My Christmas Tree

Several years ago, before there were blogs. OK, so more than several years ago. I spent an entire summer knitting Christmas tree decorations. The owner of a local interior design store bought them from me. I made more than I sold, so that I would be able to use the decorations on my tree.

I thought that I would show you some close-ups of the knitted ornaments on my tree.

There are knitted hats, mittens, candy canes and sweaters. I have crocheted around silver glass Christmas balls, with white crochet thread. Recently, knitted ball ornaments are appearing on the tree too! Thanks to My Mom's Work for her gift and her new pattern! I have pictures on the camera for the new ornaments, but something is up and I am having trouble downloading them.

Fa La La

I think you will like this. Get ready for a giggle.

Pumpkin Scones

Ok, so my friend, Laurie, made some fabulous pumpkin scones. They were so good, and I have been thinking about them ever since I had one, which has been several weeks. So, I decided to do an internet search for them this morning. I found them. :) But, I changed the recipe up a bit and then made a different sort of glaze for them.

Enjoy!

Terrific Pumpkin Scones
Scones
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 Tbsp white sugar
3 Tbsp Dark Brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp ginger
6 Tbsp cold butter
½ cup pumpkin
3 Tbsp milk
1 large egg
Optional – ½ cup chocolate chips or ½ cups cinnamon chips, or ½ cups nuts, or anything else that might sound good to you.

In large bowl, mix flours, sugars, salt and spices.
-Cut in butter until about the size of peas or smaller.
-Stir in your chocolate chips or whatever you have chosen.
-In separate bowl, beat egg and add milk.
- Add pumpkin to milk and egg mixture.
-Next add liquids to dry ingredients and stir with fork until mixed well.
-Turn out onto a slightly floured surface and knead a few times.
-Divide dough in half.
-Press first half out on ungreased into a circle having it about ¾ inch thick on a cookie sheet and cut into 6 or 8 pieces. Move pieces apart slightly.
-Repeat above step for other half of dough, placing it on the same cookie sheet.
-Bake: 16 – 18 minutes at 425º F. They should be a light brown.
-Cool.

Glaze
½ cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of Cream of tartar
Place in a covered saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until candy thermometer reads 226º F and mixture looks like a syrup (sugar is dissolved).
When syrup is cooled to 110º F(lukewarm), add ¼ tsp of vanilla and 1 – 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar, until you have a nice pouring consistency. Beat until smooth.
-Pour, or brush, over cooled scones. You can do a second or third layer of the glaze. This does make a large amount of glaze.

NOTE: The can of pumpkin has lots more pumpkin than 1/2 cup. So, now I have frozen 1/2 cup amounts, so that I can pull one of those containers out of the freezer and make more scones. :)

Knitting and New York

I have been having fun knitting in somewhat of a free-form style. I guess it is free-form, Joanne style. :) After I had made the purple scarf, I decided to try a blue one. I wanted to use only knit stitches this time and this is what I ended up with. I have this scarf listed for-sale in my etsy shop, TerrificCreations .

I used different weights of yarns, and different types of yarns. There are cottons, acrylics and wools in this scarf. Each yarn had a different texture. In using different stitches, I also created different textures. I doubled some yarns, sometimes and didn't other times, too.

I also made sure that it was asymmetrical. When I finished, I decided the scarf needed a ruffle.

Several weeks ago, I went to Long Island, New York for a visit. I wanted to show you that not all of New York or Long Island, is New York city. :) I took these pictures with my phone. Yep, this is part of the area where I grew up.

One morning Mom and I went to Panera Bread, purchased our breakfast and coffee. Then we drove to the docks about a mile south of her home. We parked the car, and ate our breakfast, looking at this scene. The day was overcast.

That was one view we had from the car. Here is another. There are actually two bridges here.

One of them you travel across the water to the beach and the other takes you back to Long Island.

Another favorite stop, to make, is Friendly's. I did get to go there and had my favorite ice cream sundae! Unfortunately, Friendly's hasn't made it to Texas.

Here is my Sundae. Hot Fudge and Peanut Butter Sauce over Forbidden Chocolate Ice Cream. Just delightful. :)

Thanksgiving Day and More

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

We started out our day, driving down I-35 from our home to The Texas Motor Speedway. Run For Grub, was being held there and our daughters, both runners, decided it would be fun to have mom and dad participate too. :) I must admit, I thought it was a great idea. However, we had 84 F or so for a high temp on Wednesday and it was about 43 at the race track, plus windchill when we arrived. Admission was 5 cans of food for local food banks. So, we trecked on down to the track.


