kids books, stuffed sheep, drop spindles, angelina, stitch markers, and other fun accessories

I have a lot of work ahead of me to get it all photographed while I try and keep up with the household, take care of the kids, do the mounds of laundry that have piled up, spin yarns to make OOAK items for photo props and so on and so forth.

Well the dryer has called my name yet again.  If I don't keep up on this laundry thing it will swallow me up alive.  I have so much to do and can't let that happen.  Here's hoping that I can take a break this evening for some fiber fun.

Seriously?!

Last week was crazy. I was in and out of the ER. The first time was for the pressure behind my left eye. CT scan showed nothing, trip to the referred ophthalmologist showed nothing other than I light eyes in the back. He said it was weird and that it was like having brown hair, but blond eyes. Umm o.k. He believed it could be sinus pressure and I should go back on the allegra, but as a precaution put me on steroid drops for that eye.

I used the steroid drops as prescribed then on Thursday as I was helping James with his school work my right arm and hand went numb. Before that I had to pick some stuff up off the floor and got really sick feeling. I sat down to try and relax and see if maybe I was just holding my arm wrong and it had gone to sleep. Once I sat down I had a weird shaky sick feeling. I waited a while to see if the numbness would subside, but it didn't. Sent a msg to Kevin and called a local Dr office since we still hadn't found a Dr yet. I was advised to head to the ER. So another call was made to the MIL and I waited for Kevin to come get me as I wasn't about to drive like that.

Another CT, an EKG, 6 viles of blood work and 6 more hours in the ER came up with nothing! In a way I am glad that nothing was found, but then it makes me feel like I am crazy. My arm was numb all that day and you could physically tell that the hand and fingers on that side were colder than the left. They couldn't give me any answers and I was told to followup with our GP. While I was at the ophthalmologist I asked the ladies there if they knew of any Drs. I was told to call a place in Lawrenceburg and they are taking new patients! Whoo Hoo! Down side is I can't be seen until Mat 17, since I am a new patient and they only see 2 new patients a day. They were booked that far out! I am just happy at this point to have found a Dr.

I stopped taking the steroids as they were giving me a bad chemical taste in the back of my throat and burning it. Since I quit taking them the numbness has subsided. I remember having a bad reaction to steroids when I was younger and I had to take them for my asthma. The Dr at the ER said it could be back problems or a pinched nerve. I just wonder if it could have been an allergic reaction to the steroids? If you know me you know that I can't have any normal reaction to meds.

In between all this I was filling out my order for yarn to dye. :) Guess what came today?! Oh yeah some yarn. I still have another order to put in for roving and more yarn. I should do that in the next day or so in hopes that it will all be here for next week. Then the madness will start with the marathon dyeing. I need to get it all done and dry for my first show of the season in May. The Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival! I can't wait as I had to miss it last year and really wish I could have gone.

Amongst everything else that has been going on I have done some spinning and knitting of you can believe it. It is so nice to be able to spin colorful fun rovings into bright beautiful yarns.




These colors made me smile. :)



Oh by the way I see that people are reading the blog. See "purl of wisdom" below here? Yeah that is where you click to leave a comment or "purl of wisdom". :) I do like to hear what others have to say.

So Much and So Little Time

I have so much going on to tell you all, but so little time to get it done.

These are the topics that I want to talk about hopefully in the next few days....

Ky Wool Festival
Homeschooling
Contests - yes that is right I will be having 2 of them - call a buddy bring a friend. ;)
Knitting
Spinning - Yes I was able to do some at the Ky Wool Festival - oh how I missed it.
and a few others that I can't think of now. Maybe I should talk about lack of sleep and the inability to think straight?.

So sorry that the past few posts haven't had any photos. I do have photos to share, just need to get them off the camera and onto the computer.

Well I have to run the babe should be up soon and I really want to head to bed. I am T-I-R-E-D.

Hope to have a post with pictures the next time. :)

Friday Fun

Friday I headed over to my friend Susan's store Ball and Skein. Kevin was off work, so I took the day off and went to hang out and do some spinning.

Let me tell you how freaking cool her shop is. It is in the old jail in Germantown, Ohio. It might just be me, but I love things like that. I love the fact that the town has kept it and not knocked it down for development.

Let me give you a little tour of the shop.

ETA: Here is her address for those of you that seem interested. ;)

Ball & Skein
11 North Cherry Street
Germantown, Ohio 45327

(937) 855-3211 - if you go tell her I sent you. :)

Here is the front of the building. There are windows on three sides of the front, like a sun room. I so dig the natural light.
(As always, click for bigger)


How could you resist the sheep door mat? After seeing that you just have to go in and see what else is waiting for you.


This is one of the things that you see when you first walk in. This is the old front of the jail house. I love the windows. There are at least 4 of them like this.


Here is a view out toward the front window. There are all kinds of things like this in the shop. You feel like you step back in time. It is so warm and cozy.


Another toward the front. She has yarn and books in the cute cabinet. There is goodness overflowing everywhere.


Not only is there yarn, but there is roving and fleeces! Check out how she has some of it displayed. How cool is that?!


