Back in January, after a guild meeting, I was inspired to try spinning again. Before this I always ended up frustrated and figured I just couldn't do it. I sat down with a spindle and some nice Merino fiber that I had purchased and kept at it until I started to get yarn. Now it was kind of novelty yarn, but it was yarn.

I was hooked. Shortly there after I found some wonderful spindles on ebay, made by a guy with the handle Viking Santa out of Vancouver Canada. I purchased 1 to see if it was as nice as it looked in the picture, and quickly bought more. They're top whorl, with nice swan hooks and long shafts, and surprisingly light weight for their size. There's even a little Thor's Hammer design burned into the shafts. How appropriate for a heathen spinner.

I've also joined an informal group that meets once a month called The Moonbeam Spinners. They pretty much all use spinning wheels, but a few started with hand spindles. I hosted them at my house last month.

( Pictures )

Where Is My Mind: Still at work
Current Attitude Adjusted To: productive

Well what do ya know. A long overdue update.
I do read LJ, but haven't had the inspiration to post for quite a while.

We've been short handed (again) at work since February, so I've been getting overtime. I know I shouldn't complain, but I'm gonna. I'm sick of it. I want more time off! Fortunately there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Our knew guy passed his certification and now can start training on the real job. It will be several more months, but finally progress is being made.

When I do have time off I've been doing a lot of craft work. It's funny how my hobbies keep multiplying, but the creative stuff is keeping me sane.

I now make soap, weave, spin, make coiled baskets, knit on circle looms and at the end of the month I'm taking a basket weaving class and a rosemaling workshop. In may I took a felting work shop. It was fun, but I probably won't be adding that to the list. I did learn a few things that I can apply to other projects.

Oh and I almost forgot mead making. My first batch is a year old. It's drinkable, not great, but drinkable. I bottles the second batch recently. I started that one in January. It needs some more time, but I think it will be better. I also started a third batch. Just 1 gallon instead of 2 this time and I used some different honey.

I finally took some pictures of what I've been doing, so future posts will go into more detail individually.

Well that's it for now.

Where Is My Mind: Where else, work
Current Attitude Adjusted To: hopeful

So I finally got the pictures off my camera of some of the things I wove for the Fabricatons exhibit. They sold one of my table runners. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that.

Here's pictures of some stuff on the looms and finished.

( Weaving )

Current Attitude Adjusted To: creative

I took a drum making class last weekend at Crossings. I'd never really done any drumming before. I had seen the instructors drums for sale there a while back. When I saw the class I thought it looked interesting so I decided to try it. It was a fun class, a bit spendy, but I'd do it again. I've been banging on my drum for a while each day. I never thought I'd enjoy that so much.

Pictures behind the cut.

( Drum pics )

Tags: drum
Current Attitude Adjusted To: creative

Well it's certainly a blustery solstice. Definitely a night for the Wild Hunt to Ride

http://wildhuntmc.com/poetry.html

Year's End
If you would go abroad tonight, choose your path with care,
For the walls between the worlds are down, and there's magic in the air.
The old year ends at set of sun; the new begins at break of day,
And in between the walls come down, and a far more ancient Law holds sway.
The Wild Hunt rides for love of speed and lets its prey run free;
The Green Man walks and calls the spirits forth from every tree.
The folk from out the hollow hills will dance 'till break of day,
And the one-eyed stranger at the door should NOT be turned away.
Don't try to break the fairy ring, or chase the Wild Hunt on its track;
You just might reach your goal tonight, if you don't mind not coming back.
The restless dead and stranger things are on the roads tonight;
If you meet that one-eyed traveler, be sure that you're polite.
The walls between the worlds are down as the old year fades away,
And EVERYTHING is possible from set of sun 'till break of day.

Paul Haynie

Where Is My Mind: Work
Current Attitude Adjusted To: contemplative
Current Tunes: Mediaeval Babes, Blow Northern Wind

My submissions to Crossings were excepted for the December Fabrications exhibit, and they want more.

Dear Jane,

We are pleased to inform you on behalf of Crossings that you have been accepted as an exhibitor in our December show, "Fabrications V." We loved your woven scarves and runners and would be more than happy to display any more like items you might have available.

Your work will be displayed in our gallery from December 1-31. 2008.

I forgot to take pictures of the things I've already submitted, but I have a few more things in the works and I'll post them before the 29th.

There's an artists reception on December 6th from 2-4.

http://www.crossingsatcarnegie.com

This is just a small place that displays local artists, but I'm excited.

