Evilsciencechick » fiberporn

Tourless joy stealing

ESC — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 03:39:36 +0000

Soooooooo yeah…what’s going ON?

Yeah, I have nothing to post about now that the tour is over. I am not going to start talking about current events, because frankly, whenever I start even THINKING about current events, I just get the urge to march up to washington dc and grab every single politician, democrat and republican and just SHAKE THEM AND SHAKE THEM AND SHAKE THEM AND SCREAM WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE CAN YOU JUST PULL YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES FOR ONE MINUTE AND TRY TO SAVE THIS COUNTRY YOU PATHETIC WASTES OF HUMAN EXISTENCE????

But I am ALREADY on blood pressure medicine and really, aren’t there enough websites doing the “yell pointlessly at politicians” thing already?

Instead I just keep spinning, just keep spinning, just keep spinning, spinning, spinning…

Sorry, Finding Nemo was just on the other day…

I was on a roll until I couldn’t keep the yarn from breaking to save my life. After the millionth time, I decided it was time to step away.

Well how is work going?

I have made PROGRESS on projects at work, which is GOOD, finally. It’s frustrating to be working on Big Projects where your PROGRESS is reliant on other people to do a good part of it, and…well…they don’t. Or they do it very….slowly….and you just want to MARCH OVER THERE AND SHAKE…

I mean…send politely worded emails reminding them of their duties.

*snicker*

duties…

MOSTLY I work with very awesome people, and really, can you ask for better than that? Nothing sucks all the fun out of life quicker than working with irritating joy-vampires. Ask me how I know.

But if you could please aim any job-finding mojo you have towards my husband, that would be great. Kev’s job ended abruptly and unexpectedly not long after I started my current job. Because the universe won’t tolerate us both being employed for any reasonable length of time. Hopefully he’ll find something soon.

I mean, COME ON…who WOULDN’T want to hire him??

He’s here to reset your network login.

I leave you with a picture of my very sleepy dog. It’s a rough life for a dog out there.

Post tour shenanigans

ESC — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:52:16 +0000

The tour is over! I made it! I spun nearly every day and I busted through a good bit of stash. Let’s review, shall we?

Look at all that!

And what do I have to show for it, besides all that nice yarn?

Well, I’d like to think I’ve improved my technique. I’m really liking long draw, and I think I’m getting better results with it than I did with my previous method. I’d like to do more spinning from the fold, so maybe after I finish up with the merino tencel, I’ll pick something fluffy to spin next.

What else? Well, some battle scars:

A groove and scorch on my flyer, and a blister and callus on my big toe.

And the spinning continues. Not as much as I wanted to today, because I was feeling a bit…*cough* delicate today…

Why was I feeling so poorly?

Parrrrr-tay:

Ohhhhhh yeaaaaaaahhhhhh…

Day 22 – going the distance

ESC — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 05:02:52 +0000

Today we had a full day planned. Lunch out, followed by a quick trip to the international farmer’s market, and ending with the last Harry Potter movie.

Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, as they say. By the time we got to the theater, the movie was sold out. Dammit! Spent too long at the market. The farmer’s market is a little…busy on Saturdays. Which I knew, of course. I knew. I should have gone after work on Friday, but I didn’t. I figured I just needed a few things, so it wouldn’t be that bad.

Ugh.

Don’t go on a Saturday. Ever. If you can help it. They’re like animals there. ANIMALS! And I become one of them. OUT OF MY WAY, KIDS! I NEED RED PEPPERS!!!!

I needed to go, though, to pick up ingredients to make some mango slaw for a party we’re going to tomorrow. A PARTY! Kev and I will be socializing! With PEOPLE! People I work with!

Uhh…risky!

I tend towards not mixing work and not-work time. Of course, that’s because I’m always a contractor. I don’t want to get too attached to people, because it’s not a permanent situation. Like I’m a foster puppy!

