I've Run Out Of Clever Titles

Actually, I think I ran out of clever titles several titles ago, so you get this.  Such is life...

And now, on to your regularly scheduled post.

I've had this problem with chipmunks ever since I moved into this house.  Last week, I got fed up, and ordered a live trap from Amazon.  It was supposed to get here Monday, but it didn't.  I thought maybe it'd get here Tuesday, but it didn't.  By Thursday, I'd figured it was not going to arrive at all, so I requested a refund, which I've received.  I also left the seller a very poor review, to which they have not responded. 

Since I still have a chipmunk tearing up my yard, when I did my in town running yesterday, I ran into Tractor Supply to see if they had a live trap.   You know, I really need to stay out of that store.  It's like a wonderland.  So much fun stuff.

I didn't find a trap, but I did pick up this totally cute chicken mug.

They had four different breeds, and I debated for a long time, and finally settled on this one.  The first person I thought of when I saw them was my friend Marcy, who has chickens.  Do go check out her blog, and she's also got a vlog on YouTube.  Check that out, too.  She's really cool.

All that aside, I still have a chipmunk problem.  I thought about running up to Lowe's today, but ended up just staying home and being lazy.  Probably a good thing, because the long awaited cold front finally arrived.  It passed quickly, but got pretty hairy there for a while.  It's supposed to get down into the low 40s tonight.  I brought some firewood up, just in case.

I'm going to try to hold off burning it, because I've almost used up all the wood from that huge tree I had cut down.  I think I have enough to last through this winter, if I'm frugal with it.  I'll just have to get out there and finish splitting it.   By next year, I'll have to start buying some.  There's usually someone selling it on the local yard sale pages. 

In the meantime, I made a bunch more Zoom Loom squares.

They weave up so quickly, it won't be long until I have enough to make a blanket.

Yesterday, I found this meme and sent it to Cody.

Which is about how I'm playing.  He told me I wasn't messing up, I had become a jazz player.  They aren't wrong notes, they're atonal melodies -- or so he said.   Same as it is in knitting.  It's not a mistake.  It's a design element.  He asked how practice was going, and I said not well.  My hands are just too small to make the chords, and I told him how frustrated I was getting.  He said he's going to teach me something called triads.   He said they're much easier to reach than full chords.  

In the meantime, I got his fiddle out and tuned it.  I'm going to have to find a better book, though, or look for lessons online.  The book he has seems like it's meant to be used in a classroom type setting, with an actual instructor.  I tried looking at it, but it gets pretty advanced very quickly.  I mean, lesson two had sharps and all.  I don't even know how to make those notes yet, and there aren't any "this is how you play an F#" type of instructions.  The lessons just assume someone has taught you how to make the notes.  As a result, I'm only playing the open string notes.  There are only 4:  E, A, D, and G.  

I ordered a thing from Amazon that you can put right onto the neck of the violin.  It shows you where to put your fingers to make the other notes, since a violin doesn't have frets like a guitar does.  Oh, and there isn't anyone in town who teaches violin.  When would I go anyway?  It's the same problem I have with taking guitar or piano lessons.

Speaking of, there is a rumor going around that they're going to put us back to 8 hour shifts starting next year.  EVERYONE in the plant is praying that rumor is true.  They usually aren't, but we're all hoping this one is. 

In other news, Rylea hasn't been feeling well.  

I found some sort of strange lump on her neck.  I thought she'd been stung or something, but it doesn't seem to be getting any smaller.  If it's not better in a few days, another trip to the vet may be in order.  I'm hoping it's just a seroma or a cyst, and not something more serious.  That my time with her is getting short is never far from my mind. 

And finally, you have no idea how much this made my day.

Yeah, yeah, I know it's jut one of FB's algorithms, but hey, a girl can dream, can't she? 

Makes My Day

You know what really makes my day?  When I'm up there in Walmart and someone comes up to me and says, "I just love your blog!"  That's what really makes my day.  Thank you, Mrs. Norma!  It means so much to me!

You know what else makes my day?  Making other people happy.  Now that the recipients of the following have received the following, I can finally blog about it.  Boy was it hard to keep these secrets for two weeks!

I'd always planned on picking up a few things for my nonbiological sister Suzie at Fiber Fun In The Sip.  Her health prevents her from attending fiber festivals and things like that, so putting together a little care package for her was a given from the get go.