Food was going into the green trailer. Everything was VERY well organized, too. Here's proof that we were there. The UPS STORE guy and our daughters.

Me and our daughters. I wore my woolen handknits and stayed plenty warm, even with the wind chill.

It was really fun to be able to be down on the infield of the track. The girls ran the track and we walked. It was a lot of fun and I think we will do it again next year.

So, here is another really funny video from you-tube. Even though you may not weave, you will enjoy this. All of the items used are necessary to weaving cloth, although, don't need as many of them. Enjoy!

The Color Purple

You know, I knit so much that I forget, sometimes, that I really do like to crochet. So, when my friend, Peggy, announced that she was going to be a Grandma, I was really, really excited. I think that being a Grandma is really a lot of fun and a blessing.

I decided right away, that I wanted to make something special for her little granddaughter. I went looking in the filing cabinet(yep a filing cabinet) and found a great pattern. I used to crochet this pinafore for my own girls, and for gifts, years ago.

I used a nice cotton yarn, worsted weight, so it will be nice for Texas weather and soft to her skin.



After I was done, I thought that I should make some little bloomers to go with it. My friend, Kay, and I went into JoAnn's Fabric and found this fabric. It basically jumped off the shelf at us and said, use me! So, I did. I finished the seams with French seams, too.



One of Peggy's favorite colors is purple. Since she is the Grandma, I thought it appropriate for her granddaughter. :)

A New Scarf

So, last Sunday, November 7, I wanted to make something really different. I wanted to make a different scarf. I had been reading about freeform crochet and knitting. I have been working on my color skills, too. So, I went to the boxes and found all the purple yarns, that I had in them. All sizes, shapes and weights. All shades, lights, mediums and darks. Purple can be a bit difficult to match up, but I wasn't really wanting to match, but I didn't want to hurt eyes either.

I started crocheting and then added knitting and went back to crochet. On and on it went. I worked all week(off and on) on this scarf and it is now done.

I really liked working in this medium and will probably make some more. AND I didn't even use up all my purples....... :)

Spinning and Soccer

Wow! I spent a lot of time, this week, spinning this White Ice Yarn. I used Corriedale wool roving and mohair roving while adding some wonderful silver sparkle to make this wonderfully fluffy yarn. It was fun to do and was a custom order for a customer on etsy.




I, also, wanted to show you my Koffee Koats. They are for using when you purchase a cup of coffee. You don't have to use the cardboard cozy offered in the coffee shop. You can use a handmade one, reusable one. The more I work on these, the more I love them. The one pictured has sold, though. I use felted sweaters to sew some of the cozies and then knit others. Not only does the wool cozy protect your fingers from the heat of your tea or coffee, it helps to insulate your drink and keep it warmer just a bit longer.




THEN, last but not least, by any means. I went to see our younger granddaughter play soccer last Saturday. She has had a great time playing soccer this fall and I am told will be back at it in the spring. I hope to make it to more games in the spring. She is a good player. The day was chilly and she is the girl with the black pants on over her pink shin guards and she is in a pink shirt, not the yellow.

Reminder to self: Don't park where those cars are. The soccer balls are known to, and have been seen, flying over the goal posts and banging into the cars. It is better to walk a bit from the parking lot. :)

Check this out!

They are at it again, the choir in Philadelphia, PA. Just gorgeous.

November already?????

The middle to end of October ended up being my travelling time. The UPS Store guy and I celebrated our 37th anniversary! We took a weekend and went to San Antonio. This is a scene of a plaza in the downtown area. As the crow flies it is probably about 1/2 mile, maybe a bit more, to the Alamo. Here on this plaza was a battle, the one before the Americans went into the Alamo.

It makes you think and remember the sacrifices given by not only our ancestors, but all through our history and even now, for our freedom.

After San Antonio, I went to NY to see my mom. I had a great trip and visit with her!

A few weeks ago, I had sold, on etsy, the light and fluffy yarn, pictured below.

Here is what my customer did with it! I think that the scarf she made is absolutely gorgeous!

