I have been so neglegtful...........

Sorry blog world! I have ignored you, and like all good relationships, I willtry to make ammends...The last month has been a whirlwind of activity here. First, my oldest daughter Kaillie was off to the mission field in Cambodia and Thailand for 4 months. 2 weeks ago, Kaillie got very sick with Dengue Fever, and mosquito borne illness similar to malaria. At one point they thought they may have to evacuate her to Singapore or Thailand for platelet transfusions. The poor kid was miserable- fevers between 103- 105 degrees in a country where its already 100 degrees outside, and no air conditioning. Praise God, she recovered quickly and was back in the orphanage working on the day the doctors told her she would feel th worst!! The rash was ugly followed by the accompanying intestinal disruption, but that was the least of our worries!! Thank you so much to all of our praying friends and family who got us through that one!!

Next, I was off to Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic to do a surgical mission with several doctors, and nurses from the hospital where I work. What an amazing opportunity to serve God and His less fortunate people in this way. I was so humbled and grateful for the chance to work with these wonderful, truly thankful people!!! I can't wait to return.

Part 2, coming up!!

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

What happens next? Let me introduce the
rest of the team. First is my ever faithful Jensen
Castle wheel. Its made from solid cherry, and was
carved in Wisconsin by Jerry Jensen. It is very reliable,
pretty, and spins like a dream, but then, Jensen wheels
generally do.




This is another beautiful Jensen wheel- a 36"
solid cherry wheel that my husband gave me
for Christmas about 8 years ago. He asked me
once what my "dream wheel" would be- I got
out my Spin Off magazine, and found an add
for Bountiful Spinning and Weaving in Colorado.
"This one" I said with a far away look in my eye.
I knew what this wheel costs, I had already done
the research. My husband began a little research
of his own; he called Jerry Jensen and told him that
he NEEDED this wheel. He explained that is wife was
a fiber addict, and this was the wheel of her dreams.
That was at the beginning of November. He also
explained that he wanted to give it to me for Christmas.
Mr Jensen kindly explained that he didn't have one, it would have to be carved, and that would take a
while. When my husband explained that it was a total surprise for me and his wheel was the only
acceptable one, Mr Jensen very kindly took a rush order. He would carve the wheel and send it to
Mike in pieces, Mike would do all of the finish work. You can only imagine how totally shocked I was
to find this wheel under the tree! I cried when he told me this story. I will always be grateful for such
an amazing and thoughtful gift. I cherish this wheel. Thank you Mr Jensen,
for letting my persistant husband tug at your heart strings with his soppy story....

Last but never least, is my Majacraft Suzi Pro. This is my little work
horse! Its smooth treadle action can keep my spinning for long periods
when I am doing production spinning for a big project. It spins like a dream
and always produces a nice consistant yarn. Plus, its portable if I want to
take it along somewhere- it rides nicely in the car with a seatbelt on
too. : )

There you have it. The whole shabang. Next up- getting the new
room ready to work in, and putting a dent in that stash
with a few Finished Objects!!

Have a great weekend all. Thanks for reading.

Here we have the fibery animals.

Daryl, the angora goat, Ramsey and Gisele, the Jacob sheep. They provide lots and lots of fleece for me to play with. Its almost time for a spring haircut! Next week at this time, I'll post the "Makeover" photos I hope. Then, all of the fleece will go off to be processed and come back ready to spin.

Here's my room today. New carpet and paint, and some track lighting. Still to come- shelving, counter space to cutting patterns and setting uip sewing machines, and LOTS of shelving and bins to store the stash...

Meet the Team!

I think my obsession with wool started when I was in high school. My best friend Martha's parents were both university professors and they traveled to Europe quite a bit. Martha's mom was always knitting- she brought her knitting to all of our swim meets, and I would watch her create these lovely cabled sweaters for Martha from wool yarn in wonderful natural colors that she aways brought back from Germany. I coveted those sweaters! Years later when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I decided to take a knitting class so I could create some of those wonderful sweaters I had so long envied. My needles haven't been still for very long since that time!

First it was the learning to knit, then I became a "fiber snob". I fell in love with all kinds of natural fibers, and especially all things woolly. By the time my third child was born, I would cast longing looks at sheep- you can guess the rest. I found the local Fiber Guild where I learned to spin, and people encourage you to get more fiber!!! I attended conferences. I read knitting magazines and books about spinning. My friend Cindy's family bought a few llamas, and I had to go play with them. Then, my husband momentarily lost his mind and bought me a llama for Christmas one year. So, really, I can blame this whole "stash enhancement" thing on HIM. Its all his fault. Now he accuses me of trying to insulate the house from the inside out.....

Last fall, he came to me and said "honey, we HAVE to do something with all of this fiber. Its taking over our entire house. Its not organized anymore. There is HAIR on everyting. What if I build you a room over the attic? Do you think you could take it all up there to work on it???" So began the marathon building project.

In the beginning, there was yarn.....

I'm trying to keep up with the "times" as my daughters say- I'm starting my adventure in to the Blogosphere today!


Welcome to The Perpetual Knitter- the place I will chronicle my adventures in knitting, spinning, fiber animals, and life in general, most liely in that order...

My name is Kim Dravenstott, I live in a very small town in northeast Ohio. I share my yarn space with my husband of 26 years, Mike, 3 children- Kaillie, Hannah and Kurt, 7 dogs, 2 Jacob sheep, and one angora goat named Daryl. When I'm not knitting, I am a surgical nurse in a large hospital in Akron.

The goal of starting this blog is to chronicle my journey through my stash this year, while I attempt to get said stash under control! I have turned our house into the LYS Annex!! My husband is finishing a craft room for me, so it will be a great time to organize the stash, and get some projects finished. Welcome to the chaos!! I may even have some contests here with givaways from the stash (my husband votes YES on this option............), so come over and say hi. Please leave your blog addresses also- when I'm not knitting, I love to read about it. I need to build a blogroll! Besides, maybe your projects will inspire me to use something from that stash....