Aaah.  The spoils of war.

I just really like saying that about fiber conquests, lol.

Firstly, I want to thank all of you for the kind words about and prayers for my father. I haven’t gotten to see him yet. But I did get to speak with him on the phone today and he is talking now. His speech is slow.  But, that, in and of itself, is such a relief and so encouraging that he will be able to make a full recovery.

And now…back to why you should be jelly.

Take a peek below.

Yup! I participated in another workshop given by Abby Franquemont at Greenbank Mill.  It was sweet!

The ladies who invited Abby for the workshop planned for us to have a segment on joining, on plying, on speedier spinning and on silk singles.

Everybody got ready quickly, because after the spindle spinning demo, we knew we couldn’t afford to miss one second of this. What was notable was that Abby had us always start with a warm-up spin.

I’ve never done that before. But it really helped during this workshop. I used my Lendrum wheel for this workshop, which is the wheel I have that I’m least familiar with just yet. I haven’t had much spinning time lately and I felt the workshop would be a good way to force myself to get more comfortable with it and to learn the wheel. No switching out the wheel for my usual go-to wheel. And, I did get to know this wheel better. For instance, I never noticed that the flyers have the whorls attached to them.  Fortunately, I took two flyers, so I had a few options. But the only reason I took them is because I’m a packrat, lol.  Next time, I’ll have to be more deliberate about my choices if I ever decide not to take them all.  This wheel really makes me think! I found out about the whorls being attached to the flyers because, during the workshop, there was a bit of switching one flyer out for another depending on what we did. I went to change a whorl and saw that it was glued on! Say, when we spun cotton, I realized after my cotton came apart a few times, that I had to switch out a flyer for another to get the right whorl size to get enough twist in there that would hold it together. I think I could have compensated with the treadling. But why?  A smaller whorl size would fix that quicker.  Then, there was the time that I was spinning a fiber that kept snapping before it got on the bobbin, so that I could barely start! When I (finally) remembered I had changed the whorl size to a tinier ratio, I switched it out and the problem was solved. There were times when I felt that I was getting enough twist, and I wasn’t.  So, there was some playing around with the whole ratio thing. Going from spinning predominately on a wheel where there are only four ratios to one where there are way more and more equipment to get to them is a little different when you are reaching toward a specific singles/yarn. It’s true that I have more whorls with a LB too. But, I never have to change them if I’m just taking whatever yarn I get and I don’t care what yarn I’m spinning, you know? Spinning a specific yarn is a game changer. I think I’m a lot more familiar with the wheel now. So, yay warm-ups, lol!

I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to give a class for a range of abilities.  But, I think she did an excellent job.  There was enough to keep those who had been spinning 10+ years interested as well as information for those who had just started within the last week.  So, even though there were specific workshops that we were registered for (and everyone signed up for everything!), Abby still took the time to show us a lot of the basics. If you missed something when you learned to spin, you got it in the workshop.

She took time to show us some of the parts on the wheel and what to do in instances, say, where the take up is not what you’d like it to be.

Yes! We got to see Abby spin on a spinning wheel too! She’s amazing! I stood behind her to see how she did it a few times.  She has a lot more points of contact with her fingers and her singles than I’ve ever seen a spinner use.  At one point, she had three points of contact with the yarn as it was being formed! It was really cool.

One of her first demos was a discussion of staple length and to show us the difference between short-forward draw (worsted) and long draw (woolen).

Look at the differences she’s achieving. The whole time, she’s sending samples around, I was on it! After a while, Abby just started giving me the samples!! LOL! Then, everybody else did too. I almost got the star she crocheted too.  But, somebody put it back at the last minute…lol. But I gots souvenirs!

Okay, back to the workshop…

So our first spin was short-forward draw.

I usually get bored with it. But I couldn’t in this workshop. I was concentrating too much. I have to work hard to get that right. I always want to let that twist slip into my drafting zone. So usually, I’m spinning some adulterated version of it. I stuck to the rules in the class though. It was slow going for me on that point. After about five minutes of it, I got to a true worsted, lol. But Laurel was in her element!

Then, we got around to long draw.

