“A good day for playing hooky…”

That’s what the weatherman said this morning on the radio. That lovely (or terrible) hot weather everyone else is enjoying is making it’s way to Vancouver and today will be a lovely 26°C. But no playing hooky for me today — there is a ton of work to do.

Congrats to Betzig of Stitchcounter who was the randomly-drawn winner for the contest! And thanks to everybody for the lovely birthday wishes!!

It’s funny, a few years ago, I was trying to decide whether or not I should go to art school, full-time (after having already completed a Bachelors at UBC — because I’m crazy about school?!?). In the end, I decided against it since I would have graduated at 29 and I really, genuinely felt that by 29 I shouldn’t be “starting” my life… that I should be “complete” with a proper career, proper husband, proper family and lifestyle, blah blah blah. Well, life just doesn’t turn out as you expect, eh? If, at that time, someone had told me that I’d be dyeing my own yarn with ground up bugs, spinning yarn from raw fleece, or completely obsessed with weaving… I would have laughed.

But here is the beauty of where things are at… inspired, energetic, passionate and unfinished:

2006-07-20_englishbaysock.jpg
Wendy’s Toe-Up Sock in “English Bay”, alternating between two ends of the same ball of yarn
2006-07-20_cottonalpaca.jpg
A bit of handspun organic cotton and lots more handspun, handdyed alpaca
2006-07-20_silkboucle.jpg
Silk boucle randomly dyed with Lanaset

By the way, spinning cotton? So humbling.

26 responses to ““A good day for playing hooky…””

  1. pixie says...

    mmm that green is so pretty!

  2. Michelle says...

    1) Happy Birthday!

    2)how do you knit using two ends of the same ball?!!? you will have to teach me!! your sock looks fantastic!

    3) that green is gorgeous!!

  3. Cara says...

    Lovely! All of it! Happy Birthday!

  4. Vicki says...

    Things never go how we hope/think they should. You seem to be in a great place though!

    Oh, and that cotton. Humbling? It looks amazing! I don’t doubt that it’s a bit of a challenge, and maybe not quite as polished as your “usual” spinning, but it does look pretty good.

  5. mote says...

    That boucle looks absolutely gorgeous.

    Happy Birthday!

  6. Adam says...

    Those socks look great, I love the colors. And I’m impressed with the cotton, I don’t spin (yet), so I’m think it looks great! Happy Birthday :)

  7. Vanessa says...

    Happy Birthday!! So any plan on how you going to celebrate?

  8. Keli says...

    Happy Birthday!!!

    Love the colors of the sock yarn…yes, please show us how you use two ends of the yarn for the color effect!! Glad to see pics of your spinning again…always an inspiration.

  9. Carin says...

    So did you have a good day? I hope you had a wonderful birthday. The spinning is gorgeous.

  10. christie says...

    Happy Birthday!

    Yeah, one should be properly set up at 29, but who really is now a days? We’re all required to make life decisions at 18…which is exactly when we know the least. Eh, to each his own. We all figure it out in our own time, right?

  11. Maud says...

    Very beautiful colours on all the yarns!

  12. Isela says...

    Lovely sock color and the green is super!

  13. sarah says...

    I was thinking about your remarks about art school…I think at some point in my late teens or early twenties, I had some idea that my life was on a deadline…that by my late twenties I ought to have a career and a family. Funny though, that is a very short time to accomplish things, then a very long time to be finished and content. If we’re done growing and developing at 30, what do we do for the next 50 years? Now I’m convinced that we’re not complete until we pass away. Thank heavens we get more wisdom with age, right?

  14. Stephanie says...

    Some days I really wish I could glimpse into the future. I’m not sure if I knew then what I know now I would have gone to law school. Maybe I should have gone to fashion school. Or art school. Live and learn. But, I really don’t think I could handle going back to school at 31. Nope. I love your sock. I need to start a fun pair of socks. Maybe that would pull me out of my funk.

  15. brenda in toronto says...

    long-time reader de-lurking here. sarah had a great point (”If we‚Äôre done growing and developing at 30, what do we do for the next 50 years?”). i thought the same thing at first. then i shook things up at 33 by taking a chance – went back to school and changed careers; and now, at 40, i’m doing it again. if you feel it inside, don’t deny it! grow, change, experience.

    love your site, especially your faboo photography!

  16. debbie says...

    love the color of the silk boucle…and one day, i will do a toe-up sock!

  17. Debbie says...

    Oh how funny. I finally decided to quit my good full time job and go back to college at 29. Six years later had my B.S. Good friend had told me either way your still going to be getting older.

    Happy Birthday and the sock in training looks great.

  18. Rose says...

    Happy Birthday!!! I think you found your calling with this fiber thing.

  19. yin says...

    Happy Birthday from downunder. Just wanted to let you know your work is absolutely beautiful! I have only started knitting not long ago … I love reading your blog and your work is a huge motivation for me to keep improving … :) )

  20. Li_B says...

    Oh my goodness, 29 is so young, believe me. There’s still plenty of time to do everything again if you want. Li

  21. Moe says...

    I’m a delurker too. First: Happy Birthday! I think 30 is a milestone year(I turn 31 this weekend). There is something about that age that prompts self-reflection.

    I feel like I’m in a similar situation – I’m trying to finish a phd in environmental/earth sciences. One hand, it’s great, but I still feel like I’m searching for my passion. I’m obsessed with more creative endeavours but work in a technical field. I’m hoping that I can strike a balance between my scientific professional life and still follow my interest in fibre arts. You never know what the future will bring…

  22. terri says...

    29 is a NORMAL time to be starting on your actual adult life. The first part is figuring out what you’re going to do, then you get to do it. Why do you think they said, “never trust anyone over thirty”? Enjoy!

  23. Lisa says...

    From a usually-quiet fellow Vancouverite…

    Oooh, cotton! I haven’t tried spinning that yet. I have hear it can be different. Everyone swears not harder, just different. Bring on the cotton dyes!

  24. Amanda says...

    I think the yarns you dye and spin are gorgeous! Always have, always will. Happy Birthday!

  25. Julia says...

    The proper life is never as great as the unplanned one. Enjoy it. You’ll find that you worry less about “proper” stuff in your 30’s than you do in your late 20’s. It’s fabulous.

  26. nancy says...

    The colors for your sock are beautiful, they blend so nicely together!

what do you think?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 20th, 2006 at 11:47 am and is filed under Spinning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.