Cath Emery

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:14:00 GMT

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:59:50 GMT

I may have to break down and learn to make some kind of thick or felted or both foot coverings. Slippers just aren't working well for me any more. If I wear them with socks, the padding mashes down so that they get too big soon, and they slip on my feet. I need that extra layer, though, to keep my feet warm, and I haven't any shoes I like to wear inside.

Such a bother.

Spencer the cat heard me on the back deck and after failing to get in through the front, managed it there. It didn't last-- his warm furry body was lifted, back feet sticking out in a protesting sort of way, and deposited back on the deck.

Someone forgot a stamp on a card she sent, and my mail person applied a stamp and delivered it. With the "Please reimburse your postal person" note, of course. But I don't mind that; I'd have wondered if I hadn't gotten the card.

I gave away some of my handspun for the first time yesterday -- Susan got the Star Burst skeins, though she agreed only on condition I help her out with making a hat like the one I gave her last year, which gets compliments. I hope there's enough of it!

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:04:52 GMT

There's still tomorrow, so I don't feel all the pressured to bake today.

Except that we need something for dinner.

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:06:16 GMT

I was supposed to bake today.

I did hot up a pizza in the afternoon, when I realized I hadn't had enough lunch and nothing in the fridge was going to suffice.

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:47:51 GMT

Sleepy. Housework on the list. Scheduled for today, along with fun stuff like knitting and spinning and a round on my current doily.

Some kitchen work for Christmas. Presents to wrap. Scheduled for last-minute-possible. Must look up how long it takes to do the rolls with the dough cycle and find out when they're supposed to be consumable.

Still have garland that didn't get draped artistically over windows or bookshelves. That's ok -- it sparkles even dumped in a heap on the floor.

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:21:45 GMT

There are still a few cards I haven't sent, mostly to some relatives.

dzirin on Ravelry got me all enthused about a cross stitch and I had to drag out the clown fish I'm working on, and the ones that have been rolled up and frameless for a few years. If I finish "Nemo" I can -- well, then I should finish the herbal sampler and get the Christmas angel on the frame for easier working.

detective work

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:54:37 GMT

Got to jaunt over to Woodland Woolworks and with foresight took a small sample of the unknown fiber that came with the spinning wheel.

Expert nodded, felt, said it resembled Targhee. We went in and felt some Targhee that was a little rougher than the uknown fiber -- barely enough to detect --- and it could be a fleece difference rather than a breed difference, I suspect in my small knowledge gained from reading. So it could be Targhee or merino. I should have gotten some Targhee to experiment with.

Well, some other time.

I did purchase some other fibers, including some truly lovely baby camel blend and undyed silk.

Expert showed us a cute spinning wheel from Australia with a sliding hook on the flyer. I also saw how a double drive is supposed to be looped, which cleared up my puzzlement over how to set up *either* Scotch tension *or* the double drive on the wheel I'm using. Now I need info on what pros and cons there are to one or the other.

Came home and plyed my Starburst Falkland, which I have been spinning this week on the wheel, and it seems from the sample I have more plying twist than singles twist, which is disappointing. I didn't think my singles were underplyed, so this will mean some more sampling.

I did notice something that rather disturbs me: The twist on my side of the orifice is a lot more than the twist on the bobbin. If I pull some off the bobbin and look at it, it's less twisted than what I'm holding on the other side of the orifice. Bobbin tension adjustment??

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:33:30 GMT

Laundry. Should be floor sweeping or vacuuming. Need to do crafty homework assigned last week when Kate and I reviewed our progress (very little!).

Also, laid out and cut fabric pieces for project. I'm experimenting with setting up one of those little 3-bin wheeled things to hold spinning supplies so I can drag it around by the wheel and by my desk for hand spinning and shove it into the craft room for tidying. I'm lining the bins and hanging wide pockets on the back and small ones on one side. I think the other side will have a fastener for holding a self-sealing plastic bag of fiber.

Making sure I don't tip it over with weight on any one side could be interesting.

huh. If I'd been able to get the wheels on it, I could have used the half-circle one designed to go under pedestal sinks and hung the fiber supply in the half-circle part. Harder to line those curved bins, though.

