Blown Away Weekend

As I stated on Friday, aside from being Mother's Day weekend it was also a weekend to celebrate the birthday of my daughter Daria, and my sister Jess. We were fortunate enough to spend it together in scenic Wilkes Barre. PA. Woo hoo!

All joking aside, we chose the location because it was convenient for both families and not for the local attractions. If the weather has permitted we may have ventured out to see the local sites but it was cold and windy. Really, really windy.



The wind didn't stop us from enjoying the hotel pool (and hot tub) a lot. It didn't stop us from seeing Iron Man 2 either. Both were very entertaining and we all enjoyed then very much.

It did affect our celebration dinner a little bit. I had done a bit of online research and came up with a lovely restaurant with a large menu. It was on Lake Harmony - a mere 40 minute drive from our hotel. It was right on the lake and had it not been cold and windy, a table on the deck would've made the drive worthwhile. Sadly you can't control the weather. At least the food was good.



The weather and the evening sunlight also made for a great picture of my Stinkerbelle and her cousins. Well worth the drive.

ECF - 11th Birthday Edition

Today is more literal Eye Candy in the form of birthday cupcakes. Are you feeling the theme?

My sweet Daria is the apple of my eye. She's a loving and inquisitive girl who is so much fun to be with. She's an amazing kid who always makes me smile but she's never been more impressive than this year. My girl is a fighter who's learned to love to read despite the obstacles. Her talents as a softball player are beginning to shine too.

I love you more than all the blades of grass in the softball field where you hit those balls so hard.

It's also my sister's birthday and I love her very much too. We're so fortunate that this year my daughter and her aunt will be celebrating their birthday together!

Spinning Class

I'm glad I waited a week to write about the classes I took. If I'd have written about the spinning class I took at the time it would've been an unreadable mess because I was really on information overload.

My reasons for taking the Steek class can be summed up in 3 words - learn to steek. My reasons for taking the spinning class were less succinct. I'd heard that Judith Mackenzie McCuin was a great teacher and my spinning plainly sucks so I could use a great teacher. As a bonus, the class was called Sock Exotica and combining interesting and fibers with socks sounded cool as well. In other words, I signed up for the class on a whim.



What a class! We spend the day spinning all kinds of fiber while JMM talked to us about the origins of the fibers, the best way to spin them, and all kinds of fiber related subjects. A few took notes but most of us just listened intently. She is a font of knowledge.

From time to time she'd borrow one of our wheels to demonstrate one thing or another and while she did many of us would take pictures of her hands.

I should stop here and mention that I spent most of the day adjusting. First because, at her suggestion, I took my lace flyer out for the very first time. What a difference that made to my spinning! Second, I fought against my long draw instinct all day long. We were told that sock yarn and most of the fibers we were using should be spun worsted and I hadn't spun worsted in a very long time. The end result was some very interesting spinning.

So, when JMM asked to use my wheel - and my spinning - to demonstrate plying, t got a little interesting. That's my wheel she's using in the photo above. Every now and again she'd hit a wonky bit. By the third time it happened I was rolling. There is nothing quite like having your wonky bits exposed so publicly.



This fuzzy shot shows the plied yarn. Even with the occasional wonkiness it's really lovely stuff. It could be better but it could also be much worse like this stuff that I spun or finished right before class.



In the end, I had a great time in class and I think that my technique is improved. I also enjoyed class with Judith thoroughly. Her knowledge is encyclopedic. She even impressed DQ when we ran into her on Saturday and she told her about living in Forks and working on the Quileute reservation. I really hope that I have the opportunity to take class with Judith again.

You could say that I'm inspired to spin once again.