Coughing towards Creativity

[untonuggan]

Despite the endless plagues of stomach and of upper respiratory tract, I have managed to make some exciting things. Not nearly as fast as I would like, but here is photographic proof (along with a picture of Haley that seems to have sneaked in, no idea how that happened :P ).


A hat I knit for Partner. It is some of my handspun BFL, undyed but *not cream*. I was getting a tad bored with cream. This is grayish-brownish, roughly worsted weight. Snuggly! It's a simple hat design, 4x4 rib and then stockinette all the way up after the ribbed border. She is a fan, but alas has not worn it outside yet as the weather has turned warmish for now. I am hoping it stays that way.



My new spindle! A birthday thingy. On the spindle is some purple Nerd Girl Yarn fiber from a friend :D (you know who you are!). The spindle is AMAZEPANTS. The spindle is made of wood, some of which is (similar to Knitter's Dreamz knitting needles) in pretty colors. This particular spindle is green, blue, and brown. When it spins, it makes a mesmerizing colorfest. Like, most people unused to spinning watch spindles like cats. I think this spindle will amplify that effect. It does it to me, and I'm usually watching my hands to make sure I'm drafting properly. Um, yes. SHINY. Sadly it's been taunting me for a week because spinning is *tiring* when you can't breathe and keep coughing etc. So, um, yes, being taunted by the pretty spindle, that's me.


The pretty spindle from another angle, so you can better see the top of the whorl.


The spinning I was working on before I got sick. It's really pretty Targhee (a super soft fiber), which I did not dye myself but oohhhh do I appreciate the pretty of the dye. It's multi-colored, currently on the bit that's blue and orange and a bit of brown, earlier there was even some fuchsia. It looks better than it sounds, zomg.


I promised you Haley, didn't I? Here she is, in her Sentry Position. AKA "watching Dog TV". AKA Defending Against Squirrel Invaders. You get the gist. She is by the sliding doors looking out at the back yard watching the birds and keeping an eye out for squirrels at the feeder. Squirrels at *her* feeder. When she sees them, she (a) shakes/trembles/gives them dirty looks; (b) barks/whines; (c) jumps up and down/does a meerkat impression; (d) some combination of the above. This does not always mean she gets let outside. For example, earlier I ignored her meerkat adorableness because I did not want to have to chase her through rain and mud if she decided that she could not hear me calling her back into the house. Temporary deafness is apparently a thing in dogs.

Reading stuff:

what have you recently finished reading:
I just finished reading The Wanderers, which an AWESOME AND WONDERFUL FRIEND GIFTED ME. I don't want to give away key plot points, but let's just say I am a sucker for Fairy Tale retellings that are well done, and this one is. Also, did I mention that there is a talking cat in this book? There is, and he is amazing and wonderful and a smartass (cat, remember?). Love the book, highly recommend. Trying to avoid spoilers. Another benefit of this book is that the chapters are fairly self-contained plot-wise, although there are obviously continuing elements. This is good for me because it allowed me to go to bed at 2 am rather than stay up til 4 or 5 am to finish the book. If you also have trouble with authors who tease you at the end of chapters and keep you up til unreasonable hours of the morning, this book may be your friend.

what you are currently reading:
no book spines cracked atm

what you hope to read next:
I have several additional gifts on my ereader, which I am currently eager to read because clearly my friend has excellent taste.

Also, it has not escaped my attention that Terry Pratchett's latest book, Raising Steam is out. I am a bit conflicted about my acquisition of this, as I have others of his books in paperback and I don't want a hardback messing up the shelving system. OTOH the library will not have this in stock for months, I can guarantee it. So I will probably get an ebook of Raising Steam and a paper copy when it's a mass market paperback, because I'm weird like that. (My partner infected me, what can I say.)

Comments

[spiralsheep]

Your new spindle is beautiful.

[untonuggan]

Thank you! (It is shiny and colorful and *taunting me*.)

[spiralsheep]

Nah, it's being ornamental without you having to use it practically. ;-P

[phlox]

Yes, this! So many spindles around here that we can't *possibly* use them all the time, and they manage to be decorative regardless. (Though none are as colorful as that one!)