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:15:45 GMT

I thought of something while I was breakfasting, something I could do today that would be useful and pleasant, but I was reading while I ate and now I can't recall what it was.

I get a lot done some days

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:45:41 GMT

I was out by the Christmas cards failing to accomplish the task, thought of something, came in here, and looked at Ravelry. I'm sure I had something I was going to look up.

About 20 minutes later, I realized I didn't know what i was looking for. I went back out, wandered past the cards, and hung more garland. I needed a couple more nails, so went looking for the hammer. Remembered I was going to try clearing a few things off the desk by using a little metal wire shelf on wheels, so while I was in the craft room I grabbed that and brought it back in here.

Thought it would be nice to have plastic bins on the shelves to keep things from falling out, so went back to craft room but didn't find them. Found wire I used for garden nametags and put it into the bedroom, and decided to take the laundry down so moved bin into hall.

Went back to living room, found hammer, finished garland. Remembered I wanted another strand of a different color, went downstairs. Hung more garland downstairs. Decided to get small gold hook to put on other bookcase so can hang jingle wreath. Went upstairs. Remembered about the plastic bins, went downstairs, moved old sheets (for use in car under tree, though not used) into laundry room to go back on shelves, came upstairs. Wandered about wondering what I was looking for.

Came into office, looked at Ravelry again. Noticed ornament hook on desk.

That's it! Am about to go downstairs looking for ornament hooks. But that can't be **it** it, because **it** it was something online.

Well, never mind --- I'm going to look for the baggie of hooks.

Wish me luck. ;)

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:10:29 GMT

This morning I said to G, "I can tell you one thing--" *pause* "There's no dirty money around here."

He laughed. "It's all been laundered?"

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:05:00 GMT

12 degrees on our back deck. G had to thaw the car for a long time before driving off onto the street, which has a thick layer of white frost. Or maybe it snowed a little and didn't stick anywhere else.

At any rate, BRRRRRRR.

Cool Water finished off

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:51:07 GMT

I have looked at my Cool Water "spin repair" job and it looks fine (the underspun areas are better even if some of the overspun is not; some of that was thinner so it couldn't be helped). (Yes, I still need evenness practice.)

I have 206 rounds of approximately 32", so I have . .. .about 183 yards. And my two little sample bits.

Pictures later.

Spin - Testing the wheel

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:20:37 GMT

So I actually did some wheel spinning today. I was highly amused to discover that the minute I sat down, my hands fell into the positions I have seen others using in photographs.

I'm using the fluff that came with it in a blue plastic bag, unidentified pale wool. It drafts at almost a 3" distance between fingers, feels soft, and drafts really easily, and the most comfortable pull is a short draft of just an inch or two.

Feels as if it needs more twist than it's getting (I still can't quite tell how much the wheel is putting in -- maybe I need a better angle or light or something, or to memorize all that ratio stuff), which may reflect the staple being shorter than I'm used. It seems to like being thinner -- the thicker (relatively speaking) reminds me of malabrigo. If I drop the end it unspins really fast.

I have a two-ply spindle-spun and -plyed sample soaking and waiting for a thwack. Maybe I'll pull off what's on the wheel and sample that as my first wheel-spun.

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:16:19 GMT

I put my jingle wreaths up, but I don't know if I have enough light strands for the tree *and* a window. We had another string go bad last year.

Lots of space for the garland -- I never did get around to taking down the nails. And it's time to get cracking on the cards.

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:58:39 GMT

Guess I shouldn't have practiced wheel-plying with my Cool Water -- or at least with a smaller amount. I wasn't very even, and finishing didn't even it out. There are places with not enough twist and places with too much. :(

Wonder if I could go through it and work some twist in and out? Might be challenging. I think it's also more than the Turkish will hold. Well, I'm supposed to be learning.

Feels like my first real setback, somehow.

I'm starting Hoop Earrings (Romney) and finding it quite rough. Predrafted, as it also felt compacted. Did a single with my BG spindle and a 2-ply, which I am finishing as samples. Considering trying a slightly thicker sample as well.

Spin- Cool Water whirlpool

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:45:38 GMT

I have Cool Water ready to ply. I had five cops so I ran them together in one plying ball (for two plies) and I am going to learn about plying joins. Joining plies. Something like that.

