Month: May 2024

Making things too hard

On By CarynIn Craft

I excel at overthinking. I have gone through many contraptions to hold my full spindle so it wouldn’t skitter across the floor while I wound the yarn off into a ball. Before I headed off for a walk, I saw that I didn’t have enough fiber to last the walk, and I would be at the point I needed to wind off mid-walk. Throwing caution to the wind, I stuck a rolled up piece of card stock in my pocket and headed out. Within 10 minutes I had spun all my fiber and was faced with winding a nostepinne style ball without any of my spindle holding devices except my hands.

Photo description: winding camel fiber single ply yarn into a nostepinne style ball on a card stock tube from a drop spindle while walking the neighborhood, asphalt in the background

It turned out brilliant. I could rotate the spindle around the tube, keeping consistent tension by lightly gripping the shaft, and slowly rotating the card stock tube. I had been stuck in thinking that the spindle or bobbin needed to be set down in order to control the tension to wind off. I’m glad I broke through the “I have to do it this way” barrier, for this is now my preferred method.

So this is love

On By CarynIn Craft

Knitting black yarn with black needles, oh my. I didn’t start off with this plan. I bought hand dyed eclipse themed yarn because it had my eldest’s favorite colors, then I had to get the smallest Prym needles, which only come in black. I get respite when the yellows and oranges pass over the needles, but the black on black stitches are done mostly by feel. This is my current forever project, because I can only knit during the daylight, and can’t be sleepy or have any alcohol when I’m working on it.

Photo description: black, orange, and yellow yarn knitted on black needles, sock in progress, toe up

There is a persistent meme in the crafting world that you only knit black yarn for those you love because the stuff is so hard to see.

Buddies

On By CarynIn Cats, dog
Photo description: 15 pound gray tabby cat walking next to a 20 pound black dog

I’ve been trying to get a picture of Thor the cat next to Missy the dog for some time. They are buddies, but when they are near each other it is always on the move, so my pictures are blurry. They are opposites in morphology; Thor is sleek and liquid, and Missy is a solid mass under extreme tension. I think it is cute they are nearly the same size. I really get a giggle when Thor ambushes Missy on her way to bed.

Winding pause

On By CarynIn Craft

I was winding my single spun camel fiber from the drop spindle to a nostepinne style ball, using my fishing swivel chain hanging from a wall hook when life interrupted. I put my makeshift nostepinne (rolled up card stock) onto the wall hook.

Photo description: drop spindle hanging from a wall hook with a partially wound ball on a paper tube on the same hook

It may have stayed that way for a week. May is a busy time. I did eventually get back to it and finish winding.

Photo description: wound ball of camel single spun fiber on a scale reading 42g

It is good to know that I can pause my winding in this way. Life interrupts frequently and my hobbies need to be able to be set aside for an unexpected moment.