New Year Blah Blah Blah

I had the best of intentions. Some fall activities happened that I wanted to share, but the election got in the way, then left me completely gobsmacked. I am still struggling to put it all together and do what I can.

And yet, here I am.

In no particular order...the Guy and I took another marvelous vacay with the Eldest. This time we drove through New York in October.  We did some hiking, saw some leaves turning, and Niagara Falls, which are pretty spectacular. And also, we spent a day at Rhinebeck, the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.

I entered some skeins, received some pretty ribbons, the day was gorgeous, I met Casey and Mary Heather from Ravelry, and all was right with the world.

October slipped into November, the election happened, and all went to shit. I have been so pissed off since that night at everything, and do not understand how people who can read words and hear people speak with any discernment could have let this happen. Well, I am not sitting back. Every week my senators (one red and one blue) hear from this white hair 61 year old, and so does my ultra liberal congressman from Boulder. My small effort.

Suddenly the holiday lights were up, and I realized certain motions needed to be gone through.  I have offspring and grandgirls, after all. So I did. Went through the motions, that is. I had some knitting already put aside for giving, and cranked out felted slippers for three,

Duffers, by Mindy Tallack

and stranded colorwork hats for five.

Baa-ble, by Donna Smith

Along with miscellaneous other sewing and knitting projects. All were received well and with gratitude by the knitworthies I am blessed to have in my family.

Mesa, by Yumiko Alexander

And today, this is being mailed off. Out of handspun, from a bond fleece I bought at the wool market in Estes Park. Scoured, carded, spun 2-ply.  I had to mail it quickly before I kept it to enter in the July fairs.

Keeping busy, to keep it together.

Some Finished Things

I am winding up 4 weeks of recovering from a bike tumble in which I sprained some ribs.  All else is good. No hitting of the noggin, no scrapes, and the bike is fine as well. But as I went west when the bike went north, I twisted more than my old-ish body forgave. I have been back on the bike (that felt great), and back doing yoga (albeit slowly). All's well that ends well.

I was able to finish up a few things though, while not vacuuming. I have used some single skeins of handspun to knit up some small triangle scarves, and one big toasty shawl.

The Age of Brass and Steam (Orange Flower Yarn)

In the beginning, a novice spinner is often taken in by the lure of the colors of these lovely braid of dyed fiber sold by retailers or indie dyers. They mostly weigh around 4-5 oz. and often can cost between $22.50-$35.00. One usually thinks to afford one, but not two...or one is buying a souvenir while traveling, and only one will do...

Consider 4 oz of yarn.  Unless it is lace wgt or fingering, generally speaking, one has less than 200 yards. What does one make with 200 yards?

198 Yards of Heaven (Verity Knits)

These little triangle scarves, or "shawlettes", fit the bill. at least for the merino and silk (ABS) and the merino/shetland (198 yds). The one below is used up 4 skeins.  Those were of smaller yardage, and I actually broke some rules, using a skein of superwash, 2 of an alpaca/silk/merino blend, and one of a merino and silk. I am sure the knitting police will come arrest me anytime.

Boneyard (Stephen West)

It really is wonderful, though.  I used it when I demonstrated spinning at the Estes Park Scottish Highlands festival this past weekend.  It was perfect to have on my shoulders when there was a breeze, and to shrug off when the sun warmed us up.

Devil's Backbone (Nicole Tavares)

I liked the name of this (We have a defining geographical formation with the same moniker). It was suitable to use some yarn that I wanted to get out of the stash. And it worked. I even added some extra repeats to use up more yarn. Unfortunately the yarn seems to be never-ending. I have knitted a poncho/cowl thingie.

Feeling Sheepish

Sometimes I crack myself up!

There's a place around here that sells fleece.  Actually, there are many. That sells many kinds.  Sheep, alpaca, rabbit, goat.  There are even bison and some yak lurking about, I have heard (or herd...). Haha!

But I am talking sheep and their wool, and one place in particular that sells extraordinarily clean and well-skirted fleece for a premium price.  They have a booth at different shows, markets, and such places where I have also been demonstrating spinning, taking classes, or just shopping. I have bought good fleece from them, and some of their "naughty" fleece, which is what they call the ones when the sheep have wriggled out of the coats they wear that keep the fleece so clean.  On occasion, they offer classes on scouring fleece, or talks on the breeds they raise, which are many, from rare Karakuls, long wools like Lincolns, Wensleydales, Teeswaters, and BFLs, and finally CVMs,

I have mentioned to the shepherd and her person in charge (PIC) if they ever need any help, I would volunteer my services.  I would love to learn how to properly skirt fleece.

