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seemingly random dreams & promises

i just woke up from a beautiful dream. so sweet and longed for, but still a surprise, with a mix of real and not real, like any good dream should have.

in a few hours, i’m going with my mom to baltimore for her citizenship test and interview.

i’m finally putting together my notes from my fiber class, and i thought maybe i’ll do two little videos of how i used the drum carder and the combs. sound fun?

after years and years of daydreaming and falling asleep paging through seed catalogs and gardening books, i’m finally making my own garden. i bought plants at maryland sheep & wool – dye plants too! – and got a bunch more yesterday from a little old general store down the street. i tried to grow some veggies from seedlings but i sadly killed them all. ! there’s two leeks or so that survived, that’s all. anyhow, pics to come.

finished two languishing knits, and i’m happy with them, but i gotta take proper pics there too. my mom and my oldest sister are in the middle of knitting projects too, so some nights we sit around the kitchen table (ok, island) and watch tv and chat while we clickity-clack away. very nice.

my dad is holding steady. the doctors gave him a couple of weeks over a month ago. he’s so thin, it’s a hurtful surprise to see it, remember it, every morning when i go to give him a kiss hello. he squeezes my hand, most of the time, to communicate, but yesterday i got a handful of words, and it was a combination of happiness and sadness – happy to hear him, of course, but so sad to realize all the more how he’s still here, just trapped in a brain and body that is falling apart around him. it’s just so insane.

i think the older i get, the more i realize how precious love is. and i don’t mean this just about my dad, though of course he’s a big part, but also about people you meet, along the way, that you love. i mean, it sounds so hokey, but i kinda shudder to think how carelessly i treated love when i was younger. like i thought it just grew on trees, no biggie, when in reality, you have to handle love, and those you love, with so much care and attention. they’re precious! they’re one in a million! if not more like one in a billion. now, with losses of love around me, imminent or done, only now do i get it.

maybe this is the part about growing up that makes one slow down. i remember always being disappointed in anne (of green gables, of course ;) ) when she grew up – she got so less spunky and fun, and instead was all wise and matronly. i’ve always been a fast talker, walker, do-er, and i like that about me. but maybe anne slowed down because partially because she learned about loss and how easily it happens, about how fragile we all are in our lives, and so by slowing down, you’re more careful, of yourselves, of those around you.. hm. i don’t know if i want to learn this then. i like moving around with the friskiness of a kid, babbling away at a million hours a minutes, laughing and crying within the space of ten minutes. it’s a crazy hectic way to live, but that’s how i’ve always been.

but again, it probably doesn’t have to be one extreme or the other, right? silly andrea. !

off to putter around my plants, take some pics, and get dressed for baltimore ~ ~ hope each one of you have a good thursday ~

p.s. two songs in my head this morning: violent femme’s good feeling and these days by nico.

comment [5]

posted 15 May 08 & filed under busy bee, familia!

oh wow

yes, i won a ribbon… make that seven ribbons. ! ! so proud and happy. and inspired all the more to spin spin spin. evidence here:

spindling! on a beautiful 22 grams spindlewood company square spindle. for those of you who think spindling is not for you, i say try another spindle – there’s such a variety out there, the odds are great that if you like spinning, then it’s just a matter of finding the right spindle.

the festival was just amazing. there’s so much to tell – in fact, the past ten days have been pretty amazing, but first things first. or rather, the latest things first.

first off, sheep..

… including a super informative demonstration on shearing – i was really impressed with the shearer, she was so very competent.

all in all, “some sheep” indeed!

once i got home on sunday, my mom took this pic of me showing off my ribbons. so proud. and i’m counting my prize money, yeehaw. totally didn’t see that coming!

so here’s the yarn and the ribbons! i submitted four skeins (very at the last moment, 2 a.m. decision), and a basket of yarn. i received ribbons for all five entries, and then won two special awards. !

two of the skeins were in class six, that is singles spun using commercially prepared fiber. both of those are from yarn wench, i believe. second and third place ribbons.

one skein was in class seven, plied yarn spun using commercially prepared fibers, and it was some spunky eclectic icelandic wool. this was the most popular class for handspun, from what i could see when i dropped off my entries on friday. fifth place ribbon.

when i left l.a., francesca gave me some bfl and superwash roving as a gift, some of which i dyed up with cochineal, scattering on different mordants, months ago. this was for class nine, handspun yarn naturally dyed by the spinner. first place ribbon and the special prize for best natural dyed article or skein.

