Too Many?

Do you think this is too many spinning wheels for just two people?

Liz came prepared with her Majacraft Suzie Pro (front row center, with the green wheel), and her Ashford Joy (all the way on the left). And of course I have my Lendrum and Journey Wheel (back row), my Little Gem (front row on the right), and still, my Ashford Kiwi--which is still technically a wheel of mine, even if I am still trying to find it a new home.

The basket of fiber and bobbins and other spinnerly things is also Liz's. The dog, of course, is mine. (You'll notice that he's staring at Liz, and not his mother . . . although that could just be because her camera is so much bigger than mine and he was frightened....

But really, Liz believes in being prepared. She not only brought two wheels (both of which she alternated between, so they did both get used), but she also bought a bag stuffed full of fiber to spin--all hand-dyed stuff from Wilton's cake dyes. She spun lots of it into samples, and certainly kept those wheels humming!.

And, I wouldn't want you to think that she spent the entire weekend tormenting Chappy.

In fact, in yesterday's pictures, while it LOOKED like Liz was abusing my innocently unsuspecting dog, mere seconds before, they looked like this--having lots of fun together. The time stamp between this picture and yesterday's where she's leaning forward to poke him, is the exact same minute.

So, let's see--we spun, obviously. We played--also obvious. And we ate really well. BLT sandwiches, for one.

We made a pot-full of Weisskohl Eintopf, which--just like every time I get to make it--I realized anew how much I love. We also tried the Roast Beef Soup that Carole blogged about last week, but were disappointed in that. We followed the recipe but with so much water in the pot, there was just nothing in there to turn it into broth . . . we ended up desperately rooting through cabinets looking for seasonings to boost the broth. Boullion cubes would have been great, but we didn't have any. Nor gravy mix. Nor gravy booster. But we DID add red wine, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, steak seasoning . . . even onion skin, for color. We decided that, if we tried it again, we'd roast the potatoes with the meat, and then just pour about two cups of water into the roasting pan . . . no more than that. (Carole, if you had a secret step you didn't include in the recipe, we're dying to know--the picture of yours looked fabulous and absolutely nothing like the gray, watery stuff we ended up with!)

We also did some housework. (I tell you, Liz makes a wonderful guest.) We scrubbed the floors clean. Labored over them, really . . . see how hard Chappy's working?

I treated us to a Scooba this week. (Mom can consider it an early birthday-present.) You may have heard of the Roomba, the little robot vacuum cleaner? Well, this one not only vacuums, it MOPS. You fill the tank up with water and either vinegar or their own cleaning solution, and turn it on . . . it vacuums up dust, lays down the clean water, scrubs with a rotating brush, and then squeegees up the water into the "dirty" water tank. I'd been email with Jess about this, since she just bought one, and since the reconditioned one was a decent-enough price . . . we gave it a try. Chappy didn't quite know what to make of it at first, but after the first few seconds, left it alone when I asked him to, and then stood with us, outside the room, while we watched the diligent thing just . . . clean. I mean, seriously, we stood there for 45 minutes just watching. All three of us. And yes, we're really impressed. (I don't want to tell you how filthy the water I poured out of it was!)

And--let's not forget--we went on a yarn crawl on Friday, too.

Let's see, from left to right, that's three skeins of fingering-weight Louet Gems from Stix-n-Stitches, and two skeins of Punta del Este Merino/Cashmere and a skein of Claudia Handpaint 100% silk lace yarn from Modern Yarns.  (You don't need pictures of the shops, do you? Because I've mentioned them before....)

I haven't done any lace yarn in months--not since finishing my Peacock Stole--but how could I resist this beautifull stuff? 1100 yards for only $42, and the color is just gorgeous . . . how could I resist?

Now, we would have liked to gone over to Yarnware which isn't far from there, but to be honest, I'm not sure how to get there FROM Montclair. And apparently there's another yarn shop in Upper Montclair which we TRIED to stop at, but seem to have driven past it entirely--except by then we were hungry, so we just kept on until we got to Rt 46 and just headed back westward toward tea. We made one more detour into a yarn shop in Boonton, which is an okay little shop, I guess, but . . . nothing tempting enough to buy--although I waffled over the Jitterbug for a moment there. That Copperbeach colorway was so lovely.... But, still . . . we were hungry!

So, we went to The Upper Crust . The funniest part? We placed our order, and Liz asked for Russian Caravan tea . . . it came and, well, smelled like dirt, or band-aids . . . something altogether unappetizing, but they were nice enough to give her a replacement pot. And then we discussed how much we loved clotted and/or Devonshire cream--especially with scones. All well and good, right. But then a table-full of ladies sat down right next to us--behind me, so I couldn't see them, but one woman immediately started talking about how this restaurant does wonderful tea, except they serve that awful Devonshire cream with everything . . . but she loves it because they have her favorite tea, Russian Caravan, which isn't too smoky-tasting, like it sometimes is . . . I think my jaw dropped right into my teacup.... Blech!

