PLUCKYFLUFF

The Verdict Is In: Who you callin' twisted??

2008-05-09T18:21:01Z

Wow! what an overwhelming outpouring of praise for the bludgoned baby arctic seal! you guys loved that. and here i was thinking maybe i get a little too dark for this blog. but no. no no no. eva takes my dark and up's it a black hole and a braining. and what happens? you guys leap out of your seats cheering and throwing popcorn.

Congratulations Eva!! email me your address and i'll send Squirrel II to come chill with Beater. they can exchange war stories and do physical therapy together.

Thanks everyone for your comments! and thanks to everyone who Re-animated. tough challenge and you guys did a great job!

You're a STAR Beater!

The Reanimater Series- VOTE!!

2008-05-08T17:51:25Z

AW HELL! what day is it?? i totally woke up and have been happily putzing and doing nothing thinking i had a free day. i totally forgot what day it was. it's VOTING day! sorry this is late. so here are the enlivened critters. for more pictures please go to the Yarn Museum. thanks eceryone who reanimated! they look very......well, they seem to be functioning!

The Reanimater Series
see more pics at The Yarn Museum
Vote! here today

#1 Guttersnipe/Guttersnipe Yarns

I first wanted to do a raccoon, but my partner hates raccoons and although happy to see one as road kill did not want one reanimated. So I did a squirrel. I spun in sticks and bits of gravel. Most of which fell out but the final product. I stuffed the critter with the yarn indicating the tire marks. He isn't pretty, but maybe road kill isn't supposed to be brought back from the bed. I included a pic of the yarn as road kill chili because where I grew up that's the closest most road kill go to being reanimated.

#2 Eva/AtomHeart
"SealTIN aka: Beater"

I chose to use a beaten seal pup for my poor critter. This little guy hadn't had a chance to swim or eat a fish before he was beat down and skinned for his fur. But he has had a second chance. I found him discarded in the sea and pulled him out and reclaimed his bloody white coat from a drunk fisherman, who had fallen asleep.
Slowly I repaired him, stitch by stitch. His fur is somewhat reattached but I haven't been able to stop the bleeding from his mouth. My son has decided he dosen't mind, and has adopted him for his own. SealTIN was the lucky one, he got another chance. 300,000 seal pups this year weren't so lucky. They were a part of the worlds largest marine mammal hunt last month.

Materials: white mill end wool, black Merino bits, red Cotswold, Romney and pure white bamboo.

#3 Linda Scharf/Stoneleafmoon

Started out thinking of skunks, mostly because I see a lot of them, and also because I had this gorgeous white tipped black Navajo Churro. Finished the yarn before vacation, and thought I had all the time in the world to finish it, got home, got all my dates mixed up. The skunk had a premature death, then a premature re-animation, when I posted the unfinished version earlier today. My little cat was sitting outside watching me take pictures of the creature, and I could tell she was having deeply existential thoughts, wondering if that's how she, too came to exist.

Reanimation Complete! Squirrel II...You Are Georgous baby...

2008-05-07T18:42:50Z

all i can say is.....lovely. lovely lovely Squirrel II! your eyes....your face, your hair. you are simply....radiant! what is it? what is it...tell me! did you lose a couple pounds? there is just something about you now..... don't you guys think? well, our little squirrel is all growed up (again) and i think we can all be very proud. it wasn't an easy road, especially when he was stuck to it, but he came through, and like a pheonix has risen anew to ever greater splendor. In Squirrel II's story there lies a lesson. when you get hit with something, like a big truck, or any number of other things life fires at you, you can lay in the road looking at your own spleen and despairing, or you can salvage what you can, keep what you can still use, chuck the rest and pull yourself together. you may be scarred. you definitely will be changed. but bein' changed is better than bein' dead.
thanks Squirrel II.....you are a legend!

SEE MORE REANIMATION AT THE YARN MUSEUM!!
all projects are posted. Today is the deadline!! please VOTE here on my blog tomorrow.
The Reanimater Series
Submit entries to The Yarn Museum
Deadline Weds. May 7th
Vote! here May 8th

Other News!!
Just launched my new blog (i warned you guys about this way back during the dog painting fiasco...) This is the first of two. will be launching a fishing blog as well for a writing project i'm doing over the summer. but i ain't a got that worked out yet, so it's kind of on the down low still...

Marsha Hubert
Drinkin', Cursin' and Cookin'
http://marshahubert.livejournal.com
For those of you who don't remember, and why would you this is from ages ago, Marsha Hubert was my pastime before Pluckyfluff. it was in the days before blogs, and was an email list i maintained and spammed on a regular basis with recipes and ramblings written during cocktail hour (of which i had many). the recipes are sometimes great, usually brainless and occasionally horrible. but the concept is that they are things you can manage to make when plastered. so, many don't even require knives. i am partially resurrecting Marsha in the hopes that she will siphon some of the darkness from this blog. spinning should be a peaceful pursuit, don't you think? well...at least most of the time!

would you just look at that smile! hmmm...maybe a little shave is in order here though.

aw look! he's waving.

you look better walkin' away Squirrel II!

yeah...um. maybe this isn't your best side Squirrel II.....

Squirrel II sure was hungry after all this. i gave him a great feast so his strength would be up to set out into the wide new world.

So long Squirrel II!! Hit the road! no...wait! i mean uh....maybe you should use the shoulder.....

The Reanimater part VI- Bright Eye'd and Bushy Tailed

2008-05-05T18:53:54Z

Squirrel II is coming together great. i even found some paws and it's hard to see but there's two little paddy feet. however...i'm a little unhappy with the state of Squirrel II's styling. personally, i like the unkempt look, but i think it's a little much here. i mean, squirrel has such a nice physique under those tufts, why hide it? so i broached the subject with him and he seems open to a new look. he's a little shy of the scissors though.....don't know what that's all about, but whatever. we can do this with some strategic felting. all we need to do is put squirrel in the washing machine on hot for one cycle. then everything should tighten up a bit. we both agree that his tail is perfect and of course, should stay as bushy as possible. so i'm not going to attach that until Squirrel II comes out of the "salon".

Linda should be gettin back here soon, so check the Yarn Museum over the next day or two to see everyone's projects!

