St. Distaff Day……..Jan.7, 2005

The Trip
What a glorious day it was today, in the Mount Washington Valley.  The day was mild, the sun was shining and I was on my way to pick up my new to me spinning wheel.  The woman who I was purchasing the wheel from and I were meeting at one of my favorite knitting spots, The Elegant Ewe, in Concord, NH.  Little did I realize that the woman who was selling me her wheel, was Lori Gayle, of Interweave Knits.  What a treat to meet someone who is involved with one of my favorite fiber organizations.  Lori is a technical editor for Knits.  She is the person who writes those charts and instructions so that we all can understand them..LIL.  Lori is a lovely lady, who obviously enjoys her work!.  We visited for a little while and then she headed back south, while I stayed and drooled over the yarns at TEE, but I was a good girl……I left only with the flared smoke ring pattern, that Cassie speaks so much of.  Not an easy feat to leave that store yarn less. 

Next on my trek home was a trip to Patternworks.  A girl CAN’T just drive by with out visiting the ladies now, can she??  There was my downfall……but it was just a tiny downfall, and you all will completely understand.  There was a BIG basket FULL of Koigu and it was all marked down to 6.99.  Now, I could have come home with the entire  basket, but I restrained myself to only 2 skeins.  The picture doesn’t justify the yarn.  It is yummy shades of brown, cream and touches of spring green.  I thanked the ladies and was soon on my way home.

The Wheel
 Anyone reading this who really knows me is going to laugh when they see what wheel I brought home.  Resting in this lovely bag, from the bag lady, is a maple folding lendrum.  Why will they laugh you ask?  Well, this would be the THIRD time I have bought this wheel!! " Insane "you whisper…..she must be insane… 

Nope, every time I get the guilts for having too many wheels, I talk myself into selling the folding lendrum because the other wheels that I have are irreplaceable. However, I can’t tell you how much I kick myself when I do sell it. It is the one wheel that I can spin on in any chair without my back aching which makes it a nice wheel for bringing to spin ins.  Soooooo, this time I thought,  hmmm…….I have a basket full of lovely drop spindles that I NEVER use.  I am a sucker for exotic woods and those spindles ARE lovely, however, I thought to myself……if I miss the lendrum and never use the spindles, then I will sell the spindles and get the wheel. (sounds good, doesn’t it?) So my Hatchtown and Priscilla Gibson Roberts spindles and my Forrester spindle bowls went up on eBay and now I feel better about having this wheel.  (I did keep 3 of my favorite spindles……I’m not completely there in letting go of unnecessary things….yet, but I’m trying.)

So how perfect was it when I got home and found an email from Lori telling me that today is St. Distaff Day.  We celebrate it here in the states on Jan. 12th, but technically, it is the first free day after the twelfth of Christmas, which is today!! 
It must be kismet that this little wheel came home with me today….and this time, it is going to stay!!

The dogs……..Libby
 When people think about Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, they picture the red and white version, which is called, Blenheim.  Many people do not realize that there are 4 colors in this breed.  My favorite is probably the least noticed, the Black and Tan’s.  Here at our house, we only have one b/t girl and her name is Libby (Fairfield Black Satin at Ballymena).  Libby is just about the dearest dog.  She never demands a thing, but gives such sweet, gentle love.  A true comforter, which is what the "Toy Spaniel" is meant to be.

Libby however has had problems this year with reoccurring ear infections. I brought her to the vets yet again yesterday and we are now thinking that it may be an allergy.  Of course, trying to figure out what the allergy is, will be challenging, but we came home with some meds that should give her some relief.  Once home, Bliss the resident tricolor, decided that she was going to take care of Libby in her own way…….  

You just have to love these guys!