Introduction

Hello, everyone! I'm CJ aka CraftyGryphon, and I wandered into VAKnitters via the Secret of the Stole I a while back. I'm located in NoVa, have only started three knitting projects in 2008 that I haven't finished yet, and one of my big resolutions for 2008 is "under 50 UFOs". I'm trying to post daily M-F to my blog CraftyGryphon Knits... mostly it works. Yay!

My Introduction - Melissa

Hello there - My name is Melissa, and I live in Front Royal, "Gateway to Skyline Drive," "Canoe Capital of Virginia," where the two forks of the Shenandoah River converge, etc. etc. I've lived here for nine years now - I'm originally from North Carolina, and I believe my love of textiles is in my blood. I learned to sew, embroider and crochet before I could read, from my beloved great-grandmother who was an avid quilter and crocheter (of the tiny cotton yarn bedspeads and tableclothes variety). I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't have some kind of project going that involves a needle of some sort! I am also an artist in the more traditional drawing-and-painting sense, having majored in design in college (in the 80's).

My current main fiber interests are knitting (which I taught myself in middle school) and spinning (learned at a workshop in my 20's). I've rarely managed to follow a pattern without making major modifications, so for the last 15 years or so, I mostly design my own. For several years my goal was to make a sweater each year for each family member for Christmas, but as my family size increased (and I realized that I had no sweaters of my own!) I decided to give myself greater project freedom. I like knitting that looks difficult but has a simple logic behind it that makes it easy it knit (think domino squares, old shale lace, etc).

In the last three years, my life has changed dramatically due to divorce. I used to homeschool; now my children are in school and I am now a working single mother of seven! Knitting and spinning have been invaluable stress-relievers to me during this time!

My goal for this year is to expand my creative pursuits from hobby status to home business. I am working with a small-scale llama farmer to develop patterns/kits for yarns made from his animals, and I'm on the verge of stocking some of my handspun in an etsy shop. I've also promised myself that I will begin submitting some of my knitting designs for publication, and enter more contests (like Montpelier, where I received several ribbons last fall). And I've thought of combining my fiber loves with my art background to develop a line of t-shirts and notecards with fiber/yarn themes. As you can see, I've got the ideas -- the challenge is to find the time to carry through and still keep life running smooth everywhere else!

I look forward to getting to know more fellow fiber fanatics in Virginia. I am involved with a group that meets monthly in Luray (if anyone else is near enough to be interested, contact me directly), and in some online groups like EZasPi (where I met Olivia-Lee). Glad to meet you all!

- Melissa

Introduction

My name is Teri I live in the Northern part of Virginia.
I have been knitting since I have retired, my daughter wanted to learn to knit. She bought a learn how to knit kit. She was having trouble and ask me if I could help her. Well I haven't been knitting for a long time, funny it is like riding a bike. Once you learn ya never forget. So here I am trying to teach her the basics and it is not going very well.
She didn't do to well and so the story goes I am knitting and so are my grandchildren. They are ten and nine and doing very well at it, just a little gloating here.
I mostly knit socks, I just can't get into making sweaters yet. I do love lace knitting I am into a shawl now. I was in the Sotsii and love it. I haven't finished it yet but am making a good start on it. I am what they call a snail with it.
Right now I am going to go into surgery and hopefully this one will help my back and leg. So I don't do much driving right now.
So hello to everyone and hope to join you in the knitting get togethers.

Introducing Myself

I am Judy from the Northern Neck.  I have been a compulsive knitter since I attended a week-long camp that coincided with a week-long rain in the mountains of Colorado at the age of 12.  Knitting kept me sane through high school, college, a demanding job, and four children.  When the first of the children were reaching their teen years, I took up spinning.  That was even better:  spinning and knitting gave me lots of opportunities to relax.  My youngest son is now almost 16, and I have been weaving for about 4 years.  

I am now retired and have a lot more time to pursue my hobbies.  I enjoy lace knitting, colorwork, and socks.   I am an active member of the Five Rivers Fiber Guild and the Williamsburg Spinners and Weavers Guild.  We also started an on-line group Spinners and Weavers of the Northern News last fall.  (Hi, Cate.)   It is nice to share information with others.  

