3 Days In Review

Saturday
Chinese New Year's Dinner. Please refer to Sinta's blog.

Sunday
Stitches West 2005. Sinta's mom and I met up at the Santa Clara Convention Center to check out the yarn fair. I've never been to the convention center before. As I was driving my car up the parking structure, I saw groups of middle-aged women chattering excitedly, donning their homemade knit or crochet scarves. I knew I was in the right place. Just follow the crowd. I met up with Sinta's mom inside. We started from one end of the floor, worked our way to the other side. We were on yard overload--yarns made of silk and alpaca, handspun yarn, hand-dyed yarn, cotton string, silk ribbons. You name 'em, they got 'em! Aside from the yarns galore, you can find knitting and crochet needles and patterns, buttons, pins, crochet/knit clothing and accessories, and how-to books.

Spin the Yarn. Spin That Dander. We stopped at one booth where these grandmotherly vendors were teaching people how to spin yarn from washed wool. The lady used a spindle with a hook at the end. At the middle of the spindle were two CDs to weigh down and maintain the spin of the spindle. You hook part of the fiber onto the hook, and then spin the spindle (sorry, sounds funny) while pulling on the wool. The thickness, or thinness, of the yarn will depend on how much you pull from the wool. I was so facinated with the simple contraption, I took a liking to it. I'd love to learn how to spin my own yarn instead of buying expensive novelty ones.

There was one booth that displayed scarves made out of animal fur. Okay, nothing wrong with that. There was a sign that explained that you can brush your dog's fur, and spin it to make yarn. Hmmm. One of the scarves was made out of the fur of a Lhasa Apso. I petted the scarf. It was soft. I moved on to the next one. It was made from the hairs of a Golden Retriever. It gave me the shivers. I looked to my left at the spinning wheel. Next to it was a 2'x1'x'1 basket full of dog dander. Double shivers! I was reminded of my dog Carlota who's in the Philippines. She'd spend her lazy afternoons laying on the cool lanai. When I swept the floor, I would collect enough of Carlota's fur to make a small scarf. Okay, maybe not. Eeww. Triple shivers. I love my dog, but I don't think I could make a scarf or a beanie courtesy of Carlota.

Monday
Sweethearts' Day. Sinta and I decided to stay home and have a nice dinner. He prepared chicken picatta, salad with dill dressing and wine. Everything tasted yum yum good!