dreams

I had a dream this morning right before I woke.  No, Martin Luther King wasn’t there.  I had a job in a place that did sound mixing and had huge boards of electronic equipment with miles of wires and cords underneath.  A woman sat down at one of these stations and had snow on her boots.  She crossed her legs and her boot began dripping on the cords on the floor.  There were sparks and suddenly a flood erupted from the equipment and water poured from the equipment and all over the cords.  All the people remained seated and went on chatting and working.  It all seemed very calm and normal and I was the only person who seemed disturbed by any of it.  Then I was in another room with people surrounding me singing “Happy Birthday”, and someone I can’t remember gave me a gift.  I unwrapped the gift and was thrilled to discover it was a page-a-day Far Side cow-lender, a calender all about cows.  (no, I don’t particularly like cows).  I was tremendously excited about the cow-lender and rushed to my desk to set it up and admire it.  Then I suddenly got concerned.  I only worked at this job two days per week (same as my real life job), and how could I ever truly enjoy all the pages in this lovely calender?

 Then I woke up.  I have no idea if this dream means anything.  I can guess at why I dreamed about certain things though.  Since the snow and ice storms a few weeks ago I’ve been ranting at everyone to leave their wet shoes at the back door so we all don’t get our socks wet stepping in their puddles.  There’s the water part of the dream explained.  I think I understand the cow aspect as well.  Last night I was pondering the fact that my sister didn’t get a calender for her birthday over the weekend.  For her January birthday we used to buy her a cowlender every year when she was obsessed with cows.  (she is now obsessed with martinis, rum, and pirates.  WTF? I told you we were different.  Her favorite xmas gift was a rum cabinet from her DH.  Whatever! You know we’re a piggy American society when people are starving in our own country and we’re buying cabinets for our rum.)  I have no idea why I dreamed of the sound mixing studio.  Dreams are so bizarre.  The funniest thing about my dreams is that my DH rarely appears in my dreams, although I often dream of handsome strangers, old boyfriends, or male acquaintences.  I attribute that to the fact that I have nothing to ‘work out’ with DH, all is well and nothing is unresolved.  I don’t believe dreams really have meanings such as a dream about a king cobra eating you alive represents your boss’s power over you and how you feel repressed in your work.  Dreams for me seem to be more of a mix of the previous days thoughts of people or objects coming out in a story.  I think oftentimes when people appear it’s because I have an unresolved issue, but sometimes for no apparent reason I dream of an old classmate I barely knew.  I think dream journals are a great idea, but I’ve never been able to stick with it.  I think sometimes we dream of things that come true later in one way or another.  Unfortunately for me, by the time it’s come true I’ve forgotten most of the details of the dream. 

One thing about my dreams, I notice that my dreams are much more vivid and exciting, and I can remember them better if I take my daily vitamin and an omega 3 before bed.  I don’t know if  it’s one or the other causing it, or maybe both, but I have always taken them together.  There’s my tip for the day.  I’ll send you the bill.

Knitwise   I’m disgruntled with the Sister Socks and have shelved them for now.  I can’t bear to rip the five inches I’ve knit and yet I can’t continue because they’re bad.  So they sit.  Instead I’ve had an incredibly fun time knitting myself an obnoxiously long scarf from baby alpaca yarn by Plymouth.  I started it on Tuesday when I was home with sick kids.  (all are better and fine now, just the respiratory/fever/achey flu.)  It’s so yummy and wonderful and I’m finishing it today.  Photos to come.  A young person at work said to me yesterday , “if I buy the yarn will you knit me one? I’ll pay you.”  I just hem hawed around and she got distracted and wandered away.  If I did that, my knitting would be a job.  And I’d want to get fairly compensated for it then.  I don’t like this girl in the least, she’s very immature and annoying and talks incessantly about her boyfriend she’s shacking up with.  So since I wouldn’t just do it because I liked her,  I’d have to be paid, a lot.  If it was a hat I’d do it.  Long scarves are beastly and boring and a true gift of love, as are socks.

On with the day.  Laundry, dishes, cleaning, de-cluttering, then knitting and spinning.  The day is just not long enough. 

Before my kids were all in school I told a friend with school age kids, “I cannot wait to have the entire day to myself!”  She warned, “you wouldn’t believe how fast the day goes.  I don’t get half the things done I need to and then it’s time to pick them up.”  I thought she was nuts or maybe she just wasn’t trying or had an addiction I didn’t know about.  The entire day from 8:30–3:30 and she couldn’t get much done?    Okay, she was entirely right.  I can barely get the essentials done and then I look at the clock and it’s 30 minutes before the school day ends and I haven’t even showered.  I wonder if it has something to do with blogging.  Hmmm…

Sock Snafu?

