Bad bad Girl......

Hehehe....

Well, it wasn't all that bad. And honestly, one can never have enough wheels or spindles or fur! And it was priced just right!

I found a Walking Wheel in my price range!!!

The story goes........

I was skipping along through Ebay on my merry little way when all of a sudden up from no where popped this little picture of a walking wheel. I snuck a peek at it. Low and behold what did my eyes see? A wee little ol' price tag for 12.00!

Now I'm no idiot, so I know this little beauty missing a lovely little leg is worth much much more than they want. I immediately plug in a little absentee bid for $x00. Not even 5 minutes later the little ol' Walking Wheel was pulled from the evil monster that is Ebay by the seller.

Well, you know me, I fired off a friendly little email to the seller. He emailed back that he would sell me the wheel for $120 plus shipping. I could barely restrain myself from blurting out 'But you know these sell up to 4-800 regardless of condition?'. I kept my mouth shut and immediately fired the guy payment through paypal.

Shipping was going to cost more than he had originally thought, so....... Instead of charging me $x00 for shipping, he personally drove my little ol' wheel to my Aunt 2 hours away:) That was so sweet of him:) Now my Aunt has it and will be bringing it to me next time she comes to town. Which is fine by me because I now have my very own Walking Wheel that was purchased (including shipping) for $180!

Spring Fling Coffee and Yarn Swap

I haven't done a swap since last year and thought this would be a nice one to start the year out with....


1. What is your preference? Whole beans or ground?

• Prefer Ground
  

2. What kind of coffees do you enjoy? A rich, bold roast; a light, fresh one, or something in between? Leaded or non?

• Rich and bold here. And I don't think there should be a thing such as unleaded coffee...lol
  

3. If you were headed out right now to buy some coffee for the house, what would you be picking up?

• Well, I like to treat myself the Hawaiian Kona blends, but for every day we use chock full o nuts in the French Press
  

4. Do you drink for caffeine, pleasure, or both?

• Both
  

5. Do you enjoy flavored coffees? How about add-ins or flavored creamers?

• I am not a big fan of flavored coffees. Occassionaly, I will have a cap. with chocolate thought:)
  

6. A large, lovely mug or a small, dainty cup?

• Large and lovely
  

7. Describe your perfect cup - not JUST the coffee, but how you'd enjoy it!

• My favorite thing on the week ends is to fix my coffee first thing in the morning and then sit on the porch listening to the morning birdies chirp away. Every once in a while I get a glimpse or two of 'red-headed woodpeckers':)
  
• My favorite add ins for my coffee are real cream and brown sugar.

8. You're sitting down to enjoy a nice cup in the local coffee shop, knitting bag in hand, iPod all tuned up - or maybe you're there with a few friends for knit night! What treat do you pick up to enjoy with your coffee? A sweet, rich brownie, or something more healthy? How about a salty treat? What goes best with that great cup and company?

• Panera's Bear Claw
  

Yarn

1. Do you knit or crochet?

• Both, but more knit than crochet
  

2. What are your favorite types of yarns to work with?

• Camel, alpaca, wool and silk. Unless it has sparklies in it, I avoid anything synthetic.
  

3. What do you have on the needles (or hook!) right now?

• socks, shawl, felted bag
  

4. What are your favorite colors in yarns? What about those that you'd never find in your stash?

• I like pretty much any color, with the exception of NEON. I hate anything neon
  

5. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using? Any you just detest?

• I like them all
  

6. Are there any particular notions you absolute do NOT need? Some of us swap a lot - are you sure that you have enough tape measures to last your lifetime? Enough stitch markers to mark every stitch of a 10 foot wide afghan?

• I do not need stitch markers. I have enough to last several life times!
  

7. You walk into the yarn shop and have exactly and only enough money to purchase 2 skeins of yarn in their 2 for 20 special they have going..The choices are a soft, thick cotton/viscose blend in your favorite colors, slightly variegated..a beautiful sock yarn that's just squishy and sproingy in your hands.. a soft, worsted weight wool like malabrigo.. and a lovely bamboo blend with colors to just die for. Which do you walk out the door with?

• Anything in a pretty color that is soft on my face.
  

Spring


1. We're starting sign-ups on the first day of Spring - is it already truly Spring-like where you are?

• Spring is pretty much here:)
  

2. What's your favorite spring flower? Do you have one?

• Tough one. I love anything unusual that is a perrenial
  

3. What do you most look forward to about springtime?

• The colors
  

4. They've predicted a gorgeous day tomorrow - Sunny and about 65 with a nice breeze - how do you spend your day?

• Giving Miss Piper the Newfoundland a bath then a truck ride:)

5. The day after, it's going to be cooler and pouring down rain - does that impact your mood? How do you spend that day? what helps cheer you up?

• I spin yarn on one of my wheels or spindles.
  

