Kiss My Knits!

I’ve gotten four Jayne hats done in the last two days, so I’m now about caught up again. This means that the people who ordered in Mid-February and got a four to five week estimate will now actually get their hats on schedule. That’s a good thing. I work very hard to stay on top of my Jaynes.

That didn’t come out right.

Aaaaanywho, with that more under control, I felt justified in spending a little time practicing with the spinning wheel!

I decided to ply my first skein to try out the plying bobbin and skeinwinder that come with the wheel. The first single was really twisty, so I thought plying it might help that. Nope. It was still about as balanced as a Fox News broadcast. I wet it and hung it to dry (no weights) and that might have helped just a little. So I tried another skein yesterday, and that one was more even, and plied up to be better balanced.

Then last night I spun a thinner brown single and this morning did a thinner gray one, and plied them together. I’m definitely improving in terms of consistency. The first one is on the left, the second one is in the middle, and the third one is on the right. It’s still pretty slubby, but it’s fairly balanced. (“Balance” refers to the amount of energy stored in the yarn, generally manifested in its twistiness. A garment knitted or woven with unbalanced yarn can have oddly slanting stitches.) I’m still trying to figure everything out, and criticism is always welcome. I’m hoping to have a spin-in with illiane and Turtlegirl on Sunday.

I’m enjoying the wheel to the point that I will probably get it, unless my iPod battery continues to drain after 20 minutes like it’s been doing, in which case I’ll get a new one of those. The iPod motivates me to exercise. The spinning wheel motivates me to sit on my keister. I can tell you which one I need more.

Back to Jayney business. I’m almost out of shipping boxes, so I need to order another 200. They go a lot faster than you’d think. I’ll also be writing Jayne notes and knitting Jayne hats and some felted purses that are also in line. While doing this, I’ll be watching Spiderman 2. I don’t know why Spiderman, the mood just struck me!

Knits up for: OH, UK, and NC

So I’ve got this friend, tribanin, who is returning to school as an adult. He’s a grown man with a teenage son and a regular job, so like many of us, he’s got bills to pay. What else does he have? A BURNING DESIRE TO PLAY THE TUBA. He played when he was younger, and now that he’s back in school, he’s got the opportunity to be in a band again, and he wants to make the most of it.

Now, me, I’ve got a soft spot for the tuba. I remember at college, there was this guy who would sit out in front of the cafeteria in a classroom chair with his tuba and practice. One day, two girls started squealing and ran up to him waving pencils and pads of paper. He kindly stopped and gave his autograph, and we all had a good laugh at the joke. And the guy took it in very good grace, because the tuba player, like the accordion player, is really a very geeky punk rock star. They don’t give a crap about society’s rules – they just wanna play their instrument, and who cares what people think about it?

Trib’s in Oklahoma, going back to college, and he doesn’t have thousands of dollars just burning a hole in his pocket to afford a tuba. And that’s where you come in!

There’s a sweepstakes going on where the first prize is the tuba of tribanin‘s dreams. All you’ve gotta do is go here: http://www.wwbw.com/Contest/ContestMain.aspx?cid=438 and fill out the form. I believe you can do it once a day. If you win, Tribbles will pay shipping for the tuba to come to him.

Won’t you please enter today and help a grown man realize his geeky dream?

Hats up for: WA, TX, NC

Spinning wheels, girl scouts, and backside slayers.

Today was Emily’s eighth birthday. Even though it was just the three of us, she really wanted a pinata. So sure, what the heck. We got the smallest pinata we could find from Party City and whacked the bejeebers out of it today. As my father said, “Be sure Steve wears a cup!” I, on the other hand, figured this could be our ticket to easy street with a cool hundred grand from America’s Funniest Home Videos. In the end, nobody was harmed, darn it. I mean, fortunately.

She got many nice things, including a microscope, a ballerina costume with “Emily” embroidered on the front, some DVDs, a jigsaw puzzle, two little “Secret Central” dolls she’s been wanting for months, some activity books, and a trip to the mall with her dad (this was actually a reward for good behavior this week).

