A Basket of Tricks

This is my basket of newness. New stuff, new skills, a new adventure. It's become uncovered since my recent purge and I'm very excited to get into it. I'm excited, which gives me some degree of motivation, but my perfectionist tendencies are slowing me down a bit.

Last Spring, while on a field trip with the local homeschoolers, I bought a pound of pygora fleece. It was very dirty, so over the summer, I made a project out of washing a measly pound of fiber. It was a huge ordeal because the smell of this fleece was enough to knock you over and I really didn't want it in my washing machine. I really didn't think it could be salvaged. I definitely learned a thing or two throughout the process. I'm left with a trimmed (or 'skirted' for you fiber-type people), less smelly, definitely usable chunk of fiber.

Accompanying my fleecy fiber are a cheap pair of slicker brushes that I will use to card the fleece when I work up enough gumption to do so. I was so impressed with the success Miranda and her kids enjoyed throughout their Fiber Adventures, that I am very encouraged to have a go at my own Adventure. I serendipitously came across the spinning book at my library's used book sale. Hopefully with the very informative, pre-Internet book, Ravelry, YouTube and Google, I'll be able to make do. Just this week I was able to get my hands on a drop spindle with which to complete the final step of processing my pygora. Happily, the spindle came with a couple of ounces of prepared fiber that I can learn with. Pygora spins up into a beautiful, silky yarn, but it doesn't do so easily. Or so I read.


While in the yarn shop handling spindles, a skein of yarn leaped off the shelf and landed in my shopping bag. I hear that's a risk you take when shopping in a yarn shop. It's a hand-dyed wool/angora/nylon blend called 'Rainbow' by Infiknit from their One Of A Kind line. I'm excited to see what it becomes.

I'm so glad I was able to dig through the clutter to unearth a small basket of potential. It's so much easier to keep your eye on the goal when there are only carefully chosen elements in your basket. I think there are a few areas of my life that could use a little de-cluttering and re-focusing. One thing at a time, though. This is a great place to start.