Chuck Bennett Spindle and Rachels' Seamstress Broadfall Trousers & new Bonnet

Yesterday morning I decided to try out one of my new hand-made Chuck Bennett drop spindles.  I purchased the spindle through a friend, who knows and works with Chuck.  My friend had brought a basket full of spindles to Old Town on the 4th of July.   After much fighting and resistance, I was pressured by the "Sue Crew" into buying 2 of them!  Thanks ladies....  The spindle pictured below is made of Olive wood.  So the story goes, it is wood from an olive tree that recently fell down in front of an apartment building in Borrego Springs.  The wood is very smooth and beautiful.  The spindle is sort of bulky, but light-weight, and it spins quite nicely.  Also, fits in my hand very comfortably and is very soft.

Here is some 2-ply yarn that I am in the middle of spinning on the spindle, resting in my mother's heirloom monkey bowl:

Kevin and I are excited that his new broadfall trousers arrived in the mail this past Wednesday.  These were hand-made with care, by Rachels' Seamstress Services.  They are made of black light-weight twill fabric, which is perfect for San Diego weather.  I have been wanting to get Kevin these trousers for over a year now.  They will be great pants for him to wear to school, and perfect for wearing to Old Town when he comes to sit with me (and the fellow lilies), while I spin with my traveller on the 3rd Saturdays.  The length is long, and I will hem them up a little for him to wear now, and will be able to let the hem out as he grows.

And, thanks again to Rachels' Seamstress Services, I also got myself a new linen bonnet to wear.  It is called the Laura Day Frill Cap.  I love the fit and the color, it will go well with either of my two dresses.  Here is view from above:

On a side note, we just felt an earthquake.  Not a huge surprise for southern California, but we all ran outside, nonetheless.  Now I am trying to decide if I have time this afternoon to dye the fleece that I washed last weekend.  I may dye the remaining locks before I card them, or may card and spin them and then dye the yarn when I am done.  Can't decide....  Either way, I will dye using greens, for a future project.

The never ending scarf part III

I have been knitting this scarf off and on, since April.  I learned this pattern from a fellow knitter friend last October, while sitting and spinning/knitting with the fellow lilies at the National City Train Depot.   Although I do not know the name of this pattern, it is still my favorite at this moment in time.  Sort of feathery, and the mistakes hide very well.  

I started knitting this with one small ball of yarn, then ran out and had to start with a second ball.  This afternoon I started at it again, and decided  that I want to make this a long scarf (to wrap around my head, of course).  So, naturally, as I ran out of the second ball, I had to switch to a third.  I could never have planned how beautiful this would turn out, and this is a great reminder to me to always be adaptable, flexible, and to go with the flow.  You can never plan fun.  And beautiful things are born usually with little effort, and lot of patience.  

Once again I find myself mezmorized by the colors that I dyed- there are so many hidden in here I cannot begin to list them all.  When I dye wool I always write down the colors and repeats that I chose, as well as the way I dyed it.  If I remember correctly, all of this yarn was "painted" using the sponge method.  And every color in my dye stash is present here.  With a three ply yarn one can never go wrong, and this scarf will last forever, as a three ply cord is not easily broken.

Dave- I know you are reading this- and I hope you enjoy.  We should meet up soon, until then email me your favorite colors and I will start on something for you.  Can't guarantee it will be ready anytime soon, but nevertheless...  let me know.  Also- I won't be at RBD this year :(  Wish I could....  I do hope you have fun in Montana...  Just let me know when you get back from the wedding?

Here is one more pic of the scarf, you can see more of it in this one...  And, Kevin says hi everyone.  He has been sick the past 2 days and is slowly getting over his summer cold.  Luckily he is a trooper.  Fingers crossed I don't catch it.  

Hope to finish this never ending scarf part III by the end of the.....  summer?  By the way, this is the third scarf I have knit using this pattern.  Second one is also almost complete.  More later on that one.  From the yarn fairy.