And a wonderful one, too! Saturday and Sunday, ALL day, BOTH days, I sat spinning with seven women in a workshop taught by Celia Quinn. It was a Comprehensive Spinning Workshop. We were given nearly 6 dozen different fiber samples to spin. Some familiar, some not. Some carded, some raw. Some in roving. Natural and man made, animal and vegetable. We spun each sample using different techniques, discovering what worked best for that fiber and what felt right. From the end and the fold, long draw and short. Sometime Saturday afternoon, I discovered something I didn’t know about myself. I found that I had been using the long draw with my left hand for some fibers and always with my spindle and my right hand for others. If I hadn’t sat next to a lefty, joking about handedness and space needed to keep from whacking one another, I might not have noticed. Interesting the way we learn to accommodate and do what comes natural. Celia passed out little taklis (tiny metal spindles). Fast little buggers for spinning the cotton samples. I hadn’t used a supported spindle before. I will now. She demonstrated the chakra. We used two different types of distaffs with flax, then spun it from the fold without. The two days went fast, a whirlwind tour of fiber possibilities. And, I have a bunch of new tools.
In the evenings, I’ve knitted on Clapotis. Time for knitting is short now. By the middle of the week I’ll be on elf duty. At last count, I have more than a hundred assorted sized wreath bows to tie next week. It’ll cramp my knitting time and my hands.
I can’t seem to get the color right in these pictures.
The yarn sitting on Clapotis isn’t the Artisan 2 ply that I’m using, it is the sock yarn I dyed in the same color way. I don’t know what I was thinking when I took the shot. Here’s the yarn.
11 responses to “a “me” weekend”
So fun, and the yarn is gorgeous.
I chair a fundraiser, we sell wreaths and I always feel badly for the girls tying the several hundred bows that go with them. They must have claws for hands.
Sounds like it was a great weekend (and I’m wondering what new tools you came home with?)
And isn’t it grand- that after all these years of spinning, there are still new discoveries to be made!
The yarn is lovely-
I am so envious. That sounds like a fabulous weekend.
I don’t see the colorway up on your website. Can I buy a skein in the sock yarn? It’s lovely!
I’ll be knitting serial Judysocks.
What a fantastic-sounding class. CQ always has something new and wonderful to teach!
OK – deep breath. Holidays will be gone in another month. Hang in there.
Celia Quinn was my very first teacher….at a pre-Rhinebeck workshop I just stumbled into! Where was your workshop? I’m glad to see that she’s teaching again…she sort of disappeared for a while. I really think that Celia and Judith are the only two spinners I could take a class from at this point…yours sounded wonderful!
What a fabulous sounding class!! I would love to take a class like that someday!
Beautiful weekend, beautiful Clapotis! Too bad about the elf duty, but OH the smell of fresh pine…
Truly beautiful yarn! I used to tie bows this time of year when I was working for Michael’s; I don’t envy you a bit.
I second Laurie’s request if you re-dye this colorway. Ouch on making all those bows- my arthritic thumbs would scream.
And after all that I never commented on your clapotis- in short it’s gorgeous! 🙂
Pretty Clapotis! I like the colourway.