lastly, my pride and joy, the jacob basket. the idea here is to enter in a basket of yarn, weighing at least one pound, with a theme in mind, extra points for creativity. somewhere around the middle of yarn school, i started thinking that it would be fun to enter in the yarn i was spinning after processing my very first fleece ever, from a jacob sheep. i thought no way would it win anything, it’s so very beginner-ish, but it would be fun to write up the mistakes i made, the parts i did right, and how the end product could still turn out really nice. it would be a fun encouraging thing for others that have fleeces in their garages but just are too intimidated to start processing their first fleeces.

so, i came home, took my fiber class, thought about it more and more, and thursday night, around one a.m. started re-skeining and tieing all the yarn, soaking and setting in the twist in the grey skeins, and knitting up a sample – part of the rules. around 4 a.m. i finished, exhausted. the next morning (three hours later) i was on the road to my last day of fiber prep class, with a basketful of slightly-damp handspun. anyhow, long story already, but basically i just barely got the entry in on time, sample ends woven in and all, and so imagine my surprised when i see the next day, first prize in class thirteen, naturally colored basked of yarn and a special prize for best basket of yarn. hooray!

and that’s that. i’ll write more about the basket – or rather, the processing of the fleece, later – i learned so much. (of course, the more you learn, the more you realize you have yet to learn. ! thank goodness.)

i ate a lot of kettle corn, talked and laughed a lot with friends, got a raverly button and avatar picture, and bought enough fiber equipment and such that i can safely say i now have a fiber studio. er, in my bedroom. that needs to be straightened out, but later. for now, my spindle is calling to me.

thanks for the nice comments and well-wishes. the creative feeling and satisfaction that fiber brings with it is helping so much, if that’s not clear already. things are ok here at the hull house, as well as can be imagined, but for now, i’m exhaustedly happy. ok, coming up.. fleeceS. yup, fleeceS. gotta do something with that prize money, you know. lucky seven, yes indeed. happy monday ~ ~

p.s. gratuitous cute cat pics. couldn’t help myself.

comment [13]

posted 5 May 08 & filed under busy bee, spinning

sharing some happiness

hi there. it’s almost one a.m. so i really shouldn’t be typing – - i should be sleeping! after a week of eight+ hour daily fiber classes at yarn school, followed immediately by the fiber prep class too, i’m beat. and then today, after the last day of class, i helped at the fleece show for five hours. it was incredible. but my feet are already aching and there’s still alllll day tomorrow and all day sunday. i don’t care – hooray for maryland sheep & wool!

but!! i had to share: earlier today i submitted four handspun skeins and one basket of handspun yarn to the skein and garment competition and tonight i peeked into the building where they were setting them all up, with ribbons affixed, and i’m pretty sure i saw one of mine with a ribbon, and maybe even a second one. eek! i was smiling so big all the way to the car, kinda chirping in happiness.

and for all of you spinners missing out on maryland sheep & wool – no fear, your friend andrea has some maryland sheepiness to share with you, as a happy thank you for being such nice readers. details coming up! as well as notes and impressions from my fiber week, pics too, and more.

happy weekend! and happy belated may day ~ ~

comment [7]

posted 2 May 08 & filed under spinning

catch up post

you know it’s been too long since you’ve written when your browser no longer has your url cached. it’s only been a little over a month, i realized, but my, what a month. still, this post, i decided, is going to be cancer-free. i was going to title it that, in fact, but i thought that a) my humor has gotten a little twisted and b) doing that would kind of defeat the purpose exactly. ha. instead, how about fiber, fiber, some random stuff, and then a bit of family.

first off, this is going to be a busy couple of weeks coming up. why? oh, just yarn school (!). and then a fiber preparation workshop (!). and then, but of course, maryland sheep & wool in all its lovely sheepiness. (!!) i will be on fiber overload but i don’t care. fiber or bust, that’s the way i see it. plus i’m the class aide for the workshop (which means i get the class 1/2 off, yay), and i’m helping out at the fleece show too. yikes.

next, who decided they needed a portable wheel for all this traveling? yes, yes, that would be andrea. a pretty victoria came home with me, after visiting misty mountain farm in nearby virgina. i tell ya, when i treat myself, i treat myself good. i don’t usually go this all out, but i’m in a serious fuckit mood. or i was – i’m restraining myself ever-so-slightly right now. we’ll see how early may goes. ;)

in other news, i’ve processed one whole fleece, my first. you may remember, i got three last year – one is done. the smallest one. ahem. but still, a lot was learned and whew, it will hold me back from getting too many this year. i’m aiming for one or two more at most. and also, i’ve learned that no matter how cheap or cheaper a fleece is, more than just a little of vm isn’t worth the work at all. valuable lesson, that.