Also did the second rack on my mead today. Tastes much better. Not bad for my first attempt. I'll bottle it in about a month and start some more.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: surprised

The last two days I've seen bald eagles flying around my house. Yesterday, while doing yard work, one flew right overhead. This morning, sitting on my couch drinking coffee, one flew along the tree line right outside my living room window. About a minute later it flew by the other direction with the resident red tail hawk chasing it. Pretty cool. This spring I thought I saw a pair of eagles doing their mating ritual where they hook talons and drop through the air. They were quite far away, and by the time I got the binoculars, they were gone so I wasn't sure.

In other news, I've been getting back into weaving again. I thinking of entering a few scarves in the Fabrications show at Crossings gallery in Zumbrota. December is their annual fiber and jewelry exhibit. I was hoping to get some other things done besides scarves, but time has been flying by. The deadline for submissions is November 7th, so we'll see what happens.

http://www.crossingsatcarnegie.com

They also have a one day drum making class in January that I'm going to sign up for. I've seen a couple of the drums this guy makes. In fact I almost bought one last time I was there, but didn't. Making one would be fun.

The cats are doing well. Shadow finally decided that Jasper wasn't so bad after all. It sure took a long enough. There was a lot of hissing and growling for a while. Then one evening I was laying on the couch with Shadow curled up by my feet (her favorite spot), when Jasper jumped up and cuddled in next to her. Instead of having a fit, she started licking him and they both fell asleep. Things have been pretty good between them since then. She does still get annoyed with him sometimes, when he wants to play and she doesn't, but they do play with each other now.

On October 2nd I started my first batch of mead (a melomel). I followed the beginners instructions from this site, with a few modifications.

http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/fast-cheap-mead-making.htm

I used dried cranberries instead of raisins. I also got some Lalvin yeast, a couple of one gallon glass jugs and a couple of air locks from the Pine Cheese Mart. I think they now sell more brewing supplies than cheese. I racked it this weekend. The taste wasn't real great yet, but it's far from ready. I could taste the orange rinds, which wasn't that great. I added some more cranberries and will rack it again in the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to making more in small batches. The equipment that I got wasn't very expensive and a guy I work with has made some wine and has a corking machine that I can borrow when it's time to bottle.

Well, that's it for now, life is good.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: impressed

( Look how cute I am )

Current Attitude Adjusted To: cheerful

( Loki Pics )

Current Attitude Adjusted To: melancholy

Two months sure went by fast. With the kitty hospice and hosting a family reunion at my house, I've been kinda busy.

I had to put Loki down on July 26th. It still makes me cry. Especially since I found out one of the plants I brought home from my mom's funeral may have been what caused the kidney failure. I don't know for sure, but I still feel awful about it. The vet thinks it might have been the Peace Lily. I found list of plants that are poisonous to cats. I've had several of them in my house for years with no problems, but the Peace Lily is gone.

August 1-3 I hosted our 4th annual cousins reunion at my house. I had to scramble to get the yard and house cleaned up for it, but it was a lot of fun, and a lot of food.

On the 4th I got a new kitten. Shadow needs a companion, even though she's protesting at the moment. I didn't want to wait too long since she was used to having another cat around. Jasper is a real sweetie.

I'll try to get some pictures up soon.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: melancholy

Well I've canceled two vet appointments to put him to sleep.

He was doing so well this morning I just couldn't think of doing it. I talked to the vet and they said as long as he's having good days, let him have them.

Renal failure is not painful, and as long as he's happy and I can keep him comfortable, we'll take it day by day. I feel better about that. I was dreading taking him in today.

I know his time is still short, but not having a specific time looming ahead of me makes it much easier.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: relieved

Last weekend I noticed that something wasn't quite right with my cat Loki. There was nothing obvious, but I could tell something was off.

I've been watching him closely this week and last night I decided to take him to the vet. He'd gotten kind of lethargic and had lost some weight.

His kidneys are failing. The x-ray machine wasn't working, but the vet said he could feel a mass in his abdomen and blood work showed they're not functioning. It could be a tumor, but it doesn't really matter at this point. The only possible treatment would require hospitalization for several days and it probably wouldn't do any good. He's only 3 years old.

So I'm going to have to put him to sleep. They gave him some fluids for dehydration and I brought him home. I made an appointment for Saturday, but if he's not too bad I may wait until Monday.

Damn this is hard. He's not in any pain. At least he's at home where he's happy and loved.

His sister Shadow and I are going to miss the big goof ball a lot.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: sad

Since wickedgroovy sent me nudge the other day, I guess it's time I update this thang.

A few weeks ago, with my income tax return burning a hole in my pocket, I found a 40 inch Beka rigid heddle loom on ebay. After it arrived and I set it up in my living room I found I needed needed to make space somewhere else in the house for this thing to live.