Most folks seem to have the most trouble with that kind of draw.  For some reason, the faith it takes to believe that fluff is going to spin up is hard to come by. But, as Abby spun, she let some of us try it out.

Cool, huh?

I think I learned long draw when I started using a short backward draw…At some point, I realized I could keep going and going and going. The yarn came out bouncier too. So I was more comfortable with this kind of spinning.  But, the fiber she used was so much more appropriate for it than anything I’d ever spun long-draw with. It was a grabby, little bugger. I loved it! Yes, it’s nice to be told…but better to feel that some fibers are more appropriate than others, depending on how you’re going to use it.

This was a little more drawing outside of the lines for Laurel because she really loves that short draw! But look at her go!!

Here’s my bobbin. Oh, and we had A LOT of hybrid bobbins for this workshop. So many different kinds of spinning modes! It was great to see.  On this bobbin, there’s short and long draw together.

Abby showed us a few different weights that you could spin using either method.  We could feel the difference between denser and lighter yarns and the methods used to achieve them.

She got into some trickier stuff too.

Deliberate slubs and what not.  LOVES!

We did have to switch gears a few times, naturally, to get to the other segments of the workshop.

There were demos with large chunks of top to show what was actually happening with the yarns we were spinning as it regards twist and plying, etc.

I got the demos for that too! I feel like if I ever run out of fluff to spin for real, I’m going to take these apart and spin them up too.  Look how pretty these colors are together! We got to see common problems with plying using these, the wearing of a yarn depending on how much twist it has, the differences between a chain-ply and 3-ply yarn.  Great props.

Here’s my plying. She showed us a much easier method to ply which doesn’t require you to insert a finger between the singles. It’s much more relaxing. I’d tell you, but then she’d have to kill me, lol.

Then, there were speed spins where we recorded how many loops around our arms we got and how to get more on that bobbin to beat our record times.  She gave us a short demo on production spinning and the need to stop preciousizing every little inch along the length of your spinning (though with her wicked double-drafting techniques, it’s easy for her to say ). I’m SO down with that though.  

Here’s Abby’s two samples using production spinning speeds. She was getting like two and three times the length that the participants of the class got AND it was SO soft!! OMG. If you could have seen the flyer! It was spinning at a rate I’d never seen a spinning wheel spin before. Ever. 

The yellow skein in the lead photos shows my speed spin. It’s spun from a batt and I filled a whole bobbin with that! In speed spinning, we were told not to worry about the consistency…Ironically, the faster you spin, the more uniform your yarn gets.  We saw that as we kind of let go.

Later on we got to silk singles and blends.

Beautiful fibers! Two blends and tussah silk. I believe my cotton is under this one…which I found was infinitely faster and easier to spin with a long draw technique and the right whorl size for me.

There was more laughing, like at the drop spindle spinning workshop.

There was more wise-cracking too.

And, as always, when you’re around spinners, you’re bound to pick up new tricks. Heather took out a ball winder during the workshop to get some of her stuff off her bobbins and plied before leaving.  I’ve never tried winding singles off the bobbin onto a ball winder.  So, when I got home and wanted to try some stuff I learned-and realized all my bobbins had stuff on them, I tried it myself.

The balls were wound-two from bobbins and one from the skein I had wound on the niddy noddy at the workshop.

Everything was plied in under a half an hour! I’m sure you probably had already done this before, but I hadn’t. It blew my mind how fast I unloaded those bobbins.

I also got the blends, the cotton and the silk samples off the bobbin as well.

Since they were meant to be singles, I didn’t ply them.

So, now my bobbins are free for these!

Abby gave us some fluff to take home from the workshop to use for practicing. Yum!! You jelly yet?!

If you ever get a chance to take a workshop with her, I’d give you an emphatic head nod in the affirmative. She was pretty funny and I never heard her once say, “Um…You’re doing it wrong.”

Seems life is full of those these days.

What an interesting day. I started off the day snapping some photos of some of the rest of my haul from MDSW. Some more fluff to match my new baby. And a couple other little treasures.

Just thought I’d share that, lol.

Then, I went to the mill today after a half day at work. The Harmony Weaver’s Guild along with the Delaware Fiberguild were expecting an important visitor.

