Tasseography

At Coven on Thursday nights, we always have tea and cake. This week was no different.

I was drinking my tea, minding my own business. Getting towards the bottom of the cup, I took a swig and was putting it back down on the table. My brain registered ....something which I thought was a large crack. Oh, dear, I thought. M has a large crack in this mug. Picked it up, took another swallow, was putting it down again half checking on the supposed crack.

Brain synapses fired off in all directions. Crack-notcrack. Unimaginableunbearablethought.

Very bravely, I bring the mug up again and.....look.

Silent scream.

In a quiet, restrained shriek, I ask Magrat to look at what might be in the bottom of the mug and tell me it isn't what I think it is.

Magrat exits the room with a yell and a flurry. I was right. I feel more than a little queasy.

It WAS a spider.

Poor M, who had poured the tea, was mortified, and indeed telephoned me first thing on Friday morning to make sure I hadn't had a nightmare-filled night. Fortunately not, and I can see the funny side.

So I go off with MofF&M for a day out at the Fashion and Embroidery Show, which was very good. I spent some money, quite judiciously. Bumped into and chatted with more people that I would ever have imagined possible and really enjoyed catching up with all sorts of friends. Excellent stuff.

Pleasant morning today running errands in town with the DSM, we had lunch sitting in the sunshine, and a small glass of dry white wine is making me sleepy. So I shall knit in a calm and reflective manner, possibly with sound effects, whilst he watches the rugby.

They do reckon fortune tellers only tell you the good stuff.

The world in its infinite variety

Two hours one-on-one teaching is exhausting! Rewarding, but exhausting. This particualr "student" is a real pleasure to work with, very pleasant and bright and likely to end up an amazingly good spinner. But by the time we have covered what she wanted from me today - longdraw and navajo plying - plus answering all the questions she has lined up, I am approaching brain-dead.

So I chose to recover with a soap opera and some knitting.



Bright red spiral rib mittens from Homespun, Handknit. Chunky yarn, so gratifyingly quick to knit. Not completely mindless, and a different thumb technique from the previous pair I made. (All the fingerless ones I have done, I have made up the thumb treatment as I went along.)

Longdraw. Sylvia asked why I had doubts about doing this on my new wheel, which rather gave me pause, as she is a fine and knowledgeable spinner.

I have previously spun on a Pipy Poly, which had a large hook instead of an orifice, and a Majacraft Tiny Tim with a delta. This is what the Little Gem has, too, as do, I believe, all of their wheels. Hooks and deltas behave rather like the spindle on a great wheel or charka: if you don't have the thread coming off the point at just the right alignment, then you get a lot of bumping and bouncing, which I find tiring and unpleasant. You will get yarn spinning ok, but you may not enjoy the process. Both longdraw and point of contact need, in my opinion, to come off in a dead straight line with the "point" of the delta; that is what I meant.

As I love little better than discussing the finer points of spinning technique in a thoroughly geek-like way, feel free to agree/disagree/otherwise comment!

Actually, that brings me back to my teaching session. This morning's visitor has previously had sessions with a very well known and well-respected spinning tutor. I have several areas where I disagree with her pretty fundamentally; this happens, it is quite normal, and I am not (necessarily) casting nasturtiums. But it can be a ittle tricky to handle in a tactful manner, other than saying the above. I do hope that works!

And now for something completely different.

A few years ago, we had a magical evening in San Francisco just prior to SOAR. A bunch of people met for a social gathering, great food, great wine, great and joyous laughter. Few of us had ever met face to face before; we were - are- all on the same email list. I don't think I will ever forget driving back out of the city on a warm,calm evening, the lights in the buildings turning the world to fairyland, having spent precious time with strangers who were in an instant firm friends. Whenever people curse the internet, I think of that.

However - we met at the home of Joy, Nyondo and Lena, and although I have never met them face to face since, I am in contact and follow their adventures - which are magical in themselves - via Joy's blog. Today, this pricked my conscience.



I don't know that there is much that we as individuals can do about Burma. Of course, there are countries where such suppression of democracy (whatever that is) have lead to very different words and actions....But the very least I can do is raise my hand and join the chorus that says "This is wrong".

And at the same time, I commend Joy's blog to you, with particular reference to the Tsao Pema Medical Emergency Fund. The back story to this is in the archives. I was told a very long time agao that the bes way to get aid anywhere was to channel it via a personal contact. Here you can see how a very little sent this way can achieve so much.

And them's my thoughts for today.

Time passes

I have my least favourite kind of day ahead. Which is waiting for a man to come. I mean, this is not a good thing whichever way you look at it, but I am referring to the sort of man who is coming to fix or check something, and they add an extra layer of man-ness to the proceedings. I do not do this well.

