Yarn

Yarn, I love yarn. I love spinning and plying and dyeing and knitting with yarn. I love the cashmere/silk the best.
Shelli called on her way to Italy and said she was all ready knitting (Cashmere/Silk in Newport Rocks) on the "Neck Candy" project for the One Skein Wonders Luxury Yarns book. She finally received the yarn over night from Massachusetts. How did the yarn get from Oregon to Long Beach Ca. to Massachusetts to Petaluma, California? We aren't sure but now we know were the yarn is, on it's way to Italy safely in the hands of Shelli.
This got us both thinking about how well traveled TFC yarn is. Let's explore this for a moment. First the Cashmere starts in Mongolia, on the backs of goats and the silk (made by silk worms) might start in China or India. Then it gets processed in either China or Scotland. It then goes to Wisconsin, where it gets shipped to St. Helens OR. This is when the yarn really starts to travel. It gets either weighed out and/or dyed, then goes to a spinner. This spinner could live in Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Mass. or California, it is spun and returns to St. Helens Or., it might make a trip to Portland (being plied by Becky) but ultimately returns to St. Helens to get washed (including a bath of organic Lavender Oil from Pelindaba Lavender Farms San Juan Island WA., there is a truck and ferry trip involved here) and re-skeined. However if this fiber gets packed to go on a trip with me it could go to Austin TX, New York, Indiana, California (several times), then back to St. Helens. Now the finished yarn could go on a road trip with me or get directly shipped to one of the yarn (remember we are internationally available) shops that sells the yarn. This well traveled yarn might be purchased by someone on vacation, or for a gift to a loved one far away, a knitter that is traveling (i.e. Shelli going to Italy) could rack up the "yarn miles".
Now pretend this yarn actually ends up as a garment. Wow now we are talking lots of miles........
Miles and miles in a car on a train, in a plane, in a truck, on the back of a camel, traveling yarn is getting made, St. Helens Or. is the vortex of traveling fiber, crossroads for yarn. Shelli and I shared this thinking of traveling yarn while she was on her way to Italy and I was in my pajama's in St. Helens Or. ummmmmm
It is still cold here. It snowed today after a small amount of moisture coated everything last night. Mike called to let me listen to the torrential rain in Southern California, beating on his windshield at work. It is the deep dark part of winter. I have lived in the socks and flannel nighties, remember I live alone, this is the "uniform" of a single lady in winter. I'm starting to long for the taste of a ripe tomato. It's only January. I don't normally suffer from the "Winter Blues", but this weekend was bleak and dreary and generally depressing.
I plied beaded yarn. There are a lot of pretty beads everywhere, some even on yarn! I managed to ply 6 skeins of beaded yarn. Two days work. Flying beads, breaking plies, so dark and cold you have to have the light on at noon, flannel nightie, socks, on feet that only see the light of day while I'm in the shower.
This week I've got to get the pipe fixed. The glue that you have to use on this job won't work at freezing temperatures, so I've shelved it until we warm up a little.
One of the feral cats that has made our home it's home is a female, oh no. It sort of looks like Mo but short hair and feral. Explains why there are three new tom's using my back porch as a marking posts. Mike is talking BeeBee gun, I hate guns of any type, but the live trap just didn't work, they laid on it, beside it and around it but too smart to go in.
I'm in Portland to spend the night with Becky, trying to get rid of the blues. Tomorrow is another day.