I only got her one skein of yarn, because she'd recently mentioned that she was de-stashing.  The colorway is called Jazz Rhapsody, and it was dyed by our friend Leann.

That fuzzy lump in the middle is an alpaca, made from...well, alpaca.  It is sooo soft.  Just below it is handmade goat milk soap made with oil distilled from Kudzu blooms.  It smelled pretty good, too.  I was almost tempted to keep it, but no, it's for Suzie.  The next thing is a little alpaca keyring, and also, a keyring that says "I knit and I know things."  On the far right is a stitch marker shaped like Mississippi.  Finally, I tossed in the keyring and pen they'd given us, plus the show's program booklet, and put it all into the FFITS gift bag and sent it to her.

It made a nice surprise for her when she got home from her latest hospital stay.

Now, Amy's care package, well, that was a different story.  All weekend Christi and I had been trying to get her to come hang out with us, but personal reasons prevented her from doing so.  We sent her selfies saying, "Come join us!"  We took pictures of yarn and sent it to her, all kinds of torture.  We even said we'd body check her to keep her from spending money, but all to no avail.  She just couldn't swing it this time.

So, there we were, just a shopping away, at the booth that had all the stitch markers, when Christi found some LSU ones.  "We can send them to Amy," she said.

"Yeah!"  I agreed, "and I'll go get her some of those purple and gold mini skeins we saw."

OK, I didn't really say that, but if I told you I'd said, "I'll get that yarn," it wouldn't make much sense to those of you who weren't in on the original conversation.

I ran back to the booth we'd just left, grabbed the purple and gold yarn, and put them up onto the counter.  "I'm back!"  I said to the man -- who was visiting with another vendor.  "We're making up a care package for our friend who couldn't come."

I paid for the yarn, and carried on shopping.  I was all the way down at the end of the row, buying my drop spindle when the other vendor who'd been visiting with the man from whom I bought the yarn walked up behind me and slipped something into my bag -- the little tin of threading needles.

"It's for your friend who couldn't come," he said.

How sweet of him to do that!  If you happen to see Two Guys Yarn at a fiber festival or something, be sure to toss some business their way.  I plan on doing just that at the next FFITS.  And I hope Amy can join us then!

Last, but certainly not least, the recipient of these cute little stitch markers hasn't actually gotten them yet, as I only mailed them this morning.

I'm not going to tell you who they are for, though.  That would ruin the surprise, but if you get a package from me on Saturday, it's you!

Surprise!  I hope you enjoy them!

One Night

One night, I'm going to get to bed on time, fall right asleep, sleep all night, and wake up in the morning, refreshed and ready to face the day.  One night...

Last night was not that night. 

Oh, it started off well enough.  I went to bed at a reasonable time.  Fell asleep fairly quickly...but just before 2:00 AM, I woke up.  The room was strangely dark, and strangely quiet.  I turned over to look at the clock, and the face was dark.  I looked towards the night light I keep in the bathroom --so I can see when I go visit Graceland in the middle of the night -- and it was off.

Yes, it took me that long to wake up enough to realize the electricity was out. 

I spent a few minutes wondering why, as there wasn't any bad weather going on.  Usually, when that happens, it's either a limb down, or someone got into a car wreck and hit a pole.  I never did find out why it was off. 

I lay back down and tried to go back to sleep.  Every time I'd just about drift off, the neighbor's dog would start barking.  Without the noise of my fan to drown her out, I'd wake right back up.  Once I was awake, I'd worry about the stupidest things.  Like, what if the electricity doesn't come back on?  I can get dressed by lantern light, but what will I do with my hair?  If I can't flat iron it, I know my stalker will go around whispering, "Look at Becky's hair!  It's all frizzy!" 

We can't have that, now, can we.  Maybe I could wear a hat.  I've got plenty of them.  But hats get on my nerves, and if I wear it, then take it off, my hair will look even worse!  Should I just call in sick?  No, that would blow my perfect attendance...and so it went. 

The electricity finally came back on shortly after 3:00, and I was able to get a few more moments of sleep before time to get up.  Better than that, I was able to fix my hair, so Stalker had to find something else to whisper about. 

Which I'm sure he did.  Because he usually does.

Let's talk about something a bit more pleasant, shall we? 

Back a couple of weeks ago at Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, Christi and I were talking about the classes we'd taken last year.  She mentioned all her Zoom Loom squares she still hasn't sewn together.  I mentioned that I hadn't woven a single thing on my Inkle loom since the class, either.  The reason being is, I couldn't find the right size cotton yarn for the weft in a smaller ball.  I didn't really want to spent $30 on a huge cone, but that's all I'd found. 