Plus, the last couple of days I have been feeling seedy. Nothing too specific or worrisome, just annoying, but yet another thing to have to deal with.

Bah, humbug.

It is possible that part of the problem is that I should be in the final stages of packing for SOAR, and of course, I am not. In a year when I really could do with seeing folk...oh well, Norway soon, and I am looking forward to that, despite the odd concern about lack of daylight hours. All the more knitting time!

And apropos, I have finished the latest hand warmers, functional but uninspiring, and cast on for the spiral rib mittens in "Homespun, Handknit". So by the time we go, I should have duplicates of everything to keep me nice and warm in an unaccustomed wintry landscape.

I manage a few rows on the "lace" shawl most days, but it is taking forever to finish - the ball of yarn seems never-ending. Serve me right for spinning quite fine. How those who do real laceweight stuff manage, I simply do not know. I have also been spinning more, always soothing. I have finished the "Demeter" colourway from Freyalyn, and have also used some more of her stuff to get familiar with the Little Gem. Which is taking some doing, Majacrafts being unlike all other wheels. Quite nice, though, and because you can angle the flyer, ok for point of contact, and hopefully, longdraw.


Which reminds me, I must go hunt up my short stapled fleece, I have someone coming tomorrow for a lesson in that and navajo plying, and I am reviewing drafting methods at AH next time as well.

It is going to take me a bit longer to unveil the last extravagance. It had arrived safely - well, more or less, one bit missing that I need to email about - but it is still an unphotogenic pile of sticks. Our intention is to tackle it at the weekend, so maybe it will be confession time then.

Still no ring at the door. Grrrr. OK. Fleece, then coffee. Then spinning.

OK. Loins girded.

Beads, Masham and.......

Finally, I arrive at Blogger with photos to include. I have spent a long frustrating time, first struggling with Corel which was not in a cooperative mood, and then Flickr, which didn't want to upload nicely for me. Grrr. Still and all, I have if nothing else learned perseverance over my lifetime.....

Didn't go to Coven on Thursday after all, knackered, basically. Shame. But I did get to York on Friday, and had a lovely day, really. Three hours beading with friends was very soothing, even if the end result wasn't quite as I would have wished.



Needs more oomph and pizazz for moi. Too pretty pretty. Apparently, this pattern can look good done with cubes, and I have some fairly in your face ones, so......

Anyway, I decided going in on the train that I ought to go see the mater afterwards, so M dropped me off at the end of the road and the DSM picked me up on the way down from the by-pass. He was late, so I had the strange experience of sitting in the entrance lobby whilst the mater had her supper, knitting the LL sock (v. nearly done!) and watching a constant trickle of elderly ladies in wheelchairs being transported by carers seemingly at random. And in total silence. Very definitely food for thought.

So, Saturday to Masham, sadly sans sheep. We did enjoy our day. Pottered around, bumped in to various folk, as ever, and again as ever, this is always nice. But golly, was it quiet. Visitor numbers way down, and stall-holders, too. The organisers had to make the decision they did when they did, and sterling work had been done to fill some of the pens with "sheep". All kudos to them. But there was an edge of sadness about it all, and a considerable edge of bitterness. Viz:



I have other photos of "entries" on Flickr, just click on the photo above to go see.

We were both very tired, for whatever reason, so left quite early. But not before - and here comes the first big confession - going and picking up this:



I know, I know. I don't need it. I love the Lendrum, shall certainly not get rid of it. But I realised a little while back that I was fed up with what I consider its slightly awkward mantling and dismantling, not to mention carting around. So. Indulgence time.

Ahem. There is, however more to come. Watch this space.

Home and Away

So, there is this person who has been complaining about how boring her recently completed knitting project was, and what does she do? Casts on the fingerless mitts in garter stitch from "One Skein", that's what.

There is a logic. I have some red yarn spun from a Lambspun roving that is a lovely cheerful bright red, just perfect for locating people sunk deep in to snow drifts, or several yards away down a blizzard swept deck. But there is not enough of it to make a complete and pukka pair of mittens. The mitts are quick, quick, quick. If I am not too ashamed to drag them out at Coven this evening, they will be done by tomorrow.



I am alternating with doing interminable rows on the lace shawl and trying very hard to finish the Lorna's Laces socks. That yarn is pretty but very fine, they are taking forever.

Tomorrow, I am off to York for a beady afternoon with friends. It is supposed to be a class, but really, we simply choose one of the tutor's designs and do it. There is precious little learning involved, but the company is good, and it does get me beading. I'm not making the time to do it otherwise, which is a shame. Given that I like doing it, and have a not insignificant stash of beads......

