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October 2007

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Drive-by blogging

So little time right now.  So. Little. Time.  Trying to finish a Ph.D. in science and make the transition into future projects that will keep the research momentum going is completely exhausting. And completely inconducive to blogging, and crafting in general, actually.  I give you all that I've got.

18

18 blocks. 

18_folded

19_fanned
Also, remember this? 

Ltl_sides_done

This UFO has been languishing in the pile since August, but the urge to finish it has struck. It must be the seeming endlessness of the hexagon blanket that is giving me the craving to finish something.  If only I can find the time...

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Multitasking is the new black

Not much progress on this:
13 because I have been doing this:
First_skeins
this:
First_yarn

and this:
Craft_north_wall
Craft_west_wall
Craft_south_wall Sorry for the dark photos - it's been wet and rainy around here lately (and I love it!).

The hex blanket has "grown" to 13 hexagons. I have missed working on it, despite how much fun I've been having with the drop spindle.

I have produced my first three mini-skeins of yarn! They are far from perfect, but I am learning and getting better with every hour at the spindle. Our instructor left us with two more drop spindles and nine samples of various fibers.  They include silk, soy silk, cashmere, alpaca, corridale, merino/silk blend, merino/tencel blend, Rambouillet/angora blend, and Merino a la Margaret Stove.  That ought to keep me busy!

On Saturday I painted and organized the craft room.  Do not adjust your monitor - I did use a bright color! My craft room is decorated with Mexican Folk Art (Dia de los Muertos, Oaxacan figurines, nichos, etc.), so I took license to get a little Fiesta with the color.  I'm sure it's not to all of your tastes, but I think it's really fun and it makes me smile when I go in there.  I still need to hang my peg board and my storage box, but I'm almost finished with the room.  I'll consider it "Mission Accomplished."

My husband is home after being out of town for a week, so I am going to leave it at that.  More soon.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Finding my place.

I want to share a little story about two community yarn shops and how I feel about them.  There was a shop close to our house in Washington, and I shopped there on and off for two-and-a-half years. I also took a class on Fair Isle there.  The ladies who owned and operated the shop were very nice, but none of them ever learned my name.  I never felt that I was a part of the community there, that I would be missed if I stopped coming in. Now don't get me wrong - I wouldn't say that the place was cliquish or cold; they probably just had a lot of people coming in and out, and I was just one of the masses.  I often thought that it would be worth it to drive further into Seattle to find a shop that seemed to "fit me" better.  And then we moved.

Fast forward to today, in Corvallis, Oregon. There is one yarn shop in town, and soon after we moved I went to the shop to pick up some yarn. The owner was very friendly, and she invited me to an upcoming knit night.  I went, and the small shop was overflowing with knitters and crocheters. I was warmly welcomed and had a great time.  Conversation drifted toward spinning, and I mentioned a desire to learn.  As luck would have it, a class was coming up at the shop on learning how to spin with a drop spindle.  A full week later I called the shop to sign up for the class.  While I was on the phone the owner saw my name being written down on the class list and I heard her say, "Oh, Amanda signed up!  That's great!"  *HUZZAH!!*  That's what I'm talking about!  That's the intangible sense of community that had escaped me for so long in Washington.  Imagine my glee - I think I've found my place!


First_singles And now, on to the juicy bits.  As you can guess from the above, I finally gave in to my longstanding urge to learn to spin. For about the last year or so I've been having secret thoughts about how amazing it would be to learn to spin my own yarn. But, I always talked myself out of it.  "No. No no.  I've only been knitting for a couple of years, and I really should concentrate on improving my skills before picking up a new hobby. And besides, I already have all of that yarn in the stash..."  But I have also been inspired by other budding spinners, and I've been secretly wishing that I too could learn.  And now, finally, I've taken the plunge and attended my first spinning class!  My singles are thick and thin and horrifying, but I am so proud!  I have made yarn out of sheep fiber!  The idea of being able to go from fiber to sweater is so amazing and exciting, and I just can't wait to learn more. 

Spindleclass_swag Our instructor gave us three kinds of wool to practice with, along with a top whorl drop spindle made from a wooden dowel and two CDs.  Neat!  The fiber on the  left is what is on the first "bobbin," and of course I completely forget what it is.  The fiber on the right has shorter fibers, so it should be a little different to spin than the first batch.  I am saving the purple pencil roving for dessert, which I have to earn by spinning all of the other stuff first.  I almost bought some fiber from Blue Moon yesterday, but I decided that I have to earn that, too, by at least finishing my spinning class and learning how to ply.  But I have to tell y'all, even though it's only a few days into it, I'm having the absolute best time spinning (such as it is).  And I'd like to ask, Lord, please keep me from the wheels until after I finish my degree...