Judy from the Northern Neck

What a lovely day

Cat and I met at Stir Crazy....and yes... I was a bit late... but there was some kind of accident on I-95 that slowed me down considerably. I was nice and called to say I was running late, but Cat didn't have her cellphone. It'll be a great place for future meetups as they have a nice private room with a good sized table we could sit at. Cat showed me around the site a little more and tried to teach me how to "do stuff" and I pretended to understand. We discussed several possibilities for additions to the site and corrected a few fauxpas. One thing we'd both like is for you all to participate more. Please! We want you all to feel like this is your blog also. I'll be sending out a questionnaire for you all soon...answer only what you want too and send it back to me. I'll keep this information private. None of it will be posted on the site except for your general location. I may use it though to make private introductions to others close to you or that have the mutual interests.

Margaret couldn't make it as she had her hubby finishing the deck. Beth had a minor fender bender on her way home from her third Drs. appointment of the week (I think she she was looking for an excuse to bow out on her hunky out of state blind date... but he showed up anyway)...so Cat and I went over and crashed the party (had to make sure he wasn't an axe murder now didn't we....What are friends for???) I personally checked her glass of blackberry wine for drugs and poison and there were no weapons in site. When we left they were going for a drive in her car and then to meet her family for dinner, so I am guessing she was safe enough.

Cat and I decided we make a good couple. We rummaged through several consignment shops on Lakeside and I came home with more treasures I thought I needed at the time....She showed me the house she may buy. It'd be nice to have her on this side of The River.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Ok, fellow blog members - Olivia & I are about to meet for lunch. I am sitting at Stir Crazy, waiting for her to arrive. Neat place. If you're unfamiliar with the Bellevue area of Richmond, then you'll need to come by here sometime; if you are familiar with Bellevue, you've probably already been by here. The menu is somewhat extensive for such a small place and the coffee offerings are nirvana for a coffee-holic like myself. The walls are a lime green, there are local artists' photographs framed (and for sale) on the walls a la carte kinda. There are three upholstered sitting areas and about 10 tables that seat about 4 persons each. Some folks are sitting reading books or newspapers, others are visiting and others are working on a computer like I am pretending to.

Hopefully once O-L gets here I will have more to say... we were really hoping some of you would have come. You'll just have to read the blog and post, girls!, so we can all know what we are up to. Do you know how to set up a reader list of blogs you like to keep up with (please don't take that statement in a negative way - there is so much about this wonderful www that I don't know and I like to pass on what I find out so others can enjoy it more too)? If you don't, google offers a good one. Well it's 12:20 and no olmommee yet, but I'm sure she'll be along soon. to be updated later...

Rustic Tarts & Old Farts Gathering

June 15th will be the date of the 1st Annual Rustic Tarts & Old Farts Gathering. So here is the deal.

We will meet at my photography studio in Martinsburg WV. The address for anyone wanting to find out distance or directions is 3628 Winchester Ave., Zip 25405, and it’s a pretty straight shot off of I81. I am figuring we will begin at 1pm, and probably run to 5 or 6. Bring something for a potluck meal (a grocery store is nearby, as well as pizza places!), and the DH and I will provide beverages. Any crafting is welcome as long as it can be held in your lap or spun on a wheel...floor looms might not be feasible. If the weather is fine we have a shady front porch we can sit out on.

Now, one of the reasons we chose this weekend was that the Mountain Heritage Arts and Crafts Festival, one of the biggest on the East Coast, is that Friday through Sunday. This could give you a great excuse to do a mini-vacation, go to the festival Saturday and the RT&OFG on Sunday. There are tons of hotels in the area, and some wonderful B&Bs too. If history is your thing, Harpers Ferry and Antietam are both within a half-hour’s drive.

If you are a vendor, feel free to bring your wares. I’m sure everyone will be happy to fondle. We are working on a logo for this event that we may be able to make available on tees and totes too. Feel free to invite others that you know aren’t on this list, I just ask that people email me so I have an idea of how many will be coming. I’m also happy to provide as much info on the area as I can. Email Diana AT tlcphotography DOT com

In addition, March 29th is Irish Festival on Church Hill

Some folks are talking about getting together for lunch Saturday then attending the Festival ... any other interested persons ...? So far we have Olivia-Lee, Margaret and (possibly) me.... The suggested meeting place is Stir Crazy.

Camp Stitches... ever heard of it?

Check out this website for Camp Stitches - New York - it looks really wonderful. I wonder if anybody/anybodies could come up with a way to go...

