Spinning thoughts

I first learned to spin about four and a half years ago, back at the beginning of 2004. I can pin it down quite accurately because I bought myself my first wheel out of my first month's pay at my first real job after leaving Uni. I had taught myself to spin using a handspindle I'd bought on a whim in Germany two years previously, some merino wool tops I had from the same date for needle-felting and Lee Raven's brilliant book, Spin It - Making Yarn from Scratch. Incidentally, I can't think of a better book to help absolute beginners learn how spinning works and to get them spinning on a spindle. It took me two whole evenings when Hubby was away on business to really get the hang of it, but by the time he came back I had spun over 150m of fairly even (by beginners' standards, at least) merino singles. I was so proud, I went out and bought my wheel the same week. A few tantrums and a lot of tangles later, I couldn't understand why it was so hard - I'd already produced yarn, what was the difference? Hubby, showing either great wisdom or simply a desire to get me out of the house, dredged up contact details for the local spinning guild from the internet and bullied me into emailing them (I get really uncomfortable phoning strangers, an odd handicap that was a pain back when I worked in an office manning the phones!) and sent me along one Wednesday morning to a freezing cold church hall (no heating, it was December) to a wonderful woman called Frances who made me understand that I hat to match the speed of my feet and the speed of my hands in order to make yarn smoothly. Obviously, this hadn't been a problem on the spindle. In about 10 minutes this patient angel in a slightly fluffy jumper that I later learned was spun from dog hair had me calmly spinning a strong yarn that held together and curled back on itself nicely when she held a loop out to see how it would ply. Then, being a traditionalist, she took away my lovely clean bright roving and make me spin fleece in the grease, combing individual locks with a dog comb. I'm sure it was a valuable skill to learn but I have to admit that it's not one I've ever gone back to. I prefer to spin clean wool, and when I've bought fleeces I always wash and card before spinning.
I went home from my lesson, splurged on lots of tops over the internet, bought some alpaca from ebay that I've still never used and have been told several times is total rubbish (it's still in the stash, though) and practised making yarn. A month or two later I was back on a Wednesday morning for a dyeing lesson, and then my house filled up with gorgeous bright chunks of merino tops in all the colours of the rainbow. Most of it is still in a huge drawer in my craft room, as I don't spin that often or that fast. Yet I love to spin: it's very relaxing. I may recently have discovered why I don't do it more often...
I don't spin useful yarn.
That's a strange realisation, since I'm a multi-crater who knits, crochets, felts, sews and has even been known to weave on a rigid heddle loom that mostly lives in the loft... why isn't my yarn useful for something? And it is... sort of.
When I began to spin, for a long time I produced a chunky two-ply, usually merino, in gorgeous bright colours that I'd kettle-dyed as tops and it was a lovely soft, bouncy wool. I made a couple of hats, a scarf, but mostly what I craved were socks. I taught myself to knit them flat on two needles with a seam up the front and went nuts. I had six or seven pairs myself, and made more for others... the sock-knitter in me now can't believe how chunky and odd they were, with a big lumpy seam up the front, but they were warm and squashy and I loved them. Still would, if the hadn't all long since fallen apart. You see, soft thick two-ply merino just isn't sock wool. Can't take the abrasion. No strength and durability. Lovely feel and good memory, but no strength. My first failure.
As time went on, I carried on spinning, but with less and less purpose. All of my dye batches were too small to make more than a ball or two of any one colour, and somehow I couldn't get the knitting mojo together to make a multicoloured striped one. I'd never knitted a jumper at this point, and starting with handspun and no pattern just seemed too daunting. So I kept spinning, aimlessly producing balls of wool that, without my noticing it, were getting finer. Now when I did notice this, I was quite pleased - I was making more even, thinner yarn - I thought I was advancing, becoming more skilled. But I wasn't - I was still only producing a basic two-ply yarn, not at all hardwearing, and I had forgotten how to spin thick yarn. I can't seem to do it any more.
With all of this (and more, but this is getting very long-winded) in mind, I just bought The Intentional Spinner, by Judith MacKenzie McCuin. It's time to start learning again. Watch this space.

Hey hey, we're the monkeys...

