Purple People Eater Progress

Day 116: Like many of you, I am just trying to stay afloat right now, treading water as I watch the ship sinking, too exhausted to swim, and hoping I won't get caught in the suction as it goes to the bottom. To give myself hope of survival (an illusion, perhaps), I am clinging to the flotsam of normalcy by spinning, weaving, loving Merry, who knows but does not understand why his mama is radiating upset. Picking up on my emotional state, he acts out in reaction, getting on counters, getting into things, including my Purple People Eater wool. I caught him before he'd eaten any of it (at least I hope he hadn't), but he had so thoroughly pawed through the combed top that it might as well have just come off a purple sheep. Fortunately, the piece was only the last foot or so of the ounce, and I was able to spin it, albeit slowly and carefully to keep it smooth. How he got the lid off the freezer container I had it stored in is anybody's guess! He's too clever by half.

Purple People Eater

Day 85: In 1958, Sheb Wooley released a novelty song called, "The Purple People Eater." It went straight to the top of the charts, and stayed there for six weeks (a phenomenon in those days). It became my all-time favourite song, so when I found a blended Corriedale top colorway called "Purple People Eater," I simply had to spin some. It's not quite as purple as you might expect from the name, but spun off the fold, it is producing a wonderful tweedy effect as the colours shade into each other. Spinning from the fold (i.e., bending a staple length of fiber over your finger and drawing it into the wheel from the mid-point) creates a yarn which is neither true worsted nor true woollen, although it is closer to a worsted by virtue of the fibers remaining straight for most of their length. The crimp created by drawing the fiber from the center point gives a bit of loft which, although not as "fluffy" as woollen, still makes a softer yarn. You might say that spinning from the fold is the best of both worlds, with advantages derived from both woollen and worsted methods.

Downy Purple People Eater

Day 128: By tomorrow night, I will have logged 400 miles in the Park's winter Fitness Challenge, and I'm not about to let 20° F. and snowy weather slow me down. I'm taking my exercise in two forms: walking and riding a stationary bicycle, and the time I've devoted to each is roughly equal.

In the Fitness Challenge, different forms of exercise have different aerobic values. Riding the exercycle for 16 minutes is the aerobic equivalent of one walking mile despite the fact that the bike's built-in odometer may show a total of 5 miles travelled in that time. My walking pace is approximately 15 minutes per mile...makes sense when you think of it that way. Of course, I prefer walking outdoors to riding indoors, but lately, it's been a bit brisk. These last few days, I've dipped into my old climbing gear for a silk balaclava to protect my face from the cold and two layers of long johns (wool and polypro) which I wear underneath a down-filled shell. If you see the Purple People Eater marching down the road, don't bother offering me a ride!