Well. A couple weeks ago, the PIC called me and asked if I had some free time.  I was so excited. Especially after I found out that it was going to be a paying gig! At least starting out, I am working one day a week out at the farm skirting sheared fleece, and getting it prepped for sale.

What exactly is skirting a fleece, one might ask? It is removing the undesirable parts from the prime wool.  The really bad bits is removed in the shearing barn, so we don't have to deal with that. Also the "undesirable parts" are graded from stuff that goes on the floor to stuff that are made into bird balls (nesting material) to fleece that will go to the mill for yarn and/or roving (not prime for sale to handspinners).

After that is done, we pick out all the obvious vegetable matter (VM). The two of us just walk around the table picking out what we see. Because these sheep are coated, their fleece are very clean. If I would purchase a fleece from this shepherd, I would only have to wash the fleece to get out the lanolin, then comb or card, and spin. Of course, one pays a premium for this privilege!

The first day we only skirted CVMs (California Variegated Mutants). The second day we worked on Wensleydales and Teeswaters.  Some were crosses with BFLs (blue-face Leicesters). (Perhaps another day I will extol the virtues of the different breeds.)

I must say that the heady fumes of fleece might have overtaken me, but I repeated the mantra, "there will always be another fleece...there will always be another fleece..." along with "remember how much uncarded wool you have at home...remember how much unspun wool you have at home..." So far no fleece has made it home with me. So far. But it has been close.

Judging Judges

Having the opportunity to listen to judges comments and/or actually watch the judging at the wool market and the county fairs this year gave some insights.  Which is always good, I suppose when one puts goods out there for comparison.  Too bad I couldn't have picked up on some of this at a younger age.

Judging Judges have their own personalities and preferences and no matter what, are subjective. Even in the perfectly objective part of the judging, I saw preferences! For instance, skein tying...I followed a print out from Interweave Press, put out by SpinOff, written by a local judge, to the letter.
And one judge made negative comments about the way it was tied.

Whatcha' gonna' do?

There are some chancy bits and pieces to these contests. For instance, how many entries in the different classes will depend on the level of competition. Typically, blends of protein fibers (like wool and silk and stuff, without glitz and sparkle and stuff) have more entries. Also medium spun sheep's wool have several entries.  Classes like spindle spun yarns, or finely spun wool, or exotics like llama or dog/cat, not so much competition.

In addition, the organizers seriously want entries. So when I show up with six or seven different items, a little abashed by the number, it makes no difference to the superintendents (the people in charge of receiving entries, organizing the display, helping the judge, and getting the entries back to the right people). One local fair had one entry last year. One. Entries are their life's blood.

The Judging Judges are not known in advance by the entrants, but they tend to be local. And also there are a relatively small circle to choose from.  I, myself, who have only been entering handspun for maybe five years, am beginning to know some of them! One also begins to recognize the other entrants, more or less.  I recognize fellow guild members, at least.

Circling back to what I heard in the judging...
I am very glad I went, because with the exception of one fair, the written comments were very minimal compared to what the judges said, and that is unfortunate. At that fair, the superintendent wrote on a 3x5 card everything the judge said, and stapled it to the judging sheet.  Excellent.
Some of my skeins consistently rated highly, but perhaps because the competition was slim. Or maybe it was because the fiber was awesome!

Llama

I had a judge comment at one fair that a particular skein "seem heavy", that it could be spun finer.  She had a bit of a leaning toward finer yarns, I think, because that yarn won the big ribbons at another fair, and a prize at a second.

Yak/Merino/Silk

There was another skein that could not get any love any where! Until with the last judge, who had obvious tendencies toward crazy, colorful, artzy yarn.

Merino/Silk

This particular judge picked up my chunky alpaca (which previously had been judged to be
heavy, and could have been spun finer, guess who by...) and said "sometimes you just know when you see something that it's going to be first!"

3-ply alpaca

So. What I learned is this

• Know what I am spinning, and think about the intent, if not at the start of the project (because REALLY WHO DOES THAT!!!), then when I am writing it down for the judge.  That makes a big giant difference in judging.
• Write down all the info I want about breed, staple length, and way I spun the yarn and why. Might make a difference in judging or not, but it will explain why I did what I did. I will have thought through what I did, at least.
• Spin the best I can spin, and spin what I want to spin, Judging Judges be damned. They aren't going to be the ones knitting with my yarn.

