Knitter's Frolic & the TTC Debacle

So after I posted yesterday I started getting ready to go to the Knitter's Frolic. A huge knitting, crocheting and spinning convention. Waited for Shaggy to get home, got all dressed up and go downstairs to buy a day pass only to find the TTC is on strike. The Frolic was being held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (where we used to take Japanese Lessons) Which is very very far away from my apartment.

Now had the TTC given 48 hours notice like they promised or even 24 hours so it could have made that papers, Shaggy and I could have figured out a way there and back. (We don't watch the news. Shaggy gets the paper at work and I get it if I go out that day.) But they gave a 1/2 hour notice. They walked out at midnight, stranding hundreds of people. Let's just say I'm the only one who's not pleased. I actually sort of felt bad for some of the workers (some are just plain rude) I really don't feel so bad for them now. That wasn't a very nice way to do things. They claimed they didn't give 48 hours notice because the last time they did people were angry with them. I think the "better way" is going to be the "cranky and irate" way tomorrow. I usually go to Riverdale Farm to sit and spin with some of the ladies from the guild (and a few non guild members) I might not go if people are really bad.

Anyway, I still wanted to go to the Frolic. It's only once a year and there were a lot of vendors coming from out of town. I don't mind mail order, but it's easier when you can get an idea of what they sell. It can be pretty hit and miss on the net. I have gotten some lovely roving, but I always like to feel it first.

And you all know how stubborn I am ...

So Shaggy and I hopped on our bikes and biked/walked (especially with the hills around here) to the Frolic. We were on our bikes all day. We left at 11 am and got back at 9:30 pm! It was a 45 km round trip!

We biked most of the way there, only walking up steep hills, from Etobicoke to the JCCC. It took about 4 hours with a stop for lunch at the Caldense Bakery (Very good deserts. They have very yummy cake!) We took a bike path on Eglinton Ave most of the way.

I was tired, bit it was worth it. We got there an hour before they closed. I wish I could have spent more time looking at everything and talking with people. There were a lot of vendors with a lot of very nice things. Shaggy looked at the wheels (he still wants to build one) and I focused on spinning supplies (though there was quite a bit of wonderful looking yarn.) I was kinda in a daze for the first 15 minutes. My legs were not at all happy with the bike ride.

I did do quite a bit of shopping in that short time.

Blue Faced Leicester Dyed Pink and Undyed Soy Silk from The Black Lamb

Citrus Soak (and bonus care label) from the Soak Stand

A 1 1/2 oz Folklore Fiberarts Spindle from the Purple Purl

A set of Ashford wool handcarders from Gemini Fibers (unassembled. Need to get wood glue.)

And all the freebies from the Purple Purl and Black Lamb

We got an extra freebie from the Black Lamb when Shaggy didn't agree with the colour I picked. (I got the light blue, he picked out the purple) so the lady gave him one too. Taking Shaggy to a fiber event/store is kinda like taking a child along. He gets bored easy and the shop keepers spoil him sometimes. ;)

He's a little too spoiled it seems. He deemed the little calendar from Gemini and the free care label from Soak unsuitable freebies. Though the free tote and bits of roving from the Purple Purl seemed acceptable to him. He says he's going to spin up the purple, but we'll see if that happens. I'm probably going to keep those bits for needle felting. I might save the baggies from the Black Lamb to spin some lace weight someday.

I had a good time and hope to be back next year. If I can find transportation that is.

The ride back was more grueling. We stopped early on of dinner (and a daiquiri) at Swiss Chalet. There were more people walking about in the evening at a slower pace on the sidewalk and I didn't feel confident enough to bike on the street so we walked our bikes most of the way out of downtown. The we biked a fair bit (downhill) after Blackcreek Road and I biked almost all of the last leg down East Mall.

Of course I have been very very sore since then. Beyond just tired. My legs don't want to bend much and my butt hurts so I can only sit on soft things. Hopefully another nights rest helps.

Of course by now the TTC is back and running after being legislated back to work (on a Sunday no less) I'm still miffed though. Makes me want to go out and get a mo-ped or something.

We've been cat sitting Shaggy's parent's cats since January. They went home today. :( They were the sweetest polydactyl father son pair. The son was blind, but sweet as pie. The place will be quieter without them around, though Shampoo and Ukyou didn't like them too much so they will be happy. On the upside, I now have a bread maker. I traded it for my crock pot as my MIL's crockpot kinda died after they left it on our balcony. Shaggy promised me a new bigger one as I only really use it to dye yarn and it would be easier with a bigger one.

