Linus!

Not only am I good at passing along the spinning bug for friends, I'm also excellent at finding yarn for my Mom's Project Linus group.  They (very, VERY unlike me) like to knit with acrylic.  Even ::shudder:: Lion Brand Homespun.  Friends have learned this and will often pass along their unwanted acrylic, whether it is leftovers from their stash or inherited stash yarn.

One such friend sent me an entire Tupperware full of it!

I do believe there's enough for two entire blankets made out of homespun, and at least two or three more of mixed Super Saver or Caron Simply Soft.

I can't wait to pass this along to Mom!

Auto Wheel Zone!

I seem to have a penchant for getting friends addicted to spinning.  It probably happens because of how much I like it, and that kind of enjoyment can be very contagious.

Lynn of Yarn Tree Studio is one such person to whom I have passed along the addiction.  Today, Jeff and I met a gentleman out in Hillsborough to exchange cash for wheel.  Unfortunately he'd not oiled the wood since he'd gotten it, and probably not oiled the moving parts in 14 of the 15 years since he'd bought the wheel.

Needless to say, it needed a bit of TLC.  It had rust on some of its metal parts, and some of the wood was a bit oil-stained due to him trying to remedy a squeak in the treadle.

So, off to Auto Wheel Zone!  (conveniently located at my house)

The rust was taken care of with some fine steel wool and elbow grease, followed by sewing machine oil.  That took care of the squeak and got the wheel back up to good working condition   The rest is better told in pictures.

The wheel, before

The wood is rough and dry, but some work with a cotton cloth, some soft steel wool and some lemon oil. . .

See the difference between the horizontal post and the wheel?  Dry, dry wood!

Aaaaahhhhhh, that's soooo much better.

A short test run indicates it is spinning beautifully.

A little copper wire and some round nose pliers. . .

It's all set and ready to spin!

 I know Lynn is going to love it!

NCRF

The North Carolina Renaissance Festival is a very very sad faire this year.  It's funny how one bad year plus a few bad decisions can snowball into something truly terrible. 

It used to boast hundreds of vendors.  I think we counted 8.

It used to be at a faire grounds where, while it sometimes had the feel of a flea market, there were paved roads, and an entire rodeo rink for the Joust.

Now. . .

Here's the joust

And the location of one of the more popular shows

And the pub

And pretty much the whole muddy fairegrounds, covered in a coat of straw.

Still.  Beer Fairy is still serving, and serving beer with a smile!

With a handsome mead ogre at her side.

The worst part is the catch-22 of no fun.  Rumors have gotten out about how un-fun the faire is, so nobody wants to go, so it sucks because nobody is there.  There are also a number of people boycotting the faire because of how past performers were not paid for their work.  This I completely understand, and I wrestled with working there again this year.  But we have some very good friends who invested money in having this beer tent, and I'm going to work my cute little tush off selling beer and mead for them!

It could be a lot more fun if certain people hadn't been screwed over last year, or if people just went ahead and came this year, despite the muddy conditions.  If the faire fails utterly then there is no chance of past and present acts being able to be paid for their hard work.  If nobody comes, then it will fail utterly. 

I'm in no way condoning the misdeeds of the management of the faire, but I do wish more people would come to support those of us who are at the faire.  So, for those who can, for those whose only reason for not coming is because they think it will suck, please do come to the faire.  I have comp tickets!  I have beer!  The people are what make the faire, and if you oppose supporting it directly, well, that's what the comp tickets are for!