Can you tell who it is? I’ll give you a little longer…

Mostly everybody I know from the guild showed up for this. There’s Natalie and Gerri.

Laurel and Carol (who sat next to me…probably to keep my chatting down ). I got to snap a pic of Laurel’s progress on her spindle from MDSW.

So pretty! And so out of her comfort zone, I think. She’s more of a green lady. I think my tendency to go overboard may be affecting her, lol. This is “beauteous!”

And Lucy was there too. I sit next to her at the guild meetings. I just had to show you her latest creation! This is one of her most recent dolls. It’s Red! As in Red Riding Hood! Isn’t she cute?! But, this Red is bipolar . When you turn her over…

She becomes a totally different person. It’s Goldilocks!! See the three bears on her skirt? Oh, I thought she was adorable. I must’ve turned her over a million times, lol. Such a kid.

I also saw a couple faces from the spin-ins.

Okay. Time’s up. Did you guess? No?

Check this next sequence.

Abby Franquemont came to give a basic spindle class for us today!

If you’re curious about her demeanor, she’s some sort of cross between a wise-cracking joker and an evil-genius. She really knows her stuff and can make you laugh while she’s teaching it to you, albeit in a slightly manipulative fashion. Nice combo, lol!

She brought us lots of new toys. But for the beginning class, we learned to spin on a notchless bottom whorl.

This is mine. It has a point. So, I can spin this supported as well as suspended. And, Abby mentioned that in other parts of the world the points are regularly used for securing the spindle in the ground for plying. I’m guessing there’s a stress-relieving, stabbing technique to that, lol. Later in the class, she gave us the option of trying out a top whorl as well.

The class was awesome and by the end of it, completely new beginners and those who had had some prior experience made string. Everyone learned some new tricks along the way. I learned joining can be magical and a double half-hitch beats a single on a notchless shaft any day.

We got to see Abby spin for a bit and it reminded me of great painting. From my perspective, the greatest paintings are begun with an attention to the structure first. Only when that is sound does an artist begin to consider the aesthetics. Abby seems to do that with singles longer than she is tall! She’s spinning, double drafting, winding her butterfly and adjusting slubs with such ease and speed that it’s completely astounding to watch. Loved it!

This is my spindle from class. One other thing I also learned is I’m still into suspended spindling…but supported is still growing on me too.

Yup. In spite of some late misfortune, it was shaping up to be a great day!

And then, my brother called.

He told me that my father is in the hospital in New York.

It is pretty serious.

At times like these I can only pray…and run to the water. When I feel shaken, I have to re-establish myself in the faith I have come to depend on for everything. I believe God will be merciful and this too will pass.

While I almost felt guilty for having so much fun, when I left, I found myself grateful for the laughter I had today as well as the fact that I had the ability to feel the pain. It meant I was still alive.

There will be more spinning tomorrow along with checking up on my dad, waiting for the good report. I find it funny how life stops and keeps moving all the same. High and low. Ebb and flow. It’s all part of life.

I felt this little guy deserved a post of its own.

I had been wanting a new spindle for quite some time. But, I hadn’t found one that really got me. After collecting 17 spindles (at my last count), I still have a wish list for spindles…I want a moosie, a Silver Lace spindle by Golding, something by Malcolm Fielding, and a Jenkins Turkish Spindle too. It’s always nice to have something out there to look forward to someday. But this time, I was attracted to this little guy.

I got a Bosworth mini flame box elder with bloodwood shaft top whorl spindle. Out of all the spindles I saw yesterday that were within the price range I intended to spend yesterday, this was the one that “spoke” to me. It’s got soul and a little bit of fire too, I think.

The streaks of red in the wood of the whorl are thought to be due to injuries by boxelder bugs.  Since I’m not a scientific-type, I can’t say how true that is or not. But I can say that the “wounds” do tend to make the wood that much more beautiful to me.  The red shaft just made this a perfect fit for me right now.

I had to get some fluff to spin on this immediately, and at a Sheep and Wool Festival, I was bound to find something appropriate, lol.

Laurel found me a bin full of small lengths of colored roving for a couple bucks each. So, I found some that I thought would work.  They were really easy to put into bird’s nests.

