New And Improved Except When It's Not

I've got another item for you in the "Holy Cow, I Just Don't Believe It" category. Remember back when I used to claim to be a spinner? You know how I'd sometimes whirl some wool around and then proudly present it to the world? Those were good times...

However, during this School Year Of Never -Ending Angst, spinning was another one of those things that seemed to fall by the wayside. These things happen. At least the spinning wasn't lonely. There were lots of other activities I used to enjoy hanging out on the wayside, wondering how they got there.

With the advent of summer vacation, I decided that it was time to revisit some of those pleasures past. If nothing else, I'd make some room around here. Fluffy woollies take up more space than spun yarn, right? Spinning is sort of like housecleaning if you do it correctly. There was no reason to not do it. It was time for some new, self-rewarding behaviors.

And so, without further ado, I give you....

Yarn!!!!

Actually, I finished this last week. But the rain made the drying process a bit tricky. Frankly, I doubted if this stuff would ever finish blocking. Then I sort of forgot to post about it because it had been hanging over the top of the bedroom door for so long that it just didn't register with me until today.

I don't claim that this is my best work, but I do feel comfortable in saying that it is a triumph. Even if it is lumpy and bumpy, it represents a fight to the finish. (not that it is finished...I still have oodles of this fleece left) The merino came to me in a gi-normous box from the ever-generous Cathy and has given me hours of both pleasure and frustration. It was not a fleece that jumped out of the box and onto the wheel. It needed work. The fact that I've been fiddling with it off and on for two years should be a good indicator of that, now that I think of it. But it was a labor of love and even when I knew that I should consider sending it out to be processed by someone else, I just couldn't do it. I wanted to be the one to tame it.

In the end, I probably could have done a better job with the prep, but I don't mind a rustic yarn. I think that this batch will work nicely for some mittens when the time comes to knit it up. I'll wear them gratefully and think warmly of Cathy every time I go out to clean snow off the car.

While I happily fondled my new and perfect-in-my-eyes yarn, the Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty continued working on his Arched Nap Technique. He's gotten quite good at it.

This nap brought to you by the letter C.

I guess it's good that he has a hobby. I've got the spinning/knitting thing going on and he really should have something to call his own.

But I fail to see how this can be comfortable...

I can haz chiropractor?

SA