Prize Surprise!!

Ian and I made a day trip to Eugene yesterday.  We spontaneously decided that it would be nice to get over to the Valley again before winter weather sets in, and it couldn't have been a more beautiful day for an easy drive over the Cascades.  The timing was perfect since snow is in the forecast for Sunday.

I've never been to Eugene Textile Center before and this will be my only visit at this location as in another month they will have relocated to a building twice as large which will also house Glimakra Looms.

I had won a $50 gift certificate to ETC from the State Fair and decided it was time to buy a new raddle and lease sticks.  It's exciting to have such a complete fiber store within driving distance.

The top pair are the lease sticks I made that are adequate but not great, and on the bottom are the set made by Glimakra.

This elliptical shape is what sold me on them.

I wound a warp yesterday afternoon and put it on my brand-new lease sticks.

 This morning during Delaney's nap I was able to quickly dress the loom.  I knew the new sticks were going to be an improvement and they're well worth every penny.  The yarn easily slid through them.  I also ordered an Ashford raddle to replace the one I made from a yardstick and nails.  It has to be custom made and Patty Huffer (from Redmond) who works ETC  three days a week will bring it over to me when it's ready.

This is another prize I got from the State Fair.  No one knew anything about this basket at the guild meeting last week and it was presumed that someone left it behind after the meeting.  I got a call from our treasurer several days ago telling me that the basket actually was my prize and she would drop it when she came to Bend for Costco which happened to be yesterday.  She dropped it off on our front porch while we were in the Valley. 

And to make confusing more confusing, I got a call from the State Fair office last Thursday letting me know that I have an additional prize awaiting me at the Outdoor Quilt Show office in Sisters.  We didn't know it but that office had offered to be the collecting place for entries from Central Oregon which were then ferried to the Fair in Salem, and somehow this prize came back after the Fair was over.  After playing phone tag with Dawn Boyd from that office, I am going to meet her when she comes to Bend next week for her hair appointment.  The award that just keeps on giving!!

My daughter texted me this morning asking, "How is my favorite niece?"  I took this picture in my arms and said, "She's hungry!"

Oops - Time Got Away from Me

In three short weeks we've gone to this weather, 

to this weather.  Some of the leaves are bright red and the rest will soon follow.  It's time to exchange the summer clothes in my closet for the winter ones.  My summer closet is quite small since the season is at the most four months.

It's getting dark earlier.  I still haven't gotten used to how long the long days are, and how short the short days are.  The other night we were quietly reading when Ian asked me what the date was.  Is it the 6th?  So I checked my watch and sure enough, it was the 6th.  Happy anniversary, he said!  Oh shoot, I forgot again!  We got married in Reno on Balloon Race weekend when a lot of family was in town.  It was quite spontaneous and it's taken me years to remember the actual date and apparently I have a ways to go on that front.  It's been a very full and rich 22 years.

Taking Delaney to my studio after her 9:00 bottle is still working like a charm.

It's not just weaving that puts her to sleep.  The whirling action of the warping reel seems to be just as effective.

She took a second nap that day and I was able to get the warp on the loom but not beamed.  It's on now and I'm already weaving on it.  So much of my equipment has come from the sales of towels, including my warping reel and electric bobbin winder.  This year I'd like to buy a raddle and lease sticks that aren't made by me.  The nails on the ruler-now-raddle are absolutely annoying.  I think I'll buy a third Schacht end-feed shuttle too and give Crackle Weave another try.

I asked Julia if the pink sweater I knitted for Delaney's baby shower in March fitted her yet and she sent me this picture the next day.  Almost!!

I finished this sweater in Appalachian Cotton after having it on needles for four months.  It's still too large but it will fit her soon.  She'll be six months old on October 3rd

We had friends for an overnight visit last week and John, a photographer, took several shots of Delaney.  This one is my favorite.

And here's where I torture you with baby pictures - those sweet hands!!
.

I managed this shot in my lap.  She slept there for an hour and I didn't want to risk waking her up to move her.  Good thing I can read a Kindle with one hand because that's exactly what I did.  I just finished reading Here We Are by Aarti Shanini, an NPR news corespondent - excellent!!  I highly recommend it, an inside look at deportation.  It's well written and compelling.