I hate asking for money – even when it is for a good cause. But, today I need to ask anyone who can to help with a cause that is important to me – MS.

I am so very lucky. I am able to run, ski, bike, walk, see… and i have every reason to believe that i will be able to do these things tomorrow.

I have a friend who is not so lucky. Five years ago he was diagnosed with MS. It’s in remission now, but he never knows how it will manifest itself when it comes back. Will he still be able to backpack and bike? Will he be able to see so that he can work?

I had a friend whose father was not so lucky. He lost his business, his vocation, his motivation. There has been a lot of progress since he was diagnosed, but MS is still not curable.

This winter we started a bike team at my side job, Brighton Resort, to raise money for the National MS Society. We’re riding the Best Dam Bike Tour, which is 150 miles over two days. We’ve had bake sales (i bake a mean ginger snap), raffles and yard sales. We’ve raised a decent amount of money with a lot of hard work. And so today I decided I needed to overcome my fear of asking for money and ask any of you who are interested in helping to sponsor me in this ride. If you can pledge $10, that would be fabulous. It really makes a difference.

If you pledge more than $20, I’ll send you a dozen Gingersnap cookes, home made. Just make sure to include your email so that i can contact you to get your mailing address.

Links:
To Sponsor Me
To find out more about the event
To find out more about the National MS Society

And to show you how fast i am, here’s some pictures taken while on my ride this morning:

it’s all a blur!

can you see the runner?

apparently i ride in circles

um, where am i going now?

i got home yesterday to find a package on the doorstep – for me!

inside, was this:

arrived with five sisters

and some of my very favorite candy in a little olive-green tote. Wow, all because i had a birthday.

Thank you Thuy!

Jess asked if i could talk more about Beaverslide Dry Goods Wool. Yup, i sure can.

I originally bought their worsted weight 90% Wool / 10% Mohair for an aran sweater. Not knowing exactly how much i would need, i bought 12 skeins or so (it was on sale! as it is right now if you look). I may have been perhaps a bit overly concerned about running out of yarn. In any case, the aran of my own design did not pan out and then the irregular rib came along, SOP wanted a black sweater and well, the yarn seemed perfect. I still have enough for a sweater for me, btw.

The charcoal lot i bought has tiny flecks of teal in it every so often. It has very slight variations in thickness occasionally, but nothing overly distracting to me. It is very soft and i would say that the only detraction has been that some skeins have quite a few knots and, maybe my spit is low on enzymes, i have a hard time spit splicing. The yarn doesn’t have a lot of sheen (Brown Sheep Wool has a distinctive sheen to me), but has a soft feel.

I also bought 6 skeins of their all-natural, chemical- and dye-free yarn in dark heather grey. I’m using that right now to make the Celtic Dreams Aran. It is not as soft off the skein as the dyed, but it is not rough either and it softens with washing. It seems to have a more consistent thickness than the dyed yarn as well. I’ve had 2 knots in the first skein so far, we’ll see how the rest are. The yarn looks to hold the pattern well, though and i think it will be a good match for this sweater.

Beaverslide has color cards you can order as well. They have expanded their line considerably since i made my last purchase and i am very much tempted by their all-natural black. Their service has been wonderful every time i’ve bought and i will be buying from them again.

So, those are my comments. For a more technical perspective from someone who actually knows what they are talking about, you might want to read Clara Parkes’ review in at Knitter’s Review Magazine

EDIT: Alexandra commented that she was afraid of the itch of mohair in the 90/10 yarn. I have to say it is much softer than other mohair-blend yarns i’ve tried – Brown Sheep, for example. In fact, i wouldn’t have really noticed the mohair in it myself.

whoohoo! another one bites the apad hook!

yes, yet another person doing the apad better than i – melissa!

(or ‘a little trip to dog lake’)

sop on the trail

i do believe it is autumn

my favorites

aspen grove

look in the lower left – quite a bit farther than my last moose experience