Since I had a little extra time today, I decided to show you guys how I learned how to make a bird’s nests…I’m thinking I started making these when I was learning to make combed top with mini-combs…but I can’t be sure.

I start by wrapping the fiber around my first two fingers a couple times.  Depending on the length, you can do this multiple times.

Then, I wrap it another couple times around those fingers and the third finger.  Again, the number of times you wrap it depends on the length you’re wrapping.

If I still have length left, I add the last finger and wrap around all of the fingers until I get to the end of the length.  These weren’t really that long to have to do that.

Lastly, I tuck the tale up into the center from the bottom.

Once I’m ready to use it, I can just pull out the start from the center at the top of the nest, give it a quick snap so the length falls out again and start spinning.

I love making nests because they’re compact, easy to work with and highly photogenic.

This spin was done in no time.  There’s a sweet, little skein.

Who’d have thought this wounded soul of a spindle could produce such a cute, little skein, huh? It’s obviously got talent, strength and beauty.

I love this spindle.

What’s happiness?

I have come to a crossroad in my life recently and have had to make some difficult decisions for my future. While it doesn’t feel good right now, I believe soon, I will experience a wealth of joy…even though it hasn’t been entirely easy to come to this point.  But life has a lot of little moments to point us in the direction of knowing what happiness really is.

Like a smile on my daughter’s face…

and a spin in the park.

Like going on a road trip with friends…

and seeing things up close and personal for the first time ever!

Like endless rows of Goldings…

…and Bosworths.

Or, seeing extremely beautiful craftsmanship as it meets function.

Maybe being surrounded by people who share enthusiasm for the same things.

Or, finding good deals on things you love.

Seeing beautiful tapestries.

Or, meeting up to play show and tell with buddies.

Seeing baby sheep…

…and getting baaa’hed at, lol!

Or, putting away your first batch of goodies at the car.

Like sitting out on the grass for a picnic…

…eating nothing of nutritional value whatsoever.

Or, snapping photos of exotic-to-me breeds that I’ve heard of, but never seen.

Like listening to famous writers on a great finery subject…

..and watching child-, dog- and sheep-whisperer, Laurel’s way with livestock.

Or, seeing beautiful handspun and fleece without having to keep my hands to myself…

…while watching sheep get shorn.

Or, maybe like seeing beautifully arrayed and colorful yarn balls and braids…

…or walls of them.

…and watching spinning wheels rain from the sky!

Or, like looking at a demo of one of my future compact spinning wheels…

…noting how it holds everything necessary, like it’s own oil and Lazy Kate…

…and how it fits into a small canvas bag.

Like oohhing and aahhing over exotic knitting needles and joking that I know they wouldn’t last a minute in my daughter’s presence.

Like seeing a freshly shorn alpaca…

…and him seeing you too.

Or, seeing vendors of every kind, passionate about they’re crafts…

…and standing in booths of Ravelry phenoms.

Or walking into the tent of an auction and seeing tons of wonderful devices you could own someday.

Like seeing a sheep auction for the first time…

…and peaking every so often back into your bag to see your newest little treasure.

Or, like spinning with a friend on the trip home after a wonderful day.

There are plenty of other things that point us toward the meaning of happiness.  But, the greatest thing about happiness to me is that, while all these things put a smile on my face-as they should-true happiness comes from within.  And when it does, even though you may have hard times, there’s nothing that can take it away.

Some of the best activities are the ones where you get to see a team in action.

Teams come in all shapes and sizes. But normally, the best teams are where everyone on it is working toward the same goal. There is always success in that. Yesterday, when I went to Greenbank Mill’s Annual Sheep Shearing and Herb Festival, as I got around to all of the activities, I couldn’t help but see all of the players coming together.

You may recall I met these folks exactly a year ago. A year later, and I see all of the same activities…new faces and old. If you’ve been reading this blog a while and if you look closely, you might remember some of them yourself.

Abby was there. She usually has the task of putting together the events we have at the mill. Here she’s giving a tour.

There was Jo. She’s always carrying some kind of basket…

And Flo was there as well.

