Happy October!
Just a few random thoughts and pictures for a the first Thursday in October.
1. I dreamt I had a nightmare, but I really didn't, but I dreamt I did. Did I really have a nightmare or is it just an infinite loop for consideration?
2. You may remember the chrysalis from the 9/12/2008 post. It did finally become transparent and hatch, a fascinating process to watch. Unfortunately it didn't end well for the butterfly -- it emerged last Friday to a cold and rainy fall day. Not good for drying wings.
3. I love the colors popping up in nature this time of year in western, NY. It's just beautiful and we're not even to the height of color yet. The scenery makes me wish I could paint...maybe I'll use the colors as inspiration and dye some yarn. These pictures are from the Ganondagan Historic Site outside Victor, NY. It was the location of a large Haudenosaunee village that flourished until the 17th century. Not surprisingly, the invading Europeans did not make for very good neighbors. (The French referred to the Haudenosaunee as the Iroquois.) We were there with Megan and the entire 4th grade for a stellar day of activities, tours of the longhouse and enjoying of the scenery.
4. There has also been much spinning with my new spinning wheel. I've been playing with some of the Blue Faced Leicester wool I bought at the Fiber Festival. BFL has a long staple length (i.e. length of the individual wool fibers) making it fairly forgiving as I'm learning to control my hands, my foot and the speed of the wheel. I'm generally pretty coordinated but every once and a while when I'm spinning, I feeling like I don't have a central nervous system. "Hello? Could someone please let me hand know that my foot has pushed down the pedal, the wheel is spinning and some action is required before the yarn gets pulled apart." Here's one of the bobbins with fall-like colors:
Here's the set up with the bobbin in the flyer (the U-shaped wooden thingy* with the hooks), with some yarn destined for a hat for Erin. Pink, yellow and orange, couldn't be more Erin-y. (* Some place, my 11th grade English teacher, is having a severe tick due to my lack of descriptive noun. Sorry Mrs. Exner.)
Interestingly, the first half of the roving produced a bobbin full of yarn quite different from the second half. The second half is distinctly more pink than the first.
I tried plying the two together and got the yarn below. I'm not sure I'm in love with the results, too blended, so I'm off to learn how to Navajo Ply. It's another way to ply a single so that you preserve the color changes within one continuous length of yarn.
If you're curious, here's a good link on You Tube showing a spinner Navajo plying some yarn. (I love You Tube! You can just about find anything there including, the chance to relive some favorite childhood memories. Did anyone else learn about adverbs from the Electric Company ?)
1. I dreamt I had a nightmare, but I really didn't, but I dreamt I did. Did I really have a nightmare or is it just an infinite loop for consideration?
2. You may remember the chrysalis from the 9/12/2008 post. It did finally become transparent and hatch, a fascinating process to watch. Unfortunately it didn't end well for the butterfly -- it emerged last Friday to a cold and rainy fall day. Not good for drying wings.
3. I love the colors popping up in nature this time of year in western, NY. It's just beautiful and we're not even to the height of color yet. The scenery makes me wish I could paint...maybe I'll use the colors as inspiration and dye some yarn. These pictures are from the Ganondagan Historic Site outside Victor, NY. It was the location of a large Haudenosaunee village that flourished until the 17th century. Not surprisingly, the invading Europeans did not make for very good neighbors. (The French referred to the Haudenosaunee as the Iroquois.) We were there with Megan and the entire 4th grade for a stellar day of activities, tours of the longhouse and enjoying of the scenery.
4. There has also been much spinning with my new spinning wheel. I've been playing with some of the Blue Faced Leicester wool I bought at the Fiber Festival. BFL has a long staple length (i.e. length of the individual wool fibers) making it fairly forgiving as I'm learning to control my hands, my foot and the speed of the wheel. I'm generally pretty coordinated but every once and a while when I'm spinning, I feeling like I don't have a central nervous system. "Hello? Could someone please let me hand know that my foot has pushed down the pedal, the wheel is spinning and some action is required before the yarn gets pulled apart." Here's one of the bobbins with fall-like colors:
Here's the set up with the bobbin in the flyer (the U-shaped wooden thingy* with the hooks), with some yarn destined for a hat for Erin. Pink, yellow and orange, couldn't be more Erin-y. (* Some place, my 11th grade English teacher, is having a severe tick due to my lack of descriptive noun. Sorry Mrs. Exner.)
Interestingly, the first half of the roving produced a bobbin full of yarn quite different from the second half. The second half is distinctly more pink than the first.
I tried plying the two together and got the yarn below. I'm not sure I'm in love with the results, too blended, so I'm off to learn how to Navajo Ply. It's another way to ply a single so that you preserve the color changes within one continuous length of yarn.
If you're curious, here's a good link on You Tube showing a spinner Navajo plying some yarn. (I love You Tube! You can just about find anything there including, the chance to relive some favorite childhood memories. Did anyone else learn about adverbs from the Electric Company ?)
Faster than a rolling O
Stronger than silent e
Able to leap capital T in a single bound
Its a word, its a plan, its Letterman!
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Brilliant! I remember that one.
And here's one where I learned the double "L" sound but I'm now totally creeped out by certain sugary confections.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTPOyeREur0&feature=related
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