The countdown continues.....
Mood:  rushed
Now Playing: Mr. Mister "Broken Wings"

I had to miss the Harlot in Amherst tonight. DH didn't get home until 7:45, and the kids were just too busy playing in the sandbox for me to drag them out. Besides, I was busy dyeing wool and yarn in preparation for this weekend. Sometimes (most of the time, who am I kidding???) work takes precedence over fun. This is just one of those times.

I washed my lot of the IAGARB co-op yarn today. All the skeins are drying or dyeing. ;-) I'll keep some natural, but I'm having fun with Cushings dyes on a few others. And I've been busy over dyeing some grey corriedale roving too. Tomorrow is a major dye day and fleece washing day. And I'll be dyeing some grease fleece too, just for fun.

I did purchase a turkey roaster tonight at Target. That will allow me to dye a lot of washed wool at one time.

And did I mention the other day that all of my fleeces from Whitefish Bay Farm showed up? Four (yes, 4!) boxes, plus a box that Leslie Samson sent to me containing samples of the vests and coats for me to display at NH for the Felted Coat Class in June. I'm sure my postal carrier Sue just loved me that day. She's a good sport, and laughs at the boxes of wool when they show up. The former carrier Penny thought it was really funny last year when I tracked her down, after just missing her at my house by about 25 minutes. I found her up road, two streets over, and was able to get all my boxes from her then, rather than have to go to the PO later that day. They must find my obsession with wool amusing.

Now I'm headed back out to the garage to check on the skeins that are in the microwave right now. If I'm lucky, the dye has absorbed, and I'll be able to put more of the corriedale roving into dye. Grey corriedale overdyed with purple. I'll take pictures when I put it out to dry tomorrow morning. :)

Alden Amos and Stephenie Gaustad coming to Western MA!
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Class information
After having known Alden and Stephenie via ST's since 1999, I'm please to announce that I have booked them to come teach in Amherst on June 12th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A write up courtesy of Stephenie is listed below. If you are interested, please sign up quickly, as I need 7 people so that I can run this class. Alden and Stephenie will only be in this area for a short while, so this is a great chance to meet and learn from some of the best!

A materials fee of $15 is not included with the registration fee, and is due the day of the class.

***************

Production Spinning:

There are tips and techniques that can improve your yarn production. This class will present ways to get the most out of your wheel as well as several drafting techniques that improve the speed with which you make yarn.

Please bring a functional spinning wheel, pocket calculator, skein winder (niddy or reel), extra bobbins.

And related topic questions are of course welcomed.

We will supply all fiber, handouts.

Fiber/handout fee: $15.00.

I can't say that this class will make you a production spinner, but you certainly will have a good idea where the bottle necks are and have several options getting 'round them.

(When I took this class from Alden some years ago, it transformed my attitude towards spinning, and all for the better!)

*******************************

If you are intersted in taking this class, please e-mail me at Baycolonyfarm @ aol.com for a registration sheet.

Payments must be received to be considered registered for the class; no phone or e-mail registrations accepted. Payments are due by June 3, 2005.

Please register ASAP so that we can run this class! :-)

Hell needs a cat, and her name is.....
Mood:  don't ask


Trina.

This is Calvin's cat. We got her from the pound when she was about 6-8 weeks old (the pound said 8 weeks, vet said 6 weeks, tops!). Trina has always been "special". I think her brain has been scrambled a bit. She's never been right since coming here. That might explain why she was the last kitten left at the pound too.

But, that does NOT give her the right to drag my IAGARB angora yarn all over the place, still attached to my needles, and royally mess up my shawl. It isn't going to look right at one section, but I'm not fixing it and ripping out. I'm too darn tired and too sick to care. Yes, that's right. The annual Spring Cold has struck Chez BCF, and now both boys and I have it. I've resisted for several days, but tonight; I feel like, well, you know. And I'm too tired to care. The only good thing is that DH is busy with other stuff at work, so I don't have to go in tonight or possibly tomorrow to work. That is good, as I'm supposed to attend my god daughter's (and neice) first communion and then take Calvin to a birthday party at a place that will have him coughing up a lung (Kidsports, which has some serious exercise for kids during their birthday parties).

I'll worry about that tomorrow too. Right now I'm too tired and sick to care.

Yes, I'll take some more cheese with that whine.

I thought this was fun
Mood:  a-ok

Your Linguistic Profile:

60% General American English

40% Yankee

0% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

I did it!
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: Stevie Nicks "Stop Dragging My Heart Around"

With 2 hours left in the day, I got the IAGARB newsletter uploaded to our Yahoogroup. No small feat since I was given the newsletter job 2 weeks ago, used a new software program, and had to learn that too. So far, the people that have responded have done so positively, which is nice. :)

On another note, DH and I bought a planer yesterday down at Woodcraft. This will be used for planing down wood for the Bobbin Trees. Dale is excited about this purchase, as it takes him one step closer to his dream of having a complete wood shop at our house. ;-)

Big whine
Now Playing: Thomas Dolby "She Blinded Me With Science"

I think that Tripod needs to add two more emoticons to their "Mood" list; Tired and Exhausted. Right now I would pick either one of those.