Kate thought they'd make nice singles, but I kind of liked the two ply sample. The single looked - actually, the single looked like a single. You know, one ply. Some twist. Not perfectly even. I'm still afraid I'll discover my singles didn't have enough twist and will fall apart when knitted up.

Even though I thought this had a little extra right after I finished the sample. Maybe the next one.

I'm liking the solid effect of my samples, so I plan to either get some undyed for spinning or find some nice blends in semisolid or monochrome. Not right this minute, but sometime.

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:55:24 GMT

The cat Spencer got in twice today and hung out on the back porch for a little while after the first time.

I think he knows there is a pet void here.

Got my Christmas cards out of the desk to look over. Have to see if I need to buy more.

The MIL wanted us to buy her something a week or so ago, and then added, "And pick up a typewriter on your way."

I was totally puzzled. She wants it for Christmas cards. She doesn't use her computer, and I don't think she would manage a typewriter well, either, with her tremor as bad as it's gotten.

They still sell typewriters. I had to look them up to check. Of course, they're not the kind Dad had in his office under the stairs, which I had to build up enough muscle in my fingers to use --all those separate, manual keys with silvery rims and a tall case.

ply & thwack, samples

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:38:53 GMT

Being bored with winding yesterday, I unwound a section of single that I knew was of moderate length because I broke it when winding the cop off the spindle. I made it into two samples: a two ply of 6.6 yards of Cool Water and a 1.1 yard of slightly crinkly single (it was too small to dry weighted, sort of).

I also took my test-spin with the scrap of BFL from spindle BF (black with flowers) and have a skeinlet of 2.4 yards of tinyness --- too small to do anything with, really, and hard to photograph, but amusing to look at. I need to do a sample with that spindle to see how that thinness looks plied.

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:14:20 GMT

We took m-i-l to lunch. Except the buffet place near where she lives does not do lunch on weekends. They start dinner at about 11, which means they charge dinner prices all day, which I found interesting.

And more expensive than I'd planned, of course.

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:18:15 GMT

Dark in the morning, dark in the evening. Fog. Chill mist-- ok, rain. Fine, thin rain that will soak through eventually, but you can walk up and down the street and take it off with your hat and coat when you come in.

I must've gotten those fine, thin slices on my fingers when I was cutting the fruit yesterday. Nicked one of my fingernails, too. Normal for me. (er, no blood, btw)

Post-Spin

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:37:13 GMT

I have just discovered why Kate thought it would be good to try a Turkish spindle.

If that doesn't explain everything --- I just wound off my first cop from the standard spindle. Can't do that too often or I'll be back in a wrist brace looking for new hobbies.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:22:09 GMT

When the car stops, my mom's little handful of Pomeranian makes the funniest noises ever. She does this kind of squeak-whine.

We stopped on the way home to let her out of the car for the usual reasons, and every time she tried to position herself, the wind blew her over sideways. Dad and I suggested putting her down in the lee of a bush for shelter, but Mom didn't want to get back out of the car.

I saw stripy cat outside today, pacing along the metal ladder (that we ought to get into shelter before the ropes rot off), one foot on each rung. He paused and looked up in my direction when the door thumped shut.

Spin - a moving target

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:45:13 GMT

I knew we'd be in the car for most of two days, and I get carsick if I read in a moving vehicle, so I took spinning.

I used over a foot of fluff, but I wasn't quite as consistent as I'd have liked. I could only draft in short sections while in the car. I had trouble with the hook (my first attempt at the fake notch was not properly done, so it failed after a while). I just generally need more practice learning the tricks of this particular small, fast, high-whorl spindle.

I did buy myself a present while I was getting something for someone else, and so I have been reading Abby Franquemont's Respect the Spindle this morning. I'm on page 72, reading about twist control and drafting speed, bound to be useful, right?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:11:37 GMT

Kate brought over a spinning wheel for me try. It's an Ashford Traveler. Kind of exciting. Hope I'm a spinning prodigy. It'd be nice to be a prodigy. ;)

I got to hear about her SOAR experience and she brought me spinnable presents, which is also exciting. Really neat stuff, with color changes along the length of the fiber rather than in sections. Fascinating, and in lots of dark blue.