I have a lot of pressure to get each issue published, and now, it’s crunch time again. So I have next week to get the feature articles nailed down and finished up. Not to big of a deal, but I don’t deal with stress well. I’m working on doing better. Issue 2 was better than issue 1 so perhaps this one will go even easier.

A little juicy sneak peek for my readers. I am doing two articles on a new fiber, and I’m betting at least 95% or more of you haven’t tried it. I’m really excited about this one, it is really a great story. I will probably be doing something about drum carders, as I will be purchasing one shortly. Also looking at some patterns that have been submitted, and some articles focusing on history of spinning and fiber arts. As we progress, we learn what people really like, and what they aren’t so interested in.  Let us know, if you have something you’de like to see, or don’t like.

It seems that people really like the projects, and also the fiber spotlight, because they like to learn about the animals. So we may introduce something about the actual animal, and then a separate article about the fiber. Talking about the breed or species of animal is enjoyable, and has proved to be of great interest, but for clarity the articles would get a little long, so perhaps we will be breaking that into two articles this issue. That way we can still discuss all the aspects of the fiber in Fiber Spotlight, and then discuss the animal in some new article. That would give me the space to post more pictures, and information about the animal and it’s habits. I learned this with the Alpacas, because really they are extraordinary animals. They have a rich and interesting history, and also are a very unique animal in their breeding and birthing process. So this would allow me to discuss more of these aspects of the animal in question at greater lengths without having a behemoth article that took several visits to read.

We are also working on some other exciting things that should prove to be interesting and good for the readers. One thing we want to look into are permanent ads, because the Google ads are really not working out for us. We aren’t making much with them, and I’m not thrilled with the ads that are placed. Some of them are irrelevant, and then the few others are often the same on each page. So our profit off those is highly irregular and not that great. It was a great place to start, but I think it’s time to move on.

I am amazed at the amount of “business” stuff I have to do, be involved in and learn about. This whole thing has been one huge learning curve. I’m keeping up, and things are progressing very nicely. We owe that to the support of our readers, who have posted links, joined the fiber frenzy and registered.

Things have been slow this month, but I think that’s primarily due to the season.  Nobody much thinks about knitting and spinning when it’s like the Sahara outside.  Here in Missouri, it’s in the 90s and up.  For many of you that doesn’t seem so bad.  Picture yourself breathing through a sponge and it gets more clear.  It’s so humid that the air feels like mist sometimes.  Hard to breath, and feels so much hotter.  A few summers ago, my neice Rebecca came to visit us from Arizona.  I told her she should stay in from 1 to 3 because it was so hot, and she laughed at me.  (I’m thinking, ok, you’ll see)  Poor kid came in and thought she was dieing.  She couldn’t breathe.  Apparently you grow the gills slowly by living her for many years, because she had a really hard time with breathing.  Humidity does a lot, and it makes this time of year miserable here in the midwest.  There is a tradition here, called “hay beer”.  When you make hay, you bring a load in, then have a beer.  It sounds crazy, but for some reason it really helps you take the heat.  People don’t get drunk, they just drink a beer, then some water, and go on back to the field.  I’m thinking that the alcohol thins the blood so that they can tolerate the heat better.  It’s an interesting phenomenon though, and is an “essential” to many hay makers.

So, I’m chillin in the house, and only venturing out to pet the sheep and give them scratches at night.  I do wet down parts of the lawn for them to lay on, it seems to help.  Poor things.  One of our rams flops over on his side and from a distance he looks dead.  He also plays in the water bowl.  I thought it was odd, that they were going through water so fast.  But then I filled it up today, and went back in a few minutes to take a fleece sample to show a friend, and he was sopping wet.  I guess it cools him off.  Maybe I’ll give him a bath heh heh.

