I was on vacation last week and really enjoyed it. 4 days off of work, two days relaxing in SoCal, a whirlwind of family, friends, kids, dogs...and fiber?!! That's right, not only did I get some beautiful handpainted fiber, I also visited a couple of old LYS's. Friday I stopped by Stitches West on my way to visit some friends in NorCal. Anyway, lots of pics to follow.
On Tuesday, I left early enough to be able to catch the sunrise over Mono Lake.
This is why I drive. Especially through the mountains. Seeing God's creation in all it's unfettered glory is simply amazing. The amount of snow we've gotten this winter so far is a boon for the water levels.
My brother, David, called me at about 6:30am, just after I took these. I'm going to be an aunt!! :-) It was really exciting finding out. I was grinning most of the way into Bishop. She's due in Sept, and they don't know what it is yet. Hopefully, we'll find out soon - you know, so I can start the wardrobe! ;-)
Anyway, got down to Orange Cnty and visited one of the yarn shops in my list - Velona's. It's in Anaheim Hills and the most un-organized and chaotic shop you'd ever see. The owner seems to know where everything is though, and they carry some really old stuff (like Pengoiun yarn and Anna magazines.) I stocked up on sock yarn, as you'll see, and found what I think is some old Rowan called "Donegal Lambswool" in a medium gray that'll be great for either socks or gloves.
The next stop was the
Yarn Lady in Laguna Niguel. Again, some more sock yarn, as well as a stripey cotton blend in either boy/girl colors for a baby sweater. It'll be for...you guessed it, my new nephew or niece! :-) They had a selection of pretty nail files up at the counter and couldn't resist the spinning wheel one.
Then I was done for the day - literally and physically. I was beat, so went to my aunt and uncle's house where I stayed for the next couple of days. They have the cutest dog named Buddy - a sweet Laslo-Apso/Std Poodle mix. He's only a couple of years old and still wants to play...a lot. He had a lot of energy.
How can you resist that face!! All together now...Aawwwwww!
On Wednesday I visited my friend Lori Lawson of
Capistrano Fiber Arts (she was the one who taught me to spin 2 1/2 years ago.) I wanted to get more of her handpainted fibers. See what I got! At the top is 50/50 merino/bombyx in the colorway "Jungle", and along the bottom from left to right is pinks merino/mohair (which I started spinning already), merino, and BFL.
On Thursday my aunt and I went out to visit my cousin's family. They have two kids - Devon and Dylan. They were a riot to be around, really sweet kids with a lot of energy. Devon will be 5 in August and Dylan 3 in June.
This is what we saw as we pulled up - the parking lot.
Couldn't resist taking a picture of that - all thier scooters and cars all pulled up nicely at the top of the driveway.
And while Devon learned to knit...
Dylan read a book.
An hour into our visit and we all trooped outside for some air and a chance for the kids to run around and play. Here are a couple of action shots. Dylan looks so determined, his lips pressed together as if he's thinking, "I'm going to do this, I will go down the steep driveway when mommy's not looking." Devon was just happy to be outside.
Friday I left early and drove to Santa Clara for Stitches West. Once I got past the valley and was going west, the landscape was so beautiful and lush...and green! I'd forgotten how green everything is in SoCal during the winter. Though this picture was taken farther north, the coloring is similar.
At the Stitches market I was almost overwhelmed by the number of vendors and people. I'd been before about three years ago, and was totally overwhelmed then. This time I made it through all the booths and kept (mostly) to my budget. I couldn't belive how much money was changing hands - and this was only Friday. Two more days still for people to buy, buy, buy!!
These patterns called out to me, all being very feminine and sized/shaped for my body type (hopefully!) :-)
This is the rest of my loot - at the top a BLF/Alpaca blend roving, from left to right - Tess Designs 100% silk in silver and purple, Toots LeBlanc handspun jacob/alpaca/mohair fingering weight, Claudia Handpaints 100% 20/2 silk, colorway "Bearded Iris," and 100% Kid from Brooklyn Farms(?). In the middle (if you can't read it) is a stamp I found at Village Spinning and Weaving that says "Handspun By:" with a spindle below. I thought it was very cute, and I can definitely use it.
Friday afternoon saw me heading up to Placerville to visit my good friend Jessica and her husband Mark. I stayed overnight with them and left Saturday afternoon to head back home. I was a little pictured out, so didn't take any. They have two friendly dogs and a herd of cats. :-)
This whole week I encountered all types of weather. Starting with the clear sunshine on my drive down, followed by serious fog while dropping down over the Cajon Pass, then it rained both Tuesday night, off and on Weds, and poured most of Thursday. Friday morning it was raining hard still, but cleared up through the valley. Wind was gusting through the valley, then it was back to rain and clouds on the coast.
Didn't dampen my spirits, nope - not even the snow over Donner Pass coming back. I had the novel experience of chaining up for the first time. It took me about an hour to get throught the pass and drop down into Truckee. All things considering, it could have been worse. They closed it later that night.
This is what I came home to. Yay, more snow!! :-) It snowed a good 6" Saturday night, but it all melted by Sunday afternoon. :-( Oh, well, there's still 2' more on the slopes. My brother and friend and I are planning on going snowboarding this Saturday.