Take a look at the models for the sweaters. Click to make it bigger. Is that not too funny?! I loved it. I was laughing so hard when I saw them. Plus Susan knit both of those sweaters! On the left is a nice selection of Cascade 220. On the right is a really good selection of Fleece Artist yarn and roving. She told me that more is on its way, including their sock yarn.


Here is more roving. In the back I believe is the Green Mountain Spinnery yarn. Look at the jail door. I love it. After Susan slammed her thumb in it, I don't think she likes it too much any more. It has been safely tucked back behind a chair and more yarn and roving so that no one else gets hurt. So how is that thumb Susan?

If anyone is in the Dayton area you might recognize the cup on the table. Yep that is from Marion's Pizza. They have some seriously yummy pizza so we had to indulge.


Here is Opal's Neon sock yarn. All the colors are so fun and bright. There is a black fleece under it, but I am not sure what it is.


I was really good and restrained myself. I only bought 2 Fleece Artist Blue Faced Leicester rovings and some wool scour to wash some fleece. I couldn't choose just one color so they both had to come home with me. I also got the latest Spin Off while I was there.


All in all it was a nice day. Friends, fiber, and good food. What more could you ask for?. We will have to do it again some day soon.

Spinning Content

ETA: I am looking for the title of a book that someone mentioned on their blog about spinning and the different types of fibers and how they spin up. They said that it was a really good book. I can't seem to find the post and for the life of me I can't remember who it was. I have been looking back at old blog posts, but I can't find it, or I am missing it some where. If you are the one that posted it or know what I am talking about, could you please let me know. I think it would make a wonderful reference book for me. Thanks!!

First I would like to introduce to you my Kromski Sonata in walnut finish. I have yet to give her a proper name. I want to work with her for a while and get a feel for what she should be called. If a name happens to strike you I am open for suggestions. Sorry that the picture isn't the greatest. It was 2 am when I took it and I was packing it all up before I headed off to bed.


As I suspected, James LOVES it. He wants to play with it and make it go "round and round". So she has to stay in her protective bag during the day and is only allowed out at night after he has gone to bed.

Below is my first mini skein that I spun and plyed on Sunday. It is wee. But I was pretty well pleased with it. Especially for my first try.


I was given this roving with my wheel just for practice so I can get the hang of the treadles and just the technique in general. I was warned that it wasn't the best to spin with, but for practice it was better to screw it up than a really nice roving. I have to say that I really don't like spinning it. It is rough, sticky and there is quite a bit of VM and lumps in it. I am getting better at spinning it, but I still don't care for it. I plan on spinning it all up for the practice and then moving on to something nicer.


This is what I have done so far. I am over half way through the ball of roving and I have a bobbin pretty darn full. As you can see it isn't the best spinning job in the world, but I am learning. I really want to get something with color the next time. Something bright and spring or summery.


Thank you to all of you that listed recommendations of roving. I plan to keep a running list so that I will have a reference to look at when ordering some to spin and to stock in my stash. Would any one have any books that they could recommend as well? I would appreciate any info that you may have.

Sorry it took so long to show you what I have been doing. With the computer only working in Safe Mode I was a little concerned if it would even recognize the camera. Not only have there been computer problems, but Kevin started his night job this week. We see him for a max of 3 hours a day. He comes home form his day job for a few hours then heads back out to the night job, then from the night job he goes directly to his day job where he gets a few hours of sleep in the truck. So it has been exhausting for him and I have been very busy picking up any and all slack around the house. Next week shouldn't be as bad, he will be only working 3 or 4 nights. James has not been taking his normal afternoon naps either. So I have had no breaks to even sit down and type. So it has been a bit of a whirl wind around here. At night I have been sitting down with the spinning wheel and spinning just to calm down from all the days chaos. Hopefully things will start to calm down and we will get into a groove again.

I really wanted to go to a fiber show in Troy on Saturday, but I have a bridal shower to go to and I made a commitment to that first. It would figure that they are both at the same time too. If you go think of me and if you see any blue and yellow roving look at it and say "ahhh Tonia would love that". =)

So Excited!!!!

First I would like to thank you all for your kind words about the events that happened with my Mom's dog. I knew deep in my heart that we did the right thing, but it is always nice to hear others that can reassure you, especially when the doubt starts to creep up again. Thanks!! You are all so wonderful.

I am so Excited!! Tomorrow I am going with Susan to Fiberworks in Beavercreek. I have been there once before about a month ago and I have also met Arlene (the owner) many years ago when I got my drop spindles, carders, combs, etc. She is such a sweet lady. If you are ever in the area, stop by her shop. She has an amazing selection of books, yarn for hand knitters and loads of things for spinners.

Speaking of spinners. My main reason for going tomorrow is this.......



That is the Kromski Sonata! I will be getting mine tomorrow!! The one that I am getting is of the darker walnut finish, but I couldn't find a picture of it. This will be my first spinning wheel. I am so excited. I feel like a child at Christmas. I will finally be a spinner and be able to spin my own yarn (of course with lots of practice). I already know how to use a drop spindle, but I am not sure how that translates into a wheel. I hope that it will be an easy transition for me.

Now I have a question for all you spinners out there (and non-spinners if you have any ideas). Where do you like to get your fibers from. I know that there are a ton of people out there that dye roving and all that fun stuff, so what are your favorite places to get your roving, fleece or what not?