Progress has been slow in coming on a lot of fronts the last little while. I was thinking the other day that to do all the things I want to do in the next little while, I just need to stop working, or give up sleeping: one or the other. Since neither is really optional, I’m just having to revise my expectations of myself and be happy with what I do accomplish. It’s a little difficult for me; I’m the type of person that makes lists, has schedules, plans routes, and has long-term goals. But I’m also used to the fact that no plan survives contact with reality, so I’m bound and determined to be happy with the amount I have accomplished.
That’s 25 10-yard skeins of Polworth, spindle-spun, washed, measured, remeasured, tied, cut, weighed, and labeled, all ready for Level 3. I even have three extra skeins! And the weight variation between skeins was only 1.2 grams from lowest to highest, with most of them weighing in at 3.3 g +/- 0.2 g. I’m pretty happy with that! Can’t wait for dye day!
All the skeins I’ve spun for Level 2 are now in my workbook, with all measurements in my spreadsheet. That meant it was time to start blending. Friday night I was thinking about this, and said to Mike, “Do we have a paper bag?” He looked at me a little oddly, and I explained that I didn’t want to put anything I blend up in plastic bags, because static will already be a problem. “Why not just use a gift bag from upstairs?” he asked. Well, I thought that was a brilliant idea, and then was thinking out loud about what I could put between the different things I’m blending to keep them apart, and then realized, “I can just use tissue paper! We have plenty of that!” So today as I was doing laundry, I started blending.
I had washed another six of the unwashed fleece bits on Saturday (they’re hanging in the laundry room as we speak), and so I had the impetus to tidy up the fibretorium, which yielded about three full alpaca fleeces. Seriously. So for the Alpaca/Silk blend, I pulled out the one I knew was washed. It’s a lovely brown/grey (I really can’t describe it adequately), and I blended that up with some unbleached Tussah silk top. Six slivers off the cards, one for the sample book, and then I put it into the bag, getting the tissue paper ready to fold over.
Next came the mohair/wool blend. I looked at what I had, and just kind of shrugged and pulled out a few things. The Jacob X from Level 1 was about the same staple length, and a completely different colour, from the kid mohair locks. I did discover some weak ends, but after the first batt I picked those off before putting it on the cards. I’m pretty pleased with this too. Eight slivers, and one for the sample book.
As I was putting them into the bag and lovingly wrapping them in tissue paper, it occurred to me. Gift bag. Coordinating tissue paper. Multiple layers to discover later. It’s almost like I’m making myself a present for when I can spin again. Well. Maybe I am.