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I’m talking about socks again.  There’s the disclaimer.

I started the sister socks yesterday (6 stitch pattern rom Sensational Socks) and I’m not diggin’ the look of them.  Maybe it’ll all work out fine, I dunno.  But the cuff is wider than the leg and it looks very not right.  I’ve followed the pattern for the cuff which is k1p1, normally I do k2p2 so that could be the problem.  I’m teetering on the edge of ripping this sock and starting over with the normal cuff.  However, the leg is very stretchy so I’m thinking it may all be fine and I might just be freaking for nothing.  And for those of you wondering, yes, I did wrap up the two balls of yarn and the beginning of a sock so Sis would have something to open.  I also gave her soap and some handmade hemp bracelets.  She seemed fine with it.  The bummer is that by the time she receives the wool socks she’ll wish I had knitted her a nice lace halter.

Whatever, it’s a sock. War is killing hundreds of people every day, AIDS and cancer are killing even more, people are starving all over the world right now, kids are being abducted and tortured, thousands have no power in their homes from storms of previous weeks, homeless are on the streets and global warming is threatening our very existance.  Here I sit knitting socks.   Yes, I see the big picture.  But there’s a reason why most humans have blinders on.  I’d be a basket case if I was actively trying to change any of these world problems.  As a La Leche League leader for the past five years I have worked as a volunteer in my community to inform and encourage women who are interested in breastfeeding.  I’ve learned from this experience that people enjoy having blinders on.  Women who are undecided about breastfeeding receive our information at various meetings and community events.  We tell them of current research and the benefits of breastfeeding and that breast and formula are not equal, and that breastfeeding will indeed make a difference in the health of their child.  A huge majority of these women decide to formula feed their children.  It is incredibly frustrating as a volunteer to see our hard work make little difference.  It is a human thing, we know what we’re doing, we don’t need your advice, thankyouverymuch.  (Ever try telling a teenager not to do something because you have life experience and you know what your talking about?  We all have to figure it out for ourselves!)

I believe many of these moms are merely going through the motions of becoming informed so that they can say they made an informed decision.  ‘I’ll stand here and take your brochures and hear your spiel, then head to Walmart to buy a case of formula, it’s all the same anyway, and besides, I’m going back to work five minutes after I push the baby out.’ Actually, in my communtiy, it’s more like, ‘It doesn’t matter because the state will take my baby away five minutes after I push it out.’  Sigh.  When my heart was really into it, I took it very personally when I’d work with a mother on a breastfeeding issue and then find out she weaned early, etc.  I was making myself crazy and becoming angry and resentful because it felt like these women were trying to take the easy way out and being selfish by opting to formula feed.  Didn’t they care about the health of their babies?? Hasn’t Hurricane Katrina changed anyone’s views of breastfeeding? I have since learned not to think about it too much in terms of successes and failures with mothers and babies.   I desperately want our perceptions of breastfeeding to change, and of course breastfeeding rates to increase for the health of our children, but I can only share my information and offer encourgement one mother at a time, after that it’s in their hands, it’s as simple as that.  Many times we don’t know the impact we’re making in people’s lives.  Women may decide to breastfeed subsequent babies or encourage a friend to breastfeed because of the information she received from our group.  And if just one mother attempts to breastfeed when she never thought she would, I have made a difference.

Was I saying something about socks?  

Belated Socks

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I am filled with angst today.  I planned to have sis’s socks done by her birthday which is the 21st.  The party is this weekend and I have not even cast them on.  Yikes.  She picked out the Regia sock yarn and is fully aware that her present will most likely be a box of yarn.  Hopefully by Sunday I will have about five inches on the needles so she can at least see them in progress.  I have been asking myself all week why I can’t seem to start them.  My plan was to finish one soldier sock so the needles would be freed up for her socks.  Last week the needles became empty and still I couldn’t bring myself to cast on.  Hmmmm.  Something deeply psychological is happening here.  I will spare you the catty details of the relationship between my sister and me.  Just let me say that we are quite different.  I have basically repressed most of my issues with her so that we can continue to have the appearance of a decent relationship .  We do not argue, but we don’t have a friendship as some sisters do.  A bit ago when I searched for a photo of just the two of us together, I was shocked that I couldn’t find one.  I guess it’s not important enough to me to have someone take our photo.  Furthermore, I couldn’t even find a photo of her by herself.  I had no idea my feelings were affecting my photos!  Then I suddenly wondered if she has noticed that I never take her photo.  Probably not.  At times like this I have a mini panic attack and think, “Oh geez, if that person dies tomorrow I won’t have those photos!”  I know I would regret not getting past all this if anything happens to her.  But it’s not really an issue of something needing to be resolved, it’s more that we are just so incredibly different and are on completly separate paths in this life.