I may or may not enter next year. A two sided coin, as it were. While I want to support the local fairs, I don't want to be the one that everyone sees and thinks..."omigawd...she wins everything!" Then again, I wasn't.  My friend, Gina, was that person! Haha!

Tidying Things Up

When DSis came to visit, we had a list of things to do. Or rather, things we didn't want to forget to do. We accomplished almost all of the list.  (How I love to mark things off a good list!) Many of the items involved visiting quilts stores in and about the vicinity, and while doing so, we picked up their free Row By Row Experience patterns.

Now here's the thing. This wasn't even on my radar until DSis showed up.  I have four (4!) quilts of varying sizes requiring quilting, and two (2!) more planned and ready to cut. I suppose that is beside the point because after we collected...I don't know...18 patterns, DSis reminds me to not stash them too far back in the closet.

Fast forward to the end of our visit. I return home and it is county fair season. Being retired now (WooHoo!) I am taking other's entries to the local fairs, and also able to watch the judging, which is awesome, but also time-consuming. I have those four quilts mentioned above to sandwich, one of which is a oversized monster. And then DSis starts sending me photos of her Row By Rows (RXR), which are looking awesome.

Again, here's the thing. These are cute little projects that are mostly easily done with small amounts of fabric (scraps!) and also a good way to learn a technique. Like fusible applique.  Back in the day, there was only needle turn applique which is pretty limiting. New fangled fusible bond makes applique magic and new machines have control and fancy stitching that even the Rocketeer can't really match.  (Or I haven't figured how to make it do so!). And I think...I should try one or two. They really are addictive.

So here's this other thing. When DSis finished hers, and then won the prize at her LQS, I WANTED A PRIZE, TOO! (Competitive, much? I have never denied that. Well, actually, I tried to, but gave up in 8th grade.) I kicked into high gear, and seriously did not much else but that damn RXR for four days. I was super focused. And a little bit crazy, I will admit, but finished it up on a Sunday morning. We took it to the LQS in Estes Park, and I won a fabulous stack of fat quarters.

Since then, I did the grocery shopping, since according WonderGuy (who was a PAL through this), we were down to CRUMBS in the pantry! I have picked up fair entries. (More PRIZES!!) The 110 degree sweater is done blocking (And is pretty darn awesome, too).

I have blocked a pair of socks and taken photos of the sweater, the socks, and two hats for Ravelry. The garden has started producing. And the house has been cleaned. and two small knitting projects almost complete.

So all tidied up, right?

Now I can start on the four quilts, and I have put patterns to yarn for (I am not kidding you) three sweaters and five shawls (of varying sizes).

Playing Yarn Chicken

The first sheep's fleece I bought at the wool market was a huge 5+ lbs of corriedale/CVM.  I question whether it was a covered fleece, but it wasn't the worst I have seen since.

I cleaned it, and carded it. I knitted a big infinity scarf, hat and mittens from it. I knitted a cabled vest from it...

and determined to finish it up with a simple oversized sweater. I still had plenty of yarn.

DSis came for a visit which was finished with us taking a roadtrip to visit our elderly aunt.  This was the perfect travel knitting - nothing but stockinette in the round except for some waist shaping. I figured to get through the body on the trip with the yarn I had, and maybe a sleeve. I would finish the other sleeve and the neckline when I got home with the last of the yarn.  On the flight home, I reached the length of the body, which is tunic long, with most of the rest of that ball and one more left.  Ribbing, and two sleeves, and the neck ribbing left.

Well. Guess what? No more yarn. Well.  No more of THAT yarn.

No sweat really.  I put the body on a stitch holder. I picked up the first sleeve, which is now finished.

I think I will get the 2nd mostly done with the yarn left.  I will unravel from the bottom to finish sleeve #2 and the inch of ribbing around the neck.

So it won't be a booty covering sweater to wear with leggings.  Maybe I am too old for that anyway. And there won't be anymore of this yarn in the stash!

Quilting In These Modern Times

Back in the day, when the day was about 9 years ago, which is when the oldest grandgirl was born, my dearest sis and I embarked on the tradition of making the grands quilts. I had learned to quilt in 1978, and was all about the scissors and templates, hoops and hand quilting. That stuck until the the fifth quilt. A few things happened.  The quilts started stacking up.  DSis bought a Bernina, helped found the Modern Quilt Guild in Las Vegas, and subsequently retired.