Anyway, we had a lovely time. We also watched the knitting videos I got for Christmas. They were great--lots of good tips--but the spinning video? Um, if that's the "advanced" techniques, I'm really, really curious what the "beginner" version has . . . and, all due credit to Mabel Ross, whose books are excellent, but, um . . . well, she was old . . . I suppose she couldn't help her wispy little voice, huh? But watching Meg and Elizabeth banter about knitting techniques? Highly entertaining, as was Lucy. (Why, yes, I DO feel like I'm on a first-name basis with them now.)

But--what do you think? Six spinning wheels, a dozens of colors of fiber (not counting what I have here), Three scrubbed floors. Three yarn shops. Multiple bowls of soup. Countless cups of tea. Many, many play-with-the-puppy breaks. Lots of knitting. (Go ask Liz to show pictures of her Celtic Dreams, huh?) Mostly lots of laughs. (There was some sad news, but that's Liz's to tell.) Hours of high-quality knitting instruction . . .

What do you think? Too much fun for one weekend??

P.S. Oh, and I just saw this hilarious "Introducing the Book" video..... Well, *I* thought it was funny, anyway!

Comments

[jess]

wow! that is a LOT of fun! and wheels. :) lucky Chappy, too. :)

I am mentally preparing to mop the floors now, and thinking how cool a Scooba would be! ;)

[russian caravan is ... well, one of those teas that people either love or hate. I want to like it but don't. :) ]

[Carol]

All I can say is, I wish I lived near you! Intro to the book was hilarious-very Pythony:)

[Chris]

Wow, you were busy!! That Scooba - I'm trying to picture how the cats would react to it. Hee hee. The laceweight you got is completely stunning!

[Beth]

Never too many wheels. I need access to you two when I need to try out wheels before buying my next one - oh the variety!

[Meg in North AL]

Sounds like a fun weekend, Deb. I made the Weisskohl Eintopf last night and it was wonderful. We deliberately saved some, because it'll be even better tonight. Thanks for the recipe!

[Carole]

I'm sorry you were disappointed in the soup. I don't have any secrets that I left out. Sounds like a fun weekend otherwise.

[Carol]

Naw, that's not too many wheels. After all, you need a backup in case one breaks right? And if the backup breaks, then you need another backup right? And so on...As for the Russian Caravan tea incident, well, there's no accounting for taste, is there?

[Debby]

Sounds like you all had a good time! I'm not a fan of Russian Caravan myself; strange to overhear someone with the exact opposite sense of taste so close to your table! LOL

[Monica]

Ok, to get to Yarnware it is very simple. Go down Bloomfield Ave. towards Verona and continue until you get to that large intersection in Verona (car dealership on the corner) and turn left. You are going to drive down this street past the golf course on your right hand side, and when you get to the last light at the shopping center (with Whole Foods) which is Eagle Rock and turn right towards West Orange. Ok, you are going to pass some mini malls and small lights but on your right hand side, I believe, right after the CVS is Yarnware. It is on the second floor of a building.

Needle Craftique is on Valley Rd. in Upper Montclair. What you want to do is turn right onto Valley Rd. from Bloomfield (the police station is on the corner). Get to Upper Montclair, when you see the starbucks on your left hand side (across from CVS) turn left into the small driveway which takes you to the back parking lot and park. The store is in the Mews which is s small little nook of small shops.

[Jessica]

Wow! Sounds like a great weekend. That is definitely enough wheels and fiber to keep two people (and one puppy) busy for a while!

[beth]

In my opinion, you guys were missing a Schacht - The Matchless is great but I love my Schacht-Reeves Saxony.
Maybe you should get the Saxony and Liz can get the Matchless and then, in my opinion, your combined collection will be complete.

[Laura]

It sounds like you had a truly fabulous weekend, Deb! How wonderful. The spinning, the knitting, the soup and BLTs, the puppy, and the floor washing thing. That's an interesting widget. Glad you had such a wonderful time.

[Risa]

Sounds like a wonderful weekend. I've been drooling over that handpainted silk too. Its the one thing that has me tempted to break the whole KFYS2007. Excellent! Oh and 6 wheels is definitely not too many ;)

[JessaLu]

Looks like you had a great weekend! Love the new yarn - and I now have major wheel envy ;o)

I am SO. HAPPY. that you like the Scooba!! Yay! :o)

[Rebekah]

You just had to rub in it my face, all the fun you were having, didn't ya!

hee hee.

I'm so glad you guys had a marvelous time. It looks like a barrel of monkeys.

[Sheila]

It looks like a great weekend! Isn't it great to spend time with a knitting buddy?

[Deb]

Oh how I wish I lived closer:) You two sure know how to enjoy a weekend!

[Christine]

It sounds really like a fun weekend!! I'm glad for you.

[Beth S.]

LOTS of wheels! What is that, 3 per person? Or two for each of you and two for Chappy? ;-)

I love the clotted cream too. And lemon curd. Right there, that's heaven. :-)