It had to happen sooner or later...
Sometimes having a _really_ portable hobby has its drawbacks. In this case, the spindle I just bought - the camo turkish - got crunched in a car door.
I've been dragging a small spindle around for months now, in a nylon drawstring bag that hangs from my purse handle. Easy to get to, easy to put away - and easy to not notice when it falls into the hinge of a door in the dark...
Suffice to say, physics won that round, and both the shaft and thinner arm snapped.
I've glued them as best I can, and will test for strength/sand/rail at the Universe tomorrow morning. (no pictures, because I just didn't have the heart to document this... if it's useable, you'll see it in future photos)
If the glue doesn't fix it? Well, I've already overspent, so for the foreseeable future I'll cut my losses, and carry a bamboo skewer spindle and my new nostie instead.
(and ALWAYS check the location of the spindle bag before closing a door)
Monday 11 February 2013
Tuesday 5 February 2013
Incremental progress still counts...
I've been in a bit of a stall since the new stuff arrived last week. Some of it was worrying about that Etsy shipment, some was my ever-growing list of other-other-other obligations. I recognize the signs that I'm about to get overwhelmed, but I don't always choose to address the procrastination behaviours right away.
...because I've also learned that those time-wasting things accomplish something too - they let my brain idle, just a bit, so I can get back to coping with the too-dang-much that I've put on my plate - to a point.
One worry was cast aside today!
The nostie (insert spelling variation here...) arrived in today's mail, and I've tested it on the 58.5 yards of 2-ply Gold Colonial that came with the camo spindle. I like the more-compact yarn cake for small amounts like this, and it'll help my old, abused ball winder last longer. It has a better taper than the Etsy photo showed, and a nice tacky wax finish that helps the first few wraps stay in place.
I need practice to tidy up my winding, but it'll be nice to have at events, and the tighter-wound balls will pass between the narrow gaps on my inkle better too!
In other news, I can now use my other tiny turkish for silk spinning (the purple merino/silk is freshly-plied and waiting for wet finishing). The camo is wearing some romney I was given a couple years ago - it's not the nicest roving I've dealt with, but it's behaving better on the spindle than it did on my wheel.
On the weaving front, I've un-woven nearly as much as I've done - stupid mistakes, and beat variations I didn't like, so out they came. As those decisions are also 'progress' of a sort, I still declare win.
It's all stuff that wasn't done at last writing.
...because I've also learned that those time-wasting things accomplish something too - they let my brain idle, just a bit, so I can get back to coping with the too-dang-much that I've put on my plate - to a point.
One worry was cast aside today!
The nostie (insert spelling variation here...) arrived in today's mail, and I've tested it on the 58.5 yards of 2-ply Gold Colonial that came with the camo spindle. I like the more-compact yarn cake for small amounts like this, and it'll help my old, abused ball winder last longer. It has a better taper than the Etsy photo showed, and a nice tacky wax finish that helps the first few wraps stay in place.
I need practice to tidy up my winding, but it'll be nice to have at events, and the tighter-wound balls will pass between the narrow gaps on my inkle better too!
In other news, I can now use my other tiny turkish for silk spinning (the purple merino/silk is freshly-plied and waiting for wet finishing). The camo is wearing some romney I was given a couple years ago - it's not the nicest roving I've dealt with, but it's behaving better on the spindle than it did on my wheel.
On the weaving front, I've un-woven nearly as much as I've done - stupid mistakes, and beat variations I didn't like, so out they came. As those decisions are also 'progress' of a sort, I still declare win.
It's all stuff that wasn't done at last writing.
Friday 1 February 2013
New year, new projects!
Once again a longish pause since the last post - got a bit overwhelmed with my volunteer work, and stalled on the blogging front. We'll see how long my new-found intentions hold ;)
After the purchases in early December, I'd mostly decided on a fibre/equipment diet - and then I realized that I could _really_ use a Nostepinne, to avoid bringing a plastic ball-winder with me everywhere, and a second tiny turkish spindle to keep momentum up on some items I need to make by May/June. I have the one attached to my purse for on-the-go productivity, but a second for quickie SCA spinning would make a difference - and I couldn't resist the 'camo' Dymondwood.
My sister's alpaca fibre has arrived & started to go to its new homes, and there's a new warp on the large inkle - on a sleepless night, I decided to attempt productivity rather than stare at the ceiling. The result: the green/gold/rust tape on the left in the photo. (the loom is upside-down to show the tapes more clearly in less-than-ideal light)
Spindles always need 'padding' to keep them safe, so I ordered the Espresso and Egyptian Red rayon-processed bamboo - it was on sale, and I have _plenty_ of 2/30 tencel to pair it with once it's spun up... along with the bamboo I ordered with the first Threads Thru Time tiny spindle.
(The Nostie was ordered the same day, from a different Etsy vendor - still waiting, still doesn't even show as shipped. I'll be messaging if it's not here by late next week.)
YAY busy!
After the purchases in early December, I'd mostly decided on a fibre/equipment diet - and then I realized that I could _really_ use a Nostepinne, to avoid bringing a plastic ball-winder with me everywhere, and a second tiny turkish spindle to keep momentum up on some items I need to make by May/June. I have the one attached to my purse for on-the-go productivity, but a second for quickie SCA spinning would make a difference - and I couldn't resist the 'camo' Dymondwood.
My sister's alpaca fibre has arrived & started to go to its new homes, and there's a new warp on the large inkle - on a sleepless night, I decided to attempt productivity rather than stare at the ceiling. The result: the green/gold/rust tape on the left in the photo. (the loom is upside-down to show the tapes more clearly in less-than-ideal light)
Spindles always need 'padding' to keep them safe, so I ordered the Espresso and Egyptian Red rayon-processed bamboo - it was on sale, and I have _plenty_ of 2/30 tencel to pair it with once it's spun up... along with the bamboo I ordered with the first Threads Thru Time tiny spindle.
(The Nostie was ordered the same day, from a different Etsy vendor - still waiting, still doesn't even show as shipped. I'll be messaging if it's not here by late next week.)
YAY busy!
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