Cabin Fever or Cabin Ferver

Ok, I know I am stretching with the attempt at a catchy title, but crazy winter weather has completely socked the DFW metroplex. Temperatures in the single digits ( for a minute) and then in the teens, turned rain into sleet and ice.  But then you know that, as the weather folk are saturating the whole nation with reports of the uber crazy winter weather.  It's almost like "weather porn" as my witty neighbor, Marta, quipped.  Then last night, these brilliant professionals "oop-ed" again and forecast a dusting of snow.  Uh huh, woke up to 5" here.  Trinket had a blast plowing her way through the back yard before dawn.  Yes, dawn, I sleep maybe six hours and then hit it. 
The "fervor" part of the title refers more to me than the silly weather folk.  I have loved being here with no interruptions.  Have not left the house since Monday afternoon.  Well, one quick run out with daughter, Jen, to grab some prescriptions.  We just hit the drive-up window and then Starbucks.  I never got out of the car.  My children are worried I will break.  But I digress.
I have been in a creative blast:  dyeing rovings, mohair locks, silk, silk throwster, rovings again,

carding art batts,

planning funky art batts for upcoming Pluckyfluff workshop here in Dallas at the Shabby Sheep, and then allowing myself to sit down at the spinning wheel to whiz through some art yarns spun with kid mohair locks and sparkle.  My fave is black mohair merino top.  I have spun two strands and then am plying silver mohair locks into it.  Dreamy.   Got the shiny silver locks in my share from Fancy Fibers 2010 CSA.  
Oh, and I listen to books from Audible.com while I work.
Right now it is Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.  
Rivitting story of black slave mistresses and their secret lives.  The reader is superb.




Then at night I am reading a real paper book,
The Art of Racing the Rain, by Garth Stein.  Sweetest story told through a faithful dog's view.  I've had it in the queue for a couple of years.  Next up in real paper,  Penny Vencenzi's
No Angel.  Still deciding on the next audible book.  Maybe the new biography of Cleopatra.  Or for complete hilarity, maybe The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - A Love Story, by Ree Drummond.  And, SHE reads it.  I could be stuck here for weeks and be completely entertained.

Launching New Spinning-with-Locks Kits

Ok, I love, love to spin art yarns with a scrumptious roving as a base and then dye up kid mohair locks, mulberry silk, Firestar and Angelina for sparkle, and then maybe grab some milk fiber just to top off the mixture.  Next I put a mix of this stuff in my lap and start spinning.

 This Aquarius art yarn came from a merino batt I bought from Stonehedge Farm in Charlevoix, Michigan, last summer.  I added gorgeous kid mohair locks in aqua and green from Lisa Shell at Kai Ranch mixed with Angelina, of course.

Here is one of my own BFL hand-dyed rovings mixed with locks from my dye studio and angelina to create Tide Pool Art Yarn.  Yummy, huh?

Sooo, I thought, maybe others might like to have kits of this stuff all preselected.  Yesterday I listed the Strawberry Gelato BFL Spinning-with-Locks kit in my shop.

And, here is a preview of the next roll out: uber soft Polwarth in Fall Colors2.  Hint: the olive green dye did all kids of crazy good stuff on the locks, silk, and Angelina.  Yum.

 

 

Back to the Real World

...from this.  The fam and I just finished eight days down in the Yucatan for some family fun at the beach. 

 I did alot of this on this marvelous beach beds.  I could stay out of the sun and enjoy my book or play Scrabble with the girls.
I returned ready to gear up for a cozy January of spinning my handspun, dyeing rovings and mohair locks and carding artsy fine fiber batts for my Etsy store.  It has languished over the last few months.  Can't tell you why. 
Tomorrow I head down to Lancaster for an expanded Roc Day celebration hosted by the Sassy Spinster.  We will be in the Methodist church right off the darling little square.  Homemade chili and lots of potluck yummy-ness will be there to tempt us.
I am taking my trusty Kromski wheel and mounds of aqua merino to spin.  Heaven.
Still, these memories are forever:

Party time

Well, it's not smocked dresses and Eton suits anymore for my more- than-hip grandkids, Zoe and Charley.  Truth be told, Charley never wore Eton suits, but his Uncle Jim did.  Uncle J despised them, BTW, but that is another story.  Anyway, They are going to an annual holiday party tonight.  Their mom dropped off their party clothes for them to slip into when we get home from see the new Narnia movie this afternoon.  Zoe has this bright new outfit complete with new shiny boots.

 This is Charley's go-to "going out" outfit this fall.  He loves his boots, all three pair.

 He gravitates to this totally hip shirt every party.

Can't wait to see the pics of them all decked out and charming the room.  What, me prejudiced?

cookie buckets

Ten little buckets, each packed with about six kinds of tiny cookies ready for friends and neighbors.   Wish I had a catchy way to say that, but I'm about out of sparky words right now.  I don't know how I let myself get on this holiday rush train.  I am waking up each day with a list in my head.
Today I get to take a break and go spin with my friends.  Oh, and deliver a few buckets. 

First Day of Winter: 78 degrees here but...

 My Colorado family is having a different winter.  Abundant snow has given son, Jim, a glorious playground for his high back country skiing on his telemark skis.  Here he slogging through the trees at Berthound Pass, altitude 11,000 feet plus.  That looks like nothing but torture to me.

Granddaughters, Sophie and Stella look frozen to me on their first day of skiing last week.  God love 'em.  They are becoming little whizzes on the slopes.

Meanwhile, a friend sent me this shot of my condo in Harbor Springs, Michigan.  They are getting hammered with snow and cold there.  Dallas, however, cannot decide on balmy, silly spring weather, or blustery cold.  Today, 78 to 80 degrees.  Christmas eve, maybe 50 with lows in the 30s.  I think I will take the latter.

Cookie Blitz

Shifting gears from madly knitting fingerless mitts for Christmas shipping, Jen, Zoe and I hit my kitchen to knock out two of six kinds of Christmas cookies we have planned for holiday parties and gifting.  First I made Helen Corbitt's Sand Tarts, little balls of butter, powdered sugar, cake flour and chopped pecans.  Melt-in-your mouth sweetness.  My mom used to make these as little crescents, but my current family prefers little balls. 

 Then on to the decorated sugar cookies pictured at the top.  I found these tiny little Christmas cookie cutters of trees, candy canes, ornaments and stars which Jen decided would make perfect little bites for her Christmas Eve Tasting Party with everything small scale.  Wow, a doubled recipe for "Rich Roll Cookies" in the trusty tome, The Joy of Cooking,  p. 711 made acres of cookies! We were icings and sprinkling toppings for what seemed like hours.  Oh, and the kicker is, the icing needs to set for 5 hours before you stack them in a tin.  Guess who got to do that at 10 P.M.??

 Zoe loved really helping this year.  She manned both the big KitchenAid mixers with ease.  Jen's newer model blue baby is much less libel to blow flour around as it is added to creamed butter mixers.  Just FYI, folks, if you are in the market for a new mixer.

 Jen kept checking our math.  We've been off sometimes in previous years with hilarious results.

Zoe loved scraping the  dough off the beater.

 These are tiny little 1 1/2 inch cookies.  So pretty!

Next up, Rachel Ray's fudge ring and Aunt Betty's shortbread.