Unrest

Tour De Fleece had a day of rest yesterday. I did not do any spinning, I watched The Lovely Bones which was truly enchanting and enjoyable. I tried to finish knitting the LaLa Simple Shawl, but I have a pool ball size ball of yarn to finish up tonight. It should be enough for another row and the bind off. I am not worried because I have another skein already wound and can bind off with that if I run short. I AM SO TIRED.

The new neighbors played Mexican ballads until well after midnight. The kind with the strumming guitars and long held notes. OMFG people. Some of us commute to work. I have to get up before 5 which means I barely get 6 hours of sleep as it is. WTF?!?!?!?!

I am currently working on the first 8 oz top from The Painted Tiger. It is a little intimidating. I counted the loops in the braid and divided it by three. Seriously each ball feels like 4 ozs. I started pre-drafting and the fiber is wonderful. It is 100 % Corriedale and the colors are so nice - I am spinning Seascape first. I filled a bobbin with about half of the first ball. I have the high speed whorl on again because I want much thinner yarn. I don't like how fluffy it gets when plied so I want it as thin as possible to start with. I lost it a couple of times and the fiber was pulled out of my hand, I have to watch the drafting area at all times or the fiber breaks. The squeaking is back and treadling is not smooth. I need to try a different drive band I think. Also I had to unwind the brake cord to ply with the Jumbo Flyer and I cannot get it back the way I originally had it. Heavy sigh. I find this part of spinning extremely frustrating. All of the constant adjustments, how one setup works perfectly and you change bobbins or whorls and nothing works right. I really don't get that. The Maggie Casey DVD I have emphasizes all the wheel adjustments and tweaks for different types of fiber, etc. I am finding it to be a real pain. Apparently you get used to it, people have been spinning for thousands of years. It must become like background noise over time. I am heading into my second month of spinning, and I think I am doing pretty well for a self-taught spinner. I have a spinning buddy - hi KraftyKathy. She has an Ashford Kiwi too, which she painted beautifully. She lives about 1,000 miles away though so we encourage and support each other via Ravelry.

There is a swap I joined that sounds like a lot of fun. The KnittersWithCritters podcast host Jackie does small swaps, usually less than 10 people. You don't have to buy anything to participate, the only cost is postage of about $1.05 in the US. The next swap is for a knitted or crocheted bookmark, with a stitchmarker instead of a tassel, and a mini-skein of leftover yarn between 6 and 8 yards. The previous swap was a miniature sock, recipe and mini-skein. These are easy fun swaps that you don't even have to shop for. Sign-ups close tomorrow July 15, 2010.
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/knitter-with-critters-podcast/1201091/1-25#12

I completed the One Row Handspun Scarf, it is so pretty. I love the colors and the length is just right. I put my felted clogs into hibernation, it's just not happening. I am completely distracted by spinning right now. I left the two pairs of socks up though. I have not touched them, but I will when I finish these two shawls. I am a proknitcuous knitter, I like having a bunch of projects bagged up. I like casting on. I can always knit some stockinette socks or a clapotis if I want to complete a project.