On Wednesday I went to babysit as usual. Came back with daughter and baby in tow. They spent Wednesday afternoon and night, Thursday, and left Friday afternoon. It was a blast having the little one here. She can really keep herself busy, and it was fun to see her in a different environment. She wasn't too happy with the dogs. Gabbi was not very interested in her, but wanted Jenn to hold her. She fell right asleep in Jenn's arms. Humph! Shows where I stand! I think she just puts up with me because it's all she has. Story of my life!
Evan on the other hand didn't want to leave Jia alone. He was constantly trying to lick her. He wanted to be near her, which in the end, was fine. The issue was, he insisted on LICKING her constantly if he was near her. It's a thing he has. I had to get really firm with him and make him stop. I felt bad for constantly disciplining him for it. He has to learn though.
Both dogs slept like logs as soon as the girls left on Friday.
This is what Jia ended up loving here:
I tried to hand Gabbi's leash to Jia, but she refused to take it!
She had fun. She was exhausted. The dogs were exhausted. I was exhausted!
I got to practice a little spindle spinning. I was thinking, after looking at some photos on Ravelry of yarn people had spun for the Tour de Fleece (it corresponds with the Tour de France), that maybe I was putting waaaayyyy too much twist in my yarn. The yarn would curl back and twist on itself if I let it (the part I'd spun). This morning I was awake early enough to get up and watch a few videos on the subject. I have to watch before 7 a.m. thanks to the bandwidth restrictions of Hughesnet. I used to be able to watch whatever videos I wanted to, whenever I wanted to during the day. Then we had some new equipment installed, hubby signed a new contract, and WHAM! Restricted! It stinks! I do nothing but complain about it.
Anyway, sorry for the rant. I got up this morning and watched a few different people spinning on a spindle, and low and behold, you ARE supposed to have that "overs spin" in the yarn !!!! It was funny because only one person mentioned it out of 5 videos I watched. If you're going to do a video on how to begin something, you really need to pay attention to ALL of the aspects of the project.
I have a little fiber left from what I bought last week. I guess I'll have to go buy some more. Although, what's left in the yarn shop I've been going to, isn't my favorite - as far as colors or how it's working for me. Yes, it's probably me not working the fiber correctly. That's ok. I also know there are some fibers that are better than others! I'll get better, but I have to have the fiber to practice on. I am going to look around online this morning and see if it is any less expensive online. Probably not, as I'm paying about $20 for 4 ounces - I know that doesn't sound like a lot of fiber, but it is quite a bit. The money adds up, especially when I don't know if what I'm spinning will be able to be used in much except some art weaving. That's ok, I can use it for that!
I did call the lady that owns a shop and creates yarn, not too far out of Culpeper (of course, in the opposite direction I live in). I called her Saturday afternoon. No call back yet. I did leave both home and cell numbers. It would be nice if she'd get back to me and let me go over for a lesson.
I need a LOT more practice with the drafting. I need to pre-draft and then stand up to spin - I'm so short, sitting on the loveseat isn't the best thing to do. I have to only do short bits then, and wind on more often, which disrupts the flow of the fiber onto the spindle.
I also need to get that last quilt bound so I can wash it, and the baby quilt for my niece, washed and dried and then labeled. Oh, I also bought some ribbon to use for labels - I saw somewhere on Pinterest how to print out iron on labels - you print them out in reverse onto Iron on sheets, iron onto the ribbon, and then sew the ribbon onto the item you're labeling. I never thought of that. I hope it really works so I don't waste things like the ribbon and the Iron on sheet. There is only one way to find out. The same way I find out how anything works on Pinterest - TRY it. Here is the link to the person with the blog that shows how to do it. I gotta give credit where it's due!
On a side note, I've started working on my weight. I only started yesterday, so no big changes, but I did well. I just gotta keep myself busy, not eat junk, and use my new exercise bike. I did 10 minutes this morning. I will do it twice a day, till I can work up my stamina and not be out of breath. Then I will start increasing the resistance.
Meanwhile, I'm watching what I eat.
I already feel better from not eating a bunch of sugar or eating badly. I know I CAN do this!
Off to sew, spin, print labels, and whatever else I can squeeze in today.
Oh, started a new book - the last one in the Big Stone Gap series by Adrianna Trigiani. Here is her website. I'm enjoying the book, Home to Big Stone Gap, and the series.
See ya later!
Martha
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