[untonuggan]

If I can remember, I'll ask my LYS the name of the woodworker who made it. He's going to be at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and I know most of the time between now and May is making stock for that, but afterwards I'm pretty sure he'll do mail orders if someone was ever interested ;)

[phlox]

I'd love to know! I happen to know someone who'll be at MSW this year. She'll be really busy teaching, but I expect she could take some time to look at lovely spindles. Most of the ones around here are hers, after all!

[phlox]

Nice hat! I managed to finish a hat and mitts about a month ago, and haven't yet worn both outside due to weather (too cold! Too warm!). But I have worn just the hat once or twice, and the mitts are *wonderful* when working on the computer in the cold! I can still type and feel the keyboard, but the main part of my hands are warm enough that it keeps everything pretty cozy!

I am glad Haley got into this post. It's important to have dog pictures! And I see she has her ball, just in case someone feels like throwing it. ;)

[untonuggan]

Yes, mitts are *great* for the keyboard when a room is a tad bit cold! :D

I'm glad you noticed the ball! She tends to keep a stash by the back door. I'm not quite sure why, as we usually take them away before she goes outside (otherwise they get all mucky and gross). I guess they are an integral part of Squirrel Watch, though.

[phlox]

It is important to have the proper tools for Squirrel Watch, clearly! Naps around here are sometimes accompanied by rope toys (sometimes as pillows?). I am not sure if it's about knowing where the rope is, if it's comfy (?????) to sleep on, if it's good to know it's Right There should the need to chew it or ask someone to throw it strikes, or the fact that it happens to be where Miss Dog wants to sleep (because there's where she left it). Back door patrol usually doesn't need any accessories. . . .

Is the ball one of the unpressurised ones? I don't know that I've seen pink before, except when I got unpressurised tennis balls (which probably means they're not *actually* tennis balls, since the pressure is kind of essential there) for a project.

[untonuggan]

Rope Toys are clearly essential for naps! Rogue used to sleep with toy possums (possi?), though those were (rather moist and stinky) secondary pillows.

The ball is a breast cancer support one, which is why it's pink. I got several tubes of them when I first got my boring gray walker and decided to snazz it up a bit. One of the things I'd read is that when the little floor protector things wear down, you have to either find some that fit and replace them (more spendy) or use tennis balls (less spendy), or they'll scratch the floors. I had visions of all the people who were definitely way older than I currently am who use walkers and have the yellow tennis balls on their walkers and, well, I thought I'd stock up on the pink tennis balls in case so I could be different. I also yarn bombed it.

Now I usually use my "rollator walker" when I'm out, if I need a walker, which is fortunately currently less frequently. The gray one stays down the indoor flight of stairs, and my partner worries less about me tracking dirt into the house on its wheels.

[lynnoconnacht]

OMG! That spindle is gorgeous! <3 SO PRETTY! And the yarn sounds really pretty too. ^_^ AND LOOK! A HALEY! <3

Your solution to Pratchett sounds... very much like mine, except I'm considering adopting it because I keep on forgetting which books I lack and which editions I'm looking for whenever I'm near a variety of Pratchett books. *hopeless* I need to read more Pratchett. I'm still not caught up to his works. >> *still hopeless*

I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed The Wanderers so much. <3 The companion/sequel she mentioned isn't as easy broken up, I think, as this one, but it's still lovely. I hope you'll enjoy the other books on your list just as much! <3

[untonuggan]

:DDD

I don't even know if I'm caught up on all his works. I think that counts as hopeless, too. I ended up getting the hardback because I just like the feel of books. I finished it at 2 am and I can say without spoilers that it's AMAZING and way better than some of his other recent books. IMHO, that is.

I am looking forward to reading the companion/sequel! And also the other books on my list :D Thank you again! <3

[lynnoconnacht]

We can be hopeless together! It'll be awesome! <3

Ooooooooooooooooooh. Nice! Considering I like what I've read of his recent work (which, granted, amounts to Snuff because I have yet to dare venture out of the Discworld books), that is very very promising. <3 (It'll still take me forever.)