I will be honest here.  I didn't know modern from schmodern. Quilts are quilts are quilts...and are mostly for covering up with. So anyway, back to DSis retiring and leaving Las Vegas and moving into the hot bed of America's quilting heartland. Her mad skilz took off like a rocket, and she was all...maybe we should look at some of the more recent innovations in the quilting industry.  I was all...this was how I learned to make quilts and this is how I am going to die making quilts.

Variation of Card Trick with 30's reproduction prints

And then I got laid off again, and picked up a part time job at a LYS that was opening an fabric side. I needed to let go of the past, all be it kicking and screaming, and let myself get dragged into these modern times. I had fun for the few months I sewed for a living. My mother's legacy lives on, and I am truly grateful for the life skills she taught me. Also, I honed those rotary cutting and chain piecing skills!

"Sisters" with 30's reproduction prints

Grandgirl's six and seven quilts were cranked out lickety split! I even machined quilted, although it was simply quilting in the ditch.  The intricacies of free motion still elude me, but as many things, I am sure it's just a process of learning.

16-patches from FCMQG block bee and hour glass block

I still sew with my mid-century Singer (the Rocketeer) but I bought myself a Janome, too.  (By the way, save yourself embarrassment.  Jay No Me.  I asked the man in the store about the Jaynoms.  Oops.) I joined the local MQG.  I even met DSis at QuiltCon in Austin for fun, amusement, and education in what the heck Modern Quilting is.

The photos are of a few of my recently completed quilt tops.  The top two are throw sizes, the bottom is now larger than the photo shows, more of an oversized queen. I cranked these out in the last week.  Fast as lightening! Quick as winks! Goodbye to the olden days!

I am not starting by making excuses. Life changes. Life happens. Life evolves.

I have updated the layout.  I haven't been reading any blogs for a while so deleted all the 'what I have been reading'. Maybe I will add some back, if that changes. Seems since retirement, I have been doing more and more, and on the computer less.  Somehow there is this pull to the blog, and I am not sure what that is about. So I am going to give it a go and see where it takes me.  That is all.

First things first.  I am retired, for over a year. Work is done and that is that.  It is good to done with work and that is that. I love having my time be my time. I do whatever I want when I want to do it. Like I haven't EVER. I spend my time in the yard, creating fibery things, trying to stay fit, traveling a bit, with the grandgirls (which number seven now) and with the husband (who is still a wonderful guy).

Right now I have a pair of socks, a pair of mittens on the needles. I also have 3 quilts in process.
I am loving life.

I won Reserve Champion at the Estes Park Wool Market for some llama.

Hello Again

I might be back...

What's Goin' On

A few interviews...
A couple never made it past the HR screening phone interview, but I made it to the third elimination round for one position. I am not too disappointed.  It was for third shift.  Yes, I am applying for just about anything that  comes close to fitting the bill.
Is it close? Does it come close to paying what I made? Is the position halfway close to what I have done? Is it permanent and regular hours?  75% gets an application...

Knocking down the to-do list...
The house is cleaned like I haven't cleaned it since we started using cleaning people.  I have been baking bread and cooking most meals at home. The home inventory is juuuusssst about wrapped up.  I have gone through and sorted out for the upcoming community garage sale.  My baskets have been dusted (don't laugh, that is no small matter!). My basement has been cleaned.

Spinning...
The Estes Park Wool Market released the hand spun skein contest rules, and one of the surrounding counties has already put out their county fair rules, so I am spinning to that end, keeping in mind that I am also practicing for Sheep To Shawl.

Merino/Alpaca, 50:50. The dark is the merino and the white is alpaca.  I spun the singles randomly on one bobbin. The next bobbin, I tried to sort of stagger the colors opposite.  Turned out sort of crazy and pretty cool.

50:50 camel and silk.  This is really sleek.  Only 145 yards.

Knitting...
I have finished up a couple of requests from Middle Daughter and Precious Niece., a pair of slippers (my family goes through slippers like Sherman went through Georgia!) and a circular scarf (out of my handspun, which was nice as it was a choice on her part).

On the upside of not working, while Spring took a backseat to 22 inches of snow this past week, I could take my mornings easy, and stay inside.

Spinny Stuff

I made mentioned back aways that after my handspun fair entries did (amazingly) well, that I was asked to be on a Sheep to Shawl team at the Estes Park Wool Market this year.