So back to the socks… I think I can’t cast them on because I really don’t want to knit for her, and I’m annoyed she picked ugly yarn.  The nerve of her! 

Last year for her birthday she asked for a scarf to match her new coat.  I knitted a long ribbed scarf with pom balls at the ends, and even a really cute elf hat with ties.  I even used crappy Red Heart because she picked it.  (See the love?  I give and give for this woman.)  I gave them to her and she acted as excited as if I’d bought them at Dollar Tree.  Then she said, “I guess I’ll have to go buy some mittens now because mine won’t match.”  So I knit her some flappy mittens in the same crappy Red Heart to match the scarf and hat.  I did it because I wanted to do something nice for her, but never got the feeling she was really appreciative or understanding of the time and talent involved in the gift.  She doesn’t ‘get’ the knitting thing.  When I told her I was getting into spinning she thought it was a new class at the gym.  See what I mean?  It’s not that she’s clueless, it’s that she’s into instant gratification and she is a top-rate consumer.  If she can’t buy it already made, it’s not worth having. 

So I’m off to cast on some ugly socks for my ungrateful sibling and hopefully clean my house for DH’s arrival today.  For the past two work weeks he’s been at a class in a city about four hours away.  He spent last weekend here but returned on Sunday to the class.  Having him gone hasn’t been as bad as I thought.  In fact, I haven’t picked up his dirty socks for two entire weeks!  It’s been lovely in that respect.  But it will be nice to have him home.  The kids miss him terribly and trash needs to be taken out. 

Also, he found a spinning shop in the city so he brought me some soy silk fiber.  It squeaks when I spin it, but think it will make a lovely scarf or shawl if I can perfect my spinning enough to spin it as finely as I need to. I wonder if I could use it to reinforce heels with my merino sock yarn I’m planning to use soon?  Any ideas?

Icy Eye Candy

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I have no idea how I got these photos to post.  It’s just one of those good days.  Yipee!

We had a heinous storm on Sunday night which left a ton of ice and a dusting of snow.  I was dreading work today but thoroughly enjoyed the drive.  The trees look like they’re made of glass.  The photos don’t do it justice.  It’s unbelievable.  Almost made my Monday morning without electricity worth the suffering we endured, but not quite.  We truly take it for granted.  Try not using electricity for just one hour.  I dare you.

In other very exciting news…I had a knitting epiphany last night after I posted my whinefest. I realized that I’d been making a stitch (increasing) when I’m really just supposed to be just knitting.  The instructions do say “inc”, but I took that to mean make a stitch where there isn’t one, what she means is knit one more than the previous row.  That is so misleading!  That, combined with my not always remembering the ‘k 1′ or ‘p1′ at the end of the rows (which I didn’t know I was doing), created the monster that was eating me alive.  Since I was doing two things wrong I couldn’t isolate the problem.  I tried my new idea at work today and lo and behold, it worked like a dream.  I am so proud of my 22 stitches I could bust.  I want to frame them.  Now, there’s the issue of the first sock already being complete with a fudged heel, and this one is correct.  Hmmmm.  Do I take out these perfect stitches and fudge them so they’ll match the other sock?  No way.  They won’t be a perfect match, but they’ll both fit.  The best part, I feel so liberated!  I can just knit along now, no annoying decreases after I finish the heel turn.  I have been so consumed by this for the past four days.   I’m free!  I’m free!

Side Stepping

At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot to all my knitter friends out there, I am begging for someone to throw me a line, an instructional one. 

