Yooo-hoooo! It's Me! I'm Catching Up...

(L-R: Patti, Eileen, Julie, Sharon and Me)

Hmmm...I thought I'd blogged more recently, but realized I hadn't. I'm finding it harder and harder to divide my time between Ravelry, Facebook and Blogging. A lot of people say that blogging is outdated. Is that true? I know that at least around 200 people are checking out my blog daily, but WHERE ARE YOuuuuuuuu, lovely people??? he he

Anyway, I wanted to share with you my FANTASTIC trip to NETA (New England Fiber Arts) Spa weekend and my recent finished handspun yarns and projects. Ready??

Since beginning spinning about 5 years ago, I've tried to attend the NETA Spa weekend. (I think I've only missed once.) For those of you who don't know about this great event, I'll explain. If you knit or spin or work with fibers in any way, this group is for you. On usually the last weekend in February, the group (who mostly only converse online over the Rav group or Yahoo group) meets in Freeport, ME at the Hilton Garden Inn/Hareseeket Hotel for a Thursday - Monday (or Friday- Sunday) weekend of shopping (wonderful shops around Freeport), visiting the yummy vendors at the hotel (where you can buy the most unique fibers, yarn, patterns, spinning wheels, spindle, looms, glass buttons and other accessories), chatting, eating, spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving, and perhaps having a Spa treatment (at the Hareseeket Hotel or nearby Spa) - pedicure, manicure, massage, etc.


(L-R: Ericka, Kerrie-Ann and Sandi in our knitting/spinning corner of the hotel.)

It is totally worth trying out, if you've never been. You don't have to be a NETA member (though it helps because you get updates on what's going on, when/where to book your hotel room and how to win prizes, etc.) to go. If you want to pick a day, you can just go over to the hotel, shop and sit and work on your projects with the hundreds of other knitters/spinners/weavers/crocheters.

I love it, not only because it's a mini vacation, but because you'll see the most amazing handcrafted clothing, accessories and items all in one place! Everyday, you'll say to yourself, "Oooh, I LOVE that shawl!" or "Where did you get that YARN??", etc. And, the best part is, no one looks at you like you're crazy and back away from you screaming! LOL! Everyone is happy to share what they've made and let you touch it and answer as many questions as you want to ask. Sometimes, they'll even let you try it on! Or take pictures of them in the item! Woo-hoo!

This year, I think that the Winner of the Most Ogled Knitted Item in our group was Amy's Shetland Tea shawl from "A Gathering of Lace" book (pages 39/40) in oatmeal, pinks and natural white. What was most surprising, was that this was Amy's FIRST knitted lace EVER!!! (Yes, you may hate her. She's okay with it.) Not only was it beautiful, but it was knitted perfectly and it was the most flattering color on Amy. Now...if only I'd taken a picture of her with it on. Damn it.

I only got a pic of her WITHOUT the shawl. Ugh.


(Britni and Amy at Spa)

I had the absolute BEST time this year and even got to exercise on the treadmill every night, go to sleep early and wake up early so that I could spin, knit, spin and SHOP! Yay!

Heather even sold 7 of my Dreamscape books and 1 Lisha Lace pattern! Yippeeee!

Now, if I don't start showing off my loot and finished handspun...plus FOs...I won't ever be done before the end of the day. So...the rest of this post will be short and sweet - with pictures! ; )

1. Spunky Eclectic's booth (Amy's in a whirl...she's so busy!)



2. Heather/Sereknity's booth (Heather is wearing my Persephone beret in her Sweet yarn!)



3. Items I bought...mmmm.


(Della Q spinning bag and lovely sportweight Angora/merino for a sweater/shawl for me!)


(Spunky silk purple scarf for Donna, Spunky Targhee and Spunky bfl/silk fibers)


(Alpaca Obsession merino and bamboo with nylon sparkle fiber for Hilary)

I also bought some glass sheep stitch markers for Jackie and Donna, a glass needle threader for me, 2 skeins of gorgeous Sereknity yarn ("Margaritaville" in Classica for me and "Envy" in Worsted for Jackie) and a little more fiber.

