It's snowing! That's just not right.

Laurie calls this the baby hammock

Four little Cashmere Kids, so cute

Just to show you what I started with.

See the new snow on the logs!

My Hair!

Last week,the weather was very nice, but today it's snowing, and that's just not right. I know for a fact that last Thursday was the first day of Spring, because it was my Birthday. So I ask, whats with the snow! Having my Birthday on the first day of Spring is really nice, and it was made even better because I have such caring friends, all during the month my friend Jan was dropping off little gifts and telling me this is your Birthday month, my friend Vicki also holds that policy when it's her birthday. I got Lot's of great cards, but my favorite was from Katie, a rather humorous one. Then Katie took me out to lunch at Glover Street Cafe. If your ever in the town of Twisp you should try it, but like alot of places of business here, they change their opening times and days without any notice. Twisp has a lot of good places to eat and or dine. We had a great lunch, and visit, then off to our Guild meeting. I've been taking my spinning wheel with me to most the meetings this month and I have finally finished the Corridale pencil roving and the black Merino, and now I think I will go on to something I got from a friend who has Cashmere Goats, but is all so interested in the Pygora fiber and gave me an ounce of a pretty red color to spin. So that will be a whole new fiber for me to try. Also last week I went to visit my friend Laurie, who has her hands full this time of year, because she has a huge herd of Cashmere Goats, Romney and Icelandic sheep and it seems they are all having babies. The day I went wasn't as sunny as I had hoped, but those little ones didn't care they were romping around, and sleeping in the most unusual places. Since that day there has been many more arrivals. I rode my bike 15 miles last week, and I haven't since because my back started to flare up and I didn't want to get that started again. I been trying to get out to walk, I started to go back to the Mundey road were it's flat, I would like for it to warm up a bit, it would be more pleasant. Oh yes I can't forget Our Friends Butch & Carol came over for the coast to stay at their cabin at Gold Creek. We haven't seen them for a while, so we were happy for a nice visit . They all so spent some time with me and Lonny on my Birthday, I had requested to go out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the town of Brewster, we had a fab time, and the best food. This week I got some carding done, on my hand crank, boy what a difference from Katies big carder. This is a Jacob fleece, I think I got it a couple of years ago at the Whidbey Spinners and Weavers annual spin in. Well before I sign off , I all most for got to mention, I got my hair cut off short, and I can't do a thing with it. I'm not sorry I did it but I hate fooling around with my hair, so I'm really having to learn all over again . So we're all on to April, and this will be the month for the Spin in at Whidbey, I hope to see you there. Knits Plenty L. Diana

Getting what you hope for

Happy Easter

My first ride of the year!

We rarely get what we really want, but there is that moment when it does happen, and that moment for me was Saturday. This was just a small hope, because our friends were coming over to visit us,and our area,from the coast, and with some out of town friends. This was a long time friend from the Lake Stevens area, and a long time knitting retreat Buddie, and neighbor to my good friend Dorothy. So JoAn calls Friday night to make sure we were still expecting them, and that's when I had to apologize for the possibility that the weather might not be very good. It's been over cast and cold, also a slight bit of rain. But JoAn said it is winter still after all, and we'll be dressed for the cold. Well I hoped that the weather would change by the time they got here. So Saturday morning came and it had rained, and it was cloudy, and cold. Well, soon it started to show a little blue sky, not much at first, but just enough to make you wonder if it might be possible for it to clear up. Then by noon it did clear, and it warmed up. Now let me digress a bit, to us who live here 40 degrees is a heat wave after a very cold winter, and we're ready to put our shorts on. So around 2 pm JoAn and Don and thier friends arrive, I was so happy to see JoAn, and to be able to share with them our beautiful home here in the valley. First thing we went out to see Lonny's shop (barn), then did the rest of the tour after.I don't think that JoAn and her friends thought it was very warm that day, they were bundled up pretty well.Then we countinued our visit in the house and had a great visit. We all decided to meet in Whinthrop for dnner at Three Finger Jack's, we had great food and I enjoyed the company.But far to soon it was time to leave and say our good byes. I was happy to see my friend. So today is Sunday, and and it's another beatiful day, so I dicided to take my first bike ride of the year, and it went well, I think I did about 7 miles. I surrvived! So next week end is Easter, now that a sure sigh that spring is coming. I hope you have a great Easter! L. Diana

Just a thiught

The wased fleece, with red tips

It's a beauty !

First run through, just like a dream

First run through, noe we will divide and run it again

Three pounds of black sheep all carded

I took a walk after...