I bought Sensational Socks last winter and have knitted about 9 pairs of socks from it.  I try not to buy knitting books since I would end up with a houseful if I allowed myself.  But I fell in love with the book and had to have it.  However, I’ve not stretched myself at all so all the socks I’ve knit are from the four-stitch pattern on page 33.  Here’s the problem: from the first first pair I’ve cast on I’ve had trouble with the instructions for the heel turn.  For example: the ’socks for soldiers’ pair I’m knitting now you start with 40 stitches on the heel flap and basically decrease 4 over a few rows, then move on to increasing one every row after sl 1, then decreasing one toward the end of the row.  Then, by using the ever-elusive Knitpicks Knitter’s magic wand you end up with 22 stitches (after knitting all the side stitches) for starting the gusset.  Without the wand I end up with 36 stitches.  I know that the author says that to turn the heel you need to increase a stitch per row, and from experience I learned that it must be on both k and p rows to be even.

I was so determined when I knit the first pair last Feburary I said ’screw it’ and just decreased the oddball stitches over the next row and went on.  The decrease bumps didn’t seem to be noticable, the socks fit and since I couldn’t seem to figure out the pattern any other way I just accepted my side stepping approach.  At one point I realized that I could increase the first two rows, not the next two, increase the next two to complete the increases.  I still ended up with about four extra stitches, but it made a decent heel.  A more advanced knitter would have come up with a true solution, but it was the best I could do.  Twice I tried to enlist help from other sock knitters, but to no avail.  It’s a pain-in-the-ass-question no one wants to sit and figure out.   Lately it’s started to bug me.  I’m an intermediate knitter now, there’s no reason I can’t figure this out, dammit!  So I’ve spent the free time of my entire weekend wrestling with it.  I simply can’t get this to work.  I’ve looked at other patterns in the same book and they seem to all read the same for the heel turn. 

Does anyone have any advice?

The real question is: if I’ve knit 9 pairs of socks from a pattern I have such an issue with, what’s wrong with me?     Excellent question.  I think I got stuck in a rut.  Even though it was a problem area, I knew it was there and worked around it.  And isn’t it amazing how one pattern looks different using different yarn, so I kept using the pattern.  I’m sure it’s something I’m reading wrong in the directions.  I ‘googled’ it and it doesn’t appear that it’s a common problem in the book.  I also printed the corrections for the book and it isn’t one of them.  So now, my peeps, my sock-knitting fate is in your hands.   

Knitted Swooshes

Funny conversation in my house this week: 

Logical Eleven Year Old Son:  Mom why do you even knit socks when you can buy them in the store?

Me: Because they last longer, they’re warmer, look cool, and they’re made with love by me.

LEYOS:  I don’t get it.  Seems like a waste of time.

Me: I’d knit you a pair if you’d wear them, then you’d understand.

LEYOS:  Can you make them white with a Nike swoosh?

That, my peeps, is why I normally knit for people OUTSIDE my family.

And under ‘Rants and Raves’….

I got my spinning book in the mail today.  It’s the Ashford book of Spinning by Anne Field.  I was expecting an enormous book when she told me it was going to be $25 (plus 5.00shipping).  It’s 160 pages and looks like it ought to be $12.  She probably recommended this one because it was the most expensive.  I like to give yarn shops and spinning shops my business, but I think I got screwed.  I’m probably just still peeved the wheel came with no spinning instructions.  And peeved because I have a Lendrum and have to use a book based on Ashford wheels because there is no book for Lendrum.  Feh.  How about just a general spinning book?  Hey Mr. Lendrum, how about it?

Talked with my spinning friend Philip today.  He buys raw fleece and takes it to be processed in another town near here.  He also recommended buying raw fleece from a farm near here and combing it to be spun.  Sounds like a hassle.  Seems like I’ve seen photos on blogs of women with nasty wool soup in their bathtubs.  Not sure I want to go there.  There’s a reason I don’t allow my dog into the bathtub.  Also, I read in Spin Off that unless you refrigerate the fleece, it gets ’sticky’, but he disagreed with this.  He says he has used faw fleece that had sat in a barn for a year.  Hmmm.  Maybe he isn’t such a great source of information. 

Got an email today from my new knitter-sister-in-law Tara in Canada today.  She just finished knitting her first mitten only a few months after learning to knit.  I am so proud of her.  I love new knitter stories!!  Also, her husband is learning to knit along with her.  He knitted  a scarf for their baby and showed it to me at Christmas.  Men who knit are just so cool.   

Gotta go read my spinning book.  Nasty weather is coming our way and I’m praying school isn’t going to let out early.  I have much to do as this is my last day off without children.  DH is attempting to drive back today from a business trip tonight so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he can make it.  One more day of single parenting and it could become an ugly hostage situation.