THEORETICALLY this job will become permanent. Eventually. At some point.

This is me. Holding my breath.

*sigh*

ANYWAY…

Actually, my biggest anxiety about this party is that I will have to introduce people to Kevin, and I’m probably supposed to know their names, and I AM TERRIBLE WITH NAMES, especially names of people I should DAMN WELL KNOW because I work with them, but only actually SEE once in a while. This is when I wish work email was like facebook and had PICTURES in people’s profiles.

My only hope is impressing them with my MAD SLAW SKILLZ. Thus, the mango slaw.

With spicy dressing!

It’s pretty good, especially after it sits overnight and all the flavors meld together. It’s spicy and sweet and delicious. Tomorrow before we leave I’ll grab some mint from the pot outside, and this will be ready to go.

ALSO I bought drinks. DRINKS! Alcohol smooths over much social awkwardness.

I did manage to find some time to spin today.

That’s 1 bobbin done. Unfortunately Sunday is the last day of the tour, and we’re going to that party. So I don’t think I’m going to be able to do the entire second bobbin and also ply. SO this is going to be a Tour straggler.

SHE’S GOING THE DISTANCE! SHE’S GOING FOR SPEED! SHE’S ALL ALONE (ALL ALONE!) IN HER TIME OF NEED!

Now get THAT out of your head!

Day 21 – did I black out or what???

ESC — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:13:54 +0000

Every morning I wake up Sadie so that she can eat breakfast and go out for her morning constitutional. Every morning I get the GLARE OF DEATH from her, because bitch is LAZY. Well, she’s 13, so I guess I can cut her some slack. But seriously, I’ve been getting the GLARE OF DEATH from her every morning for years. It’s pretty funny.

“If you call me Sleeping Beauty one more time, I will poop in your shoes.”

Since it’s not fair that I took pictures to show off how rough my poor, abused dog looks in the morning, I took a quick picture of me.

Of course, I had benefit of makeup. Though I think I need to start wearing lipstick more often.

No post yesterday because it was knit night and I worked on the baby blanket instead of spin. So NO DAY 20! I know you’re all disappointed.

Today was CHALLENGE DAY on the tour, so I decided my challenge would be to finish off the silk hanky that damaged my flyer last week. I finished spinning all 0.3oz of the hanky.

And then I thought, well, that’s not SO much of a challenge, since I had already started it last week. So how about I try my hand at navajo plying? Basically you make a 3 ply out of a single bobbin. I haven’t ever tried it before, so that should be a nice challenge.

SUCCESS! Though let me say, when you navajo ply, it seems like your yarn is more prone to snapping. And when silk snaps. you have no real good way of attaching it back together again. And when you CAN get it back together, it’s difficult to remake the loop and resume plying again.

Pain. In. The. Ass.

But there wasn’t much of it, so it didn’t take long.

It’s a tiiiiiiny little skein

61 yards from a 0.3oz hanky

Day 19 – Distracti….OOOO SHINY!

ESC — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:19:46 +0000

I feel so distracted lately. I’m having a hard time focusing on things before my mind starts to wander – and it’s not wandering anywhere productive or useful. It’s downright irritating. That combined with complete lack of energy and other weird things going on physically…let’s just say…I was…concerned.

Thank god for SCIENCE. My…concerns were unfounded.

But that means I’m distracted and annoyed for no good reason. Humph. Come on, brain. Get with the program.

Spinning helps – it’s meditative. The rhythm of pedaling the wheel is soothing and it really helps to clear the mind. No distracting thoughts, no anxieties, no brain wandering into pointless directions. Just the feel of the soft fiber in my hand, pulling through my fingers, keeping careful watch on the twist as I keep a steady rhythm with my foot…and focus. It’s a mental relief.

Why do I spin yarn? What’s the point when you can go into any craft or yarn store and buy yarn of every kind and price point imaginable? This. This is why I do it.

Wow. Deep. You’re boring.

