It is ALWAYS fun to introduce new folks to spinning on the spinning wheel.

Today it was DOUBLY fun because the person coming to spin was a good friend of the Farm (and of my DD#1), Miss Fran.

Back in July, Fran brought her kids out to the Farm to join DD#1 and two of her kids for a Kids’ Dye Day.  The first bit of roving that Fran’s son, Nick, dyed was (at Fran’s request) very RED.

Today, Miss Fran came back to the Farm and spun her Very Red (and Sparkly) fiber batt!  My Schacht Sidekick turned out to be the perfect wheel for her to spin on, and then she plied her singles into a beautiful 2-ply yarn on my Majacraft Aura.

I can hardly wait to see what it ultimately becomes!

Peggy and I had a great time in Taos.  She’s a fabulous roommate.  She even lets me take a nap when I get tired!

On our first day in Taos, we were able to check into our room early, so we decided to take a walk down the main drag to see what we could see, see, see. [If you don't know the Australian children's song about the sailor going to sea, the repetition won't mean anything to you.]

We went through a few shops, an artist gallery or two, etc. etc., and then started back toward the hotel.

By this time, my traveling companion was having a hard time breathing.  We’d done quite a bit of walking and, after all, were up over 7,000 feet above sea level, so it was to be expected I guess. But just as we were crossing the street to go back to the room, I spotted a sign that said “Inhale O2 Oxygen Bar.”  Now this sounded just like what my dear friend needed!  More Oxygen!

Doesn’t this person look relaxed and healthy as she snorts her oxygen? What could be wrong with getting more O2?

Looking at the website makes this place sound even more wonderful.  There are aromas and essential oils that you can add to your 90% O2 mix, and there’s beautiful art you can look at while you’re there (At least I think that’s what O2 artists are. It could be that they are people who paint while high on O2. But I digress…).  A session only takes 10 minutes. In fact, the website suggests that this should be a part of the daily routine of every Taoseños.  That was worth reading just to know that people who live in Taos are called Taoseños.

I was almost ready to gift a session to my oxygen-deprived friend, but I decided I should check out the potential “downside” of hanging out in an O2 bar.  I did what any normal person trying to research something on their phone would do:  I consulted Wikipedia.

Let me first begin by saying that Wikipedia can sometimes be a real wet blanket.  As I read all of the Precautions listed, the following scenario formed in a thought bubble above my head…. Being a good friend, I take Peggy into the oxygen bar for a little pick me up.  She sits down at the bar, and orders her concoction.  The first few minutes go well enough. But wait, is that an allergic reaction that she’s having to the aromatherapy?? Get it off of her, quick!  Her COPD has caused her to have a bad case of carbon dioxide narcosis <”the bends”>.  Maybe it would be better if we got her outside, away from all this.  We walk outside the door with her coughing.  A man walking by pauses to light his cigarette and, OMG, she’s exploded!

Needless to say, I did not take Peggy to the oxygen bar, but we did get a really good laugh out of the idea. By the time we left to come home, Peggy had pretty much conquered the thin air and probably could have stayed another month!  Too bad I had to drag her back down to sea level.

We had a wonderful time, both as vendors and shoppers, at the Wool Festival at Taos, New Mexico, October 1st and 2nd.  We met SO many people!  Many of them Ravelry cyber-friends!  We put the tent up right this time, with the sides on and zipped up before we staked down the feet, so we were sure we could get it shut up tight at night.  Thanks, DD#1 Mandy, for the [constant] reminders. ( I had to text her a picture to show her that we had followed instructions).

My traveling companion, Peggy, provided great company and lots of help.  Anyone who will travel with me is a real trooper!  She still had a smile on her face, in fact we were laughing out loud, on the way back after the delay caused by throwing the tread off one of the trailer tires and not having a spare.  [Friend and Shareholder Kay is going to say, "I told you," at this point, and she will be right. Mea culpa].  Of course, some of that laughter could have been because we were delirious from being on the road so long. When the discussion turned to dressing the Pygoras in size 4T shirts and pull-up diapers and trying to pass them off as dogs at a pet friendly hotel, I knew we were in trouble.

In addition to Peggy’s good help, Farm Shareholder Mindy and her husband Eddie were there and of invaluable assistance at packing, unpacking, and (Mindy) manning the booth so I could shop a bit.  Eddie is a trailer backing wizard. He threaded a needle-sized alley and then executed a 90 degree turn, all backward, to park my trailer within spitting distance of where we needed to set up the booth.  Amazing.

Here are a few pictures of the booth that Mindy took (Thanks, Mindy), and a few that I took!  We’re looking forward to going again next year, and want to both take a bigger group of friends with us and stay a little longer!  Plan on going with us, won’t you?  The Wool Festival is always the first full weekend of October.  We’ll have a blast!

Peggy, Eddie and Mindy setting up the booth

The booth

Batts, Yarn, Mohair and More!

Wool, Suri, Suriland

The view from the road as we travel down the mountain on our way home

Today my friend and fan-of-the-Farm JODY came over to play!  I love when friends come over!  We had a blast!

First, we (tried to) unwind a knitted sock blank.  That didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted it to, so finally, I decided to just put it down and walk away.  There’s bound to be a trick to that1

Next, we dyed some wool for Jody to match some that she had already dyed with drink mix.

Then we blended in some carded Sari Silk. I think she’s going to felt the resulting fiber into a hat. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like!

Jody very graciously took me to lunch while her fiber was cooking in the crock pot, Mexican food at Tony’s!  Yum! Thanks again, Jody!

And we had a great visit about spinning art yarn!  All around, it was a wonderful day! I sent Jody away with some fiber to use on her new kick spindle, too! As always, the animals and I appreciate the business!

I love to play with fiber, and I love to have friends come over to play!  When are YOU coming??