Finally!

The number of new Covid cases is climbing in Indiana, so tomorrow (Monday) masks become mandatory indoors. It's about time. When I see non-wearers of masks out and about, I almost feel assaulted, as though they are pointing at me and saying, I don't care about YOU! What a selfish culture we have cultivated.

I am a little embarrassed to say I did nothing fiber related this past week except try to repair the Taupe Beast. It took me a while to find a copy of the pattern (thank you, Inter Library Loan!) Then I had to learn how to crochet again; fortunately, that is like riding a bike, one never really forgets. I worked up a sample of the pattern, then spent HOURS trying to actually repair the afghan. Talk about a cognitive test! I will keep at it, though, as this thing is a favorite winter warmer for my daughter, her family, and her dogs. (No wonder it needs repair!)

One happy result of my efforts was coming to the conclusion that I kind of miss crochet. My mother taught me how when I was about 14 (I wonder what happened to that vest?) I inundated friends and family with afghans and baby blankets, then got bitten by the knitting bug. Lately, knitting has taken a toll on my shoulders, so maybe I'll return to my hooking roots, at least for a while.

Four suns tapestry

Reminder to self: Do not weave in black or dark blue because your eyes are too old to see what you are doing.

That is not completely true. With pocket weaving, one can create four-selvage pieces. The problem is that once one is in the homestretch, it is really difficult to keep the warp covered with weft. An argument for matching the color of the warp to the color of the end weaving.

I really like "kindergarten colors" - primary and secondary on the color wheel. Hatching comes in handy for blending the colors. Cartoons (what weavers call the paper guides behind the weaving) help with shapes and such. I'm still perfecting my circles.

I kind of pooped out by the time I reached the fourth sun. Then I struggled with the final rows. Then this piece sat around for a long time, waiting to be hemmed. What should have been a quickie project languished quite a bit.

I consider my pocket weaving to be samples or swatches, a way to try out an idea or some colors. And when I'm done, I have a nice rug mug to add to the pile.

Pink and purple and some sparkle

I had this grand plan to blend half the angelina into half the purple merino, blend the rest of the angelina into half the pink merino, spin those into singles, then spin the rest of the purple and pink into singles, finishing up with a 4-ply yarn. I think I could have skipped all the fooling around. Were I to do this again, I would mix all the angelina with all the purple merino and two-ply it with the pink.

Fiber: merino in purple and pink, angelina in sapphire(?)
Wheel: Ashford Joy 2
Technique: nothing special
Spun: worsted, Z-twist at an 8:1 ratio
Plied: 4-plied, S-twist at an 11:1 ratio

I used a drum carder to blend the merino and angelina. Fiber that starts out as top turns into roving on the drum carder. After a few trips through the carder, it turns into roving with nupps. It took me a while to figure out I did not need to send each batch through the carder three times, once was enough. I think I was hung up on the number three because if I had been blending colors, yes, three or more trips would be required. (Some people blend angelina into fiber as they spin, but I'm too anal to risk running out of one or the other before I was done.)

Spinning the blend was a challenge. Merino top spins up so easily! Merino blended with angelina - not so much. The angelina doesn't slip like wool; it stiffens the fiber and removes some of the bounce that merino is known for. I found it more difficult to keep the singles thin, too.

As would be expected, when 4-plying, I ran out of one ply before the others. So I 3-plied until I ran out another spool, then 2-plied the rest, ending up with one sample that was not a mixture.

4-ply: 1 ply purple merino, 1 ply purple merino/angelina blend, 1 ply pink merino, 1 ply pink merino/angelina blend
WPI: 8-9 (between Aran and worsted weights)
Amount: 286 yards, 204 grams

3-ply: 1 ply purple merino/anglina blend, 1 ply purple merino, 1 ply pink merino
WPI: 10
Amount: 5.5 yards, 7 grams

2-ply: 1 ply purple merino/angelina blend, 1 ply purple merino
WPI: 12
Amount: 24 yards, 8 grams

2-ply: both plies purple merino/angelina blend
WPI: 12
Amount: 38 yards, 13 grams

I like the color combination of pink and purple, but I have no idea what I will make with this. Suggestions welcome!

Schedule change

My usual MO is to work in the garden early and late in the day because, OMG, the heat! The humidity! Ugh! However, I also like to relax with a couple of hours of TV each day. Watching in the evening was interfering with the gardening, so I switched to matinee viewing - I watch in the afternoon, in the heat of the day, when I am feeling rather sluggish anyway. Fiber fits in here and there.

