The Rule Is...

They are allowed to treadle on it if there is no fiber or yarn attached. She was sitting on me so I had Jamie go and get the camera. After having her turn, Evelyn let me ply.

My kate in the above pic was made locally by Tracy of the Eastside Spinners. I hear she's going to be a vendor at Sock Summit! 

I was very pleased by the yardage I got with this fiber... The bobbins on the Pocket Wheel are quite a bit larger than my Ashford ones so I was surprised when this one became full before I ran out of my singles. I ended up making two skeins (both fingering weight) - one was about 346 yds and the other was 288 yds.

Pretty! I spun in public today and took the wheel to the park - just loaded it into the jogging stroller along with my little one... It was kind of funny - the moms (except for the ones that I knew) pretty much ignored me, but the teenaged boys wanted to know everything about wool, how it was processed and why it didn't just come apart when I spun it. 

Jamie really needed the distraction. Earlier today he was stung by a bee. Actually I think it was a wasp because I didn't find a stinger and they like to build their nests in the eaves of our house this time of year. He just ran in after playing outside, screaming - poor little guy. :(

Fortunately, I have a home remedy for this sort of thing. My mum used to do this whenever my sister or I got stung (or bitten by a spider) and it works well for drawing out the venom and stinger if there is one. Of course, it works best if applied right away and it probably won't help at all if the person is allergic - if they are wheezing or having trouble breathing you should call 911. Here's what I did: I whipped up a quick paste of baking soda and water and applied it directly to the sting. That's it.

After drying his tears, I played him some songs on my I-pod (a rare treat) while we waited for the goop to dry. 

We ended up covering it with a small piece of paper towel to speed up the process. Once dry you can lift the solid chunk of baking soda away from the affected area and re-apply the goo. After a few applications, the sting has been soothed and most, if not all, of the venom has been drawn out. Later at dinner, he couldn't even tell his dad which finger had been stung!