On the other hand, I'd spent a lot more money than that on the class and loom....in the end, I broke down and ordered one. 

I chose a neutral color, because that's a lot of yarn.  It's enough to last a life time.  With the Inkle loom, you don't really see the weft that much, anyway, and this will go with all the colors I'd bought ... to, you know, weave stuff with.  Now, I just have to dig the instructions back out and figure out how to warp it.  And find my heddles, or make some more. 

If I can remember how...

And finally, I made a few more zoom loom squares.

Next thing is to figure out how I want to join them together. 

I've Lost My Mind

I've come to terms with the fact that I'm never going to be a guitar virtuoso.  And I'm OK with that, because I'm only playing for my own enjoyment anyway.  I can play the notes just fine -- well for an absolute beginner, I mean -- but the chords are throwing me for a loop.  It's these short, fat fingers I was born with. 

I am getting better.  Slowly, but I'm getting better. 

Something's been nagging at the back of my mind here lately, though.   It's Cody's violin.

Sitting there in his room.  Gathering dust. 

It's got a much smaller neck and a much smaller fret board.  Much more fitting to my much smaller hands.   I've been thinking more and more about how fun it would be to learn to play it.  I spent all day today daydreaming of playing the fiddle.  It's a very popular instrument in country and bluegrass music.  It'd be so much fun to be able to play it...

Have I lost my ever loving mind?????

I don't want to give up the guitar, and I'm certainly not giving up the piano.  Do I really want to add a third instrument into the mix?  I mean, with these stupid 10 hour shifts, I barely have time to breathe as it is.  And it's only going to get worse when peak season kicks in after the first of the year. 

When would I practice? 

Still, I downloaded a violin tuner to my phone...

Maybe I'll get it out this weekend and tune it.  Not play it.  Just tune it. 

And maybe play it.  Just for a minute. 

Eh, who needs sleep anyway? 

What Is That Strange Noise?

I woke this morning shortly before the alarm went off to a strange noise.  It seemed to be coming from outside.  It was a strange booming noise, as if someone was beating a drum.  At first, I thought it might be a car coming up the road with the driver playing his radio too loud.  You know, those people who seem to think everyone within a 20 mile radius also wants to hear his music.  If you can call it that...

But I digress.

I lay there for a few moments, and when the alarm went off, I turned on the light to begin my day.  There, I saw Rylea, laying beside me with her head under the bed.  That's when it hit me. I realized what the strange noise was.

THUNDER!!!

Eagerly, I leaped out of bed and dashed to the door.  I flung it open to ...rain!  Sweet, blessed rain!

Can you see it?   Rain!!!!  I'd almost forgotten what it looked like.

The only downside is, neither dog would go outside and tend to business.  I put some newspapers down in Rylea's favorite accident spot.

Eh, I gave her credit for trying.

It rained almost all day, and even better, the temps never got out of the 60s.  It won't last long, as it's supposed to get back into the upper 80s by the end of the week.  Still, upper 80s is better than upper 90s.  Could it be that our long awaited Autumn has finally arrived?

OK, moving right along. 

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I'm a Navy veteran.  If you're new to the blog, I'm a Navy veteran.

I'm also learning to play the piano.  There I was yesterday afternoon, just a practicing away.  Since I can't really take lessons from a live person, I just play each piece until I feel like I've got it down pretty well.  When I complete one lesson, I start a new one.

So, yesterday, when I turned the page.  I saw this: 

Do you see it?  Do you see it????

Yeah, I played it, but I was looking like this the whole time.

And I will continue to do so until I've finished learning that horrid song.

If they put the Army song in there, I'm done. 

Slowly Returning

I am slowly returning to the land of the living.  I'm still a bit congested, but I don't feel so run down as I did before.  I'm also still coughing, but that's always the part that hangs on the longest anyway.  At least my cough is productive now, which means it's almost over.

I felt well enough Friday to go run my errands -- or I thought I did.  By the time I got home, I was like, "Nope.  Not well yet."  But I had bills to pay, and they don't take sickness as an excuse.

But, while I was in town, I picked up a new Mum for my front flower bed.

I'd gotten it planted, and I was taking the photo, this beauty came by for a visit.

