Well, I finally did it! I am jumping out of my comfort zone and boldly going where I have never been before. It is time for me to don the coveralls, move slowly away from the spinning wheel and paint! I am not talking about my walls, which are weeping ever so gently... quietly desiring a fresh coat ... I am talking acrylics! Pallettes! Easels! Brushes!

Besides playing with fiber - did you know dabble in pastels?? - Time to broaden my horizons - My NEW acrylics will be here within a week - I can't wait to play. I leave you with a pastel I did a while ago ... this is "Miss Nell". TAGS and Comments .... please!

Simplistic thought of the day ... but how profound when the US is in a HEAT wave! TAGS and COMMENTS .... Please!

I have been looking at all the doggies available for adoption on my BloG! My DH receives at least a half dozen URLs a day (from me) with photos filled with the most soulful, yearning eyes. Truly - you can almost feel the tails wagging in the hopes that these deserving animals find a good, loving homes. I encourage you all to place a
PetFinder Banner on your BloGs and websites.

I would adopt them ALL ... but, the 2 pooches who reside with us are enough to handle. That is part of loving them - knowing when you can't take care of another soul. Our eldest, has become a Special Needs dog. She needs assistance for even one stair as she is arthritic and suffice to say - her back legs just don't work as well as they used too. She 'sees' the basics - but, we know her eyesight is beginning to fail. Overall, she is happy and 'healthy' AND she still keeps us on our toes. She is our elder fur baby - one whom commands the respect and appreciation of any 'lady of a certain age'.

Can you identify the pictured fiber?? It is difficult to be sure! Tiny clumps of short stapled fiber just waiting to be blended with wool. TAA DAA - it is
CURLY HORSE fiber! I purchased it a while back, and the monies went to Curly Horse Rescue. Let's take care of our animal friends ... "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Gandhi. TAGs and COMMENTs ... Please!

I have been enjoying a rediscovery, as it were, of my spindles. I admit it - for the *most* part - I am a Wheel kind of girl! Love both the speed and production. Spindles are slow - the amount of time needed to complete sufficient yardage can be tantamount to watching paint dry. Most days - I like the instant gratification of a wheel.

The spindle *does* provide the tried and true mobility that is SO important during these summer months. When it is HOT, I can take a spindle under the shade of the grape arbor and enjoy the sun playing tag with the leaves while inhaling the intoxicating scent of new born grapes. I guess slowing down is what the spindle is all about!

So, I applaud you, O humble spindle! And while my wheel has never seen the inside of the Fleet Center - suffice to say, my Hatchtown has!! Besides, 'baby skeins' are SO cute! TAGS and COMMENTS .... please!

Give me 20 below any day! I can handle it ... wind, snow, freezing rain, ice. I can take it stride. If I get cold, I don't turn up the heat - I reach for another sweater - or another pair of hand knitted socks. But this humidity?? ... I am totally melting. (I am crabby, tired and with very flat hair too!)

But - I knit on!! I finished the socks out of my
Wandering Wizard colorway. What can I say?? I love using a simple stockinette stitch on varigated yarns ... it adds excitement to an otherwise boring stitch!!

I also started the "Misty Garden" Scarf from the book Scarf Style. The yarn is another one of my (dyEing) BOO-BOOs. I really like the way it looks. Doesn't it remind you of a "Tequila Sunrise"? TAGS and COMMENTS .... please!

First, I must apologize! The harder I try to keep, the more I tread in a sea of fiber. I guess my ISP spam filter works well, really well. Out of approx 25 tags & comments left at this BloG - I may see 2. Yep ... that is all folks. I do try to peek to make sure I am not missing anyone - but, sometimes I do. Sigh .... If you don't hear back from me - I am not ignoring you - I just didn't realize you paid me a visit.

Want to know what makes my heart pound as quickly as a good fiber?? Cheese!! I love cheese! Not the presliced, cello-wrapped polyester stuff you find in the grocery store ... not even the "Cabot" quarters or "Kraft" specials ... I mean, pure artisan cheeses that reflect a commitment to the art of cheesemaking as well an unadulterated way of life.

These were my conquests this weekend (clockwise, beginning with the orange wedge):Mimolette;Piave Vecchio; Westcombe Cheddar, Red and Midnight Moon.

Of course, I didn't finish all of them .... well, suffice to say, the "Mimolette" est finis! TAGS and COMMENTS .... please!

What to do when a dye experiment runs amuck??? KNIT!!

I recently did a colorway that was less than exciting to me ... didn't do anything for my inner fiber child. I surely was NOT going to sell it at The Knotty Sheep nor was I about to throw it out. (Although, I was tempted.) .... I figured socks were the way to go.

I threw caution to the wind and started to knit - hoping that they *would* fit. I can always use socks for these sized 10 beasties! If they didn't fit, I trusted that they would make their way to some deserving soul. Well, unbeknownest to me ... the fiber gremlins were working overtime - think double time and a half! Not only did they fit me perfectly ... I LOVED the colorway AND I just had to recreate it. (I *did* too - the skein is drying!) What do you think of the name Wayward Wizard?? In fact, what do you think about the color?? BTW - the second sock has already been started ... YiPpEE!! TAGS and comments .... Please!

I survived the FOURTH and all of it's glory: the fireworks (Diesel hates them!); the guests (the one bathroom thing has got to go!) and cooking for a small (ravenous) army. I shudder to think about how much was actually consumed, both food and alcohol - but I am happy to report I was crowned with the best of titles: "Martini Goddess" ... I see a new colorway in my future with that name!

I was pleased that my new doormat had arrived given the lack of deliveries. The "Sheep at the Beach" needs a doormat made out of remnants from the flip flop industry. I will actually be using it as a large bathmat ... Check it out! I feel better knowing that I am keeping something out of the landfills - especially since the "Martini Goddess" emptied a few bottles (hiccup!)

Lucky for me - I finished the second ClaPpY prior to the whole "Holiday BREW Ha-Ha"!
It is made from a limited edition colorway from Brooks Farm . Sherry says she will be taking this colorway on the road ... I say ... Frequent flyer miles - here I come!! TAGS or COMMENTS .... Please!