Though she told me her spinning days are over, she still has a penchant for instruction and recounting historical stories and things of that nature. She’s really invaluable to the place.

Then there’s Laurel. She was the one that taught the kids last year to spin on the wheel and drop spindle.

Yesterday, she was showing them how to wash fleece. One of the points of the Annual Sheep Shearing & Herb Festival is to give the visitors a view of the process from shearing to finished product. Laurel is always one of the best demonstrators because she’s funny-and kids love her! She goes above and beyond to share her own love of the process, demonstrating picking and carding wool.

She did have a little help on the carder today though. You may remember this face?

That’s a spinner that we gained last year. (Listen to me say “we”, lol) She’s a lot less bashful around the camera anymore. Seems she is becoming more of a permanent fixture around the mill. She’s pretty much a regular at spin-ins anymore, owns a Joy and has been learning to spin fur from her dog. Naturally, she learned how to process it through the cleaning, carding and whatnot. Here, she’s showing a young visitor what carding is about and what it can produce.

I think I got sidetracked for a minute here…

Ahem. Moving on.

Though I talk much more about the textile part, the mill has other committees as well…like gardening. Sherry, one of our behind the scenes ladies, asked me to take some photos of the herbs for the event.

They’re beautiful, aren’t they? I should spend more time there…I just have a blacker thumb than most, lol.

Yes, I spend more time on the sheepy side of things, it seems. In fact, the only reason I’d want to know anything about the garden would have to do with dyeing…

Which brings me to Heather. I met Heather once at the mill as she was tending to the gardens. Nice segway there…Heather’s a knitter, a spinner and a dyer.

She’s a get-things-done type of person too. Her goal was to show the visitors a bit about historical dyeing with items like cochineal…

…and indigo (you may remember this process)…

…and to make this!

“Boo-ya!!” In Heather’s own words.

Boo-ya! Indeed.

All of these fibery processes take place around the shearing of the fleece, obviously. The washing, the picking, the carding and the skirting.

Here, Linda and Carol are doing the skirting. Linda was doing this last year too. Those are her fingers in the photo from last year’s sheep shearing showing me what a second cut looks like. I think these women never get tired of dirty wool, lol.

One of the most beautiful sights I got to see yesterday was the work of our new shepherdess, Jessica.

Many of our sheep were reluctant to get a good shave. But Jessica and her helpers made sure they got out there safely to get the job done. I was really impressed with how much she appeared to care for these sheep already.

(Sidebar: Remember that pink sweatshirt or those sisters off to the right? )

Well, as they say, if the mountain won’t come to Muhammad…

Jessica also clipped their toenails when they were finished being shorn.

No matter how ornery they acted, she was there the entire time…and when the ordeal was over, I could see her calm them and take them back to the fold.

Very lucky sheep.

At some point, there was a lull in the day. Usually around lunch time. That’s when the volunteers can kick back for a minute and grab a bite…

…give each other a little play attitude…

LOL!

…show off near FO’s.

These are handwoven baby blankets by Linda.

They’re gorgeous as is, but she is planning to add a quilted back to these.

We also get to spin…

I spun on my little, Turkish spindle, Laurel spun on her Kromski wheel and Linda and Carol spun on their spindles. As visitors came to ask questions about it, they got to see an ancient craft being performed right before their eyes…some for the first time. It’s kind of awesome to see their reaction to that.

I’m home now and my little contribution to the day was to photograph and kind of float around if anyone needed help. I also have the responsibility of adding these to the website and getting some photos off to those who will be keeping them for storage and site history later.

I do like spinning so much as a solitary, meditative practice. But teams are nice too. And being part of a good team never gets old.

Lots of loose ends sticking out of my life these days.

I don't know about you all, but when I start seeing a lot of little UFO's hanging around, I start to get itchy!

This little guy, I still consider to be fairly new. He's a cutie. But, I never should've started on him until I had some other little ditties finished first. I seem to recall some cotton on a tahkli…some handspun that my get ran back through the wheel…a hat that shall ne'er be mentioned ( at least not until I get serious about knitting it). Etc., etc.

These count too.