One other funny thing.  We have chickens and the other day one of them was sitting on a lamb, asleep.  I ran for the camera, but of course she jumped off.  Friends don’t let friends poop on friends?  Ah well, missed that one.  I have the best pictures though, I have one of a hen carefully reading a spin off mag.  Need to send them that one, to hilarious.  I also have a picture of the same hen dressed up in a feather boa and a silver “necklace”.  The girls had dressed her up, it was so funny.  Life is just grand, here in the Ozarks…

Sheesh, I just don’t really want to, but I did release an Extra Extra article, nothing spectacular, dishcloths. These are really neat though, they are wonderful to use, and are pretty cheap to make, depending on the yarn you use. And FAST! tee hee. Here is the basketweave pattern, very simple, aimed at beginners.

The diagonal lines dishcloth is probably my favorite, it makes an interesting diagonal rib effect. I love the variegated and hand-painted yarns. I am intrigued by the surprise factor of what it will look like when finished.  A beginner can also tackle this one.

The lacy one is a great way to try out a new lace pattern or technique. I finally got a hold of charts by just knitting one repeat of a bunch of charts to get the hang of how they work. Now I wish I had made them into dish cloths, at least I can use them. The other thing here, is that these puppies give you instant gratification. They only take from 30 minutes to a few hours to make.  This one has a few new stitches for a beginner, but is still within reach with a good technique book.

In other news, I am almost finished with Clue 1 on the Mystery Stole. I will not post a picture until I finish a clue. I want to, but I’m making myself wait.

So I have a few fun things to finish up, then you will get to read and enjoy them, but I am still slacking at this point. I have an idea knocking around my skull, but I hate to do it, because I just did the Chalel veil, but I suspect it will bug me until I do it. Not much point in ruining the surprise but it is lace, and uses entrelac. Two of my favorites, but will it work? That is the question. Test knitters can sign up now. tee hee.

I am wanting to make up a really nice sock pattern as well, one that would work well for lots of different stitch patterns. So I am thinking about that. Often at night I dream about knitting, in fact I get some of my best ideas then. Odd isn’t it? I am one of those people who wakes from a sound sleep with a loud EUREKA! I figured it out. My sub-conscious mind is much smarter then the other one apparently.

As always, suggestions are welcome, and Issue three will be begun in earnest on Monday.

Well, issue two is published, but not without several considerable obstacles.  We had no interent connection for the two days previous.  I spent a lot of time, trying to fix the problem, and finally had to go to where Beau works to borrow a connection there.  That would have been all fine and good, excepting that for some reason, I couldn’t connect there either.  So after much struggling, Beau finally finished what he was doing, and I uploaded everything via a jump drive.

So the point is, that things probably aren’t ideal.  Normally, I would have had the last two days, to edit, check and recheck everything.  I didn’t get that time, so if anyone sees a problem, or something that is unclear, PLEASE email me.  The address is  allena at spindleandwheel dot com.

So, now I get to take a little bit of a break, catch up on some laundry before it totally consumes the house, and also catch up on some other chores.  I think I’ll bake some bread, as a reward, maybe I’ll even post my reicipe, which btw is not healthy or anything, but tastes spectacular and is perfect in every way.   You guys can let me know, if anyone is interested, I could share.

So next issue is due to publish Sept 15, and I have about half of it planned, but the other half is up in the air.  This is a great time to tell me about something you want to read about, or something cool you learned.  It will be a much better issue than this one, or so I think.  I have some really cool and unusual ideas for several of the articles.  I also have the Sheep 2 Chic project, which I HOPE to have completed by then, but that next part may just be about spinning the yarn.  I just don’t know yet.  I will say that there will be at least one thing in issue three that probably 99% of spinners have never heard of, and WOW is it neat.  I wanted to put it in this issue, but  I couldn’t pull the information and research together fast enough.  So if you have any ideas, now is the time, seize the day and all that.

I am pretty happy with this issue, and pretty tired.  I hope y’all like it.

Be sure and sign up for the fiber frenzy, if you don’t your going to have to see all the fun we are having, and your going to feel left out.  You don’t want to see others having fun without you do you?  Think about it.