Wow.

I haven't posted in awhile. Lots of things have happened. I lost 2 pets, my dog and my lizard. Lizzie (dog) had nerve cancer and was in a lot of pain. It was not treatable and her pain was not managed with any medication. We had her put down. This was in October. I miss her like crazy. Then, on Christmas Eve, Charlie (lizard) died. Losing 2 pets is really hard, especially in such a short timespan. It still gets to me. My cat, Godzilla, was clearly upset by the loss of both. He has no one to hang out with, so he chills with my mom a lot, which is weird. He actually jumps on her lap.

I finished another semester of school. Got a 3.65 GPA, so that's cool. I just finished the first week of this semester. I'm happy because I don't have class on Fridays. I am only taking 12 credits, but they are hard classes. One is a graduate-level biology class. Eep. It seems really cool, though.

Crafty-wise, I am still in my LOOOOONG funk. I took a sculpture class and learned to weld, so that was cool. I ended up with the highest grade in the class. Sweet. Maybe some day I will take some pics of my projects. My instructor was repeatedly telling me that I should consider an art major or minor. That was kind of flattering.

While I was home for the holidays, I didn't spin as much as I thought I would. I guess I like spinning as a de-stresser on weekends. I did spin up this awful roving from Twisted Warp and Skeins. It was like spinning polyfil. Once the singles were done, I Navajo plied it. I like the yarn, it was just a pain to spin. It is full of colorful neps and sparkle in every color imaginable. I think it will become a hat some day. Not anytime soon, though. It is DK/light worsted weight.

The roving.


Singles


All plied up


Also, I made a patchwork yarn. I broke off roughly equal lengths of Sheep Shed mill ends and dyed them with Wilton food coloring. I then split the pieces, since they got a bit felty, and predrafted them out. I made piles of lengths of the drafted fiber. One ply was red, blue, purple, and occasional white. I spun them randomly, just picking pieces out of a mixed pile. The other ply was orange, yellow, and green. I spun these in a repeating pattern. In hindsight, I should have put the white in the second ply. Oh,well. Having the one random strand and one regular strand made for a kind of controlled chaos. I think that it might knit up quite nice. It is sport/baby weight.



I need a better camera. :(

Right now, since I can't have my wheel at school with me, I am working on some superwash merino on my toy wheel spindle. I have never spun on any other spindle. The fiber is lovely and soft and drafts so easily, but it makes my hand really sweaty. That's gross. I'm sorry I told you that. Anyway it seems to be at a fine laceweight. I want to try the Handy Plying technique on it. I hate making a 2 ply normally and I hate splitting singles in to 2 hopefully even segments. We'll see what happens with this stuff.

More like Rainegade, amirite?

Oh, Renegade Craft Fair. What an adventure.

The day started out well enough. I woke up at 8:30, went to my 11 AM theatre class, and went back to my apartment. I had loaded the bulk of my stuff into my car before leaving for class. When I got back from class, I ran inside, peed, and grabbed my car stereo faceplate. I was going to need some driving music. The hour-long drive to the bus stop (which was just the parking lot of Ferris State's Racquet and Fitness Center) was easy enough. I just got on M-20 and followed the signs. I peed again and waited for the bus. It arrived pretty much on time, and surprisingly full of people. Most of them got off at Grand Rapids. There were maybe 6 other people on once we got to Kalamazoo.

I called my brother when I was just getting in to the Zoo and he came and picked my up. We went out to eat at Chili's and I saw his dorm room. He dropped me off at the bus/train station. The train was probably 30 minutes late. Once we got going, it was OK. The seats had outlets, so I plugged in my mom's laptop and watched a few episodes of Dexter. Then, all of a sudden, we were stopped. Finally a conductor got on the loudspeaker and told us that we were waiting for a freight train to move and that our engineer had run out of time (can only work so many hours, safety thing, I guess) so we had to wait for a new guy. We were probably there for an hour and a half. I got a call from Casey. She had been waiting a long time for my train and it was going nowhere fast. Finally, the conductor said that we had a new engineer and that once we got rolling we would be in Union Station in about 10 minutes. I should have just gotten out and walked. Casey was there waiting for me. We walked to Lori's waiting car and in a few minutes we were in Casey's totally sweet apartment. I took a nice cool shower and hit the hay.

We had to wake up early on Saturday to set up for the fair. It was raining pretty hard. Not too bad, but definitely not craft fair weather. We set up the tent, tables, chairs, and banner. We set up our little displays and waited for people to come. I met some people from Casey's craft group. I also met these 2 dudes that called themselves the "Crotch Waffles". You don't want to know. They harassed us a bit a couple of times. Nothing big, kind of funny.