FO From My Yarn!

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I have to admit, I am tickled with myself and Charlotte, my new Lendrum spinning wheel.  I had no idea we could actually pull it off.  We made yarn, crummy yarn.  Then I took the crummy yarn and turned it into a lovely scarf.  The planets must be in order or maybe it’s beginner’s luck, I don’t know, and not sure I care.  I’m just tickled. 

And still, the two largest issues with spinning is that since I still have no spinning book (it’s on it’s way), so I have no idea if I’m doing it right.  And my kids are asking me every ten minutes if they can spin.  This is actually a good thing in disguise I suppose.  I want them to become good spinners, but at $12 a pound I’m looking at the expense of the really bad yarn they’re excited about making.  For now I’m biting my tongue and giving them patient lessons once or twice a week (probably teaching them all wrong).  I know it will eventually wear off and they’ll end up telling their curious friends their crazy mom makes yarn on a big thing named Charlotte and then actually wears the ugly things she makes from it (or worse, gives them as gifts!  The horror!).   “Mom, you’re embarassing us!”  I can hear it already.   

I am feeling like such a inept blogger that I can’t figure out how to get my photos on this effin’ blog. Bubbleshare used to work so well, but they no longer offer normal photo options, only the funky ones that bounce and change, which wordpress will not support.  UGH!  I tried Flicker but I couldn’t get to post on the blog so I went with Bubbleshare instead.  I guess I ‘ll have to spend 10 hours trying to figure something else out.  I am so not a ‘puter person.  Is it that obvious?

Attention WordPress and Bubbleshare:  We had such a fun thing going but you aren’t doing it for me anymore.  Get your act together or I’m leaving you.

I’m sure that will do the trick.

Aliens Ate My Mother’s Brain

I heard on the radio the other day on a national news broadcast that officials in Chicago  say many people in the area reported UFO sightings in November.  That’s only about 3 hours from here.  How cool is that?  According to the story, one sighting came from a reputable source.  I’m assuming that to be a pilot, air traffic personnel, law enforcement, or etc.  I am anxiously awaiting more info to come out about this.  If I truly cared I could google it.  But the waiting is half the fun.

 On to my mother story… stopped by the parent’s place today to drop off some lasagna and homemade bread, mostly just because I’m nice and no one eats leftovers fast enough in my house.  I was browsing the local morning newspaper and was shocked to see my mother’s aunt’s obituary (who lives in Vegas).  I said, “Looks like Aunt Velma died!”  Mom says, “I forgot to tell you?”  I said, “did you call anyone?”  She said, “No.”  Then how would I know? My mother has always had her own way of doing things and often appears scattered. My brother used to joke that when they gave out brains my mother thought they said ‘eggs’ and said, “I’ll take mine scrambled.” 

Granted, Aunt Velma lived hundreds of miles away, had been in a care center for many months and had completely lost her mind.  But I was utterly annoyed that I had to read it in the paper.  That’s how the communication is in my family.  I joke that if one of my parents pass I hope I don’t read it in the paper first.  Mom hates to make phone calls, cannot remember whom she’s told what, and Dad refuses to pick up the slack since he figures it’s her family so it’s her responsibility.  It’s absolutely annoying.  My mother’s sister is just as bad.  Many years ago I was 9 months pregnant and my cousin visiting from Chicago said, “I didn’t know you were even expecting until now.”  Pathetic.  I find myself being the family messenger because I don’t want others to get the info the crummy way I do.  Then I’m pissed because it totally isn’t my job.  Somewhere along the line my mother and her sister stopped caring about passing on the news.  Or perhaps aliens did indeed eat their brains.

So today my thoughts are with my distant relatives in Vegas who are dealing with the arrangements of my sweet aunt.  I’ll always remember her bringing me silver dollars when she came to visit, drinking endless cups of coffee and cackling with my grandmother.  She was a hoot and loved to give everyone a hard time.  I’m hope I’m half as spunky when I’m 94! 

My First Yarn!

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I gotta say, I’m both proud and embarassed to show you this.  The yarn is mostly awful, resembling tape worms mixed with cat vomit rather than good yarn.  My saving grace is that I had my eleven year old ‘helping’ me spin so I can’t take all the credit.  I will say that my spinning was much better at the end of spinning the singles than at the beginning.  I’m surprised at how quickly I caught on.  I know it’s just one drop in the huge ocean of learning to spin, but I’m on my way!

