In Which I Give In To The Green Woman
When one wakes up to find one's personal fairy/creative guide/inspirational spirit/occasional thorn-in-the-side/Green Woman perched next to the bed with a wicked grin on her face, one had best do what she asks....especially when she's been so very patient for so very long. 
And so yesterday found me hauling out all of my fiber and a bunch of my laceweight yarns. I left them on the bed all afternoon....taking a lot of time to make some decisions.
By the time I left for my friendly, neighborhood coffee house for my weekly "Mommy's Night Off" I was well prepared. I began my evening by casting on this lovely scarf from some very colorful handspun. The scarf is the Morning Surf Scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer, as published in Spin Off in the Summer of 2008. I wound up frogging my first attempt to make it a bit narrower than recommended as short annoys me more than narrow when it comes to scarves. (Although, that whole skinny scarf thing still alludes my fashion sensibilities...) I checked the yarn this morning with my scales and McMoran balance, and I should have about 35o yards. The fiber was from Butterfly Girl Designs, and was definitely a reaction against all of that natural alpaca I spun last year!
Once I had that scarf safely underway, I turned back to my Heart To Heart Beaded Scarf by Sivia Harding...a piece which I had sadly had a few failed attempts at just prior to the surgery. When it became apparent that I wasn't going to bounce back as quickly as I had expected, I feared this would become yet another failed intention. (You know...you get excited, buy the materials...and then it never happens.) When a friend finished hers recently, I knew I needed to get back to it asap...even if it was no longer the most appealing thing in my stash. I'm glad I did. It's quite pretty!
Before I left, I spent some time putting bead options onto some laceweight for a couple of possible projects. The two that are VERY high on the possible list are the Aolian Shawl from Knitty and Mandala, a chose-your-own adventure sort of circular shawl. I'm still debating. The Green Woman apparently doesn't care if I cast on immediately....just so long as I'm seriously considering my options. 
I did also prepare some fiber yesterday. As you see, the natural white suri alpaca won out. I unwound the roving from its paper towel core so that I could easily spin up the entire thing without having to stop. I also prepared by putting my spinning wheel and all necessary accoutrements in the living room before bed. The Green Woman was quite irritated that I hadn't thought of this earlier as she wanted us to spin yesterday morning...and we couldn't without risk of waking my poor husband.
The plan was a nice one, and we got a lot done this morning! (And yes, the drive band/ratio pictures have already come in handy with that blue merino.) I must say that spinning is probably my favorite way to spend my early morning quiet hour.
For now.
And so yesterday found me hauling out all of my fiber and a bunch of my laceweight yarns. I left them on the bed all afternoon....taking a lot of time to make some decisions.
By the time I left for my friendly, neighborhood coffee house for my weekly "Mommy's Night Off" I was well prepared. I began my evening by casting on this lovely scarf from some very colorful handspun. The scarf is the Morning Surf Scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer, as published in Spin Off in the Summer of 2008. I wound up frogging my first attempt to make it a bit narrower than recommended as short annoys me more than narrow when it comes to scarves. (Although, that whole skinny scarf thing still alludes my fashion sensibilities...) I checked the yarn this morning with my scales and McMoran balance, and I should have about 35o yards. The fiber was from Butterfly Girl Designs, and was definitely a reaction against all of that natural alpaca I spun last year! 
Once I had that scarf safely underway, I turned back to my Heart To Heart Beaded Scarf by Sivia Harding...a piece which I had sadly had a few failed attempts at just prior to the surgery. When it became apparent that I wasn't going to bounce back as quickly as I had expected, I feared this would become yet another failed intention. (You know...you get excited, buy the materials...and then it never happens.) When a friend finished hers recently, I knew I needed to get back to it asap...even if it was no longer the most appealing thing in my stash. I'm glad I did. It's quite pretty!
Before I left, I spent some time putting bead options onto some laceweight for a couple of possible projects. The two that are VERY high on the possible list are the Aolian Shawl from Knitty and Mandala, a chose-your-own adventure sort of circular shawl. I'm still debating. The Green Woman apparently doesn't care if I cast on immediately....just so long as I'm seriously considering my options. 
I did also prepare some fiber yesterday. As you see, the natural white suri alpaca won out. I unwound the roving from its paper towel core so that I could easily spin up the entire thing without having to stop. I also prepared by putting my spinning wheel and all necessary accoutrements in the living room before bed. The Green Woman was quite irritated that I hadn't thought of this earlier as she wanted us to spin yesterday morning...and we couldn't without risk of waking my poor husband. 
The plan was a nice one, and we got a lot done this morning! (And yes, the drive band/ratio pictures have already come in handy with that blue merino.) I must say that spinning is probably my favorite way to spend my early morning quiet hour. Sadly, this alpaca has proven to be another horribly prepared batch from the farm which has now disappointed me with three separate rovings. Second cuts, tangled fibers, vegetable matter and slight matting make this some really unpleasant fiber to spin, and I'm now utterly convinced that the blame lies with the farm and NOT with my storage methods. I'm almost through the first 4 oz, and I'll probably go ahead and spin up the rest - another 7 oz - because surely I can find something to do with it. No, it's not capable of producing the yarn I had dreamed of when I first brought this fiber home...but I'm sure it will be serviceable. Besides, what better way to let the mind go for a bit of relaxation than with fiber that one doesn't really care about?
The real question is what to do with the last batch of roving from this place? (Is life too short to waste spinning unpleasant fiber? Or should I just suck it up and spin it so as not to have wasted my money?
My Green Woman has been appeased.
For now.
And who knows how long that will be.
Comments
Needle-felt the crappy alpaca! You get to use the roving to make fun shapes and pin cushions, there's the therapeutic stabbing, and it's not wasted at all. I use a $2 foam block from Hobby Lobby to stab things on, and haven't had serious injury yet.
I'm on a lace kick too, knitspot's Butternut and MimKnits Persephone scarves both in progress.