Needle felting: I forgot that the week before this past one I spent some time repairing Dill. Poor thing.
Spinning: I finished plying the merino/angelina blend. Separate post to follow on that effort.
Weaving: The 4-sun piece that languished for many weeks is hemmed. I'm almost done with the piece that is currently on the pocket loom.

I'm taking a pottery class at the community center. One project is a bunch of bone-shaped items. The plan is to only bisque them, not glaze them. When I am dyeing yarn, I'll throw some in the dye pot, then wrap some yarn samples around them to display in a print tray that hangs in my dining room. Another project is to weave something in clay. Toward that end, today I practiced with pie dough.

Not too shabby!

Second verse, same as the first

Like last week's report, I am trying to get something, anything done in the yard. The heat is giving us a brief reprieve, but the ground is still bone dry. Occasionally, a pop up storm drops a few sprinkles, but nothing significant. I'm still wading through the old letters, too, ruminating on what to do with some of them that lack a "next of kin". Maybe a historical society would be interested? Reading them is like traveling back in time, which is distracting.

Spinning: I finished spinning the pink merino/angelina blend singles and started 4-plying everything. I'm beginning to think my efforts will not produce anything all that interesting. Also, I don't seem to have enough fingers for 4-plying.

Indiana is experiencing an uptick in Covid cases. I see more people wearing masks, although still not all unless the store (like Barnes & Noble) requires it. Kroger now "recommends" masks. I feel like getting a t-shirt made that says, "If you want your children to go back to school this fall, WEAR A MASK."

Shifting priorities

Not much fiber activity occurred this past week. For one thing, despite the heat, the yard calls. I spend some time out there every morning before it gets too hot, then do some watering in the evening because it is not only hot but dry. Also, after the death of a cousin of my mother's a few weeks ago (not from covid), I feel a pressing need to go through all the old letters and photographs I've been sitting on for far too long.

Spinning: I finished spinning the purple merino/angelina blend singles and am halfway through the pink merino/angelina blend.

Today is Independence Day, a holiday I'm not too fond of. The dogs are even less fond of it, especially Clio. In Indiana, personal fireworks are legal. In our municipality, their use is limited to certain times of the year, like the week leading up to today. This constraint is ignored by a few, but to my knowledge, no one is ever caught, let alone fined. I've had to move the dog crates into my bedroom, as Clio is relatively calm if I am nearby. I have also been sitting out in the yard with them in the late evening, hopefully to inure them to the noise. My efforts help but I will be glad when this holiday is over.

Do you Pomodoro?

I recently learned of a time management technique known as Pomodoro, which is Italian for tomato. (The inventer is Italian and originally used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer.) Basically, one works for 25 minutes, rests for 5, then repeats three more times, rests for 30 minutes, then starts all over again. There are lots of apps to help with the timing, but I have found that for me, the work/rest ratio depends on what I'm doing, how much sleep I got the night before, how hot it is (for outside labors), etc. The most important lesson learned, though, is I need to sit less and do more. Once I sit, I tend to stay seated for much longer than necessary. I also need to pay attention to my energy level. On day one, I overdid it in the morning, then spent the afternoon in recovery mode. I am getting more done, though, mostly outside.

Spinning: I am almost finished spinning the purple merino/angelina blend into singles. The pink and remaining angelina is all blended. It took me until the last ounce to figure out how best to do the blending.
Weaving: I'm almost done with the experimental grid on the pocket loom.

I took my granddaughter to her gem and mineral society meeting last week. It was outside, in an open park pavilion, but I still wore a mask and maintained as much distance as was reasonable, as did most adults. The granddaughter - not so much but not too bad. There were a few other kids there, so a certain amount of firefly catching went on. The meeting was my first group encounter since March. So far, Indiana is holding steady with new Covid cases, so there is a balance between public health and the economy... so far.

Pick and choose

In early August, after summer events and activities are over but before school starts, many people in this city leave town, a lot of them for "the lake". (There isn't one big lake here that everyone visits but many small ones that are referred to collectively as "the lake".) Traffic lightens, crowds lessen, noise diminishes. That what it feels like right now, in mid June. Businesses are opening, groups are meeting, but there just aren't a lot of folks around to enjoy them. My SO and I went to the local art museum and were the only ones there. We stopped at a DQ for sundaes and were one of only two couples there. My granddaughter is taking tennis lessons and has only one other classmate; the class previous to theirs also has only two students. I'm still being careful about where I go - I skipped last week's weaving guild meeting even though it was outdoors, politely declined a luncheon and a (masks optional) wedding - and I always wear a mask, but some think masks are now unnecessary. We'll see how that goes.

