Moonspinners Guild

This post is to help get the word out about the Guild I am a member of..

Moonspinners is a guild for those interested in all types of fiber crafts with emphasis on spinning, weaving, dyeing and knitting.

*Programs exploring some aspect of fiber crafts are held at each regular meeting (The second Tuesday of the month). The guild maintains a library of books and magazines on a wide range of fiber subjects for member use. Carding and weaving equipment are available for guild educational/challenge projects and for individual member use.

*The Moonspinners guild gives numerous demonstrations throughout the year to educate the public, recruit new members, and generally promote interest in fiber crafts.

*Membership is encouraged (dues are just $15/year) and help provide funds for programs. However, membership is not mandatory to attend guild meetings.

Interested? Come check us out. We meet at the United Methodist Church of Sumner, 901 Wood Ave. Sumner, WA. Second Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm to 9:00 PM.

happy holidays?

I was planning on writing a great, end of the year/ Happy Holidays post. However, I am not in a good mood, and this holiday season has hit us hard. Both financially and emotionally.

My dad is sick. He'll be ok, but he is in pain, and probably will be until the end of the month.
Our house is freezing. We have old (most not working) baseboard heaters. Only a few are still working, but they are woefully in-efficient. We also have a wood stove, but not enough wood. It also only heats up the back living room and my parents room, even if we have a fan blowing heat to the front of the house. So here I sit, with wool slippers, jeans, a sweater and a fleece blanket, on the couch, still freezing.
My grandma is in the hospital. She has COPD, diabetes, pneumonia, has been given a breathing tube down her throat, and (I am not sure on the number of) large blood transfusion (4 pints). My mom had went to visit recently, and shared photos. This was before the hospitalization. She looked terrible, bloated, not mobile AT ALL. Fast forward to (?) Friday. My asshole uncles - who all still live at home, but do nothing to help their mother- get into a fight, which stresses my grandma enough that she has chest pains and asks to go to the hospital. It was all down hill from there. I don't think she has much longer to live. Part of it has been her COPD, making it difficult for her to be active in the begining (almost a year ago), but mostly her untreated depression. She hasn't WANTED to be active or healthy. Now I just wish I had a car, so I could drive my mom to see her and visit one last time. And I am angry at my uncles for being so fucking selfish that they couldn't help their own mother, but instead harass my two aunts who have been taking care of her. They also have decided it was more important to spend any money they do have on booze, rather than food, and get into fights like teenagers (they are all in there late 40s, early 50s). FUCK. I just want to see her one last time, kiss her, and tell her I love her again. It doesn't help that I can't get any accurate info on her condition because my aunts (who care, but aren't the best at details) can't pass on info to my mom, who even if they did, would still probably not pass on exact info either. Last night, it was "She is going to die, probably a matter of hours", today, who knows? I love her, but just want her to pass on peacefully. Then she won't be in any pain anymore, or depressed, and my uncles will then have to deal with finding and affording a place to stay as well as food (all which my grandma currently provides). Personally, I think all but one will end up homeless or in a shelter.
As for gift giving. well. I love Christmas. My family has never celegrated it religiously, always secularly. For us, it is a time for gift giving and good food. I don't even know what we are going to get our daughter for christmas. The adults in my immediate family (sisters, the spouses, parents and one uncle- dads brother, not the previously mentioned uncles) all draw a name for a 'secret' santa gift giving. Jasons family gets together Christmas Eve, and eat, do a gift game (I have no clue what it is called) for the adults. Kids get to open some gifts, and everyone then gets to have christmas morning at home, with no running around. :) It's all fun, but being broke makes it harder to find gifts I WANT to give. I was able to get some pretty fiber batts for giving to a few friends, and spun up some for two other friends. I just really want the holidays to be over.

An ongoing stressor for me has been living with my parents. They are not bad roomies. Quite the opposite. The problem has to do with perspectives. My mom does the majority of the house work (not by design). This happens because she and I have very different priorities. I would rather be spending time with my daughter, knitting, spinning, or reading than doing housework. My mom though, has no hobbies. So it is usually she who can't let the dishes sit, or mop and sweep constantly (it never looks like it was done, since the dogs all run in and out as they please, leaving paw prints and doggie hair every where). She also gets passive-agressive about messy toys, or my fibers, yarns or projects sitting out. Since she doesn't have any hobbies, I don't think she understands why it is out, and not all crammed into closets or always out of sight.
I keep wanting to sell our house, and move into an apartment close to Jasons work. I keep wanting to say "fuck it" about waiting for the house to gain some equity before we sell. I just want out. I didn't like the house when we bought it ( mostly to save my dad from forclosure ) and it is not ideal, has shitty heating, poor layout, and I just don't like living with other people. But also, giving up homeownership, and the security and future financial needs (college for Peanut) is scarey. I did not grow up in a family who had that sort of financial responsibilty. The home my grandma has lived in for 40 years? A rental. At the end of her life, she has nothing to show for it but photos and momentos. No security for her needed care or as a legacy to any of her heirs. I DON'T want that for us.

