Fast forward to present.  I have spun enough of this fiber, on this spindle, in the intervening YEARS to confidently say “I know how” and “I don’t care for spinning”.  I think I would be able to master a wheel much faster and enjoy it more, but I still don’t think that spinning fiber is the craft of choice for me.  Let’s just say I consider it well worth my $$ and my time saved to purchase a nice hank of cashmere, silk, or even alpaca that someone else has lovingly spun into luscious fibery goodness.

So, even though it may not be my thing either, I will take the rest of this fiber mass and attempt to needle felt something.  If that doesn’t work, and you happen to be a close friend or relative of mine reading this, you can probably expect a nice felted bar or two of bath soap in your Christmas packages this year.  The spindle is going on the Christmas tree as an ornament.

http://www.owning-alpaca.com/needle-felting-a-dragon.html

I would, however, provide him with a loving home and lots of yummy yarn food…

Let me know….

On the other hand, I took the more structured approach by using a template of a ghost that I printed from a pumpkin carving web page. It was smooth sailing for me after I wipped out the proper equipment for the job. Don’t you just love the dremel? It has so many uses. Blazer decided to hone in on my fun though. He appeared to be trying to help, but we all know he was in it for the pumpkin pulp. Yum, Yum. We all had a great time and really enjoyed the ushering in of the fall season.

Speaking of the fall season with all it’s various holidays. I have come across two free knitting patterns just in time for Halloween. You may have already seen these, but I thought they deserved honorable mention here. The first is a pattern for a scarf from the fall 2005 issue of Knitty. The pattern is called Yorick. It is felted, looks like it would be a pretty quick knit and would definitely make a great conversation starter at your next SnB or office party.

The second pattern is a pirate lovers pattern that has possibilities as a Halloween pattern as well. Do you like to do lace knitting? How about inserting a Skull and Crossbones motif into your next shawl, stole, or scarf? This pattern is cute and I think it would look good without being repeated. Think of the amusing looks and interesting questions you would get once someone figured out that your lacy stole contained an buccaneer element in the design. Too funny.

Here is a great tip for making your new felted slippers non-skid. What a great idea! Next time you make felted slippers, house socks, or even a felted bag you might give this technique a try. Since felting is just not my thing, I think I may use this technique on some other items in the house. Ohhh, wouldn’t this be a great thing to do to things on the boat to keep them from sliding around?