A Good Trade

    Wow - Sunday has flown by!  I've spent so much time at the spinning wheel I hadn't even realized dinner time is just around the corner.  I also remembered I told you I had another story to tell...and you know how I like to tell a good story...so here goes...
    Yesterday at the Market I made a new friend.  You see, there's a new Market member next to our spot.  It's Yoder's Greenhouse.  The Saturdays I've spent next to the Yoder's have been wonderful.  I've met Mr. and Mrs. Yoder and their eldest son.  Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting their younger son, too.  I'll call him Yo for my story.  
    So I was spinning up some roving at my spinning wheel and I noticed a young boy standing close by intently watching what I was doing.  I told him he was more than welcome to come closer and see what I was doing.  We exchanged names, he told me he just finished 4th grade, and I told him I finished 4th grade a long time ago.  We talked about my love of reading and his aversion to it.  All sorts of conversation went on.  I gave a bit of an explanation on the spinning wheel and he proceeded to stand by my side, watching.  After a bit I told him if he continued to stand there and watch I was going to put him to work.  I think he thought I was joking.  I got my drop spindle, some Merino roving, and proceeded to give him a little spindle history along with a lesson on how to use it.  I gave him my chair and told him to give it a whirl.  Yo whirled that spindle for quite some time.  Mr. Yoder finally told him to amble back to their spot so he could help someone carry some plants to their car.    
    As soon as that task was finished he was back at my side, watching me at the spinning wheel.  Again, after a while I told Yo if he was going to stand there and watch I was going to put him back to work.  He started asking me about my wheel, how long I think it took someone to make something like that, and how Mrs. Yoder wants to learn how to spin.  He also told me his sister likes to crochet and he's sure she'd like to learn too.  I got up from my chair, switched out my yarn for some Shetland roving and told Yo to plunk himself down in my chair.  This time I didn't give him the drop spindle.  I scooted my wheel up to him.  I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head.  I gave him a little spinning wheel lesson and off he went with it.  He spun a good bit of that Shetland roving.  Then we wrapped it around the chair back and I told him when we took it off of there it would be real curly, like doll hair...and it was.  I told him it was called art yarn.  I tied it up for him and told him what to do to set the twist when he got home.  He was so happy with his creation and said he was thinkig about giving it to his siter to crochet with.  He put that yarn in his pocket and took something else out of the other.  
    He layed that something else on the table and told me he made it all by himself.  I asked Yo to tell me all about this special thing he made by himself and keeps in his pocket.  He told me it's a horseshoe nail that he worked at bending the pointy end of to make a hook all by himself.  He was real proud of that hook nail.  Then he looked up at me and said, "Do you want it?"  I replied, "It sure is a fine hook nail, but I bet it's awful special to you, a lucky hook nail."  He said, "It is special, but I can make another one."  He said he wanted to trade the yarn he made for the hook nail.  Well I was so, gesh, words still can't describe how I felt at that moment about him offering up his special hook nail for that curly doll hair art yarn.  I told him I'm going to keep that hook nail in my pocket for good luck and after some of my lavender flowers I'm going to dry a bit and hang it from my hook nail so every time I look at it I'll remember our good trade.  I also told Yo next time I see him at the Market I'm going to make sure I have what we need to dye some wool locks in a canning jar, like making sun tea.  I have a feeling I'll be meeting his sister real soon, too.  Smiling & Waving, Sharon

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