The Reanimater Series
Submit entries to The Yarn Museum
Deadline Weds. May 7th
Vote! here May 8th
please include pictures of:
1) the type of critter you're re-animating (just pull an example off the web)
2) your materials
3) the finished yarn
4) the re-animated critter

Squirrel II in the flesh! with bushy tail laying in wait:

ok little buddy! just need to put you in this little sac. what? you've seen people do this at the river? we'll.... i don't know about that. this is just for your own safety. don't worry...

really Squirrell II. you don't need to freak out. (god, guess we lost a few nerves in the reanimation process..) what? oh...nothing, Squirrel II...i'm just mumbling to myself....

Alright already! stop your squirming. i'm telling you, it's going to be fine. you're the one who didn't want the scissors. see you in 30 minutes. take a deep breath!

The Reanimater part V- At Least You Have A Face!

2008-05-02T18:28:17Z

oh happy day! it looks like i recovered enough of Squirrel (actually, i think i'll call him Squirrel II now...for obvious reasons..) to put him back into decent shape. i have him in the lab and have decided the best way to proceed will be to crochet him in slip stitch with a hook big enough to handle some of those big chunks of matted fur. so far so good. i think i have located the proper parts. i started with his head and luckily both eyes and some brain matter ended up in the right place! i can see that Squirrel II was re-born under a lucky star. today is his birth day...what is it...May 2nd? he's a Taurus! here is your birthday horoscope for today Squirrel II:

You may feel like things don't appear to be coming together fast enough in your life, Taurus, but in reality you are making progress. Not everything that happens is visible. People are working on your behalf without you even knowing it. Trust that all is perfect and life is progressing exactly the way it should.

see Squirrel II!! it's all coming together! i have a really good feeling about this......

The Reanimater Series
Submit entries to The Yarn Museum
Deadline Weds. May 7th
Vote! here May 8th
please include pictures of:
1) the type of critter you're re-animating (just pull an example off the web)
2) your materials
3) the finished yarn
4) the re-animated critter

NEWS!
don't forget! CNCH (Confrence for Northern California Handweavers) is in sacramento this weekend. i will be doing a book signing on saturday with YARN BARN OF KANSAS. come by and say hey!!!

Double Tree Hotel
(business 80-Arden Way)
Sacramento, CA
Sat. May 3rd
12:00
at The Yarn Barn of Kansas booth

The yarn for Squirrel II all wound up and ready to go:

got the head on and now working on the body. i can't seem to find his little paws anywhere. it's gunna be tough-nuts eating if he doesn't have those little grippers.... but let's not dwell on the negative. would you look at that adorable button nose???! a total improvement over the old one...

oh what a face!! you're beautiful Squirrel II!

The Reanimater part IIII- Who's Going To Clean Up This Mess?

2008-04-30T20:36:42Z

so i took ozzy's eyes down to the studio last night and tied some nice strong string to them. want to make sure they stay put for Squirrel. he's gunna need good eyes if he's going to avoid another accident! Then i spun the string like a core and had the fur spin up to and a round the eye...so it looks nice and natural. that was the final touch. so i soaked and set the yarn and here it is!

The Reanimater Series
Submit entries to The Yarn Museum
Deadline Weds. May 7th
Vote! here May 8th
please include pictures of:
1) the type of critter you're re-animating (just pull an example off the web)
2) your materials
3) the finished yarn
4) the re-animated critter

NEWS!
don't forget! CNCH (Confrence for Northern California Handweavers) is in sacramento this weekend. i will be doing a book signing on saturday with YARN BARN OF KANSAS. come by and say hey!!!

Double Tree Hotel
(business 80-Arden Way)
Sacramento, CA
Sat. May 3rd
12:00
at The Yarn Barn of Kansas booth

Sorry for the terrible dark blurry pics. the re-animater laboratory was having a power drain from the lightning storm blowing against the castle walls.....

again...sorry for this crappy pic. but you get what i'm doing here...

poor little critter:

alas! poor Squirrel.... don't worry little buddy. this is the toughest part. it's all uphill from here. we're gunna get you all put back together. let's just see what we need here....ah....is this your leg?

The Reanimater part III- Go Ahead, Pluck It's Eyes Out

2008-04-28T23:01:24Z

went to the thrift store today to look for a "volunteer" to donate it's eyes for my reanimated squirrel. i asked all around the stuffed animal shelf and needless to say, those critters were less than cooperative. i don't know what their problem was anyhow...their eyes weren't that great...and least not to justify that level of snobbery. what do they need their little beady eyes for in the thrift store anyway? no one buys used stuffed animals (except for voluntary eye surgery)...it's just a rule you don't question. i finally saw a nice little ostrich on the back shelf. he was pretty quick, but i managed to get a hold of him. and after a nice little "chat", he agreed to come with me. and just in time too, i had scheduled a space in my dad's shop for the surgery and it was almost time. you can't miss the time slot there, it's very busy and the shop guys really value their space. so i got the little guy, i call him Ozzy, and we headed for the shop. he was a little nervous. that's normal, i assured him. you'll be fine. no need to worry. it will be quick and in the scheme of things, virtually painless.

So we arrived at the shop right on time. i scrubbed in and got right to work. luckily my shop assistants had all the tools polished up and ready to go. Ozzy came through like a champ! nary a peep out of him. and the eyes are in great shape and i'm am convinced that Squirrel is just going to die for them......

The Reanimater Series
Deadline Weds. May 7th
Vote! here May 8th
please include pictures of:
1) the type of critter you're re-animating (just pull an example off the web)
2) your materials
3) the finished yarn
4) the re-animated critter

NEWS!
idon't forget! CNCH (Confrence for Northern California Handweavers) is in sacramento this weekend. i will be doing a book signing on saturday with YARN BARN OF KANSAS. come by and say hey!!!

Double Tree Hotel
(business 80-Arden Way)
Sacramento, CA
Sat. May 3rd
12:00
at The Yarn Barn of Kansas booth

ozzy! ain't he got the prettiest peeps?

come on ozzy! time to go. don't you worry, this won't take but a second.

nice and comfy. oh, this is just a precaution ozzy. not to worry.

alright....let's see...pliers? no, wrench? no...ah here it is! my wire-cutters. hold still ozzy! you might just feel a little itsy pinch right here....

there we go! great ozzy, you're doin' great. don't forget to breath....

ah! success!

here we are now, ozzy. that wasn't so bad was it? i really appreciate it. what? you are worried about survival? well, then we'll just have to find someone to take care of you. look! here's john. john! hey john! are you interested in a really nice ostrich pet? he is just a little hard of seeing...but he's super-duper sweet. john? um...... ok let's go ozzy. you'll be fine.

you don't want to be a pet anyhow. no autonomy. here, ozzy....fly! FLY! Fly free you beautiful bird!
aw......i'm gunna miss that little guy. oh shit..ozzy! look out for the........tree. hm.

