My mad social whirl continued this weekend with the annual Spin In here in town.  For a small, sleepy town, we draw a huge crowd for the two-day event.  And do you think I thought to take pictures?  Nope!  In my defense I was in charge of registration and things got pretty intense.  Over 200 participants registered – most of them all at once, I think!  The merchant mall was unbelievable.  Drat – I still can't believe I didn't take a single picture.  Some small fiber stash enhancement took place.  No picture there either, but I promise next post.  To do it now would entail getting out of my recliner and I'm still resting!

Our guest speaker was none other than Judith McKenzie!  She spoke on intentional spinning and wheel mechanics, both subjects of her books.  And the best part?  The next day I got to take an entire day workshop with her:

That's Allison pictured with us.  You might know her on Ravelry as SunnyDay.  She is a spindle spinner extrodinaire and she coaxed me into ordering a spindle.  I'm sure Lorette will be pleased at that!  The workshop was well, well worth it.  By the end of the day I was spinning 2 ply laceweight with ease.  I could also spin super bulky, although I doubt I'll ever want to do that.  We spun cashmere, several kinds of silk, corriedale and a rambouillet/kid mohair mix.  By the end of the day I was totally and utterly exhausted and my brain hurt, but I learned enough to keep me going for a long time.

And on Saturday I came home to this lovely surprise in the mail:

Lorette had a contest on her blog and I won all this lovely Phildar Aviso – 60% cotton, 40% acrylic.  It looks a little hot pink in the picture, but is really a bright, rich red.  What?  You say I should wait and take a picture in daylight?  Fat chance.  We're building an ark even as we speak.  Anyway, I'm not sure yet what I will do with it.  For some reason the thought of a lovely hooded scarf appeals to me.  Something to wear while walking the dog.

And speaking of dogs, it does not seem likely that we will be keeping Angel.  Maggie seems to tolerate her well enough, but Angel is extremely jealous of Maggie.  She does not want her anywhere near us, and is constantly confronting her and provoking a reaction.  Maggie will try to go somewhere else, but eventually comes out fighting.  We've had a couple of scary knock down drag out fights.  Things do seem to be getting better, and if we never had kids over I might be prone to tough it out.  But I don't know that I could ever trust the two of them around the girls.  If the excitement level got high (as it does with the girls around), I'm afraid they might get between the two dogs.  We're looking at options now, including a Raveler in Spokane who may be interested.  I'm saddened that it didn't work out, but at this point neither dog is happy.  Angel is so sweet and loving, she deserves a home where she can relax and soak up the affection.

In between refereeing fights, I've become obsessed with making these cute little cloth and vinyl bags. 

The largest is 9×5, the middle 6×4 and smallest 3 1/2 x 3/12.  They have a clear vinyl front and would be great for so many uses – make up bags, knitting and sewing notions, spinning accessories, you name it.  The small one comes on a key chain and can hold a small items for your purse – hand sanitizer, medications, change.  You can even put in a few dog cookies in the front and a couple of plastic bags in the pocket on the back for your daily walk with your doggies.  In fact, I like making them so much that I am going to open my own Etsy shop to sell them.  I'm hoping to get the shop up as soon as I get some good daylight to take decent pictures.  You can look for my shop under "Island Heirlooms".  I'll be selling them in sets (which would make great gifts) or as singles.

I think I've finally come to the end of all my exciting trips.  In all honesty, I am more than ready to stay home and putter for a while!