Spinning My Wheel

Day 9: When the weather's crummy, I may be just sitting here spinning my wheel. I needed a break from quilting, what with one project on the frame, one in construction and another awaiting a few lines of machine-stitching, but mainly because a friend has asked me to batt, back and hand-stitch an heirloom quilt top made by her paternal grandmother. It came in the mail yesterday, Dresden plate big enough to cover a king-sized bed, and dominated by pink prints. Yeah, pink. That little fact can work two ways. Either I will find it horribly difficult to devote myself to, or I'll work like fury at it to get it out of the house as quickly as possible. Since it's for a friend, I anticipate the latter. In any event, I wanted to have a breather from working over the frame, so I pulled out my spinning wheel and finished up a second skein of double-ply yak in about three days. I was sure I had more yak hair, but couldn't find it when I dug into my stash. That left me with three choices: creamy white Corriedale top, silky silver Gotland top, or grey fleece (a gift from a friend). The Corriedale won, if for no other reason than it's been a while since I made any white yarn. I'm finding the fiber an absolute delight to work with and had intended to fill the basket with it for this photo, but when I went to get it out, I pulled down a large bag I had assumed was fleece, but which in fact was the remaining yak. Well, nuts! Since I only have a pound of the Corriedale, I'll finish it up first. I'm betting you'd have another meaning in mind if you told someone you'd be yakking and spinning your wheel(s).