I took a walk tonight after dinner. I know a lot of people don't like daylight savings time because they get up at the crack of dawn and it's still dark, but I love the longer evenings. So I took a walk after dinner and stopped to talk to Deb and Rozz. The snow is so close to being gone, I was looking around the yard and was happy to see the apple tree survived, we didn't think it was going to, this little tree has the spirit to keep going on. Then even better yet my rhubarb that I thought was gone is now coming up, the thought of rhubarb makes my mouth water, mm mm I can hardly wait. I need to get out in the garden and do some cleaning, since last year I was having trouble with my back and couldn't do it. I got my bike out (do you think I might have cabin fever?) it needs a good cleaning and air in the tires. Well I shouldn't get to carried away now should I. When I last blogged I started to tell you about the machine that Katie brought home from her adventure at the Judith McKenzie week long work shop. Well a year prior Katie had an interest in a electric wool carder, and this year it was ready. How exciting, and it needed to be broken in with some wool before using finer fibers, so Katie asked if I would like to wash my Romney Lamb fleece and then bring it up to card. Well I washed the wool and mostly it was just dirt, hardly and debris, the tips were sun burned just a little, but they weren't weak, I thought the reddish color of the tip would add some color interest after it was carded and it did. Really I wasn't going to worry about it anyway. So I took it up to Katie's last Monday the 3rd and we started to feed it into the toothy jaws of the carder, one after the other till we were just about through, and then there was a slight malfunction . We had put some fiber to close to the chain drive and it got suck up and jammed the works, it wouldn't work right, so we stopped for the day and Katie called Judith and they got it fixed with her advice. So the next morning I went back and finished carding the wool, and the second time through it turned out very nice. Katie is going to put together bats of fibers for spinners and I'm sure they will be beautiful. So then the following Saturday, the Omak guild had their meeting at my house, and you couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day either. There were about 14 of us all together including some from the spinners from our guild here. We had a great time and lots of show and tell, also good food. We also did a "whats this fiber" challenge. I put out little bits of unidentified fiber that had numbers on them, then each person who wanted to participate could mark on a sheet of paper that had the answer, which ones they were. This was fun and a learning experience, I think it was a enjoyable day all together. Then sooner than we wanted it was time for everyone to get going back over the pass for home. Well I didn't have much time to rest on Sunday, because my regular group of spinners were coming on Monday. The group was Small but that's OK, because some of them came on Saturday. We had a nice relaxing time, Sandra came back over from Omak, so that was a treat, and Jan came, that's can be rare cause she's usually busy working out of town, I was happy to see everyone. Tomorrow we are going to Wenatchee, I need to pick up my window blinds I had fixed and we're looking for a new dish washer, so that will make for a long day away from home. I'm knitting on the wrap that Katie designed, I took a break from it for a while, truth be told, Deb got hers done and it inspired me to get busy. I hope all is well with you and you'll be hearing from me again. L. Diana

February and the snow is meltting

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The little Gems

The new toy, is'nt it cute!

The Twilight colored pencil roving.

The Snow isn't all gone but every day it's disappearing at a rapid pace, and that seems to work, it warms up during the day and drops down into the twenty's at night. So what do I do with these days that are getting longer, well I've been doing lots of spinning and knitting. Oh and just before Christmas I bought something that I've wanted for a long time, and that's a Singer Feather weight sewing machine. These are old machines, even though they have a model that I think they have just started to manufacture again.So a Friend and fellow member of the Methow Valley Spinners and Weavers Guild, wanted to sell a 1938 Feather Weight Singer, so I bought it from her and what a gem. Val said that her Aunt, who was a expert sewer in her day bought this machine new, well the Aunt took to a cabin that they owned and kept it there for her use. Well everything was there, but the instruction book, but luckily a friend of mine had one and lent it to me to copy. It sews like a dream and it's so cute. Also I'm spinning the twilight painted corredale pencil roving and it's coming right along very nicely. I also finished the little gem fingerless gloves, the pattern is in the magazine that Interweave Press put out at Christmas. This Saturday, my friends from Omak are coming to my House to spin, I'm really looking forward to that, it should be a good size group. Then, the following Monday the spinners that come to my house every month will be here and March is the month we celebrate us living here for three years. Wow! So this month is going to be a busy one, also my friend JoAn and her husband Don are coming to the valley with some friends to visit, so I'm looking forward to that too. So the next time I blog I will be telling you about the new machine that Katie came home with after going to the Madrona fiber conference and the next week going to a Judith Mckenzie-Cune week long workshop. So enjoy the coming Spring and keep on do the things you love to do. L. Diana