I can hardly wait for the yarn to dry so I can knit with it.  Maybe a lovely tape worm-cat vomit scarf.  Maybe a gift for my MIL.  Tee hee.

 AND THE WINNER OF THE ”NAME MY WHEEL CONTEST” IS….

La, of Jenla fame, won with ‘Charlotte’.  What an awesome name.  All four of you contributed lovely names, thanks for playing.  Bye bye now.  Drive safe. 

La:  email your snail mail so I can send you your prize!!  Head to the site if you want to pick your own stuff or I’ll surprise you!

Spiffed Up! And a Contest!

Test driving this format.  Whatta ya think? I think it’s great to have a monthly file for the posts, as well as a search button.  Yea!  I may change it again if I decide I don’t like it.  I am still having problems of changes taking forever.  I make a change and sit and wait for it to page.  UGH>  I thought the ‘puter had a bug, but it’s only the blog that does it.  Can the blog have a bug? 

Speaking of test drives…. the new wheel is so swell.  Been spinning and spinning.  And yes, Jean Bean, I was up half the night with my new arrival and felt quite ill this morning as a result.  But I filled a whole spindley thing.  It’s pure butt-crummy yarn but hey, I’m spinning.   Practice makes perfect.  My DH was watching me last night and I was sure he was thinking, “WTF?”  But he was curious about how it all worked and he wanted to try it.  When someone is spinning it looks totally easy.  He thought he would sit right down and do it., he was so funny.  His brilliant idea is to dye yarn and spin it at the same time with a gizmo of dye attached to the wheel.  The yarn would go thru the dye before being spun.  Wow, should I wear my new white sweater while I do  this?  Not with my new wheel, bub, no siree.  He’s full of good ideas, or maybe just full of it.

I gotta tell this great story.  I got the wheel and put it together yesterday (it was supposed to arrived “assembled”, so I was shocked I had to do anything, mostly because the instructions contained only 1 SHEET!)  I was bummed to discover the wheel was rubbing on one side so I called Susan’s Fiber Shop, where I purchased it, but she didn’t know how to fix it.  She then blew my mind.  She called up ole Gord Lendrum himself and we had a three-way call to fix it.  Turns out I only needed to loosen a bolt and make a minor adjustment.  But Gord Lendrum himself advised me how to do it.  That was my brush with greatness for 2007.  (It totally beats my lame brush with Michael Jordan of 1990, whose charming words to me were, “Where’s my room service?”  It also beats the brush with Bill Clinton in 1992 at a rally, which was really just a brush with his armpit.  He stuck it in my face in order to shake someone’s hand behind me.)  Mr. Lendrum was very nice and helpful, never once inquired about his room service,  and was totally confident that nothing was damaged on the wheel, that it was only a result of the movement from shipping.  He was right on.

Does it surprise any of you that the wheel didn’t come with instructions?  I was expecting a booklet or maybe even a DVD on spinning.   I saved money for 6 months for this and they couldn’t include instructions?  I was annoyed.  I had to jump online after setting it up to see why the bobbin wouldn’t roll up the new yarn.  (I love the Internet.  I had an answer in 3 minutes.)  While on the phone with Susan’s I ordered a spinning boook.   I guess they assume that if you buy a wheel you already know what you’re doing. 

I’m feeling an overwhelming urge to name my wheel.  I know it sounds stupid an hokey, but if people can name body parts, cars, etc. (my father named trees when I was a kid), then why not?  I’m leaning toward Gloria, but Sadie and Gertie are tempting too.  I am at a loss for something truly creative.  Any suggestions?  How about a Soap/lotion stick giveaway contest to name her?  Two large bars, two small bars, and  a lotion stick for the winner of the best name for my new arrival.  The wheel is definitely a ’she’.  Any ideas?

My biggest challenges with the wheel are going to be 1) finding time to sleep, and 2) keeping my kids away from the wheel.  All three want to spin.  My 11 year old has already had a spinning lesson from my friend Philip who has a Majacraft Professional, and he is in heaven that we now have a wheel in our home!  (This is the same son who got a knitting board for christmas and is already making a blanket for his bed with crummy lionbrand homespun. He is definitely crafty.)  Middle son demands that tonight is his spinning lesson.  Missy Moodle is very put out that she has only gotten to watch to this point.  How cool would it be if they became my little spinning crew?  I could be the dye master and we could sell Moonbeam yarns.  Yipee!

I think I need a nap.