Pure pleasure

Up until recently, I hadn't been spinning very much. I've been afflicted by the philosophy of having to know what I am spinning for, and the list of projects stacking up was getting overwhelming. So, that's a fatal flaw, then.

Of a sudden, I realised that this was the case, and that maybe, just maybe, I needed to sit and spin for at least a short while during the day for sanity's sake. So downstairs, I have been working away on the Carolina Homespun special SOAR fibre from last year, and very nicely it has turned out, too. Do I know what I am going to do with it? H'mm. Maybe a shawl/scarf thingy, there is one in "The Knit Stitch" that starts off as a triangular shawl and then you cast on for the length of a scarf. I did one a year or three ago, and rather like it - this might work for that. I would love to do a shrug, but I don't think there will be enough yarn.

Then there was the 50 grammes of Falkland top that I dyed as a demo on Friday. I liked the end result so much that I may well be moved to do some more, and thought it was a good idea to actually spin up the sample to see what that looked like. So far so good - I have just finished it, and even on a dark grey day like today, I think it more than passes muster. I am considering some sort of skinny little scarf worn purely for decoration, and with some kind of fancy yet by-me-doable stitch pattern - hunting one such down should be....challenging.

These were both done on the Timbertops, and that was the really full-on pure pleasure. I needed to be reminded of what a lovely wheel it is. So very quiet, just the merest whisper of sound to accompany meandering thoughts. Smooth, effortless treadling, nice and slow and relaxed. Nearly as good for the state of well-being as stroking a cat and hearing it purr. (And of course, I do that, too, but not usually at the same time as spinning. Doesn't mix too well....)

Upstairs, I got the Schacht out yesterday, and very much enjoyed being reunited with it. She is an elderly lady now, and has done a fair bit of production spinning to boot, so she is not as silent as maybe once upon a time, and creaks a little, but is still a very nice wheel to use. I don't mind the chatter, it reminds me of the pleasant hours we have spent in one another's company. I should get this spinning finished today, and can then plan another upstairs project, no pressure, just some quality time, and hopefully quality spinning.

But, but, but. Oh, the greatest pleasure - the greatest joy. (Now you really get to hear some of the sad stuff about me.)

Comedy Connections, which has been a nice prog on tv from time to time - last night did (drumroll) "That Was The Week That Was". We actually sat up late (for us) and watched it, couldn't bear to wait.

TW3 arrived on our screens just as I was starting to grow up (it has been an extremely extended process). It blew my mind on a regular basis, as I suspect it did for a lot of my generation, but more importantly, apart from being extremely entertaining - I was laughing aloud at the clips last night - it made me see a lot of things in an entirely different way, and changed the direction in which I was going. Now, maybe this would have happened by some other wise anyway, who knows. But I can identify TW3 as the kicking off point for a lot in me that I value - although many others do not, ha. I loved it then, and loved it all over again seeing some of the few remaining bits that the dear old Beeb didn't wipe (they were such vandals, loads of iconic programmes have been destroyed over the years.)

Huge gusty sighs of nostalgia all round.

I'll try to have pics of yarn up soon.