My very first pair of monkeys for me. I've knit this pattern four times previously, but never kept the socks - thought it was about time I had some monkey feet. The lovely bright variegated purple is... oh. Lost the label. I'll try to find it later, but I fear it may have been thrown away. Lovely soft squishy wool, anyway. I thought I was going to run short on sock one, but ended up with about 4m spare. Cutting it quite fine on a top-down sock! Although buying more wouldn't have upset me too much...
These are actually a scientific pair of socks, to further test out my new theory on reinforcement (to save on later darning). Since these socks are for me, I reinforced under the middle and ball of the foot, as that is where my socks always go in holes (I have no idea why). How is that scientific, you ask? Aha! I only reinforced one sock. Look carefully at the closeup pic below: the top sock is the control sock - no reinforcement! I decided that I'd only be able to tell if this thread increased the life of a sock by ensuring that I gave the same wear to both - very hard to ensure with two pairs of socks. Or it is if you're as disorganised as me and don't think about which socks you're wearing and when.

This time I used the same thread as before but in a rich purple, and I think it blends quite well with the sock - you can just make out the flecks of different-coloured purple in this closeup pic but you can't see it from more than a foot away, and who's going to get that close to my feet? Only Willow, who seems to like rolling and sleeping on them. And I'm pretty sure she won't mind.

The spinning wheel got a little action last night as well - twenty minutes or so of some variegated blue / green / purple merino tops I dyed a year or two ago. No, I'm not a monster fast spinner - most of this was already on there!

New hair, new hat

The school holidays seem to be the only time that I have time to get a haircut. How sad is that?
It's not at all what I asked for, but I quite like it. Has anyone ever found a hairdresser who will give you the haircut you ask for? I've never heard of one.

The hat is finished, in time, with its fleece liner sewn in around the ears to keep out the wind on the ski slopes. I can't say I really enjoyed knitting this one, but I think that's purely down to having a deadline to knit it to. I always find that sucks the joy out of knitting, which is why I don't knit too many things (or not too big things) for xmas or birthdays. Socks I can just about handle, although last xmas three pairs for gifts nearly did for me.

The really really bad bit of this evening, though, giving me recourse to chocolate, ice cream and finally vodka and lots of swearing, was mending and altering the brother's ski trousers and jacket. Fiddly, nasty sewing. Next time Mum can do it, she's got more patience!

Monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, you!

All non-Eddie fans will probably not understand that reference. An alternative title for 'the Origin of Species'. In any case, it's inaccurate, as I have only one purple monkey sock here. I've knitted 4 pairs of these so far, for presents and for swaps, and never made a pair for me. Now these are my purple monkeys! They make me think of Ribena and blackcurrant jam. Yum.
What I'm really supposed to be knitting is this: a red and brown chullo hat for my brother to take out to his friend in Italy next week... better get a move on, need to take it up to bro in Blackpool on Wednesday!This is what I'm copying: I knit this blue one for the brother last year, and it's the most practical of the silly ski hats.

So I suppose I'd better stop knitting socks and get on with hatting ASAP! Good job it's the hols, I'll finish it tomorrow.

The three remaining hens seem to be getting along fine, which I was a little worried about, as Nugget and Elsie only joined the other two about a year ago, and I thought the two older gingers might bully Nugget on her own. Fortunately she's a lot bigger now and more feisty.

And they're all laying like champions, more eggs than we can possibly eat! I keep giving dozens to Mum but I may have to start baking to use them up.

The garden is all waking up and getting springlike - onions and garlic....

Rhubarb... even the spuds are just starting to poke through the soil a tiny bit.

It's really hard to blog when someone won't take no for an answer....

Bagpuss and mad puss

It's finally the holidays!!!!!!! Time to relax and recuperate from the last 12 weeks of madness, time to prepare for the next 12 weeks of madness, and above all, time to knit! These were actually finished last week, having been knit largely whilst visiting the patient in hospital. He was released on Tuesday and delivered safely home by my parents whilst I was stuck in meetings after school. Mum has been very supportive while I've been running around like a headless chicken (ooops, sorry Nugget, bad simile to use!) and I though she deserved a prezzie. Ta dah!!
Here is the little parcel I wrapped up: the pink and white striped socks, which are even more like Bagpuss up close, plus the foot scrub, foot soak and foot butter that came with this wool in my first sock parcel from Socktopus... the second one arrivede this morning, pics to follow.
Mumsie modelling her Bagpuss socks with matching Amaryllis. How clever!
Willow's contribution to the last few weeks of chaos has been to catch up on all the sleep I've missed, on my behalf. This is very kind of her, of course...... but I do sometimes wonder about her choice of sleeping arrangements....
...especially when I'm trying to do some marking.......
... I mean really, how could this possibly be comfortable? Strange kitty.....