While traveling, I had a great knitting project with me. I used my handspun yarn and knitted a shawl/mobius, for one of my spinning and knitting friends. This yarn is a blend of Corriedale and Alpaca. I took other projects with me too. I probably took a year's worth of knitting with me. Good thing Southwest Airlines, loves luggage and bags. :)

Funny! and Sweet.

I heard The UPS Store guy listening to a funny lady on his computer this morning. I went over to watch and she was really funny. I wanted to share the recording with you.



Hope you enjoyed this. Have a great day!

Say, YIPPEE, for the yarn stash!!

You know, sometimes we feel bad for saving yarn, for creating a yarn stash, for hoarding little balls left from projects, for keeping that which is just a tiny amount of yarn. We feel bad when our yarn collection grows, to need a second or third or tenth plastic box. Or we feel guilty that it will no longer fit under the bed, but graduate to a closet. What about when it reaches the point of needing its own room?

You laugh. But, because I have a business of supplying people with roving and yarn, I now have a fiber/yarn room. :) It is small, though.....

I have more than 3 plastic boxes jammed full. BUT, in the end, it is worth the conversation or guilt or, or, or...... Please read on.

Years ago, when I was a beginning spinner, I purchased some merino roving. My oldest was newly married and I had the brilliant idea of making her a handspun, lightweight, lace shawl. It didn't matter that she wasn't into lightweight lace shawls(at the time) and really could've used a heavier weight shawl or even a jacket, since she lived in Montana. :) Nope, mom decided to make a lightweight lace shawl.

So, I figured out how to spin very fine merino yarn, without it falling apart. Which for a new spinner was in itself a task. Then, I decided to knit the shawl. Well, I wasn't very experienced in lace shawls either and this was also before Ravelry, and the wealth of patterns there. OH, actually it was before we even had a home computer! Needless to say, I didn't have a lot of choices for a pattern. Meaning, that I would have to make up something simple enough for a beginner, like myself, to knit in confidence. I took out my tiny little stitch book and came up with, what I guess, was my first design. :)

A couple of weeks ago, the shawl appeared back at my home. She came in carrying it, looking very upset and sad. "Mom, I wore this last night and snagged it. It has a tiny hole."

Much to her surprise, I said, "No problem honey, I still have the yarn. I had some left when I knitted it!" :) YIPPEEEEE for the stash!!!! So, I went to the room, found the right box and upstairs I went with the yarn. :)

Truth be known, it was a bug that attacked her shawl. Yes, she was very careful with this shawl over the years. Stored with cedar balls, etc. But, much to her dismay and mine, there were several holes(not lace holes, but bug holes).


After spending time in solitary confinement, the freezer, the shawl made its appearance to the kitchen table. The holes are all mended and the shawl went home to live with its very caring and loving owner.

This is the same corner, as above, only fixed. THANKS to the STASH!!



Here is a picture of the shawl on the dress form, after the repairs.



The shawl was saved. Not only saved, but saved well. Because, I had the matching yarn from my stash. Don't feel sorry for having a stash. If you don't want to have a stash, then you may wish to give the recipient of your hard work, a small skein of matching yarn, sealed in a sealing plastic bag. They can store it in a safe place with cedar or lavendar, so if ever needed, the item can be fixed.

Truth be known, I don't really think it was moths, because of how careful she is. I think it may have been crickets. You see, living in Texas we have soooo many bugs. Crickets are a real problem and they eat it all, cotton, wool, cardboard, you name it.

Go Rangers!!! and Twisted Sisters' Headband.

Here in Texas, where people live for football games, it is unbelievable that we actually have 2 pro baseball teams. When I say that people LIVE for football, I am truly serious. They show high school football on the major network channels, local college too. One major TV station actually runs a contest each week, to see which high school game they will show.

Now, to make matters worse, we are in the Dallas Metroplex area. Where the Cowboys reside. I am not a fan of the Cowboys, if the truth be known. But, people in this area worship this team! I am truly serious, worship is the word. :) We have major news stories about them ALL year, even when they are not playing or practicing. People have to know about their team and who sneezes when.

So, being from a home where my dad loved all sports, I don't get this singling out one sport thing. I will watch football, I played in the band in high school and played for the games. I don't always understand them, but I will watch them and KNIT.

But, I really, really like baseball and I really, really, really like NASCAR. But, I am trying to talk about baseball today. I grew up in New York, specifically on Long Island. So, I am not a Yankee fan, I am a Mets fan and now a Rangers fan.

