Wondering why....

Sunshine dressed to party

...wondering why I have a blog, I never write in it and I don't think anyone reads it.  I have good intentions, but it never gets past the intention stage.  My knit group, otherwise known as my friends, family, etc.  encourage me.  We have plans to blog and podcast.  Again, we have the intention to write about our adventures, antics and knitting/spinning projects, but I guess we are all busy doing and don't have the time to write about it.

The summer has flown by, can't believe SOAR is starting tomorrow.  I am only going to the retreat part, so I will be up there Thursday through Sunday.  New adventure for me and I am excited.  I am going by myself, which is something I have never done before.  I have been alone on business trips, but have never gone away on an adventure like this all by myself.  I don't know anyone who is going so I will have a room mate that I have never met before.  If I do say myself, this is brave, maybe crazy.  I called the hotel and was told that at this time my room mate is named Alice and she is from Iowa.  Hmm, the home office of the company I work for is in Iowa and I have been there a few times.  Not New York or California, but I have met many nice people in Iowa so I am excited.  Brief communication with Alice from Iowa on Ravelry, should be fun.

Thanks to my wonderful friends, I have plenty of knit goods to wear; shawls, hats, mitts.  It's not that I don't knit, I just rather spin.  I am not a prolific, or talented knitter like most of my friends. Just like a knitter I will wear lots of knit items that don't necessarily match.  I am taking several interesting classes and will have plenty to report on, that is if I take the time to write about them.  I also need some photos, but my photos have a way of just staying in my phone or camera and never going any where,  like my photos of the rainbow colored sheep at Lambtown.  That will be another blog entry.....

I am soaking yarn to dye, so that is what I will do next (hope the sun doesn't go down before I start.  And then there are all the apples that I asked my husband to pick and I promised to do something with, although letting them rot in bowls on the kitchen counter was not what he had in mind!

laters.....

Twisting at the CNCH

silk hankies

We were at CNCH, here are some comments from friends of Sunshine: Its funny how we all run in the same crowds. I saw so many familiar faces...the same faces that I see at every fiber event. I love, love, love listening to everyone's stories and adventures. We met Dana, who unfortunately lost everything in a house fire...she caught our attention when she said she lost both of her spinning wheels! She happened to run across an estate sale in the paper....fiber & wheels!! She got 2 wheels and pounds of roving and only spent $112 dollars! My friends and I have a blast at CNCH, spinning, knitting, eating and shopping. If you are coming tomorrow, stop by our booth or our food table. We have tons of yummy snacks. Booth 513, next to Carolina homespun. I love seeing our fellow fiber artists. Love color and yummy fiber. Hope see you at our next show. I had a ton of fun at cnch at Twisted Sunshine booth I think she has a very great eye in color combination. Got inspire with all the colors and fibers and trying to figure out my next new project. The most interesting person was a woman with a very unique outfit that she must have made for herself, as I am sure it could not be purchased anywhere. For lack of a better description we call her the pirate. The outfit made the woman look like she was Captain Jack Sparrow's grandma. She is on my video but I don't know if I can post here. There was a large upright velvet hat, and a highly embellished skirt and jacket. Her husband's outfit was not as embellished but more colorful.

Speaking of color, check out the dyed silk hankies, perfect for spinning, felting embellishment, you can even knit or crochet directly from the hankie.

rovings

core spun yarns

 batts for spinning and felting

                   
                             plenty of sparkle

Show time is coming

This coming Friday is the opening of the 3 day Conference for Northern California Handweavers (CNCH).  It will be held this year at the Oakland Convention Center at the Oakland Marriott at Broadway.  Just take BART to the 12 Street station and you are right there.  Twisted Sunshine will be there at booth 513, with our signature 50/50 merino silk rovings, textured batts and many different fibers for your spinning fantasies!  Come visit, say hello and meet up with like minded fiber enthusiasts!
Follow this link for details and a discount coupon http://www.cnch.org/conferences/2012-oakland/day-visits/
Dyeing is finished, now to finish braiding. labeling and batt making.  Pictures will be posted shortly.

Here we go again...

Well, I got frustrated that I could not add photos to the blog from my iPad while I was in Spain so I just stopped writing, easily frustrated I am.  The trip was great but the yarn was a big let down.  In Madrid I went to the el gato negro which was a yarn shop that was recommended.  all the yarns were acrylic and mostly novelty type yarns.  The way yarns are shopped for is quite different than in the states, they have samples hanging and then you have to wait for a sales person to help you and get out the yarn you want.  You are not allowed to touch anything on your own.  Usually you would tell the sales person what you want to make and they will pick out, or help you pick out the yarn and the pattern.  There was an old guy there  who was like a watchdog.  He wouldn't take his eyes off me and my sister, it appeared that he thought we were going to steal something.  You got it, I would just grab a handful of lovely acrylic yarn and run down the street .... like that would ever happen!  It was an interesting experience but needless to say I didn't buy anything there.  But Madrid was wonderful and I had a great time there.  Not my favorite place in Spain.  I really loved Sevilla and Ronda, and our visits to each of these towns has it's own special story..... More to follow, time to start up the blog again...