First Crack at Navajo Plying

Firstly, thanks to everyone who offered their condolences on the loss of my friend Sue. I think her death really effected me so much partly because it brought home the fragility of life. The other really big reason is that I am very angry at myself (and at Sue, if I am honest) for not making more time for each other and for not taking the opportunity when I had it to tell her how much she meant to me.

I know, I know - there is a reason why they call it the 7 Stages of Grief.

Anyway....
I finally Navajo plied the blue and purple BFL. I cursed and swore quite a bit at the beginning, but eventually got the hang of it. It turned out to be a little thicker than I thought it would,. However it should still be fine for socks. I thought it would bloom more when I washed it, but it stayed pretty much the same size. So it is probably somewhere in between a 4 ply and a 6 ply fingering yarn. I purposely over-spun it a little. It should be fine to knit as it is, though, since it isn't quite as twisty as I thought it would be. I am currently tackling another BFL and spinning the singles a bit finer and tighter. I also got the suggestion from my sister to pre-draft the heck out of it and that also seems to be helping with the breakage.

Now if only I could learn to twist my skeins neat and pretty.

I also got a pair of socks off the needles. This yarn was my birthday yarn from my daughter last March so it is about time I finished it up! It is Opal Uni Cotton 1977.

And I also really need to get myself some sock blockers!

Susan-Ann Moreside - March 8, 1957 - February 15, 2009

My heart is breaking today. On Sunday we received word that my friend Sue collapsed and died suddenly. Shock set in as well as disbelieve. I couldn't quite comprehend that Sue was gone and kept waiting for someone to tell me that it was all a cruel joke.

Life kept getting in the way and Sue and I hadn't spent as much time together as we should have in the last few years. She was the most caring and compassionate person that I knew. We first met when I was going through a difficult time and it was Sue that brought me back to life. We shared the same birthday and used to joke that we were actually twins. It was just a really loooong labour! She was also the person who first thought that my husband and I would be the perfect couple and was determined to introduce us. At the time neither Dallas and I wanted any part of her match making, but she had the last laugh - Dallas and I were married a year and a half after her concerted effort to bring us together.

Sue was a nurse and I don't think there could have been a better one. She was dedicated and passionate about her career to the benefit of her patients. Our health care system will be a poorer place without her.

She lived life fully and loved freely and deeply, even though it also made her vulnerable to life's harsher hurts. Her generous spirit will never been forgotten by all who knew her.

So each tear I shed represents another little piece of my heart. But I have been truly blessed and my life made richer for her being a part of it.

Good bye, Sue. I will never forget you.

If Someone Would Have Told Me a Spinning Wheel Was So Much Fun I Would Have Gotten One of Them Instead of Kids

My house is a mess, meals have been hit and miss, the Etsy shop has been sorely neglected and I am waaaay behind on blog reading, but my spinning wheel has been working overtime.

I LOVE spinning!

I completed a hat for Katie out of various shades of pink and white Blue Faced Leicester. I wasn't sure how it would turn out after plying since I was just playing around with the roving. I think it came out rather pretty. I ended up making it a bit too long, but since it is only the second hat I have ever knit I think I will forgive myself. Besides, more wool around the ears when it is -30 Celcius isn't such a bad thing.

Here is what I am currently working on....

It is Blue Faced Leicester again, this time in shades of purples and blues. I am going to try doing Navajo plying on this one so that I don't muddy up the colours.

And I just have to show you this tape measure that I picked up in my favourite LYS store the other day. A little white sheep whose tail pulls out for the tape measure! Just too cute! Too bad my kids also think it really sweet and love to pull its tail.