I must confess, though, that I don't often get to see a game on TV. But, I try to keep track of their progress and have been very excited for them this year.

Our Rangers, have had a tough year. But, it apparently has been good for them. Because these guys, who didn't know what was going to happen to their team, are in the PLAYOFFS!! The UPS STORE guy has decided to show support, they are wearing hats in the store to show support!




Here is one of my new knitting projects, meet Twisted Sisters' Headband. A winter headband. This pattern was inspired by one that I saw in a fashion magazine. The designer label one was listed for $100. :) I thought, that as knitters we could make these. Mine differs just a bit in the cable design, because I wasn't sure how close to get to the designer's. I have the pattern listed on etsy and listed on Ravelry.

Happy Knitting! And GO RANGERS!

First Saturday Dye Days

The sun wasn't up yet, but I was. I was sooo excited, because I was going to go to First Saturday Dye Days at Fancy Fibers Farm. This was a real treat for me. On Friday night, I had put some water and vinegar in a bucket and soaked my yarns. Then this morning I squeezed out the extra water and put my yarns in a plastic bag. I drove to The Colony, where I met up with my friend Liz, and rode with her over to the farm.

We had quite a drive ahead of us. But you know how it is, when two women are in the car chatting, time flies by. One hour later, we were there.

I brought two sock blanks to dye and one skein of very bulky and slubby yarn to dye. Others brought yarn and spinning roving, while others purchased roving and yarns, from Mary, to dye.

I took one of the sock blanks that I had dyed during this past winter. I had actually done two sock blanks the exact same colors. Don't know why, guess it was just "brain fade." When you think about it, who wants 2 pairs of socks the same color???? Not me. AND my kids are past the "Let's match Mom faze of life." So, I decide to over dye one of the blanks.

To over dye, you just put new colors over the old. You do need to think about what your new color will be, when you do this. You don't want to end up with mud and you want to end up with a color you like. So, if you have yellow and over dye it with blue, you will have some shade of green.

I love jewel tones and look best in jewel tones. I know, this will be on my feet, but they will go with my clothes.

Here is the pretty pastel, dyed with Easter egg dyes, sock blank. The BEFORE.


After much discussion and thinking and help from my friends, I used black on one half and then used Teal, Purple and Aztec Gold on the other half.

Ta Da!!!! How about that? The wind was blowing, sorry it is blurry. THE AFTER.



The teal/blue color on the end is what is called waste yarn, it will be unravelled and not used.

Here is the second sock blank. I used Crimson, Black and Aztec Gold. (I like the gold color!)




Below you will see, my skein of very bulky yarn all the way to the left. I used Chestnut Brown, Golden Ochre and (you guessed it) Aztec Gold. :) Then you see my two sock blanks and some rovings from the others there. Oh, notice the farm in the background. What you cannot see are the beautiful chickens roaming around behind the fence, because the yarn is blocking the view.

Last, but not least, there is clean up. Many hands make light work. Here is Kay busy at work cleaning and rinsing out all of our dye cups, brushes and applicators. Thanks Kay!

A Christmas Ornament

I wanted to let you see something that I have been working on. I have been asked to test knit and sort of help edit a pattern for my friend, Deb. She will be holding a class for knitting this ornament at a yarn shop close to her home.

I really like this ornament and it doesn't take any time. Well, it does take some time, just not a lot. It is a great gift.

Those that live in the Anoka area of Minnesota are very blessed with the fact that they can take a class from Deb. She is a wonderful inspiration and a great knitter and teacher.

Deb has designed the ornament, so that different fair isle patterns can be used on it.

Below is my ornament.

New Yarns

There comes a time in every handspinners life, when you look into the closet of yarn and think, "Did I spin ALL that????!!!!" And you think to yourself, yep, you sure did. Sometimes there is more than you can ever possibly knit, crochet, or weave in a lifetime.

So, what do you do with it?
Well, some put it right back where it came from. One spinning friend I had put it in a book case with glass doors, to decorate her home. Some, like my friend Fibergeek, layed it all over her living room floor to figure out how best to use it. She already has a woven ruana finished!

Well, in sorting through mine, I thought that I might list a bunch of it in my TerrificCreations etsy boutique. So, I have been doing just that. It is great yarn and I love it all. I have had fun spinning it, too.

I have discovered something really cool. If I am emptying out the bins of yarn and fiber, there is room for NEW STUFF. :) So, that is a wonderful idea. I will be working on new yarns now and refilling the bins and refilling etsy.

