state of the union

ok, maybe not the union. how about tour de fleece?

i always do this. i sign up for something with a deadline, and while i'm not under that deadline, i go great guns. the minute i sign up? it falls to crap. here's all i got done for tour de fleece.

this is 640 yards of fingering/sportweight domestic wool, 2-ply. this had been spun up before the tour started, but i plied it for the tour. there was no name on this (i bought it at the ROOTS convention that the local spinners/weavers guild held in blair), so i'm naming it jazzy-bel. i hated how it looked when i spun it, but plying it was fun! and yes, it's hanging from my door knocker on my front door. when i took this pic, i'd waited too long, and the stoop was in f ull sunshine. this was as close to natural light as i could get. it's actually pretty accurate, except the purple is a little brighter.

then there's this:

this is blimey, from tara. i'm spinning this up for deawn. and yes, in case you can't tell, it's practically froghair! she wanted navajo plied sockweight, so i'm spinning this as finely as i can. i'm actually farther along than this shows, but i've been having a hard time getting it spun up. i have discovered that i'm not really good with monochromatic roving. it bores me to tears. this is superwash merino, and very nice stuff to work with, just driving me batty! and yes, that is ALL i got done during the tour.

before the tour? i was spinning like a loon!

same for the L&V Sock Marathon. I'd been making socks left & right (mostly for charity), and then they announced this, and i fell flat on my face. my goal for SIX MONTHS? 2 miles. what i got done? 1735 yards. 25 yards short of ONE mile. sigh.

and the MS3? i have to admit, i did start over, because the needle i had was too big. remind me to investigate addi lace turbos again, they're very nice. i just coudln't afford to buy ANOTHER set of needles, so i took them back, and replaced them with addi turbos (they didn't have any in the size i wanted in lace needles ) in size 1. however, i'm still barely into chart B! i'm on row 53, at this point. i figure i'll finish clue 1 about the time everybody else is finished, lol. no matter. as long as it's done in time for christmas, i'm in like flynn. i'm making this for my SIL. this is being made with the alpaca laceweight i bought in conjunction with Laurie 2 years ago (she found a good deal, and they would split the cone onto smaller cones. i bought 4 oz, and according to her, i'm the first to do anything with it, lol!). the beads i bought are bigger than what they'd asked for in the pattern, but i like how they're settling in, so i'm leaving them. they're a pinky/red in size 6/0. the pattern had called for 8/0. however, since when have y'all known me to stick strictly to a pattern?

ok, one more bit, and then i have to go pick up liam from band (again!)

i was driving home, and at an intersection near my house, they were painting the crosswalks. the bimbo in front of me sat through TWO stoplight cycles, waiting for the guys, even though they'd gotten out of the way both times. she finally decided to drive AROUND them, through the next red light! there was a couple at the light in the opposite direction, and they honked (i had too, but this was beyond that!) and the male passenger yelled "yo, bitch! get out the way, ho!" oh yeah, classy. makes me real hopeful for future generations, sigh.