also, looking forward to the fibery loveliness coming up, i’ve spun up all but two pounds of roving and the two fleeces. that’s it – that’s the stash that’s left.* all the rest, three or four pounds in total, has been spun since early february. that’s a lot of spinning there – including four ounces of cotton, which may not sound like a lot, but is a lot of work for a newbie like me. my spinning is still very beginnerish, but i’m very happy with the progress made in the last year or so and really, it’s been an amazing escape for me.

(*oh. except for a teeny fleece that came home with my victoria. some gorgeous finn that was calling, calling!, to me. practically no vm, barely any second cuts, generously priced and well skirted. plus i got to pet some brand-new lambs just a minute earlier – how can a girl say no? i sorted through three of the seven pounds already, and have washed 8 ounces. lovely lovely. pics to come. )

so yeah. lots of good fiber stuff there. in other news, my gardening plans are going ahead, finally, for once in my life – my dad has a gorgeous orchard in the back that’s been neglected for a couple of years, so i’ve been learning how to prune (!) and reading up on raised bed gardening. i tried growing some plants from seed, but so far, it’s looking a little depressing, sigh. nevertheless, very very interesting. also, i’ve been on an organizational kick in my room – jewelry, books, clothing, furniture, you name it. also destashing and tossing and donating stuff left and right. decluttering one’s life feels delicious, but is a loooong process.

then, family stuff (sorry for the list-like writing, but if i didn’t post something soon, i’d have no idea how to start again): a cousin is engaged i hear (congrats, kenneth!), three others are pregnant (sylvana, kiki, and karen!), and my littlest sister, lucinda, got engaged (you’re a lucky man, andy!). so, lot’s of exclamation marks all around. i love my family.

there you have it, all caught up. hope each and every one of you are doing well. sorry for the disappearing act, i’ll try to stick around a little more. happy wednesday ~ ~

comment [7]

posted 15 April 08 & filed under busy bee, familia!, my wheel, spinning

thirty-one

.. and eight days. i’m a firm believer in birthday months, you know, so i’ve been having little celebratory moments all week.

i found this picture today, organizing my room with a burst of spring cleaning fever – it’s from just a little less than ten years ago. i remember i was in moscow – i was living there for a semester my junior year in college – and was planning on heading back to maryland in the middle of my stay for just a week, to attend my brother’s wedding. they needed a photograph of me, for some visa paperwork stuff, so i got this pic taken at a random photo booth in a metro station. i was freshly twenty-one, having just finished a summer in new york city, crazy head-over-heels in love with a boy that was far away, i had super short hair for the first time in my life, was living thousands of miles from anyone i knew, and generally was feeling all brand new. kinda freaked out by that, but loving it all the same.

so, i look at this photo now and i think, oh my, that’s not me anymore. that’s some other girl. and that makes me sad. there’s things about that other girl that i wouldn’t want back, no way, i’m glad i have learned some things, i have grown up in some ways. but.. maybe that’s it. that’s a girl there. and though i feel girlish at times, i don’t feel like a girl anymore. i’ve been thinking this for a while actually.. this is the year that i grew up, this is the year that i became an adult. maybe that’s silly, thirty-one is a pretty old age to grow up, huh? finally, right? but there it is. inescapable thought. believe me, i’ve tried to escape it.

of course, that girl is somewhere in me, layers deep, just like the five year old and the baby and so on. but i can never be that same girl again, and so today, a week after my birthday – after the days of celebrating thirty-one years on this planet – i’m taking a few moments to miss that girl. and miss my girlhood. it was a really good one, all in all – i was a really lucky girl. and oh my gosh did it fly. i can remember sitting in that booth, waiting for the flash, more clearly than i can remember yesterday, in a way, you know?

it’s funny – birthday’s have always been to me about looking forward, what’s the coming year going to be like, etc etc, but now i see you can look at it the other way too.. appreciate the now, yes! and the future, of course! but also, celebrate and yes even mourn for what has passed and can never be again – there were hundreds of precious moments that have passed, and only i was there for all of them and know what has gone. so, here’s to memories. and girlhood. and thirty-one years of living life…

thanks, as always, for reading ~ ~ hope march has been good to you so far.

comment [6]

posted 12 March 08 & filed under

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