The Reanimater part II- spin like death

2008-04-26T16:18:00Z

The Reanimater Series
Deadline Weds. May 7th
Vote! here May 8th
please include pictures of:
1) the type of critter you're re-animating (just pull an example off the web)
2) your materials
3) the finished yarn
4) the re-animated critter

just started spinning the yarn for my squirrel kill. so far so good. i'm using the big bulky wheel so that i can spin this extra bulky and keep all the felted matted parts in-tact. i spun through most of my fiber before i realized i hadn't thought about eyes. i need to get some eyes in here so when i crochet it back to life it can see the beautiful world again!! so it's off to the thrift store to find some poor stuffed animal willing to give up it's eyes to the frakensquirrel.

NEWS!
is anyone going to CNCH (Confrence for Northern California Handweavers) in sacramento next weekend? you should! i will be doing a book signing on saturday with YARN BARN OF KANSAS. come by and say hey!!!

Double Tree Hotel
(business 80-Arden Way)
Sacramento, CA
Sat. May 3rd
12:00
at The Yarn Barn of Kansas booth

it's like spinning an entire squirrel.....it just doesn't wiggle.

unidentifiable parts....what is it? i don't know...but it's gross.

thanks to holly from www.HollyEQQ.com for the great spleen colored felty bits! you never know when you're going to need a spleen.

full bobbin? not even! still need to get eyes and spin some more.

Poor Little Critter

2008-04-24T19:36:23Z

well, my fatalistic mood has paid off! i was stewing around the house yesterday, kicking the couch, pushing my coffee cup around, sighing, among other really productive activities. i'm brooding. i'm totally going to that place...and you know what happens when i get into this kind of mood. so if you were uncomfortable with the dog painting episode, you may want to check out for the next week.

i dragged my ass down to the studio to look again at the fiber that i knew would be totally uninspiring. i am down to pretty much the dregs. i was like, look at this shit....nothing but super matted dusty grey mystery wool, really badly dyed merino in that red that i can't stand, and those damn felted "strawberries" that are nowhere near being a berry...they are blood clots at best. hmmmm...blood clots? matted fur? sounds like a job for....the Reanimater!!

that's right. oh yes, yes i will go there. and i'll take you all with me. i mean, sure...in general i do try to live my life in the light. but let's be honest. i own a timeshare on the darkside and i just have to go there sometimes. so come, don't be afraid. it's time for another CHALLENGE! i know we just had one, but buck up people! there are poor little critters out there that need our help!

Challenge #7- Poor Little Critter
The Reanimater Series!!
(if you haven't heard the song Poor Little Critter on the Road by The Knitters, you have to go get it and listen to it on repeat the entire time you work on this project) Here's a sample of the lyrics:
Poor little critter on the road
where were you tryin' to go?
life's got a bucket full of woe for
the poor little critter on the road

Parameters:
For this challenge you need to pick a critter, any kind of critter, (but one that ends up as road kill will be easier for your research) and spin a yarn version of the critter as roadkill. so...the yarn can't be the live happy fluffy version of the critter (that comes later). it needs to be the version that is stuck to the shoulder of the 405, know what i mean? after you spin the critter-as-roadkill yarn, you will turn around and try and knit/crochet the critter back together! bring it back! put it's face back on, it's tail in place, it's feet (if you can find all of them) back on the legs. it's a hard task, but just do the best you can to re-animate the little guy. then stuff it and submit it to the Yarn Museum. bringing a critter back to life is a tall order, plus linda from the yarn museum is at MD sheep and wool fest next week, so this will be a lucky 13 day challenge.

The Winner of this challenge will receive my Critter as a prize.*

The Reanimater Series
Deadline Weds. May 7th
Vote! here May 8th
please include pictures of:
1) the type of critter you're re-animating (just pull an example off the web)
2) your materials
3) the finished yarn
4) the re-animated critter

My critter: i'm just doing your average american squirrel

materials: semi-felted grey matter, odds and ends.

dusty downyness. yarn scraps for sinew....cartilage?

red clots:

plasma!

entrails? is this too much? naw.......

*Pluckyfluff, Pluckyfluff1/blog and www.pluckyfluff.com are not responsible for any physical or psychological harm that may be incurred from contact with a reanimated critter. 1 in 200 subjects have reported strange and unpredictable behavior after reanimation resulting in bloating, skin irritation and in rare cases, death.

Adrift.......

2008-04-22T22:01:19Z

the problem with spring is, it never knows quite what it wants to do. it's cloudy, no it's sunny, no look out it's raining, no it's cloudy again. oh oh! blue sky! wait- nope...rain. and this is me. do i want to spin....maybe knit something, no spin. no wait...paint. maybe after i drink some coffee. no maybe i should have a beer. no, coffee. no...beer? should i watch Dexter re-runs or throw myself in front of the garbage truck? Dexter is moody....death by garbage truck is moodier.....Dexter? Death? Dexter? ok....Dexter. it takes less determination...and since that is what i am apparently lacking right now, i'll go with it.

seriously though, suicide threats aside, what do i want to do??? i wish i knew. i need some inspiration. something less morbid than Dexter. then again....maybe i should roll with it. haven't done any yarns of gloom and doom lately. hmmmm....i think i feel the slight stirrings of interest arising. time to go look for some materials...

IN OTHER NEWS-

Actually have a yarn for sale. i spun it just like the yarn i did for my power beenie. though this version is a much earthier color scheme. kind of dusty and hairy, slightly animaly. check it out:

WAS THAT A SQUIRREL?
56 yds
$54

MORE IN OTHER NEWS!
finally took the pictures of mindy's Deep Sea Official Spiritual Guide Scarf! it turned out really long actually, the fringe trails down around mid-calf if hanging straight. this one was a struggle, but worth it!

And The Dream Beenie Is........

2008-04-21T07:56:54Z

#7-Eva/Atomheart!
congrats eva! beautiful hat and a great story behind it.
thanks to everyone for participating and thanks also for all the comments from you readers!!

