And another thing.....

From the comments so far, it looks like I have good reason to continue! I wasn't going to quit, but it is nice to be validated to continue! Keep those comments coming!

I looked at my blog as well, in this time of reflection and I ask you......Am I fighting middle age still, or am I fending off old age? I am referring to my banner at the top of the blog and now that this is the year I turn 60 ( I only feel 30.....of course, I use to say I felt 19) does my banner need a new subtitle????

Update on the bench and vanity from Mom's house: After all the research, I realized what we had in our possession, so I took the bench to be reupholstered, and talked to the gentleman there about the possibility of stripping the paint off the vanity and refinishing it as well. The bottom line was that the vanity would cost about $2400 to strip and refinish and there would be NO guarantee that he could restore it to the original beautiful mahogany finish since he had no way to determine how the piece was prepared for the paint back in the 60's. So I had to let it go for a pittance, but it is now sold to a nice young family who knows the treasure they may have if they put a little sweat equity into it.

As for the bench, this is fabric I purchased:

and since I am not paying to refinish the vanity, I decided to have the wood restored and finished as well as the upholstery replaced. Not cheap, but as my brother told me, it is a significant family keepsake.

I knit a second pair of mittens from the handspun alpaca

and now have started on a simple watch cap.

Maybe I'll add a stripe to the top of the hat for interest. I could use black or ivory for contrast. I'll have to see how that develops as it is knit up. So from 10 oz of raw fiber, at least 3 project sprang forth. Not bad....

And I am spinning. I finished a beautiful Merino from JulieSpins in the color: Canada (Photo courtesy of Julie)

which I navajo plied into a nice worsted weight

and I am now working on a Finn fiber from Bride Flight Studios

in the color: Oracle of Delphi. (Photo from her Etsy site) It is so soft and inviting. At spinning group last Sunday I was told that since Finn has a long staple, it makes a nice single ply yarn, so that is my goal so far.

Every time I checked her shop, it was empty, but I lucked into this one.
Timing is everything, and I will be checking again often, as all the sold colors were gorgeous.

There's more, but I don't want to spill it all out at once.