HANDSPUN GALLERY

1. Spunky Ecletic's BFL/Tussah Silk (I created a 2 oz, 2 ply, 100 yard, worsted weight yarn in "Cotton Candy" colorway)



2. Spunky Eclectic's Targhee Combed Top (4 oz. 2 ply, dk weight, 195 yards in "2010" colorway)



3. Alpaca Obsession's Alpaca with Angelina Sparkle (3 oz, single ply, laceweight, 300 yards, in "Faded Jade" colorway)



4. Enchanted Knoll Farm's Superwash Wool/Nylon/Recycled Sari Silk/Sparkle (3 oz, single ply, fingering weight, 280 yards, in "Birthday Party" colorway)



5. Enchanted Knoll Farm's Superewash Wool/Recycled Sari silk/Sparkle (3 oz., single ply, fingering weight, 300 yards, in "Blue Jay" colorway)



And, FINISHED OBJECTS!!!!

1. Lego Man for Ben (Some Assembly Required pattern with Cascade 220)



and



2. Hat for Ian (Ann Budd's Hat pattern with Rowan Lima in a goregous deep green, 881, I think)



3. Log Cabin Square Pillow (Log Cabin pattern with Noro Kureyon- 226 on back, 250 on front)



4. Persephone Beret (My pattern with Sereknity Sweet yarn in "Floozy" colorway)



Whew, I'm beat! Off to do some bellydancing, hula hooping and then have some lunch!

What have YOU been up to??

Visiting Spa 2008...

but maybe not in 2009.

I won't say that I had a terrible time at Spa this year, but it wasn't like last year. I'm not sure if it's the stomach virus I got the day I left that clouded the whole weekend or what...but the magic is gone...or at least the excitement of going next year is. I think I realized that mostly all the people I enjoy being around are the ones I see all the time...either with the Manchvegas Knitters on Wed nights, the new Friday Night Knitters at Yarn and Fiber Co. or the Island Pond Spinners in Hampstead (though I haven't been there for a while...since it's on Friday nights!)

The drive over to Freeport, ME on Friday afternoon was really difficult. Heather did a super job of driving in the horrible storm, but the roads were so bad and it took us over 3 hours to get there. Once there, I was feeling cold/hot/stomach gurgling nastily and was in a slight daze. After dinner (at a saucy little place called Pedro O'Hara's), the lovely Julie, Patti of The Yarn Sellar, Mary, Melanie, Heather, Ericka and Chris and I all went back to the hotel bar to meet up with other Ravelers.

The bar was a tiny little section off of the lobby and, since I was pretty much pooped out already, I sat for only a little bit with everyone and then went to bed early. I think everyone else sat and drank for a while. I was disappointed with how the Ravelry/Blog Meetup went, though. It wasn't like the open arms welcome that most knitters give to each other most places I go ("Hi! Do you knit? My name is so and so. What're you knitting?...smiles,etc...")...which was strange...it was more like -"Hmm, well...we all know each other over here and we'll take a quick look at you to see if we know you or read your blog, but, if not, then we'll just turn back to our friends here." It may very well be because I wasn't feeling well that I felt like that, but besides the-always-wonderful Amy, there wasn't much warmth in that area. It was kind of sad, if you think about it...more like a high school clique atmosphere...and I was excited to meet other Ravelers.

The hotel was beautiful, the beds supremely comfy and most of the vendors had just gorgeous things. I was very, very frugal this year and only bought 4 oz. of fiber from Amy...a superwash merino roving in "Thin Ice"...and 6 oz. of Frelsi Farm Icelandic/Mohair blend top in white...very, very nice. Here is the Icelandic/Mohair spun and plied so far...I may be wrong, but I think I was able to get a 2 ply laceweight this time! Woo-hoo!



I was thrilled to be able to spend most of the time I wasn't spinning (or recovering from stomach pains...ugh!) with Julie and Patti, who I don't get to see half as much as I'd like to. We got to talk about our kids, Clover (of course!), visiting yarn shops and working in a yarn shop. Great conversations and fun!

