Jan 06 2010
what have you spun for me lately?
Why, quite a bit, actually. Spinning has gone very well lately; quite a few FOs coming off the bobbins.
Like this - Freckleface ‘Gypsy’, 80/20 merino/silk roving
spun into
this 3-ply light fingering weight, 104g / 415 yards (I also wound up with 69 yds of 2-ply laceweight). Isn’t it interesting sometimes how the yarn really isn’t at all like the original roving? I did deliberately attempt to break up the colour runs in this, however, splitting each third of roving into quarters before spinning. I am quite tickled with it, actually. The plan is to knit a simple lace scarf (like the Raha Scarf by Nancy Bush) which would leave me enough left for a cowl or some fingerless mittens.
And then, I decided to spin up a little batt leftover from a show in the fall. It had a mixture of fibres, alpaca, merino and silk. I typically forgot to take a photo pre-spinning since it was one of those sort of impulsive projects started on a whim one evening. I plied it with a single of gorgeous Wooly Wonka Silverback Roving - alpaca, bamboo + angelina (just absolutely divine stuff - too nice to spin, almost).
It turned out quite sweet, if I say so myself:
I spun it so it would transition from a rich seaglass blue to a gray blue to golden (72g / 283 yds), light fingering laceweight, plied looser than normal for lots of drape. Currently it’s being knit into a lacey cowl. I had the project in mind while spinning and it’s proving to be a perfect match.
And, most recently, this -
-showing 3 of 8 skeins spun over the holidays (finished on Jan.3rd). This is an ultimate achievement for me. I’ve always wanted to spin enough yarn for a sweater. This is the first time I’ve managed to do so. It’s quite a mix: about 50% red fibre (alpaca, border leicester and tunis) + 40% shetland + 10% green, blue, rust and black corridale which I carded together. I spun it sportweight, softly with a deliberately drapey yet stretchy hand. I’ve got about 520gs and close to 1400 yds.
Because I want to knit
Kelmscott, which I’ve been totally enamoured by since it first showed up on my screen in the Winter’09 Twist Collective. I’m not sure I will knit the collar since it’s quite formal that way. But, we’ll see. Currently, what you see above is total progress on the sweater (2″ of one front).
The red roving project, as it came to be known, was quite an undertaking but a nice quiet focus amidst the crazy holiday activity, which was a good thing, given the need for deliberate focus has become imperative as of late. It is nice to be able to find the time to focus on such large-scale projects because in recent years I’ve been far too busy to really allow for such things. (And, of course, I’m a fickle knitter and spinner, prone to startitis to begin with). But, not these days.
Late 2009 brought some changes (as every year does for most of us) which are going to carry on into 2010. In a recent post I mentioned about seeking medical advice for some unexplainable oddities. Hence the required focus and balance.
For a while, I thought it was related to the stress of having a busy schedule and not quite enough downtime. I expected, given some time, things would just sort of clear up and I would wake up one morning feeling just fine (has not yet happened). I thought a weekend away would work wonders (it didn’t). It became loud and clear over a period of short months I would need to change my expectations of what I generally was used to business-wise and how I conducted daily activities. Time to face facts. I’m told it’s likely fibromyalgia + something. Or it could just be something. The ’something’ is proving to be difficult to nail down and receiving specialist treatment is proving to be a time-consuming process (that is, getting to see a specialist is taking long).
Because all of this is happening behind the scenes, so to speak, and because I’ve received requests, I just wanted to let folks know I will not be offering clubs this year (as far as I know); I have also elected to not reserve booth space at any shows. This is quite disappointing since I very much enjoy meeting folks, never mind it’s fun seeing other vendors who I’ve become friendly with (and never mind the enjoyment of adding goodies to my stash - but perhaps I will be able attend some shows and just enjoy the shopping side for once).
I will, however, be continuing to dye in small batches, fill small wholesale orders and I will also continue to publish designs. Although some things will take longer to put together than they have in the past, other things may come together more quickly with the schedule being less jam-packed.
It has all been rather eye-opening. I am quite used to walking miles with the dog and working 10-14 hours in a day if required, filling gaps with personal activities. This, at the moment, is a thing of the past. A balanced schedule is a requirement. No more willy nilly.
I am grateful to family and friends who have stepped in to help me to continue working. I am grateful I’ve been working from home for years which has enabled me to jiggle things a bit, rather than forcing an abrupt career malfunction.
And, the major upside is more time to spin and knit since I’m being forced to slow things down (ironic, isn’t it? getting more by slowing down?). This is something I’ve wanted (what fibre addict wouldn’t?). So, I’m taking it. I’ve always believed in being opportunistic. And, IMO, the therapeutic value is priceless. :)
And, I am expecting with some time, some sort of treatment may become available. All of this could, at some point, become a non-issue.
So, in a nutshell, this is how 2010 begins. C’est la vie, as they say. Onwards and upwards. Knit (spin, dye) on.
Happy New Year to you and yours. I’m looking forward to the Olympics. Are you?
2 responses so far
If something gives you some more focused spinning time, it really cannot be ALL bad, can it? :) I am very glad and grateful tho that you’ve at least gotten started on the road to figgering it all out.
As somone who’s lived with fibromyalgia (and something, though I know what my “and somethings” are) for a long time, I’m here to tell you it can be managed.
I have to say though — I’ve been having a really hard time this year (since the summer), and quite a few other people I know with fibro have said the same thing. So perhaps there’s something about the weather or something this year that’s made it worse for all of us.
I find slowing down when I need to hard, but I know it’s absolutely essential — though I’m sorry to know I won’t get to run into you at the shows this year!