I would like to stop freaking out about the passage of time. Several times a day I catch myself thinking "crap, it's already 10:30/2/7pm/midnight?" Near any big event I can't believe it's already here, already past. And regularly you can hear me marvel: "Where did the summer/winter/semester go?" (Okay, not so much on the winter. Usually the winter lasts long enough that I think its time has come long before it's over.)
Being aware of the passage of time is not a bad thing, but freaking out over it is. Yes, it's already 10:30am. You know what? It will be 9am again tomorrow. The issue isn't what time it is, the issue is whether or not in this moment I'm doing what I mean to be doing. Sure, time matters---deadlines, meeting times, big events. But there's always more of it until the moment there isn't, and nothing I can do will save it or store it or even make it pass more quickly. The only real solution is to savour what I have. That includes refusing to mourn time poorly spent---that's time that's past, and there's a wealth ahead of me to experience.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The prodigal returns
Joel has come back to me after a successful whirlwind trip to the mountains. He saw a grizzly with three cubs, and a pine marten. Both new things.
At one point this evening Mickle was at the door meowling her disappointment. She came when I called to her and jumped on the couch, but she didn't really settle in. I was knitting and thus my lap was unavailable. I suspect her of missing Joel, who is the prime cuddler.
Both cats went trotting to the door when they heard the key in the lock. Now they're sprawled near by. All is well in the household.
At one point this evening Mickle was at the door meowling her disappointment. She came when I called to her and jumped on the couch, but she didn't really settle in. I was knitting and thus my lap was unavailable. I suspect her of missing Joel, who is the prime cuddler.
Both cats went trotting to the door when they heard the key in the lock. Now they're sprawled near by. All is well in the household.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Tracy Eichheim Nhewt's Dragon Spindle
The dragon spindle---huge whorl, surprisingly light, fantastic for plying. Bought in a destash from sinnamongirl.
Baltic birch whorl with walnut ring, spindle construction details here.
Baltic birch shaft (pretty sure).
2oz (need to weigh once emptied)
4 1/8" whorl diameter (10.5cm), 1/2" (1.3cm) thick
Shaft 11.5", 10.5" below the whorl (29/26cm)
Shaft 3/16" diameter (9mm)
12 1/2" tip to tail
Beautiful dragon motif cut by scroll saw in two wafers of baltic birch plywood to form a truly rim-weighted whorl. The dragon cut-out means you can see your fibre through the whorl, which is always fun. The wood has a lovely golden hue and the walnut detailing around the rim is a nice touch. Plain, no-nonsense shaft with light rings at the bottom for group---would probably still allow for moving the cop off.
The hook is relatively tiny---still plenty big enough to secure the yarn and easy to slip in and out of. It is very secure. There's a very subtle groove in the whorl, not even 2mm deep. The whorl is so large that for 4 ounces of fibre it didn't come close to slipping out. Will be interesting to see how it works with a larger batch.
Well balanced, has a small brass pin on the underside for balance. Spins fast and long. With a good thigh-roll will spin much farther than I can reach, especially when plying. Makes you want to find a handy cliff.
Detail shots:
In use:
Live action:
More Flickr pics
Tracy Eichheim Spindle Shop
Baltic birch whorl with walnut ring, spindle construction details here.
Baltic birch shaft (pretty sure).
2oz (need to weigh once emptied)
4 1/8" whorl diameter (10.5cm), 1/2" (1.3cm) thick
Shaft 11.5", 10.5" below the whorl (29/26cm)
Shaft 3/16" diameter (9mm)
12 1/2" tip to tail
Beautiful dragon motif cut by scroll saw in two wafers of baltic birch plywood to form a truly rim-weighted whorl. The dragon cut-out means you can see your fibre through the whorl, which is always fun. The wood has a lovely golden hue and the walnut detailing around the rim is a nice touch. Plain, no-nonsense shaft with light rings at the bottom for group---would probably still allow for moving the cop off.
The hook is relatively tiny---still plenty big enough to secure the yarn and easy to slip in and out of. It is very secure. There's a very subtle groove in the whorl, not even 2mm deep. The whorl is so large that for 4 ounces of fibre it didn't come close to slipping out. Will be interesting to see how it works with a larger batch.
Well balanced, has a small brass pin on the underside for balance. Spins fast and long. With a good thigh-roll will spin much farther than I can reach, especially when plying. Makes you want to find a handy cliff.
Detail shots:
In use:
Live action:
More Flickr pics
Tracy Eichheim Spindle Shop
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Threads Through Time Medium Turkish
Bought in a destash from Knitzphat. Beautiful, good spinner, but darnit, I can't get the hang of the turkish. Destashing.
