Spinning

Did a load of spinning after the shopping yesterday ... see this blog ... Spinning & Shopping

the picture is by Trystan williams of the World Owl Trust

Spinning & Rain

They say it's going to rain really heavily for about 24 hrs from midday ... time for indoor work so I shall get the spinning wheel out into the living room and begin. There's lots of white wool I need to spin for dying and that'll be fun too if I get some done and it's still raining.

I've got ideas for jumpers using a mix of natural-colour Shetland wool with the brightly dyed Ryland in one or two diagonal stripes - can see it in my mind's eye. Yes, a good afternoon doing something different that I've not done for several months because of the knees ... :-)

The pic gives an idea of the colours I love.

Knees, hospitat, Spinning & stuff !!!

Hospital today at 15.30, always difficult and a strain although they are mostly very nice in there. It's a new hospital, opened only abut 5 yrs ago, but the design is abysmal! there are lots of clinics that have no windows and only air conditioning, very enclosed, dark-feeling, generally unpleasant. Humans are not supposed to be troglodytes !!! My blood pressure usually goes up slightly when I have to go in.

But it all went pretty well. I don't have MRSA so they can operate, got lots of advice about exercising befreo the op to build up my quads ... and this includes spinning !!! Wheeeeeeeee !!! I have a double tredle Ashford wheel (the Kiwi - see pic on left) so both legs get exercised equally and it works the quads. I've also just been given 4 Shetland fleeces. and last Samhain Fion gave em a present of 2 more, one of which is a Shetland/Merino cross, absolutely fabulous. and there's an enormous load of white Ryland that needs spinning up for dyeing. Plenty to do *g*. My knees will hurt but we'll live, it'll be fun, I need the wool and it's good for my legs. The pic on the right is one of the Shetlands whose fleece I'll be spinning.

I went on to the diabetes clinic to see if they needed to tell me anything and to tell them when the first knee op is to be. MInor shock here - the senior nurse say they won't operate if my blood/sugar is out of control. I'm going to have to work really hard at my diet! Not too difficult right now as the garden is full of lovely stuff. No sugar !!! And try to stay down on the steroids but that will really be difficult if I'm spinning as well as gardening. the knees, especially the right, are so painful I want to shoot myself! I go for an HBA1C blood test on Wed, then to see the senior nurse asap after that. She's promised to help me get the B/S sorted.

I've also changed my desk-chair to a real orthopaedic one - feels very odd still but that's just about getting used to it. It is making me sit up better.

Stuff ... I'm now nervous in case the won't operate if the B/S isn't well enough under control !!! You have to laugh ... a few months back I was terrified to let them operate. However, it relaly does make a difference having a surgeon I feel complete trust in. Whatever ... I shall hoik the wheel out later and get carding that Ryland wool, then to get my spinning fingers back again :-) ... it's all go LOL

Concertina Fingerless Gloves

These are the gloves I made from looking at my friend's pattern. They have a thumb with no end and no fingers but come down over the knuckles.

The pattern is really simple - once you can knit on 4 needles :-). Get the number of stitches that fits around your wrist - don't make it too large, remember wool stretches! It'll probably be around 36-is sitches for double-knit thickess of wool. then it's kit 4 rows, purl 4 rows, alternately untill you get to where you want the thumb - keep trying it on to find this.

At the thumb you have to take off and hold the stitches for the thumb-round. this will be about 10 stitches. You may need a bit of trial-n-error on this, just give it go. put the rest of the stiches on a holder and leave while you knit the thumb-round - you can do this straight and sew it together after, or fiddle around on the 4 needles. I tend to be a fiddler!

When the thumb is done go back to the main bulk of the stitches and continue knit/purl alternation untill the glove is as long as you want it. Finish on a knit row so it lies down on your hand comfortably.

Cast off, sew in the ends, and follow the pattern you've now made for yourself to do the other glove.

I use lots of different colours as I'm a bit of a colour-freak, but you can do lovely subtle patterns too. I intend to do this with the leg warmers and more gloves using the natural colours of the Shetland fleeces, perhaps interspersed with some bright colour too.

And I like knitting socks !!!

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Went to M's yesterday to choose fleeces for spinning, dyeing, knitting, weaving ... M has a lovely small flock of Shetland sheep - perhaps the best wool in the world along with Merino. This is a one of the girls whose fleece I'll be using this winter.
Shetland sheep are naturally coloured and I'll be using that but I also dye some of the wool, often bright colours, for contrast. M would like a jumper with a mix of natural and dyed wool.



We also got some muck while we were there. "Muck" is cow manure. M's is super-special as she has a biodynamic smallholding and so uses the preps on her land and in the muck heap. She also a combination of the compost preps in the deep litter that she overwinters the cattle in through Nov-Feb. This helps the muck begin to compost and vastly reduces any smell ... not that there's any unpleasant odour as M is orgtanic/biodynamic and so her beasts are fed properly, their innards work and they don't do nasty-smelling poo !!!
This is Paul working the muck into the bed. I'll be planting a very late crop of swede, turnip & kale in the bed.

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