Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Finally...

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your kind and enthusiastic responses to my trip to Bali this summer!  Sometimes I forget that developing myself as a human being is just as important as developing myself as a musician, and I shouldn't feel guilty about this trip because I know that it will help me in both areas more than I can even begin to imagine.

It would appear that the weather here in Wisconsin is doing its best to act as a primer to what I will encounter when I set foot in Indonesia in July.  It has been in the high 80s since this weekend, even hitting 90 on Sunday (with equal amounts of humidity: 80-90%).  And poor Margene is down there in Utah getting snow - it just doesn't seem right!  I've been checking the weather in Bali every day lately and it seems that the sweltering heat we've had here the past couple of days is about what it's like AT NIGHT in Bali.  As I write this it is about 1:30am in Bali and the weather is 88 degrees Fahrenheit with 90% humidity.  Remind me to sleep in the fridge...

This weather (which I will try not to complain about - I chose to complain about the winter and I can't complain about both) is not very conducive to knitting.  The last thing I want to do is cover my lap with wool as I sit out in the sun.  Instead of knitting (even lace makes my hands sweat - I know, gross!), I've been spinning!


See?  I even managed to finish something!  This wool was gifted to my last year by the generous Anne, who hand-dyed it in what she described as sort of a Black Watch Plaid colorway (I still have the original email, I didn't want to risk forgetting what it was!).  Blues and greens - my favorite!  I measured this yarn at 21wpi, which just is not true.  It's a solid fingering weight, teetering into sport weight at times.  I have no idea about yardage though.


I should probably mention that I started spinning this last June.  Seriously, I worked on it for 11 months! 11 months to spin 4 oz. of beautiful hand-dyed BFL.  That's just ridiculous.  One day I'll own a spinning wheel and I might be able to do things a bit more quickly...


I made a 3-ply yarn for the first time.  At this point, pretty much every spinning project I do is a first time for something because I'm so new to it.  Anyway, I took the big length of wool and split it into three shorter lengths, thereby unevenly distributing the hand-dyed colors (one strip had a lot of dark blue, one had more green, and one more white-ish) and then I split each of those strips lengthwise into 6 skinny strips.  Totally random, because I had no idea how better to make it work.  Hooray for finishing something!

Now I just have to finish the school year.  Next week is my last week of classes, then I have finals and then I graduate!

Of course, I'm never too busy to notice those things that so often get overlooked...




...they may be weeds, but I still like them.

21 comments:

  1. beautiful spinning! I can't believe you did a 3-ply on a spindle...that's a lot of work! You should definitely look into getting a wheel. I loved spinning before, but now I'm positively addicted. And I've been spinning with a lot more regularity, which is cool.

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  2. Wow, the fact that this came off a spindle? Even cooler. It's beautiful and impressive.

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  3. I'm with Jacey, OMG, you spun that on a spindle?????? It is incredible! Do you have access to a wheel? Check them out at the fiber festivals and find one that YOU like, that fits you and your needs. A while back I was teaching adults working to GED or for college prep in upstate NY, and some were recent immigrants (mostly from Russia, which it still was, or Cambodia/VietNam area). One of the young Vietnamese men was shocked by the Syracuse winter. He tried to explain to his family back home and ended up telling them it was like living in the refrigerator.

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  4. Your spinning is blue-tiful!
    We have no idea what he feels like this year.

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  5. Beautiful spinning! I wonder if you could rent a wheel when things quiet down for you a little bit. I know you would love it and it would let you figure out what you want without committing to buy upfront.

    Walk in fridge, sweetie. You're going to need rent space in a walk in fridge. And still drink plenty of water so you don't get dehydrated. That would suck.

    Lovely photos. You've got such a wonderful eye for the things around you.

    xo

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  6. "Love."
    Apply generously to various portions of this post.

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  7. Hooray! And it came out really wonderful. I hope you have a great project for it... someday. :)

    And I'm okay if you want to complain about the weather at either end of things. I do not miss humidity. Period. (6% humidity here yesterday).

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  8. Lovely yarn! I'm glad to see you can still fit in a bit of spinning now and then.

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  9. Enjoy your trip, I cant wait to see the beautiful pictures you will take...you are a very good photographer! I love the yarn you have spun up, very pretty!

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  10. That's some lovely yarn. Good job, you!

    A weed, by definition, is only a weed if it's growing somewhere you don't want it.

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  11. When we lived in Duluth, we had a huge yard with tons of dandelions. Dad said he would pay us one cent for every dandelion we dug out of the ground (WITH the roots, or it wouldn't count!). I worked for days and days and then announced that he owed me $11.83 or something like that...I don't think he was expecting to have to pay that much, but he paid up! (I'm sure I spent it all on candy, but I don't remember.)

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  12. Wow, like everybody else I'm really impressed that yarn came from a spindle! I've not taken the time to get much practice with my own spindle, but I can't even imagine being able to do that!

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  13. Your pictures are so beautiful! I love your spinning! I can only spin really bulky yarn, how do you manage to spin so finely?

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  14. Love the colours of the yarn, and it is beautifully spun!
    Wonderful views of the Dandelions. The second image (backlit dandelion) is very impressive. I have a dreadful time achieving an image with backlighting.
    Am looking forward to your posts about your experiences in Bali, too.

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  15. Love the blue-green yarn. And congratulations on the trip to Bali -- I've loved gamelan music since I learned about it in a world music class in college, then rediscovered it on the 'American Beauty' soundtrack.

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  16. Haha Peter, I am the same way about summer. I would complain about the heat, but I complain about how cold it is all winter and that would just make me a whiny snot if I did it all year!

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  17. Your yarn is beautiful. I hope you are able to knit yourself something special with it!
    P.S. I love dandelions too (and so the honeybees and butterflies in my backyard)

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  18. i cannot believe that came from a spindle!!! im giving up on spinning. as of now. seriously how did ya do it? everything that comes off my spindle looks like lumpy crapola. talent man, u got talent. i just no im not going to be able to let this go :D i'm going to be back here every few days, taking a look at ur yarn and throwing my spindle at things!
    hope u didnt pick them weeds, dont u no if u pick a dandelion you'll wet the bed!
    pretty stuff x

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  19. I am amazed at the yarn! You did a fantastic job. I think you will love Bali. If you are staying near the beach the temp/humidity isn't as bad as it sounds. Just watch out for the monkeys. :) my pic is at a temple in Ubud.

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  20. I am awed at what you accomplish on a spindle. Absolutely AWED. Beautiful work, Peter!

    And your photos are lovely too. :)

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