Well. Hasn't this been a chipper post? I did start taking St. Johns Wort, to help even out my moods, maybe I won't feel so overwhelmed in a week or two when my body has adjusted. All I know, is I want to stop crying and being so pissed all the time.

Tour de Fleece, Day 4?

So, I didn't post anything on days 2 and 3. My bad!

I was spinning and doing spinning related activities ;)

Goals:
1. Spin up all of the targhee merino rolags, "Iceberg", into a 2 ply sport weight yarn.

2. Spin up the Miss Babs BFL, "Melon", into a 2 ply fingering weight.

3. Spin up approximately 120 yards of bulky weight targhee. Possibly single ply.

4. Spin up one art yarn from my cotswold (I have some koolaid dyed locks and some other breed locks to use as well as silver thread)

I finished the targhee. Though, I don't have a proper WPI tool, but i am pretty sure it's closer to aran weight than bulky :\ It should still work for a hat for my dad, it just won't be as squishy as i had hoped! I also finished the Iceberg batts, and the blue jeans (it wasn't on the list, but whatever!)

Here are all three, I love them all lined up!



The targhee is 116 yards, and about 74 grams. It is a single ply yarn (my first!) I will be dyeing this into a "Camo" colorway for my dads' hat.



"Fancy Jeans" was spun from handcarded mill ends, spun into a single, then plied with a silver thread. 90 yards, about 37 grams. About sport weight.



"Iceberg". Spun from a targhee/mill end handcarded batts, approximately 50/50, with some ice blue angelina for sparkle! It is a 2 ply, 100 yards, 40 grams. About sport weight.



These were a lot of fun to spin up! I am looking forward to prepping the BFL.

In other news (still spinning related!), I received my swap-bot.com package. It is a big ass bunch of natural wool. I tried to weight it (my scale is tiny), I am *guessing* it is about 7-8 ounces. Looks like it is two types blended. Maybe shetland? Lots to play with though! Thanks!!

Peanut liked it too, she even sniffed it, and we decided it smelled like sheep :o)

fiber

I need more fiber in my diet. Trust me. But my DH doesn't always agree. BUT! my birthday is soon (the 11th) so I got to order my own birthday present. ;)

I ordered a big honkin' ball of SW merino from Crown Mountain Farms, in the colorway "She's Like a Rainbow" and a 4 ounce ball of natural white BFL. I can't wait! It was really hard to pick a color though.. I will definantly be buying more.

I am signed up for two fiber swaps happening this summer. First is a Fiber swap through swap-bot.com, and the other is Hush-Hush Handspun Hootenanny! I am so excited. The first swap takes place the end of this month, and it's just a straight fiber swap. The second (HHHH) I will spin 4 ounces of handspun yarn and also send 4 ounces of fiber! SO COOL! I really want to know whom I'll be swapping with so that I can go shopping and plan my attack packages. I LOVE doing swaps, it's so fun to create packages and gifts for others. I love birthdays and christmas. It's so much fun hunting for the perfect gift :)

I am also being a swap mom over on knittinghelp.com. It is another 'Surprise Theme' swap, and it should be fun! I love this swap, and if i wasn't doing two fiber swaps, I would probably participate in this one as well...

So if you are on KH, come over and join in the fun!

SHEEP! (picture heavy)

Todays posts is really just pictures. These are some of the sheep I saw at the Puyallup Spring Fair. We were also able to pet a lovely lamb named Charlie, but I was so distracted by his extreme cuteness, that I failed to get a photo! He was so sweet and soft. Peanut loved seeing all the sheep and wool. When we walked into the Shepherders Extravaganza, we were greeted by the sight of about a half dozen spinners! Peanut looked over and said "She's makin yarn Mommie!" There were a few commercial , smallish vendors here, but it was really about the small farm sheep. And I swear, Crown Mountain Farms is begging for me to order some Corridale Pencil Roving! They were at Madrona in February, and again here at the Spring Fair! I will order some, as I love spinning from pencil roving (so much easier to have practically no drafting!) And they have beautiful colors as well as a great deal on undyed roving :)

On to the sheep!Gotland Ewe

Merino (Not sure of breed) Ewe and Lamb

Jacob Ram

Romney Sheep

White Blue Faced Leicester Ram

Lincoln Ewe

Black Blue Faced Leicester Ram

A sheep being Sheared. She was very quiet and seemed unconcerned, even with a smallish crowd of people watching!

Five and a quarter POUND of Cotswold fleece. White, and the ewes' name is Rosie, six months of growth (Spring cut fleece). This was a gift from the DH! What a keeper!

Just beautiful curls. This sheep if from Muddy Meadow Farm