Bloodwood shaft, tulipwood arms.
1.6 oz (45 g)
4" arms (10.5cm), 7" (18cm) shaft length
The tulipwood arms have beautiful pinkish-red figuring against the peachy-yellow wood. The bloodwood shaft has a rich, even colour. The shaft tapers gently from the below the whorl and ends in a cone with a slight lip. The shaft is about 1/2"/1.3cm at the widest point to 3/16"/3mm right below the cap. The bottom tapers with a blunted point tip on bottom that I suspect means it could be used supported. The shaft is sturdy overall.
Fairly centre-weighted spin with good balance. The inset arm is quite thin and the middle of the bracing arm is relatively thick. Everything slips together and apart easily, but seemed to stay secure once a few wraps were on. The lip of the cone on top holds yarn secure while still being reasonably easy to flick the half-hitch off.
I spun white BFL and a merino/silk blend on it. Couldn't figure out how to flick it fast enough for my satisfaction. Too bad, because it's a beautiful little spindle.
Bare:
In use:
Original Etsy listing
More Flickr Pics
Bloodwood shaft, tulipwood arms.
1.6 oz (45 g)
4" arms (10.5cm), 7" (18cm) shaft length
The tulipwood arms have beautiful pinkish-red figuring against the peachy-yellow wood. The bloodwood shaft has a rich, even colour. The shaft tapers gently from the below the whorl and ends in a cone with a slight lip. The shaft is about 1/2"/1.3cm at the widest point to 3/16"/3mm right below the cap. The bottom tapers with a blunted point tip on bottom that I suspect means it could be used supported. The shaft is sturdy overall.
Fairly centre-weighted spin with good balance. The inset arm is quite thin and the middle of the bracing arm is relatively thick. Everything slips together and apart easily, but seemed to stay secure once a few wraps were on. The lip of the cone on top holds yarn secure while still being reasonably easy to flick the half-hitch off.
I spun white BFL and a merino/silk blend on it. Couldn't figure out how to flick it fast enough for my satisfaction. Too bad, because it's a beautiful little spindle.
Bare:
In use:
Original Etsy listing
More Flickr Pics
Friday, July 1, 2011
July Blogfest
In honour of Camp NaNoWriMo I am declaring July blogfest month. A blog post a day, at least on one of the blogs. You will notice from this epic inaugural post just how half-assed I am allowing myself to be. But we have to start somewhere.
To the blogosphere and beyond!
To the blogosphere and beyond!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Spanish Peacock Australian Cypress Top Whorl
Snapped up in an Etsy rush. Super light, makes frog hair. Absolutely gorgeous grain. I love the twisted hook, it holds the single very nicely.
Australian Cypress whorl and hard maple shaft.
15 grams (+/- .5g) .5 ounces
2 1/8" diameter whorl
8" shaft, 7" below the whorl (going up against the whorl), just over 1/4" diameter
8 1/2" from top to bottom
The man is a genius with wood. The way the flow of the grain echoes and complements the shape of the spindle is just beautiful. The pale maple shaft shows just a bit of darker grain in elongated swoops along its length. The Australian Cypress is a warm yellow-brown, a light honey swirl on one side with darker rings, with some smooth puddling on the other side. It's got a smooth matte finish.
The shaft flares lightly where it joins to the whorl. There's a finial top and bottom. Would need a quill to slip the cop off without unwinding, but it didn't catch at all. The whorl is deeply concave on the bottom, slightly scooped on the top.
The hook brass-coloured metal, twisted in a corkscrew that works amazingly well. Pretty much my favourite hook style now. It lets the single come straight up from the shaft but still keeps it on (about a quarter circle clockwise). No notches, but between the hollowed out underside and the corkscrew hook it doesn't seem to need any bracing.
Rim-weighted but light overall. Very fast spin but not a whole lot of momentum. Makes amazingly thin yarn. Purely a frog-hair spindle.
Spun BFL (was going for too thick, couldn't keep spinning), pure merino (made three-ply thread beautifully), 80/20 merino/silk (aiming too thick again).
In use:
Original Etsy Listing
Spanish Peacock Shop
Spanish Peacock Website
Australian Cypress whorl and hard maple shaft.
