Improvisation

I wanted another tahkli spindle, but I didn't want to spend another $20-$25 for one- not that the little tornado spinners aren't worth it, they totally are. I just didn't want to spend the money. I have The Hub on the lookout for 1" diameter brass circles with or without a center hole (sometimes, it's handy to be married to a carpenter)(actually, it's alway handy) because I am certain that he could make some for me, but so far, he hasn't found anything. Then my friend Nancie of Badfaerie Designs, from whom I bought my beautiful handpainted spindle, made a throw-away comment on Facebook about needing a bead for her dpn, so she could spin the cotton from a pill jar at her desk.

LIGHTBULB MOMENT!!!!

I searched through my boxes of lampwork beads (note: I haven't fired up the torch for several years. I think I need to, I'm nearly out of beads), and came up with these three goofy center-hole beads. They're amateur, they're lopsided, and they're not really any good for any other project. Perfect for experimentation and improvisation.

And then I rummaged through my needle stash. The holes were the wrong size for any of my metal needles, but I was able to push some Size 2-3 Knitpicks Harmony dpns into place. Unfortunately, not enough of the point stuck through for my style of tahkli spinning (I support the spindle shaft at an angle in a small, squarish plastic tub- The Hub says that using a porcelain bowl makes too much noise... sigh), and there wasn't enough clearance for the little bead whorls (barely an inch across) to spin freely.

Again with The Handy Carpenter suggestion- The Hub said I should just sand the needles a bit. They were wooden, after all.

And Voila! It worked. I was able to sand just a tinch off the needles. Then I shoved the beads up good and tight. I gave one of them a test run, and as you can see, my new spindle works just fine- the bead isn't perfectly balanced (I am purely an amateur lampworker, and it shows), and the spindle itself doesn't spin as fast as a regular tahkli, but it's perfectly functional, and pretty to boot. I did find that the bead fell off during plying though (no worries- no snarl or disaster), so I will have to glue the shafts in place. But otherwise- 3 new spindles at the cost of a couple of extra knitting needles and some beads I had on hand. Woot!

I now have 4.2 ozs of tahkli spun natural cotton (plied with commercial cotton/wool), fingering weight. I didn't measure the yardage of the latest batch, but the first 2ozs added up to 180 yards, and the the rest is comparable in size, so I estimate that I have about 360 yards of yarn already- almost enough for a Hitchhiker Shawl.

I have a few more hanks of white to spin first (and several unfinished projects to get off the needles before I cast on something new). The above is not a great shot, but I think you can see the slight difference in the *white* yarns. The top hank is a Buffalo Fox Fibre white, and the bottom is Pima cotton. The difference is subtle, but it's there, and I like it. I'll spin a couple more hanks of both for the shawl.

And then I might spin some more. I'm sorta in cotton spinning mode at the moment.

Oh, if you have a hankering to build yourself a tahkli, I am pretty sure that you don't need a flat bead for the whorl- all it does is provide a bit of weight to keep the spindle going, and a stop so the yarn doesn't fall off the bottom. Round beads, square beads, probably any bead at all, as long as it has a little heft, should work.

If you make one, send me a pic- I want to see what you all come up with.

AI Season 13- Hollywood Week, Group Night, 02/06/14

Every one of the past American Idol winners dreaded Group Day. Also? Not the favorite of many non-winners. It was ever thus.

JLo is wearing a rose silk blouse. Her front hair is held back in barettes, like a second grader. Her makeup is nude tonight- almost invisible. It's not a great look for her. HCJ is wearing glasses. Keith's new hair is immobile.

At 8:00am, all of the kids are stressed and exhausted, which is not exactly a surprise.

The first group, possibly called The Three Modays, consists of David O. Willis, Serina Jo Crowe, and Tony Foster Jr. All are previous Hollywood Round Veterans, and the experience shows. David and Serina move on. Tony respectfully asks why he was cut, not to whine, but because he genuinely wants to know. HCJ answers honestly- that Tony looked at the ground the whole time, instead of playing to the judges and the audience. Tony nods and agrees and says he just wants to improve himself. I think the judges are a little sorry they cut someone who will actually listen to them.