Spinning: I finished blending the purple merino with angelina on my drum carder and learned a few things about how that works. I'm about halfway through spinning it, which is another learning experience.
Weaving: I added the row of soumak to the previous piece but have yet to do the finishing work. Meanwhile, I started another piece on the pocket loom, to test out how to make a grid when weaving tapestry.

If you are interested in resilience during these trying times, the NY Times is running a series on this topic. I think there will be five articles in all; so far, two have been published.

Discomfort

I've been thinking about discomfort recently. Buddhism and Stoicism (and probably other philosphies and religions) suggest we develop resilience by exposing ourselves to discomfort, starting with little things and working our way up. I find it difficult to manufacture uncomfortable situations, be they physical or mental or emotional. For one thing, everyday life seems to offer up plenty of opportunities for experiencing discomfort, especially lately. How we respond to those opportunities reveals our character. Being reactive or fearful rarely helps; having empathy for others and listening does. Not only must we learn to sit with our own pain but with the pain of others as well. I need more practice at that.

Knitting: I finished the Ivy socks. Time for a break from knitting.
Spinning: I blended some of the purple merino with the angelina, using a drum carder. I plan to spin it up before continuing, in case I don't like how it spins.
Weaving: I took the current piece off the pocket loom but could not figure out why there was a ridge near the bottom. A day later it occurred to me that that was a row of soumak, to aid in turning the edge. Duh. Now I need to repeat that at the top.

This past week I participated in my first Zoom meeting, with the spinning guild. Or tried to participate. There was something lacking in my connection - it kept cutting out with the message that the connection was unstable. It was particularly bad when I said anything. So I just sat there and listened to everyone else. Not a bad practice. ;-)

The Ivy socks are finished!

Once upon a time, I would try to knit a pair of socks in a month. One year, I think I knit a pair almost every month. I started this pair March 20 and despite being (mostly) diligent, I didn't finish them until yesterday.

Pattern: Short-row Toe and Heel Basic Socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Co Poste Yarn Striping, colorway 'Ivy, VA' and Simply Socks Yarn Co Simply Sock, colorway 'Golden'
Needles: US1
Modifications: Not enough 'Golden' yarn for the cuffs, so I used the self-striping yarn until the last five rows or so

If you read this blog regularly, you might have noticed that I knit most socks in yarn from Simply Socks Yarn Co. Although SSYC is mostly an online business, it is local to me. Also, the Poste Yarn is made with Corriedale instead of Merino, which I think lasts longer.

It's not the knitting that bothers my shoulders but the purling. I must do something hinky with the purl stitch. I am going to take a break from knitting altogether for a while - plenty of other stuff to do - but I still have a fair amount of sock yarn in my stash that I don't want to abandon.

Wanted: a few rainy days

If the weather weren't so nice, I would have accomplished more fiber things this week. Instead, I have been out in the yard, trying to make up for all that remained undone last summer. Some of that make-up work involves sitting on the deck, listening to the birds while I read or draw. Not very productive but definitely enjoyable. Some rainy weather would force me back inside, where fiber projects await.

Knitting: It seems like I am never going to finish those socks. I'm about a third of the way up the cuff. One problem is that with the temps in the house higher than usual (trying to reduce the electric bill), my hands get a little sweaty, which does not work well with wool.
Spinning: I finished spinning one 2-oz. ball of pink. Next up is to blend the angelina into the the remaining balls. Most of it is going into the purple, a lighter amount into the pink. I hope my plan works.
Weaving: The temple arrived on Monday, I read up on how to use it on Tuesday, and that is all the farther I have gotten.

I've been reading At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life, by Fenton Johnson. Part memoir, part survey of some famous solitaries from Thoreau and Emily Dickinson to Nina Simone and Bill Cunningham, this book gives voice to something I had no vocabulary for before now. With the pandemic, solitude is a hot topic. There is a difference between being lonely and being alone. Some of us crave the latter, need it to recharge and to dig deep. Being solitary does not mean being a hermit, either, although some days I may act like one. Reading about solitude feels like finally getting a diagnosis that validates my reality.

Hell in a handbasket

I try to keep politics and social issues out of my blogs - that is not why I write - but there are times when I wonder just what the hell is going on, and why, and how to fix things. I try to stay optimistic - something will save us from ourselves, a new leader, a technology breakthrough, SOMETHING - but instead things just seem to get worse. It's not just here in the US, either, but worldwide. We've reached some kind of tipping point. Where do we go from here? Where is Elizabeth McCord when we need her?

