I do not need a new hobby, d** it

maziemaus is a wonderful person. She is also evil in a very specific way. She and I went to Philadelphia this weekend to have dinner with a bunch of knitters and The Yarn Harlot, a knitting blogger who is the author of the current best-selling knitting book in America, At Knit's End: Meditations for People who Knit Too Much. Ok, I loved the book.

It was great listening to people geek about their art. It was also nice to talk to another non-fiber person around the fiber stuff-- the lady who introduced herself as the non-knitting-partner, aka fiber enabler. *grin*
Listening to the Yarn Harlot describe her experiences in Penn Station was really, really funny. Also listening to people tell funny fiber and blogging stories. Maziemaus, you should blog about it.

However, there is an unexpected result.
I am not a fiber person. Yes, I like pretty yarn. Yes, I have the spider inheritance (all my maternal relatives can crochet like fiends; my mother bought a flock of sheep and learned to spin and weave when I was a kid, before we left the farm). I refer to myself, with great glee, as a fiber roadie. I go along and carry the wooden bits.

Maziemaus has taught me single crochet. There has been a half-finished square in my car for six months. I want to crochet but never get around to it. I do not knit. Knitting scares me. It's like spinning wool on a drop spindle. Too many things to do with both hands. I can braid a bit. I love pretty colors in the same way Maziemaus does-- I have a bunch of pre-dyed hemp thread because the colors were pretty and it's a botanical thread, and some undyed hemp thread to experiment with dyeing on. BUT...
Iam not a fiber geek.
Really.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The fact that subscribing to Yarn Harlot's blog and seeing her latest yarn acquisition makes me want to go out and do something with beautiful yarn is irrelevant. The fact that I lust after this yarn is irrelevant. I do not have money for yarn. I never do handwork. The last person who saw me handsewing at an SCA event almost went into shock. I have tried to spin wool and it didn't work, and taking a lead from Tamora Pierce's character Lark, I tried spinning a botanical fiber, flax, which went better but then I got distracted... I have way too many other hobbies. I cannot pass a bookshop, a cooking shop, or a plant nursery already. If I had to stop at yarn shops too I'd never get anywhere.
I do not have time for fiber geekage.

Therefore, I have decided that since I am taking up glass bead making at 40, I will take up yarn geekage at 45. There. That's settled. I will not lust after gorgeous yarn anymore. Right.

Anyway, after this feast is done, I will a) buy some flax and practice linen thread spinning, and b) start dyeing things. Yes. This time I mean it.