Interestingly, koi, when put in a fish bowl, will only grow up to three inches. When this same fish is placed in a large tank, it will grow to about nine inches. In a pond koi can reach lengths of eighteen inches. Amazingly, when placed in a lake, koi can grow to three feet long. The metaphor is obvious. You are limited by how you see the world.

-- Vince Poscente

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Been busy around here (isn't everyone these days?). I'd like to figure out a magic formula to slow life down, even just a little.

My Pi Shawl is splendiferous, but I could tell fairly quickly into it that I was going to run out of yarn. I had a niggling doubt that this might happen, because I spun the yarn not for yardage but for how I wanted to yarn to be. So, I was thinking positively to see if BELIEVING I would have enough yardage would make it so. Um, no. Nice try. Anyway, I'm now about 1/2 way through spinning more yarn. Except I don't have the exact colors of bison and no more cashmere, so it'll be a little different, with a lighter color bison and a very soft milk chocolate brown alpaca instead. No worries ... I still have two balls of the original yarn left so I'm going to knit every other row and blend them together before switching to the entirely new yarn ... not the exact image I had for this shawl, but one must go with the flow sometimes, and this is a good lesson for someone who is not very good at going with the flow (yeah, yeah, those who know me well can quit laughing right now) (or, a good lesson in planning ahead more successfully) (whatever).

Other news ...

I'm washing the Most Exquisite Rambouillet fleece I think I've ever felt right now ... to be dyed and (sob) sold beginning at MDS&W. Once this one is washed and dyed, I then have ...

Romeldale/CVM
CVM
Leicester Longwool
Hog Island
Clun Forest Lamb
Bluefaced Leicester
Wensleydale
Teeswater
A funky crossed sheep fleece that I can't even remember the crosses at this point but it's a MUTT sheep, and it's cool
Polwarth (whenever arrives here from the Falkland Islands)
Icelandic (on it's way, not actually here yet)
and more ... I forget and they keep springing up every time I go downstairs

I think my basement is spontaneously growing fleece.

All these, btw, will be ready by MDS&W, come hell or high water.

Several of the very rare and endangered Great Britain breeds continue to elude me, even ones I've had before, and this is Royally Ticking Me Off. My former fleece pusher in GB seems to have gone awol. But once I get it in my head that I want a certain kind of fleece, it's fairly sure to drive me nuts until I get it. I'm on a mission, and the universe is not cooperating. Oh, the injustice of it all.

I've actually updated the combed top and Great Britain roving pages on my website. Haven't sent out a notice yet because I'm still working on the yarn pages and figured I'd do one notice for everything ... but there's some new stuff on those two right now.

Other than that ... more wholesale orders are in the works ... another one for Knitty Couture in St. Louis, also for Sticks and Strings in Scarsdale, NY and Carolina Homespun. I've also sent out a couple more wholesale packages to a few new shops ... you know, because I just don't have enough to do.

Advance notice went out yesterday to my announcement list subscribers about the start of the 2009 yarn and fiber clubs. Sign up will go "live" on Monday, January 26 everywhere else.

I am doing two unexpected events this winter...

The first is the Spinner's Day Out at the Vienna Community Center on February 14. This event is planned and sponsored by Uniquities Yarn Shop in Vienna. There's lunch, and I'll give a talk (about something), and bring some fibers to sell, and hang out and spin. The telephone number is up on the right if anyone is interested in finding out more than this piddly amount of information I've provided.

The second event is the Homespun Yarn Party on March 15. I did this event last year when it was held in Takoma Park, MD, and it was great fun. This year, it's even bigger ~ more vendors, a larger space in Savage, MD, and it's open longer as well. Should be fun!

In between all this, I am working on some new patterns (yes, actually writing them down so I don't forget what I did ... what a concept!), gearing up to dye more yarn (so maybe I won't be insane the two weeks before MD?) and working on stained glass projects ... speaking of which, last night I finished cutting over 100 pieces of glass and started piecing together my current project, which is for the window of my meditation room overlooking the living room. I'll try to remember to bring my camera to stained glass class next week, because it is going to be really cool. I'm doing copper foil this time around, which is great fun.

In closing, hey, I'm working at being that huge fish in spirit, unlimited by my view of the world.