I was also soo happy that I got to see more of Laurin and Lisa this weekend than I did last year. Both of those ladies crack me up to no end and you KNOW you'll be laughing with them, no matter what. I was actually successful in taking a quick pic of my dear friend, Laurin (and her newly finished sock) here with my favorite married, knitting couple, Chris and Ericka:



And here is the fantastic Lisa modeling her very first hand knit hat (woo-hoo!) and wearing Laurin's scarf (aka Salad Fixings) around her neck:



Hanging out with Mary (who is becoming a regular at Friday Night Knitting club) and meeting her friend, Melanie, was also wonderful and they were truly enjoyable people to be around. I was even able to show Mary how to navajo ply her handspun and, boy, she did a great job. I don't even think she really needed my help at all!

And, last year, I met Brenda at Spa and I was very happy to see her again this year. We even got to sit next to each other both days and spin! She's made an Amanda mini-Headband out of her handspun and it's soo cute! As soon as she finishes it, she promised to send me a pic so I could show it on the blog. She was only learning to spin on the spindle last year and, this year, she was just sailing along on her wheel. It was amazing to see that!

I snuck a pic of Patti, Julie and Brenda here...



I even won a door prize, but gave it to Heather since I already had it. She was more than happy to receive it. LOL! I think almost everyone won something, which was really great. Here she is spinning with Ericka and Chris knitting his sock...



I missed my boys and missed all the other ManchVegans (especially all of their crazy shananigans) and thought that I wasn't really sure if it's worth the money to go and spin there next year. I heard that sales were low this year, too, for the vendors...much lower than last year. Was it just me feeling sick? Was it the storm? Something else?

After two disappointing weekends away this year, I'm not as keen to plan for more. I love my Wednesdays and Fridays with my friends (both groups are growing like crazy!) and I think those nights (which are FREE!) are WAY more fun than the outings I've been on this past year. Maybe I'm just being a big, boring ol' baby about it (which is certainly possible!), but I like sticking to what makes me happiest and most comfortable. Am I crazy?

Sweet Potato Pie

Presenting the Bag O'Bunny fiber that I got from SPA in yarn form!

DETAILS:

Fiber: The Woolen Rabbit's "Bag O'Bunny", hand-dyed merino/silk/angora blend

Spun worsted style

Singles: (1 ply) laceweight 31 wpi
Plied: (2 ply) sportweight 15 wpi

2 oz. of "Bag O'Bunny" made 185 yards of 2 ply sportweight and 29 yards of 3 ply total. Pretty awesome!



The yarn is incredibly soft, silky and oh-so-nice!

Have no idea what I'll do with it yet, but it'll have to be something special.



I've decided to call it, "Sweet Potato Pie". Yummy!

Podcast 9: I Heart Knitting Group

Hey Sweet and Sassy Knitters!

Another belated episode from yours truly. Hope you enjoy it! I'm adding links and a handful pics. For the next podcast, my 10th!!!!, please help me to write a mini theme song for my podcast and email me: gina@YogaGardenNH.com. The top 5 entries get put in another drawing for a FANTASTIC prize or prizes!!! (If you have an item or items you want to donate, please email me as well. I'd appreciate it!! If you donate, I will add you to my Super Silver Donator List....will add your name and blog, if you have one, to the podcast.)

Theme Song: Can be funny, serious, rhymning or not...be creative... but should sum up the "essence" of my podcast. ( If you record it in .mp3 form, you can send it to me and I'll put it on the podcast no matter if you win or not. Please include the words if you record it.) Should be short....about a minute or two at most.

Thank you and hope you enjoy the podcast!!!

Happy Knitting and Many hugs, Gina aka Sleepy Eyes : )


SPONSOR LINKS: (see right)

MUSIC:

Podshow Podsafe Musick Network

Love=Action with "Everyone's in this Together"

Mossback with "Annalisa"


PICS:

1. My second handspun sock



2. Wearing both socks



3. Down to Hearth soap (my Creamsicle scent) handmade by Ericka. (This pic shows the old packaging...the pics of new soaps in the muslin bags will be posted as soon as I can...)



Unrelated-to-podcast PICS:

1. Ben wearing his snowshoes...



2. Tim wearing his snowshoes....



3. Tim and Ben snowshoeing around the pool....




LINKS:

ManchVegas Knitters

Spunky Ecletic...home of Amy King's gorgeous creations

Julie of Noolie Knits

Heather of Yarnophiliac

My NETA Spa Trip blog entry

Gauge Lesson Shell from Knit Picks using the Twist yarn.