The Backstreet Cowboys, Dexter, Casey, and Ben, have cornered the LA plaid market. I think Casey sounds flat, and the group shows no choreography at all, but they have fun doing I Want It That Way. The judges are charmed and the rest of the kids give them a Standing O. All three make it through.

Neco Starr and George Lovett are both specifically mentioned in their group, but I don't know for sure whether they made it through or not.

Paula Hunt (Air Force Singer) still  lisps, Andrina Bogen still looks like a cross between Orphan Annie and Molly Ringwald, M.K. Nobilette has a scabby nose, and Brianna Oakley still has adorable curly hair. Three of the four made it through, but it's not clear to me which three.

Spencer Lloyd is really really young and annoying. He's singing with Meghan, in a tight, short, ruffle-hem spangly top and Alyssa Seibken is wearing jeans with lots of artful holes. Meghan forgets her lyrics, but none of them sound good to me. Alyssa goes home, and she's not at all graceful about being cut.

More cuts: Madisen Walker, Keith London, Austen Precario, The Cheerleader, and Hippie Sound Therapist Adam. Big Girl Tiquila leaves the competition voluntarily, saying that Gospel has her heart and American Idol is not the place to further her goals. This would be admirable if Tiquila had not very clearly made it known to the judges during her audition, that she did not give a fig what church folks thought about her being on a secular singing show.

HCJ fake-quits and shoots the bird at Keith and JLo, to the great amusement of the kids in the audience.

Matthew Hamel was sandbagged by Pink Hair Jessica the night before. He found a new group with Caleb Johnson and C.J. Harris, who I love. On stage, Caleb totally rocks. C.J. was is not stellar, so I hope his previous great performances tilt the scales. Tyler Ahlgren faked the lyrics, and Matthew was ordinary at best. Tyler and Matthew are cut. Matthew wastes my sympathy when he declares that he was the best singer in the room. Go home, Kid.

Guess The Decision Group consists of Adam Lambert Lite in purple eyeshadow, Fedora Girl, and Nasal Boy. I figure all should go home, and of course all three make it through.

3/4 of Clarity (Munfaried and two other girls) had to wait until the very last minute for Silkenya to decide whether or not she was well enough to perform. She deigned to grace them with her presence and her limp Mohawk. Ah, the other girls are Gena Ascuitto and Allie Odom. All of them sound fine, and actually, Silkenya has a great voice. But Allie goes home, and Silkenya condescends to her terribly, saying she'll get Allie front row tickets for the show.

I don't catch the name of the group, but the one with Savion Wright and John Fox performs. I really love Savion, and I am thrilled that he makes it. Savion himself is very very sad that John is sent home. I am not so sad about the loss of John Fox.

So, we finally get to see Jessica Pink Streak's group, the one she joined after her first group disintegrated (in no small part, because of Jessica herself). Jessica sparred with Stephanie's horrible stage mom. On stage, Jessica whines that she had a hard time with the song as the other girls smile gamely. Jessica barely seems to try with Put a Ring on It. The other girls sound okay, and Stephanie's mom makes a total ass of herself dancing and whooping in the aisle as the girls sing on stage. Stephanie is the only one cut, and The Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Stage Mother is absolutely horrid to Jessica. Horrid enough that I actually feel sorry for Jessica, which is amazing given that I don't like Jessica much either. Poor Stephanie is not even allowed to finish her exit interview without Mama interfering. Jessica declares that drama always follows her and she doesn't know why. I can take a pretty good guess.

Second to the last group is Love's Angels, consisting of flamboyant Emmanuel Zidar (I would not mention that, but man, Emmanuel trowels it on thick), Carmen Delgina, and Terrica Curry, who abandoned the rest the evening  before, and therefore no one got the proper amount of rehearsal. It shows. I would just as soon all three go home, but the judges save Emmanuel.

