Quickie

I didn’t get around to writing last week. My 3 year old nephew was staying with my parents and we went to the Efteling (amusement park). It took him a while to get tired this time. By the time I got home I had to hurry to get ready that evening.

Meanwhile I’m working on clue 3 of the shawl.



I managed to spin about 10 minutes a day on the spindle. I calculated that if I keep this up it will take me until October 2011 to finish the 200 grams. That’s without plying, I don’t know how long that will keep me busy.

Building site

Last week I worked from home for 2.5 days instead of the normal half day. Working from home certainly has advantages. I don’t have to travel, I can sit behind the computer for the first hour (or so) in my nightgown and the coffee tastes much better. Disadvantage is that I’m alone and that can be a problem with my work.
On the positive side: I was home to witness this.



They have to remove some pipes that run right through the front yard. These contain asbestos and the county want these removed. Everything is closed back up again and I can start rebuilding my front yard.

A few weeks ago I ordered from Alet (Dutch webshop), 2 balls of 200 grams merino with silk. This one I want to spin with the spindle.



Raise your hand if you think I can’t keep this up. To be honest I have to say that I can be easily distracted by anything. And this week another KAL started (pictures will follow). I’ll try to give an update on my progress every week.

Spun silk

Last week the charkha went to the National Spinningday. Unfortunately there was no one who could give me tips on how to use it. I showed other how I use it, which probably isn’t according to the “rules”. I’ve started to spin some silk on it. Fortunately I believe that handspun yarn shouldn’t be perfect. Just look at the Noro yarns, all are irregular and people pay for that stuff. I’m not sure what I’ll use to ply it with. I’ve been thinking about brown alpaca that I have lying around. Maybe I can manage to spin that on the charkha as well.

Last night I might have damaged my hearing just a bit. I went to a performance of Drumcats. It was really cool. I sat next to a couple who enthusiastically clapped along with the music. It was slightly frustrating that the guy clapped out of rhythm. I mean, really now. It’s a percussion show. Here is a taste of what I enjoyed for a little more than an hour. It does sound a whole lot better in the theater.