Monday, August 5, 2024

Tour De Fleece Part 2

 My spin for the second third of the Tour de Fleece is complete.  I finished plying and skeining the last 3 skeins tonight.  The last skein is chain plyed.  I am still not very good at chain plying.  I do however feel that it is passable.  In case you are wondering the chain plyed skein is the one on the left   I used a 1 yard knitty noddy on it   

Tomorrow I start the last section of the spinning.  With the daily spins compressed. This means that I will open more than one packet a day.  

Without further ado here is the second section of spun yarn.  I am getting a little more finished yarn than I thought that I would do so a shawl might be out of the question.  Or maybe multiple shawls is the best answer.  


Sunday, August 4, 2024

The Stasher Hat

 The hand knit hat below was knit entirely with scraps of yarn that I put in the Stasher bag.  I started keeping the Stasher bag in my hat knitting bag.  Before I started using the Stasher bag I just dropped the tiny scraps of yarn in the of my bag.  With the yarn in the bottom of the bag I found it hard to find the right combination of colors for a hat like this.  

With the yarn in the Stasher bag, it holds a little more than enough for a hat.  It also has the advantage over disposable bags, in that it won’t fall apart and make an unintended mess.  Once this hat is finished I will start another hat and start refilling the bags with the next batch of bits and pieces.  

I bought this Stasher Bag. I am not receiving compensation for this post   



Thursday, August 1, 2024

First Day Back

 Today was my very first day back at exercise since I got sick in mid February.  I did my elliptical for 20 minutes.  I did the elliptical until I got tired.  That took all of 20 minutes.  Then I took a 2 hour nap.  It’s a start.  

Monday, July 29, 2024

Life Choices

 The thought occurred to me this morning that every single person in the Saturday spinning group had a vastly different childhood than mine. My childhood tormenter is near the end.  Which made me wonder what it must have been like if I was not waiting for my next misstep and the ensuing battle royal while growing up.  Even if I did not do a misstep and took the unwarranted blame and punishment for a siblings actions. 

Would I be more sure of myself and my choices in life? Would I have the courage to say no when I really wanted to? Would I still be so insecure about my whole life?  Would I have a stupid autoimmune disease that has been blamed on childhood trauma? 

What I do know is despite everything, I have tried to change the trajectory of my life. Sometimes with overwhelming success and other times with abject failures.  I did my best to be the complete opposite of my tormentor.  Sometimes being a little bit too ridged in hindsight.  I prayed everyday that I could get it right. Some days were better than others.  I also know that if my life had been different, I would not have a stupid scar on my left hand 63 years after a punishment.  I can’t even think about why anyone would do that to a toddler.  

I don’t know if I will ever get rid of my insecurities caused by my childhood.  Even the feeling that I will be all alone because my tormenter called me a bad person and their life and the world would be better without me. As an adult I know that this is totally out of bounds remark that I heard at least once a day.  

I hope and pray everyday that I am worthy enough to be part of my husband and children’s lives.  That my friends can accept my foibles brought about by my less than desirable childhood.  That I can make the world a better place.  That I am a much better parent and human being than my tormenter ever was.  

That the statement that childhood abuse lasts a life time is so true.  Ask me how I know? Many details have been left out to protect the guilty at the end of life.

Please make the effort to treat all children with the respect that they deserve. Please remember that “All G’d’s children are special all the time. “

Saturday, July 27, 2024

My First Plying

 Ok I have the first 3 plys done for Tour de Fleece 2024.  As you can tell by the 3 skeins of yarn the first plying attempt was not as good as the second or third.  I find that’s the great thing about being an artist, everything is not set in stone except marble sculptures.  

So instead of going from the top down on a shawl with my Tour de Fleece spinning, I have a new game plan.  The first skein of yarn will go into a one of a kind scarf for a child who utilizes the Flowing Well’s School District Clothing Bank. Since the yarn is way too bumpy to knit.  The yarn will add a unique texture to the scarf.  Nothing goes to waste.  Everything in art has a purpose.  

I will continue with my Tour de Fleece spin and come up with a game plan for the rest of the yarn.  The pictures below are pre snd post washing and thwacking.  



Thursday, July 25, 2024

This and That

 As I write this blog post we have had over an inch of rain since dinner time.  There were a lot of micro bursts that broke a lot of power poles.  This time we feel very lucky not to be in the red or pink zones without power.  This storm came in hard and fast  enough to trigger a weather related headache. It is supposed to rain for 2 more hours. I hope that by dawns early light the storm damage will be minimal.

I am almost done with the first  of 3 sections of my Tour de Fleece spin.  Hopefully that will be finished soon.  

I got overheated last Wednesday morning and my body just ground to a halt.  So most of the week has be spent resting.  I use to find the summer heat energizing because I hurt less.  Somehow this summer even dashing between the store and my car is very draining.  I just can’t figure it out yet.  I hope it is only temporary. Only time will tell.  

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Testing My Limits

 As a spinner, I always like to test my limits on how full I can fill a bobbin or drop spindle.  My new Hansen mini pro e-spinner is no exception.  While plying my first bobbin of Tour de Fleece 2024 I got to within 1/8 of an inch of the flyer.  I was plying a worsted weight yarn.  I had o problem at all getting the bobbin filled with my first 7 stages plus a coordinating color.  I am spinning up the rest of the coordinating color to use as a break between the stages for knitting my new shawl.

I am still experimenting on where I want the bobbins that I am plying to be. I think I have ruled out having the bobbins adjacent To the e- Spinner, it is just too awkward to pull the yarn out smoothly from the bobbins. Right now I am experimenting with having the bobbins on a step stool which is about 12 inches off the floor. This seems to be working because I am not using my spinning chair. I am using a regular office chair. This seems to be a good distance and an easier plying experience. I also think the yarn looks better. I will have a better idea after washing the yarn to set the twist. 

I am projecting that I will not finish all the stages on time.  This is my current priority spin so I can get the shawl knit up.  I am not sure if I will use an existing pattern or design a new one.  It all depends on the yarn and what it wants to be.