Briefly put, a team of five take a clean fleece, and from 9-2:30, card the fleece, spin and ply it into yarn, and weave the yarn into a shawl, take the shawl off the loom, give it a quickie rinse, towel dry it, and let it be judged. And also interact with the looky-loos.

The loom will be set up with the warp (the longish bits).  We have already carded, spun and plied that part so the weaver will have that set up. Only the weft (the crosswise parts) will be what is woven the day of the contest.

It's doable, but we will be busy for that five hours...or so I am told.  I have never really seen this sort of thing happen.  Turns out I am the least experienced on this team.  I listen to the conversations of my fellow team members and find out they have taken classes with some big names and gone to some highly acclaimed retreats.  Our alternate has previously JUDGED Sheep to Shawl contests.  Pretty humbling.

So far, as I mentioned, we have washed the fleece.  We met and sort of test spun to establish what we wanted to spin our singles to so we would be spinning consistently. We have carded what is going to be used for the warp, and we each took about 2 oz to spin into singles.  We brought those singles together last Saturday and we traded off plying parts of each others bobbins, so the warp yarn would consist of every one's singles plied with everyone else's.

I was very surprised at how consistent the yarn turned out. It was really pretty cool. I am going to learn so much from these people, not to mention getting to know the women themselves.

No Negative Waves, Moriarty...

In an attempt to stay positive, and also keep my head busy, I will speak to the accomplishments of the last month, and not that I have been out of work for exactly that long.

Oops.

There has been a whole lot of knitting going on.  And none of it is being worn by me. Which I think is absolutely out of this world. My people are knit worthy, and I am so grateful that they are so grateful.

Eldest took these socks that I finished on the plane on the way to see her right after I was let go. (Yep, I got a trip back east for a consolation prize...deets will follow.) Crosshatch pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks, by Charlene Schurch, out of Araucania Itata Solid.  This is a great pattern for a solid color that I will knit again.

A shop sample knitted up for a local LYS. Knit Hedgehog by Purl Soho, out of Cascade 220 and Eco Cloud.  That Eco Cloud was divine to knit up.  Too bad the project was so small!

Class examples for an upcoming class on felting/embellishing techniques. Felted Woolly Eggs, by Marie Mayhew, out of  Red Heart Wool among other things.  All that Red Heart I got from my aunt's stash in vintage colors were perfect for this.

A seamed sweater for the expressed purposed of practicing seaming. Pattern: Even Daniele Did It Again, from The Yarn Girls Guide To Kid Knits, out of Pingouin Acrylic I found at the thrift store.

Bartered felted mats for Precious Niece's new NY digs. The 40-Years Felted Platter by Katherine Vaughn (Rav link) out of Patons Classic Wool, my go-to workhorse felter. Also an above shot of the hedgehog, which was a really cute little guy.

Bartered felted slippers for Dearest Sister's cold midwestern toes. Duffers, 19-Row Felted Slippers by Mindie Tallack (Rav link) out of Bear Brand Four Seasons, another bit of Aunt Cissy's vintage haul.

And a simple hat to replace the one Only Step-Son has worn since 2008 and lost this year.  He felt very bad, but I say hey!  If you weren't wearing it, you wouldn't have lost it!  He was very impressed that I could make another EXACTLY like the one he loved.  Thank you, Ravelry, and my compulsive note keeping. My own beanie recipe out of Patons Classic Wool.

On the needles right now are 2 projects... a pair of socks, and a circular scarf out of handspun (another barter effort with Precious Niece I will speak to later), along with 'decorating' the last of Woolly Eggs.

My mother would be proud!

See, It's Like This

About a month ago, I was told, 'the company was going in a different different direction, and the 28th (of February) would be my last day.'

One would think there would be ample opportunity to write posts, wouldn't one?

One would be correct, and yet, what does one say about it and remain even-handed? It takes time.  This is the second time I have been laid off...in February...at that place...by those people.

Today, I have bread baking, and cookies dough in the fridge...ready to eat.  I will exercise later, keeping the phone close by.  I had a couple of screening phone interviews last week, and thought I had a real chance for a call back from one.  Today is probably the outside of the timeframe, so it behooves me to stay busy. Busy keeps the mind from dwelling.

In the past month, I have gotten through the unemployment maze, organized my kitchen cabinets, cleaned my  own house, cleaned out my closet, and made a run to GoodWill as well as many more things off 'The List'.  I have more things to do.  There in the neighborhood garage sale in June, and the basement is calling.  As is the home inventory.

