Monday, May 21, 2012

Spinning

I recently got bitten by the spinning bug, and after about two months of whining about not having a spinning wheel (or wanting to spend the money to buy one), I broke down this weekend and bought a spindle, and Abby Franqemont's book and video, Respect the Spindle.


 By the way, I blame Monika, and her absolutely gorgeous handspun yarn for this problem of mine.

Here's a picture of my fiber mess and the beginnings of my spinning.


Spinning on a spindle is HARD. Looks easy, but is not. At all. I tried and failed for about two hours on Sunday.

However, I'm really loving a new skill, and I can honestly say after reading Respect the Spindle that I understand yarn a lot better than I did before. This is really giving me a much closer connection to the tools that I'm using, which is awesome, because I am all about context in terms of how I learn and operate.

On the personal front, things have started to calm down. Thank goodness. I'm doing fine, Beezer is doing fine, Bruce is healing, and Georgia continues to delight and amaze.

I'm currently inundated with reading materials, with an enormous stack of books sitting by my bedside, and a whole bunch on my kindle that I haven't delved into yet. Oh, and I also have a pile of magazines sitting here that are demanding attention.

I'm also studying to become a LEED Accredited Professional, which is a certification for people who are involved in the green/sustainable/eco building industry. Which I am, as I work for an engineering firm. The process is fun, but a little tough. There's a lot of memorization involved with learning the materials, but I'm still enjoying it.

And, as always, I'm listening to music while I knit. At the moment, I'm on a Latin music kick, listening to Celia Cruz (official Goddess of Salsa), Bebel Gilberto (Brazilian. I know. Whatever), Rodrigo y Gabriela (rockin Spanish guitarists from Mexico), Los Amigos Invisibles (crazy funk/disco/jazz party band from Venezuela, saw them in concert this winter), Bomba Estereo (awesomeness from Colombia) and a little Shakira for good measure.

5 comments:

  1. Have fun spinning! Looking forward to seeing your creations!

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  2. I was reading your blog post, got side tracked with the music links, and two hours later I'm here again. I liked the engergy of Bomba Estereo's music. My daughters boyfriend is from Columbia, well, his father is, BF is from Australia now, but he loves his heritage. Throught this link I found other wonderful music as well. The pups were a little disturbed, because I turned the music up, and the speakers were booming. :o)

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  3. BTW- lovely fiber you've got there! I spun maybe a week with a spindle, before I ordered my first wheel. :o)

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  4. So what do you think you're going to make with the yarn?

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  5. So nice to catch up with you!

    I am just so glad that spinning doesn't appeal to me. But I admire those of you who go there. I can see how it would deepen your understanding of yarn -- and probably all textiles.

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