I shall endeavour to remember to let you know when it's available. <3 I think it should come out in the second half of the year? I hope you'll enjoy the others just as much! <3<3<3<3

[untonuggan]

Go team go!

I haven't read much outside of the Discworld books. Tried Good Omens, couldn't get into it. Don't know if that's because I just generally can't get into Gaiman, though. Been meaning to read that other one whose title I can never remember that was co-published with someone recently.

I think the back of The Wanderers said May 2014?

[lynnoconnacht]

Mmm. Wasn't most of Good Omens Pratchett? They mentioned something about it not being a 50/50 split in the introduction I read, but that's all I remember. (I generally can't get into Gaiman's work either, though. Feels so rare to meet someone else who can't get into them.) That's... I'm going to look it up now. I've got several titles in my head and I'm annoyed now at not knowing which it is. *does so* Oh! These are the ones you mean?

Could well be. My brain is mush and doesn't like dates to start with anyway. I thought it'd be later, but I think May would actually make a lot more sense.

[phlox]

It *is* rare to "meet" people who don't really love everything Gaiman's done! I occasionally feel like I must be missing some essential geek-ness since I real can't list American Gods as a favorite book. I *do* like Stardust and Neverwhere, and I liked Good Omens when I read it ages ago (pretty sure it was carved in stone tablets), but I haven't ever really felt the urge to re-read it. . . . .

I have The Long Earth out of the library on audiobook! I can try to remember to post something (likely on my page) when I finish, if anyone's interested!

[lynnoconnacht]

Sometimes I feel the same way with the geekness! (Then I remind myself there are other kinds of geekiness.) I liked Good Omens when I read it, but, like you, I haven't ever felt the urge to reread it. I liked Stardust quite a bit the first time I read it, then when I tried to reread it I... couldn't finish it. I still don't know why. :/

Ooooh! I hope you'll enjoy it!

[untonuggan]

I think the one thing of Gaiman's I have enjoyed is Stardust, but I never felt the urge/need to reread it. So I guess that makes three of us? At least.

Please do tell me how you like The Long Earth! That's the one that's on my bookshelf. I got it for my partner for the winter holidays, and I've been trying to be polite about letting her read it first but clearly she has gotten preoccupied with something else so I may have to take matters into my own hands.

[calissa]

Wow, what a gorgeous spindle!

The hat looks gorgeous too, especially against the bricks in that photo.

[untonuggan]

Thank you!

It was hard finding a contrasting thing in the room, because so much brown things apparently! Bricks just presented themselves.

All the pretty things!

[alee_grrl]

That hat is lovely. I like the grayish/brown color and it certainly looks soft.

That spindle...OMG! It is so gorgeous. I am mesmerized by your spinning normally, but watching you spin on that would be even more fascinating. The various yarns shown here look very nice. So many pretty colors.

Yay for good books (I've added that one to my to be read list)! And yay for super cute Haley!

Re: All the pretty things!

[untonuggan]

Thank you. Is definitely soft! :D

*g*

Good books ftw! And Haley is adorable and would love to meet you when my cough goes away. (Do not want to share the cough.)

[cadenzamuse]

PRETTY SPINDLE. PRETTY YARN.

I went to my last knit night at LYS last night (because new job + awkward knit night time), and one of the employees had brought several drop spindles and her spinning wheel (which is gorgeous, relatively easy to use, and folds up in a carryable manner).

I sucked at ALLLLLLLL the spinning, although I felt this was in part because the teaching style of both the employee and anyone else who had figured out how to spin with her instructions did not at all match my learning style. I was trying to spin on the wheel and literally kept breaking my yarn every time I started for the first 5-6 times, and then managed to draft enough to get it to work for about a minute. So it was kind of frustrating. Although it does make me want to buy some Malabrigo fiber and a cheap drop spindle, I just wish there was someone who would patiently give me tips as I go along for a couple of hours. (Like, wtf, how do you draft as you go on a drop spindle? Because you have to keep re-getting-it-to-spin so often!)

