I MADE YARN!

Oh yeah. You read it correctly. I made YARN! Or... something that vaguely resembles yarn anyway!

I feel like I improved a lot even just between my first and second skeins.

For some reason, the hubbs thought that I was very cute while plying (or "twisting" as he calls it) so he decided that it was a kodak moment. 

Once it was plied, I let it soak in a sink of hot water with dish soap for 20 minutes.  Then I soaked it in water with cider vinegar (I was fresh out of white vinegar!).  Then one more rinse of cold water to get rid of that "salad dressing smell".

Then I hung it to dry in my shower.

In the end it was 186 yards of black alpaca magic.  It is very soft and it was fun to spin!  I brought it to my little knitting group, and the girls there were really excited about it-even though many of them have been spinning for a long time and make really beautiful yarn!

I definitely overspun the crap out of both plies.  The whole thing kinked up a lot, and winding it from the skien into a ball was a chore because I had to keep unkinking it.  I will be careful not to overspin the plies next time!

Also, this week Ft Meade had a Veteran's Job Fair.  The hubbs decided that I needed a suit for the occasion (since I don't have one).  Here I am right before the fair.

The hubbs says that I "sell myself short" at job fairs/interviews/etc- and this one was no exception.  I try to answer the interviewers questions very honestly, and I tell them when I know I am not qualified for a certain job.  I am very aware of and comfortable with my skill set, but maybe some people inflate theirs?  I'm not sure, but I think we should just be able to be totally honest and the interviewer should believe us.  It seems that that is NOT the way that the world works, however, so it is I who will obviously have to adjust!

We didn't do much this past weekend.  I was pretty sick so we had to cancel our plans.  The hubbs stayed home with me and took really wonderful care of me.  He made me tea, bought clam chowder for me (I am NOT a fan of chicken noodle-even though he swears by it.  He finally gave in to my whining and bought the chowder).  He went to the local convienience store and brought back one of those Nestle' ice cream sandwiches with the chocolate chip cookies on either side.  They are pretty much the greatest thing ever.  He was pretty annoying because he was trying to be very "hands on" with my healing process- but I'll tell you what- I felt 100% better after 2 days of his care.  I couldn't believe it.  I felt this cold setting in and I "knew" that it was going to take a week or two to shake it, but it didn't!  I also found his concern for my VERY mild ails to be touching and very, very sweet.  I am lucky to have him.

And finally- I just picked this book up last week.

It is awesome!  This lady explains all about different kinds of fibers and how they are made into yarn.  I'm sure that there is much more, but I am still towards the beginning where she is explaining the main kinds of fibers and where they come from.  Great read!  So interesting!