Digital is o.k. but I am partial to a good book in my hands or sometimes even better a lovely magazine to look through.  I splurge on this magazine and this magazine alone....so when it happily arrives at my door......I smile...look at it lovingly.....make a blog post about it......PIN it......and then put it on the coffee table for later today when I can take the plastic off and browse through it at ease while sipping some tea.   :)

When I go down to the shop I use Kate's official looking thingy (I don't even know what it's called-Lazy Kate?) to ply the yarn.  I was taking note of its construction to have Chris make me one, when a fellow spinner said that she uses a shoe box to put her bobbins in and plies from that.  So after I used the power drill to wind the bobbins (no $$ ) I made my own.  It works great!  My first plying on my own  :)

Here is the Lady Bug and I in action. Sorry about the leg shot.  :(

View from the top.

My very own Falkland yarn. I have much more top to spin and ply and KNIT.... Yay.  So I was able to not spend money on a winder and a Lazy Kate, but after wrapping this around my arm (and then again around Chris's) I think I WILL invest in a niddy noddy to wrap it into a hank. 

...purchases at the MFF

Merino/Bamboo/Silk 4 oz.

Polwarth Top 4oz.

.......

I don't like to shop. Period. No way no how. So when I DO shop I usually am intentional in what I am getting.  Get in get out.   We drove three hours north of here to visit the Michigan Fiber Festival.  I had no idea what I wanted or if I would buy anything.  I just wanted to see what was there.  We saw goats and sheep and ducks and Border Collies.  Chris and Margaret went off on their own while I perused the vendor's area.   Being new to spinning and not knowing exactly what I wanted or needed and being a tightwad to boot, I wasn't eager to part with my hard earned cash.  The booths held a plethora of woollen goodies from washed fleeces to rovings to ready to go yarn.  I could tell it was going to be a hard decision.  Personally, I am attracted to an organized booth, nice products and pleasant people. {I am picky like that} I guess it is because I DON'T LIKE TO SHOP, even if it is for wool.  That is probably one of the reasons I want sheep....I won't have to shop....it's already here. I would like one of each breed of sheep please....that way I have all the different types of wool I need.  :)   Soooooo, when I stopped at an attractive display of some Merino wool that was spun with tencil (I know that isn't the right spelling, but it was something made of wood), I was intrigued.   It was pretty and the extrovert shop owner pranced right over to me.   She said, " This will make you say Oh My God".   I thought.... Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.   This isn't my commandment...it's Gods.  So I let her tell me about the blend of the wool. I knew as soon as she said it I wasn't buying it.  It could have been made of gold and she wouldn't have made a sale.  All because I don't want a yarn that will make me blaspheme the Lord's name.     I did return to a lovely shop which was surprisingly owned by a lady in INDIANA.  :)  There were no declarations of future blasphemy.  It was a go. 

I fell in love at the Michigan Fiber Festival with this magnificent creature.  Can anyone tell me what breed it is?  I have since been informed that it is a Lincoln Longwool Ram.   He is lovely.

Can anyone give me the breed of these sheep?  I 'think' they are sheep.

.....Clara

Moonlight Magic {Magia Del Clare de Luna}..we just call her Clara.

.....BLT.....it's whats for dinner :)

.....a little yarn to tell

I finished spinning the Coopworth at home and made it back down to the shop last Saturday and was able to turn it into a 3-ply yarn.  Here it hangs drying.  Wet it was 29 inches long~dry it shrank up to 27.

Here it is dry.

The instructor said to count the strands of yarn and multiply by @1.5 to get yardage.  It turned to be about 165 yards.  I didn't realize until I was done plying that it seemed to be a little too loose.  Next time I will be more aware.   All in all I enjoyed this wool from carding to spinning to plying....hmmmm wonder how it will knit up.  I am looking forward to that.  I had originally thought I would make mittens, but I am not sure now.

......practice makes perfect....it's gonna take a lot of practice!

Blended-2 colors-100% Blue Faced Leicester Top-4 oz.

....sheepy shades

.....cherry tomatoes

.....a little pretty to brighten the day

Since we have moved to a little spot in town I have tried to make the outside inviting and pleasing to the eye.  It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I like it.  As I was outside this afternoon dead-heading the roses and generally piddling around the flowers a lovely young lady walked by and said to me, "Your flowers are beautiful".  I smiled and thanked her.  We don't live in the fanciest or even safest neighborhoods.  I had hoped the flowers would perk up the place a bit.  But my biggest enjoyment is if the neighbors or passersby find a little beauty in an otherwise sometimes dreary world.    Happiness to you today! Go here for seeds.

This year's newest Rose addition.  Coming along nicely.

......It works for me.

I'm a genius!  Not really, but I didn't have a bobbin winder and my mind got to thinkin'.  I knew I needed something that turned.  I have handed this drill to my husband a hundred times.  Eureka!  I gave it a try and it worked.  I wouldn't recommend it to you since I don't know if it is proper in the spinning world, but since I was just winding up some practice wool, I thought it would suffice.   What do you use to wind your fiber?

I haven't gotten to spin much on my new Lady Bug spinning wheel [ which actually looks like E.T. when covered with a sheet].  I have been busy doing other things this very hot July.  Today I am canning green beans.  Canning beans is always an adventure for me, especially, in my very small kitchen.  It's the first time canning in it.  My dream kitchen would have two gas cook tops and two pressure canners and two sets of sinks.  Here is a look at what's been happening in my neighborhood.  :)