Mostly Pics

This vacation has been comprised of almost total relaxation with almost no time at the computer. My Kindle Fire does many things well, but writing Blog Posts with it is not one of them, so I've been a bit lax in that department.

So mostly, I'm going to post pics and talk about them a bit. We have a few more days here, but time is winding down very quickly.

The Pleats from Hell look pretty good blocked. In fact, they look fantastic, which is why I decided to knit this pattern in the first place. The sweater is one that I made a couple of years ago, from handspun yarn. The necklace was one of Voracious Reader's Late Christmas Gifts.

Here's the start of the Doll Sweater Which Is Not From Hell, But Will Also Probably Not Be Finished By Thursday. It's going to be gorgeous, and I'll have to mail it back to VR when it's done.

Ever wonder what a Brewer's Beer Fridge looks like? Wonder no longer.

I have no idea what this tree is, but I thought it looked very Ferny and Prehistoric.

Or this tree either, but the bark is beautiful.

Same tree, looking up.

Yesterday, Voracious Reader and I crashed the Ventura County Handweavers & Spinners Guild demo at an elementary school Winter Faire. They were so friendly and welcoming, and we had a lovely time drop spinning with them (and exploring the rest of the Faire, which was pretty cool). We both made new spinning friends, and VR was invited to come to the next Guild Meeting. I hope that their schedule coincides with my next visit so I can go too. 

From the It Sounded Good in Theory Department: I learned that winding handspun yarn on a cardboard tube and then trying to ply it to itself by spindle, isn't as workable as it seems... Luckily VR wants to learn needle felting, so she can use this has a base.

We've eaten at some absolutely wonderful restaurants, but I'll save that (and the thousands and thousands of calories) for another post.

Guess what we did yesterday...

Aromatic Cedar, Cherry, Aromatic Cedar. The kids did the selecting and sanding, I assembled. Ms. S is taking them all home with her. A spinner needs 3 spindles, but a spinner always wants more.

Guess what we're doing today...

I'll post the results tomorrow.

Is anyone surprised?

New Spinner

My 10 year old SoCal Grandgirl is visiting for a bit, with her brother. Inspired by the main character in the MG Fantasy, she asked to learn to spin with a drop spindle. So we had a lesson as soon as she got out of the pool. The girl is a natural- she caught on to the motion and rhythm almost immediately, which thrilled us both.

A few years ago, I went through a spindle-making phase and I still have a lot of cut and shaped, unassembled spindle parts on hand, so she went through the whorls for a spindle of her own. Of the whorls that were heavy enough for a new spinner, she chose a lovely Bocote whorl.

She sanded it herself, and then we assembled it together. After waiting all night for the varnish to dry, she began to spin the next morning with her very own spindle.
 

She did a remarkably good job. The first spindle of yarn was thick and uneven (like all first yarns), but by the second shaft-full, she was making a fairly even sportweight yarn! I told her that it took me a lot longer to get the hang of spindle spinning.

Tonight, we plied the two spindles to a third. Even Ms. New Spinner could tell that plying on a spindle is a pain. But she persevered, and here is her very first handspun yarn!

I let her choose from my stash, and she selected a braid of lovely dyed merino/mohair for her next yarn. She has pre-drafted a bunch of it, and her first merino singles look very good. She's already asking about trying the wheel, but I want her to be more comfortable with what her hands and the spindle are doing before we throw feet into the mix. However, I have a feeling that when we get the wheel out, she'll be up to the challenge.