On the up

Having nose-dived dramatically for no discernible reason on Sunday The Cat decided to make an equally dramatic recovery on Monday morning between 6am when the DSM attempted to feed it and 8am when I did. It is now demanding food at every opportunity and prancing around challenging us ever to think that there was ever possibly anything wrong with it. Who will ever understand the feline mind? Well, I'm glad...

I finished the silk mitts. Oh, I maybe said that already, but here's a photo to prove it.



They look and feel very good on. The thumb bit appears a little clunky just lying there in the pic, but actually on the hand is comfortable and works well. I now fancy making a slightly more elegant pair for when we go to the posh black tie dinner next month, elegant dark purples, maybe, depending on the outfit I end up with. That means spinning and crocheting them in around three weeks...oh, why ever not!

Well, why ever not might just be because I have a new and interesting class to teach which is going to need a bit of preparation. Thanks to a friend from another Guild thinking of me. (She actually did, to be strictly honest, ask if I was interested or knew anyone else who might be, but hell's teeth - I'm not going to turn this down.) The tapestry module teacher at a nearby university wants the students to have a session on basic spinning, learning how to do it themselves, understanding yarn structures and how these influence the weave, different fibres - you know all the stuff. On an expenses-only basis this year, but if it works out, it would be a regular thing. I am hugely enthused by the thought of doing it. A different group from those I have worked with before, new challenges for me, all sorts of benefits in fact. I'm sitting hear thinking of samples that I can do, flax, cotton, silk, the ins and outs of plying, smooth yarns, textured yarns. I'm excited!

I also had a nice morning with the Tuesday Book Group. Not enormously excited by the book, but lots of other good talk, and suddenly about knitting. I was sitting between two people who had recently discovered some of the new fancy yarns and simple scarves, and they were so into it, and very happy about it, plus talking about where they might go next - so, don't knock it, anyone. They might only come up with a couple of formula fuzzy scarves, but there again, they might not - they didn't say no to the notion of learning to spin their own!