The dark side

We were invited to a party yesterday!  Arlis did NOT want to be sociable.

Mya just wanted to play

And at the last minute I made my costume.  I went as Morgause (pronounced Morgose) from Merlin/King Arthur.  Here is a good pic from the show

And here I am

Poncho for a cape, letters and envelopes for "chain mail", and knee high moccasins (not worn at the time of the pic).  My chain mail was real good too!

"Obama is the anti-christ! Pass it on!"
"Make 59 copies of this in the next 3 seconds, or your family will be wiped from earth's existance!"
"Dan Radcliff loves goats with his horses!"
"Lyndsay Lohan beats puppies!"
"The government is really made of Martians growing us for food with our own tax money!!  Pass it on!!"

Granted, they weren't in all caps with different colored fonts, but you get the idea.

Marcus wore his outfit...yet again.

See, with the cape over his head, he's the Emperor, with it off, he's Darth Vader again...

The cool thing about the party, I did meet up with a fb friend of mine, Nichole, who had helped me with foot rot before. 

So, while the kids played outside

...she helped me learn about my wool. 

We carded some.
 
, and she showed me how to spin on her nifty wheel.

After much trial and tribulation, a gorgeous skein was had (I really like the color mix) (sorry it's sideways)

 She gave me some of her beloved wool already carded and dyed with plants and such.

 I've already knitted all the spun wool together, and played with some of the carded.  I enjoy knitting from carded without spinning.  I really like the lanolin that gets left on the wool too.  It feels really good!  In order to knit without carding, you have to be pretty comfortable knitting to begin with.  Then, pull of a strip, and pull the strip as needed to even out the "rove".  I haven't quite figured out the optimal way to join new roving when the strips run out yet.

 Pull that top bit out as a strip, twisting it a bit if it makes you more comfortable.

Some of what she gave me was "pencil" roving.  It kept breaking on me, so I let Marcus play with it.  I believe I can card it later into full roving if needed.

He's made "warming socks" and "warming woolen pillows" that he puts in the oddest places.

 (See it down his shirt)

I'll post the "scarf" I am knitting with what wool I am currently blogging about later.  Currently, I am getting familiar with different fiber thicknesses, compositions, etc.  And the scarf will be awfully wonderful as far as I am concerned ;).  No matter how many different colors, thicknesses of yarns, or big tufts of fluff stick out.  I also plan to make a peg loom ASAP and make a tuffet or something similar.  AND...I found a cheaper drum carder by a brand called Brother, but I will probably buy hand carders first.  Oh what fun!!