(*Remember to click on the link at the right under "Podcast" to download the newest episode!*)

Bye!!!!!

NETA Spa Weekend...Minute by Minute

To begin reading this post, you need to say the password. Password is: FrigginAwesome. Say it. Read on....

FRIDAY:

8:30 am Woke up with amazingly horrid migraine headache. Ian stayed home until 1 pm to watch Ben and I was able to join the land of the living. Felt better as the day went on. (MUST NOT MISS SPA!!!)

5:15 pm Melissa picks me up with her doggie, Rusty. We head to Portland, ME.

8:00 pm Arrive in at DoubleTree Hotel (we got somewhat lost...though I got a great tour of downtown...the online hotel directions SUCKED)

8:05 pm Eat giant, homemade chocolate chip cookie that I was given at sign in (oh, yes...everyone gets one....drool!)

8:20 pm Find room (wonderful!!!) and unpack a little



8:30 pm Eat at the hotel cafe (rosemary potatoes, pork loin with baked apples, chocolate/orange mousse, homemade french bread....yummy).

(sorry for the dark pic of the vendor area....)


8:45 pm Got name tag, entered in door prize contest, and did a tiny bit of shopping. Met the amazing Amy King of Spunky Eclectic and tried not to make a fool out of myself...gushing about how much I love her stuff. (I say, "tried"....not "did")



9:15 pm Get my first EVER manicure with Angela (she's like everyone's idea of a best friend...sweet, cute, friendly, outspoken and funny as hell) and it was fantastic!

9:45 pm Chris and Erikca found me as I finished with my manicure.

9:50 pm Won a door prize! Opal sock yarn in yellow, white and parts black. (anyone want to swap for this? Not sure if I like the colors...)



10:00 pm Met Julie and Carol in the hallway.....was so happy to see them and felt like we'd been friends forever.



10:05 pm We all went to the conference/gallery room (where everyone sat to knit and spin all weekend) to, surprise, surprise...knit and spin! I actually got 1 or 2 rows done on my Wavy scarf. Rest of the time...gabbing with everyone and having the BEST time! (Here are Julie and Carol being all funny...."Kiss me!")



11:30 pm Happily surprised when Heather arrived early to meet us. (I thought she wouldn't be at SPA until Saturday...woohoo!)

Midnight (approximately) Everyone goes to up to their rooms and chats a bit more (learned that, as Heather and I gabbed about bunnies and such, Julie and Carol were giggling like school girls up stairs all night).


SATURDAY:

7:30 am Got an amazing, hour massage from Betsy and almost died and went to heaven. My feet, back and hands were in love with Betsy.



8:30 am Had a truly yummy (though HUGELY costly) room service breakfast with Heather before heading down to spin.



8:45 am- 1 pm Alternately spun my new Spunky Fiber in the "Swamp Monster" colorway, talked, and shopped. (Amy and her mother laughed every time I went back to the Spunky booth, saying "She's back!",...may have been 5 or more times...so about every hour)



Noonish? Melissa drops by with her handsome brother, Vicki (my Spinning Godmother) sat and knit with us for an hour or two, and Julie's friend, Brenda, joined us....very friendly and fun. After I did a mini spindle demonstration (I'm not a very good teacher), Brenda and Julie both did some spindle spinning...and, boy, they caught on quickly. Much more quickly than I did!



1:00 pm (or was it 2:00?) Had lunch with everyone at the cafe (delicious macaroni & cheese with keilbasa, big salad, cookies and lots of water)

Somehow, the rest of the day was a blur....of spinning and chatting...



6:15 pm Chocolate Pedicure (with all chocolate scented products....legs rubbed with salts, slathered in a mask and rubbed with lotions...and then on to the pedicure with Princess-tastic (or some similar name) sparkly pink polish for my toesies...see above) with Heather and Ericka...that's her feet that Angela is holding.



8:00 pm Went out to dinner with said group to some beer-ish pub where I knit a bit on my Wavy scarf and had Terayki chicken breasts with mashed potatoes. Heather and I shared the chocolate peanut butter cup pie and the key lime pie. I liked the Key Lime better...very tangy!

