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

Knitting in Ashland, Oregon

A hobby which can become a passion for those who have extra time in retirement, is knitting. In Ashland, we are so fortunate to have The Web-sters yarn shop. Drool over their wares as you visualize adding to your stash at http://www.yarnatwebsters.com/
In addition to being purveyors of the yummiest yarns around, they offer many classes in fascinating ways to use yarn that will challenge your skills and keep your mind active learning to create projects you never dreamed were possible. These classes come in all ability levels from basic kitting for those who have never picked up needles before, to exotic techniques involving mosaics, fair isle, European style knitting, and something my friend Candace is doing that involves wrapping the yarn around her back to help reduce the stress on her thumbs! I wish I had a camera the other night when I saw her with a cat on her lap, another on the back of the couch breathing down her neck, the yarn wrapped around behind her, and something she had strapped to her thigh to hold her pattern so she could follow it and keep her hands free for all of the above activities!
Tonight there is a free session at Web-sters where people (seems to be mostly women, so might be a great hobby for a single man to take up!) gather to work on their favorite projects and enjoy an evening of companionship. Karen and I are making afghans for Afghans. Check out this great site, and help out if you can. http://www.afghansforafghans.org/
Kay is making hats for the local shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. There are also several other groups that distribute warm hats, sweaters, scarves and mittens to local people in need, such as Uncle Food's Diner and the Northwest Seasonal Workers. You can check out other volunteer opportunities in Ashland on our web site http://www.oregonretirement.info/
But that sounds like another topic for a blog, so I'll close for now.
Hope this leaves you in stitches!
Marty