I have tried to look at the opportunity in this.  I am going to teach a class at an LYS in May, and have offered to knit some shop samples.  I am also considering offering some of my award winning handspun skills for sale in the dormant Etsy shop, but haven't made that progress.  I have been able to demo those spinning skills for the pre-school and kindergarten classes of the grandbebe girls, which I think was awesome to do.  In addition, the Sheep To Shawl team I have been asked to participate with has ramped up their organizational duties.

I have made myself a DIY lightbox to play with my fancy camera, too.  I would really be enjoying myself if this had happened on my terms, and the financial piece wasn't an uncertainty.

Going forward and onward and trying to see that it's all going to be just like it's suppose to be.

Drum Roll, Please...

Presenting...

Grandbebe Quilt Number Four!

In Blue and Red vintage (mostly), fabric collected (mostly) by Dearest Sister.

Embroidered by DSis.

Patches cut and assembled by the both of us.

9-Patches machine pieced by me.

Handquilted by me.

Supervised every step of the way by Boy Kitty.

Quality tested by the Cousins.

Made with all the love grown-ups have for their little ones.

Strange and Stranger

I have mentioned that I have been going through a stack of old quilt magazines forwarded to me by Dearest Sister.

The first several I looked through were from the 90’s and had some interesting articles and patterns, and I found some things that I flagged with post-its.

The next several were from the 70’s. These were…interesting.  Paper quality not near so good, and aging poorly and rapidly.  Very few color photos, and the black and white photos were taken with less than stellar care.  I imagine some copywriter being told to ‘get the camera and go take a photo of so and so and their quilt’…not professional at all!

Apart from how far we have come in the publishing sector, the articles and columns are enlightening.  There is poetry submitted using patterns in the poems. Quilters write in wanting to be penpals still in the 70’s, and wanting to exchange patterns.  One wrote complaining that she takes time to copy neatly and exactly her patterns to exchange, with labels, etc, only to receive in turn slipshod efforts.

I feel chastised.

But today, I looked through some from the 80’s, and the post-its came back out.  In just two issues, I came across articles about the LQS where I took my first class (Quilt Country), and about the quilting lady at Shakertown in Harrodsburg, KY, where I use to take my Brownie Troop, and everyone else whoever came to visit me when I lived in Kentucky.

And also this, which I may just have to try.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

More Found Objects

Super Bowl Sunday, Wonderful Guy and I got the heck out of Dodge, our guys being knocked out of the running a few Sundays earlier and all. I probably could have stayed home and made some progress on some projects, but I could tell he needed to get beyond the four walls.

I suggested a drive towards Lyons, where there is a quilt shop.  Works for me!  Apparently it worked for him, too, because that is what we did, and while he went for a cuppa’ joe, I looked around Quilting Hands.  Found some fat quarters on sale, along with a book (of course), then met up with him across the street.  As he was finishing his coffee, I said I am going to run through the thrift shop next door, as he usually isn’t interested in such places, but he chose to come along.

There wasn’t a whole lot there, but sometimes that is okay.  Stuffed full can be overwhelming.  I saw yarn, some mohair and some acrylic, which I passed over, and continued through the store. As I came back to the front, the Guy was still there looking at books, and asked if I saw the knitting needles?

Huwah??

There were a few pair of pretty neat vintage straight needles for $2/pr, and one was 10” sz 7, of which, for some reason I seem to have gone completely through. So …I NEEDED those.  As I was finding out how much the needles cost, the yarn was mentioned, and I succumbed to 3 balls of acrylic.  It was very nice for acrylic, and also foreign.  And very inexpensive.

 Enough for a baby sweater!

We then moseyed down the street to the next place which is a consignment store.  There was lots of fun stuff there  (more mohair!) and we each went our own ways looking at what interested us, then showing each other the stuff that catches our eye.  And what caught my eyes was a very nice quilt.  As I looked it over, though, I got very confused.  The top was obviously old, and handquilted, but the backing was a bit off.  The shopkeeper came over, eager to tell me about it. She said she had it appraised, and the top was from the 1880’s, but it was quilted in the 70’s.

Her story rings true. The top fabric is old (but in excellent shape), and there is attached documentation relating to the quilting of it (and the price for materials and services!) from the ‘70’s.  Regardless, I think it’s a great quilt, and I got it for what I think is a good price.

When we got home with my booty, we had ham, beans, and corn bread I had fixed that morning, and saw the most interesting half of the game anyway.