Most of the stuff on my Etsy site has free shipping today!! (Yes, now including the veils!)
www.etsy.com/shop/selkieB

And a couple other wonderful sites (and they go GREAT together!):

www.etsy.com/shop/thedragonflyworkshop
www.etsy.com/shop/yarnwench

Oh yeah... and these are fantastic! :

www.etsy.com/shop/beadfreaky

I know, I haven't posted much of substance in ages... there's a lot going on but not a lot for public consumption I'm afraid. Busy as heck - mostly in good ways.. Speaking of -

On Etsy - Black Friday through Cyber Monday there are huge SALES! Handmade stuff by lots of cool folks at (for the most part) excellent prices. I get to include myself in this bunch! I'm not knocking the price of my items down (they are inexpensive enough) but I AM doing Free Shipping on all Red, Green, or Winter-themed scarves (not the veils though). I don't have tons and tons up, but there are a few things and I need to sell a few more in order to stock even more!

www.etsy.com/shop/selkieB


There is another issue here... My son lost the $250 gig he *needed* so he can go to New Orleans with the school Orchestra and Band - know why? Because the school Orchestra Concert is the same night as the *required* Dress Rehearsal for the gig. *DOH!* We haven't got enough money to cover the whole trip and he's really really upset, needs more gigs really BADLY. So this money, paltry as it is, is going for restock and putting money towards that trip. He needs gigs too - so if you are in the Twin Cities and know ANYONE who would need or want an awesome young French horn player for any holiday stuff... even just caroling in a hallway at a party - please leave me a note?? I think his rates would be quite reasonable. Thank you... things here are rather tighter than they ought... and it could get worse, but see the first sentence....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/selkieB

And about time *whew!*

There will be more soon... deep purples, greens, and blues all sold out before I could get them up!

http://elisem.livejournal.com/1528096.html

Elise is having a sale! Pretties abound!

Trip to Taos was wonderful! Temps in the 70's and a sky so azure blue... The spa was fab, soaked in the various ones all morning and had a late lunch of linguine with a little pesto, tons of garlic, and loads of different wild mushrooms. There will be pictures soon - really!

Worried, very worried, for mystree . She actually has H1N1 and she is having trouble shaking it. I have encouraged her to go back to her doc because it's starting to get into her chest. So send love to "Mom"...

May a bushel of leaves fall upon your head or a tender bud bloom forth in your hand - Blessings to you this Autumn (and Spring!)

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY jenett !!

C




Click to see larger...




Ok, I have been instructed to explain what this is exactly and what the ribbons are for... gah.

This is that shawl from Hell uh... I mean the Knit Along shawl I did last year called Dem Fisher sin Fru (from the fairy tale The Fisherman's Wife, the one with the talking fish who grants wishes) by Monika Eckert.  I spun all the yarn. The blueish color blended with flash (you honestly can't see it here but if you go back to last October I think I posted pics then in better light) is fiber from Abby Franquemont and the black/white it is plied with is from some "apology" fiber I got from "The Redhead" which some of you may know of from one of the spinning communities on here and about the horrible situation of a contest that got all messed up...anyway... I spun and knit this blasted thing. It's HUGE! Wider than my armspan... you don't want to know how many stitches at the bottom... it's scary!

I like to wear it. I got bullied encouraged into entering it into the State Fair. 2eclipse helped me re-block it, much sharper than the first time because it stayed damp instead of drying as fast as we could pin it.

So I took 1st in my class, got a special award from Northern Lights Spinning Guild (*giggle* insider comment there), special award from Needlework Unlimited, a special award from Thursday at 4 which is a knit group of Panera Bread, and I took Sweepstakes.  Ok. There. Now I don't have to do this again, RIGHT??!!?? I'm off the hook - Students'
Turn!!

All but 6 OUNCES of the 5 POUNDS spun and plied... I'm sure my Daddy will like his sweater :) Not to mention that 4oz of laceweight I did...

Will she make it???

Not looking likely... if I had all day to tease and card I could! I could spin it all onto the Champs Elysees but still wouldn't have time to get it plied - I need ONE MORE DAY! *laugh*  I'll have to steal some time this coming week to finish that last nurdle. But I WILL see just how much of it I can get done tomorrow!

4 oz "Chalcedony" superwash merino from Spirit Trail Fiberworks, Navajo (chain) plied, 20 wraps per inch, lace weight - light fingering. Spun last 2 oz and plied the whole lot. 372 yds.

Huge extremes in the Pyrenees and on my wheel...



Dave heads back to Kenosha tonight... hope to make it to Como Park yet and see the butterfly exhibit... then grill some chicken before he goes.

Dave comes home tonight (very late...) for the weekend. It's a short visit, just until Sunday eve... but better than nothing!

Miss my husband!

Plied up yesterday's bobbin and spun up enough for another...

Today, I spun up a bobbin-full, but had to card a bit as I went at the end... 

Here's progress as of yesterday:

You know... I seriously thought I'd posted here already - I have to post these pics in so many place!!

Today was fast and furious!  Started by plying the bobbin I spun yesterday, then spun and plied a second, AND started another bobbin!

Pre-Race pic showing my goals for Le Tour this year: Navajo ply 4+lbs of the gray Corriedale fleece at 9 wraps/inch (aran wt for you knitters out there!) and the blue on the chair is some beautiful superwash merino to spin up on one of our "special race" days, usually it's a high mountain stage. I'm in as a Climber this year, not a Sprinter, going for my goal not for distance and also on Team Shimmy-Chamois.



And for Stage 1 today - in beautiful Monaco:

A perfect approx 60g skein (about 96yds PLIED - so for you non-spinners multiply by 3 to figure yardage spun today + once more for the plying for total yardage treadled). It's right on gauge for my Dad's sweater!



Now I get to do this every day for three weeks excepting 2 "rest" days....

Le Tour de France and Le Tour de Fleece start in just a few minutes!  I'm ready to treadle!!

dave_b has a job!!  Now... it's not that easy - it's in Kenosha Wisconsin - better than a 6 hour commute. Needless to say studio apartment hunting is underway. If you know anyone around Racine/Kenosha who has knowledge we could use it!  I'll be staying here. We have a lot of work to do on the house before we could ever sell it (and we like it!) and my son has two more years of high school. Just no point. He'll be making a fair bit less, but what can ya do?  If something better comes along we'll cross that bridge!  Right now, it's a good company so we'll take what we can get. They are also used to folks from out-of-town so have arrangements for consecutive 10hr days over two weeks with a 4 day weekend in between!  Besides, it's not so far that in a pinch or an emergency he can't get here fast. 

I'll miss him horribly!  One short weekend and one long a month... I'll have to go visit him too.  At least I can working for myself!

I've been married to dave_b  ten years today! Heck, a bunch of you out there remember betting on whether or not we'd actually do it being at the time on opposite sides of the Pond!

Fun anniversary! Got to spend the morning at Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival and picked up a gorgeous silver-gray Corridale fleece which I am splitting with jenett ... it's really lovely, the sheep was coated and the fleece beautifully skirted, and a fantastic price!  Spent near an hour in the tub with the jets on when I got home, I was pretty chilled and achy. Then Dave and I went and saw Star Trek (a really enjoyable experience) and had dinner, sorta slumming it, at Ruby Tuesday - hey, great salad bar!

Dear Elise the wondrous jeweler is having a huge sale!

http://elisem.livejournal.com/1473318.html

Go look! Truly gorgeous stuff!