Darn Computer!

Yesterday, I went into polish up the hand outs I had prepared for my class Saturday. No where to be found! I had to start all over again. It took about 6 hours but I think I have them pretty well done, and am much more confident they are saved. Then I was notified that I now have 7 students rather than 6. I had thought that registration had been cut off at Christmas, but I guess the shop has to make a profit too. This means that I have to get the supplies for one more kit. When I got the stuff for the first 6 kits, I bought out the store for the Synthrapol, and now it's too late to order from Toronto. But I made a few phone calls and finally found a local source. It means a couple of hours of driving through this horrible snow and cold, but that's okay.

My friend and I have now arranged to visit the local wool shop tomorrow. I'm hoping to pick up a couple of things. I very much want to learn a bit about dyeing wool. I've acquired some uncarded, but clean wool, and want to dye it for use in my needle felting. This may make producing landscapes a little easier. I'm determined to find some sort of product that will have the potential to make the needle felting somewhat profitable. Not sure where that will end up but even if all I gain is enough knowledge to enable me to teach, I'll be happy. The other thing I want to take a look at is wool she might be selling that is already dyed. Another friend showed me a huge bundle of dyed roving that she had bought from a local wool dyer. It changed colour frequently, and was the nicest subdued, toned down colours--perfect for needle felting.

This brings up the whole issue of supporting shops. I found out yesterday that another local wool/yarn shop may be closing. I had also heard a rumour that it was being sold, but that was awhile ago, so maybe the deal fell through--or was just gossip. In this city of almost 700,000 people there are now only two wool/yarn shops, and one of those is very, very small. We have a couple of wool producers within driving distance of the city, but they sell the wool ready for spinning--not ready for any other process. While I'm not a knitter, I love the feel and usefulness of wool and wool blends ( especially wool/silk). Spun yarns are so great in my collages. But I have to confess that I've bought cheap crap from Dollarama, and I'll continue to do so. It is a couple of blocks away and the price is right. So convenience and $$ will continue to dictate my purchasing, especially if I have to drive out of town to get the better, but pricier goods.