"Diz" Is Not A Scrabble Word

Day 176: "Diz" is not a valid Scrabble word. I checked, and yet anyone who has done much fiber blending for spinning probably has at least one diz in their tool kit, and knows it by that name. Essentially, a diz can be any object with a hole in it, through which carded fiber can be pulled to form top. And while we're having a vocabulary lesson, I should explain that "top" is preparation in which the fibers are parallel, smoother than roving. Top can be made from roving by carding it and pulling it through a diz. See? We've come full circle and are back to "diz" again." It was convenient that this gauge included three different sizes of holes for dizzing. I'm using the smallest to prepare my "Ice Caves" blend for the supported spindle because it's easier to see when I have a heavier bit of blue bamboo fiber coming up. When it does, I may want to take extra care to spread out into the white wool. The sheep gauge is easier to use than the hole in the top of a key, but that also makes a handy diz. A curved diz (made, perhaps, from a piece of PVC pipe) gives a bit more protection for your fingers where they might scrape against the carder teeth, and curved dizzes are available from various suppliers. Nevertheless, Scrabble aficionados will swear that "diz" is not a valid word. Goes to show how much THEY know about the subject!

Home Sweet Home

Day 175: The lease has been signed! A few days ago, a solitary Tree Swallow checked out the housing situation briefly. Today, the activity level increased substantially, to the extent, I believe, of a few sticks of furnishings being moved into the House of Chirp. The phone line has been alive with a flurry of conversations, so full of chatter that even the Porch Parrots' resonant "CHURP!s" are drowned out by the gossip. On the other end of the wall, Pussywillow Cottage is still up for rent, better protected from starlings and squirrels than it has been in years past. Whether it draws any interest from prospective tenants remains to be seen.

Evidence Of Spring

Day 174: Evidence of the changing season is beginning to show up in the garden, at least between snow showers. Only today, I discovered the volunteer primroses lurking in the moss and the swelling buds of the Red-flowering Currant. While some things seem to be running late (the daffodils are barely budded), the Hellebore is more lush than it's ever been before. What phenologic cues are these plants taking, that some are in a rush to produce as many flowers as possible while others seem to be husbanding their strength? What do they know that we do not? Humans have become so divorced from Nature that our bodies no longer follow the map of the seasons, so separated from the rising and setting of the sun that we complain when compelled to change our clocks to another designation which, after all, is a purely artificial construct in the first place. We have, as a species, moved a long way into an imaginary world. We could do with a lesson from the flowers in how to judge when the time is right.

Tools - Style, Size And Shape

Day 173: Winter and gas prices are proving to be remarkably persistent, so I'm not getting out much these days. I know you're probably a little tired of fiberarts posts in what was primarily intended to be a blog of science and natural history, but I ask you to bear with me a little longer. Believe me, I would much prefer being on the trail to being housebound.

Today, I thought I'd give you a size comparison of three different styles of spindle. While they are all capable of doing the same job, there are many reasons to choose one over another. Here, I've used my "Ice Caves" blend of Corriedale wool and bamboo fiber on all three. Initially, I simply wanted to see what it would look like, so I spun up a little bit on a tahkli, the smallest of these spindles, and an excellent way to do a trial run. Tahklis are bottom-weighted and spin very rapidly. They are normally used for spinning short-staple fibers like cotton, but can be used for longer fibers as well. A supported spindle like the Tibetan style (green whorl) can also be used for short or long staples, but are more versatile in that they hold more. They come in various lengths and weights. Drop spindles are larger and also come in assorted weights. They allow the spinner to form a longer strand, especially if used when standing. Although I've never really mastered bottom-whorl spinning with a drop spindle, I did put it to good use plying from the tahklis (my spinning wheel was otherwise occupied). Drop spindles hold quite a bit of yarn! Spinning in this manner, regardless of which type of spindle you use, can be a very relaxing process. It's easy to learn, and a wonderful way to get started making your own custom yarns.

Hawk Problem

Day 172: We have a hawk problem. I didn't see the tail. I didn't see it in flight to assess how it beat its wings. I cannot say with any certainty that this is a Cooper's Hawk or that it is a Sharp-Shinned without those two critical pieces of information, but given the size (as big as a large crow), I am inclined toward Cooper's. I had just enough time to grab the camera and point it through the grunge on the sliding glass door in the kitchen, thankful that I'd left it on a setting which gave me a photo good enough to document the culprit. Oh yes, I've been finding little clumps of feathers beneath the feeders occasionally, but the perp remained hidden until now. While I was looking down to change the camera settings, Mr. Hawk fled the scene. If only I had seen him in flight, I might have been able to give a solid ID.

Supported Spindle

Day 171: In typical Crow fashion, I learned support spindle spinning from the "top down," i.e., starting at the advanced level using a tahkli and cotton, a notoriously short and difficult fiber to spin. I soon came to love the method: slow but portable, and a meditative practice for stressful times. It must be said that I have never mastered the allied art of drop-spindling despite having learned to spin on a regular wheel before I was of kindergarten age. I found using a drop spindle tedious and too cumbersome to be enjoyable. On the other hand, supported spindling is performed identically to spinning with a tahkli, albeit on a larger scale, so when all thoughts of upgrading my spinning wheel were squelched when my heat pump died, I bought a supported spindle instead. I've chosen to spin my "Ice Caves" blend with it. This is a Tibetan style spindle, 10 inches in length, weighing 23 grams with a whorl diameter of 1.5 inches, perfect for my purposes.The bowl is the one I use with the tahkli, not optimal but serviceable until I find someone with a lathe who is willing to craft one to spec.

Fool's April

Day 170: Today us with fun Fool's April little a having are Gods Weather the that seem would it. Morning this curtains the back threw I when eyes my greeted what is this. Morning yesterday failed phone and intternet my before said it what that's least at or, feet 2800 be to supposed was level snow. Bit a by missed they, obviously. Days six next the for elevation my at persists snow of possibility the...again down is internet my because, can't and get to tried just I which...forecast latest the to according."Last at fool biggest the is past is Fool's when fools who he," say to used mother my rhyme that was what? Note take, Gods Weather. Far too going is this but, joke a is joke a.