I'm Here.

hi, i'm nancy from vinton, va, new to this blogging business. I love to knit many things--at once--lol. I really like rug hooking, could say i'm obessed with it.
Would like to learn to spin, started once a looong time ago, will have to start all over again. I'm into Kal's doing the pi shawl, with some wool I bought on a cone, maybe dk weight, with 10 1/2 needles, will not be able to do all the pattern rounds.
Love socks, noro yarns.
This is a little bit about me. Nancy

Hi ya'll!

I'm Cate hailing from the Northern Neck of Virginia (Heathsville, specifically). I've been knitting for about two years, spinning for a year longer and just got a floor loom two weeks ago.

I am busy knitting a green pull over sweater for myself in the round from the top down, a pair of grey socks for the son of a friend of mine, a pair of purple socks for me (I'm on the second one and have managed to misplace the first one somewhere in this messy house). I'm planning to weave a wedding shawl for a dear friend (the big event takes place in August). I have yarn on hand for two more sweaters for me but I'm in the process of losing weight and hope to make a smaller size -- but have to finish the green one first.

I hope eventually to spin enough yarn to keep myself knitting and weaving. I'm having fun processing three fleeces just now.

I also have a full time job outside the home, two sons in college and one who just took the GED test and hopes to start college in the fall. No, I did not plan to have all three in college at one time but the oldest will graduate this Spring so I might catch a break.

Invitations

I sent out invitations again for some of the people on our invitation list who do not appear to have joined yet. If I hit some of them twice, sorry, the blog kicked me off a couple of times when I went too fast for it...I am afraid maybe your first invitation may have gotten caught in your spam filter....or your significant other filter.... found a couple with misspellings. My fault entirely. I am still combing through my address lists.

If you are having trouble signing on just let Cat or I know and we will help you through it. Anyone can see/read our blog, but you have to be signed on to post....If you are reading our blog, but haven't gotten an invitation yet, just e-mail me (Olivia-Lee or Cat)...and if you know someone who would like an invitation...ditto....

If you have joined, but used another email address other than the one to which we sent your invitation would you please let me know. Our space is limited to 100 members so we don't want to be holding a space someone else can fill.

I am also compiling address cards for each of you in my AOL address book which I will share only with Cat. The purpose of this is so we can arrange introductions if someone in your area is asking specifically to meet you or someone like you and you won't have to post personal information on the blog for the world to see.....This is for your safety. E-mail me and I will send you a form. You can fill out only the parts you want to share.

I have found a map that will identify you by your zipcodes. May work for our interactive map. I turned that over to our technical advisor Cat to research.

I will also be sending out some group e-mail now and again. If you wish me to hide your screen name in group e-mails will you also let me know this.

Again if you all know something that would make our site better suggest away. This is your site too you know.

I'll let Cat post her address.

Mine is:
olmommee@aol.com

Clotho's Children Silent Auction and Tag Sale

I'm not in this guild, but saw an ad through the Fredericksburg Spinner's and Weavers. This is what I know.

Ashcake Rescue Squad Meeting Room
8375 New Ashcake Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116,

March 15, 2008

Viewing begins at 12:30.

Silent Auction begins at 1 and ends at 2.

Tag sales, “creations” and freebie tables open at 1:00 p.m.

Doors close at 4.

Might be worth checking out if you're in the area on Saturday.

Finally Set Up to Post

Hi, I'm Mary in Spotsylvania County (Massaponex area). I've finally gotten set up to post with Cat's help. I work in DC, so lately I'm not around much. On the other hand, now that I'm taking the train again I'm getting some knitting done! I think some of us have been emailing for about a year now and I'm thinking we're way overdue for a real get-together - maybe pick a Saturday or Sunday afternoon at a relatively centrally located Panera or some such location and see who can show up????

New to Group

My name is Carlissa. I live in Hanover County also. I am actually in a little place called Studley, about 15 minutes from Mechanicsville and 20 from Ashland.

I am a homeschooling mom of 7 (ok one is in a private school) ages 17 down to 7. I also work 3 part time jobs to help provide for the little ones.

I have crocheted since I was 7 or 8 and tried knitting in the early 80's. Swore I would never do it again. Well, as luck would have it all my kids starting going to a free knitting class at the local library and since they only met every 2 weeks, I had to learn enough to help them out in between classes, or I knew they would lose interest. Now I am hooked.

I am on the EZ as Pi list (and several others but since time doesn't permit, mostly only reading the above list). I am working on my first Pi shawl. I love EZ's attitude about knitting, but need a little hand holding to tackle some of her patterns. I have wanted to do a Pi shawl since the first time I saw one. I am currently trying to do the knit along for the Orkney Pi.

