A quick sale!

You may have noticed that I am now on Instagram.  It is definitely a new thing for me!  Please follow me over there @yrnspinner!

A year ago, this month, I published Freestyle Super.  It has been an absolute favorite around here, and it's a true workhorse.  It went off to Grade 3 this morning on a kid's back...because it was 17F(-8C) when we got up.  Yes, that cold.  And in October.

I am still learning how it works, but here is what I posted over there (hint, it's about a sale! Enjoy!  Happy quick winter knitting!):

Gee Mom, it is scary how much you like this Instagram thing now! (Sweater featured is #freestylesuper. It went off to Grade 3 on a kid this morning!) To celebrate this fun I am having, here is a sale on all my Ravelry knitting patterns. 

#linkinbio #knittersofinstagram #knittersofravelry #knittingpatternsale #knitting 

20% off all my patterns until Nov. 1 at midnight, CT (US& Canada) with coupon code: Halloween

overstimulated by social media?

I had a piece run on the CBC a couple weeks ago about my new foray into Instagram @yrnspinner.  Here's a link to the piece:
Self-promotion vs. Self-reflection: How can we use social media better?

The funny thing is that there is always something to post about, and with a shiny new iPad (purchased to help a twin with his Sphero--STEM learning, of course), taking photos and posting is easier.  However, it means I don't post as much here, and I also probably waste more time on it all around...posting rather than making and doing in real life.

Why is it such a time waster?  Well, ahem, if you're me, you might need to look at sheep, and pretty photos of knitting designs and yarn, and see a friend's baby...and it is so easy to get seduced by all the visuals.  It is not even the same as reading a whole article/blog post/email or even, gasp, a book.  It definitely shortens my attention span.

LOOK!  A new photo!  Another person likes my post!  (I can see how people can get addicted to this.)

So, if you're not on instagram, here are some of the photos I posted there.
I bought some Navajo-Churro wool from a Pennsylvania farmer while at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival...while we were in Virginia visiting relatives for Rosh Hashanah. (and yes, I tried it out before the holiday!)

If you're curious, even after writing a book about festivals, like, umm, Fiber Gathering, yes, I still love going to festivals, teaching at them, and speaking at them.  This festival was just a spur of the moment thing, so I went with my folks and my twins and just had fun!

 We came home to Winnipeg and it rained like crazy last weekend.  It seemed like the best Sunday afternoon though.   We had an emergency spinning wheel fix--(someone had been playing and got a drive band caught between the axle and the wheel.  This makes Mommy angry and causes us to do spinning wheel surgery, which involved kid teamwork! Yeah for teamwork!) Afterwards? Playing inside, spinning Churro on my Schacht spinning wheel, and even having the gas fireplace come on at intervals.

The new bulky flyer set up holds a lot of singles.  I also found treadling it made me sore afterwards!  Maybe less is more here? Or maybe I need more spinning as exercise?

 And, here are the bonus photos for longtime blog readers:

We had a lot of cabbage in the frig...when the CSA (community supported agriculture) farm is still delivering, two weeks of produce accumulates fast!  I made Everlasting Slaw.  Three quarts in the refrigerator now.  Fall is here.
 Last, but not least, I am attempting a new fall project...sewing some new clothes for myself.  This involves learning a lot of new moves, including how to make bias tape.  (quality time with my new rotary cutter, my old dependable iron, and some steam.)

More to come soon on this front, I hope!
If you're fasting, wishing you an easy, meaningful one...gmar hatimah tovah! 
 (May you be inscribed in the Book of Life!)

Catching up

I'm a little behind over here!  Ok, here is the summary.  We've had some warm weather, some time off of school (yes, already, there was a teacher-work day right after school began) and I just chose to give in to playing outside and decide to catch up later.  In Winnipeg, we need to enjoy warm weather while it lasts!

In sad news, we seem to have lost a Worry Bear somewhere along the way.  Since one of my kids needs his every day, I made a new one ASAP.  Same yarn, same ribbon...and I launched it on my brand new Instagram account, @yrnspinner.  (Yes, this is news...please follow me!)

My class last Friday at the Manitoba Fibre Festival was just fabulous.  I had a lot of fun teaching and my students were all eager to do more recycling and reuse.  We had fun.

I managed to take my twins back to the festival later in the weekend and we came home with this outstanding fair trade basket, handmade in Ghana, and sold by Big Blue Moma.  My kids knew the basket would immediately be pressed into service for spinning on the front porch and argued over who would get the amazing blue bead on the label.  (We're negotiating about that.  Luckily, I have other beads for the other kid.)  I took some time to myself to do some hand carding on the front porch while the Professor and twins were out on an adventure.  It was an amazingly rare and quiet moment!

All my columns and other writing work during this time has had to be done while kids are asleep or finally back at school, etc.  The Jewish Independent has recently run two columns: Apple-picking and tzedakah (tzedakah roughly means charity, although not an exact translation) and Concern over what to share.

In between play dates outside with Sally (almost 15 year old Pointer mix) and Sadie (our young Gordon Setter mix), I have also begun to post my patterns for sale on a new website called PatternVine...as well as my old standbys, Ravelry and Lovecrafts.com.  I'd love to hear if you've used PatternVine yet...it's new but comes well-recommended.

Here's to enjoying the warm days while they last!