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Blergh. I think I'm coming down with a cold. Actually, I hoped to be well in its grips by now so that I would already be on the upswing early next week. Now I'm hoping that it's not going to be much of anything and that by Monday this will not even be a memory because I'll be so busy.
I have been doing a bit here and there. I've finished spinning what I would guess (ripped it in half and then that half in half, but no weighing, so, whatever) is about one-quarter of the fiber I started yesterday. I think I might even have some nice yarn when I'm done, but there's still a long way to go. My knitting isn't much to show. When I'm not working on the Featherweight Wrap to knit, I'm off in Mochimochiland, and as it is there unwritten, "Some assembly required." Oh, yeah, I need to find the rest of the pieces before I can begin assembly. Ahem. But maybe some medication is in order first.
Yeah, I'm spinning. I needed to give the fixes on the EEW5 a go, and there's no other way to really do that than to spin. I'm trying to follow through on what I learned in my Stupendous Singles class, so it's all kinds of new around here. Maybe mixing together so many new elements isn't a good idea, but there you go. It's not going super-great thus far, but I'm just going to keep going and hope for the best. I really like this special fiber, and I want to make some nice yarn.
I loved my first Electric Eel Wheel, (the fourth version) and I love my EEW5 even more. However, hiccups happened, but most were resolved quickly. One issue I faced along with other spinners, was that of wearing. Those spinning thinner yarn at a higher speed seemed to come across this issue more frequently. I noticed that it was happening on mine, but kept going, because I knew it would be fine for a while, and I wanted to keep spinning. Replacing hooks could be a bit of a patch, but not a good longterm fix, and that wasn't the only part with the wearing. The Ravelry group is great, and following the example of others, I used wire to wrap the hooks and other parts, and that helped, but again, it was a patch. It didn't stop me from spinning, and I have already spun wonderful yarn on my EEW5. I kept peeking in on the EEW group on Ravelry from time to time and knew they had been working on a solution. Maurice spent a lot of time problem-solving, and I received an email the other day to let me know that the replacement parts were ready. Now it is time to apply the fix.
Yes, once again, it's National Spinning and Weaving Week. That seems like as good a time as any to make a plan, but first I'll show a bit of my spinning and weaving from this year. I played with cotton for a bit. I had an idea and read in my books to try making it happen. Then I sampled. What? Yeah, it was the right thing to do, and I'm glad I did it. I'm not too disappointed with the results and feel that I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do differently. Then I returned to spinning the cotton singles. It is not my favorite to spin, though I do feel a sense of accomplishment when I do spin cotton. Anyway, the plan is to spin more of the textured cotton yarn and weave with it.
Then, I got into the silk hankies and spun some more. I had plans for weaving with them, but I don't think what I have right now will work. I have other hankies that I might be able to add to this pile and then maybe I can.
The other spinning was a getting-to-know-you spin for my Electric Eel Wheel 5. I do love that little machine. Anyway, I grabbed eight ounces of wool and spun for ages. The plying was a breeze. Plying on an e-wheel is wonderful. Winding off the skein nearly did me in, but I made it, and it seems like I made some decent yarn. I was proud that I only had a small amount of singles leftover on one bobbin to ply back on itself, so maybe I am improving.
As for weaving, I got out the inkle loom and tablet weaving cards and book and played a bit. It was about time, as I bought the cards and book a few years ago, and they mostly just sat all that time. Anyway, I now have some new lanyards and a bit of experience with tablet weaving.
The other weaving was a birthday gift for my niece. She loves little blankets for covering dolls, stuffed animals, and pets. So I made a long, random, textured warp on the Ashford and wove the blankies for her. I'm pleased to learn that she has been using them, so I consider it a success.
Now for the plan--I want to try out my new 15 d.p.i. reed for my Ashford rigid heddle loom. I have an idea but do not know if it will work, but I am ready to try. My other plan is to weave some towels on the Cricket because I need more. As for the spinning, I don't have a real plan, other than to spin some. I could return to the cotton, or maybe try something new. Who knows? So, what's your plan for the week?
Once upon a time, maybe about six months ago, there was a bit of enabling. I saw an interesting Kickstarter campaign, was feeling rather lousy, a bit of encouragement from Bruce, and then I promptly forgot about it until summer when there was a project update. Still, the incentive was not to arrive for a bit, so it flitted back out of my brain. Then, the updates were more frequent, and soon the shipping had begun. I checked in on the Rav group to read first impressions and troubleshooting. I began to get a little excited, but mine was to be in the last shipment. Then life got in the way, but I look forward to getting to know my Electric Eel Wheel. I have spent a little bit of time trying it out, but there might need to be a bit of sanding here and there. Getting right with the tension might take some time. Reading what other people have found helpful has been good. I just need to spend some time working on it and with it.
