Tilt-a-whirl

Year end

How did this happen? It seems like only yesterday that I was pouting my way onto a New Zealand Air jet heading back to San Francisco from Auckland and exactly one year later, I helped my daughter with the birth of my grandson. Those are some monumental bookends, I think. In between have been a heck of a lot of stressful and sweet days which did nothing more than build a whole lot of character, readying me to be a grandmother and artisan/businesswoman juggling it all. Well, it isn't PRETTY but the balls haven't all dropped off of the stage, either. :o)

I have a couple of nice sisters-in-law in my arsenal of customer/friends and these women in Washington were in need of some torrid color to heat up their rainy winter and so Earth Birth made its way into two households in two different fibers; the wildest being the delicious Wensleydale with its reflective, silky qualities and the most demure being the Superfine merino in all of its buttery softness. I could not help myself and threw some Sock! onto the table for those who crave some hot pepper flavor to their diet.

Yup...audacious.

Awhile ago I invested in way too much Ingeo and now I am offering it on the website for half off. Go ahead take it off of my hands, won't you? It is delicious and colorful and now quite the bargain.

Rainy Day Play

So, like I said, it's raining here in Northern California. Yeah, so what, you ask? So Tank. The Tankmeister, The Tankinator, Tanky-Wanky, Tanker Twuck and the list goes on. He has his ways, his little doggie rituals/traditions and today was no exception. He is a Lab, for goodness sake...the dog who comes running into the bathroom when I turn on the tap for a bubble bath (yes, I DO that...with a B O O K), wanting to climb in. This water dog did not want to go out today. He went out for his initial pee with Sashie and then whined while I checked orders and emailed people this morning. I got up grumbling and let him out...didn't want to go out there. Ok, fine. Breakfast ritual follows. We read the paper, eat breakfast and save the corners of each half of our peanut butter toast sammiches for the dogs. Same darned thing. Dogs get kibble and Tank whines to go out. We cut to the last part of the ritual and he stands there at the doorway silently hearing the rain pouring off of the gutter, saying unh uh, no way. Alright then. I slam the door and sit back down to finish the paper and my tea. Then I hear it. The sound is unmistakeable; the sound of an overflowing gutter...INSIDE. I never knew that The Husband could boom out BAAAAAAAAAADDDDD DDOOOOOGGGGGGG so loudly. Raining inside and out. Sweet. :oP Needless to say, he is going out...hell or high water. No more Just Kidding.

So, yesterday was off-the-hook busy. It always seems to be the same way, with people back thinking about hobbies and fun things now that their obligatory things are done with for another year. I was on the run all through the day, heading out to the Dye-raj a little later than I had hoped, due to the volume of things to be mailed. I got through dyeing three batches of things and then the evening was my own. I am still working on this stuff.

It was all about watching TV and doing more blending for another bobbin. I guess that the project will just go on until I am out of this stuff, the Tencel that I dyed in Earth Metal. Man, how much do I love this stuff? I love it enough to start dyeing it on a regular basis and offer it to spinners. Super silky, yummy and delicious.

This is the last of it. I sent the other half of the initial project off with my Pal Sheila for her booth at SOAR and when it all went there, I decided to futz with the rest. I know that this last little ball will be gone pretty soon but I have the Never Ending Pillowcase of the Hatchtown Hogget locks to play with and I figure that I will have a whole other project with what remains.

Thanks to Scout for beating the drum for the car magnet. Orders picked up for the little gems and a few more new people discovered me and my bag of tricks.

Speaking of Bag of Tricks...you must check out the cool felted bags here. Yeah, Holly Haynes has some of the most unique things I have seen in a long time.

Alright, I must start my day. Thank you for this great year.

Gifts from the heart

I hope that everyone had a great December 25th, whether you called it Christmas or Hannukah or a lovely pagan ritual day and whether you were wearing your sweaters or basking at the beach. We donned our red shirts and climbed back into the trusty VW and drove the 90 minutes to the foothills of the Sierra, to see if The Daughter had survived another night and if The Grandson had changed in two days. It is amazing to see how they grow and adapt to life outside in the atmosphere and The Baby Mama is adapting as well. :o) Hey, who needs sleep when you have a Peanut to adore?

The big deal of the day was that The Husband could finally physically connect with the baby now that he was cold free and they certainly did have their moment of finger grasping and talk of trains and sports and Hello Kiddo.

The best thing about Snicklefritz being born so close to Christmas was that the little family was banned from traveling to Southern California and the big Paternal Family extravaganza so The Husband and I got to be introduced to a Mexican Christmas tradition meal of Tamales with all of the "fixin's". Our son-in-law was so excited to introduce us to his dad's family's holiday specialty and so we were lavished with a fabulous dinner of tamales, Mexican salad that included toasted pumpkin seeds, guacamole and beans that was all washed down with Margaritas. Waaaaaaaaay better than the boring old meal that I would have cooked. :o) It was a wonderful day with the little family and then grandma and grandpa (I still can't get over being someone's grandma) headed back west in the pouring rain.

