Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Wool Over My Eyes

Riddle:  5    7    2    6
             4    3    5    4
             9   10   7    ?
What’s the next number in this series?

The temperature today is expected to reach into the low nineties.  This is a far, far cry from just this past Saturday, when Ellen and I went, by invitation, to Shepherd’s Harvest, and event celebrating natural fibers.  Goats, sheep, rabbits, llamas and alpacas contributed to to displays, which ranged from raw wool to spun yarn dyed every imaginable color to sweaters, hats,  and shawls.  Maybe some day I'll write a book set at the fair.  I've already got the title: The Wool Over His Eyes.

I was there to sign and sell And Then You Dye, of course.  I brought along all fifteen of my other titles and was seated at a tall round table in the middle of the fourth (of four) long shed, each full of exhibits and vendors.  The sky was changeable, going from overcast to sunny, and it was very windy.  And cold!   At one point sleet rattled the metal roof!   The sheds were unheated and had big doors open at one end and small ones at the other, so the wind could fairly whistle through.  I had worn my heaviest suit, with its long skirt, but it wasn’t enough.  Here’s a photo of me knitting, not happily – though it was otherwise a very pleasurable event.  Note my hands are white with cold.  First thing we did on leaving was stop at the nearest restaurant where I ordered hot chocolate!


I bought a couple of antique buttons for a serape I bought a few years ago at Teotehuacan (spelled wrong, probably) pyramid complex near Mexico City, a skein of hand-spun Icelandic natural-color wool, a small ball of black roving from a black Icelandic sheep – and a hat.  The hat is a felted wool turban, white, not unlike the brightly-dyed one this lady is wearing.  She and another lady make these fabulous hats.  Now I have to keep my word and get rid of another hat I already own.


I have promised myself that I will submit the manuscript of The Drowning Spool this Friday to my publisher and agent.  I am working hard on making that promise come true.  Stay tuned.

Answer:  10 – add the numbers in columns.

3 comments:

Linda O. Johnston said...

Your signing event sounds like fun, Monica. Today the temperature where I live in L.A. is hopefully going DOWN to the low 90s. It was extremely hot here for the last two days after my return home. And good luck with your manuscript submission!

Mary said...

What a great title. Wool and sheep festivals are great places to find wonderful one of a kind yarns and fleece's.

Anonymous said...

Maybe one of your characters could wear a hat just like that woman's.