Saturday, December 30, 2006

Post-Christmas Post

Well, I didn't get all the Yuletide knitting, sewing, etc. done, but I did get a fair bit finished. Mom loved her socks, as did MIL, Iris loved her nightgown and robe, Ryan loved his shirt, Morgan and Rowan liked their shirts and puppets, Becky liked the KIP bag, lessee...what else? OH! Ishbu loved her popholders, and Rhi liked her hat and her friend liked it so much she wants one too. I think that's everything. And alas, I don't have pictures of everything, but somewhere around here, I've got a picture of Iris's nightngown. And here's a detail of the front. It seems I'm having trouble uploading photos as usual, but links are good, too. Thank goodness for photobucket, no?
I finished plying the first of the raw wool my MIL gave me, so here's a picture of it. And also a picture of it soaking in the wok. You should have seen it when it first went to soak. The water turned yellow. Not just any yellow, YELLOW. Sheep don't take baths, and it turns out that the wool I was spinning was more of an off-white than tan. Yes, yes, I know you're supposed to wash before spinning, but I'm impatient. And besides, Kiwis spin dirty wool - which sounds like a euphemism, but it works out just fine.
I recieved some knitterly gifts also. My sweetie honey got me fiber for spinning. The silver on the left (carbonized bamboo) and the multicolored soysilk/wool blend now belong to me. *JOY* and also *SQUEE* My MIL got me the Knitpick's Options needle set. More *SQUEE*! I haven't used them yet, but I will have them in hand soon enough.
Currently, I'm working on a pair of socks for myself out of Opal Krokodil. It's purdy. Other than the green and black project in the soysilk, that's all that's current, but there are several things that are coming up, including some paid projects. More update later. Now, I've got to get off my keister and maybe try and get this house cleaned up.
Maybe I'll do a little spinning first...

Monday, December 11, 2006

What I learned in school today

I learned that it is very dangerous to walk down a hall with a spinning wheel and that I can indeed avoid saying curse words in front of fourth graders.
Okay, so this morning, I had intended to go in front of the Kindergarteners and show them how cool it is to make string from sheep fluff and then make that string into clothes. And then, as I was walking down the hall, the art teacher caught me and talked me into showing the fourth graders as well because they're doing a unit on early America and...well, 'cause spinning is cool. Iris's school is what is referred to as an "Arts integrated" school, so they do all kinds of cool stuff like have drama and art and music every week, no matter what grade you're in. Seriously, Iris has drama class every week. So they get very excited about the arts and I think that's extremely cool.
Anyhow, here are some pictures of my nervous self:



















And here I am in front of the fourth graders. While I was spinning, a screw came loose and the spindle flew off of the wheel. Much to my surprise, I did NOT let out a stream of curse words in front of the class. You may commence with "screw loose" jokes now.
It seems as though they all enjoyed watching me spin and were absolutely mesmerized by the process. They all just wanted to sit and watch and watch and watch. Not just the little ones, either, the bigger kids thought it was very cool and so did the grownups. Spinning is just...cool.
I showed them the whole process, from raw wool to string and how string turns into clothes. I showed them the drop spindle and told them how every piece of fabric used to be made from handspun thread - even sails. They were all duly impressed.
Anyhow, at least I wasn't being broadcast on national TV, but I was nervous all the same - kids can be a tough audience. Whew! I'm glad this is over, but it was very cool and I had fun.