Who let you in here? Shut up.

FINE! Not everyone is into it. You don’t have to be. But you probably have something you do that clears your mind and helps you relax. If you do you can start your own damn blog and post about THAT.

Damn punk ass kids!

I’ll just post my picture and you can go back to looking at porn or kitties or kitty porn or WHATEVER valuable thing you were doing with your time.

It’s got a bit of shimmer in it that’s difficult to see in pictures. It really is lovely.

Day 18 – Halloween in July

ESC — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:12:47 +0000

What is in the air this week? My eyes bugging the crap out of me – red and itchy and URGH! all day, in spite of drops and allergy pills and such. I look like shit. Like I’ve been smoking CRACK!

Note: I’ve never actually met anyone who’s smoked crack, so this observation is based SOLELY on some episodes of Law and Order I saw once. And my best guess. I’m sure smoking crack has other effects besides red eyes. Twitchiness? Or maybe that’s meth. This is what happens when you get a job and can’t watch the Law and Order marathon during weekday afternoons. USEFUL INFORMATION LOST FROM MY BRAIN FOREVER!

Today was not a total wash, though. We had EXCITEMENT and DRAMA at the office! It was quiet and boring until someone rounded the corner by my desk and asked me “ARE THEY COMING AROUND THE BUILDING YET? THEY WERE WALKING THIS WAY!!!!” And I thought WOW I’m not the only one smoking crack around here!

HAHAHA! Just kidding.

No, actually I wondered if someone important had shown up and if maybe I should have worn nicer shoes. But NO! It was not people. It was a deer! And her two babies! Here’s my shitty phone pic taken through our tinted office windows:

One of the fawns – you can see the other to the right of the shrubbery at the top.

Someone tried to shoo them away from the road, and managed to separate the doe and one fawn from the other fawn on opposite sides of the fence. NICE ONE. So for the rest of the day, I was distracted by DEER WATCH 2011. I don’t know if mama and baby were ever reunited – I’m assuming so, because deer aren’t THAT stupid and it’s not a very big fence.

But you did not come here for adorable baby deer. You came here for a spinning update, right?

Hey, where are you going???

I decided to pick something that would be fun. So I decided on some 50% superwash merino/50% tencel from Knitwitch in the All Hallows Eve colorway. I got it as part of their christmas gift in the swap we did at last year’s christmas party. I don’t have a good picture of it, but here is a shitty, blurry photo of me at the party with satanic eyes and the fiber shoved down my top:

You know…as you do…

It’s nice stuff. It spins up nicely, too.

Niiiice!

Day 17

ESC — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:04:33 +0000

I skeined up the BFL I finished yesterday.

306ish yards of a respectable sport-like weight

It’s beautiful and I love it. I want to wrap it around my head and call it smooshy.

Still gun-shy from the wheel-scorching silk, I reached into my bag and pulled out the last thing I put aside for the Tour…the dyed locks.

sigh…

It’s not going well. OH well, into every spinner’s life, a little clown barf will fall. At least I tried.

Now let us never speak of this again!

Tomorrow I will dig into the stash and pull out something fun to spin – like some KnitWitch merino/tencel, perhaps?

Day 16 – in the sunshine

ESC — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:42:58 +0000

My goal of not having to put on a bra and leave the house today was a total SUCCESS! I sent Kevin out to get food for lunch and all it cost me was a few bucks. MONEY WELL SPENT, I tell you. Today was so nice I’m tempted to call in sick tomorrow.

I won’t, though. *sigh*

What made today extra nice was the weather. July is usually a month of 95+ degree weather and lung-sucking humidity. This weekend has been a rare gem in that it’s been MERELY in the upper 80s and low humidity, making being outside A JOY rather than a cruel tortuous chore.

Many people might take this opportunity to something outdoorsy – like go for a picnic, or take a hike in the woods. But that would involve effort and work and putting on a bra and remember, those are things that I wanted to avoid today. So instead I lugged the spinning wheel out to the balcony, poured myself a tall, icy glass of cold lemonade and made a day out of spinning and listening to the 8th Dresden files audiobook.

