Back to school

MG went back to school today. She was happy to go and see her friends and teachers. MB is pretty happy to have the place to himself. It will be good for him to get back into his grove. He is now happily playing with his animal friends on the sofa. He likes to set up all of his stuff guys up and read them the Degio books GAL got him for Christmas. I can't seem to catch him at it long enough to get a picture.

In other news.
We have been offered a Basset Hound puppy for free. He is 3 mouths old and had his shots and is named Mater. You know like Trmater without the Tr. The owner has to move out of her house to a small apartment and may have to give up the puppy. We have not said anything to the kids yet because it may not happen if the owner can find a way to keep him. We should know in the next day or 2. We have been thinking about another dog but have put it off for a while when I left work. We told her we would take him if she and her daughter could not keep him, but we understand if they want to find a way to keep him. This is why we have not told the kiddos about him.(Please don't tell them) Besides they will freak out when we go to pick him up and Hubby and I can be Heroes for at least one evening. This would be the best time to have a puppy because I am home. We think Winston will do well. He has mellowed a bit. He get along great with other dogs. We will have to wait and see.

I did It!

I stayed up late last night with my wheel. I think I got it figured out. I just needed a piece of tape. One of the tension things kept slipping so I put a small piece of gaffers tape over the top of the peg and it works! Gaffers tape really can fix anything! and it won't leave any sticky stuff on the wood. I spun about half a bobbins worth last night but had to stop around 2 am cuz I just couldn't see straight anymore. Today I'm going to the library to pick up some spinning books and see what I do next. Maybe I'll have some hand spun to show later this week!

I just want to add here that the kindness of bloggers amazes me. Ms Snark sent me lots of pictures I had not found yet and told me I did not need the Scotch tension thing I am missing. That she would take time out of her day to help me Rocks! Thanks again! and thanks to the gals at knit night for cheering me on.

Well I am off to spin some more.

My Wheel

So here she is. What you see here is everything I got with it. Any ideas? Am I missing a part?

Witty Title

Ms Snark asked about my wheel in the comments. She is a Kromski Mazurka. She is just like the Minstrel( I think) except mine is a single treadle (bet I spelled that wrong). btw Ms Snark your wheel is so pretty! love the new banner. (click on the link and check out her new shoes. I need me a pair of those!)
I will take some more pictures of her today to post.

I set the wheel aside yesterday to try some new dyes. I got a new black and it does not crack! I got black yarn! a little uneven but still black none the less. Yeah! now if I could just get the red I want. I also got some neon colored food coloring to play with. I think brighter colors for spring are in order. But not today. Today the Mk's and I are going to the zoo to see the baby penguins. They were to be hatched just before Christmas. I love being a zoo member. I can take the kids for an hour or the whole day and it cost me nothing! Memberships to our zoo are about $75.00 per year and it pays for itself after 2 trips. As a side note we had some folks from China here to check out our zoo. Seems there is a chance of us getting a Panda or 2 here! That would be so cool.

Update

So I can spin a little on my wheel but I am having a problem getting the yarn to wind onto the bobbin which is causing me to over twist (I think). I have looked up my wheel on line and mine looks different from the one in the picture. Hubby bought what I think is a restored wheel. It does not have a spring thingie like the newer ones do. I am going to send an e-mail and see what I can do. I wonder if I can get that part? I am sure there is a why to make it work I just can't seem to find it yet. I need to work on drafting too.

In knitting news: I have been playing around with a lot of projects but not really finishing anything. The round blanket is coming along. I think about 75 more rounds should do it. I try to knit on it here and there.

The green hand warmers are coming along. I should finish the first today. I need to go feed the Monsters now.

new yarns for GAL

So here we have some new hand dyes. The top is black again this time with a dark blue undertone. 220 Yards worsted wool. Good for felting.
Next is 440 Yards worsted. Semi solid Royal Blue. Same fiber as above, good for felting. A wide range of color here. I love it.


The Orange/Yellow is 70% Mohair/30% Wool. A deep yellow over dyed with red. 380 Yards fingering weight. A one of a kind.
The last is a bad photo(the color is good) of 2 semisolid Aqua and Burnt Orange. 110 Yards each dk weight wool. Also good for felting.
Guess I've been on a semi solid kick lately. I have 2 skeins of sock yarn soaking now. I am hoping to place a wholesale order for my blanks next time. More $$ up front but less $$ in the long run.

In personal news I got the guest room turned back into my office. It is nice to have a place to spread projects out where the kiddos can't get them.. I got a new craft table for Christmas and it holds a lot of stuff. I now have all my craft stuff together. I have a lot of junk. I may put some things up for sale on Ebay that I will never use. I also hope to get my sewing machine out again.

Happy new year!

In the spirit of the new year, here are my goals for 2008:

1 Make BunkyBoBo's a success. Figure out how to make Etsy work for me and sell more yarn

2 Spin yarn I can knit something with. Master my wheel, and learn to spin.

3 Knit my self a sweater that fits.

4 Knit 6 pairs of socks from my stash. 1st is already OTN

5 Teach MB to read. Help MG read better

6 Quit Smoking.

I hope New Years finds you all well. The best to all of you in 2008.