New Stuff
actually spinning some yarn for sale! how long has it been since i done that? forever. i carded up a big chunky batt with mauve alpaca, mohair in grey, rust, orange, white and merino in pink and yellow. threw in plenty of baby camel down for softness and to tone done the color a bit. i am going to spin this super thick and thin just like the yarn i used in my power beenie. so it will be different colors but will knit up into that same texture.

when spinning though, i'm going to do something a little different from the first yarn and "wrap" it in a nice linen thread. basically, i'm just letting the thread wind on of it's own accord from the cone, which i placed on the floor right under the orifice. hopefully i'll get some pics and get it posted tomorrow along with the better pictures i took of mindy's deep sea scarf.

Challenge #6- I Dream of Beenie- VOTE!!

2008-04-19T14:20:30Z

Time to vote for your favorite spin-challenge project! thanks to everyone who rose to this challenge! the beenies look awesome, everyone put a lot of thought into these. I will leave the voting open ALL WEEKEND, just to give everyone a chance to weigh in. as usual, the complete descriptions and process pictures can be viewed at The Yarn Museum. please vote using the "comment" option. no prizes this round...just eternal joy and being the belle of beeniedom.

I DREAM OF BEENIE
Spin Challenge #6
Vote sat-sun
Don't forget the criteria when voting! These were supposed to be Inner-beenies!

So the challenge was twofold:
1. Spin a yarn that is either
a) symbolic/representative of you.
b) consists of your favorite fibers/materials/colors
c) illustrates a theme/concept that you identify yourself with
d) all of the above

2. knit/crochet/whatever a beenie in a size and style that suits you or says something about you.

#1-TrashQueen/Weird & Twisted

I love stars. I can spend hours gazing into the night sky. So I decided to spin a yarn to match this obsession of mine, a yarn that sparkles and glistens like stars.

First, I spun a thin single (clockwise) from black Merino wool. I put glittering fiber on some spots and spun a metallic thread with tiny beads on it right into this thread. Then I spun another thread (counter-clockwise), a quite fat one from black Merino, too. And I let the first thread wrap itself around the second one. I think one could call this "half-ply", because one thread of the yarn is plyed and one isn't. Then I took some hand-dyed mohair strands and let them wrap themself around the yarn, secured by the first thread. I wanted it to look like northern lights or swirling galaxies.

After I finished the yarn, I crocheted the beenie out of it. I wanted to show the structure of the yarn, so I decided to leave some parts un-chrocheted.

#2- JoAnne Gerwe/Wearmoa

Flapper
Materials: 3 different handspun yarns (yes I really did spin 3 different ones for this hat!)

1) Variety of wools in many different colors from cobalt blue, dusty green, undyed browns, daffodil yellow, and punctuations of aqua. This yarn has dynamic proportions, from wire thin to awkward blobs that form big organic puffs when knitted.
2) Shetland blend that is un-dyed. Worsted weight, very consistent.
3) Fawn alpaca. Worsted weight, very consistent.

The design is a modern free form interpretation that is influenced from the Flapper Era. The reason I chose the Flapper Era is because it was a pivotal time for women to form a new voice in society. Women cut their hair, shortened their skirts, applied their make-up in public, and blurred the lines between classes through fashion.

#3- Teetante

I don't like knitting hats very much. Everytime I make one I spend ages adjusting it till it fits more or less. And they never seem to fit me. Perhaps my head is not right for hats. So I made one for my boyfriend which was stolen after he was wearing it for 3 days. You see, hats are very frustrating for me. Then I found this challenge and I liked the idea, so I gave it a try. I wanted to have a go on a beret anyways. I took "Pretty puffs slouchy hat" as the basis and did some modifications.

In principle I spun 4 yarns. I just love the dark red extra fine Merino, so I just spun a plain Navajo-plied yarn I used as the basis. Then I spun 3 short threads for the puff stitch sections, each in a different color and from a different fiber and color which I like. I took white merino/silk blend, chocolate brown Merino (I looooove chocolate) and black alpaca and plied it with a base thread with additional trinkets like glass beads, ribbons, crochet flowers. At the rim it took me a while to crochet it in the right size. When I tried it on it was not really slouchy and didn't look like a beret. I was frustrated again but then I put it in hot water and let it soak. Then I realized that I can make it bigger if I tear at it. Alors, I filled it with a plastic bag and put some fibers and a canned pineapple in it and let it dry. Et voilà, it became a beret.

I think it quite resembles me. It is made of my favorite colors and materials and it's a little bit like me, half-decent and ordinary on the first glance, but if you have a second and closer look you see that it's not what you expected but full of little surprises.

#4- Kathy/WhileTangerineDreams

I recently found out I'm pregnant again and I'm just craving comfort in form of soft, squishy, purple with cocoa nibs for extra yum factor and a splash of caffiene which, I discovered is my saving grace these days.

This is a Merino I dyed in baby colours of blues and pinks, which also match the bathrobe and pajama ensemble I'm in the middle of sewing these days and plan on living in until the morning sickness subsides, plied with silk thread and spun in with rich chocolate brown Merino coils.

I'm really into chocolate this time around where as I was totally turned off it in my first pregnancy - which was a bummer because during the time there was a big hype around how good it is for the unborn babe for mama to feast on chocolate. But look out, I'm into it now! This hat symbolizes the body's amazing communiciation of its wisdom interpreted by cravings and my amazement at how sometimes they're so strong it feels like they're exploding out of my head and I can't even function correctly until the craving is fullfilled. Cocoa nibs on everything these days. Especially french toast with raspberries, cocoa nibs on beanies, and maybe felted birdies, too.

#5-Linda Scharf/Stoneleafmoon

Power Beenie/A Gardener's Hat
for cultivating the inner garden

Well, if we're talking about Power, that means being 100% one's self, certainly a challenge in this world. To be one's self, one must know one's self. I must tend that inner garden, create that lush environment so that it might be the source from which I draw my energy.

I chose fibers that are still close to their original nature and maintain their primitive quality - a reminder that there is strength and beauty in what we all are before civilization tales its toll. Other ingredients were batts that I carded of black Peruvian wool, silk, flax and shiny stuff - we know the gods like shiny stuff and it helps us get their attention. Also, lots of locks, including a bunch that a farmer begged me to take off
her hands - she called them a failure because they were an unusual color and slightly felted. I called them fantastic!

I spun about 84 yards of yarn, and when I saw it, I felt like I'd just like to wear it as it was - unknitted or crocheted - as a tribesman from New Guinea might wear the feathers of an emu on his head to tap into the strength and beauty of the animal. So I decided to try to keep its wild nature - it needed to be able to encourage me, shield me, keep its sense of humor, and keep me tending my inner garden. It needed to be fully ITSELF if it was going to be MY power beenie!