For those of you in my area. It is a bit of a hike (and not the best selection) but the Unraveled is currently having a 39% off sale. I believe the shop may be closing or transferring ownership. I was there last week and got my 2nd son (age 11) some beautiful Angora/Cotton yarn so he can start a hat. I love this boy, he asked for some plain cotton to do a dishcloth first, as he has not knitted in about a year and wanted to practice before he opened up his new yarn.

Ok, rambled enough. It is nice to meet you all and perhaps someday will get to put faces to some of these names.

Carlissa

News Story: Knitters dress up trees for public art

Knitters dress up trees for public art

By JAMES HANNAH, Associated Press Writer Mon Mar 10, 6:12 AM ET

No, that's not a hallucination. That pear tree is wearing a sweater.

Wrapped around the trunk is a colorful, crazy-quilt skin made up of panels of yarn knitted individually by residents and visitors alike. Good-luck charms cling to the yarn. Family photos, poems and jokes peek out of knitted pockets.

The art project in this southwest Ohio village, already known for its offbeat art, has become a conversation piece and even a photo op.

"What takes this to a different level is it is a community thing," said Corrine Bayraktaroglu, an artist who helped start the "knitknot tree" project. "People are really, really enjoying it. They're coming from towns to have their photograph taken with the tree. They're adding stuff to the pockets."

Knitters around the U.S. are dressing trees, street signs, benches, door handles and other objects.

Last month, residents of Columbus, Ind., knitted cozies for 33 ornamental pear trees that line the city's main street. One tree, called the People Hugger, has knitted arms.

Knitted coverings are showing up on trees and doorknobs in Charleston, W.Va. In Houston, knitters have dressed up park benches, car antennas, telephone poles and beer bottles.

"It's fascinating what's going on in the knitting world," Bayraktaroglu said. "Graffiti street art is going to a whole different realm. It's gone beyond just painting on sides of buildings."

Artist Carol Hummel is among the pioneers. She crocheted a cozy for a tree in front of City Hall in Cleveland Heights several years ago. It took her 500 hours and the use of a hydraulic lift to dress the upper branches.

The cozy has survived several winters and even a swarm of cicadas, which left their molted skins clinging to the material.

"There are a lot of copycats now," Hummel said. "A lot of people are getting into putting things on the trees. That's cool."

In Yellow Springs, the first knitted panel — a gold piece with the words "Knitknot Tree" and a smiley face — went up in October. It wasn't until early February that more panels began to be added.

"Then it just took off like crazy," Bayraktaroglu said. "People were coming from out of town and adding their own knitting."

Artist Nancy Mellon said people love to come up and touch the tree, and children like to check out what's in the pockets.

"There was a man — while I was working on the tree — who walked by, and all he said was 'Thank you,'" Mellon said.

Other residents in this village about 15 miles east of Dayton also seem to like the dressed-up tree.

"It looks like Yellow Springs; it's unique, it's colorful, unpredictable," said Lynda Sirk. "It makes me smile. That's what I like."

The tree is vulnerable to the raised legs of passing pooches. Because of that, the panels of yarn don't extend all the way to ground level.

As the panels spread up the trunk, the knitters had to follow, first standing on a chair, then a three-step ladder, a 6-foot ladder and finally an 8-foot ladder. They finally decided they had gone high enough after someone suggested scaffolding and village officials began to worry about someone falling.

"The fear factor has kicked in," Mellon said.

The artists who started the project tentatively plan to remove the knitting on Arbor Day at the end of April and give away the pieces of yarn.

But Bayraktaroglu has some reservations about that.

"People get very attached," she said, "and I think they'll be mad at us if we cut it down."

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Adventures in Knitting

There are 2 knitting events coming up in May ... I would love for us to meet up and say hello at one or both of them. I know I will be attending Maryland on Saturday... anyone else? I will be staying nearby - email me personally if you want to know where, etc.... I don't want to post that kind of personal info here. I have not been before and am really looking forward to it!

My official introduction

Ladies please sign in and introduce yourselves. Tell us a little about yourselves. Where you live, who your family consists, of what kind of fiber activities you enjoy, how you were introduced to knitting and how long you have been knitting. What you do with your non knitting time and perhaps how you support your addiction.