Knitting: My sock-knitting MO is to knit toes, heels, and cuffs in a contrasting color, but after completing about six rounds of the cuff in 'Golden', I could tell there would not be enough yarn to finish. Instead of 2" cuffs, do I resign myself to less than 1"? Do I purchase a whole new skein of yarn? Oops, the colorway is not available and the store is currently online only, no curbside pickup, so I'd have to pay for shipping too even though Simply Socks is less than ten miles away. I decided to knit the cuff in the self-striping yarn, which meant tinking back.
Spinning: I finished spinning one 2-oz ball of the purple merino and started the pink. The current plan is to blend the angelina into the remaining two balls, then FOUR-ply the finished yarn.
Weaving: I am still struggling with the rigid heddle weaving. The temple should arrive tomorrow, so maybe that will help. Re the pocket loom weaving, I stopped one night because I was tired and getting confused about the colors, then blithely carried on a few days later, continuing the confusion. I had to unweave, then reweave the thprird sun (which is hard to see in this pic).

On an almost-unrelated topic, I have been trying my hand at drawing with colored pencils. For one thing, it is a MUCH simpler method for creating art than weaving is.

Drawings can provide inspiration for weaving and other fiber arts. It is also surprisingly engaging. For example, how does one make a sphere look three dimensional? What color are shadows? How can there be so many shades of white? And who stole my Prisma colored pencils?

Becoming a germaphobe

Indiana has been slowly emerging from the shelter-in-place order, leaving me a bit confused over what is allowed now and what is not. I'm also concerned about scofflaws, people who think they can do whatever, wherever, regardless of the circumstances. I don't like crowds in the best of times, but now I have a legitimate reason to avoid all those germ-ridden people - I'm over 65, supposedly in a high risk group (although no underlying health issues). I also don't want to become a second-wave statistic, so thanks, but no thanks, I'm wearing my mask.

Knitting: I did reach my goal of completing the legs on the Ivy socks. Tomorrow I start the cuffs.
Spinning: I finished plying the navy blue and burnt orange merino (see post here) and started spinning some more Timbre Ridge merino, in purple and pink. There is also a package of angelina with this batch, something I have played with before. Not sure how I am going to use that. BTW, visit this link to see where the Timbre Ridge merino came from.
Weaving: I finally made some forward progress on the latest pocket loom weaving:

I also started, then completely unwove a piece on my 24" rigid heddle loom. It's warped in black 8/4 carpet warp, which is fine, but despite all my care, by the time I had woven 3" the sides had pulled in 1/2". And it was just beginning! I decided to start over. I also decided to invest in a temple, to see if that will help me maintain even selveges.

I grew up in houses without central air, something I would never consider these days - I like my comfort. My electric company sends out a monthly energy usage report. In the past, I consistantly used less than the most efficient homes in my area, but since I retired, my summer usage runs high. That's because I am home all day, so the thermostat never gets reset. The most recent report pointed out that ceiling fans consume less energy than AC units, so I am experimenting with using them more this year. This is going to be a warmish week, so we'll see how that works. Wish my shade trees were bigger.

River Queen

It seems to me that the results of search engines (ahem, GOOGLE) are getting worse and worse. They are mostly ads and those ads rarely are even close to what one is looking for. Of course, maybe what I am looking for no longer exists? I'm talking about Timbre (or Timber?) Ridge Farms, the vendor of this merino fiber that was labeled "River Queen". I'd like to give credit where credit is due, but the source of this fine fiber will have to remain unknown.

Fiber: merino (superwash? top? we'll never know) in 'River Queen' - navy blue and burnt orange
Wheel: Ashford Joy2
Technique: nothing special
Spun: worsted, Z-twist at an 8:1 ratio
Plied: 2-ply, S-twist at an 11:1 ratio
WPI: 8-9 (between Aran and worsted weights)
Amount: 406 yards, 236 grams

I don't consider myself to be a master spinner by any means, but I am quite pleased with how this yarn turned out. The diameter is more uniform than I usually spin, and using two different ratios for the spinning and plying resulted in a perfectly balanced yarn. Woohoo!

I have to admit I became a little bored with spinning a generous 4 oz of navy, then another generous 4 oz of orange, but when I plied them together - WOW.