We had little free "Make and Takes" that people could do using fake flowers and buttons. Lots of people made our rings, hairclips, and pins. Many of them were quite nice. Our cordless hot glue guns died pretty quickly, but Rey saved us with E-6000 glue. Using it made me feel pretty sick for a bit, so I went on a long walk around the show to get some fresh air. The things people were selling were pretty cool, but I wasn't really feeling up to shopping. I just didn't want to barf.

The tent leaked, though. It wasn't serious, but definitely was annoying. We plugged along, though. Considering that we weren't selling much, we did OK. We got the word out about Craftster and made a couple of bucks. We decided to call it quits a bit early. The rain had been torrential all day and we were tired. We were supposed to go to a fancy place for Casey's friend's birthday, but we were all so tired and damp that we decided to just sleep.

We didn't have to get up or leave as early on Sunday, since our tent was already up and we had the stuff packed. We went for breakfast at Glenn's Diner. http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants/contemporary/glenns-diner-lincoln-square/146252/content The place was cute and had amazing potato pancakes. Mmmm. . . We walked back to Casey and Rey's and climbed into their truck. It was still raining. When we got to the fair, one girl was already waiting. She looked damp and miserable.

Tragedy had struck the Craftster tent! There was a folding chair on the tent. It was all busted up. We tried to do some repairs, but the duct tape just wasn't cutting it. Casey called Leah to figure out what to do while we took turns holding up the broken part. We could have gotten a new tent and set up, but apparently the higher-ups said "screw it". We packed up and went back, but not before I bought some pins, iron-on patches, lip balm, and BATTS. The batts are soft and sparkly, just so you know. They are from Biggie. They kind of scare me, though.

Anyway, we piled back into the truck, with one more person. It was cozy. :D When we got back we put our damp clothes in the dryer and drank coffee with whiskey while making rings, pins, and hair clips. I have a crapload of cool rings now.

Later, we went out to eat at an Irish pub called The Grafton http://chicago.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/irish_bar/the-grafton-lincoln-square/144369/content The place was packed and there was live Irish music playing. We sat on couches around the (unlit :( ) fireplace and ate. I had the fish and chips. So good. I love fish and chips. We walked back to Casey and Rey's apartment and watched dinosaur documentaries on the Discovery Channel until we couldn't keep out eyes open.

On Monday, Casey and I had to get up early. My train was scheduled to leave at 8:30 AM. She drove me to the station. The train left just about right on time. Thank god.

Casey was such an amazing hostess. I had so much fun, despite the natural disaster that took place. I wish we could have done both days of the fair and that I could have stayed longer. Next time.

Just on the outskirts of Chicago, we were stopped for porbably 15 minutes. I didn't think much of it. We got going again, no big deal. A few miles later, however, we were slowed to a crawl. I had been watching Dexter and not paying much attention, so I had no idea what was going on. Then I looked out my window. The tracks next to us were under 8-12 inches of water. Our tracks looked like they were a few inches lower. We were going through a freaking river! This took probably an hour. I didn't have as much time between my train and bus. I had hoped to get some food, but the way things were going, that might not happen. I had grabbed a Rockstar and a Luna Bar (Lemon Zest, so yummy), so I was still pretty hungry.

Luckily, we finally made it to Kalamazoo. I ran to McDonalds and scarfed some food. I went to the bathroom and then waited. The stupid bus was late and then we had to wait some more for another bus to arrive because we had to get some more passengers. Grrrr! Then, we had to wait for another bus in Grand Rapids. It was about 2.5 hours late once I got back to Big Rapids.

I was in the home stretch, but I was hungry again, so I went in search of some eggs. I ended up at Big Boy. Poor substiture for Glenn's, but not bad. I read the paper and then took off. I got back to Mt. Pleasant around 9 PM. It was a long day. That stupid Rockstar kept me up until 2 AM, though. Grr.

I had such a great time in Chicago, despite the best efforts of Hurricane Ikea. What a douchebag. And, to the asshat who threw a chair on our tent, fuck you. Do you have something against crafty people? We're actually nice, I promise. You, on the other hand, not so much.

-Random thing-

Coolest wedding toast ever: http://amcvideo.com/weddings_blog/?p=30

The jig is up

The jig is up, the noose is out
They finally found me
The renegade who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty
Never more to go astray
This'll be the end today
Of the wanted man . . .

I just bought my Amtrak ticket to Chicago for the Renegade Craft Fair. I'll be staying with Casey and helping out. I'm so freaking excited! I have to miss a few classes, but I think that it'll be worth it. Stuff like this doesn't come up often. I have to drive an hour to Big Rapids but I don't know where I can park. Hmmm. . .

Haven't been doing much crafting lately. Spinning every now and then. I miss my wheel. I start working on my sculpture tomorrow. The idea I have in my head is super awesome, I just don't know how well I can translate it into wood. My woodworking skills are questionable at best. We shall see.

