A Quarter of a Century

I had a birthday on Friday, which I shared with 2 other women in the department. It was a day of cake, which brings me up to sampling a total of 5 cakes within 9 days. AND! Three of those were from my favorite bakery ever; Dewey's. I think that's some kind of record. Since my birthday falls in the first week of May, and I've been a student for a lifetime this was my first birthday where I didn't have finals. It was kinda nice for a change.


I recieved so many thoughtful presents, I'd like to share them here. First, from Karen I was given a knitting-themed care package with a tape measure shaped like a sheep (he's actually wooly) and handmade stitch markers! I had to include the card in the picture because it looks exactly like the twist-front top! What a fabulously personalized touch! Thank you so much Karen! I've already used the sheep countless times, and when I pick up the green gable again I'll be incorporating the stitch markers.



My classmates (who are all very dear friends) also had a very thoughtful gift for me - a print I have been admiring for some time now. I went to Michael's with one of my classmates last weekend and decided to buy the print, but to my dismay I could not find it. That was because it was sitting in her living room! Those sly devils. They also gave me a Michael's giftcard which I will definately be able to use. I may buy more of Paton's SWS and make a felted bag for myself. I really did love working with it, and I think it would be fun to have a bag that matches my fantabulous Danica scarf!

I've done a little more spinning with the drop spindle. This time I used a 70:30 Merino:Tencel blend and I really enjoyed working with it. The tencel gave the merino a light sheen (not as much as seen in the image) and made the top less "grabby" so it was easier to draft farther. This was not my most even yarn, but even the slubs are hardly thick. They just look thick compared to the fine nature of the rest of the single. I was overjoyed to discover that Knit Picky is going to start carrying spinning fibers, and the sample picture that Laura posted from Maryland Sheep and Wool looks like it may have some of these similar Merino/Tencel or Merino/Silk blends based on the sheen of the samples. I can't wait to touch it all this week! I've decided that my birthday present to myself will be the spinning wheel I've been admiring since Dec. 2005. I found a shop in Texas that offers it for $135 under retail. I figure that will leave me some money to buy some fibers to play with. I can't order it until the middle of this week, though, because I won't be around to accept the package. I am very excited!