Last up is Loud & Fierce, containing Christina Collins, Olivia Diamond (last night's Bossy and Annoying), Queen Bulls (who?), and Malaya Watson. They take the stage in leather, animal prints, and butts. I think it all sounds like a lot of screeching, but all four make it through. Olivia takes all of the credit.

So, 77 kids remain, and next week, they'll go through another round of solo performnces, and the number will be whittled down to 50, and then to 30. There will be shock and tears. Good times.

Thursday Tab- Penny, Patty, and Chrissie, greeting card dolls

Here are three lovely greeting card paper dolls, all drawn by the same artist.

AI Season 13- Hollywood Week, 02/05/14

Okay folks- I just spent 90 minutes writing up the first hour of this episode, 7 pages of notes... and it all disappeared. Poof. Gone. And Blogger has no undo button to get it back. It's late and I'm not going to try to rewrite any of it, so here's what happened: JLo wore a crop top, Keith has a questionable new hairstyle, and 52 of the Golden Ticketers were forced to sing again in an airplane hanger. Of that 52, 20 got to stay in their LA motel rooms. The rest were sent back home, immediately, as in: they were driven right back to LAX. We heard a bunch of them sing, but we weren't really told who went and who stayed, so it actually doesn't matter.

The next morning, we're at the Dolby Theater for solo day. So far, adorable Majesty York, and annoying John Fox make it through. Also Spencer Lloyd, Austin Wolfe, Bria Anai (with the glittery lips), and Jessica with big pink hair streaks. Twin Selena Moreno goes back to her sister. Kari Lynn Roche has a great folky voice, and leggings. Leggings are not pants, Kari Lynn. C.J. Harris sings Ray LaMontagne's Trouble and gets a Standing O from JLo.

Please pretend that I told you all of that in about 2,000 words, with lots of snarky jokes and my trademark biting humor... because I did... before it all disappeared. Truly.

So, back to my notes again...

Alex Preston is personally annoying but he can play the guitar. Sidney Arterbridge has lots of vibrato. Lots and lots. Jessie Roche still has a nice mature voice, and Brian Watt is pretty, in a Homecoming King sort of way, but otherwise ordinary. Brian and Sidney are cut.

Kenzie Hall has a pleasing little-girl voice, which she used to sing something incomprehensible with a whole lot of syllables. Quaid Edwards (whose mother used to tour with Keith) is not good enough. Kenzie is in, Quaid is not.

Ben Briley has an interesting country/folky voice. Briston Maroney sang a song with no melody. Dexter Roberts wore his hat backwards. All three make it through.

Rachael Rolleri reminds me, vocally, of Crystal Bowersox. That is a good thing. Maurice has 4 of the most adorable kids in the world, and a clear gospel voice. Casey had the two toddlers and a strong country vibe. All 3 get the nod.

Several other kids make it, including Tiquila (the loud big Girl).

HCJ does not remember Munfarid, even though he carried him like a baby. He sings an interesting version of Proud Mary. Ethan Thompson says he's wearing his fancy clothes, which amount to a pair of khaki Dockers and a chambray shirt. Young Austin broke free of his Stage Mama for Hollywood. All three move on.

Also in? Shaggy haired Caleb Johnson, Stephaney Haney and her fedora, and Kristen O'Connor, the Nurse Tech.

Emmanuel Zadir says he's better at singing than his regular job, which is wrangling planes at ATL (another airport I fly through several times a year). Given how little I like his singing, this makes me uneasy. He's in. Sigh.

A good many more kids make it past this round, but we don't get to see or hear them. We do see Brianna Oakley and Jesse Cline.

We also see Keith London, who sang a very weird song (If I Were a Boy, mostly for shock value, I guess) and accompanied himself with an out of tune guitar. The judges were so distracted by both of those things that they actually ask him to sing another song. It worked, I guess, because he makes it through.