I never did finish off the fringe on these. So, today, I just put them in bunches and knotted them until I get around to them. Well, I kind of like them on the orangey one. But the striped one…the bunches could go smaller, for sure. It does beat letting Girl Child get to them before I get a chance to stop her though, lol.

So, what has gotten me all tied up lately? Well, besides the fact that Boy Child has realized he is a teenager and proceeded to send our laundry size into the upper stratosphere…and generally keeping up with Girl Child's shenanigans…that site I was telling you about? Yeah, the moment I clicked save on that last post, it went BOOM! Sigh. It's only the mil's busiest month of the year, right?

So, I spent some time getting that back together with support from the hosting service, the theme developer and the CDN company. Then, since I found that I had to deactivate some things to do that, I decided to overhaul the styling.

I like it better. Now that the colors are different, I may swap out for a more prominent logo rather than a watermark-looking one. And I would like to adjust some photos in the slider. Again. AND, I have to put the calendar back together on there. Again. But, I do like it. I added some textures from a free background texture site that makes it look much more polished. Sweet. I still wouldn't call that breakdown a blessing in disguise just yet. But, it's a nice change.

While I was at it, I figured I may as well update my personal site. I still have yet to get any serious drawing or painting done. But, my physical portfolio is still around. I'll know when I'm ready, I guess. In the meantime, I'll just keep it simple and let folks know where they can find me. I will probably get picky and move that navigation over at some point…and change the photos I put on there in the circles to look a little better with the shape. But, it works for now. That's half the battle for a beginner.

There's still the matter of that resolution I set for myself at the start of this year to learn how to make a website with a WP theme. Funny thing about those…when you write them down, it makes it more concrete.

Got some more loose ends to tie up tonight: The natives are getting hungry.

I spent some time at the mill yesterday.

The spin-in was kind of small this time.  The weather’s getting warmer, so it’s to be expected.  Some folks probably are even at the beach already! I’m not that warm yet though…

I got there a couple hours after the spin-in started.  I think I saw three people leave and three others come in after them.  But I wanted to spin so I only got a few photos of all the goings on.

This speckled singles Heather was spinning on is actually just dirty roving, lol.

Bob had some fluff I wanted to tuck away into my own bag…I don’t even like purple like that.  But that is just awesome, isn’t it?!

I twirled around on this Tiny Turkish Spindle.

And, I played around spinning cotton on a wheel! That’s an adventure…

Cotton needs a high amount of twist.  And getting it on the wheel without it snapping or drifting apart was a little tricky, having never tried it before.

Fortunately, I have all this left!

This is where I am today.  Well, there was more on there, but I took it off just to look at it and see how coily it was.  Why?  Because I just mess with stuff.  But, you can see here where when I first started it was super twisty and I started mellowing out as I got into it.  I think I found that either spinning it from the fold or using a supported long draw was much better than trying to inchworm it in the beginning.  Ugh.

Yeah, I’ve been bouncing around.  Just can’t seem to keep still and hone in on any one thing at the moment…

I’ve been playing with photo apps.  You may have noticed from Girl Child’s photo shoot (lol) that I used a filter on one of the photos to sadden it up a little.  I can’t get over how fun these apps are! I figured I’d share a couple of those photos here. These are spinning photos you’ve seen before.  They’re just remixed, lol.

I’m just fiddling around with these on my iPad.  It’s just a few clicks here and there.  But, the apps I tend to like are:

• Over, which allows you to place words over photos using a nice font selection.
• Repix, you kind of just have to see what it does to believe it.  But the general idea is, with a stroke of your finger, you can add effects to your photo that instantly awesomize it.
• Curved, another font app that lets you place fonts over your photos in various directions and across lots of paths.
• Snapseed, an app many know about already, is like a mini-photo lab in your pocket.
• Picsplay Pro, Another app that makes awesome adjustments possible.  Loves it!

These are brief descriptions of these apps based on what I know of them so far.  Many of them have way more capabilities that I fully intend to exploit.  If you like playing with photos…or…you know, everything, you should try them out.  I’ll never know why I never played with these things before.  I don’t consider myself that much of a purist…

I have also been updating the Greenbank Mill site.  You remember that was a pet project from last year.  I suspect the transition from the .org to the .com will take place soon.  So far, being a webmaster hasn’t been without it’s scares.  Seems there are updates coming out of my ears over there.  And, of course, there was the time I thought I was simply updating a calendar plug-in and it broke the entire site.  No matter how temporary that was, when all I could see was a blank page staring back at me…Um, yeah.  But, I’m hanging in there!