Here is one of those handspun yarns. I purchased the handpainted roving from CordovaStudios and spun it into a great yarn.




Next is an upcycled, recycled, eco friendly, or whatever term you like to use. I took silk fabric and cut it and spun it into yarn, then I dyed it the luscious teal green color that you see.

Fair Isle Knitting

Fair Isle knitting, or changing colors in the row as you knit, can be a bit of a challenge. If you don't know how to knit in the continental fashion, you may wish to learn it, after you see this video. The gal is holding one color of her yarn in her right and one color in her left hand. Watch and see how much easier the knitting is that way. I have done fair isle knitting with only my right hand, but when I learned to knit continental, I was surprised how much easier it became.

This video actually shows you how to catch the loop of the yarn being carried. It is a simple thing and I have done it this way and love it. So, when I saw this video I thought I would put it on the blog.

The Ultimate of Spinners, Spins

Meet Zippedie and Doo-Daa, master spinners.

One day, I went to the door in my studio and looked out. There was Zippedie. Spinning away on a web. I was, at first aghast at the size of the spider and the web, but then I realized that it was what is commonly called a Zipper Spider, and since they eat mud daubers and wasps, amongst other things I decided to just watch it for a few days. Not a bad spider to have hanging around a house in the woods. However, her new home has hindered my coming and going of this particular door. So, Zippedie will probably be moved, not killed, just moved off the door and into the woods.

These spiders are very intriguing, as they spin a web, with a zigzag in it. That part is much thicker than the rest of the web. I read that it is one continuous strand too. But, this human spinner is not going to check that out. Sorry.

Here's Doo-daa. Doo-daa, is over by the pool. The lighting is better for Doo-Daa and Doo-Daa is smarter than Zippedie, cause I do not have to move this web. It is nicely placed out of the walkway, however, it does sort of give me the creeps when I walk by it. However, I read that the Zipper Spiders are not aggressive. This I know to be true. They must have read on their spider computers that most humans are not aggressive toward them, because they don't even move, when I get within 2 feet of them. They just sit there. Maybe they are thinking, "Oh, good, if she gets stuck in my web, I'll have food for a long time. Maybe she won't notice me." Who knows, but they aren't aggressive.

Here is some scientific information on the spinners of all spinners, taken from the Dirt Doctor's website. For more info, follow the link, if you want. :)

Common Name: The black and yellow argiope is also called banana spider, yellow garden spider, zipper spider, golden orb weaver and writing spider. The largest orb weaver in our gardens is the black and yellow argiope (Argiope aurantia). The female is large, the males being much smaller by comparison. Although big enough to deliver a bite, these spiders are not poisonous or aggressive.

Down With The Old and Up With The New

So, imagine. It is about 3 a.m, and pa and ma are tucked in their bed, he with his hat and me with my bonnet(or whatever). So sound asleep, that neary a word is heard. When what do we hear and see in our sleep? Not Santa, not reindeer, nope, but a quick flash and a bang, right in our room.

We wake with a start and ma grabs for her glow in the dark flash light, which tumbles to the floor and under the bed, retreiving it, they comment on what in the world was that flash and bang. It isn't storming and it isn't raining..... On goes the flash light and they see the fan over their bed has stopped.

Aack, what caused that? Pa pulls on the string and it is dead. Ma tries the light string and the light works. Of course, pa didn't appreciate the bright lights in his face, but he recovered. :)



Pa says the fan is dead. He feels the fan, it is cool, and says we'll deal with it in the morning. Ma is agast, "What, the morning??? It is the morning????? What if it is a fire, what if... what if..... " Pa shakes his head, touches the fan and mumbles something about the armberture(which mom doesn't even know how to spell, much less what it means). He lays down and falls back to sleep.


Ma is wide eyed and lays staring into the black night.


Can you relate? Basically, the motor on the ceiling fan seized.


When day time arrived, Pa and Ma went off to Lowe's, the friendly hardware store. They purchased a new fan and a remote. Ma was told she can control this remote! She actually can control a remote!!!!! Not the TV remote, but a remote all the same. LOL!


So, on Labor Day, my wonderful husband labored not only with some "honey do projects," but he took down the dead fan and put up a new fan. Isn't he nice????? I think so and to think, I have control of the remote........


The old dead fan.





The new fan.