In the final lineup of the day, Malaya (braces, keyboard) does not impress me. I like Gena Ascuitto, who sings a song Keith does not know (a first, I believe). I do remember being very impressed with Savion Wright. Savion's older brother died two weeks ago (we're not told how), and using this story for sympathy annoys me. But Savion is very talented, and I'm glad he made it through with the other two.

So, 104 of the kids remain in the running. They're not given even a moment to savor the triumph, as song lists for Group Night are handed out, and they're told immediately to form groups of 3 or 4 and to get their asses to work.

Last year, the groups were assigned, and it was a disaster. This year, they're choosing for themselves, and it looks to be a disaster. Group Night is always a nightmare.

Pink streak Jessica wants to throw an inexperienced kid out of her group. Clark someone has lost his voice entirely and drops out. The annoying, bossy ones are annoying and bossy. The lazy ones skip out on rehearsal, the anal ones are frustrated. Drama, tears, exhaustion, eye-rolling, tension, terror. In other words, it's exactly like every other season on this show.

In the morning, there is even more drama at the dress rehearsals. Some girls find out that dancing in a corner is not like dancing on stage, and the bossiest, I-told-you-so-iest of them all doesn't know her lyrics, though that doesn't stop her from lecturing her group mates.

Jessica, of the pink streaks, found herself another group with a whole other set of problems, some of which she probably caused her own self because Jessica here, is not particularly easy to get along with.

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow night, half of the remaining kids will go home. At least it's only an hour-long show. Not so many paragraphs of write-up to disappear into cyberspace.

Wordless Stamped Gradient Nails

More Tahkli Spinning

I'm getting the hang of spinning cotton with the little tahkli spindle (btw, which is the correct spelling? I see it several ways: tahkli, takhli, takli). I like being able to sit back in my chair to spin it (no sore back), and the yardage grows pretty quickly. I can spin and ply about 80 yards in a single evening (plying with a commercial cotton/wool), which is not a whole lot slower than with the wheel.

My singles are becoming more consistent, though there are still some slubs.

This is about 180 yards of spindle spun, 2-ply cotton and cotton/wool. All natural colors.

32 yds of white (from a cotton boll and some I had already hand carded, which means more even more slubs, but still cool), 110 yds of light brown and white mottled, and 38 yards of brown and white. If I spin another 180 yards or so, I'll have enough for a Hitchhiker shawl.

I'm not just using the tahkli- these other yarns were spun with my new painted spindle. 61 yds of orange wool/bamboo, 22 yds of blue Merino, 54 yds of gray, and 46 yds of angora rabbit plied with cotton/wool. These may end up as socks, when I get enough of the orange spun.

I wasn't able to spin the angora on the tahkli the first time I tried, but I'm more comfortable with it now, so I'll give it another shot. I think I'll also have The Hub take a little video of me spinning with it- not as a tutorial, just to show how I've been doing it. I think I'm holding the spindle differently than others do, but I'm happy with the outcome, so it's all good.

Day Trip into Mexico

My sisters, their husbands, The Hub and I planned to jaunt just over the border from California, into Los Algodones, BC, Mexico during the Yuma trip. A couple of the husbands (who shall remain nameless) were leery about the excursion, and none of us wanted to drive out of the country, so we parked in a large lot ($6 per day) and walked across.

I had hoped to take a picture of the big gate, our entry into a whole other country, but there were large signs prohibiting photography at the border crossing (and young men in uniform, carrying large guns nearby), so I kept my phone in my pocket. I had my passport ready to show, but going into Mexico was just a matter of walking through a rusty metal turnstile. United States on one side, Mexico on the other. No questions, no identification, no one even watching us (well, I assume there are cameras everywhere, but there were no border agents standing there).

