Hot.

This post won't be very exciting because I still can't show off what I've been spinning. I had hoped to finish the swap gift this weekend, but I started having water drip from the vent in my living room Saturday night. When I called the builder's emergency line they told me to turn off the A/C and keep it off until they could come fix it on Monday (I was told that A/C was a luxury, and they would not send someone out on the weekend...grr). Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but Colorado is experiencing its worst heat wave since 1901. 16 straight days of 90+ degree heat with many more to come. My house got hot and the thought of sitting in a chair with a lap full of wool didn't sound very appealing. I did manage to finish the first bobbin, and start the second. If I can find 1.5 hours to spin each night this week, I should be able to finish by the weekend. I can't wait to be able to show it off. It is really pretty.

I also managed to finish the first toe up handspun sock and cast on for the second one before the heat wave set in at my house. I love these socks.



I managed to get some biking in this weekend. I wanted to go up to Boulder to pick up something for the swap gift, so Gina and I met early for a 25 mile ride around town. It was a beautiful morning and a great ride. Then, to celebrate the end of the Tour de France and the success of the Garmin-Chipotle team, we had burritos at Chipotle. Yum! It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning.

Fortunately, the A/C saga came to an end this morning. I called my builder's customer service person first thing this morning. She was confident she knew exactly what was wrong. I met her at my house at 11:30, she walked in the door with a hammer and went upstairs to the closet with the A/C, I heard a pop, then water draining, and about a minute after she arrived she came back downstairs. They had forgotten to take a cap off of the drain when they installed the A/C. I wish I had known it was so easy to fix. I'm sure if someone had walked me through it over the phone I could have fixed it myself and saved myself and the kitties a day of suffering in the heat.

I think this is my favorite picture of Purl ever.



She's just so photogenic.

A Musical Weekend

I've been trying to post at least once a week, but I've been busy lately so I'm behind. I was listening to some great music over the weekend, work has been crazy busy, and I've been spinning like a madwoman to get my secret fiber finished for the Hush Hush Handspun Hootenany. I can't post photos in case my pal has figured out who I am (I'm not very good at being a "secret" pal), but I am really enjoying spinning it. It's a new fiber to me, and the colors are awesome. I'm very happy with how it's turning out. I'll post photos after my pal has received her gift.

Friday night I met up with Mary, Phil and my friend Tanya to see Lyle Lovett and His Large Band play at Red Rocks. I'd still be sitting out there listening if they would have kept playing. If you've never been to Red Rocks, I highly recommend making a trip to Colorado, just to see a concert there. What an incredible place! Add a performer like Lyle Lovett and you have an amazing night under the stars. Sunday night, my former co-worker, Lauren, invited me to go hear Susan Tedeschi play at the Denver Botanical Gardens. I had never heard of her before but she has a new fan. She is a soul/blues singer, and has an incredible voice. The venue was very cool too. It's a small amphitheater with beautiful gardens all around it. You bring your blanket and a picnic and sit in the grass. Like a bad blogger, I didn't bring my camera to either show.

I had to finish some spinning to start on the secret spinning. It's the Bonkers fiber I bought at Estes Park. The colorway is Dragonfly. It is hard to photograph because it is so bright. One of the bobbins was mostly teal, and the other was about half teal and half purple, so it's a really nice mix. I'm guessing it's about 400 yards and is a sportweight yarn. I've been too lazy to measure it. It is a bit overspun, but I don't think I'm going to try to fix it since it is a sock yarn. It will make for a more durable fabric.



I have also been working on my socks from the rainbow handspun. I love these socks. I was concerned that I wasn't going to have enough yarn, but that is not even close to being an issue. I could probably make them go past my mid calf, but that would require shaping, and I have no interest in doing that. I hate to waste any of this yarn though. Decisions, decisions.



They're a perfect fit!



As I've been knitting and spinning, I have been watching the Tour de France. Purl would prefer that I watch her.

More visitors

The Hotel Zed has been busy lately. Yesterday, my friends from Kansas City, Kent and Allison, drove into Denver on their way to Crested Butte for a few days of mountain biking. I was excited to get to see them. Gina came down from Boulder, and we went to LoDo to do some shopping at the Denver REI flagship store. They happened to be having a big clearance sale, so we all found some good bargains. We went to dinner at an awesome little pizza shop then we took a walk to my favorite gelato shop, Gellazi. Delicious.



There was some excitement when we got back to my house because a fly got into the house. Poor Kent was almost a casualty when the fly landed on him. I have three mighty, but a bit inept, hunters living with me. This morning we took a walk to get breakfast, then they headed on to the mountains. I wish I could have joined them!

I started a new spinning project this week that I'm really enjoying. I picked up some really bright teal and purple superwash merino from Bonkers at the Estes Park Wool Market. This stuff is going to make a bright pair of socks! This is the second bobbin, so I should be able to ply sometime this week.



I also started a new sock project. Lately, I have been feeling like I was losing my sock mojo, so I thought maybe trying something new would help me get it back. This was the perfect project. I'm knitting my first toe up sock (note for non-sock knitters: there are two basic ways to knit socks...cuff down or toe up. All of my socks until now have been cuff down) using the skills I learned at Wendy's class at the Loopy Ewe Spring Fling. The benefit to knitting toe up is that if I divide my yarn into two equal balls, I can knit until I run out of yarn. No waste! I'm using my very own handspun yarn so I want to use all of it. I am mesmerized by the color changes in the yarn. It's all purples, blues and greens so far, but I'm getting close to a stretch of red and yellow...very exciting! I just started it this afternoon, and I'm almost halfway done with the foot so far.

A history of my sock:

This was the fiber I started with:



Plying fun:



Yarn!



And the beginning of a sock:



My handspun would go much further if my feet were a bit smaller...I'm hoping I have enough yarn to make a decent length cuff. I really don't want anklets.

In kitty news, my sweet Purl has lost all dignity. Not the most ladylike way to sleep.



She could learn something about dignity from Xena.

Time to get out the riding mower

Because I have a yard!



Look at all that land. Thank goodness the homeowners association is responsible for its upkeep. It would take HOURS to mow.

And the mostly dead plants they planted just add so much to the landscaping. Hopefully, someone will notice that and replace them soon.

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July weekend. I had visitors this weekend. My mom, dad and sister drove in from Iowa, so we did some shopping and exploring and ate some really good food. We also watched some spectacular fireworks. Like the bad blogger that I am, I didn't take any photos. Mary has photos on her blog.

I finished some spinning. This is the seemingly neverending wool/silk blend from The Sanguine Gryphon that I got from The Loopy Ewe. The colorway is Fire. My goal was to spin a heavy laceweight for a shawl or a wrap. I got about 1750 yards from 8 oz. It is so soft and pretty.



And this was a quick and fun spin. It's 4 oz of merino wool from The Spunky Club in Mud Season. I think this will become some fingerless mitts.



Ashford has appointed herself the defender of the yard from squirrels and birds.