SpinnySpinny

Every time I intend to sit down and do something textile, real life intrudes. But finally, with The Boyfriend off for the weekend, I can do something. I’m not particularly inspired to spin, so fiber prep it is. And with nobody to complain, out comes the music…

L’amour est enfant de Bohême,
il n’a jamais, jamais connu de loi,
si tu ne m’aimes pas, je t’aime,
si je t’aime, prends garde à toi!

No, la Carmencita makes cigarettes, not textiles. But it’s nice to listen to, anyway. And then I’ll visit with Mimì and Susanna and maybe even Turandot.

I previously sorted the short and excessively crimpy part of the Romney fleece and started picking it to later card. I’m contemplating blending it with what’s left of the Dorset. But that is filthy and has to be combed out with the dog brush to get out all the trash. They are similar in length but the Dorset is more bouncy, together it should make a light gray. I don’t know what I’m going to do with any of it, so why not.

I did the same dog brush number to some of the Merino lamb, to see what I think about it drum carded. I tried some combed and that was nice, but I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve got enough of it. But I might have to find somebody with a fine fiber carder because I have my doubts about the standard one I normally have available. If the fiber is too fine, it doesn’t stay in the teeth of the carder but floats on top in clumps. I know a lot of people with drum carders, but some are more convenient to visit than others.

MaryJo Lanik, of the Van Wyck Homestead Handspinners and Weavers in Fishkill, NY, sent me some photos from the Knit-Out that I stumbled upon on my visit to New York last month. Here’s one of me (right) teaching drop spinning:

It was fun. You never know when you might find yourself on the other side of the country teaching spinning.

A few new changes — I’m working on the design of the site to make it easier for people to find what they are looking for, both from search engines and once you get here. I’ve also added targeted advertisements. The revenue-free grace period (sponsored by The Boyfriend) is over, so I have to see what I can do about it. I’m trying to make them not too obnoxious. In the process, I also get a search feature.

I want to get back to writing new articles, recently I realized just how much content I have here but most of it is the COE work. I have a few ideas, I just have to get to it with the constraints of the New and Improved (Somewhat) Employed Feorlen. I was thinking about the content of the site and realized I could make it both easier to find and easier to navigate by paying attention to the search engines. And since I’ve given in to the Cult of the Schedule C, I’m already paying the tax accountant and might as well try for some additional revenue. Strangely, I was able to deal with both by signing up with Google.

The last of the gray Romney fleece is finally scoured. I sorted out the shorter and more curly bits for carding and the rest is bagged and waiting for me to start on more Peruvian warp yarn. I even washed the rest of that questionable Dorset, although I still don’t know what to do with it. But the more wool I get scoured, the more I can seal in plastic bags and put in the storage unit. After the “M” incident, I’m not keeping raw fleece over there. Now I can start on the black Merino lambs.

I got this idea a few weeks ago that I should finally knit myself a sweater. I’ve avoided it because I’m actually not all that fond of knitting but I like to have handspun hats and scarves to wear. It’s great for small travel projects, something I am always in need of. I determined a while back that I am also in need of a “casual outergarment.” Something to throw on to run outside. I like the idea of a poncho, but I’m so over the whole “Celebrity Poncho” thing that I don’t want to touch it for fear someone will assume that I’m one of those kinds of people. I am decidedly anti-fashion when it comes to anything that involves People or Entertainment Weekly. Maybe in a few years when everyone has forgotten about it.

So, I think, I’ll knit myself a sweater. A nice classic cardigan I can nonchalantly drape over my shoulders. When somebody asks, I can respond “Yes, isn’t the yarn nice? I made it.” But since it will be of my usual 3-ply worsted, it will wear forever, never pill and be immune to the damp San Francisco evening breezes. And then I contemplate my sweater-making skills. Or, more correctly, the complete lack thereof. How will I get it actually fit my narrow shoulders and wide butt? Will I look like a stuffed sausage? None of those patterns have ever heard of bust shaping. I wonder if undertaking a first attempt in handspun is such a hot idea. What if I completely blow it? This leads me to the unthinkable: do I Buy Yarn?

I’m not sure I’m quite ready for this.

Finally some fibery stuff happens around here, in between the coughing and post-nasal-dripping and all that fun stuff. It’s nice to know that when you can’t do anything involving complex thought, there is still fleece to sort. Or something like that. I’m finally getting on with the huge backlog of dirty fleece and even doing a bit of spinning.

I started a mindless project with some Ashland Bay multicolor Merino top, a scarf for The Not-Really-Allergic Boyfriend. It’s all single, with warp and weft of opposite twist. I picked up some burgundy to go with the purplish multi warp, but I think I’m going to end up with black weft. I still haven’t resolvevd the loom question, however. This needs a proper modern multi-harness loom and I don’t think I will survive using the table loom on the floor. But I don’t have to decide yet, I’ve only promised to have it finished by February.

It’s nice to finally do something rather than make samples all day long. And something that isn’t fussy and tedious. It will be a little uneven and that’s ok. I’m enjoying the part where I buy the fiber ready to spin, but not so much the bits I have to pick out of it. I’ve never seen a commercial wool I’ve been entirely happy with, there are always neps or VM or even sometimes lumps of nasty stained fiber. And it’s never as long a staple as it could be. As much work as it is, I will continue to scour and comb my own because the results are so much better.