The border itself opens at 8am, and we were right on the dot. The morning was sunny and cool, and though we were early, there was already a stream of people lined up to cross. My youngest sister and her husband visit Los Algodones every time they come to Yuma (only about 14 miles away), so she told us what to expect. Still, it was something of a shock.

As we stepped into Mexico, the first thing I noticed was music blaring from unseen loud speakers. That music? I'll wait for a moment so you can guess... you're going to guess wrongly...

It was The Carpenters. Singing in English. Not mariachi, not even The Tijuana Brass or Gloria Estefan (yeah, I know she's Cuban, but still). Karen Carpenter... so odd.

Just over the border was a public restroom. As per my sister's instructions, I gave a quarter to the elderly male attendant who sat outside the single stall room, and waited my turn. My sister had already told me not to flush the TP- that's what the waste basket next to the toilet was for (insert small shudder). Back outside, the attendant gave me a paper towel (hence the quarter), and he squirted a bit of soap in my hand, and I washed at the rust stained sink. 

And then we walked into town, to the four-block market area.

The liquor store was huge, and the street was lined with more dentists in a single area than I've ever seen, or imagined, in my whole life.

I think there were at least 35 different dental offices, ditto optometrists and surgeries. Also Pharmacies, mainly because many US prescription medications can be bought over the counter in Mexico.

In front of each business, *agents* worked to snag your attention: Senora, you want root canal? Senor needs Viagra, si? New glasses, cheap! One day! Senora! Senor! Come here, come here, come here!

The streets were lined with narrow corridors of vendors, many of whom were setting up on our first pass through. My sister had already told us about the system- that vendors would put necklaces and bracelets on you, that they would touch your shoulders and arms, that they would follow you to sell you their *silver* and *turquoise* and *gold*. She emphasized that we were going to have to bargain for each purchase (we were warned about that in The Bahamas too, but it never happened). So I was ready, sorta, for the onslaught.

The wares were fascinating, and the whole experience was a sensory overload- cash and intense bargaining for jewelry and tee shirts and leather goods and lawn ornaments, with the storefront folks all shouting as well. I just kept my hands in my pockets and tried not to make eye contact with the sellers, and I learned to say no quite sternly.

All this is not to say that it wasn't great fun. It was, the colors and the sounds, and as it got closer to lunch time, the smells, were amazing. Many of the vendors carried exactly the same kinds of goods, making choices either easier (or more difficult) depending on how you looked at it.

I only bought two things. I fell in love with this hand-painted ceramic Day of the Dead skull for my son, who collects such things. The vendor said $5, and I didn't even argue with him (frankly, I had hoped to bargain down to that amount). And this bracelet, which matches the outfit I was wearing that day. I knew full well that it was not real silver or turquoise, but for $10, I was perfectly happy.

The colors and the sounds were overwhelming. Those are wigs, btw, not hanks of wool and roving...

An interior courtyard revealed a lovely outdoor cantina.

We were too early for the live music, but at least the recorded stuff was in Spanish.

The margaritas were wonderful.

So were the nachos!

I admit to being charmed, if a little confused, by the rusty giraffe.

The birdies waited patiently for the leftovers.

There were colorful objects that I did not take pictures of, as well- pornographic shot glasses with clay figurines engaged in all sorts of vigorous activities, tee shirts with colorful phrases, and a flyer for a nearby brothel. 

All in all, it was a fascinating day. We were flying, so I didn't bother to buy my single duty-free cheap bottle of Kahlua, but we did wander through the big purple liquor store, marveling at the hundreds of brands of tequila, and at the free booze samples being given out at every aisle. 

On our way back across the border, we did have to show our passports (or in one sister's case, her enhanced drivers license), and we were asked to show our purchases. We had heard a horror story or two about abrupt and distrustful customs officers, but everyone was efficient and polite, and within 5 minutes we were back in the United States.

It was a fascinating morning. I'm very glad we had experienced guides, and if I get the chance I'll go back. There was a pair of earrings I'm sorry I didn't buy...