Odds n Ends

1. Do you collect anything BESIDES yarn and needles?

• Spindles, movies, rocks, original art work
  

2. Are you allergic to anything?

• Mold
  

3. Do you have pets?

• Dog, Cat, Horse, Fish
  

4. Is this your first swap, or are you an old pro? What are the last 2 swaps you participated in?

• Stitch Marker - International Tote Exchange - Knitters Treat
  

5. List 3 of your favorite blogs - craft related or not - and tell us why you love them.

• Punkin's Patch - http://myfavoritesheep.blogspot.com/ - Local friend
  
• Maia Spins -http://maiaspins.typepad.com/maiaspins/ - She is a spinner like me:)
  
• Purly Whites - http://purlywhites.typepad.com/ - She seems like a fun person.
  

Burning Soy Silk

OK, I am wondering if there are any fibers out there that anyone has had problems with concerning heat issues? By that, I mean fibers that melt or burn quickly if introduced to heat or flames.


I only ask this because just recently I was heating all my spun yarn and loose fibers in the microwave to kill any moths or bugs. Just to be on the safe side and since I don't know a whole lot about the fiber, I thought I would try a skein of soysilk. Well, less than a minute into the two minute cycle, I could smell something funky. No smoke coming from the microwave so I went to check out the candle. No candle mishap, so I went back to the microwave. I peeked in and it looked as if the skein had shrunk!?! Well, I turned off the microwave and the soysilk skein was so hot that I could not touch it with my bare hands. Normally, I can just grab fibers from the microwave and set them on the counter to cool a bit, but not the soysilk. I used a towel and then picked at the strands with my fingers to check the yarn. Low and behold, the strand of yarn that had cooled was as stiff as a board. I picked through it some more and the interior was black melted mess! OH and it stunk to high heaven! All of this damage was done in less than a minute and a half.


This got me to thinking about the safety of all the new 'eco-friendly' fibers out there. Come to find out that ingeo, a fiber made from corn, melts at temperatures over 140 Fahrenheit. I know that corn plastic is becoming all the rage now with various plastic items being made out of it from pens to screw-drivers, but to what extent is it's safety? I don't know about you, but my idea of cute knit top is one that does not melt into your skin.

Does anyone else out there know of any more safety issues with spinning fibers?

Lindy's Alpaca Roving.....

And here they are. I told Lindy way back in January I would send her pics of her lovely alpaca roving I spun. Well, here they are and sorry it took me so long to send them to you Lindy! If anyone likes how this yarn turned out and would like to try some of Lindy's roving please contact her through her farm website at Seldom Scene Farm. I know I am definitely going to have to get a bit (lot) more!!!

Etsy Updates

I have listed tons of new fun stuff in my Etsy store Lunabudknits/Weed of Dreams. From Roving to yarn you can see a few examples below.....

Etsy Additions

I have added tons of wool yarns and plastic stitch markers to my Etsy shop. I decided that I have become over run with handspun yarn and while I love to look at my handspun, there is no way in heck I can knit all of it up. LunabudKnits

So Bad I'm Good....

Ok, I haven't been posting much lately. And I truly do feel bad about that for those of you who have actually taken the time to visit my little cobweb riddled corner of the web. But, you know I heard a rumor that there was life away from my computer and I just had to find out....lol

There are several things going on in my life. For starters the new job and old job keep me very busy. The new job is with a Steel Building Manufacturer here in Nicholasville, which is really nice because it only takes me minutes to get to work! I really like it there as I get to be very creative. So far, I have done their new brochure, several ads and am currently working on their new website using the old site as a template I can build on to. It is definitely in the production stages, but please take a gander at it: Quantum Buildings. I am just having so much fun with it as I actually get to leave the office to take pictures of their buildings. And let me tell you, I am impressed with the versatility of steel buildings!

Next item of business I have been working on is my own website to show case my photography. This has been a long time coming! I have had the camera equipment for years and thought it was about time I put it to good use! I am so happy this little dream has come to fruition finally. Please visit it and let me know what you think! Weed of Dreams Oh I probably should tell you a bit more about the name so there is no confusion. My first tinkering with html was on a server named DreamWater and one of the first pictures I ever posted was of a purty little weed. I just combined the two to come up with a site name which ended up being: Weed of Dreams. I am not a drug user, so at the time was not even thinking about other references for the word 'weed'. I just thought it was a cute and fun name. Now, I still think it is a cute and fun name, plus, I have the added shock factor.....lol

I finally went to the social security office and had my name legally changed. So, I am not longer Stephanie Buford. I am now, Stephanie Stratton. I keep thinking about my new initials...SS....and I think of the SS Minnow....lol Honestly, I had heard horror stories about waiting in long lines at the Social Security Office, but I was in and out in less than an hour. The girl who did my paper work was very happy that I had the form already completely filled out for her. Apparently if you don't have the form filled out before you go, you have to answer a barrage of questions which takes up your time and theirs. So afterwards, I went to the mall and finished up my Christmas shopping:) I can't believe I have that done. Usually, I am finishing up on Christmas Eve....lol

Outside of all that, Thanksgiving was tons of fun. I love getting to see everyone around the holidays and am just so very thankful for my family and friends:) We are still kinda looking for a house/property. Probably will not be serious about property/house hunting until the spring though.

Bad BAD Blogger.......

