I thought it might be nice to post something fiber-related, just because I seem to have neglected that side of things lately. At right is my next knitting project, a lace jacket out of Katia Ideas Jeans which is a tape of cotton & viscose. It is a free pattern at Elann. I think I bought the tape at the previously mentioned shop that sometimes carries Katia. A big leap into a new kind of yarn that I've never used before, and lace which I have had problems with. I figure with the weight and cohesiveness of the tape I should be able to see what I'm doing. At left is a spindle carrying case I bought online and I can't remember where. If someone is madly in love with it and would like to buy one, contact me and I will poke around in various files. It has a beautiful covering of an Oriental-feeling bird print, and edging is in a gold print and it has a green tassel on top. I think it's great for carrying around spindles and is certainly large enough to hold fibre and a noste should one want to.

Next below is my latest spindle from Viking Santa on eBay. The corkscrew shaft makes it very easy to spin and it has all the other things I like (notch, suitable hook. I am sorry to say that the Reeves spindles are driving me nuts and until I can tinker with the hook and the slippery shaft I am giving up one them. I have lots of other spindles that do what I want them to do but I thought I should support an Aussie

wood worker. Unfortunately the design of the spindles seems to be driven by the spinning techniques of his wife who likes them as they are. I haven't had much luck in convincing her that they don't work for me. If I could swap out the hook and roughen up the shaft, they may work OK.

I also finished the cotton/wool blend socks which are displayed below. Charging ahead with The Next Socks I cast on some blue Opal that is sorta mottled sky blue with the occasional darker bit and the occasional almost white bit. I have finished the ribbing at the top and am into the body of the socks.

What about the other things mentioned in the last post? We have met with our bank and finance has been approved and we are awaiting the $ to hit our bank account. We have made an offer on the land which was accepted by the vendor so we will need to transfer funds as soon as all the financial institutions get sorted. It would be more excited except I am very tired (my legs have been hurting a lot) and I spend time making spiced pear jam this morning. I have to admit it tastes pretty nice but you could put cinnamon, cloves, and ginger on just about anything and I'd eat it. This used up almost all the pears on hand and quite a few had resident worms eating from the inside out so the overabundance of pears was deceiving. The weird part was that the ones left out of the fridge were in better condition than the ones in the fridge. It is also 35C when the weather gurus said it would "only" get to 31. The other attitude dampening is that the Bear is unwell. He feels sick enough that he took himself off to the doctor on a Sunday. I worry so about his health and his weight but he seems oblivious until something like this hits him.