a little birthday hangover!

Totally free of alcohol, mind you.

I cannot explain why I am so lucky to know people like Emma and Lorraine, but I am. Together, they conspired to birthday me in the coolest way EVER. Emma did some digging at the best source possible and learned that I was quite obsessed with the idea of carding non-woollies together as I walked around Rhinebeck. The more I saw, the more I wanted into the blending party! So Emma and Lorraine made it possible. Look!


All this loot! The fiber is organic cotton from the Good Shepherd in Vermont, plus a very heavy silk cap (not sure where that came from!).

Then this:

What's so special? It's just a lovely set of carders, right? Nuh-uh!


These are COTTON carders, with exponentially more teeth, placed closer together, specifically for cotton fibers. I can blend cotton and angora! Cotton and silk! I can't stand it! :-)


Here's Emma's first shot at blending in a dark bar, under the influence of beeeer. I'll be begging Lorraine for a lesson really soon, so i can start making some of the beautiful batts she does...AND be able to touch them, too! [You'll have to wait for a future issue of Knittyspin to read more about Lorraine and her blending technique. It's supercool.]

Thank you SO MUCH Emma and Lorraine! It was a complete surprise and made me warmer and fuzzier than you can imagine.

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Not a birthday gift, but a gift nonetheless is this amazing bag I hinted at last week.


Sarah is making these bags from her quilting stash and giving them away with a wheel-fund contribution of $20 or more, to raise funds for the spinning wheel she craves.


The bags are really well made, with exterior pockets on both sides, and the perfect size for a handspindle and some fiber, or a small knitting project. Most excellently, she's also donating a portion of the money she collects to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, in memory of someone special to her.

The post with the bag info is here.

Best of luck, Sarah!