I *heart* my new drop spindle

After a few attempts at finding a decently priced spinning wheel on Kijiji and frustrations with my current drop spindle I picked up a new spindle at Romni Wools. A shiny new lacquered 3.0 oz Ashford top whorl drop spindle.

My biggest complaint with my Ashford Student spindle was that the yarn wouldn't stay put in the hook. It would come off the bottom part of the shaft and I'd have no tension while spinning. Two little notches in the whorl solved that problem!

That and well, it looks a lot nicer. :)

I spun some organic mohair/merino roving on it. The spindle doesn't even seem that full even with 3.5 oz of roving on it. And I'm sure if I had wound it better I'd get more. The yarn seems to be spun a bit better too. I'm was able to spin and draft at the same time, rather then park and drafting (spinning the spindle, stopping it, then letting the accumulated twist travel up the yarn instead of doing it pretty much simultaneously)

I'm going to ply this with some faux cashmere for a 2 ply yarn. I have some spun up, but I'm going to transfer what I have done to my new spindle and spin it on that.

It's snowing a ton outside right now. I'm so glad that I don't have to go into the salon to work this week. (I'm so glad I can work from home now!) Shaggy hasn't come home yet and I hope this snow doesn't make it hard for him to get home. I think I'm going to make some muffins tonight, it's a bit chilly in here (the living room have huge windows, so the air in front of them gets cold easily). The oven will warm the place up quite a bit. I baked a "chick'n" burger with rice "cheese" for lunch and the place stayed pretty toasty for a few hours. Usually it's quite warm in here, but our heaters just can't keep up with the cold and the wind. The rooms with smaller windows seem to be fairing much better. The pigs must be so glad to be in the den.

Shaggy and I spent the weekend in Waterloo attending our niece's birthday party. The snow didn't really help that either. :P We went laser tagging and I did ok (I placed third) I didn't feel very well, so that didn't help things along. We accidentally got her the same gift as her parents so we just ended up giving her $40 and some fun girly hair stuff. And now I have a copy of Pokemon Battle Revolution (copy of said game was opened before we knew so it's not like we could return it. Besides I was kinda wanted a copy myself.)

And people wonder why I tend to stick to gift cards. You can never have too many of those!

Wandering

It's been some time since I last blogged. A really really busy time. I keep telling myself I should sit down and write but I tend to feel so tired at the end of the day that I never write. Now I'm here and it's almost midnight and I really felt like I should update ya'll on what's been up.

The biggest change is that I moved. We finally found a bigger place in a much less freaky building. Now Shaggy and I live in Etobicoke, or as I call it: The edge of civilization. It's a nice enough apartment and I'm working hard on fixing it up. (It was all cream >.< I *hate* cream on walls!)

But unfortunatly for me, it's far away from everything. There are no book stores, cafes or yarn stores in walking distance. :/ I have to bike or take the bus to get anywhere except the grocery store. Oh and we have a really crappy Shoppers. After some time I found a park, but it's nothing like High Park.

The next change is that my step father-in-law moved in. The economy is really sucky back home and the poor guy needed a job ASAP. So right after we moved in we had to re-arrange everything 0.o So the pigs got evicted from our shiny new computer/pet room and now I get regular visits from my mother-in-law. It's like living in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. Only my in-laws aren't nearly as scary. My biggest problem thus far is my MIL's compulsion for re-arranging stuff around here, and I can deal with that.

And the least ground breaking, but very exciting change is that I have completed my first commercial web site! I'm the in house designer at work and for months I have been toiling over this site, doing countless revisions and little tweaks. I am happy to announce the Hair Sprung Website is up and running @ http://hairsprung.net! (Disclaimer: The views here at BLM are not necessarily the views of Hair Sprung and the views of Hair Sprung are not necessarily the views of BLM. ) I am very happy with it. Hair Sprung is an awesome place to work for! :)

I also adopted a very cute gerbil. When Ichigo-chan decides to stay still for more then 1 second I'll get a picture for you guys. Needless to say, she is the most adorable gerbil ever. :)

Well that's it for tonight. I hope to be up and posting more often now. But hey, I'm a wanderer, it's not like I've gone long without posting before. You all know the drill by now.