I have had issues since I began that site with the front slider causing the page over there to load like an overly stuffed snail.

See that big photo there?  That’s the culprit.  That along with the other four I had rotating behind it in that slider.

Not to mention, having known these folks for almost a year now, I have gained more of an understanding of what’s going on inside the organization.  What folks normally look for going to the .org site seems to me to be very specific anymore.  What the mill needs from folks that visit the site is also a little more clear.  I gain more understanding as I go.  So, in an effort to acknowledge all of these interests, I changed the huge image slider on the front to a features slider and then added some smaller photos…mixing it up with graphics and photos.  Now, I’ll probably be tweaking that as I go.  And although those huge photos that folks tend to like aren’t there anymore, I think the page loads tons faster and it gives people the information they’re normally looking for right away (or a means to get to it) as well as highlights some of the concerns of the mill.

For one, visitors want to know about the next event or what’s going on right now at the mill (dates/times, etc.).  So, I have one slide that features our upcoming Annual Sheep Shearing & Herb Sale Day with a link that goes to it’s spot on the calendar.  The illustration comes from an image that is currently being used to advertise it on the mill’s facebook page and elsewhere.  That way if anyone lands on the site, it kind of ties in.

Another slide has a link for information to rent the facility for weddings or meetings, etc., the mill’s current bread and butter that has kept it around for such a long time.  Volunteering and a notice about the newsletter as well as the monthly spin-in all have their own slides.

Because it seems to come up much faster, visitors get to this information without having to wait for a huge photo to load and then try to figure out where to get to the information they more than likely want.  And because “Content is king”, the fact that this is all happening above the fold on my computer now is just so much less of a headache.

Yeah.  So that’s it for me today.  We’ll see what else I can add on to this apple cart…

Oh yeah, there’s always cooking dinner…

Some work days are more challenging than others.

Some personalities are more abrasive. And sometimes it takes a little more patience than you would like.

You can turn such occasions around in your head, over and over, all day long, wondering how you could have changed the situation.

Or.

Just maybe you can begin to remember…

…things have a way of turning out alright in the end.

And sometimes you just need a day at the park.

Back to work tomorrow!

Hat still not done, lol. Just can’t seem to bring myself to pick that project back up again. Good thing I used a row counter when I do get back to it. But maybe the recipient won’t be so upset since the weather has become so nice? I just found keeping up with Girl Child a little more important this week. For example…

Girl Child runs by after using the potty. Water is trickling in the bathroom after her hand washing.

Me: (On bed reading a web page) Go back and turn the sink off, Stinky.

(Waits a minute. Water still running. Flips to another web page.)

Me: (a little louder this time) Go back and turn the sink off, Stinky.

(Waits a minute…Water still running. While reading next web page, has a passing thought that this particular child runs away when she knows she is getting in trouble…vaguely remembers this particular child likes to empty rolls of toilet paper into the toilet from time to time.)

Me: (Immediately jumps up and runs to bathroom. Promptly loses mind at the sight of a floor full of water and a toilet full of tp. Yells to Boy Child…) Bring me the plunger! And make sure the ceiling is dry down there!

Thankfully, that was the main attraction this week…Finding that the pint-sized rascal has found new and even more interesting ways to, say, get the snacks down from the top cupboard, to unleash a fury of toys in every room over every floor within minutes of getting up, to shop in the fridge for her next meal on average of every five minutes or so and to swipe candy from her brothers room was just enough to keep me jumping, but wasn’t quite as alarming. She has gotten a few more inches on her this year and she has definitely stepped her game up, lol!

I did get some photos of my attempt to finish this spin.

For some reason, I decided to leave these as singles. Seemed like a good idea at the time…

Today, I left the singles and went to Greenbank Mill’s Volunteer Appreciation Potluck Dinner. It was a nice, laid back event.

