It is fucking HOT right now, but you wouldn’t know it in my office or bedroom because I’VE GOT AC, MOTHERGRABBER! We put in our little seasonal window units last week, after holding out for the multi-week heat advisory warning (though we didn’t know it at the time–it was only supposed to be 5 days, but has dragged on another 5 so far).
Now, the rest of the building is still a Bikram studio (especially the 2nd story–gosh, I could probably bring a yoga mat up to the dye lab and practice…), but I try only to leave the havens to procure food, check on the sheep, and use the potty.
While I haven’t succeeded in spinning every day as planned during the Tour de Fleece, I am well on my way to finishing my second pound of fiber, which still puts me two pounds behind for the year–but gives me better hope of catching up. I shouldn’t have any problem plying this before the end of the Tour, but my goals of spinning something unique for Team Wicked Stitch or Team Browncoats is fading into a mist. Instead, I think I’ll change my goal to finishing this pound and adding my fiber stash to my Ravelry stash so next time I need to pick something to spin, I’ll have a better place to start, and an easy way to update its finished version to my stash.
While I’m on spinning, I must bring up my beloved new WPI tool, which is so super awesome that I’m selling them in my etsy shop now.
Not only does it give you wpi without having to wind your yarn a gazillion times and try to maintain tension/not untwist your yarn/somehow monitor your wraps from time to time, but it also comes with a clip and a retractable cord so you can keep it with your gear but zap it out, and it includes a little wip-to-yarn weight conversion chart.
Right now I have 4 important WPI but my most pressing uses this:
Lorna’s Laces Pearl, which is just lovely to knit. It’s silk and bamboo, and I like knitting it way better than either of those fibers singly. It’s super soft but not too slippery, and it has a light sheen, but it’s doesn’t look like a satin NASCAR jacket or anything, and the color shifts are fluid and a joy to knit. Good yarn doesn’t come cheap, however, and this stuff is spendy, so I’m trying to be as thrifty as I can with it in my current pattern, which will be up (for free, natch) on Craftzine at the end of the month!
I spent way too much time updating my ravelry stash. I really need to destash, but I’ll save that for another day. Instead, I’m going to waste some more time adding my fiber to it. But I’ll need to dole it out a bit at a time as a sort of rewardy game. Much to do–I can only rationalize a little bit of dicking around–even if it is fiber-based dicking around.
Oh, wait! It’s the 22nd! No fiber stash dilly-dallying–I need to ply that yarn!
That tool is damn cool! I don’t spin, but I just finished proofreading an ebook on spinning and wondered if there was something like this out in Yarnland.
That is such an awesome WIP tool! I didn’t see any in your shop though, I hope you get more in soon
Sorry, the ones I had listed sold out, but I just renewed the listing. There are a couple more in my shop and a new batch on the way this week.
Greatest line of this post: “It doesn’t look like a satin NASCAR jacket or anything.” THAT is one hell of an endorsement. ;)