My plan was to create a solid base (crocheted) and then let the wilder parts shine with a sense of playfulness that could let the world know it meant business if it needed to. There's a fine line between Power Beenie and ending up on Crochet Snark, but one cannot be too concerned with (possibly) looking outlandish - the gods will not stand for fearfulness and thinking about what one looks like to others when it comes to being truly one's self. It is my own opinion and voice that I need to be able to hear, after all. And if nothing else, my power beenie might scare people off long enough that I will be able to play alone in my garden for a good portion of the time. :)

#6-Dez Holton/Eat Agar
"Jump In"

A lot of the things I make are made with other people in mind. Rare is the project I start and finish without designating it as a future Christmas or birthday gift for someone besides myself. I'm new to the spinning thing, it's sort of become a release valve for the last-semester-of-college-crazies. I keep finding lots of fibers I want to try out, but then they kind of hang out, psyching me out with the possibility of totally ruining them with the wrong technique or color scheme.Tussah silk, alpaca, mohair locks, technicolor dyed cotswold, yak...what was I thinking?

Whenever I've found myself in a similar situation in the past the only thing that really works is to stop thinking and dive right in and that's exactly what I did with this project. I hand carded up a lot fluff using a little bit of each kind of fiber and added some commercial wool roving and sparkle, spun it into a thickish/thinnish singles and knit it from the bobbin using a modified version of Wenlan Chia's Aspen hat pattern, adding a few vintage wooden toggle buttons that I've been eyeing from my daughter's button jar.

#7-Eva/Atomheart

Noon Thunder
This yarn was made to resemble the red rocks of Sedona during a thunderstorm. I remember lying on the red rocks by the river and having to take cover because there was all of a sudden a thunderstorm above us. In the desert there seems to always be a thunderstorm at noon during the summer. Never have I seen the elements collide like during this storm. The blue turquoise sky turned upside down and crashed rain down on the hot red rocks around me. The deep red suddenly looked richer when wet and the rocks began to set off steam from their radiant heat. Huddled up under a tree I sat in awe getting soaked by the storm. And then, just as it came it went. Sun emerged and everything was back to normal.
This is an analogy for my life right now. Two months ago I had a baby and am in the throes of adjusting to my new life as a mother of two under the age of two. I am experiencing the highest highs and the lowest lows within seconds of each other. And there always seems to be a storm around noon.

When I am really in a tough place, I try to remember this day on the red rocks, the intensity of the storm and how easily it passed. It will always pass. This is only transitory, no matter how intense or heavy it seems.

Made of handyed Romney and Targhee with gobs of gold and copper angelina and recycled sari silk in turquoise and orange. I corespun a bulky single, while wrapping with green and copper sparkle thread. I also kept some uncarded locks aside to spin sections straight from the lock. This is my favorite yarn yet, and I am so happy to be keeping it.

The Power Beanie:
Slouchy Beanie knitted with a sturdy brim for extra spying/hiding potential. This is a design I have been trying to get right forever. I haven't been able to figure out how to get the brim to stay up and actually be sturdy enough to hide behind without looking like a stalker. I ripped this hat out 3 times and literally worked on it all week to get it right.

I am really happy with this hat now, this is exactly what I had envisioned and just had to try 5 times to get it right. This is my Power Beanie, I feel wonderful when I wear it. And I am not a hat person.

#8-Velma Root/Colorbomb Creations

I am a Hat Ho. I *love* hats! I love knitting them, crocheting them, wearing them - all of it. All year long, I sport a hat of one type or another, and in some circles, when I'm without one, it's cause for comment.

My other love is color, LOTS of color. My personal motto: "Color can't hurt you!". Any self-respecting hat needs to be chock-full of loads of color if it wants to find itself atop my nut. Oh, and texture ain't bad, either.

So the Power Beenie is the perfect challenge for me. A few weeks ago, I received an order of Cotswold locks from The Speckled Ram (hi, Pepper!), in the most outrageously loud colors - shocking pink, acid green, screaming yellow, and a lovely purple (a neutral in my world) - my faves. I decided then and there to spin up a yarn just for myself. I love spinning locks; I'm like a crow, seeking out shiny things, and love the shine and slick, curly texture of locks. So I corespun one of my Lockalicious singles which I called "Easter Bunny on Acid". :) Couldn't have been happier with how it turned out.

There was never any question that I'd turn EBoA into a hat; that's just what I do. But I've been so busy spinning in preparation of vending at Black Sheep Gathering, I haven't had much time/energy left over for knitting. So for the last few weeks I've been dragging it along to Purl 'n Hurl, the Humboldt SnB I attend, and knitting a row or 2 each time (I tend to quaff and conversate more than actually knit at these gatherings.) Got it almost finished this week, just needed to find the right 'ending' for it.

Then today my friend Tangerine Dreams gave me a heads-up about this challenge, and my beenie's fate was sealed. Just under the wire, I finished my Power Beenie, and I'm completely in love with it! Can't wait to show it off tomorrow at my weekly SIP (spin-in-public) at our Farmer's Market. Ta da!

Challenge #6- part IIII...Finish Like a Champion! or......not.

2008-04-18T23:23:43Z

i know i know. it's almost the end of the final day of challenge and where the hell am i? well i'm here, and it took some doin but this damn hat is done. ripped the whole thing out and started from scratch. then i got a phone call yesterday asking me to go and work in reno last night (3 hour drive, overnight trip). i was like....work? are you serious? i am in the middle of a challenge? who let this call through!!! oh...yeah, i don't have a secretary. why don't i have a secretary!! someone needs to stop these things from getting in the way of my real purpose....blogging. knitting. drinking beer at 2:00...

anyhow, so i knit with wonder-speed and finished the hat then dropped the kids at the folkes and we took off to Reno- The Dirtiest Little City on Earth. don't get me wrong...i love reno. Reno de Janeiro! got lots of family in reno. love the reno look: wranglers, tight striped button up, dark side burns, jacked up primered Scout, boots.... so i was actually pretty happy about the free night at the Atlantis. long story short: worked, ate, gambled (won $200 on roulette on a super dumb bet! i don't really know anything about gambling....but it worked out this time...$5 on #16 pays out 35 to 1....who knew?), crashed, got up, drove sans caffine and finally got home late this afternoon. i would have had this posted earlier but there was no one around to take a picture of me in my very special power beenie. i spent about an hour trying to get my 4 year old to take the pictures, we ended up in a wrestling match for the camera when she wanted to jump on the bed with it while swinging it around like a lasso. needless to say she didn't take a single picture of the hat, but did get plenty of shots of my knee, my boobs and my screaming face. so...sorry for the lame-ish pics here, but i had to do it myself.

check out the Yarn Museum to view all the projects, and VOTE, here on my blog all day tomorrow.

my beenie! as it turns out....this is not my favorite beenie. i was my favorite yarn but it's a little too....just too, for me. i wear subtler stuff....funny how what i like in yarn does not really translate to what i like to wear. hope everyone else fared better!!

happy in my power beenie. if i wear this while driving slow, people might think i'm a senior and get off my ass.....

that hat looks good even when yelling at children not to jump on the bed when mom is taking pictures!

