Another fantastic spinning class!

Posted by ann

editor’s note: Cara thinks no one will click the link on the word spirit ….. please prove her wrong.

Before I show you the pictures from my spinning class, I would like to give a shout out to all the Knitting Olympians – what an inspiration you all are! And a special shout out to all those Boston girls. I’d like to think that if I had done the Olympics, I would have been on your team and am sorry I didn’t make it to your fabulous party. You know I was there in spirit don’t you?

And now onto my fabulous Tuesday …..

Peggy E. having way too much fun blending up some
roving and the fabulous results

L to R: Ricki’s very first handspun and Peggy’s handspun!
and yes that is an antique bobbin being used to weight them down – couldn’t ya die?!

we were joined by another fabulous spinner Louise
that’s her hiding behind her Ashford

last but not least, my day’s efforts ….
don’t know what it was, but it sure is purty.

I had to look up #6 ……

Posted by ann

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Purlingswine!

Purlingswine will often glow under UV light.
An average beaver can cut down purlingswine every year.
US gold coins used to say ‘In purlingswine we trust’.
The difference between purlingswine and a village is that purlingswine does not have a church.
Purlingswine has little need for water and is capable of going for months without drinking at all!
Purlingswine has a bifurcated penis.
Purlingswine has often been found swimming miles from shore in the Indian Ocean!
Ostriches stick their heads in purlingswine not to hide but to look for water!
Purlingswine never said ‘Play it again, Sam’.
Purlingswine is the world’s smallest mammal.

[via nipperknits]

weekend update

Posted by ann

in a desperate bid for attention, Poe poses by the knitting

As you can see, there has been some progress made on the felted floral basket bag. Since you start at the top, knitting and decreasing towards the bottom it goes fairly quickly. Side one is finished, side two is in progress and then it will be onto the flowers, handles and bottom panel.

The big excitement of my weekend was scoring some ½ price cashmere sweaters at Lord & Taylor. I had an excellent day of shopping with my friend Claire. She is the very best shopping buddy with a knack for finding the best things on the sale rack. We always end up laughing ourselves silly and this time was no exception. After our mall trip, Claire and her husband came over. While the guys were watching the Olympics, I was showing Claire my latest spinning attempts. What truly caught her attention was the possibilities for color blending in the drum carder. So we played around with that for a little bit which led to a small spinning lesson ….. and she’s a natural! Yay Claire!!

Now for some bragging on behalf of Claire ……. her daughter was hired for a summer internship at Betsey Johnson’s! She met Betsey, had an interview and got herself an internship …… did I mention that this girl is 16 years old?? This summer, she will be taking the train into Manhatten and working in a design house! When I was sixteen, I was taking the family’s wood paneled Ford LTD station wagon to rt. 202 and working in a fast food restaurant called Gino’s ……

aphids on my roses

Posted by ann

lest you think that only the Olympic Knitters are experiencing the Sturm und Drang of high pressure knitting, I shall tell you about my evening. Which actually began a year ago.

Around this time last year, Kathleen, Peggy, Ricki and I got together for a bit of knitting. Somehow the talk turned to the latest edition of Vogue Knitting and Nicky Epstein’s pattern for a trellised, floral bag. Perhpas it was the bleakness of winter, but a mania swept over us with an urgent need to knit this pattern. Yarn was ordered.

and back ordered.

By the time the yarn finally arrived – (this past October, I believe) – flower bag fever had subsided.

At least for some of us.

Kathleen and I wanted to turn the yarn into felted slippers.

but NO. we have to knit this bag. At least that’s what Peggy and Ricki say. Actually what they say is that is is perfectly fine for Kathleen to change her mind. But not Ann. Ann must knit this bag.

We gathered at Ricki’s to knit. Ricki provided the bribe – carrot cake. I had four false starts. Which I blame entirely on Cara. (She called last night in a panic over her mitten thumbs – having a real tantrum over the fact that she left this project til the last minute, thinking it was a no brainer despite me telling her she better keep knitting it. Dude, she said, it’s so easy, it’s not a problem, it’s just thumbs. I could knit them in my sleep.)

Note to all Friends of Ann: if you call seeking advice, and Ann gives you good, solid advice which you roundly reject, do not be surprised when hysterical laughter erupts upon discovery. This is Ann’s way of saying I told you so.

I am convinced that Cara put a spell on me. I had to cast on four different times. By the end of the evening, I got through one pattern repeat, Peggy had a whole section just about finished, Ricki was moving along nicely and Kathleen was taking hers home to rip.

ps. carrot cake was delicious!