Feather and fan

Behold the Anti-Lace! I have about four feet of this so far, and about half a ball of yarn left! The bamboo has a wonderful soft drapey hand and it took the colors beautifully.

The good old Feather and fan shows off the color-play quite nicely.

Wanietta (http://whatswanniettaknittingtoday.blogspot.com/)and her team, the Toronto Spiders, are participating in a back-to-back challenge, and she has bribed her loyal readers with a chance at prizes for posting the announcements of it. So here it is! If you'll be in Toronto, you should drop by.

On Sunday, May 27, the Toronto Spiders will take up the International Wool Challenge (Back to Back Competition) for the fourth consecutive year. This competition, involving teams around the world, requires that a sheep be shorn and the fleece spun, plied, and knitted into a sweater (according to a standard pattern) in one day.After two years at the Ontario Handspinning Seminar and a year at Toronto's Riverdale Farm, this year the Toronto Spiders will be at the Pickering Museum in Greenwood, as part of their Opening Day. The team is made up of Wannietta Prescod (the Fastest Knitter in North America in 2005 & 2006), Barbara Aikman, Julia Lee, Judy Pergau, Denise Powell, Karen Richens, and Lorraine Smith of Spinners Quarterly. Our shearer is Bob Comfort, and Joan Kass and Judy Findlay will be our timekeepers and educators. We look forward to having lots of interest and support from passers-by. Like all Back to Back Challenges, we will be raising money for cancer research.We will be attempting to beat our Canadian record time of 6 hours, 51 minutes, and 15 seconds, so hope to finish some time between 4 and 5 p.m.If you are in the neighbourhood, please do drop by and wave, say "Hey y'all", but don't expect us to stop what we're doing to chat with you until the sweater is done!

As a postscript - Lucia remarked that all the pretty flowers I have been photographing prove that I'm not a true black-thumb-and-killer- of-all-things-green. But really, the flowers we have are the sort of things that thrive on neglect and just about qualify as weeds. Daffodils and roses grow wild here in the valley. The magnolia tree was well established by the time we got here. And I steal photos of the neighbor's yards all the time. If things need care, attention or any special treatment, they are dead plants standing as soon as they get to our house. DH's favorite garden implement is the flame-thrower. And if it comes to a question of pulling weeds or napping in the sling-chair, I put my feet up. If you come to visit and don't know what would be a suitable hostess gift, don't bring a houseplant. Even my silk ones look kind of puny after a while.