This incentive work is really exhausting. Right now, my whole body aches. We worked until 9 last night, and today will be another 6-8 hours (o.k., yesterday wasn't that long, but when you get up at 4 a.m., it feels like that!).

I'm heading to Whole Foods today to get myself some decent lunch. No more of this fast food which isn't helping things.

I knit about two rows on the angora shawl last night after we came home (10:30 after a side trip to B&N to see the poem that Cal entered into the poetry contest). I was too tired to do any more.

My friend Charlene from Honeybuns is coming up tomorrow to look at a rabbit. It will be nice to have something normal going on this week; I desparately need some "me" time, and the visit with her will do the trick. :)

Yipppeeeee!
Mood:  party time!
Now Playing: Peter Gabriel "Shock the Monkey"

This is too cool! I just got an e-mail from NHS&W that I'll be in building #2, space 13. I guess there was a last minute cancellation, and I was quick to answer if I wanted the space. It sure will beat having to set up a tent outside and vend. :)

Actual Knitting Content? No way! WAY!
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: Bryan Adams
Topic: Fiber
Last week this arrived:

Five pounds of millspun 85% angora/15% wool in a fingering weight yarn. This is from the IAGARB yarn co-op that has been set up for members.

So I grabbed a skein on Friday and set out to wash it to see what it would look like. And here is what I started working on last night:

Yes, I confess to going through two of my three Barbara Walker treasuries looking for lace patterns. Even picked a few out, but right now I just can't handling doing something that requires more than easy knitting, as I'm currently working three jobs, and I'm exhausted at the end of the day. Anyway, I want this to be finished in time for NHS&W so that I can wear it there (hey, I'll have washed skeins with me to sell, and people like to see exactly what you can do with the yarn). I might even dye it after I'm done knitting.

So, that is my goal; one finished triangular shawl in two weeks. I think I can do it.

AND (Drum roll please!), WEBS will be selling Bobbin Trees! So now they are carrying Bay Colony Farm's angora/wool blend batts, and the Original Bobbin Trees. (Helen doing the Happy Dance here!)

Today is finish the newsletter day, and prepare for a meeting later tonight, if I can't get my co-chair to move it to next week. If we move it, then I go to work tonight with DH and get more of those pieces ready to send out. I must get that done quickly, as I have 14 fleeces coming, and I have to process those before NHS&W too. :)

Oh yes, on the house front. I've finally picked out my flooring for the bathroom. This is my fifth attempt to find something (floors one and two were going to run me $1,200 and $1,900 respectively; for a 30 sq.ft. space? I think not. Floor three was only sold in 12 foot widths, and floor four was discontinued). It is a commercial grade flooring, currently made, and it looks nice with my "Colonial Cream" colored walls, and my Berber carpeting in the hallway. Once I get that ordered, it's 2 weeks until installation! Do I actually see a finished bathroom on the horizon?

Things I learned this weekend....
Now Playing: Tommy Tutone "867-5309/Jenny"
1. My husband's job is far more physical than I had imagined. While doing the incentive work, I found out just how much standing/walking/lifting is needed. After 4 hours on Saturday, I didn't feel too bad, but 7 hours on Sunday left me exhausted.

2. I learned how to drive a forklift yesterday and enjoyed it!

3. Small boys as just as happy riding bicycles around a large warehouse as they are riding them outside, especially when it has been raining for 2 days.

4. Baby bunnies at the age of three weeks start to do the cutest things, like sitting on their mother's back. And even if they pee on her, she doesn't seem to mind too much.

5. I have way too many projects going and not enough time. I'm beginning to wonder when I'll get the chance to start on any of my knitting projects.

I want to wish my youngest son a very Happy 4th Birthday! It's hard to believe that he is this old, as it seems like it was just yesterday that I was in the delivery room (thankfully, I'm not and those diaper days are over!).

Now off to get ready for the small family party with a wonderful ice cream cake from Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream. If you get the chance to pop in to Jim's store, the ice cream is awesome! :)

A bit of fun relief from software hell
Mood:  crushed out
Now Playing: Toad the Wet Sproket "Walk On The Ocean"

Your Brain is 80.00% Female, 20.00% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

Thanks to Linda from Grafton Fibers for this quiz.

Now back to software hell. I've been working on a new software program for typing up newsletters, and a computer person I'm not. I'm also not sure if I'll be posting more today or not; DH has a job for me to do over at his place of work which pays rather well (they call it "incentive work" and it pays per piece).