You Gotta Recognize.

My phone rang around 7:00 Thursday night.  As I was a bit tardy sending out the car payment this month (not by much, but they are rather touchy about these sorts of things at my lending institution...), I assumed it was a reminder call from The People Hired To Worry About This Stuff.  

I was mistaken.

The caller was actually The World's Greatest Stylist And Life Coach.  Back in November, with a brake repair bill on the horizon, I opted to cancel my regular appointment.  Then, as these things sometimes go, I forgot to reschedule it.  Frankly, with holiday spending also having been necessary, it was the last thing on my mind.  

I'm a regular in her chair and don't normally miss an appointment.  TWGSALC became concerned and decided to call and check to make sure that I wasn't trapped under the sofa or anything.  I assured her that I was fine and that I would be in to visit very, very soon to deal with the Messes Of Tresses I've got going on here.  

I don't think she believed me.  You can't blame her, really.  She lived through the Root Canal Gone Horribly Wrong Of '05 and The Great Monkey Pox Debacle Of '06 (which was really pneumonia but Monkey Pox sounds more dramatic...).  We'd only known each other for a short time at that point, but she had the privilege of seeing me go from a normal sort of human being to a gaunt, sickly, pathetic creature.  I had a pulse and was walking upright.  But only just...

Now, she worries about me.  

That is a very nice thing, if you think about it.  I felt sort of badly for not keeping her up to date on matters over here.  How many people can say that they have a lovely, diminutive Chinese woman who will not only do their hair, but also forcibly drag them out for lunch in order to make them eat something?  

It's a kindness, that's for certain.  And it occurred to me that all of the projects upon which I am currently working are also of a kindly gifted nature.  Since today seems to have been a spinning sort of day, why don't we take a look at some of the things that have been sent my way from friends far and near?

Well over a year ago, Cathy sent me two very lovely fleeces.  The first was a gi-normous merino and expected as we'd discussed it.  The second, however, was a surprise!  A sweet, little Shetland lamb fleece was tucked into the box along with all that merino.  It washed up like a dream and the color was simply lovely.  I spent several summer days working on it, but couldn't quite seem to bring myself to put it to the wheel once it was prepped.  I didn't want to ruin it!

Then, last spring, inspiration arrived in the mail!  Kat put together a rather amazing prize package for me and there, nestled in with lots of other goodies, was an impressive amount of Bombyx silk!  And what, pray tell, could be more perfectly suited to a nice, soft lamb fleece?  I broke out the drum carder and blended as if my very life depended upon it!

OK.  So it still took me a while.  But, better late than never, right?  I finished up the plying last night, under the watchful eye of the Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty.  While his tendency to try and chew the yarn every time I stopped to take a break was less than helpful, I do credit him with forcing me to finish it all up.  I didn't dare to leave it unattended overnight. 

While the final skein took its warm bath, I got to thinking about the last little bit of spun fiber left on the bobbin.  I never seem to plan these things out quite right and hate to waste what's there.  Then I noticed another bobbin on the back of the lazy kate, also with some leftovers upon it.  When I spun up the angora that Beth sent me last summer, I'd found myself in a similar lopsided situation and had simply left the excess on the bobbin to deal with later.  

Since the wheel was out and I wasn't doing much of anything else, I decided that I would officiate a marriage between these two lonely fibers.  I'm not really licensed to do that, but I figure no one will ever check...

Shetland blend on the left, Angora/Shetland Hybrid on the right.  I know pronounce them Fiber And Yarn.

There is still a little bit of the Shetland left unspun and certainly enough of the silk left to blend with it.  But I was feeling the need to do something a little bit different.  Just for a change of pace, you see.  So I wandered over to the stash and discovered a lovely alpaca roving that Ronnie sent me last February.  It seems that I've had a bit of a running theme with the alpaca over the last couple of weeks.  Who am I to mess with a theme?  I'd already performed an illegal marriage.  I decided to play it safe and do as the fates intended.

If the universe wants me to spin the 'paca, then that is what I will do.  You don't tempt fate too many times...

This stuff is like buttah!  And, while I love spinning fiber that I've prepped myself, there is something rather decadent about working with a nicely prepared roving.  It's like it spins itself!  So much so that I fear there is a wee bit of rampant over-spinning in places.  I'll work that out in the plying process, never fear.  I get carried away with the twist all the time.  I'm used to forcing it to unclench...

Yes, I am a lucky Sheepie to have been so kindly treated!  I have lots of happy pursuits in which to engage this weekend and it is all thanks to the nice people!  It also looks like I will have ample time with which to play.  The upcoming weather patterns do not look like ones that will inspire me to do much of anything involving "outside."

Snow...frigid temps...I am so totally not going out there!

It's nice to know that I can remain happily inside where there is cable TV and lots and lots of nice wool to keep me warm.  Of course, I can't stay in the house forever.  Eventually, I'm going to have to go out.  I do have to work for a living come Monday and I suppose I would eventually get hungry once the food ran out.

More importantly, I also recognize the need to make a hair appointment.  And not just because I cut my own bangs...

SA