My house has a small 3rd bedroom. My original plan when I moved in was to make this room a library for all my friggin' books. In the 3 years I've been here it'd become the 'I don't know where to put this so I'll shove it in there and close the door' room. Since I've managed to acquire a few new hobbies in the intervening time, I decided it was time to make this my hobby room.

So a couple weeks ago, I dragged everything out of this room and started setting it up. I bought a rug for it and put in a futon so it can be used as bedroom if needed. I put the sewing machine I got from cleaning out my mom's house, my looms (2 small ones and the newly acquired big one), a couple of book cases for my craft books, and the clock (also from my parents house) that my grandfather made.

I really like the way this room came together. Did I mention it has a couple of purple walls, one lavender, and one white? It's not as bad as it sounds. It was that way when I bought the place and I figured I'd be re-painting, but it's grown on me.

Now my only problem is figuring out what to do with the rest of the stuff that came out of that room. I'm making progress with sorting things out, but it's taking longer than I thought it would. Someday my living room will be back to normal.

Now that Spring is starting to spring around here, the yard is going to need attention soon. I need a couple of clones to get all the work that needs to be done around here done. I wouldn't trade my house though, I really love it.

I leave for conference in Portland Or. Monday and have another one the week after in Madison.

So that's what I've been up to recently.

Where Is My Mind: Work
Current Attitude Adjusted To: mellow
Current Tunes: Gjallarhorn, Suvetar

I passed!

I'm re-certified, or perhaps it's certifiable, but it's done!

I have to be certified for my job and I took the test today and passed.

I'm glad to have that out of the way.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: accomplished

Went to Florida on the 12th, to Tampa, then Orlando.

I visited my sister, niece, and great niece(met her for the first time, she's 3) in Tampa.

Then drove over to Orlando for some job related training.

Ashley(the 3 year old) and I became best buddies right away. This is unusual, because little kids usually kind of shy away from me. My niece said it usually takes her a while to warm up to new people.

At the airport she was telling me to hang on when we went in the elevator and the next afternoon she told me she loved me.

It was hard to leave and go to Orlando. I tried to explain to her that I had to go to school and then back home after that and I wouldn't see her for a while. She went and put her shoes on and said "I'll take you home Jane."

The whole weather change is a drag, but at least my flights were on time.

Still it's good to be home and my cats are happy to see me. They're going to be cling on kitties for a couple days.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: pensive

Helen F. Cocker

February 27, 1926 to February 8, 2008

My mother, my hero, my friend.

An inspiration to all who knew her.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: sad

Well it's about damn time I update this thing. I've managed to keep myself quite busy (with fun things, even) since September.

The first week of October I took a couple of community ed. classes. Drop spindle spinning and milk soap making.

I haven't really got the hang of spinning yet, I need more practice and I kind of got side tracked, so I hope to get into that more as the year goes on.

I didn't make a lot of milk soap, but I did make a lot of soap. Several people asked to buy some for Christmas presents, and I wanted some extra for myself to give away. I made over 100 bars in November-beginning of December, and I only have about 15 left. I sold (figured out my cost and have just been charging that) over 60 bars and gave away the rest.

In November I took another community ed class, weaving. I love weaving. I now have 2 rigid heddle looms. I made scarfs for my family for Christmas. It was a rush to get them done, and I ended up giving 1 to my nephew that I was going to keep for myself, because I didn't get the one I was making for him finished.

My Mom went into the hospital with an irregular heart rhythm on the 18th of Dec. Luckily it corrected and she got out on the 20th. I had my family at my house on the 23rd, so it was a bit crazy that week.

I've joined an area fiber arts guild that meets once a month and does some group projects. They have a bunch of books on different fiber subjects and are really a nice bunch. I'm looking forward to learning lots of new things.

One of these days I plan on taking some pictures of the stuff I'm making. As soon as I remember to do this I'll try to get them posted.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Current Attitude Adjusted To: cheerful

Ganked from wickedgroovy

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: tired

I'm not sure if snowcalla and wickedgroovy know about this or not.

It will be the 29th and 30th. There's not much information up yet, but there's supposed to be more posted sometime this week.

http://tcpaganpride.org/

I found out about it from jenett here:

http://www.pagancrossroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=735.0

It's being held here:

http://sabathani.org/SCC_Directions.htm

I'm probably going on Saturday the 29th. If either of you decide to go, give me a shout.

Current Attitude Adjusted To: mellow

I put my hummingbird feeder out about a week ago.

Saw a bird there twice today. Not sure if it's more than, or the same one.

Let the fights for the feeder begin.

(Even tho' it's a large feeder, the little suckers fight over it all summer.)

Where Is My Mind: Home
Current Attitude Adjusted To: pleased