Now then...there is something that happens when you least expect it. Someone starts out as a customer and becomes a friend. I got a package in the mail on Saturday, after I had taken my poor tired mom home from our Christmas Eve dinner here. It was a pouch that was taped up within an inch of its life from a certain writer that I know but have not met in person yet. Vicki has become a particular favorite of mine and I not only enjoy her books (looking forward to number three, Vicki) but I enjoy her wit and Saj passion. After carefully getting past the tape I stuck my hand into the pouch to feel something oddly familiar; familiar but different. It, like my beanies from Tom Clark was an alchemization of my handspun yarn...a special gift of a hat made from some of my handspun merino.

See that little silvery charm at the top? It is a dog! How cool is that? Now then, if you are ready...here it is in use. It fits like a glove on my Can't-buy-hats-off-the-rack head. Now, that's a pal. Thank you, Vicki!

Time has come for me to plow my way back into the Dye-raj, to begin taking care of orders and to ready myself for Stitches West in February. It comes up so fast and I never seem to be as prepared as I would like to be. Rumor has it that I will get to show off the Needle Beetle's upcoming sock pattern models, which are the most striking little bits of knitting that I have seen in a long while. I am honored that my sock yarn has been a part of the whole new project.

Life is good.

Winter Baby

The key to a good show is how much yarn gets spun while I am sitting and demonstrating. If I fill two bobbins and begin to ply, well folks this is a stinkeroo of a show and if I don't even get to the point of filling bobbin number one then I have been up and active and yacking and selling...good show. The point is that I took my trusty Majacraft Rose with me to Folsom this week, along with a big bag of dyed angora top, just in case I lost my mind with boredom when The Daughter and Grandson, formerly known as Grandsonfetus, slept. Rude buzzer noise inserted here. I DID spin 4 ounces of fiber, I'll give you that but this is NOTHING. Good show? Yeah, great show...especially the firehose when the new fangled warmed baby wipes relaxed little Mr. Fabulous. He IS fabulous. Sweet, gaining weight like a piglet and generally keeping The Daughter away from her friend, Mr. Sleep. Mr. Sleep is now a distant memory now that Our Boy has decided that he needs to get fattened up at record speed. Leaving them today was so very hard, as hard as the first time The Husband and I dropped her off at college and drove back down I 5 to California, tears streaming down my sentimental mug...same thing today but I was all by myself, trying to keep my eyes on the road until I was suddenly at the turn-off to the 680. We do go up on Christmas, since they have been given the big No Way from the Pediatrician...flu season and newborns do not mix. The Great-grandma's and the Uncle & Aunt will just have to wait for his unveiling but The Husband, who had a cold on Little Man's birthday, will have his first close encounter with his future train buddy. Grandpa's boy.

Yup, still in love. Thank you all for your good wishes. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Blessed Winter...whatever you celebrate. We lift a glass to our newest contribution to the human race.

Escape

Yes, Christmas week and I am done with every last order, which makes it clear sailing across California to catch the baton from The Daughter's beloved Mother-in-law. I must say that she is a lucky woman, having a MIL that is supportive and loving and a really good friend. As far as I am concerned, she has got it made. :o)

So, dear friends, I am going up to get to know my daughter as a new mother and of course, her little charmer...my favorite grandchild.

Before I go, I give you a little color. An old colorway that is new to Sock! ; South Pacific. Something that started in handspun, oh so many years ago.

Love at First Sight?

Oh, absolutely. I am a big believer in that phenomenon, now more than ever. Now more than ever. Thank you all for your good wishes and prayers. We were surround by the love late Friday night, all the way past 5:36 AM PST when Jacob Anthony was officially recorded as having taken his first breath.

The husband went off to his model train group on Friday night, as usual and I was trying to calm myself after a day of running to accomplish the last dyeing for my last orders (not wanting to disappoint anyone). The phone call came in about 8. The Daughter, who had been telling me that she could Feel that this was the day, had had two minor contractions, 20 minutes apart. We were trying to figure out the timing for us to come up. This could take hours. Fifteen minutes later, I get another call, telling me that they are getting stronger and we should come. The Husband drove home like the wind and we were packed and out of here by 8:45, thanking the heavens that it was not raining (although it was pretty cold) and the soupy fog had not formed in the Central Valley. Let's just say that he drove like the wind and The Son-in-law kept us posted, telling us that the contractions were now just 5 minutes apart and The Husband stepped on the gas a little harder. We got to Folsom in record time and the contractions were now two minutes apart and it was time to jump into the cars for the journey back down highway to the hospital.

When we pulled up to the hospital, The Daughter had been having really strong contractions in the car and by the time we raced up to the hospital, she was doubled over by the door. Two young men became our Good Samaritan Angels and raced to get a wheel chair and whisked us up to the labor and delivery area...they were just visitors at the hospital and she never really saw them.

