Sunday, November 18, 2007

Another yarn from Ashland, Oregon

Stitchin' and bitchin' - retirement provides time for both pursuits! Fortunately for my husband, I am not completely retired, so only have time for the former instead of the latter. (Mark might disagree with this analysis, but then he's not writing this blog!)
I was knitting at my friend Candace's house the other night, and was privileged to be allowed access to view her "stash". For those of you who are not familiar with this term, it refers to the yarn one has collected and theoretically intends to knit at some point in one's life. Suffice it to say, Candace has hired a building contractor to remodel part of her house to accommodate her yarn. No kidding! She loves to quote an acronym by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (The Knitting Harlot) in describing the magnitude of this: SABLE = Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy. (BTW, I suspect quilters are guilty of this excessive behavior as well.)
As if purchasing yarn is not enough, Candace also buys wool right off the sheep and spins her own yarn! In honor of this special skill, she has composed a haiku:
"Lifetime stash supply.
Now I spin, and have made more.
I must never dye."
Stay tuned, and more secrets from my "charmingly eccentric" (Candace's words!) knitting friends will be revealed.
Knottily yours,
Marty