Never Say Never

A recurring theme. You are never too old to learn. I swore I would never knit socks, until I knit a dozen pairs. I swore I would never learn to spin, until a friend spurred on an interest and we decided to make 2009 the year we found a spinning class. I do not mean stationary bicycles, or fitness, my friends.

Spinning wool is the name of this game. Spinning wheels, drop-spindle spinning, drafting, plying, nitty-notty, and roving are the vocabulary. More tools, more storage space needed. My goodness.

Opportunity knocked on our door with the class schedule email from our newest LYS, Clever Knits, in Vista. We signed up for the classes where we met Sarah the Spinner and fiber expert. Before you could say "drop-spindle spinner" 3x, we were! I had to overcome some frustration, go home and watch youtube videos and practice. I am now a spinner too. I am taking roving (washed and carded wool) and spining it into single strands of wool yarn. Then I ply two strands together. I can manipulate the twist and the consistency of my yarn. My yarn. I produced it all by myself.

When I am too tired to knit, I find spinning a soothing and fruitful pastime. Thank you Lyn for tapping into the unknown desire. Thank you Sarah for teaching ably and providing me the tools.


I have a goal to spin enough wool to knit up a special hat. I took some of Lyn's teal roving and plied it with my rich brown. The combo is so on trend with fashion this year. When the hat is done you will be the first to know...

Missed the point-But hit the mark!

This 2008 is going by too fast. I have such great intentions. Organize, simplify, gratify and frugalize. I'm pretty sure that last one is not a real word. As with all great intentions, there are detours along the way.

I have found my next UFO to complete. You see it pictured above. This one is a beauty. Classic Elite Alpaca DK that feels yummy. It was the Olympic challenge sweater that I started 2 years ago during the winter games. Again, as you can see from the photo it is 90% knit. I am convinced that I quit this one because the collar is finished with a sweet crochet accent. All who know me, know that I am the worse crocheter in the world of wool. Chain stitch, and a reluctant crab stitch, under duress. I set the goal on this one as a real challenge. Finish by Wednesday for show and tell at Knitwits. Heather has promised to teach me the stitch to complete the neckline. I have the skirt I bought to "go with" hanging in the closet. Now I have the perfect shoes to pull the whole look together. Stay tuned.

So the point is- use up the stash. I am going to repeat this. Use up the STASH. My stash is full of such beautiful stuff. Another way to say this is- DO NOT BUY ANYMORE YARN! So much easier to say, believe in, and promote, than practice. I wanted to look at the Manos del Uruguay at the LYS for an upcoming knit along. (More on that later.) The Manos was there and a washable substitute by Debbie Bliss. Dependable well known yarn friends.On the shelf sat a new and beautiful friend. Manos has a new silk and merino wool blend that is a fine DK weight in the prettiest colors. If you get a chance to feel it- please give it a squeeze. I bought just one skein (after a lot of self talk) and a pattern book that I have been coveting. This is a score. My goal is to complete enough projects to justify a "sweaters" worth of this yarn. How many projects? You tell me and I will take your responses under advisement...