With minimal bribes (bacon flavored dog treats), Sadie spent the time with me, too, keeping careful eye on the birds and squirrels that passed through.

Fresh air must make me spin faster, because before I knew it, I had finished spinning the BFL I started last night.

And then quickly turned the singles into a brightly colored 2-ply:

Not sure of the yardage yet, but I’m pretty happy with what I got.

I wish I had more time to enjoy this weather, but it’s back to the grind tomorrow. Hopefully this week will be better than last!

Day…what day is it? 15? Geez…

ESC — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 04:31:51 +0000

Today was too nice a day to be stuck inside spinning. It’s a rare day in Atlanta when a July day is NOT a sweltering 90+ degrees. Today it was only in the upper 80s, and we enjoyed the day by having a nice lunch on the patio of one our regular places, and then spending a couple hours at the pool. Well, I did, anyway. Kev is not so much a pool guy, so he enjoyed the day after lunch by watching Netflix and taking a nap.

I’d be more judgy, but when I got in from the pool, I took a nap, too. Napping is what weekends were MADE for!

I did get around to spinning, though. I decided to take a break from the silk. I have been assured that wearing a groove into the flyer of your wheel is not unusual, and older wheels tend to show this kind of damage. Not scorch marks, though. That pretty much stunned everyone into silence, then high fives. YOU BURNED YOUR WHEEL! HIGH FIVE! I’ll bet that dumbass know-it-all spinner dude from RAVELRY never spun so fast he scorched his wheel! (yeah, YOU know who I mean).

So yeah, taking a break from the silk. Instead I pulled out a braid from Gale’s Art (shut up, I like her fiber, OK??? IT’S NOT STALKING IF I’M ONLY BUYING EVERYTHING SHE MAKES!). It’s her Blue Face Swirl, which is a base of white and dark BFL blended together, then dyed, giving it a swirled light/dark look.

The colorway is Sizzle

I just started spinning it. It’s clear that I’ve been spending too much time spinning silk or things with silk blended in, because I keep snapping the yarn as I spin from pulling it out too thinly. Whoops!

One of the draw backs of my single treadle wheel is that one leg does all the work. And that leg is starting to feel the burn of spinning every day – even after taking two days off. FEEL THE BURN! After the Tour is over, I’ll expect to have a ROCK HARD right leg, and soft squishy left leg.

And you thought I couldn’t get any sexier.

BONUS SADIE PICTURE

I do not want to play today

Day 12 – I don’t know my own strength

ESC — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 04:07:36 +0000

I skeined up the plied yarn from yesterday and got this:

480 yards of brown wool silk awesomeness

I could not be happier with how this turned out. It is a gorgeous tweedy and soft yarn, I’m guessing worsted weight. I am going to have to pick a special project for this yarn, because OH YES, I will definitely be knitting with it.

I decided to go for a challenge today and got out the silk hankie I bought at SAFF a few years back. After watching a couple youtube videos, I felt pretty confident that I could handle it.

But first, I exfoliated the CRAP out of my hands using a sugar scrub. Silk snags on the tiniest bit of skin and I want my hands to be smoooooth as a baby’s bum before I tackled this project. Then I started to spin.

Niiiiiiice!

Pretty good, right? Occasionally the yarn got too thin and snapped, and I had to rejoin and start. Rejoining is tricky with silk, I learned.

It was during one of these rejoining attempts that I noticed something. There was a mark I hadn’t seen before on my flier. A dark mark…textured…like…there was a groove being worn into the wood…

Oh. Shit.

I SCORCHED MY FUCKING FLYER WITH MY MAD SILK SPINNING SKILLZ!!!!

Anyone have a solution for this? Because I’m really liking how the silk is spinning and I don’t want to stop!