Yesterday was HOT, but still FUN!
So far, the additional insulation and gable vents don’t seem to be making a drastic difference, though I suspect they are helping. It’s 97 degrees outside and we’re only at 79 inside so far and I think given that we started the day at 73 degrees we would be at least a degree or two higher at this point in the day. But, then again, who knows!
So, Snow stopped by the house between her appointments. We talked about lace a bunch and what might be a more appropriate beginning lace shawl project. She recommends any of the Fiddlesticks patterns because the directions include notes about any marker moving that is needed etc. So, I may decide to dive into one of those once I return and let Shaped Triangle age some more. Though here is a picture of it at row 27…
Then we took a loooooong lunch at a nice cool restaurant with AC and she dropped me off and she headed to her not-her-lawyer appointment.
While I was not going to water aerobics (because the insulation guys came too late for me to let them into the garage and get to class on time) and had guys walking through my house to use the bathroom and pull down the attic access panels I decided I wanted to spin. However, I didn’t feel like lugging my wheel upstairs when I knew I would ultimately much prefer to spin in the basement where it was cooler. So, I blew the dust off of my drop spindle.
I’m spinning the rainbow targhee that Snow so graciously shared. I chose that because Amanda had said she had a lot of sucess with it on her Bosworth spindle she’d borrowed. I liked it and I didn’t like it. This particular roving is very neppy which doesn’t make for smooth yarn making. I think I’ve also come to the conclusion that my spindle is just a little too heavy for it at 1.7 oz. I could do pretty good for a while but then with the irregularity of the sliver (even with predrafting, which wasn’t easy with this stuff) I would get to a point that was just too thin and I’d break it. Then, once it broke I usually broke of 3-4 inch pieces repeatedly before I’d get a solid join.
In the above picture you can see a little pile in front of the niddy noddy of fiber. Those are all the pieces I broke off when trying to make a join after a break. If I have a clean join to make it went fine. Odd!
I’m actually pretty happy with this yarn though. It’s only 34 yds of singles, but aside from the neps I think it is quite uniform and it wasn’t nearly as slow as I thought. As a bonus, my spindle fit right into the holes of the basket I picked up for my larger handmade lazy kate so it made winding of onto the niddy noddy really easy. I think I will ultimately end up using this as a fun textural accent in the cuffs of mittens or as a stripe in a hat or something and knit with along with the main yarn for the project. But, who knows. I still need to set the twist and such.
Now, I want to pick a good fiber to take with to MN for spinning. I’m hoping there is room in a spinning class in August in Boulder that I’ll take with Amanda, but it starts almost as soon as I return from my trip and I won’t be spinning on my wheel for those two weeks. So, I think if I can do some spindle spinning while I’m gone I’ll stay up on my drafting skills and such and won’t end up looking like a fool in the class. But, then again, who knows, LOL!
Lastly, I went to Catalyst to cool off some more and work on writing up the Flatiron Clog Sock pattern so I can get a test knitter going on it before I leave. Then, Amanda came and met me after she got off work and we dished a bit about yarns/LYSs and spinning and the like and she lent me the Sally Melville books that I had traded to her a while back, LOL! I decided my Cascade Sierra is going to have to become the Caddy sweater like Margene’s.
I was thinking of photocopying the pattern and bringing this project with me. However, I’m trying to pack for two weeks into a wheeled carry-on (that will be checked, as I’ll have my laptop backpack and purse already) so that I have less to heft around by myself since I’m taking myself to the shuttle this time around. So I think socks are the less space taking and more stitch making perfect project to take with. But I might still get a start on it before I leave.
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That yarn you are using for your shawl sure is pretty. The rainbow targhee looks like fun to spin!
Comment by Tiffany — 7/14/2005 @ 8:00 pm