Trying to come back!

Haven't posted her in a while - had rotator cuff surgery Dec 24th and am slowly making my way back into the real world. Now that the drugs have worn off and I can type with both hands again, maybe I'll do better...although I can now right my name with my left hand and perform other tasks my left hand was not used to doing.

Our wood stove is in! Cosmic Ray got it hooked up before Christmas and I'm enjoying it so much. We used it when we lived in Nebraska to heat our whole house, so you can imagine how warm it makes us in south GA. Good for chilly nights, which we've had more of this year.

Had fun in Destin, FL for a few days in January with my knitting/spinning friends. They took good care of the "crip" and even though I couldn't do much spinning, I had a lot of fun. The girl in the photo with me is not my daughter, even though I would claim her, it's Amy, my friend Cindy's daughter. We had fun enjoying the sun and sand together in Destin.

Soapmaking Day

Had fun this weekend making soap for Christmas gifts!!  I made goat's milk with lavender, goat's milk with oatmeal, and the orange-ish soap is brown sugar/pumpkin.  I tried to use a little food coloring in the lavender, but it didn't work out....I got most of it out, but ended up with some tiny blue dots here and there.  Going to call that soap "Lavender Surprise" because you may end up with a small patch of blue on yourself when you  use it.....

More SAFF photos

Here's more photos from the Southeastern Area Fiber Fair:  Jacob Sheep

Cindy and Linda from our Cotton Patch Spinning Group

Tonni, my blogging/Ravelry pal

There were 4 of us in our camper and this is what we bought....mostly....

SAFF - fun at the Fiber Festival

Had a GREAT time at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville, NC! Here's a few pics of what I enjoyed most.












I took a class on how to make this large project basket - finished lashing the rim at home today.














These sheep hats were a riot - the guys wearing them really had "balls"....















I loved the Llamas and Mohair Goats

GA National Fair

I've always wanted to enter something I've made in the GA National Fair held each October in Perry, GA, but I just never got around to it, or I  decided too late and the entry deadline had passed.  This year was different - I actually looked at the website and found out when the entry deadline was, organized my entries and got them there IN TIME.  (It's a little thing, but a big thing for ME).  Here's a few pics of what I entered - the biggest surprise was a 1st place ribbon and special achievement rosette for my handknit Monkey socks.

I entered 3 skeins of handspun in the apprentice division and won 2 third places.  Perhaps my biggest thrill was seeing my  quilt on display hanging in the giant exhibit hall.  At first I couldn't find it, but later located it hanging right over the top of the Chili cook-off competition.  The attendant at the door wasn't going to let me in, but I explained I had no interest in the chili but that MY QUILT was hanging overhead and I wanted to see it.  She smiled and let me sneak behind the competitors so I could see it more clearly.  Later on in the evening, I was able to take some photos.  I pieced and sewed the top, and my friend, Sue Shippey did the quilting. We won an Honorable Mention.  That's pretty good for this competition where LOTS of quilts are entered and hang from the ceiling all over the giant display hall.

New Wheel

I've been suffering with a bad ankle for about 3 years now, and read that a double treadle spinning wheel would be great therapy for my torn ligaments.   Janelle in Washington wanted a single treadle wheel, so we swapped!!  I got her Ashford Traveller, and she got the Kromski Prelude - and we're both happy. Thanks, Janelle~!

Wool Dyeing Day

Here's some photos from our "warped party" dyeing day.  It was lots of fun, and I learned alot from the dyeing experts in our Cotton Patch Spinning Guild.

Georgia's Jewel - Jekyll Island

This place is one of my favorites on earth!!  Here's a few pics to make you want to visit here, too!