First Wednesday Spin

It has been months since I used my Lendrum spinning wheel, and I have missed the mostly meditative purring of its miraculous ability to change fuzz to yarn. There is no excuse for this absence other than I was concerned it would not be like getting back on a bicycle after being away, but to my surprise I was wrong. Sure I strained to get the foot action working to keep the wheel moving at a constant pace, I was straining with the new wheel when I last used it. But the feeding of the roving, that had not left me. It was much more pleasurable than I expected it would be.

The white alpaca roving

What did I pick to spin? A lovely local alpaca from NW Handspun Yarns in Bellingham, Washington. This was such a joy to spin, so soft, luxurious and fuzzy; a sensory overload.

A real closeup on the wheel

It doesn't look like much but there is an 1.5 hours of spinning showing on that spool. I am curious to see just what comes next for this lovely alpaca. As I continue to practice, more will be produced in less time.

To add to the discussion about spinning I show you a toque and matching mittens made for Miss A. This wool was spun, dyed and knit by me last fall. I found the yarn in the hank unattractive so it was simply put away, but then I started knitting with it and changed my mind. The colours worked together better than I first thought they would. Since my yarn was more bulky weight than worsted I had to modify the toque pattern my Mom uses and a Susan B. Anderson's pattern found here. The icord was added for sanity. The toque and thumbless mittens will hopefully be very warm for Miss A this winter.

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Finally news that may or may not impact you. There has been a potential of a postal strike here in Canada for a few weeks. According to the news, volume of mail has dropped by 80 percent because of this possibility. The unionized workers want to continue to receive the benefits they have in the past, management says it can no longer afford it. If you want to get a flavour for the contention surrounding this issue read this article, printed in the online Financial Post, and then move into the comments that follow. The discussion focuses on the overcompensated government workers versus those unionized postal employees wanting to hang on to their defined benefits. Bottom line, mail service may be interrupted in Canada. There you have your public service notice for the day! (Meant for my U.S. and other worldwide friends. We in Canada know all about it.)

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