What I'm Spinning

Here's what I'm working on (when the parts come):

80% Merino, 20% Tussah Silk (spun, plied, delivered)

100% Polwarth (waiting for parts)

100% Blue Faced Leicester (just waiting)


75% Blue Face Leicester, 25% Tussah Silk (next in line)


50% Merino, 50% Cultivated Silk (the next one)



100% Silk (the last one!)

I can't wait to get the parts!

A Real Spinner at Last!

I've had my spinning wheel at least nine years, and I finally feel like a real spinner: I have to replace parts!

I'm making some yarn for my aunts, and some of it is silk, which I have never spun. So I asked Lisa, who dyed the fiber, for advice. She said (among other things) that I should tighten the brake. Which meant I had to find out which part is the brake (I'm a really well-schooled spinner!). And I found out that mine is worn out, so I ordered a replacement, which arrived in a couple days, and I went on spinning some BFL. When I finished, I started some Polwarth; there was a horrible noise, and the treadle broke off the part that moves the wheel (really well-schooled, I'd say). So I had to order a footman to treadle connector; in fact, I ordered two (I hate ordering on the internet!), and, while I was at it, I ordered a spare drive belt. Are there any more breakable/replaceable parts on this thing?

Anyway, here it is a quiet, gloomy Sunday, and I can't spin until sometime next week when the parts arrive. I guess I'll have to read . . . .

Timing

It's not the number of times Barbara wakes me up at night; it's the intervals. Last night I was reading in bed. I turned the light out at 1:00 am. She called me at about 2:00 am. And 20 minutes to 4. And just after 6. And about 7. And at 8, when she wanted to get up.

I figure it takes a minimum of 10 minutes for me to fall asleep again. Each call takes about 15 minutes. So last night, I slept for 5 hours, 20 minutes, interrupted four times.

No wonder I'm cranky. And tired.

Oh, by the way: since she came upstairs at 8, she's been sleeping. I haven't.