Congratulations to Ravelry!

About a minute and a half ago, the 500,000th person joined Ravelry. I was on a thread watching the countdown, bouncing back and forth between the stat page and the thread page. Casey & Jessica have created a wonderful resource (along with their minions!) and I hope they're celebrating right now. Somehow, I suspect they are, and that beer is involved...

Back Home Again

I didn't mean to let the blog lapse so long, but coming home was a total shock to all my systems. We got home Sunday evening, to a nice welcome and a great dinner fixed by our housesitters (our daughter, son-in-law, and the Rugrat.) We even got a giant welcome-home cookie!! Too funny.

The vacation was wonderful and so relaxing, but being home again was...well...kind of depressing. I had made all kinds of plans for things I wanted to do once I got home: stripping wallpaper, painting, making curtains, etc. But all that lovely planning went by the wayside once the daily routine started again. I think I was just overwhelmed for most of last week, but I'm feeling a little more in control now. I'm not ready to start painting or anything, especially since I've injured my neck and have to take it easy for a few days--doctor's orders--but I'm able to step back and breathe and not feel like I'm thrashing around under a pile of to-do lists.

What I have been doing is finishing projects! That's the good news. The bad news is that several of them are Stealth Projects, otherwise known as gifts, so I can't post pictures. Not that I could anyway, because I still need The Husband to help me figure out how to upload pictures off the new camera. I hate being a digital doofus, but I'm clearly lacking the part of the brain that can cope with electronic/computer stuff. ANYWAY, I've finished four projects in the last week, which is good because I'm way behind on my 52 Week goals. And one of those projects was a Big Stinkin' Project, so that makes me especially happy to have it done. I've put them in the list at the bottom of the page, and I'll update with descriptions and pictures as soon as I can.

On Vacation...

...with no internet access. Can you believe it? Well, right at this moment we have internet access because we're in a Krystals restaurant using their free wifi connection. It's better than nothing, and after the hassle we've gone through trying to find a connection, we're happy. Unfortunately, the lodge we're staying in has no wifi, but we're not complaining too much because the lodge is owned by the hubby's employer, so we're staying for free. Free is good. More money for fabric and yarn.

It's a perfect autumn day. The sky is crystal clear, it's about 65 degrees, and I can look to my left and see the mountains in sparkling detail. We're hoping to get into the Smoky Mountain National Park sometime this week, but traffic is a little heavy, so we'll have to try to figure out some back roads.

We went into Gatlinburg on the trolley yesterday and walked around for a bit. We went to a craft show at the convention center, and I found my way to the Smoky Mountain Spinnery. It's a beautiful shop absolutely crammed with fiber, wheels, and yarn. I managed to escape with only a few ounces of black alpaca/silk fiber, but it was extremely tempting. In fact, I would have spent a lot more cash there, but I was restraining myself because of the upcoming trip to SAFF.

This will be a short entry, because we can't spend all day inside a fast-food place. I will have plenty of pictures to post next week, but we forgot the cord for the camera so I can't upload anything. Let's see, have I forgotten anything? Oh, yeah--we're having a lovely time. Wish you were here!

PS--Melissa, stay out of my yarn room. And my fabric room!!

Vacation

The blog will be on hiatus for about a week (so what else is new, you ask.) We're leaving for Gatlinburg this morning, and won't be home until next Sunday. I might be able to pop in and post something during the week, but it depends on whether we can get an internet connection. That's the husband's task--I know nothing about it.

And next Friday I'll be at SAFF and at the meet-up in the airport Holiday Inn, so if you're going, maybe we'll get to meet!

Off to finish packing! TTYL.

Where Did the Time Go?

Well, so much for blogging every day for Blogtober. I thought I was doing pretty well there, but the days have a way of slipping by before I realize it. I'm trying a new schedule (again!) and this time I hope I can squeeze in most of the things I want to do.

"Yarn Tails" was the winner of the fiber from my last giveaway, so I'll be getting that out to her ASAP. Thanks to everyone who left comments on that post.

This week promises to be crazy busy because we are getting ready to go to Gatlinburg for a week. I'm looking forward to it so much, and I hope it's not crowded. I have a feeling that it will be, though. I suspect that it stays crowded all through October.

Besides the lure of the Smoky Mountains and a spinning shop, Gatlinburg is also hosting an arts & crafts fair throughout the month. I suspect and hope it's the same one that we went to a few years ago. The entire convention center was filled with all kinds of terrific craftspeople and musicians. One day was really not enough to take it all in.

AND, on top of that, we're planning to go to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville, NC! I'm REALLY looking forward to that, especially as there is a Ravelry meet-up on Friday night, the 23rd, at the Airport Holiday Inn (I believe this is very near the entrance to SAFF.) Oh, yeah--and on the way down there this Saturday, I plan to force my husband to take me to the Quilt Box, a terrific quilt shop in Dry Ridge, KY. I haven't been there for years, and I think I'm as excited about that almost as much as the rest of the trip!

So lots of stuff to plan for, and plenty of time, I hope, to do some serious knitting. I'm glad I don't get carsick anymore. Almost six hours each way of blissful knitting time--it doesn't get better than that!

Some of My Pretties

As I've been hopping from craft to craft lately, I've not only rediscovered quilting and cross-stitching, but spinning as well. Specifically, spinning with a drop spindle. A couple of new spindles have found their way home (goodness, I just don't know how that happens!) This little beauty came to me via Etsy, from Butterfly Girl Designs:



It's a laceweight spindle, with a millefiori whorl, and I absolutely love it.

This one followed me home from the Wool Gathering a couple of weekends ago:



It's a "Mjolinor" from Greensleeves Spindles--again a lightweight, made of yellowheart and bird's eye maple. (Neither photo is very good, but you can click on them to see them a little closer.)

Both of these are lying on the table next to the bed, loaded with merino/silk blends in blues and purples. I usually take a few moments before bed to spin a little. I don't expect to finish a huge quantity of yarn in the near future, but this is one time when it's all about quality, not quantity! If I count the takhli support spindle I'm spinning cotton on, I have five spindles and two wheels going right now. Like I said before, I'm never bored!!

As promised, I have a giveaway! No particular reason, except I had this little leftover bit of top after a day of dyeing. It's about an ounce of merino/bamboo 50/50 blend, and it goes to a randomly chosen commenter. Just leave your thought before midnight ET on Thursday, October 8, and you go in the drawing.

A Little Cheat

Well, it technically counts as a post. Not much of one, but give me a break, okay? Coming up with a decent post every day is not easy.

Here's a terrific giveaway for stitchers. Pop over there and check it out.

And to make up for the lameness of this post, I'll be doing a giveaway for spinners tomorrow, so check back!