KNITTING! This is the Chill-Chaser Shawl. This is the pattern that I have had a bear of a time designing. But, in the end it is done and what a fun pattern it is. The pattern uses either sock yarn or worsted to bulky yarn. Directions are given for both.


You knit it sideways and then pick up for the ruffle. You can use different colors or the same colors, but I recommend, using the same weight yarn for the shawl and the ruffle. I tried it with the different weights and ripped that one out.


This one is a worsted weight cotton.





This one is black mohair, which is labeled bulky. I purchased the black mohair yarn in La Samaritaine, a large department store in Paris, France. I have started purchasing yarn as my souveniers, when I travel places. The teal was some mohair, that I purchased from Cindy at Jacob's Reward Farm, as ecru, and dyed it for the ruffle.

The nature of this shawl, is that it can be used as a scarf if needed, but when you get to where you are going, if you are chilly, use it as a shawl. OR, use it in the summer when you are going to an air conditioned building to chase away the chill. :)


The blue and purple shawl was made from my handspun yarn, a finer yarn, like sport weight. It is gathered together, then wrapped around the neck and the ends pulled through the loop.

The teal and gray one was made by Mary at Fancy Fibers Farm. She used her worsted to bulky weight handspun. The fiber she used to spin the grayer portion is sari-silk, which she sells. She blended it with the teal as she spun.

The pattern, Chill-Chaser, can be found on my etsy site. Terrific Creations .

Finished Projects

Now that the studio is done being remodeled and I have moved back in and hung up the pictures on the walls, I was able to set up the sewing machine on its desk and get it going again. It was a bit shocked when I turned it on, and we had to introduce ourselves to each other again, but in the end we were friends.

Before we had even emptied the room out, I had a pattern and fabric to make myself a spinner's apron. Actually, I had 2 patterns and couldn't make up my mind. So, I made one pattern and took it to spinning and it sold that day. :) Then I had a commission to make another one, that was nice! So, back to my apron, I had the 2 patterns and kept tossing it around. Well, the day came and the decision had to be made. I decided to go with an old Daisy Kingdom pattern that I had kept for years.(See a stash can be a good thing!)

Below is the pocket close-up, because I was hoping you could see the sheep. Spinner's apron/sheep, right?? Oh, I didn't use the pocket from the Daisy Kingdom pattern, I used a bigger pocket, cause spinner's can have lots of stuff to put in that pocket while spinning.





This is the whole apron. It crosses in the back, so you have to put it on over your head. If you aren't a spinner, and even if you are one, you may be wondering why I wanted an apron for spinning. Well, I am just tired of wearing my clean clothes to spin in and then having them covered with wool, mohair, bamboo(especially bamboo) and the other fibers that I work with. I do carry a lint brush, and that does help to get the fibers off of my clothes, but I thought this might be a good idea. It is worth a try and I love blue! :)



Finished! My Mr.Greenjeans sweater, made from black yarn. It fits and it is done, so that I can wear it when our temperaturs cool off. I am so glad to have it done. I used Ashford Tekapo yarn for it and I love it.

The pattern for Mr. Greenjeans is a free pattern on Ravelry. The designer named it such, because the color of yarn, that she used, is named Mr. Greenjeans. I did change the pattern a little. The neckline was very wide and I didn't want a sweater that would be falling off my shoulders. The sweater is knit from the top down, so when I cast on, I used the smaller needle called for. When done, I tried it on and it was still too wide, falling off shoulders wide. While picking up for the center front ribbing and back ribbing, I picked up across the back in 3 sts and then skipped 1. Thus, having 3 sts for every 4 across the back. It worked! I am very happy with the fit.

A Great Spinning Wheel!

We spent college years in Minnesota. It was a fun place to live and I loved living there. Part of the great experience was all the wonderful people we met and made friends with. We still know several of those people and still communicate with them.

One of those families, Duane and Sharon, just went to the Minnesota State Fair. When they were walking through one of the pavilions, they thought of us. :) Why??? Well, because of this great spinning wheel. Isn't it fabulous?? The nameplate on it says, Patriot.

It actually won a blue ribbon.



In looking at it I noticed some similarities to the Majacraft Rose, which itself is a wonderful wheel, and made in New Zealand. But, as I looked closer, I realized that this wheel is its own design. They may have used some ideas from the Rose, but they went a bit further.

It is a great wheel, and I am sure the owner enjoys using it.