Mexico and MD Sheep & Wool Part 3

or ... Swine Flu, Celebrations, and Wool.

Firstly, it was May the Fifth a few days ago, but much of Mexico was under lock-down because of the swine flu. Mexico appears to recovering now, but the US has over 2000 (mild) cases (and climbing) reported and Australia has reported its first case. There is a small number of items to consider from here:

• What happens when it hits the poor countries of the third world? We already saw the difference between the US and Mexico.
• What happens in China and India if the virus hits them hard ?
• What happens next winter when flu season starts up again?
  

One not-so-nice example that we have in front of us is this: in 1917 there was an outbreak of early flu here in the USA. It appears to have started in Kansas, where a large number of US Cavalry were stationed. The available DNA from that flu seems to indicate that it had equine DNA included, indicating that it may have started in the horse population. However it started, it was mild, and the cavalry went off to Europe in 1918. From there, research the 1918 flu outbreak - about 100 million people died.

This 2009 flu appears to have two versions - mild and severe. In normal life the mildly-affected people go to work and the really sick stay at home. In Mexico it may be that the really sick (those with the severe version) had to go to work to make a living, so that version got spread far more than here in the USA.

Anyway, I'm getting flu jabs this winter - I normally don't, but this year I think I'll do differently!

Now here's some really good news. Let's see what Man. U. think about that, then!

Liverpool !

West Ham 0 - 3 Liverpool

And Now ...............The Yarn You've All Been Waiting For !

Well, pictures of it, anyway.

To the left, yarn from Hill Farm in Maryland.

To the right, Toni Neil of The Fold had a shop, featuring a lot more wool that I had time to take pictures of here. There's Blue Moon silk shown, along with some of what looks like Alpaca, but I'm certainly not certain (the AG will correct later if need be).


I think that the lady to the left is re-arranging hanks in The Fold, but I'm not sure. The wool on the right is from the same shop - same labels !

TESS'

I'm afraid that, while I really loved some of the colourways throughout the fair, TESS' seemed, to me, to have some of the most vivid and striking offerings.

Here, on the left, in front of a nice blue sweater example is yarn of a hue of orange that I have rarely seen, except on this year's Renault F1 cars.

Just around the corner I found a soft, muted blend of pinks and blues. Somewhat appropriate for the drizzly day we were having.




Here on the left we're still outside, and the colours are a little muted because of the amount of cloud-tinted light. The variety of shades of blue, however, are just a harbinger of what was to come.

I moved inside and found this wonderful array of blues. The colours benefit here from the use of fill flash, so they're really rendering as they actually appeared to my eyes.

Finally, almost an entire rainbow of colours on yarn.

By the way, you see a few hands and elbows in some of these shots: that's because TESS' store was pretty packed. The staff there were busy both times we passed by, unpacking things to replace what was sold, so I guess they were selling pretty successfully.

There'll be one more blog with MD S&WF stuff later today, after I've done some programming and some video editing. Meantime, if you're into giving photographs as a present, take a look here. It's a rather romantic take on personal messaging and something to think about the next time you want to send a birthday card, I think.

TTFN

Yarn - Old and News

Not much time this week for tech stuff, as I've had two releases to coordinate in two weeks. Phew! Five working days between releases just isn't enough. Still, it was needed and it was done.
Influenza
Big worries in the southern states of the US - and New York - about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico. In Mexico about 80 people have died - mostly young adults - whereas there seems to be a milder form that's infecting children here in the US. So far nobody has got really sick or died here in the US. Mexico City, OTOH, seems to be under virtual lockdown, with schools and most restaurants ordered closed. In addition, people have been urged to avoid hospitals! One or two cases may have occurred in London now. For an FAQ about Swine flu, see here, and you can also look at the WHO site for information.
Yarn Matters
Firstly, KnittyKnotty; 117 Haddon Avenue, Westmont, NJ 08108. From the mouth of the proprietress, with whom I spoke this afternoon, KK will be holding sale until close of business on Saturday, May 2nd. Thereafter it will remodel and reopen focussed not on retail yarn sales but on crafts, classes, product, and patterns. The re-opening date has yet to be announced. For details please see their website.






At the time of writing, there is lots of Noro, Plymouth Galway, and Auracania yarns, shop samples, straight & double-point needles. My Better Half and I wish her well in this metamorphosis.


Woolgathering in Kennett Square, PA
This is a delightful little shop jam-packed with wool and buttons and needles and things. As you can see, there are plenty of "donors" taking the sun in the window!

I'm also firmly instructed not to omit mention of their smallest "customer", who can be seen here contemplating the possibilities of using circular needles!

From within the shop, here's a whole wall of Noro (I really like socks made from Noro yarns!)














To finish with at Woolgathering, here's a basket of stuff just begging to be made into socks. Brilliant colours.