*********

I am Olivia-Lee. I live in Beaverdam (the far northwest tip of Hanover County) on my husband's family's very fine dairy farm. We are old newlyweds. We have been married 7 years now. I have a herd (8) of children from a previous marriage and only the 16 year old is home now. I have 6 grandchildren so far and one due in June. FC has two grown boys, one a married firefighter for Henrico County with a stepson, and the other, yet unmarried, and works and lives on the farm.

We have small two dogs that are our only children. and I have two fiber bunnies. Hazel Nut and Maple/Ruth. Hazel is a French Angora and Maple is a German/Satin Angora Cross. I have an Ashford Traveler spinning wheel, but I cannot call myself a spinner yet.

In addition to knitting, I do all kinds of other crafts and needlework (crochet, cross stitch , embroidery and hardanger...etc... ) and I am a beginner quilter. I want to try them all before I die... Lace knitting has become my current obsession

I taught myself to knit as a child (11-13), using a book my deceased grandmother left in the family vacation cabin in Maine, using log cabin spikes (10 inch long galvanized nails) and a spool of cotton twine. My aunt had taught me to crochet the year before. My mother promptly forced my father to drive 50 miles to civilization to buy me real (Redheart)yarn and real (Boye)knitting needles. The following year we visited those wonderful wool shops in New Brunswick Canada and mother bought me real wool and plaid fabric to make a skirt to match. I don't know whatever became of those. I didn't knit a sweater until my first child was incubating in 1974 and promptly put knitting away finding crochet was so much easier to pick up and put down with a wee one around. I did a few simple knitting projects over the years, but it was the grandchildren that inspired me to knit again.

Diana Cooper (Shepherdstown) started talking about a lace shawl she was doing for her daughter's wedding and Liz Lovick joined our scotty group. Further inquiry led me to be introduced to EZasPi and online knitting groups. Since them it has snowballed... and so has the amount of stash... and undone housework, overflowing in every room of the house.

Still I had no one to sit and knit with. Living in a very rural area and having a difficult schedule to work around and an even more limited budget I couldn't run out to the not so local LYS for help and I didn't know any one in a guild. So I started seeking out other Virginians on various KALs looking for a buddy nearby and the idea to do this was born. That is where I met Cat and most of you. I have a creative mind and can imagine what I want, but I can barely manage e-mail, so Cat is our technical guru. She claims to have no expertise, but I think she is doing just fine. If any of you have questions or suggestions in that area she is the one to turn to. She is a single mom and does work full time so be patient if you don't see instant results.

I do not work ( for money) full time, but I do have a lot of irons in the fire. I am the "run and fetch" and general secretary and receptionist on the farm. I am looking after two elderly relatives and have adopted my aunt's 95 year old roommate who appears to have no family that we have seen. I am working on setting up a library at our church and I teach the junior high class and missions outreach director. I also pet/puppy/house sit and occasionally have a "bad dog" rescue that needs to be retrained before being adopted out.

I am in and out of the house most days of the week. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my regular days in Richmond and I am less accessible for questions those days, but gas and our budget being what it is, I try to fill those days to the max.

You can reach me by e-mail olmommee@aol.com

Hello from Ashland!

Hello there-I am Lily and live in Ashland. I am new to knitting but have been crocheting and sewing for 25 years or so. I do charity work with my crafting now and am loving that. Thank you for finding me and adding me to this wonderful group of people. All your introductions are great. Can't wait to get crafting away with all of you....Crazy4Yarn&Needles....Lily

hi from WV

Hi, I'm Ellen. I'm in Berkeley Springs, not too far up the road from Winchester. I have a tiny farm, some sheep, mohair goats and chickens. I also have a small yarn shop, Pocket Meadow Farm Fiber Arts. My farm is called that, by the way, because it's so small you could slip it into your pocket and carry it around with you. I've knit for at least 40 years, spun for 15 for enjoyment, not perfection, and am a new weaver. Looking forward to meeting you all! Here is Babette, in the geraniums.

A newbie to this site

hi all,
I am Robin and live in Richmond. Been knitting for about 4 years after learning when I was a little girl. Wish I'd kept at it because I'd be good at it by now if I had. Knitting is a very relaxing hobby for me and I think I must have some kind of bug because I can't go in a yarn shop without buying yarn. I have more than I need and still think about the latest shop sale and ponder if I should go. Call me possessed!
Other hobbies I like are quilting, any kind of needlework and reading. Gardening is also a love but when the weeds come out and it gets hot I wimp out. Bad me!

Hope this really takes off because it will be a good way to connect with other people and learn about areas in Virginia to go shopping. There's that shopping word again...