I'm sure some of you butterfly aficionados can identify it, but I don't have a butterfly book, and websites are too complicated to find what you want. I thought it might be a dark phase Tiger Swallowtail, but it doesn't have the little pointy things on its bottom wings.

The bad news is, I got up Saturday morning, and that blasted chipmunk had been rooting around in my bed, and had dug up my Mum.  I replanted it, and promptly ordered a live trap from Amazon.  I've had it with those dadgum things.  They may look cute, but they're destructive little boogers. 

Speaking of fall flowers, my spider lilies are totally showing out.

They got off to a slow start, but have really taken off this last week. 

Also speaking of fall, we've got a front supposed to be moving through this weekend.  The high tomorrow is supposed to be in the upper 60s/low70s.  Best part is ----are you ready for this? 

We've got a 90% chance of rain tonight!!!!!

I can't remember the last time I got so excited about a forecast of rain, but then, I can't even remember the last time it rained here.  It was late July or early August.  Some time along then.  Either way, it's been a while.

Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow.  That's perfect weather for hot chocolate and knitting.  Or weaving on my Zoom Loom.

I'm really liking the way this sock yarn is weaving up.  It's making a nice, loose weave, and will stitch together into a lightweight throw.  That'll be perfect, as I don't really have something for those days when it's airish enough to need a cover, but not so cold as to need a blanket. 

By the way, I've been knitting my new colors into my mitered square sock yarn blanket, too.  Once I get them all added, I'll lay it out and take a picture for you. 

And finally, Navy came from behind to beat Air Force in a real nail biter yesterday.  I yelled so loud, I scared Jesse.  Which doesn't really take much anyway.  In all the years I've had him, I can't get him over his fears.

It makes me wonder what happened to him before I got him. 

What Do Normal People Do?

What do normal people do when they're sick, cranky, and can't sleep? 

They may count sheep, or make themselves a cup of tea, or warm milk.  Maybe they read for a minute, or listen to soothing music.  That's what normal people do.

Me, on the other hand, I'm not normal.  I get on Amazon in the middle of the night and order new piano books.

I've got one more level 1 book to get, and then I'll be done.   Until I start level 2, that is. 

Speaking of, I'm progressing a bit more slowly now, since the music is getting harder and more complex.  I'd planned on doing another little recital for you a couple of weeks ago, but didn't get around to it.  It'll happen eventually, but it won't be this weekend.

Yep, I'm still down with the crud.  I didn't even go run my errands in town.  I'll have to go tomorrow, though, as I have bills to pay.  Today, I didn't do much of anything except knit, watch TV, and weave a couple more squares on my Zoom Loom.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Nope

I didn't sleep better last night, and I don't feel better today.  Whatever crud I had has morphed into a full blown cold. 

I can't breathe, my head is clogged up, I'm coughing my lungs out, and I feel awful. 

I'm pretty sure this is going to be what most of my weekend is going to look like.

I'll still have to make at least one trip into town, but once that's done, it'll be Zoom Loom, knitting, and TV for me. 

At least I'm not running fever...yet.

Fiber Fun In The 'Sip Part III

Last night was rough.  Really rough.

I seem to have picked up some sort of sinus crud or some such.  I don't know, but my sinuses and throat are on fire.  As if that weren't bad enough, my throat has been so very dry, all night long, I kept waking myself up coughing.  Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

During some of those few moments when I did get to sleep, I dreamed that a dream had come true.  I'd finally been able to go see the Fisherman's Friends -- also known as my white headed shanty men-- sing live and in person.  I had front row seats.  I was so close, I could count the boogers in their noses.

I have no idea why I said that.  I've long since given up trying to find an explanation for such things.

Still, I was there, they were singing, and I was having a grand old time ------and the alarm went off.  Sigh....

As if to add insult to injury, my Stalker was back.  I spent the whole day tired, irritable, coughing, hurting, and gasping for breath.  Yay me.  I said to myself, "I'm never going to volunteer to go home early, but today, if they try to send me, I'm not going to argue, either."  But they didn't.  Try to send me home early, that is.  I worked the whole, interminable 10 hour shift. 

The good news is, I remembered I have another vacation day coming up Thursday, so only one more work day for me.  I've got some errands to run, then I'm going to spend the rest of the day being lazy.  Depending on how I feel, I mean.

By now, you're probably asking yourself, "When is she going to get to the Fiber Fun In The 'Sip part?"  Well, here you go...

