2011 is here!

I have been neglecting the blog, seems to be a theme with me and the blog.  Waiting for something great to write about and then never get around to it.  The holidays were fun, had both of my girls with me and that is always (well maybe not always!) great.  Younger one is back at school to finish her senior year.  Where did the time go?

 On the knitting/ spinning front... Both the Monday and Thursday night groups are back in full swing. A few of us are thinking of starting a Saturday coffee, treat and knit group.  We usually end up talking more than anything else.  I made a shawl that I call my mistake shawl during our talkative knitting time.  I kept on loosing count and then just let the shawl take over.  Every mistake represents a fun conversation and the shawl looks nice, no one notices the mistakes unless they look real close and they don't belong that close to me!

 Last weekend we had a fun outing to a A Verb for Keeping Warm in Oakland.  They had a book signing with Ysolda and Cookie A.  Ysolda opened up the knitting with a discussion about her patterns.  Her patterns come in a wide variety of sizes, and there is something for everyone.  Cookie A is, of course, known for her sock books.  Here is a picture of my friends with Cookie A and Ysolda------------->

                                                                 And this is me with Ysolda:

Right now I am up to my eyeballs in fiber and dye, getting ready for Stitches West in February.  My passion is silk and silk blends.  Come visit for some of the shiny stuff.  Twisted Sunshine will be in Booth 1146.  Special treats for blog followers and repeat customers.  We have a wonderful selection of hand dyed spinning fibers, yarns and handspun.  We will also have spindles, stitch markers, earrings and project bags.  My friend Karen has challenged me to come up with the perfect red and I have been working on it.  If you see an abundance of red in the booth you know why.  Did have a bit of an accident today, dropped a container of dye powder on the floor of my utility room - what a mess.  Powder everywhere, just missed it getting in the hamper.  I was able to salvage a bit, then I swept up with a scoop I made our of a card, then vacuumed, then mopped, then used rags.  I hope never to do that again.
In addition to the reds I have been experimenting with overdyeing and using black.  I hope to post some pictures this weekend.  Now off to measure out fiber for tomorrow's dying extravaganza