Challenge #6- part III, Stab Yourself to Death With #13's

2008-04-16T15:08:22Z

what the hell is my problem? i mean...ok, i'm ok....but what the hell is my problem!! i have lost my ability to visualize or something. first, i didn't spin enough yarn. spent the last two days re-mixing up fibers and spinning more yarn. matched the first yarn perfectly. no sweat. i finished knitting and when i put on the hat....it almost slid down to my chin! yeah...hugemondo. gigantopithacus hatticus. i thought they were extinct. at least in my life. but no. my "educated guess" about the stitches-per-inch of this whacked thick and thin yarn was, well.....less than educated i guess. ok ok! it was just a plain old guess. well hell. now we see where that gets us. so i'm ripping it all out. and starting over. when it was on my head i pinched the extra bulk to see how many stitches too big it was......6 stitches! on #13's......

the irony here....unfortunately my life seems to be plagued with irony....is that i actually had the right amount of yarn in the first place, had i knit this the right size. so the second skein i spun was for naught!

Challenge #6- part II! Knit Like Hell

2008-04-14T18:37:01Z

so i sat down to start knitting this beenie. i wanted to do just a super simple slightly tall shape (as usual) and have it ribbed. then the hard part: how the hell do you figure out how many stitches per/inch a yarn like this is going to be?? i mean...it's laceweight in some spots and 3" wide in others! basically you can't. it's a total crap shoot. so i agonized for a couple of hours and finally surmised that it's probably on average, 2 stitches per inch. my head is 22", so that would be 44 stitches, but nothing goes into that in an even number so i settled on 42 stitches which would allow me to do k3, p3 ribs. (forgot my needle size and don't have them handy here...but they're big uns.) anyhow....it seems like it's going ok. the yarn looks f'ing awesome knit! the fat parts are making sweet bubbles. everything was going along fine until.......yeah....i ran out of yarn!! and i'm out of the beautiful cream alpaca that made up the most of it. damn-sandwich! so....project on hold until i can rummage around in the stash and find some alpaca-esque fiber to make another batt.

and i thought this would be no sweat.......when will i ever learn?

so far so good:

party's over! ran out of yarn here.....

Spin Challenge #6- I Dream of Beenie!

2008-04-11T21:23:09Z

I Dream of Beenie
Challenge #6
starts today! ends Fri. 4-18
vote sat. 4-19

It is just time to fully live the beenie obsession. i admit...i admit i have a problem. my name is lexi and i make beenie. i make beenie. i make beenie. i think about it all the time. in my waking hours, in my dreams. i dream of beenie.

and i know that i am not alone. so i'm asking some more brave souls to step up and admit their beenie addiction and we can help each other. no, not help each other recover from beeniealism, help each other fully give in to the urges.....the never ending persistent thoughts, the compulsive need. my plan is for everyone to make their own true perfect beenie. a beenie that is them, only in beenie form. an inner beenie manifested in the physical realm! imagine it! magic beenie. power beenie. what would happen if everyone in the world were wearing a power beenie? world peace? collapse of the universe? i don't know. but i'm ready to find out.

i got the idea for this challenge because, of course, i spun this yarn and then instantly wanted to make a beenie out of it. it was spun from all my favorite fibers and colors. and when i finished i realized- f***!....this is the best yarn i've ever spun. now i'm not just saying that for dramatics. the last time i said that it was Aura and that was a big deal for me. and now, as with Aura, i have the feeling that i've come to a new place. i have a new understanding. lately it has been a lot of repeating old stuff and not much new energy happening. but this yarn brought me out if it. now...looks are deceiving in this yarn, and the pictures don't do it justice. it's one of those things you kind of have to actually be with, because it's beauty is in the subtleties that are missed on camera. but it is exactly what iv'e been striving for in terms of integrity. basically....this yarn IS fiber. it is spun in such a basic manner: simple thick and thin single. a building block technique. but it's not tamed. it twisted just a little, when and where It wanted to. i didn't impose anything onto it. and in most parts, it's just the fiber, as it was. so this is a yarn, but a very free one. which i guess is a good analogy for what i'm looking for in everything in life right now. things to be sound and connected, yet free. changing, transforming, evolving, without losing what they are.

so the challenge is twofold.
1. spin a yarn that is either
    a) symbolic/representative of you.
    b) consists of your favorite fibers/materials/colors
    c) illustrates a theme/concept that you identify yourself with
    d) all of the above

2. knit/crochet/whatever a beenie in a size and style that suits you or says something about you.

when you submit the pics for this challenge to The Yarn Museum, please explain the thought and process behind the yarn and give us a picture of yourself wearing your power beenie!

challenge #6 will run for one week and we'll vote next Saturday. here are the specs:

I Dream of Beenie
Deadline Fri. 4-18 submit to The Yarn Museum (submit@yarnmuseum.com)
Vote here on my blog Sat. 4-19

I'M SORRY BUT THE WINNER WILL NOT GET MY POWER BEENIE! THAT IS JUST PLAIN BAD JUJU. ONE SHOULD NEVER GIVE AWAY THEIR POWER BEENIE UNLESS THEY HAVE A DEATH WISH. the gift to the winner will be the eternal joy of having won the love and admiration of all the spectators...and of course, they'll have a kick-ass beenie.

