Knit Night

Last night I joined the Southeastern Michigan knitting group at the Caribou Coffee in Plymouth. It was a blast. I've never met any of these ladies before but that didn't stop me from heading out and joining them. And I was a good girl and only had water despite SERIOUSLY wanting to buy some coffee to drink. But I didn't need to be up late. It's a great group made up of all different level of knitters and spinners. One lady, Dianne, is a spinner. She'd just completed this BEAUTIFUL shawl/coat. I'm nt exactly sure what to call it. It was a shawl but had arm holes and a little hood. She handspun all the yarn used and the pattern on the back is sooooooooooooooo beautiful! It was castle scene. She found an amazing clasp on eBay that is either pewter or silver, again not sure. But it matched it so well. I am almost done with calorimetry again. I can spell that now but when someone asks me what it is I slaughter saying it. LOL The ladies had never seen the pattern before so I passed it arund and they think it is quite neat. One of the other ladies had finished her own shawl in pink and said now she needed to make a headband to go with it. :) So towards the end we got to talking about spinning. I was on ravelry the other day and came across the group that I joined to destash your yarn. I happened upon some Spunky Eclectic roving for sale. 2 batches of 4 oz. roving in different colors. Very pretty and I bought them! So now I am looking at drop spindles. Which is where last night comes in - Dianne and Sandy were giving me advice on what kind of spindle I should get as a beginner.

It boiled down to I would need to get one that weighs around 1.5 oz. as a beginner. Dianne then was telling me many great places that sell ones that she would trust. Like if (and I'm hoping we will because I am realyl starting to get into this whole thing!) I go to the Wool & Fiber Festival in August and of the vendors there would be good to buy a spindle from &/or wool and roving. There was also the Cyber Fiber Mall - found here http://www.blogger.com/www.cyberfibermall.com/ . That she would trust any of these vendors for spindles. She said not Ashford -they tend to be too heavy. Dianne recommended a few other stores/websites: The Fold, Spinning Loft, & Gemini Fibres. Sandy said she bought her spindles from here - http://www.woollydesigns.com/spindles/producti.htm . I looked at them and they are beautiful and well priced but she is not accepting orders until August. :( I really liked the Stars one but it was a heavier weight than I need as beginner. Oh and top whorl is better for beginners than bottom whorl.

I found many sites on Etsy.com that carry beautiful and simple handmade spindles. The one I am considering right now is Maine Woods Fiber Company ( http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=50026 ). Mainly because I can buy a bag with 4 1/2 oz. of roving in 3 different colors and 1 plain for practicing. Each color is a seperate batch of roving. Plus you get a spindle and instructions in the drawstring bag all for $23.95 USD. So now I am just debating on getting the Maine Maple Wood Drop Spindle Spinning Kit Biloxi Blues Available in Either Top Whorl or adding it to my wishlist. Dilemma! >.<

Well breakfast time for me and then cleaning because the weight loss challenge will be here later this afternoon. I need to wake up more.....where's my coffee! I ended up not sleeping well last night despite not having any coffee I was up until 1:30 am. ugh!