If there is a county fair this summer, I plan to enter a skein of this yarn, that is how proud I am of these results. I can't wait to knit up a swatch, as I think this would make a lovely hat/mitten/scarf combo. There should be enough, right?

I got a haircut!

This has been a big week for me, as I had my teeth cleaned on Wednesday, my hair cut on Thursday, and my body massaged on Friday. Protocols were in place for the first two, not so much the third. My therapist is renting a room inside another massage place, and not much mask-wearing was going on. Oh, to be young and arrogant again!

Knitting: When I mentioned I was getting tired of the Ivy socks, I must have really meant it, as knitting fell by the wayside a bit this week. If I get back on that horse, I should reach the cuffs by next weekend.
Spinning: I finished spinning the orange roving and am almost done plying the orange with the navy. Separate post coming, but I am very pleased with how the yarn is turning out.
Weaving: I started another piece on the pocket loom, and right now am a little stuck where I want to transition from the yellow and orange to red, but not all at once. I weave a bit, then unweave it, dissatisfied. It will come.

Someone (or some ones) in the neighborhood have been setting off a few firecrackers each evening. There are rules about when private individuals can set off fireworks, and I am pretty sure now is not the time, but I can't quite figure out which household is doing it. It's like trying to trace a phone call but the caller doesn't stay on the line long enough. The reason this bugs me is it upsets the dogs, especially Clio who stands on her hind legs and claws at the patio door to get back inside. She is also reluctant to get in her crate at night, even though that is the safest place to be. The firecrackers have led to her being skittish about thunder too, and nail guns - there is a house going up on the next block. It's going to be a long summer.

More practice hatching

I created a second practice piece on the Mirrix Saffron pocket loom. I used non-superwash wool for this one and worked from the front, just for a change. While I think the results are better lice-wise, the selvages need work and the fabric is not as flat as I had hoped. After one signs up for a class from Rebecca Mezoff, one gets access to a private Facebook page where there is lots of good advice from other beginners. Also, some of the "bonus" reading at the end of the course I took provided more helpful hints. So maybe the *next* practice piece will be even better.

Weaving from the front is actually a bit more difficult than weaving from the back because loose ends need to be tucked to the other side. I am going to return to weaving from the back, now that I see a definite advantage. I am also having trouble at the end of the piece, where there is not much room for "bubbling" the weft; that's another area needing improvement.

One way to improve is to weave every day. I find that is easier to do with this little loom, as I can complete a project in about a week. I'm less likely to get stalled and frustrated and overwhelmed, too. No matter what hobby you are starting, be it fiber or gardening or whatever, start small!

Fit to be bit

I might have accomplished more this week if I hadn't spent several DAYS trying to get my new Fitbit Charge 4 up and running. My daughter had asked for one for her birthday, as a replacement for her old model which was cracked, and my SO also has a birthday coming up and had sent his old Fitbit One through the wash, and hey, if I'm going to order two, I might as well get myself one, to replace my old One model. They were both able to get theirs going with NO problems, using their newer-than-mine phones. My Android OS was too old and the setup wouldn't finish successfully from the Fitbit app running on my laptop. Only after multiple attempts and a little bit of fiddling was I able to get it set up from my tablet. Whew! As a former IT person, I think I should be able to figure these things out, but the manufacturers of electronic devices do not always make it easy.

Knitting: I am about halfway up the leg to the cuff on the Ivy socks. As pretty as the colorway is, I'm getting a bit tired of this project.
Spinning: I finished the navy merino and am about halfway through the orange. Hopefully, by next weekend, I will be plying.
Weaving: I finished the online weaving class I am taking, I guess. The final "lesson" is to provide pix of practice pieces. I finished one last week, finished a second yesterday (separate post to follow).

I broke down and subscribed to CBS All Access, so I can watch The Good Fight and Picard. I'm really enjoying the former, am holding off on the latter until I can catch up on some of the old Star Trek movies. I think the last one I saw was The Wrath of Khan, where Spock dies. Imagine my surprise when he showed up on The Next Generation. Apparently, the next movie in the series resurrects him somehow. Part of the fun of watching a series in a franchise is seeing older characters pop up in newer shows. Bringing Picard back is pure genius. I know - I'm a geek. ;-)

Everything takes so long!