I am Judy, a compulsive spinner and knitter from the Northern Neck.  It will be fun to share information and achievements with those who might be within driving distance.  I am currently trying to finish a bunch of projects that have been nearly done for too long.   As soon as my finish work is done, I will cast on some handspun merino/silk laceweight yarn for a Lily of the Valley shawl.  I also have a bag of yarns in burgundy, teal, navy, and rust that need to be combined into a cardigan--still working on the design for that one.

Judy in the Northern Neck

Newbie, to Blogs but not to Knitting

I am Eugenia and live in Manassas, about a mile (as the crow flies) from the Battlefield. I love to knit and sometimes it seems to take over my life. I have taught knitting and crocheting classes at Michael's, AC Moore, all local libraries, and at a new yarn shop, Needles in the Haymarket.
I am about to finish level II of the Masters program. The written work slows me down. I have so many notes about the history of knitting that it has become a major task, for me.

In my other life before retirement, I was a Reading Specialist. I owned and operated a tutoring center in Manassas for several years. I met my husband at UVA where we were fellow graduate students getting our doctorates in education. After graduation we spent 4 years at Stanford on a research grant. We have two adult children(?), a son in Cincinnati, and a daughter in San Francisco.

Currently on the needles, a gansey which I designed for my husband. It has a nautical theme with 5 charts to follow. I must have been crazy to attempt this, as he has gone two winters without it being completed. He has stopped asking how it is going.

Enough for now. I'll be back again.

Estoy aqui

Olivia-Lee groveled and begged me to join, so I took pity on her in spite of the fact that I'm not a Virginian. My name is Diana, but Olivia refers to me as the Goddess Yarn Hussy. I'm in West by God Virginia (it's a state law; have to say it that way), but in the very Eastern Panhandle. I own/moderate a few knitting lists, I spin and crochet, and own a photography studio in the middle of expansion.

What else would you like to know? Not that I'll tell you, but I can laugh at your questions. :-)

Inquiries

We are getting inquiries about our baby site! If you live in Virginia, knit and are willing to keep it clean, email me with your pertinent info (name, email, etc.) and I can add you to the list of bloggers, folks who can post here. If you have suggestions for side lists (photos, events, whatever), please send them along too! Come knit and post with us, Virginia!

Furry Fiber Factories

I took a lovely ( well most of it was lovely) trip to Point of Rocks MD (11 miles past Leesburg) yesterday to pick up my new Angora Rabbit. This one is a German Satin Cross. The one I already have, Hazel, is a French Angora that I adopted at the Montpelier Fiber Festival last fall. (I am still trying to find the sweet lady I got her from because I owe her a water bottle and feed dish I borrowed to get her home and promptly lost her contact information).

Who would have known it would have taken 6 hours to get there from Beaverdam. Long story, but even longer drive. Given some kind of accident, a detour and bad directions I ended up in DC (the very pace I was trying to avoid by taking a western route/15) before buying a map and heading back west. I had a wonderfrul companion on my trip one of my former Sunday school girls. When my other "navigators" bailed on me one after the other, I snatched Kendall for the ride much to FC's delight. He really didn't want me to drive alone, but I could tell he didn't want to make the trip either for another "stupid rabbit". (Like his cows are particularily bright?) It gave us a nice long time to talk. I haven't had that opportunity in a while, so perhaps it was divine providence.

I got to add Daniela another spinner/bunny breeder to my growing list of fiber acquaintances. She had ferried "Ruth/Maple" south from her previous home at the Storybook Dreams Angora Rabbitry owned by Susan Withnell. Daniela is also a dog groomer and has a wonderful set up for grooming both dogs and bunnies. She lovingly fed us and gave me a demonstration on grooming and clipping and feeding and housing. Unfortunately there was no time for a spinning lesson, but maybe I will get back up there one day.

The good news is she had company there from Manassas who very generously led us almost all the way back to I-95 the back way and we were home with a gas stop and a potty break in 2 1/2 hours.

When my daughter gets home this afternoon we will introduce the two bunnies and get some pictures. I don't know why I don't get custody of my (third) own digital, but what can I say she is 16 and she NEEDS it. Cathy is working on setting up the site. Like all "daddies" so far I have left all the housekeeping to her...

I will be working on getting our mailing lists edited and compiled and sending invitations out. Let us know if you have suggestions and send me an e-mail directly if you know someone who would like to join us.

Olivia-Lee
olmommee@aol.com