She’s used everything except the microscope so far, because we want to look at that more closely and be sure we’re not going to break anything. When she gets something new, she really appreciates it. And she had a plan, just in case everything didn’t go well. Before her birthday, she said, “If I don’t get something I want, I’ll get it at the mall.” Good idea! She got a Tinkerbell stuffed doll to go with the Belle stuffed doll that had been purchased last week at the mall, also a trip which was a reward for good behavior. If this kid keeps acting good we’re going to go broke.

Both her paternal grandparents and her maternal grandfather got her the newly released DVD of Peter Pan. Whoops! However, I slipped my dad’s copy off to the side and will return it to the store later. Instead, I snuck back to the mall after hearing Steve say there was something there she had really really really really wanted. We weren’t going to get it because it was already toyapalooza today. But with Grandpa short a gift, sure!

It was a Barbie Fairytopia Elina DVD Game. The game is controlled by the doll that comes along with it, which has batteries and a remote control built in. You lean the doll right to select the “right” option and it looks like the doll is flying that way. It’s like a primitive Wii, I guess. Which prompted this conversation with my husband.

Me: You know, I should try to stop by ‘s at some point. Not only does she have that spinning wheel now, she’s got a Wii, too. Where there’s a wheel, there’s a Wii!
Him: That was really, really bad.

That’s what I was going for, baby! Woo!

Emily’s cousins called her up to sing her happy birthday, which put a big smile on her face. All in all, it’s been a very nice birthday for Emily. And now, I must go check on her. She’s standing in the remains of the pinata saying, “Oh, candy!”

Too sick to want cookies? Wow. I finally found an option she did go for, though. And so I present to you this work of art.

“Motherhood: The Things We Do For Love”
Mixed Media
Ritz Crackers and Easy Cheese
2007

Emily’s out of school sick today, so trips to the dentist, post office, bank, long walks in the beautiful weather, etc. are on hold. Poor thing, she’s really sniffling. She spent about 15 minutes just lying on the couch under a blanket, staring at nothing. On the up side, one of her little quirks seems to have vanished – she used to hate tissues. And it was specifically tissues. If you had her wipe her nose on a paper towel, that was okay. But not tissues. This week, she’s been fine with tissues. This is good, because the back of your hand is not a socially acceptable tool for wiping one’s nose.

I myself have tactile issues with pulling cotton balls out of medicine bottles. Also, oftentimes the texture and sound of paper napkins will drive me up a wall. It’s like nails on a chalkboard (which, oddly, doesn’t bother me). Paper towels are fine. It’s inexplicable and weird, but there it is. I have no clue if she has some kind of weirdness like that or not, but she does hate to use paper napkins, too. Regardless, I’m glad she’s using tissues without complaint.

is getting a spinning wheel. Now Turtlegirl has a wheel. Apparently this is something all the cool kids are doing now. I myself have a line on an inexpensive wheel, and the current owner is willing to let me borrow it for a week or so to see if I like it before I purchase it. I’ve ordered a small quantity of wool roving to use, and will wait for that to arrive before I borrow this woman’s wheel. It’s relatively cheap, but if it’s something I won’t use, then it’s still money wasted, so I appreciate her willingness to let me give it a test-drive first.

Illiane brought dowels, hooks, and wooden wagon wheels to the stitching session last night and helped me make a drop spindle. I wasn’t so hot with it there, but when I was back home, I got my rhythm back a little. My yarn is still very slubby and uneven, but it’s all part of the learning process.

Our weekly stitch session is at a coffee shop in Books-a-Million, and I always look for some little book I can get for Emily when I’m out. This week’s was an early reader about the life of an astronaut named Linda. She found it and read it first thing this morning. She’s really enjoying science. Maybe she can find a cure for her own cold someday.

Emily informs me that she’s done with her orange juice, and “I’m still sooooo hungry.” Since we’re watching “Cookie Monster’s Best Bites” on DVD, I think I see where this is going. I’m off to make cookies.

This weekend, Turtlegirl, and myself went to a spinning class at Rainy Day Creations in Pineville. Much fun was had by all.
Spinning wheels and sunburn