2012 Tour de Fleece plans

I've done the Tour de Fleece in 2008, 2009, and 2011 and it's the biggest boost to my spinning productivity all year.  This year the Tour goes from Saturday June 30th to Sunday July 22nd, and my goals are: Spin every weekday of the Tour de

Dear Politicians

This is as political as I will get, and it nicely sums up my views: The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages

Tidying a loose end

I've been writing a short story a month for our post-NaNoWriMo writing group, Fictional Authors, and utterly neglecting the ending of my 2011 novel.  I'm planning to re-read the story so far and my planning notes, and get the thing done by the end of July.

FO: Plain Jhayne fingerless mittens

I cast on for these just before flying to Portland for our long weekend of food and books.  I thought that airport security might have mercy and not confiscate my needles if they were obviously attached to a work in progress.  The needles turned out to be fine, it was

Polishing the craft

I practiced the proper way to close jump rings without leaving a gap while making a box chain.  Bronze is a lovely material to work with, it's heavy and a warm gold colour.  The surprise is how different this piece looks in 1/4in rings compared to the

Portland, Oregon

We'd wanted to visit Powell's for years, the worlds largest bookstore.  It takes up a whole city block, I lost Paul a couple of times in the red and purple rooms (each the size of a major bookstore) and it was wonderfully relaxing to have nothing

Introducing Albion's Forge!

My Etsy store is now open: Albion's Forge.  I am selling ThinkMats, pieces of rubber chainmail you can fiddle with, stretch, jingle, scrunch, rattle, and ponder.  If you're a natural fidget, this might be for you.  If you're surrounded by natural fidgets, having these

FO: Apothecary's Pocket I and II

A small stash-busting project for sock yarn leftovers, Apothecary's Pocket is a drawstring bag designed to hold small things like vitamin pills or dice without rattling.  I do hate rattling. Pattern: My design Yarn: Koigu PPPM and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Needles: US1 2.25mm Duration:

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Scarf

This is going to be the most unusual project I have ever participated in.  It's a simple seaman's scarf with 1x1 ribbing and a knit and purl patttern at each end (Little Pyramids), made in Malabrigo Worsted yarn (Cognac and Applewood). And I'm done.

Spinning FO: Chocolate cherry Finn

This fiber was dyed in Amy's kitchen back in December, using brown and red dyes with some patches left undyed.  The Finn was a new wool to me, it's coarser than merino with a hairy feel like Wensleydale.  It went through the microwave and the salad