[untonuggan]

OK, so when I started on a drop spindle, my teacher told me several things:

1. I was going to be making thick, lumpy yarn, and that was perfectly ok, because actually there are many uses for thick, lumpy yarn and some people even pay a lot of money for designer thick, lumpy yarn


2. The best method to start for drop spindle (assuming you're using the kind of drop spindle I use) is called "park and draft" (here is one example video, there are tons on youtube). Basically, you break down the steps of the spinning and you don't do the drafting while the spindle is suspended and spinning. This lets you get the feel of the drafting without breaking the yarn every five seconds or so. It still feels kind of slow, but it's way less frustrating than constantly dropping the spindle.


3. Everyone she has taught usually has to practice doing park and draft for 2-3 weeks before they're comfortable enough with the process to be able to spin without doing park and draft (basically, spinning "the regular way")


4. You are probably still going to drop your spindle a lot in the beginning, and sometimes spindles break when you drop them (or usually with me, the hook at the top bends out of shape). So for your first spindle, she recommended getting something that is not a spendy handmade art spindle. My first is/was an Ashford (note that the student version is unfinished, so it can kind of annoyingly stick to your wool; I recommend one of the $20 varieties), which is a pretty good brand for both wheels and spindles, and the price point isn't as high as for some of the ones I indulge in occasionally now. Preferably aim for a medium-ish weight to the spindle.

Something I would add: the Malabrigo fiber is gorgeous and lovely and squishy. However, I think all of their spinning fiber is Merino. The thing to know about Merino is that it tends to be very slippery (so, not always great for beginners, because more droppage happens). You can start with it if you want, but if you want advice on good beginning spinning fibers (and the whole "should I get it combed or carded?" thing), I am happy to advise. Etsy has a lot available if you're having trouble finding them in shops locally, and many of them are already dyed pretty colors.

tl;dr certain spinning fibers will make your life way easier rather than making you want to throw the yarn into a closet and slam the door closed. pick a durable spindle for your "first". "park and draft" methods are your friend. everyone makes lumpy yarn at first. I am happy to give you more info, just let me know how much or I will talk your ear off.

[untonuggan]

OK OK, one last comment, or I will forget what I was going to say because Lyrica eats my brain.

Fibers that I would recommend for beginners:

• Corriedale (fairly easy to find, everyone seems to recommend this fiber for beginners, really easy to draft, good for outerwear but maybe not next-to-baby-skin)


• Targhee (one of my favorite fibers, relatively easy to draft, sooooft)


• Finnsheep (also one of my favorite fibers, I have ordered 3 lbs. of this before because I lurv it so much, OMG is it easy to spin especially if you get roving, it's like the spinning equivalent of butter)


• Cormo (I would say "spinning 201" because while it's really easy to draft, its softness makes it kind of..."sticky"...in that it sticks to itself, so one may end up with a ball of Cormo attached to ones' yarn. It has happened to me, and I know how to detach it, but I can see it being more frustrating in a learning-to-spin situation. It's luscious, though, just saying)

[babs_bee]

If you like talking cats in your fantasy novels, you might enjoy meeting my favorite cat ever in fiction: Thomas in The Winter King's War trilogy by Susan Dexter.

I love love love these three novels and can read and reread them all the time. Tristan is also my favorite fantasy hero of any book I've ever read.

Here's a link to the books:
The Ring of Allaire: http://www.amazon.com/Ring-Allaire-Wizards-Destiny-ebook/dp/B005EVE92K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395519888&sr=8-1&keywords=susan+dexter

The Sword of Calandra: http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Calandra-Book-Wizards-Destiny/dp/1479272132/ref=la_B000AQ4S0M_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395519991&sr=1-9

The Mountains of Channandran: http://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Channadran-Wizards-Destiny-ebook/dp/B005OOIANQ/ref=la_B000AQ4S0M_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395519991&sr=1-7

[untonuggan]

Ooooh, those look awesome! Thank you for the rec's.