The best part of fiber festivals isn't the classes, or the vendors, or the gorgeous yarns, or the entertainment...it's hanging out with friends.  Especially friends I only get to see once a year.   While I was in my Zoom Loom class Thursday, I peeked out of the window and saw Leann and her cousin Denise setting up their booth.

They had lots of events planned this year.  First up was a spinning contest, where the contestants don't even know what they're going to be spinning.

They were given a box, but couldn't open it until the contest started.  It contained some mighty strange stuff, I'm telling ya.  It had some wool fiber, cotton balls, cobwebs, dryer lint, silk fibers, shredded paper, feathers, Spanish moss, and dog hair.  That's all I can remember, but that's enough.

The girl on the left in the maroon shirt and blue skirt won.  She's the one I bought my drop spindle from.

They'd also had a knit-along/crochet-along.  Participants were given about a month to knit or crochet the shawl pattern, then they had a fashion show to show off their finished products.  Here we see one of the contestants modeling her shawl.

That was about it for organized activities, but there was still plenty to do.  I met some new people.  This is Amy and Pam, friends of Christi.

Amy is such a hoot.  She had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe at one point.  She's wearing the shawl she modeled in the fashion show -- or as she put it, as she walked around like a dork.

This is Emily.

I'd met her last year, and she is a genuinely nice person, and fun to be around.   That's Denise sitting behind her.  She was missing her donkey.  Seriously.  She'd just adopted him from the animal shelter, and was missing him. 

And of course, Christi, who is always a joy.

While we were visiting, I managed to get a whole hat cast on and knit.

They were all very impressed with the Chinese Waitress cast on-- especially with how stretchy it is.

All too soon, our time together was at an end.  We took the ubiquitous group photos:

Emily, Amy, Christi

Christi, Me, Leann

Christi is probably the only person in the world who can convince me to take a selfie.

And we hugged, and we clung to each other, and we promised to get together before next September, and many bitter tears were shed at our parting.

Christi and her friends headed back towards Starkville and Columbus, and I went back to the hotel for another night, then came home on Sunday.  And that was it for Fiber Fun In The 'Sip 2019.  I'm already counting down the days until the next one. 

Oh, and yes, I did take my bug out bag with me.

You may ask why I would need a bag of survival gear, since I was only going to Vicksburg -- a 2 1/2 hour drive.  Well, the Minnow was only supposed to be going on a three hour tour, and you saw what happened to Gilligan and them.

That's why. 

Fiber Fun In The 'Sip Part II

You have no idea how jarring it was when I walked into the house yesterday morning, and my dogs weren't there to greet me.  Everything felt off.  But they're home, now and all is right in my world again.

Heh, all day at work I was counting down the hours until I could go pick them up. 

Think she's happy to be back on her love seat?

Speaking of work, I've heard that 8 people have quit in the last week.  Some of them have been out there for 20 years or more, but they just got fed up and found themselves better jobs.  The good news is, my stalker wasn't there!  It was like having an extra day of vacation.

Now, on to today's topic of discussion, Fiber Fun In The 'Sip classes.

First of all, let me say, I don't like having classes on Thursday.  Even though I allowed plenty of time for the drive, there was still a certain amount of anxiety -- particularly when I ran into construction in Canton.  Yes, I allowed extra time, but did I allow enough?  Did I allow too much?  And if so, what am I going to do until the class starts?  I can't check into the hotel until 4:00 PM, so that's not an option...

It's the INTJ in me.

Nevertheless, I did get there in plenty of time, but not too terribly early, so it all worked out in the end.

My first class was pin loom weaving on the Zoom Loom, taught by Beverly Anglin.  My friend Christi took her class last year, and it looked like so much fun, I started to order a loom online.  I just never got around to it.  I was thinking, when I knit all those charity hats, you eventually get to a point that you don't have enough yarn for another hat, but it's too much to throw out.  If I can make a bunch of squares of the leftover yarn, I can make a blanket.  When I saw the class offered again, I immediately signed up for it.

Here we see Beverly instructing one of my classmates in the finer arts of --well, I'm not exactly sure what they were doing.  I think she was showing her how to take the completed square off the loom.

At the end of class, I asked if I could take a picture of everyone, so I did.

Then Beverly said, "You're not in it!"  And she took one of us students.

Over the next few evenings, I got quite a few squares woven.

The one I made out of cotton came in quite handy, since the hotel didn't provide coasters.

Once I got the hang of doing them, I could finish a square in about 20 minutes, and it only takes about 8 yards of yarn per square.