I think we have spiders or something. I've got several bites on my legs. Itchy!

I went to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday. It was amazing. We all got mehndi done. I got some sugar skulls with daisies and swirlies and dragonflies. It is badass. I kind of want it as a real tattoo. I want my other tattoo idea done first, though. I need to take pictures of it. It is so cool. I'm taking good care of it, greasing it up with olive oil all the time.

Anyway, I think I should go to bed pretty soon. I have to turn in some assignment by noon and have class at 3. Lame.

Owowowowow!

My back is all spazzy right now. It hurts like a mofo.

Anyway, since my mom put the kibosh on bringing Gwen to school, I've been doing a little spinning on the ol' spindle. It is SO SLOW now that I'm used to the wheel.

As it turns out, my roommate Casey's girlfriend is way into knitting. She wants me to teach her how to spin! Yikes! I just started doing this myself and people are already asking me for lessons? Eep.

I'm taking a sculpture class that I'm pretty sure is going to kick my ass. There's just not any ideas in my brain right now. My instructor thinks that it is cool that I make my own yarn, though. He said he'd introduce me to the fiber arts instructor. I got a quick peek in the fiber arts studio and it is nutso. HUUUGGE loom in there. That's pretty much all I saw in there, really. I'll have to get a better look after class on Thursday.

OK, I'd better get ready for bed. I have my long day tomorrow and maquettes are due on Thursday for the sculpture that I have no ideas for. Eep!

Secret's Out

Well, that lasted a whole, oh, 45 minutes? I felt really bad about keeping the secret from my mom and felt like I was going to barf. How do bad kids keep secrets from their parents without hurling? I'm sure lots of parents would rather have their kid hiding a spinning wheel than, say, a crack baby. :D



Not bad, eh? It is much easier than I thought it would be. Hooray!

The Secret Spinning Wheel or I Am a Terribly Disobedient Child

Bwahahahaha!! I found an Ashford Elizabeth 1 on Craigslist and went to check it out yesterday. Needless to say, I have no self control and snapped it up for only $100. The seller threw in a bag of some mystery wool and an antique skein winder. Jackpot! She had the lazy kate, too. She couldn't find the 4th bobbin, but said that when she does (she's moving house, so she'll be going through everything), she'll mail it to me. Yay!

So, I'm thinking of naming her Gwen. Why? Because I am a dork. Anyway, here she is!

She's hand painted. Not really my style, but I'm OK with it, I guess. I'd rather refinish her, but then I'd feel bad. Maybe if I get another one.

Here we have an old-timey skein winder. It clicks every 40 rotations. Very handy. It is better than my questionably niddy-noddy, anyway.


I had already spun up about half of the green roving on my spindle, so I did the rest on Gwen. It was surprisingly easy, especially considering that I hadn't even treadled a wheel until yesterday. I was sitting at a funny angle, though, so my right leg is a bit hurty. Meh. I'm over it.

Unfortunately, my mom doesn't think that I should be spending my money on things like badass spinning wheels. Consequently, I was forced to disassemble her and stuff as many parts into a plastic tote as I could. The wheel itself is covered with a towel in the back of my Blazer. I'll take her to my apartment tomorrow and stick her in the back of my closet or maybe the little storage closet. I figure that if I can keep her a secret until after my birthday, I'll be OK. Wish me luck!!

I had my last wisdom tooth yanked on Wednesday. This actually sucks much more than when I had the first 3 done. I've been on a steady diet of Tylenol and cottage cheese since the extraction. Oof.

Anyway, I need to get to packing more junk up. Moving in on the 20th.

Spinning up a storm

Ok, not really, but I have been spinning more than normal. Today (well, I guess technically yesterday) I managed to convince my brother to go with me to a spinning shop my mom told me about. They have spinning classes and the gal said that since I have spindle experience, I could start right out on the wheels! Hooray! I can't wait to pick out a wheel. Even my brother was having fun treadling the different wheels.

I did leave the store with a little fiber. I got ~.8 oz of an alpaca/corriedale blend (a neat shade of blue blended with natural brown, I believe) and 2 oz. of black dyed alpaca. They are so soft and squishy, especially the 100% alpaca. Mmmm. . . Now I just have to fill up my spindle with the stuff I'm working on now before I can start to play with the new stuff. I need another spindle or three. Heh.

The roving I'm working on right now is Sheep Shed Studio mill ends that I dyed with lemon/lime off-brand KoolAid. I showed it to my mom and she asked if it glowed in the dark. I bet that could be arranged somehow! It really is quite vibrant. Here's a terrible pic of the roving.



It is much brighter in real life. I wish we had a good camera. Meh. Also, I've got a pic of my first plied yarn. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome, considering my complete lack of experience and training.



Anyway, that's all for now.