Fruit flies like a banana.
I ca’nt believe it’s been two weeks since my last confession post. Time is doing strange things. I continue to pack (slowly), look for apartments (badly), and generally freak out (really really well).
Little things like one of my fannish crushes doing something so utterly dorktastic, yet so completely adorable and very much true to his real like geekiness? Just…. <3!
My class was really great. I learned some good tricks about plying, feel better about Navajo or chain plying, and um. I tripped and fell on a gorgeous dark dark brown Romeldale fleece and oops swiped my credit card on the way down. And six or so ounces of lovely wool roving in colors that made me think of spring and fall. Perhaps a little odd to be thinking about here on the eve of Beltane and the start of summer, but they pleased me at the time.
I think I’m going to spin a goodly portion of the Romeldale in the grease, but before I do that, I wanted to practice a bit. I actually hand carded some RomneyX and spun my own little…what do you call it when you roll it off the cards from side to side rather than from the handle out to the edge? Sausages? Perogis? What? That’s been good, if slow going. I’m enjoying the carding quite a bit. I just rinsed this fleece, rather than washing it completely, so it’s kind of “light grease”. I’m enjoying myself thus far.
I shouldn’t be spinning at all, given how much there is to do before I move. But it’s keeping me sane.
Blessed Beltane to all of you! Oh! And for the BPAL inclined, they’ve got Blue Moon up again! Woo!!!
Today’s post is brought to you by a slight Trader Vic’s Mai Tai hangover. I’m basically C&Ping my post to Spindlers, because it’s fairly clear and still captures my excitement from last night.
*wanders away to find some ibuprofin*
Ohmigosh! My Strauch Petite arrived in the mail today. I got her slightly-but-lovingly used from thank you Lena of Lena Brown Designs, and was SO excited to get the VM from the shipping dude downstairs that it had arrived.
I was unable to open the box until after I got home from a networking dinner. I can tell you that the pain was greatly eased by liberal application of Trader Vic’s Mai Tais, but I admit to sulking while the box was out of my sight. I think I’m going to name her Blackjack. Because she’s all about ze cards (*listens to the groans at the stinky pun*), and I feel very lucky to have her.
She was set up in no time flat, even after taking the time to read through the directions. I do wonder if it makes more sense to have the figure eight twist facing out from the whorls or towards the drum? I just tested her out using some of the Icelandic I was hand carding once upon a time, and I’m amazed at how much fits on the larger drum with the brush attachment. I know people sometimes run the batts through two or three times, and was wondering how this is accomplished. Splitting the batt in half? Thirds? Spreading it back out a bit with fingers before letting the feeder drum pick it up? How does this work if you’re doing a blend? What’s your recommendation on the best book to learn about blending/carding/fiber prep?
I know Sharon Tree showed me a nifty trick she did with her Supercarder and a diz to make a nice long rope of roving when I was at her lovely home last fall, but I was wondering if this is possible w/out removing the drive band? When flicking the locks
before feeding them in, do you keep track of which end goes in first, and try to keep it consistent or does it really matter?
So many questions! If you have tips to share, drop a comment here or email me please. I am really looking forward to learning how to best use this tool to help me process the many fleeces I’ve had waiting in the wings for a while, and possibly learn how to blend fibers and colors and batts, oh my!
So very kind of Tom & Katie to name their daughters after one of my favorite fibers. Poor thing. I hope she doesn’t grow up to look like an alpaca. I imagine there is much amusement in fiber-dom today.
It’s exciting for me because my drum carder is scheduled to be delivered today! The status shows “out for delivery”, which is awesome!!! The only bad part about this is that I won’t be able to run home and play tonight. I have a networking dinner with friends scheduled across the lake in Bellevue, and probably won’t get home until relatively late. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow or Friday, perish the thought!
I’ve discovered that in my knitting world, if I have two or three projects on the needles at the same time, I get everything done faster. It’s the same with me at work, which is probably why I’m suited fairly well to project management. If I only have one thing to do, it languishes. If I have eight or nine? Everything is done well and efficiently. What a bizarre quirk to have.
Anyway, I finished up a gift scarf last night and gave it to the recipient at the astrology update, and she was thrilled. Much envy from my fellow class-goers. I’m ecstatic, though, because now the knee-high socks take their place in my bag/purse/haul-crap-around container! There should be much more progress soon.
I’m going to go gloat over the various shake ups at the White House now. And ponder how many motorcycle police there have to be to truly make up a motorcade.