The second class I took Friday morning was Tibetan spindle, taught by Teresa Goatey.  I've used drop spindles before, but the Tibetan spindle was new to me.  It's much bigger, and you spin it with the point resting on the floor.

She taught us the park and draft method, since it was a class for absolute beginners.   Probably a good thing, since I haven't spun -- in any capacity -- in about 4-5 years.  I can't believe it's been that long!  But it has.  I don't think I've spun since I moved into this house in 2015. 

Anyway, back to my story.  Teresa is the one standing, helping one student wind her single around the spindle.

By the way, her husband makes all the tools, and the fiber came from their own sheep.  She even told us the names of those sheep, but I can't remember them.  Funny thing, I kept noticing a foul smell, and wondered if I was stinking -- or was it one of my classmates.  I finally figured out it was the wool.  I think it might have been the lanolin in it, as she said those particular sheep produce a lot of lanolin.  Still, it didn't stop me from surreptitiously sniffing my pits from time to time...

This is just a shot of the other two students in the class.

And here is the yarn I made!

We got to keep the spindle and nostepinne.

And I finally learned the proper pronunciation of nostepinne.  It's not what I thought it was.  Now, never you mind how I'd been pronouncing it.  All you need to know is, I can say it correctly now. 

That's it for the classes I took this time around.  They were so much fun, and hopefully more useful than the ones I took last year.  Those were inkle loom and continental knitting, by the way, neither of which I've done anything with since. 

Oh, well, they were fun while they lasted. 

Fiber Fun In The 'Sip

Hello, gentle readers!  I'm back!  Yes, I know it's been a while.  No excuses.  I've just been lazy -- well, except for this weekend.  I've been in Vicksburg since Thursday.  And what was I doing in Vicksburg, you may ask?  Well, I'll tell you.  I was peopling.  I was doing a lot of peopling.  And knitting, and visiting, and eating, and shopping, and all kinds of things. 

Yep, it was the second annual Fiber Fun In The 'Sip!  It's probably going to take me two or three posts to get through it all, so please bear with me.

Today's post will focus on the things I bought, which wasn't that much compared to last year.  I bought my friend Leann's show colorway, Horn Section.  It is the one on the left.  It compliments her colorway from last year right nicely.

The one on the right is a door prize that I won.   It's from Farm Girl Fibers, and the colorway is Nashville Nights.  Funny, Christi and I were shopping in the booths when they called my name as a winner.  I got so excited, I shouted, "Hey!  That's me!"  all the way across the room. 

The only other yarn I bought was a whole bunch of mini skeins for my sock yarn blankets.

I've already knit one of them into the first blanket.

It's from Cedar Hill Farm Company, and the colorway is Written On The Wind. All of the smaller minis on the right are from them.  The ones on the left are from Leading Men Fiber Arts. 

For those of you who may be new -- or have memories like mine -- I have three of these blankets going.  One is for me, one is for my sister, and one is for -- I don't know.  I'll give it to someone, if I ever finish it, that is. 

Those of you with really, really long memories may remember that I sometimes spin, on a drop spindle.  I'd made my own with Sculpey clay.  They worked well, but weren't really balanced that well.  They wobbled a bit.  I've wanted a really nice one for a long time, so I -- didn't buy one.  I bought this one instead. 

It's a good spindle, but not really fancy.  The only thing about it is it's really, really light, so it stops spinning very quickly.  I'm hoping once I get some singles wound around it, it'll spin a bit longer.  As you can see, I've already tried it out. 

The fiber came with the kit.  It's been so long, I've almost forgotten how to spin.  I'm glad I'm practicing on that fiber, and not on some of my good fiber. My friend Sue sent me tons of really nice fiber a few years back when I got my wheel.  I never got good enough on the wheel to want to fool with the good stuff.  Maybe with a new spindle, I'll get back into spinning some. 

Like I don't have enough going on already. 

Finally, the last things I bought were some stitch markers. 

I've never really had much use for them, because I normally just tie scraps of yarn into loops and use them.  These, however, were just too cute, I couldn't resist them.  The top left are U.S. Navy, the top middle are Texas Longhorn, the bottom left is Mississippi, the bottom middle is a treble clef -- appropriate, I thought, since I'm trying to learn to play piano and guitar.  The one on the right is a Harry Potter themed potion bottle. 

I'm not so much into Harry Potter as some people are, but I thought that was cute.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the classes I took.