Elemental

2008-04-09T22:45:31Z

back to yarn. no more big projects for me right now. i just need to spin. and spin simple at that. i am going to make a yarn that has the few core elements that i always come home to. it starts with color. this batch of fiber is mostly cream, grey and grey-brown with little bits of color thrown in.
i carded it with some silver sparkle and i'm going to spin it thick and thin. but not JUST thick and thin....super thick and thin. i am picturing having the thick parts consist of a full handful of fiber barely barely spun. maybe, like 2-3 rotations through one hand-sized slub. i'll spin a metallic thread along with it to help with structure and give it just a tiny bit of glint.

the fiber in here is also what i love most. nothing synthetic, nothing processed. mostly camel, alpaca and mohair with some odds and ends wool. i am really weeding out my materials right now and am not interested in using anything that isn't deep on integrity. what i mean is, i want everything i use to have a rich provenance. fabric that has a past life with different people, has been used and touched. fiber that comes from a farm where i've talked to the owners and i know that the sheep's name is Sasparilla and she is a little ornery these days but is alright if you give her dog biscuit but don't turn your back on her near the gate or she's out of there. provenance. so every fiber in this batch has been gifted to me from you guys over the past year or so. when i get those i usually put them all in the same basket. these are some of the finest fibers from the friends stash!

This Ship's Come In

2008-04-07T18:59:22Z

finished the scarf!! the weekend at the beach was perfect and i sat my ass down and finished this thing. i decided to crochet it and started on the dark end and did kind of a wave pattern. as i worked towards the white end the stitches became more regular and i just did rows in triple crochet. the fluffy "wave" stripes however are done in slip stitch since that yarn was way to thick to triple. the fringe worked out great and i tucked the tangle with pearls and the poof of reeled silk up near the edge of the scarf so that it will be situated near the face when wrapped around.
these pictures suck, but i will get a model in here in the next day or two and get some legit shots of this thing.

Yarn for Sale!
i also have a lot of yarn left over! i don't know what i was thinking when i spun for this but there is enough here for a whole second scarf. except the white fluffy mohair.....there is enough for fringe but not quite as dense as what i did on the scarf. so if anyone wants to buy this stuff email me! pluckyfluff@hotmail.com

i don't know the yardage, but like i said...i used less than half of what i spun. the yarn is balled in the different transitional sections. ie: one ball is dark blue silk, the next one is dark with a few bits of color, the next has lots of texture and some sandy colors.... etc etc.

Deep Sea Blues
4.9oz
$42
SOLD

The Yarn:

Sleepless in Placerville

2008-04-04T15:52:12Z

Wha? who? where am i......... ug. horrible night!! no deep sleep. terrible dreams about giant black horses harnessed and dragging huge flaming oak trees through the center of an old west town. ? i don't even know- so don't even ask what that could be all about. when i wasn't having wild west nightmares i was busy having really important thoughts about the recycle bin and the mating habits of the red tailed hawk. thankfully i was awake all night to receive the very important insight that this deep sea scarf for Mindy probably should be crocheted....not knit. i mean....certainly crochet lends itself to the oceanic aesthetic.....anemone shapes, waves, etc. on the other hand....now that my first cup of coffee is sinking in...knitting wave shapes by using yarn-overs in ascending and descending amounts would be sweet. i'm a little worried that the weight of the big foamy crashing wave fringe will be too heavy for the scarf if i knit it. and crochet will make it denser and might feel more balanced. aw hell. now i don't know. maybe the apocalypse horse dream was some kind of sign? i didn't notice if the horses were sporting any needlework. hard to interpret these things. maybe it was just a sign not to be near any frontier towns right now. damn! i LIVE in an old west town. they still have the hangman's noose on main street! good thing i'm getting the hell out of dodge for the weekend....

will take this yarn to the beach in santa cruz and see if the ocean speaks to me. and if not...it usually doesn't...in fact, iv'e never been spoken to by anything aside from humans and the occasional dog or squirrel, i will maybe just ask the All-Pink-Man downtown. he is totally nuts but has fantastic style. all pink, all the time. usually a vintage dress with matching hosiery, a victorian shawl, assorted hair pins and all topped off with a fringed pink parasol. i'm sure he is qualified to make the call: crochet vs- knit.

threaded the tangles of lace-weight silk yarn with the pearls, skulls, glass and locket. going to spin this close to one end of the fringe yarn so that when knit, it make the transition between the edge of the blue scarf and the long trailing fringe yarn.

beginning to spin the tangles in. trapping the strands into some mohair so it's in there good and tight:

now that's what i'm talkin' about!! rock and roll right here....

Land-HO!!

2008-04-02T22:06:24Z

Land beautiful land!! this ship has just come in...thank god. and not a minute too soon, i thought i was going to have to make myself walk the plank. i dove head first into this yarn today and i spun everything from the deep blue to the shore with crashing waves. i truly am a land lover. as soon as i got to the sections with the sparkly sand fiber i was totally into this project and the spinning went fast. i f**ing LOVE the sandy parts of this yarn. it's warm and glittering..... like my heart now that i got over that dead spot. i must really really have some scary ocean trauma from a past life to work out. maybe i was a heartbroken maiden who threw herself off the turret into the waves. or perhaps a pirate who stole the captain's rum and got tossed overboard for it....... i do like rum.

just need to soak and set this yarn. the very last thing i need to do is get on the big box wheel and spin the remaining mohair locks and silk thread into a dramatic super bulky yarn to use for the fringe. also need to work in the beads, glass and skulls. will try and do that tonight. for good juju i am going to santa cruz this weekend where i can sit on the beach and knit this thing while breathing in the salty air and rockin' a big pair of earmuffs.

MORE NEWS!

One spot just opened up in the Vermont Camp! so if you want it, go for it. it won't be open long....
Camp Vermont
June 14th and 15th 2008
Townsend, VT
$200

Interview at Studioloo Magazine!
Did a super fun interview with Cindy of Studioloo. download the magazine at www.studioloomagazine.com

hand-mixed fiber for the waves. i just separated the mohair locks, threads and wool and mixed this all together by hand:

sparkley sand!!

this sweet little flower just showed up in my batt. so of course i took it as a good omen and spun it in.

the first bits of foam stripeing the blue water:

foamy waves, sparkling sand and blue water:

i'm going to thread these things right onto this silk yarn and have them really tangled in there....then i'll work it into the big dramatic fringe.

Water Water Everywhere! Thank God for Mohair....

