Monday, April 09, 2007

Can a Spinning Wheel fit in a Forester?



Yup. It can!

On our way down to RI to visit my family for Easter, we stopped in Bellingham, MA (at the Whole Foods Market...why don't we have one in NH?) to meet lovely Ilene...and to pick up my new wheel.

Eeeeeek! It's great. Yes, at spinning on Friday, a lot of women were bashing Ashford wheels, but I still LOVE, LOVE my Joy and I'm so happy to get this new Traditional. It's how I've always thought a spinning wheel should look like. This one is for home and my Joy will still be for traveling. So far, I've had 1 minute (literally) to spin on it, but I'm looking forward to many, many more hours on it this coming weekend.

I've been up to my eyeballs (with my patience level at NIL) in packing and getting my older son (who is usually known around here as Cyberworm) ready for his trip to D.C. with his 8th grade class. There is a list 5 pages long of all the things he's got to bring, can't do, should do and what he should think 24 hours a day (well, maybe not THAT far...). But, it helps for me to know what he'll be up to all day long...not that it will make me miss him any less. He's been driving me BONKERS for the last week, but I know I'll be crying in the car all the way home from dropping him off. (Beware of me on the road if you live in Londonderry and plan to be driving around about 5:30 am)

Anyway, Easter was fun...I got to see my sister's new apartment (awesome! I wish it were mine...I tried to stow myself away, but Ian noticed I was missing...damn it!) and was able to give my Grandma her sweater....which she LOVED! My sister took a pic of her in it, so I can hopefully post that soon. She put it on right away and seemed very appreciative. It fit her perfectly...though it might have been a bit long (she's like 4'8" to my 5'2") and a bit roomy around the bust.

My mom and dad made a great lunch (Ben and I had turkey burgers!)...and everyone else had ham, potatoes and such. Ian and I took the kids to the playground (where I used to go as a kid!) and my sister came, too, which was fun. I REALLY wished that I'd brought my camera. After the kids got tired of playing (it was freezing out), my sister and I took the kids home and Ian did more geocashing. He is SO addicted!

My mom got the kids tons of cool toys and candy...she got me a Hello Kitty dvd and lollipop, some makeup and candy, too. Am I spoiled or what??? It was a fun time and I was glad I got a chance to spend with them. On the way home, Ben kept saying, "I miss her......!" (meaning my mom) So sad...

Good news, though. I got my fiber swap package from the beautiful and talented and super awesome Kimberly of The Giving Flower and, when I tell you it was FANTASTIC, I so mean it!

I got these:



[golden and blue fiber are 100% merino and the red (oh, Ericka, you're going to drool when you see this!) is merino and luscious tussash silk! Plus, a handmade herbal bag with lavender! Smells so good!]

and these:



[tons of yummy chocolate from Germany...do you know that those eggs have TOYS in them??? Not just junk, but very cool toys?? The kids went crazy over them!]

and this:



[PINK!!! Regia self striping sock yarn....oh, Kimberly, I love you!]

and, finally, these:



[Hello Kitty magazine (in German...so cool!), pencil and adorable notepad set in a cute tin...she even gave me the HK shopping bag in came in...oh, I'm a pile of mushy love!]

Thank you so much, Kimberly! BEST SWAP EVER!!!!

And, last Wednesday, I bought these yarns from the talented Heather:



Punky in Pink and Martian...aren't they awesome??

Finally, a pic of my progress on my Lizard Ridge....



Hope you all had a great holiday and my next post will be goodies to win if you send in a "Ask Sleepy Eyes" question. 'Night!

P.S. Here are some belated pics of the snow we got last week...it was disappointing because I thought spring had come! But, it was pretty....



and one pic looking up at the ceiling of the sunroom....

13 comments:

NH Knitting Mama said...

That's great that you scored the wheel!

I'm sure your son will have a great time on the trip. I did that in the 8th grade and it was a great time. They keep you so busy you don't have time to get too sad.

Nice fiber scores, too!

Amy Boogie said...

I love my ashford traditional. There is a ton of Ashford bashing and a fair amount of Louet bashing lately. Pick a wheel, someone will bash it :) congrats on your new wheel and it does sound like you were spoiled.

Love the pink sock yarn.

Gigi said...

Congrats on the new wheel! Looks like your secret pal set you up nicely with roving to spin (so lucious)! So are you going to sleep or just spin?

Anonymous said...

The only wheel I can say that I don't want anything to do with is a Schacht. I'm going to continue this train of thought, for they are far out of my price range. Schacht bad!

And that red, gods, I'm was drooling from here before you even said anything! You made out good, girl :D

Jackie said...

What a beautiful wheel. I want one. You'd better hide that regia from me, it's AWESOME.

I'm glad you and the boys had such a nice time with the fam.

Anonymous said...

Oh a new wheel how fun! Like Amy said no matter what wheel you have someone else is not going to like it. I love both my Ashford and Majacraft.

Nice treats!

Lapdog Creations said...

GREAT score with your swap pal... I'm jealous of your chocolate from Germany... they know how to make GOOD chocolate over there!
Love the wheel too - its gorgeous!
And the pink self stripping... YUMMY!

Anonymous said...

You got Kindereggs! I am so jealous. I went to Germany about 10 years ago and brought home a bunch of these. The chocolate is good and the toys are even better. One of the eggs even had a wind up car.

Sonya said...

That wheel is just gorgeous! I can see some beautiful yarn coming off of that. You're never too old to get Easter goodies.
How do you come up with your patterns? The headband has finally stopped kicking my ass.

Kimberly said...

I'm so glad it all got to you in one piece and you like it. Feel the blogger love, my friend!! Now I'm off to try to find that issue of Spin off with your puppet picture in it. That's a must have! :-)

Anonymous said...

Love the wheel and the stash. The real question is how many spinning wheels will fit into a Forester? LOL

Lora said...

OH Pretty wheeeeeel!!!!
That pink sock yarn is so you.

Sonya said...

Hi Gina, I love the wheel, but it's time to show us something else.