Then the DSM comes over from Preston and we will stay the night, going on to Masham on Saturday. Even without animals again, that is as always something to relish. I'll try to take lots of photos Anyway, the socks go with me for the outing and hopefully will make some progress.

And.....when I am back, I will have confessions to display (can you display confessions?) Total indulgence, extravagance, whatever.

Now. This is the view at the moment from our bedroom window.



When we bought this house nearly nineteen years ago, we very quickly fell into the habit of breakfast in bed because this room gets the most light - sunlight - and had a view. In the years since, an elder tree has grown up as have some other trees, and obscured the outlook pretty much in summer. But there are compensations. Elder is a bird magnet, and we have a constant wildlife programme playing out there. This morning, we had robins, chaffinches, great tits, blue tits and best of all, a black cap - these are quite secretive, and although we hear them, we rarely actually see them. There was also a greater spotted woodpecker on the telegraph pole just out of shot. On other days, we have had wrens, coal tits, wood pigeons, blackbirds and even the occasional bullfinch, whilst the pole has hosted tree creepers. Sometimes goldfinches and on the very, very odd time, goldcrests. It is somewhat like being in the canopy with them, and we feel it as a real privilege.

And finally. It has started. Yesterday morning, I made my breakfast and took it upstairs as usual. Ate a bite of toast. Went to take a swig of tea. And found that I had brought the milk jug upstairs.

And yes, my tea was in the fridge.

Ah, well.......

As I promised

A finished object. The "Nomad" hat and scarf from Interweave Knits, done in a soft-spun relatively chunky camel and silk blend, used double. That gave me about the right gauge, and a lovely thick fabric that will be so warm that I will probably only ever use it whilst we are on holiday this year, and then never again.

Although having said that, I do have memories deeply engraved of visiting Blakeney Quay one Christmas, and the wind was so sharp and bitter that we only lasted out there for but ten minutes.....so I can dig it out of storage for any winter holiday in years to come.

Taking a photograph of yourself wearing something on the head is quite tricky, hence the expression denoting intense concentration.



There I am - with more than a passing resemblance to my grandmother in this one!

Coming down in stair-rods - again

In other words, yet more rain. Wonderful.

A nice day today. The DSM had a hospital appointment around 9.30 this morning, so we had to be moving promptly - by which I mean I did as he always is. Just a routine thing, but all is well. They are happy still to wait on him feeling able to go ahead with another cardioversion, which he will do just in case it sticks this time. Because then he could have the exercise stress test which would give him his parameters for what he can do. Although, the bugger did ask about running again, and they have told him that he can if he wants to! Starting off very gently, increasing only slowly, yada yada. He knows what my opinion is, and I know that if I said "don't" he wouldn't. But he knows that I won't do that......so around and around we go. Blergh.

Saturday was a family day. We went to York to see mama, who was on very good form, yay for modern pharmacology. Then in the evening, we went to a local restaurant for my niece's birthday gathering. A disparate bunch. A, my sister, her ex, A's father, but also the father of M, A's half-sister (well, and my nephew's too, they are around the same age, go figure) M's partner and their one child each (all three delightful), M2, A's partner, his parents, who either don't reckon me or don't know what to make of me, and C, A's best friend.

The restaurant, which used to be great, no longer is, but the company and the talk were well worth the time.

C, like A, is an artist. A beautiful girl, talented and easy to talk to. And like so many young women, totally lacking in confidence. She drew a picture of one of the kids, who reciprocated - I heard C saying to her "Oh, make me look really really skinny." She wasn't joking. Mind you, what she was relating about her parents explained a lot. Makes me wild when I hear of parents who just simply don't appreciate what gems they have just because their kids don't fit into predetermined (by aforementioned parents) little boxes.....but I digress.

C was asking me what I did with wool. She has done a number of installations using yarn to define spaces that relate to how women are forced to ...I want to say conform, but that isn't quite right...interact with social and built environments? Very interesting anyway, and very cool that young women still get this. The only sad note is that apparently, she uses acrylic yarn! I need to get together with her again and suggest a collaboration with me spinning for her, maybe.

do I envy these young women? I envy the opportunities that they have now that were not there for me, but on balance, no. And hey, I can always take Grandma Moses - or May Wesley - as a role model.

I should be the end of this evening have an FO. The hat/scarf is nearly finished. It is going to be toasty warm. I can't decide whether to leave it its natural colour, or to dye it. I have some red yarn I can whip up a pair of mittens from, so it might be cool dyed red - or would the underlying camel make it look grungy? I might have a strand or two to test, hopefully.