2008-03-31T19:50:35Z

Oh my god, i got up this morning and decided i needed to kick my own ass. it's something to wake up and look in a mirror that has "what's your problem?!" written on it in black eyeliner. what is my problem? i have spun about 3 inches of yarn in the last 2 weeks. aside from that i've accomplished nothing, unless you count scaring the children with a dragon voice and drinking 5 cups of coffee a day as productive. i'm in a total dead zone. no wind. no paddles. hmmmmm...did i inadvertently take an albatross out? maybe the reeled silk that i completely tortured and destroyed was the albatross and now it has come back to curse me. i'm sorry reeled silk! i didn't know you couldn't be bleached! i should never have tried to change you. it was me that needed to change but it's too late and now you're gone. gone forever....

well, i can undo the curse.....and work through it. i was so set on that silk for the foam, but i just have to let that idea go. it's just not going to look like that. so this morning i marched downstairs, stood in front of the fiber baskets and gave myself a good smack in the face. buck up! just pick something. are you a coward? i'm over-thinking it. i usually just look and can see what to use. so i closed my eyes, opened them up and looked. i have plenty of crashing sea foam already. curly white mohair....those beautiful locks! are perfect. pretty silk vintage lace weight yarn....even better. a small handful of the reeled silk survived. i'll throw it in for luck. so there it is. foam curse lifted! hopefully......

ANNOUNCEMENTS!

CAMP UPDATES:

Camp NY this summer is OUT. bummer!

Camp LA!
July 19th and 20th
email pluckyfluff@hotmail.com if you are interested in this camp. if i get enough on a list we will go ahead and schedule it.

Pluckyfluff Interview on CraftSanity!
Did a super fun interview with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, who does amazing craft pod-casts.
check it out: www.craftsanity.com

did finish the mauve-distraction yarn. spun super simple thick and thin with silver thread.

i'm going to make a beenie that is loose and will kind of flop and fold....not sure which shape yet though.

Woe is Mauve!

2008-03-28T23:59:21Z

Finally figured out what i need to help me with this blue project....a mauve project! i need to distract my brain from over thinking the deep issues that creep up from the dark blue depths of cold icy water filled with krackens and ghost ships and skeletons and fish with big eyes that don't see.....and crabs.....and sea slugs. and the best way to do this is to do a project side by side. a project with my favorite color mauve! well, actually grey is my favorite color all-the-time, but mauve is my favorite color now. mauve is my new grey. mauve is a color that does not occur in the ocean that often. mauve occurs much more often in hollywood and in trunks and attics. so- i have put together some soft, pettable fibers for a hat (ahem...actually...still technically a beenie. what the f*** with my beenie issue! ug...analyze another time...). anyway. the mauve is awesome dusty colored alpaca that i dyed with violet and black. the other stuff are odds and ends treasure fiber that i have had stashed.

still spinning mindy's yarn: into a little rougher seas now....

the mauve distraction:

weird little bits!! i love weird little bits....

carded it all up. going to stripe it with this pretty silver thread.

Deep Seacrets Scarf part Who the Hell Knows Anymore....

2008-03-26T03:55:45Z

Took a little check-out on this scarf (and reality) for a couple days and decided to do some spiritual research for the project instead. so spent a few days watching a Ghost Hunters marathon and reading Carlos Casteneda's The Teachings of Don Juan. This is all bad news for me. normally, i adamantly never believe anything, because actually i am very likely to believe everything. and that's not even really the point. there is nothing in particular to believe in in the first place. did carlos actually turn into a crow? that's a fool's question. i may be losing it on this one for sure.....

decided to start spinning the yarn for my spiritual guide's Deep Sea Full of Secrets and Mysteries Scarf. started with the dark "deep sea" batt and spun it soft and thick and thin. i wanted to give it some dimension, so added perfect little white beads for bubbles and loosely wrapped some sections in a silvery thread. for reflected light....or maybe moonlight on the water. also spun some little nubs in aqua green sparkle here and there. will work into the other sections next.

and that's all i can muster for now. best friend Aurora is in town from NY (sans sweater) but we're rockin like there's no tomorrow, so look for this blog be even more of a disappointment (or disaster. i take no responsibility ahead of time for things i might write as i get more and more sleep deprived and polluted. mental editing becomes just too much work. remember the dog painting incident? yeah, well....these things could happen at anytime....).

Mindy Scarf part...III? where am i? moving on....

2008-03-21T20:47:28Z

where am i? ok....got side tracked with the no-waves part of my wave scarf. i am waiting for some reeled silk and still searching the world for more alternatives. in the meantime....carded all the batts for the scarf. i decided to separate the fiber into groups starting with "deep sea" ad moving in to "shore". i made 5 separate batts showing the transition of colors and textures from the depths of the ocean to the shallower regions to the sandy beach with all it's treasures and junk. should maybe actually get some beach junk for that part of the scarf....a little tiny beer can, shells....maybe a thong. anyhow....i used mostly the deep peacock blue silk and sparkle for the deepest part. then as it moves in to shore i added more light blues and foggy grey, threw in a little batt with some kelp forest green to buffer between the ocean and the shore. for the shore i used a lot of sandy brown camel down, dark brown wool and lots of random colorful bits and sandy sparkle. it is supposed to be suggestive of sands, treasures, corals, etc.

i will start spinning the blue parts of this yarn along with some of the pearls. i will work whatever material i get for the big foamy waves later. i will spin the entire yarn in one skein and knit it up just as it ends up. so i need to think ahead as i'm spinning and try and add the waves in in alternating sections as the "water" approaches the "shore". this scarf is turning out to be a bit of a mental challenge!

fibers for the "shore":
(now these are my colors! maybe i need another beenie....)

slice of the beach: i think i see a sea caterpillar in there.....

left to right: deep sea to shore.

deep sparkling green water. thanks to Elizabeth of Yarn Punk for the batts that matched my silk perfectly!!

isn't this such a wave????

aerial view of the waves coming in to shore:

New Waves!

2008-03-19T22:52:16Z

so the search is on for new material for my crashing waves. i can definitely use recycled sari silk but i can't find any in white! some of you have sent pics of throwers silk in white and i am thinking about that...or maybe just some old silk that i rip and shred myself but that requires some hard searching in the thrift stores. i did, however, find this AMAZING recycled silk from a shop in the UK. it's a by-product called silk "string". this is perfect!! but of course i emailed to order and have gotten no response. will try an old fashioned phone call i guess. if anyone has seen anything like this, or has any for sale email me!!

Other News!
Check out my new link over there to the right for WORKSHOPS. just getting everything lined up for '08 and '09 but i need to hear from people who are interested....i won't book 'em unless i have a long enough waiting list. so i'd love to hear from you guys.
and on this note...what up NY?? i got no one...... didn't we rock last time? the party ain't over....