Okay, I have been silent for awhile, but I had to break the silence to let you know about the wonderful spinning app for your iPhone or iPod touch that has just been released in the iTunes app store.   When I found out that  Michael Golden of Ashland Sky was adding a spinning tool to his already impressive set of fiber apps  (iKnit Needle Sizer and KnitGauge), I knew I just had to get on board!   I was lucky enough to get to be a beta tester for this app, and I can tell you right now, it is worth every penny and much more!!

iSpin Tool Kit is a combination of  a technically accurate spinning reference and an assortment of tools, including ruler, wpi tool, twist angle gauge, tpi gauge and numerous calculators.  My favorites are the wpi tool, twist angle gauge and the niddy noddy converter !!  The tpi and twist angle gauges have the option of both light and dark backgrounds for easy viewing.  The app is flawlessly executed and the seamless interface is a joy to use.  Run, don’t walk to the app store and nab an iSpin Tool Kit of your own!!

Now that the parents have seen them, I can show what I have been up to.  By the way, the baby is going to be a girl!  I have plenty of projects queued up on Ravelry.

Or, you are probably thinking unexpected post since it has been so long. I have jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, and posting to a blog seems a bit redundant these days.

However, a recent generous gift by one of my husband’s coworkers prompts me to show it off.

At least 29 years old, made and signed by Jerome Rooney, Littleton, MA, I give you (drum roll)… the newest spinning wheel in my collection…

A Country Craftsman in mint condition that spins like a dream!! It has a 24 inch drive wheel. It’s drive band is even in great conditon.

It only has one bobbin. Fortunately, the bobbins are still being made (as are other parts), even though the wheels themselves are not.  I have 3 on order, but they are currently backordered.

I feel as if I have won the lottery!

But not on the blog.  The kids read this from time to time, and I want them to be surprised.

But go to my notebook on Ravelry.  If you don’t know or can’t find my username over there, drop me a line.

3 sweaters and a work in (slow) progress are over there.

It’s Spring, and it is shaping up to be a delightful one.  This has been one long year and a half.  (Did we even have a spring last year? … with all that has gone on, it is sort of hard to remember.

Good things, great things have been happening lately.

Bill has recovered enough to return to work (2 weeks under his belt now), and is gradually making progress to full recovery.

Great things have been happening on my work front.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens next!!

And, I saved the big tease for last…  Here is what I am getting to buy/ work on lately.

Yes, yes, tis true.  I get to knit for a wee one.  I have been sitting on this news for a week, but did not want to go public with it until after our girl had been to the doctor and gotten the official confirmation and a due date.  (December 1)  So, now we have a baby to look forward to, and I have graduated from just another old knitter to a knitting grandma-to-be!!

I have been through an especially dry season for knitting,  but am happy to say I have emerged from this to the other side at long last.   I had started a laceweight scarf of Misti Alpaca, but lace knitting was not a very good match with what was going on in my life, what with Bill’s surgery and recovery (he’s going back to work this week, so he has made great progress from where he was immediately post op).  My mind finally calmed enough to finish the project:

Blocking was a bit difficult, but it surely ended up pretty, or so I think! The pattern is Seafoam (can be found on Ravelry) by my friend, Ruth, and is really quite easy, if you don’t have eleventy-zillion things running around in your head to distract you.  It’s lighter than a feather and tremendously soft!!  I am glad I made it.

I just finished an awesome shawl made from some of my handspun merino/tencel as well.  I have not blocked it yet nor taken a decent picture, so that will have to wait for another post.

Anyone growing up in the 50s and 60s, living in the South and who did any car traveling will likely remember being on the lookout for those rare, but highly sought after, Stuckey’s signs.  A chance to get out of the car, get some candy or something else to eat, a hot dog, maybe even some breakfast, use the restroom, and most important of all to a kiddo under 10…. TOYS!!!  Once in awhile, though, if you were traveling through Georgia or South Carolina, you would be fooled by a pretender to the kid-mecca, Rawl’s.  I would always be so mad every time I saw one of those signs.  The main reason was they used the same color scheme and a similar font to the Stuckey’s signs.  My hopes gotten up sky high only to be dashed.  Rawl’s did NOT have TOYS, or not that I know of.  They most likely had heavenly candy…  Who knows.  Anyhow, for the first time since we have been living here, I notice on US 17 about 8 miles south of our house and about 2 miles north of Woodbine, GA, this hiding in the woods.

How could I have traveled this road numerous times and NOT noticed it?  Beats me.  Some research indicated that the Rawl’s factory was located in Woodbine.  Now, how about that?  The building also still stands, but no vestiges remain of  its former occupation.

Funny thing is, the same week I took this picture, I also passed by Stuckey’s original headquarters in Eastman, GA, now occupied by the Standard Candy Company.  See, that competition is still in place, I guess.

Switching gears, here are my yarn singles from the Fiber Candy.

Here is a skein of it, 3 plied.  Truly now yarn candy.  I spun it semi woolen and fulled it and whacked it around to stabilize the neps in the yarn and to open up its woolen character.

The turquoise/green is more of the same fiber in an alternate colorway.

If you are interested in tracking the fiber I dyed, here’s what’s going on with it now. I haven’t used the green, purple or turquoise yet, but I made the warm colors into Crazy Batts – the dyed corriedale, some mohair locks and some silk noil.

I may go play with the cool colors this afternoon!

Also, if you’re on Facebook, check out the new application I made: Send Beach Stuff! I figured we needed some beach fun to cheer up the winter.

I bought an electric food warmer/buffet server on sale after Christmas.

Setting it on high is the perfect way to dye wool or yarn.

Case in point….

This was part of a white Corriedale fleece.

I think I will have fun carding all of this into crazy batts.

Maybe it is because I have only been spinning since 2002, but I never got the concept of putting yarn against a penny for reference.

Case in point.  Here is a sample of 3 ply merino sock yarn I am working on spinning:

Yarn looks humongous here.

Bet you think I zoomed in to get this shot.

HA, fooled you.  The first picture was actually taken against a very tiny penny gotten from my nantucket basket charm.  Here’s the yarn against both:

So, what I really want to know is why don’t people put something against the yarn that is more the shape of yarn, such as:

Angel hair pasta with 3 ply yarn side by side.  Now, that’s better!

Glad I got that off my chest.