Occupational Hazards

So there I was, zapped out of commission for the day by a nasty chest cold:

Phillip said he just had to take this picture because it was obvious that Bailey was trying to figure out how to help me.  Note the knitting clutched in my unconscious hands: Yes, of course I can take to my deathbed AND still get some knitting done...

Today I'm better.  As soon as coffee had happened, I went straight for the handspun shawl project.  Thank you, Gentle Readers, for your great suggestions!  With your help, I landed on this beauty:

"Fragile Heart" Photo by Boo Knits
 

t's "Fragile Heart" by Boo Knits CLICK HERE to get yours.  It's a gorgeous semi-circular bit of fluff, with a garter stitch or stockinette (knitter's choice) beginning, the number of lace repeats you feel like doing, and a deep, sexy border finished with (what else?) a picot bindoff.  Oh, and did I mention beads?  Done and Done. 

I actually cast on for it at some point in my delirium yesterday, and I couldn't wait to see how I'd done, now that I'm cold-medicine free.

Apparently, things got a little wild in the living room while I was under the fog.  My #6 is literally splintered to bits.  Poor, helpless little #6!  In my antihistamine stupor, I left you, unprotected, right there on the sofa cushion.  And certainly, NOBODY in my house would know to check for knitting before taking a seat.  Especially not Phillip, who has been married to a knitter, for like, a kabillion years.  Get a load of the damage that guy's butt can do!  Not just broken, my friends:  Obliterated.  Structural integrity completely compromised.  There's actual sawdust.  And splinters.  As needle destruction goes, it's impressive.  And he even had the good grace to shatter the needle that didn't have the knitting on it.  That's right:  No stitches were dropped during this dangerous stunt.

So while it looks like I did okay with the cast on, despite my Comtrex Coma, I won't be working on it again until a certain needle tip can be replaced.  Unless, of course, this has happened before, with another hapless #6, leaving its mate all alone and waiting to be pressed into service...

Oh wishful thinking, you never cease to amaze!  If anybody needs me, I'll be checking every single needle tip in my collection to see if it's a #6.
 

Two Years and Twenty Minutes

I've been drop-spindling this bump of roving, off and on, for two years.  It's a blend of silk, mohair and merino.  I'd take it out and work on it while teaching, so it lived in my teaching bag, where I'd forget all about it in between classes. 

I was looking for something in the teaching bag when I saw it again, and noticed that I had only one tiny floof left to spin.  So twenty minutes later, all that on-again-off-again attention paid off: I had enough singles to make 860 yards of laceweight. 

Abby Franquemont says that spinning wheels are faster by the hour, but spindles are faster by the week.  She's right: it's the work that you have with you that really gets done.

Which brings me to my next question:  What should I knit with 860 yards of orchid-colored 2ply laceweight?  Note: I'm NOT an expert lace knitter.  More like "Ignorant Enthusiast" level.  And I totally don't understand shawls (which I know is a problem all of its own).  Insert suggestions here.

The Wand Chooses the Wizard

High-whorl drop spindles, clockwise from top: Ashford, Spindlewood, Spindlewood, Kundert, homemade.

I've been following some of you in your Tour De Fleece journeys, and it makes me wish I had joined in.  I've been spending some quality time with my spindles, though, and it has inspired me to share the following:

3 Reasons Why Every Knitter Should Drop Spindle

1.    Mind

No matter how much you know about knitting, you can't really understand it until you have a hands-on knowledge of how yarn is made.  To get that, you must hold fiber in your hands and turn it into string, using twist.  And a spinning wheel, while nice, is not the same for introducing the concept.  Think of it like this:  A spinning wheel is like a word processor.  If you want to write a book (especially if you are in a hurry), the wheel will get you there very efficiently.  A spindle, however, is like a fountain pen.  If you want to learn how to form letters, and spend time coming to understand them intimately, the elegance and simplicity of the spindle make it the tool you need.  Even if you don't intend to become a spinner at all (no law says you have to), get hold of a spindle and some fiber, and learn to make yarn.  It will change the way you look at knitting forever, I promise.

2.    Body

Knitters sit too much.  Yeah, I said it.  I'm guilty, and so are you.  Drop spindling is best done standing up (or even walking around), and because it's fun to do, you won't mind getting off your arse even a little bit.  Another great thing: it makes you move your arms in big wide open arcs, which is the opposite of knitting, where you scrunch your neck and chest forward.  In fact, the action of drop-spindling is almost self-correcting, posture-wise.  If you are standing and/or moving wrong, you probably can't make string, and vice-versa.  Go to class with Carson Demers to learn more.  You will never regret it.

3.    String

Most of us discover at some point in the spinning process that the string we make ourselves is the very best string in the whole wide world.  It's the same as the strawberry you grow yourself in your own garden; More delicious in every way.  And you've probably heard me say this before, but it bears repeating in a down economy: Spinners get to play with their fiber TWICE.  Think about it:  The same $16 buys 4oz of handpainted yarn, or 4oz of handpainted fiber.  If you spin it first, you've already enjoyed it once before you ever knit!

And there's one more thing: Spindles are gorgeous works of art, made more beautiful by utility.  They look and feel completely different when in use than when on display.  The right spindle will whisper (or sing, or shout) to you when you find it because something about it makes it impossible for you to resist.  Take my advice when that happens, and allow it into your life.  Falling in love with a spindle is the first step to yarn whispering.  Why fight it.?

Those are my big fat observations on the subject.  Now share yours!