10:00 pm - 11:30 pm More spinnning and knitting and chatting...Chris and Ericka came to our room for more spinning. I helped Ericka get her newly spun yarn (on her new, lovely Louet, double treadle wheel) wound on the niddy noddy and she soaked and hung it overnight. Came out wonderful...good job to her!

11:30 pm Sleep


SUNDAY:

8:30 pm Breakfast arrives (less costly this time)...but I wake up with ANOTHER migraine (ughhhh!!!) and couldn't eat any of it.

8:30-11 pm Heather takes care of me (such a loving, wonderful friend) and goes out to do some yarn shop-shopping and so I can have some quiet and rest.

11:10 pm Manage to s-l-o-w-l-y come downstairs to checkout (pay the bill, etc and order cookies for the kiddies to take home) and was able to say goodbye to Julie and Carol....oh, I wanted to stay and talk to them more!!! (Did I tell you how Julie is even more friendly, sweet and funny as she is in her blog?) Went back upstairs to sleep.



12:00 pm-2:30 pm I sat with the last spinning ladies left at the hotel (and then later with Chris, Ericka and Heather)....spun more of my "Swamp Monster" fiber...coming out so cool!....and was able to be almost human again.

Here is Heather spinning her beautiful red pygora fiber...



2:30-4:00 pm Chris, Ericka, Heather and I go to a Mexican restaurant for lunch (the blueberry empanadas (sp?) with vanilla ice cream were GREAT!) and then Heather and I headed over to Portsmouth for my argyle sock class with Jackie.

5:15-6:30 pm During class, I knit maybe 2 rows. Everyone really liked my first finished sock and that made me happy. The other socks were looking really wonderful, too. Such great colors!

6:30-7:30 pm Jackie and I headed home, talked, laughed and vented on the way. I had missed her a lot over the weekend (she was planning to go with me and then had so many plans at the last minute that she couldn't come...poor Jackie....but she's totally going next year!) and she really liked the yarn I'd picked out for her from Amy's booth....it's called Neopolitan with very light pink, cream and pale brown colors.

Rest of the night: Kept hugging the kiddies (I'd missed them so much!) while Ian took a much needed break and put Ben to bed.

Overall, with migraines aside, I had the BEST weekend away I've ever had and I can't wait until next year. If I can manage to go on Thursday night, I will...not sure if that's possible, though...have to beg Ian.

Here are some pics of other things I may have missed talking about:



1. The finished handspun yarn (fiber from Yarn Botanika in the "Fresh Berries" colorway) I made for my pal, Cayli. I did a 3 ply navajo with it and it came out to be a sportweight yarn....about 207 yards....and it is very shiny and soft. I think she liked it! (See her blog for more pics of the goodies I sent her...including a photo scrapbook of the steps I took to spin her yarns!)



2. The needle felted doll created by the woman of Grafton Fibers...it's a mermaid...and she is holding another, smaller doll in her hand. Amazing!



3. My new spindle...a blue tiger's-eye type....for laceweight yarn spinning...it's gorgeous!



4. Heather getting her massage...

5. My bag, my Spunky yarn to make a sweater (Amy's own pattern), two Spunky fibers for me (Midnight Runner and Shark) and one for Cayli (Berry Pickin').







6. Chris, being very philosophical....



7. Ericka at her new wheel....



8. Heather examining Ericka's spinning...approvingly....



9. More of Amy's Spunky Eclectic yarn and fiber....booth, yarn and fiber...



drool over the yarn...



squeeze those fibers...



10. A little gift for lovely Amanda (whose birthday is this Wed!!!)...



I also got a "Bag o' Bunny"....angora/silk fiber mix in a beautiful colorway, but the photo just did not come out well...it's in soft toffee, pumpkin and gold colors...something I don't normally pic, but thought would be beautiful spun up. I'll show it in a later post.

Though I'm happy to be home, I had such a wonderful time and met such sensational people that I wish I were there again now...but, I guess I'd be completely alone...since everyone is gone. But, next year....I'm SOO there! Maybe you will, too!

Next post will be showing you my handspun "Swamp Monster" singles yarn that I'll be knitting into my own sock pattern...I can't wait!!! Until next time!