some calm

I needed to find some calm after the garden mishap.  I realized I had not spun in awhile.  I actually had realized this earlier this week but had not gotten there before Saturday evening.  I decided to spin some yarn I wish to use in making gifts for my best friend.  I thought this yarn was much more white then it was but that is okay.  I hope she can use the shawl I make here for meditations or Tantric.  Hopefully, silver works.

Small Mister has been liking to help me to card.  I can put him in the sling and card.  Or he sits at my feet and plays.  You should see what becomes toys at the base of my workspace.

He sits in my lap when I spin.  He actually is much easier to spin with then he used to be.  But he brings me calm.  Sometimes he "reads."  Sometimes he listens to music on my phone.  Sometimes he gets down and helps me treadle.  I just wonder what skills he is learning.

Small Mister and the spinning helped to bring me some calm.  I cannot ask for more then that.

for my mom

Tihs is one of the bits that is going into my Mom's stocking.  She walks outside in all weather, at home and at the beach.  I try to make sure she has a warm hat.  She also has a tendency to put them on grandchildrens' heads.  I carded and spun the brownish goldish yarn in this hat.  I just spun the blue.  My spinning is getting better because I was much more pleased with this yarn then the yarn I used the last time I spun.  Steps at a time.  There is still much to do for stockings and such.

But there is one person I do not need to worry about anymore.  My Beloved has been looking at violins for over a year, and thinking about them longer.  I got him one for his birthday and Christmas.  He is so excited.  His first lesson is next week but he has alreayd started practicing.

drum carder

I have lots of fiber.  I have been slowly hand carding it.  It is a restful, meditative process but much slower then my spinning.  Even when I use a drop spindle.  So it was a lot slower then I needed it to be.

My Beloved and I talked.  He was much more convinced that I needed a drum carder then I was but he did not push.

He was right.  

My drum carder came while we were on the land.  I have used it every day this week.

The fiber comes out so much better then my hand carding and so much faster!  I am still learning but this would have probably taken me weeks to do.  I have been carding a bit every night and spinning what I card.  It is different but still very restful and meditative.  I really need that in my life right now.  Being away from the land is very hard.

I seem to keep collecting tools.  I think I need another work table if not another work space.  More tools came today!

spinning wheel!

I just had to share another picture from our trip.  This was near our campsite.  It makes me smile to see it.

I mentioned that I bought a bit of fiber at SAFF.  Here it is.  Half of this will need skirting, washing, and carding before I can spin it.  The other half just needs to be carded.  Looking at this pile I realized that I really need a drum carder.  I should be ordering it at the end of this week.  Tools!  I am a tool junky!

The tool I brought home with me was a new spinning wheel.  It is a Lendrum.  It is so easy to put together, unless of course Pirate King Malarkey takes over and tells you his adventures on the high sea.

Once I had a little sleep after the drive home, I started spinning.  I spun a pound of fiber in an afternoon and evening.  There was life that kept me from going straight through but that is okay.  I really like this spinning wheel.  My Beloved observed that I was never this comfortable using my older one.

And there would never been a way I could spin with Small Mister on my lap.  He finds my spinning wheel almost as fascinating as my sewing machine.  This wheel has many less pieces that can hurt him if a finger goes towards it while I am spinning.

I think this wheel is just wonderful.  It folds down so I can take it with me.  I can spin in my rocking chair or watching videos on the "couch."  The Pirate King Malarkey can tell me tales of the high seas from my lap.  Life is good and full of smiles.

my one "souvenir"

In our travels, we really did not buy anything frivoulous.  Yes, I bought some more metal water bottles of the size I like.  I have difficulty finding them here.  And I bought a ceramic to go cup.  I use it everyday and it is NOT white!  That is what I liked about it.  Tea is so much better not out of paper or metal.

We did make a stop in Laramie, Wyoming to look at anitque tools.  There was nothing of interest for My Beloved this time.  Maybe there will be next time.  He would really like a crosscut saw.  We (I) decided to wander downtown Laramie.  I loved the name of the yarn shop, Cowgirl Yarn.  They had a lot of nice yarns.  Some you can find anywhere.  Some I had not seen before.  Some spun from local fiber.  But they had local roving!  I picked up a very large roll of roving from Wyoming.  Since we have been home, I have used my drop spindle to spin in front of videos.  There is so much lanolin in this wool, I am crocheting a shawl as I spin.  It is a very fun texture.  

A way to get my spinning better.  I do find it translates to my spinning wheel.