I have one word to say to women thinking of the birthing experience at this point in time...epidural. It was night and day for The Daughter, before and after and it was night and day for this mama to see her poor terrorized daughter become herself again. The downside is that you DO have to push for a long time but the trade-off is so worth it.

4 AM rolled around and the nurse practitioner decreed that it was time to push and so my son-in-law stepped up the the challenge and helped her with her leg for about 45 minutes and then needed a break. Time for grandma to step in. Things were getting rougher and there are instincts that seem to surface with a woman having been through this, knowing what is necessary to help ease things. It is something primeval, I tell you. We kept working at it until the bottom half of the bed disappeared...the big light came down from the ceiling and it was time for the doctor to enter the picture. The Son-in-law got up at her head and I was holding a leg and the doctor gave the orders to push that little guy out of there. I was unable to look away. I saw his head crowning and then with another push his head was out and facing me. I told some friends this morning that it was as though a jolt of electricity passed between us and I fell in love with this little being that was suctioned and crying before his shoulders were pushed further. One more push and he wash toweled and up with his mother. Just like that. I could not stop the tears, it was that powerful. She did it. They did it. We did it.

Heading off...

We are heading off to do baby stuff. :o)))

Baby, it's cold outside

Yeah, it is too cold for Shnicklefritz to leave the torrid 98.6 degree weather and who can blame him? The poor daughter is working on a puzzle.

Did someone say Torrid?

While pacing around and going like a headless chicken, I did manage to slow my heartbeat to ply the first skein of the Coopworth hogget fleece mixed with Tencel that I dyed in a colorway that I dubbed Earth Metal. This morning shot is kind of cool, judging by the color of the underlying cardboard but you can get an idea of what I was going for. It is a slow process, this flicking and blending but I really like the rustic quality of the finished product, with just a shimmer and shine factor going on there to liven it up.

Today I send off a package to my buddy Brenda, who is going to alchemize a bunch of colors of sock yarn into something gorgeous, in the genre of her bestselling Scimerian cardigan. What a great imagination Brenda has. I can't wait to see what she is going to come up with. I feel happy to be a part of so many of her creations, in my small way.

I have an obligatory action shot for you. The wild beasts at their play. Tank may have an elbow problem but he does NOT let it stop his need to run like a maniac, chasing down a tennis ball or running full force into Sasha for a little exchange of saliva. They kind of look like creatures in a scary story!

My boots are under the pole

Ok, I packed my Grandma Bag after hearing about The Daughter's exam today, hearing that she should be going into labor tonight but still...nuttin. We are convinced that this little boy is liking his hangout and doesn't care about leaving. I just run around in fits and starts, getting things done, with an attitude that I could be gone for awhile. Fair enough.

I am happy to say that The Website has a fresh new look on my home page. It is pretty exciting and a bit more user friendly. Little by little we will be making updates and improvements but this is one big site and it will be gradual. I send thanks out to my new webmaster. Holly, you rock.

On to year 37

Yup, yesterday was not only the official due date of Shnicklefritz (Happy Birthday, Alison ) but also our 36th wedding anniversary. Yes, I said Thirty Six...longer that a lot of you have been on the darned planet. No, I'm not seventy, either. :o) With all of the turmoil going on with the family, we just didn't plan anything fabulous for ourselves away from home this year. Our son and his bride will take the trip to NZ for their honeymoon, although we were so embroiled in the drama of the health care system on Saturday, we were ready to run away from home and ask our Kiwi buddies to take us in. Seriously. The Husband is a peach of a man. He made crinkly noises when the dogs greeted him last night and I knew that there was some spectacular and colorful bouquet of flowers around the corner and then of course, because we are both wasting away...there was a fresh box of See's. (Naughty Bidness but it only takes ONE to get a nice chocolate buzz...) I had actually cleaned up for once (yes, curled my hair and tried to look bright eyed) and then asked him out to dinner. We ended up at Chow, one of our favorite bistro's in town, where the eclectic menu can satisfy just about anyone in a large group. Let's just say that the new shrimp salad hit the mark with TH and I had enough Short Ribs comfort food for me AND the Thundering Herd, who got to have a celebratory dinner as well. All in all, it was a very nice Monday and a day to reflect on a lifetime together (we have been together for 39 years, since high school), remembering each other as the kids that we were. Nothing better than to be married to your best friend. It only seems like 36 years when I look in the mirror...

I did accomplish a bunch of things for work yesterday, including a special order for an LA (Hollywood...pahdon ME) client, silk merino yarn in 4 colors for an intricate sweater that she has in mind. Little dyebaths...teensy, but good practice for the brain and juggling skills. While I was handling that I was able to dress the tree, figuring that anything that I put off for "later" might not get done because of a certain someone. So, here is one of those dorky flash shots of my tree.

While I'm being dorky...well, he IS going to be here in time for this.

I will leave you with one last image. My beefy girl, the soulful and magnificent, the dog who refuses to hunker down in her crate now...Sasha.