I could not have had a better birthday weekend.  Kenny came in from Houston, Chuck from St. Louis, John from San Francisco, and we spent the weekend together!  on Saturday, we went to the fiber frolic hosted by Griffin Dyeworks - did natural dyeing, solar dyeing, ate and spent the day chatting and keeping an eye on the fires burning nearby - Charles came to the event as well - and my friend (family) I have known for 20 years, Debra as well!

The fires are horrible - for a while we weren't sure if we were going to get to dye yarn or not- but the winds changed and we go to do so...  all day long we watched the smoke billow.  the power of nature can be terrifying...

Here's Chuck and Charles preparing yarn for the dyepots - my fav dye was the indigo - when you pull the yarn out of the pot, it's light green, sort of like the color of antifreeze... then, suddenly it changes to beautiful dark blue!  amazing.
We learned a lot and can't wait to do more!

John did some quick dyeing - see?  Indigo!  (most of us were smart enough to wear globes) haha -
We also knitted away... talked, laughed, cut up, and just enjoyed the best time ever - I can't wait to see more of each of my knitting pals!
Of course, they are all going to the Men's Knitting Retreat - in Seattle... I stay home this time - sadly - I must work, and school starts tomorrow...

I won't go into all the gifts I got - probably more than I deserved... yarn, running shorts, gift certificates, not to mention the gift of my pals flying across the country to see me... but one of my FAVORITE gifts was this little bag bought for me at the frolic - it's a knitting bag that's reversible - the inside (as shown) is little skull and crossbones, but the crossbones are knitting needles... and the outside of it is a fabric called "Knitmare" - it shows a person dying trying to knit... a dog eating knitting... a cat tangling up the yarn - and a little boy wearing a sweater that just doesn't fit.... I LOVE it!  go buy yours here:  www.readyorknit.etsy.com -

I *almost* finished my top down raglan - I still have to do the collar... weave in the ends... but it'll be done really soon.  I am pretending it's done...and cast on for another one - it'll probably be the last one for a while -
I'm really proud of this raglan - the random striping worked the way I wanted it to - and lots of people like this - once it's REALLY done, I'll do some photos and try to go in depth on how I did the striping.

School starts tomorrow - beginning the classes for a drug and alcohol certificate and the continuance of my fun times in ceramics!  Sadly, that means no more knitting at the farmer's market on Thursdays...

Thank you again to everyone who helped to make this birthday so amazing - I appreciate every kind word, thoughtful gift and big hug I got... here's to making 35 a year to remember!