I'm sure there are some crafts and hobbies out there that don't take months to reach a finished project, but apparently fiber arts is not one of them. Part of the problem is my aging body: 20 minutes of spinning, 30 minutes of knitting, 40 minutes of weaving (if that) are about all I can manage most days. Besides the need to get up and move, there are hip and shoulder exercises to do, dogs to walk, a too big house to clean, and now a yard that needs attention. Add to all that my tendency to procrastinate and to leave projects 50% to 95% done without closing the deal. I feel like I have nothing to show for all my efforts. But what else would I do? Twiddle my thumbs while I binge watch TV? No thanks. I'll just keep on keepin' on.

Knitting: Still working on the Ivy socks. I'm about a third of the way to the cuffs.
Spinning: Still working on the navy merino, although I am almost done with that color.
Weaving: Still haven't wrapped up the online class, but I have been practicing on my Saffron pocket loom.

I know some of you live where Covid-19 is still a major threat. Here in Indiana we are starting a 5-stage emergence from shelter-in-place. Last week, elective medical treatments became allowed, so my appointment for a teeth cleaning will go ahead as scheduled. This week, retail places and restaurants can operate at 50% capacity; there are some things I could use - walking shoes, a new dishwasher and garbage disposal, etc. - but I think they can wait a while. Next week, "high touch" businesses like hair salons can open, again at reduced capacity; I have a haircut and a massage scheduled. We are still supposed to wear masks and keep our distance as much as possible.

For me, it feels like "vacation" is over, time to get back to "work" even though I am retired and my day-to-day life has not been affected much. I hope people don't go crazy and ignore safety measures in their rush to get back to "normal". I think I will continue to avoid crowds for a while, just to be safe. Hope you all are safe!

Practicing hatching

I've discovered that it is one thing to follow along in a book or with an instructor when learning something new, and quite another to try it on one's own. But once I dive into whatever it is that I am trying to learn, it gets easier and feels more automatic. Thus practicing hatching as taught by Rebecca Mezoff.

Hatching involves alternating colors in the weaving, to create shades, shapes, whatever. It can be irregular or, like here, regular. It can introduce subtle color changes, especially from a distance, while producing different effects up close.

This piece used Valley Yarns superwash wool yarn, not the best choice for tapestry weaving, but I have SO MUCH YARN - I don't want to buy more right now, especially for practice. The warp is 8/4 carpet warp in gray, which blended in enough that the "lice" (uncovered warp) was not obvious enough for me to correct. Rebecca teaches weaving from the back of the fabric, so sometimes the front is a bit of a surprise, but this example turned out okay, considering. I'm working on another, from the front, just to see if I like it better.

Another technique Rebecca teaches is "meet and separate" which involves weaving each color with two ends. This has its advantages, but when weaving a small piece in multiple colors, yarn wrangling gets to be a bit much. The loom is too small for using butterflies (yarn wound into figure 8's), so I was using tapestry needles with bent tips to weave. I also used a double-pointed knitting needle to set up the shed for each row. This helped when "beating" the previous row, as well as when weaving the current row. Just a non-professional tip.

Break!

My dogs are trained (sorta) to sit and stay while I take off their leashes and e-collars. Once that is done, I say, "Break!" which releases them. The governor has said "Break - to a limited degree" to shelter in place. We are still supposed to limit travel outside the home, but some non-essential services are coming back: elective treatment by dentists, veterinarians, dermatologists, etc. Unfortunately, not hair stylists or massage therapists, at least not yet.

In keeping with the spirit of this week, I gave myself a break from fiber arts. I've been rather diligent about spinning, knitting, and weaving most days, but the weather was so nice I just had to spend some time in the yard, doing exciting stuff like cleaning out the shed. Last summer my yardening activities were severely limited by my hip; I plan to make up for that this year.

Knitting: I did manage to turn the heels of the Ivy socks. It took me four days because there is something about knitting short rows that bothers my shoulders. But now that is done and I'm ready to head for the cuffs.

King of the coffee table

Spinning: One of the packages of roving I received from Qutecowgirl was 4 oz. each of navy and orange roving that I'm guessing is (more) superwash merino. I plan to two-ply the colors together.
Weaving: Did I do any weaving this week? It's difficult to keep track of what day it is. In the online course, I am in the homestretch which appears to be reading supplemental "bonus" material. I have been practicing what I learned on the pocket loom; I'll post separately about that.

Not only has my daughter relieved me of quite a bit of fabric, she has taken the quilt batting as well. I have a bad habit of thinking up a project (in this case, making tied yoga quilts), purchasing all the supplies, then stowing it all away for another lifetime. The big bin I was keeping all the sewing stuff in is now practically empty. I think it will now become the roving bin, as there is plenty of that on hand. One of these days, my studio may actually look presentable!