A "full" year so far

Yesterday, I worked until noon and then returned the Steamvac to Erin. :( I hated to part with it! I have been using it frequently and it is super easy to use. I may have to run out and buy one soon. It comes in handy for all the accidents pets tend to have. I have two old cats and they are the source of most of the messes, but my Sadie dog has stomach problems once in awhile.

Image by Velo Steve via Flickr

We went to eat lunch around 1 and stayed until 3pm! I had to run to Walmart after that. I spent the evening talking on the phone with my sister - totally cracked me up with her story about Jordan's wisdom teeth extraction. Apparently, my naturally talkative niece had to ask tons of questions while still under the influence of the anesthesia. You will have to ask her to tell it, it was priceless.

I have been spending a lot of time on the phone lately. It isn't something I planned, just happens that I have been getting calls from people I haven't heard from in awhile, or others have news to share, or I'm getting to know someone new.

Today, Sunday, I went back to bed around 11am because I was in pain and sore. After a short nap, I felt better and got dressed. I really wanted to go to Grayling and check out a store someone had told me about. Apparently, this store has always been there, and I did not know of it's existence! A store that sells Woolrich and Smartwool and I don't know about it? I packed a gift card received for Christmas and Sadie and we headed out the door.

But first, a stop at the top of the hill for a short frolic for Sadie. It has been so cold, I have not been able to walk her. But lately, I have found I can go to the hill and watch the sledders and Sadie gets lots of exercise, running up and down the hill, and she gets to socialize with people, something she isn't good at and needs the practice. She likes people, she is just afraid of them. I don't know what happened to her before I adopted her, but I'm sure she wasn't treated well by a man. She is more likely to approach kids than adults.

In Grayling, I found the store, North Country something, but it was closed. In fact, I wanted to spend money, but every place I tried was closed! Even the feed store. Oh well, I know the store hours now and I can go another time. Not spending money is a good thing anyway.

So we went back to the hill for about 45 minutes. A long time, considering how cold it was. It was 25, but the wind was bringing it down even more. There were even more people there, and some of the same people as well. Sadie ran up and down the hill and let the little kids pet her.

When we came home, I put some pots on to boil and while Sadie laid in front of the EdenPure, I began fulling 4 skeins of yarn. I had done the last batch of plying on Friday and I needed to get this done so I can start with the dark brown (Laverne and Shirley) roving. I need the dark brown to start a fair isle hat for LC Guy. I promised him this when he first started showering me with wool two seasons ago. I need to get'r done!

Fulling yarn goes against everything they tell you about fiber preparation! When you are cleaning and wool to prepare it to spin, you have to be very careful you don't felt it while washing it. Felting is when wool sticks together when soap, hot water, and agitation are combined. When you "full" yarn, you put your hard earned skeins into a pot of boiled water with soap added. Then you take a toilet plunger and pound the crap out of it. Then dunk it into cold water - then back to the hot water. The first time I did it, I was a wreck just thinking about it. But it turned out awesome and I knew I would do it again. I used this method to prepare the skein I made for the skein competition last September. Although, I neglected to mention the part about "fulling" in my blog posts due to a lack of time. I followed the directions on this blog page and found them helpful and it certainly helped that the author, Barbara, had the same concerns as I did.

I still need to pound (whack them on a counter) the skeins, but they are hanging in the bathroom after I spun them out in the washing machine. I am beginning to dream of a studio that includes its own sinks, washer and dryer, has lots of windows, and would take up 2/3s of my house. I don't see a problem with that, do you?

I still need to add a photo or two, so I am going to stop here. I will be editing photos this week for the lamb's wool I have been working on and want to post here for documentation.

Coming Soon: EdenPure Analysis & Wool Processing Update