OK, yes, I have been a very, very bad blogger. Life has been so busy lately that I am having a hard time finding time to post much less surf the net..lol Although, that might not be a bad thing as we have spent tons of time rearranging the house and getting things in order. Both of which were much needed!

But I do have some projects that need sharing with the world, so here is some YARN PORN just for you.....





A custom dyed orange roving order.




A super soft plying together of tunis and targhee singles.





Much can be said about the lushious qualities of alpaca especially when it is navaho plied. Just delicious!




This vibrant color is called Rainbow Red as one single does a full circuit of the rainbow once and the other single is just red!




It just wouldn't be right to not show a bit more of the 'Dirty John Deere' yarn.

Ho-Hum

Friday we contacted the Realator and made a bid on the lot. We had done our home work on the property. While it did have a beautiful view, woods for him, rolling hills for me and a pond for both of us it also had a few draw backs. For starters about 5 feet down we would hit rock thus making a septic tank as well as a basement cost about $10,000 more than the estimated price if we did not hit rock, no city water as of yet which would mean another $7-10,000 to put in a cystern or dig a well.

We caught the realator in several lies she was saying that the current owner of the property was paying for the city water lines to come through when in fact the state gave the city money to put in the water lines as well as telling us that someone else was interested in the lot (after hearing the details from her we realized it was our cousins who were interested in the lot next to it.)

To top all that off the lot was listed for $5,000 above the appraisal value and they only came down to $2,500 above the appraisal value. We have a feeling that the lot is not appraised at the correct value and we definitely don't like being screwed up the you know what from the get go.

While we do regret that we did not get this particular lot, we are also very relieved because we feel that this would have had the potential to become a deal gone wrong. It is actually a plus as it gives us more time to iron out our house plans so that we are ready from the get go:)

Weed of Dreams

Have you ever had a dream? One that began it's whispy imaginings as a fuzzy seedling breaking it's hard protective outer shell. Like a small weed, it struggles to gain purchase of the soil pushing its searching life root through the rock and gravel seeking just the right spot of black life bearing dirt. As it grows you wonder if the little plant will be crushed in one single step or wither and turn to dust by a long, lingering drought. You want so very much to see this little weed continue to grow. Because you know with out doubt one day, if it can survive the freezing cold and the blistering heat, it will become a thing of pure and unbridled joy. So you work hard cultivating and caring for this little weed. And then one day with out warning it sprouts something spectacular, something quite curious, something that lets you know the hard work is starting to pay off.... A single bud.

As that bud grows larger so does your dream. Soon you will know if your little Weed of Dreams has been worth the wait.

Our bud is standing tall and proud on it's stem. We are about to fulfill our dream. We have located 7 acres far out in the country. It has woods for him and grassy hills for me as well as a pond for both of us! Please keep your fingers crossed for us as we take a huge step towards our dream.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Well, I did it! I finally bit the bullet and bought a new wheel! While I did enjoy using my old little wheel, I was very limited in what I could and could not do with it. After looking around and doing a bit of research, I decided on the Kromski Sonata which has turned out to be absolutely fabulous!! I can now spin yarn that is larger than fingering weight. The sonata also does not wobble or squeak! And the best feature of all is that the wheel folds up and fits in a handy back pack for easy storage and portability. I absolutely love it!! Below are a few shots of finished and soon to be finished yarn.



330yds of green & brown superwash singles plied together.



On the wheel I have Tunis which is a rare breed of sheep. The wool spins like a dream and is just as soft as can be! I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Putter Problems & Busy Stuff

Whew! Well, I hope things get a bit quieter around here. I have been working on rearanging the house. Not trying to be mean, but the 'bachelor' furniture has to go. While it is functional, it is not practical. Nor is it pleasing to the eye. So for the past two weeks, we (I) have been moving furniture. And I am happy to say that I grow happier by the day with the way things look around here. I am also keeping my fingers crossed that we (I) will have everything done (switched) with in the next few days.


Outside of that, the router went bye-bye, caput, adios, adieu (sp?), etc, etc, etc. So now I have gone through a Belkin & Linksystem routers. I can honestly say that the belkin outlasted the linksystem router, which I find very interesting because the belkin was much, MUCH cheaper than the Linksys router. So I have now upgraded to the Mac 'Airport Express Base Station'. Can I just say....WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG!!!!! I mean, DUH, Dang it, I got the Mac iBook initially for the graphics and was pleasantly suprised to find that it did so much more! I can easily find my files. I don't have to worry about viruses. To top all of that off...........everything is friggin' plug'n'play. Which means all I do is plug it in and it works like a charm! Darn it all I can say is that if you are still using a PC, you are majorly missing out on a world of ease by not using a MAC!!! I have had this laptop since 2004/5 and absolutely adore it. Which pretty much means that with in the past 3 years it still works, it's not so overfull of useless files I don't get the speedy access I started out with and it still runs as great today as it did the first time I turned it on. What more can a gal ask for........
Anyhow, to make a long story short....I had no trouble at all installing the base station and it works much better than both the belkin and linksys routers..............AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.....LOL