Obligatory Post part III

So, here I am again, posting once more without much of an idea as to what I am going to say. I have not been knitting much. I just haven't felt like it. I have been lurking in forums, thinking about crafting, practicing down dogs, and writing as much as my stubborn mind will let me. I feel good about the fact that I'm writing more lately, but I think there should be room for writing and knitting. I have been feeling the urge to knit more and more in the past few days, but I haven't acted on it and I think it is because I always end up in a great deal of pain afterwards. I am not very diligent about sitting up straight as I knit which is a recipe for disaster!

Anyone have any neck pain/posture tips/exercises? I've been doing what I can in terms of exercise, but any advice would really be helpful. :)

I have done a little bit of spinning, but not in the past week or so. I've started spinning up a nice turquoisey blue merino and tencel blend. Right now, as a singles, i think it is at laceweight...which is sort of a bummer because I wanted to ply it INTO a laceweight. I may or may not decide to use it as a singles (I'm afraid of it biasing and I tend to prefer stockinette lace over garter lace, which would help balance out the slanting effect of the singles).



It's really soft and silky. Yay!

I made asparagus and shallots to go with some lentil shmush for dinner tonight:



The lentils don't look appetizing, but really they were delish!

Another note: I am feeling a little less cranky, but I'm not completely over it yet. I've been trying to focus on good things and slowing down.

A couple of things...

...Monday was St. Distaff's Day and I spent a large chunk of my time spinning up some merino in "celebration." I have finished the singles, which I allowed to rest a bit on the niddy noddy and I have begun plying them. It is slow going and I don't have any pictures for you yet, but I can show you a picture of my first mistake:


I don't know why I decided I should take it all off the niddy noddy before winding into a ball...stupid me. ((oh, and I know plying such fine singles from one center pull ball is not a good idea, but it's the only way I know how to do it at this point and I have my techniques to keep it all from tangling too much...))

I have not been knitting much, mainly spinning. I'm loving this spinning business lately...and I've been toying with a few other hobbies too...which are related to my love of books, writing, and list making.

I can't wait to ply all these singles and move on to spinning up my Cormo roving!! It's so soft and smells so very sheepy. It even still has little bits of vegetable matter in it...and you know what?...I'm not removing it. It stays. In all its sheepy wonder. Can you tell I'm stoked? lol I will be spinning a bulkier yarn with it because my spindle is just too heavy for the the finer yarns (as I learned with my spinning WIP). Besides, the Cormo is so soft that I am sort of getting gah-gah over the idea of making something really squishy out of it. I want to eventually spin up enough for a sweater, but I will need to make a few trips to the fiber place to get more. It's undyed, so no problem with that dye-lot nonsense. I may decide to dye it myself after it's all spun up, but possibly not.

All this fiber talk leads me to spindle dreaming...and, brace yourself, wheel dreaming too. I want some of these, and one of these, and this one too. And someday, I really really want to get this little eye-sore.

My Butterfly Mobius looks like this:


My Purple Lace Blouse looks like it did last time I showed it to you. lol

Ok, enough. You're all bored. I made Onigiri:


I'm so in love with them...tasty tasty...

Spinning

Today was all about the spinning. I seemed to be doing it for hours and my basket of fiber is still relatively full. I've noticed a difference in weight on the spindle and I am wondering if I should unload it. I really do not want to because the only way I really know how to ply right now is by winding it all into a center pull ball and winding both ends together. I'm sure there are other methods, but I don't know them and/or am too scared to give them a try just yet. I'm still a beginner; keep that in mind.


This will end up being a pretty fine yarn. I'm hoping that it will be laceweight, because, as we know, I love lace. I will have to wait and see after I ply it. While spinning, I've been trying to make it as thin as possible without it becoming too weak for the spindle, which makes a pretty fine singles. Of course, I have seen much thinner spindle spun yarns. The type of spindle I have does not really lend itself to such fine yarns. What I really want to get my hands on is a Russian style spindle. Any true lace-lover/spinner should have a few. These are the spindles used to make the gorgeous Orenburg lace cobweb yarns. But, until I can get my hands on a few (you actually do need more than one, and separate slightly larger one for plying), I will have to be satisfied and skillful with what I have. What I have is a perfectly good spindle that I still think is gorgeous and very high quality. I love it. No complaints!

I want to spin more, but I have to finish my mom's socks. If I can get through the gussets tonight, I see no problem finishing these by tomorrow evening. My Friday goal is in sight.

But before I even pick up those needles, I need to do some intense stretching. Spinning, more than knitting, tends to hurt my shoulders. I think it is because I do not spin as much as I knit and I am using underused muscles. Breaks help.

Catch you all later and hopefully tomorrow I will have some FO shots for you all!

Knitting and Spinning

I don't blog as much as I used to. I am not at the top of my game and I'm sick of having to tell the world that I've not made much progress on my projects. I set goals for myself all of the time and they always seem to get set back lately. It's getting to be pretty frustrating.

I think I'm starting to figure out the whole spinning thing. Although I need to read more...the book gets MUCH more thorough later on, I realize. I went ahead and spun up one of those gray rovings that I bought ages ago.

I'm wondering if I need a new spindle? I find this one to be kind of bulky and clumsy...not to mention a bit heavy and unattractive. I don't know. The only way I can really get my hands on one is if I order one online...and then it's a risk...because I won't be able to closely inspect it to be sure it's what I want. BAH...I wish Max would just get into to woodworking already like he wants to...a lovely carved or wooden inlay spindle would be a really nice thing to learn on, wouldn't it?? Small, but functional....???? Just a thought, honey.

That Lace Blouse? Still not finished. My goal is to have most if not all of the knitting done by next Sunday. Considering that I keep getting set back, however, that goal will most likely not be reached.

Those socks? My second is less than halfway done. Max's second hasn't been started yet.

Trying my hand

Once again, I am attempting to spin. I am using some roving that I bought at a yarn store that was going out of business AGES ago.

To aid in this adventure, I got a hold of the book "Spinning in the old way" and have been reading up on proper spinning techniques.

Of course...none of that means anything.

Trying my hand, originally uploaded by Little Jezzie.

WTF?? Is it supposed to look like that? All lumpy and chunky and odd and not nice-like? I'm just wondering. I've never met a spinner in real life to ask them and my only sources of knowledge thus far have been hard-to-understand directions on the interwebs and my new book.

And So...with that....

Any spinners out there? lol ^.^