My shadow, Girl Child, accompanied me. We took her iPad to keep her occupied. She impressed everyone there with her love of veggies. She only tried to swipe someone’s balloon once. And she kept pretty still the majority of the time. She got a ton of compliments on her behavior. I kept trying to pass her off to the easily-fooled ones, lol.

For the first time in over a week, I got to talk to other adults! Well, besides the hubby. This is Jessica Shahan, our new shepherdess. She was telling me about a lecture she will be giving in a couple weeks. The info should go up on the Greenbank Mill calendar soon.

The spread was great! I had made spaghetti. But I was a little late getting there after cooking that up along with a meatloaf dinner for the folks at home. There was plenty of food to go around, three times.

In between bites of a salad, Girl Child found a friend.

Kind of interesting looking at this photo. This is fellow board member, Rick Frunzi’s, wife. She also happened to be a bestie of mine in elementary school. Seeing her and Girl Child hitting it off was a little magical.

Abby, our Site Director, was the Mistress of Ceremonies. Raffling off a gift from the gift shop every so often.

And there was an award presentation from our current board president to a former one that actively continues to be a volunteer and huge supporter of the mill. You may remember, Flo? I had a great time at the potluck and I was relieved that, at the time we left, Girl Child had not smacked anyone on the booty for her final parting sentiment. Don’t ask, lol. She was an almost perfect angel the entire time. Sneaking cake, not liking it and then trying to sneak it back into the dish-at a potluck…Well, I’ll just choose to let her get by with that one infraction.

When we got back in, I came back to my yarn.

I love singles!

But I’m thinking I could run this back through and take some of the twist back out. This had to be weighted to dry without so much twist…Once it’s wet again, it’s definitely going to coil up.

Meh.

Now that Spring Break is over and Girl Child and I will be headed back to school tomorrow, I’m thinking, I just may find the time!

I have a handsome ball of yarn here…

A little while ago, I received this yarn from a blogging buddy.  I came across it again, today.  I was really supposed to be knitting on that hat.  But, then I saw this yarn and my eyes kind of lingered on it.  I fully intended to knit socks for the hubby with it.  But, after I saw it today…a light bulb went on in my head.  And now…well, just see for yourself.

Figured this to go well with that new 10 dent reed.

Now, my set-up isn’t exactly ideal.  I have to use two tables.  Sometimes they fall with the warp still on them! But it didn’t happen today.  That made it difficult to stop…

Getting started.

Trying to find the right beat.

Sock yarn is so fine around those edges.  Must figure that out too.

But the right beat is somewheres in there, lol! So far, I like this.  I don’t know if I’ll get a whole lot of pooling, though I expect some, here and there.  This has short stretches of color changes.  And if I read the authoritative book on variegated yarn I got a couple years ago, I’d know a little more.  But, I’m just going to go with a wing and a prayer on this, lol!  I think it’ll work out.

In between times, if it’s not that gadget, it’s this one…

A good spinning wheel is extremely distracting.  But I remember, I started this bobbin to see how I would like bagging this between spins.  To do it, you have to take the flyer off and move the bottom knob so that the wheel lay flat on the floor.  It takes a bit of doing.  It’s a little longer than packing up a Joy.  But it’s nice.

It would be wonderful not to have to take a flyer off at all, but I’ve never met a folding wheel where I didn’t.  So, since I have to, I do like the pouch that holds this one.  It’s nice and  roomy.  It looks like there’s more space for stash in there (check).

The bag has a lot of space to stuff in the wheel to me.  I’ve tried inserting the wheel with it closer to the top of the bag and again with it closer to the floor.  I like it better with it closer to the floor.  I think I could fit more fluff in there with it like that (check).  But it does zip up nicely around the wheel.

I also like that I don’t have to fit the fluff in with the wheel because it has pockets on the outside of the bag.  One big zipped one and two open-top pockets.  I could care some carefully wrapped oil in there for the wheel too for any unexpected squeaking…and more stash (check, check, check!).

And I love the way the strap was designed to hold the whole contraption like a backpack!

And now that it’s all zipped up and snug as a bug, it’s a real good thing.  Because if it weren’t, I’d be tempted not to touch that knitting again today.

Wish me luck!