15 grams (+/- .5g) .5 ounces
2 1/8" diameter whorl
8" shaft, 7" below the whorl (going up against the whorl), just over 1/4" diameter
8 1/2" from top to bottom
The man is a genius with wood. The way the flow of the grain echoes and complements the shape of the spindle is just beautiful. The pale maple shaft shows just a bit of darker grain in elongated swoops along its length. The Australian Cypress is a warm yellow-brown, a light honey swirl on one side with darker rings, with some smooth puddling on the other side. It's got a smooth matte finish.
The shaft flares lightly where it joins to the whorl. There's a finial top and bottom. Would need a quill to slip the cop off without unwinding, but it didn't catch at all. The whorl is deeply concave on the bottom, slightly scooped on the top.
The hook brass-coloured metal, twisted in a corkscrew that works amazingly well. Pretty much my favourite hook style now. It lets the single come straight up from the shaft but still keeps it on (about a quarter circle clockwise). No notches, but between the hollowed out underside and the corkscrew hook it doesn't seem to need any bracing.
Rim-weighted but light overall. Very fast spin but not a whole lot of momentum. Makes amazingly thin yarn. Purely a frog-hair spindle.
Spun BFL (was going for too thick, couldn't keep spinning), pure merino (made three-ply thread beautifully), 80/20 merino/silk (aiming too thick again).
In use:
Original Etsy Listing
Spanish Peacock Shop
Spanish Peacock Website
Grizzly Mountain Arts Mini Top Whorl
Bought from Etsy in a mad dash. Beautiful but the wrong kind of spin for my fingers. Destashing. and best for fine yarns. Incredibly speedy spin but backspins fairly quickly when trying to do high-twist/thick yarn.
Thuya Burl whorl and Cocobolo shaft
1.1 ounces (31 grams)
2" diameter whorl
7 3/4" shaft, 1/4" diameter, 6" below the whorl.
Just under 8 1/4" top to bottom.
Gorgeous glow to the wood. The grain is smooth on both, honey-brown on the whorl and dark shaft glowing reddish orange in places. Shaft is polished smooth, fairly slippery. The finial above the whorl has some nice subtle detail. Bottom is blunt, gently rounded.
Rim-weighted in theory but fairly dense, the rims are not super deep and the cocobolo shaft has some heft. Has a long-lasting but not extremely fast spin. The notch is in the top and bottom of the whorl rim, quite secure. I like the notch at the bottom for holding things in very nicely but it was sometimes catching when I was winding on. Would be easy to get used to.
Two notches near the top of the shaft work great for holding the beginning of the yarn when first winding on. There are notches at the bottom of the shaft as well, not too deep. Would catch if I was trying to slide the cop without a quill of some kind.
Hook is brass-coloured metal, bent in a gentle swoop with a loop at the end that can catch the yarn sometimes but again would be easy to get used to. The hook is perpendicular to the notch, with the notch on the right if you are looking down with the back towards you.
Spun on it with undyed BFL and 80/20 merino/silk. In both cases I was drafting too fast. Possibly want a more rim-weighted one, maybe slightly heavier.
Bare:
In use:
More Flickr pics
original Etsy listing
Grizzly Mountain Arts shop
Grizzly Mountain Arts blog
Thuya Burl whorl and Cocobolo shaft
1.1 ounces (31 grams)
2" diameter whorl
7 3/4" shaft, 1/4" diameter, 6" below the whorl.
Just under 8 1/4" top to bottom.
Gorgeous glow to the wood. The grain is smooth on both, honey-brown on the whorl and dark shaft glowing reddish orange in places. Shaft is polished smooth, fairly slippery. The finial above the whorl has some nice subtle detail. Bottom is blunt, gently rounded.
Rim-weighted in theory but fairly dense, the rims are not super deep and the cocobolo shaft has some heft. Has a long-lasting but not extremely fast spin. The notch is in the top and bottom of the whorl rim, quite secure. I like the notch at the bottom for holding things in very nicely but it was sometimes catching when I was winding on. Would be easy to get used to.
Two notches near the top of the shaft work great for holding the beginning of the yarn when first winding on. There are notches at the bottom of the shaft as well, not too deep. Would catch if I was trying to slide the cop without a quill of some kind.
Hook is brass-coloured metal, bent in a gentle swoop with a loop at the end that can catch the yarn sometimes but again would be easy to get used to. The hook is perpendicular to the notch, with the notch on the right if you are looking down with the back towards you.
Spun on it with undyed BFL and 80/20 merino/silk. In both cases I was drafting too fast. Possibly want a more rim-weighted one, maybe slightly heavier.
Bare:
In use:
More Flickr pics
original Etsy listing
Grizzly Mountain Arts shop
Grizzly Mountain Arts blog
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