Being Thankful

Some folks who know me, know that I would love to move back East. But if I'm going to live out here in CA I feel super lucky to live in my little town of Millbrae.

Sure, like all towns, it has it's problems. But there is something to be said for being able to walk into town and go the grocery store, the post office, the coffee shop, the jeweler (for a free ring cleaning), the butcher (to order your Thanksgiving turkey), the eye doctor, and the dentist and run into people you know in each one of those places. Small towns offer that and while some may find it too invasive, I love it.

I love going to our local butcher and being treated like family. I love going to the coffee shop and they know me by name. I love that my children have been here since infancy and have a deep network of friends. I love that we can walk to our elementary school and when they are ready for middle school they can practically roll out of bed to it. I love that during soccer and baseball seasons, we see tons of friends we know who go to other schools in our town and get to catch up. I love that our little cub scout dens are full of sweet boys who have great parents I enjoy spending time with.

We have an added bonus here of being just outside San Francisco and practically across the street from the airport. Convenience doesn't begin to describe it.

So in a time where I complain a lot to my poor, long suffering husband about wanting to move back East. I am thankful for where we live because this little town is a gem.

Wool Processing time

For the past few days I've been hip deep in wool. It has taken me all summer to get to this point, breathing room so I could process the raw fleeces I have in the studio.

I started with this beautiful Romney fleece. It's been scoured and is FINALLY dry. I do not have combs so I'm going to be using my hand cards on this one. It's a beautiful fleece with fluffy white locks and some lovely greys and browns mixed in. I can't wait to spin it!

The next big job is to scour and process two pounds of Navajo Churro fleece. The colors on these two fleeces are beautiful. A lovely red/tan and a pretty dark grey. The staples are really long and there's a TON of greece to clean so it should be a fun challenge. I'll post some photos here as the process moves along. I am so excited to see what kind of yarn I can spin from these raw fleeces.

I love taking something from ground zero to finished product. Maybe someday I can be lucky enough to help sheer some sheep and then process what I've sheered. Even better, I hope someday to have my own sheep to care for.

Do you process your own wool? Do you get to spin what you process or knit up something awesome from your results? I'd love to hear from you!