A Christmas Story

So, a couple of weeks back, my friend Nancie McCraw, of Badfaerie Designs, posted pictures of painted spindles and a painted spinning wheel and a painted weaving loom. Nancie's mother painted the pieces, and her work was breathtaking. Literally. I gasped when I saw this picture:

It's a large Schacht, hand painted. I immediately reposted the picture on my Facebook wall to help Nancie publicize her mother's amazing work.

I thought about the spindle for maybe 10 minutes or so, and then I contacted Nancie about prices, and about buying that spindle. She mournfully told me (and I could tell it was mournful even in a Facebook message) that the spindle had already been sold. I marveled at the speed of the sale, but understood- the spindle was gorgeous. Of course someone bought it right away.

So this spindle was not to be mine. But I could order another, which I did, delivery slated for sometime in January. I didn't care how it was painted- every example I'd seen was gorgeous, and I was perfectly happy to be surprised.

Fast forward to Christmas day, when my granddaughter, smiling hugely, handed me a bag. This was in it.

Look familiar????

My wonderful daughter-in-law Cassy just happened to be on Facebook when I posted the picture of that spindle. And she just happened to contact Nancie moments before I did. Cassy and Matt bought this spindle for me!

I usually spin with my wheel, but I love hand spindles and use them when the mood arises, and I definitely collect them as works of art, which this one is.

And the mood arose immediately. I spun up the little gray sample that came with the spindle.

It was nearly an ounce, and that is a lot to Andean ply, but I managed it (though my finger and thumb were a little low on blood by the time I got done winding) because I really wanted to ply this single to itself.

 It's a large spindle, and it spins forever. It's also very good for plying.

My handspun is never very fine, and my spindle spun yarn is not as uniform as anything I make on the wheel, but it's nice and squooshy (a technical term- you can look it up).

Just enough to wind on my mini-niddy noddy.

There was an even smaller amount of blue roving in the box, and some white (which I have not spun yet).

All washed and soft. When I finish the white, I think there will be enough for a hat. In the meantime, I bought some special roving just for the new spindle.

4 ozs of Merino/Bamboo from Flickertail Fibers, in a colorway called Tequila Sunrise. I may just put on some Eagles and get to work.

Beats the Halla outta me...

Sorry, I can barely resist a good pun, and I don't even try to resist a bad one. That was a bad pun.

I met Helen the way you meet people online- we were both friends of another wonderful person (who I have never met in real life... oh wait, maybe I did meet Suzze at a Bouchercon or Mayhem in the Midlands... anyway) who thought that we should get together, beings that we both like mysteries, and we both like to knit, and we both like to spin. And Helen, as Halla, makes wonderful original spindles from polymer clay!

Suzze was right- Helen and I hit it off, and after looking through her spindle designs, I knew that I not only wanted one for myself (even before I ventured back into spindle-spinning mode), but also for each of the Grandgirls, who are all new spinners- because, amazing of all amazings, in and amongst the wonderful Halla catalog, were spindles that reflected 3 of the 4 girls' totems.

These arrived yesterday! I'm keeping the dragonfly for myself. But the rest are already put away as Christmas presents. Frog Girl, Ladybug Girl, and Bee Girl will all be thrilled come December.

The spindles are largish- about 2 1/2"-3" across, with a 10" or longer shaft. They're beautiful and sturdy and balanced. The girls are not yet spinning fine yarns, and these spindles will be perfect for their work. I like a heavier spindle for making sturdy yarns and for plying, which is what I'll be using mine for. I should mention that the ladybug spindle is a prototype and not in general production. Helen generously included it because I told her that one of the Grands collected lady bug items.

Though there are many many designs that will please Voracious Reader (the one who sparked the spinning craze among her cousins), I'm waiting a bit before I order her spindle because Helen just might... maybe... hint hint... design a spindle with a book/reading theme. If so, I'll be on that in a flash.

If you're on Facebook, *like* the Halla page- you'll find descriptions, pictures, and info for ordering spindles. Most of that stuff is also on the website, along with a contact e-mail for further questions. You can order spindles directly from her, or from one of several vendors (including The Woolery).

Knit it again, Sam

Though I certainly have my comfort zones when it comes to knitting projects, and I've been known to make many vanilla socks, I still don't usually knit the same thing over and over and over again. Knitting is my comfort food, for sure, but I also like a challenge.

On the other hand, my work days have provided plenty enough challenge lately, what with the revising and the adding and the subtracting and the shuffling and the new stuff fitting in seamlessly with the old stuff and the worry over whether everything I'm doing is ruining what worked in the original version and the ticking clock on the self-imposed deadline for finishing this stage of the book (end of January). Come evening, I'm more than happy to curl up with mindless projects. A little of the same old same old.

 Therefore: another leftover yarn hat. This one is made from Twisted Fiber Arts Playful bits and pieces. I love their yarns so very much.

 And I still love the spiderwebby way the decreases look on the crown.

  And lest you think that I only have fingering weight leftover yarns (I'm still in stashbusting mode), here's one from worsted weight. These are all hand-dyed mohair/wool singles, left over from socks (I suppose). This version uses a size 7 needle, 100 sts, 5 1/4" brim, and then the crown decreases start with *K 8, K 2 tog*. Easy peasy.

I started with the most colorful yarns, used them up, and then finished with some lovely greens. I have another heavier-yarn hat cast on now, and given that they knit up much more quickly than the fingering weight versions, I could finish it tonight.

In the meantime, if you're a Facebook Aficionado, drop by here and take a peek at my official Author Page. It felt a little weird creating one for myself, but that's the only way you can get one, and shockingly enough, there are other Kathleen Taylors out there who are writers, and they have pages already. I figured if someone was looking specifically for me, I'd best have a place where they could safely land. Right now, it's bare bones, but I'll begin posting my book news, and travel/appearance schedules there as I get organized.

Tomorrow, if the weather permits, I'm going to go to Groton for Roc Day. A day surrounded by wool, wheels, and like-minded folk sounds perfect to me. I'll take my camera. If the weather permits. Please Weather, permit.