Double Whammy

I'm not pregnant, before any of you ask.  I checked, and it looks like a solid "No" on all counts.

The morning started out inconspicuously enough.  I was to attend a course downtown at the Municipal Building about Excel.  I was even looking forward to it.  About 45 minutes into the class, I started to feel very unwell.  Luckily I was sitting at the back of the classroom and I decided a trip to the bathroom was in order.  I felt even worse after being in their, so I decided to cut my losses and just leave.  I passed the instructor in the hall, let him know that I was very sorry, but I was feeling very ill and didn't want to interrupt his class any more than I had, and I had to go home.  I was really enjoying the class, too.

That's when it really all started.  I'll spare you the gory details, but let's just say that being sick in a public building (City Hall, no less) is very demoralizing, depressing and embarassing.  Having a security guard knock on your stall door and ask if you are alright as you are tossing your cookies is horrible (she was very nice about it, though)

So, here I am, hoping whatever this is passes soon.  If you are going to be sick, I highly recommend not doing it in a public building.  Even getting sick at work would have been less humiliating.

Do Ladybugs herald the beginning of Spring?

As the title states, does the arrival of ladybugs herald the beginning of Spring?  I think it does:

Every Ladybug wheel has a ladybug hidden on it somewhere.  Mine is on the left rear leg.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I have acquired a spinning wheel.  A Schacht Ladybug to be exact.  Purchased from Cal at Shuttleworks, with the lazy kate included.

Just got home!

Lazy kate and treadles assembled

Ready to go!

Assembly seemed simple enough (I am equipped with a very handy husband) and I was ready to start spinning.  I had bought some Coopworth and some Shetland at Shuttleworks, and opted to start with the Coopworth.  Keep in mind, I have done some spindle spinning, so I had a notion of how the whole shebang worked.  I understood pre-drafting.  It was the uptake I couldn't get right.  After much frustration on my part (hubby was cool as a damn cucumber), and much youtube watching, we got it!

I present you with my spun yarn, hubby's spun yarn (also Coopworth) and some smaller singles I started making :)  The Coopworth is a natural oatmeal colour, and probably about a worsted to bulky weight.

My first wheel spun yarn!

Hubby's first-ever yarn!

Thinner singles!  Superwash merino in Botanica from The Sweet Sheep!

And, not to be left out, remember the spindle shots from earlier?  Well, it finally got full, and I couldn't spin any more on it.  So here is my one-of-a-kind, thick and thin singles.

Pre-washing

Post washing.  I don't think I smacked it enough, there are some overspun parts still.  I guess we'll see how that plays out.

Remember the lone mitten?  He has a fraternal brother!  They are made with Noro, that's all I remember.

I've been really busy.  Sure, my house is messy, but look at all the fibre love!

Two posts in one month?

April has been a pretty busy month for me.  I went to Lloydminster for the Recreation Facility Personnel Conference.  I was glad to have the opportunity to have gone.  I attended some pretty good sessions, mostly about leadership, as I would like to develop that side of myself, as I am not a "natural" leader, and have to work at it.  I got a lot of good ideas.  There was a "fun" session, where you got to sign up for a fieldtrip of sorts.  Instead of the spa or wine tasting, I opted for a Hutterite colony tour.  The pie was awesome (bought one to take home!), the coffee was tasty, and the tour was amazing.  The ladies that were giving us the tour were very informative, answering questions about baptisms, courtship, education and daily life on the colony.  One of our tour guides took us to her home.

Hutterites don't have kitchens in their homes.  They have a mini fridge, an electric skillet and a coffee maker, but all the proper meals are eaten communally in the large dining area.  Adults eat seperately from the children.  At 15, children "graduate" to the adult room.  There were no books that I could see in the house, as well as no radio or TV.  Their furniture is all hand made, as are their houses.  The workmanship is amazing, definitely not the disposable, mass produced pieces that are so common in our "outsider" culture.

We were fortunate enough to arrive at the end of the school day.  The elementary teacher (Grades 1, 2 and 3) is from the outside, hired by the Hutterites.  She shared her experience in teaching the children.  Hutterite teenagers graduate from school the day before they turn 15, regardless of school year reached.  The teachers are encouraged to push them as far as they can in terms of learning.  On this particular colony, the only audio/visual aids the teacher is allowed to use are the following:  Videos that deal with a specific safety issue the kids might face in the colony (ie, fire safety), and the only music that is allowed is a CD of a particular song so that the children understand how the song is supposed to sound (teacher can't carry a tune).  These aids are only allowed if the teacher approaches the colony and gives specific reasons why this should be allowed.  She says the children are wonderful to teach.

The tour was a wonderful experience and a glimpse into communal life.

Spring has not quite sprung (yet!)

Despite the fact that it is already almost a week into April, our weather hasn't quite caught up.  We received a large dump of snow over the weekend, but I've come to expect erratic weather and try to accept is as a fact of life.

I thought I would take advantage of today's sunshine and milder temperatures (+5C!) to go outside and take a few pictures of the lastest projects.

Today, I have for you a mitten and some spinning.

This is my first ever attempt at a mitten.  It is knit in Noro Silk Garden, which is Silk, kid mohair and lamb's wool.  It's mate is almost done, but due to the nature of the long colour changes in Noro, they will be fraternal twins, which suits me just fine.  Before you say it, I know the thumb is a little wonky, thanks to using DPNs which were too large for the thumb.  Live and learn.

This mitten has not yet been blocked.  I will block both when I am done and photograph them together.

Here is my first attempt at spinning.  I took a drop spindle class at Make 1 in November, and purchased this roving and spindle at that time.  I picked up the spindle again to get myself back into the rhythm of drafting the fibres, figuring out how much fibre makes what thickness of yarn.  It is a learning process for sure, as you can see by my not on purpose thick and thin yarn.  However, I love these colours together, and still have quite a bit of fibre left to spin.  What I'm not sure of is what to do once my spindle is full and the fibre is all gone.  I know I'll need to get myself a niddy-noddy, but I'm not sure what to DO.  I'll have to figure that out soon, I guess.

Without further ado, this is fibre from Sweet Georgia in the Snapdragon colourway.

I'm off to Lloydminster for a conference mid-April, and I'm told there is nary a craft store to be found, so much of my spare time will be spent knitting and spinning, I'm sure.  Did I mention that I am being carpooled up there?  And I'm not driving?  That's prime knitting time!  I'll have to load up my ravelry with patterns so I can take them up on my netbook with me!