I must be insane

As if my life is not busy enough, I've decided to embark on the craziest venture yet -- I'm going into business with a couple friends whom I have never met. Internet forums are funny things. They provide an intimacy with people who are in a similar place in life as you are, and it breeds an unique and powerful bond.

Come mid-July, Lea, Lamar and I will be opening up an internet shop called Tiny Lady Cooperative. We will be selling hand-painted and kettle-dyed yarn, roving and handspun. Lea has been spinning for nearly a year now and has gotten to be incredibly good in a remarkably short time. Lamar isn't spinning yet, but Lea and I vow to drag her kicking and screaming over to the Darker Side! I just recently purchased a Lendrum DT complete! I bought her from a gal in Maryland who is raising money for her honeymoon in France. I definitely feel that we transacted a good bit of business. She got a nice amount of money and I got a lovely, gently-used wheel and a buttload of fiber! I've decided to name my wheel Adelaide. It just came to me and I thought it fit beautifully. I will post pics soon, but the weather here in central Massachusetts has been less than ideal.

Back to the fiber biz -- we will be carrying a great selection of yarns -- BFL, Ramboulliet, an environmentally sustainable farm yarn (it is organic, but the farmer chose not to bother with the expense and hassle of being certified. His practices are actually more strict than the certified organic label requires, and it is mule-spun, so it is a delish, squishy, springy yarn. This is the yarn that will turn the so-called "wool-haters" (like my sister) into wool lovers! And it is soft enough for babies too), a 100% BFL sock yarn and a merino/tencel sock yarn. I've got lots of colorways -- mostly related to the colors of nature that are part of the New England landscape, but I will have some fun with bright and funky colorways inspired by my Lilly Pulitzer collection!

My first public display of sock yarn can be seen at Claudia's Blog -- I donated a skein of yarn and a set of Brittany DPNs for her MS Ride raffle.

Please email me if you would like to know when we officially open our virtual doors! All three of us are very excited about bringing fabulous fiber to the knitting community!

Does Anyone Know What 'Burgandy' Is?

I've had it.
If I read one more yarn description and the person mis(s)pells 'burgundy' I just might scream -- or at least send them an email and suggest they at least Google it! Ack!
Why does this bother me so? Truth be told, I am a writer, editor and proofreader by profession. I miss it terribly, but it is difficult work to do when you have two children under four conspiring against any concentration or deep thought. But once an editor, always an editor. I am sorry there is no red pen key or mouse click -- I'd slash and burn my way across the web!

Anyway, my hissy-fit is over and I feel better now! But I think the next time that egregiously wrong 'a' rears its ugly head, I will have to send the offending party a red pen email and ask that the offending letter be struck!

Glacial Potholes, or "And you thought 128 was bad?!"

On my way back to the car, I spied a sign on a side street:

ANCIENT GLACIER POTHOLES GEOLOGICAL WONDER 400 FEET

Now, I ask you, who can resist that? It's almost not fair! I had to see it. And it was worth the trip. I'll let the sign do the talking here:

Potholes were ground out of granite during high water of the glacial age by whirlpool action of water and gyrating stones of varied sizes.
Some of the grinding millstones may still be seen in the smaller potholes.
Over 50 such potholes exist in this confined area known in Indian days as "Salmon Falls."
These potholes vary in size from 6 inches to 39 feet in diameter, the latter being the world's largest pothole of record.

And for your viewing pleasure:

Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival Part II

Well, it's been more than a day. Sorry about that, all my pretend readers!

After we looked at some sheep, I got to head into the craft barns!!!! Finally!

I've never been to anything like it before, so I really didn't know what to expect. Even at a smaller event, it is overwhelming to see so much yarn and fiber in one place. And I got to see spinning wheels in person, which was really, um, SPIFFY!


After walking through all the barns, I was ready to shop. I picked up a pair of size 0 Swallow casein DPNs -- bright green!, some dyed, carded Romney from Sojourner Sheep, as well as some Coopworth roving and locks. I also picked up some Jacquard acid dyes and have been having fun with those -- cooking yarn in an old crock-pot -- life doesn't get any better!


A little lunch, another trip to see the llamas and watch the dog trials for a little bit and we called it a day. I was praying the kids would sleep the whole way home!




Mr. Spiffy wanted a soda and to take a side trip through Shelburne Falls on the way back here. I was curious, too, but worried that Fritz would wake up. The whole Speed thing kicks in on car trips -- if the car speed slows down too much, the baby wakes up and cries. Jeez -- it's almost worth the tickets for running red lights to keep the baby asleep on a long car trip.

Shelburne Falls is famous for a couple things -- The Bridge of Flowers and glacier potholes. Huh? I have pictures!

The Bridge of Flowers caught my eye first -- it's a footbridge connecting one side of Shelburne Falls to the other over the North River. When we were there, wisteria was in bloom. The blue/lavender/white hue is a stunner even from a distance.