Fractal 1

The first skein of fractal spin is done and dusted. The photo shows it before washing and thwacking (I don't "thwack," as such; rather, I "sprong" by looping the skein around both hands and then snapping my arms out to the sides several times over several rotations).  Now it's hanging out on the line, weighted and drying in the warm weather. It turned out much better than expected, and despite the colourway, it even looks kinda like a fractal spin. Before finishing, it measured 106 yards and 1.9 ounces (53 grams). Those figures put it at a worsted weight, although it feels slightly finer (but not fine enough to be DK).

Spinning My Eel

I swore I wasn't going to do this. In fact, only last week I told a friend I wasn't even remotely tempted to buy an e-spinner because I enjoy the treadling action of a spinning wheel. And then...because I wasn't tempted, you understand...I started reading up on them, and I discovered that the Electric Eel Nano was receiving glowing praise from all quarters. Plus, it was affordable...and by "affordable," I mean under $150 when other e-spinners go for $800 and up. Okay, it's tiny, but it holds two ounces. I usually put my yarns up in two-ounce skeins, and that's two-ply, i.e., two one-ounce bobbins, so the Nano would be more than adequate for my purposes. I looked at my budget. I looked at the calendar. I hadn't bought myself a prezzie in a long time, and September Morn is kinda just almost not quite nearly around the corner. I said to myself, "I need something new to learn," and that was the final word in the mental argument. The Nano arrived on schedule Tuesday, and after 15 minutes of thinking I was never going to get around the "no takeup" issues I'd seen other people posting about, I realized that I was using too heavy a leader, and the friction against the O-rings on the flyer hooks was preventing it from winding on. I changed out to a leader made out of sewing thread, and bingo! I was off and running. What I'm spinning here is some rather coarse Corriedale, and I'm drafting just enough hairs to hold together to make a very fine yarn. And what a great add-on challenge for the Tour de Fleece!

Plying Fractally

This isn't turning out as badly as I thought it might. In order to have enough bobbins for the second half of my wool allotment for the fractal spin project, I needed to free one up (I forgot I had one of six filled with lilac-coloured singles). That meant plying the three singles from the first half, and y'know what? I think I like it. Okay, it's lumpier than it should be (that was me, fighting with the clotted Malabrigo), and I could have chosen a colourway with better distribution of the colours, but it'll pass. The second half is working out better insofar as the spinning is concerned. The Louët is my "ply wheel." Her name is Lily. She lives in the back bedroom behind a closed door where Merry is only allowed with supervision. He wants to play with (or eat!) the wool, and he thinks the lazy Kate is a cat toy.

Un Mal Abrigo

"Malabrigo" was an unfortunate choice of name for a company producing wool for spinning, and perhaps I should have paid more attention to it. It means "bad coat" in Spanish, and although most of the wool in this braid is spinning up nicely, the dark bits are absolutely horrible. I've raised sheep, and my hands can tell the difference in the wools of various breeds. The green shades (almost white to blue-green) are Merino, but the browns and blacks are something else, and I'd be inclined to say they're the leftovers which got caught in the combs when this was processed into top. They are coarse, kinky (as opposed to the silky smooth feel of Merino), and so tangled and full of nepps that they refuse to draft. When I come to them, I have to stop spinning and pick them apart. The first three bobbins for my fractal spin did not go well, but I'll ply them anyway. The second half of the braid is progressing a little more smoothly, but I have learned an important lesson: no compres un mal abrigo.

Footnote here: people in the Tour de Fleece group I'm in are confirming that they've had similar experiences with this product. I am definitely never going to buy another Malabrigo product.

Moussaka on the Hoof

Ever wonder what an eggplant flower looks like? Well, here ya go. The blossoms are like those of many other Solanums, but on steroids. Yep, eggplant is a member of the same family as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and deadly nightshade. You might ask yourself why some of them are edible and others are not. It depends on the level of certain alkaloids (notably solanine). Most of us know that you shouldn't eat the leaves or flowers of any of the Solanaceae, and that the eyes and greened-up portion of potatoes which have been exposed to light should be cut away before preparing. That's where the highest concentrations of solanine occur. However, we're not likely to make that mistake because solanine also renders those parts quite bitter, making them distasteful to garden predators like groundhogs and bunny rabbits. Other Solanaceae like bittersweet and deadly nightshade have high (even lethal) concentrations of solanine throughout the entire plant. Finally, it should be said that some people are more sensitive to solanine than others, and should avoid any plant in the family which is otherwise considered edible. As for me, I like a nice moussaka.

Tour de Fleece

Over the years, I've heard "Tour de Fleece" mentioned numerous times, but I never understood what it was. I knew that it ran concurrently with Tour de France, but that was about the size of it. This year, I decided I'd try to find out more. Turns out it's a world-wide "spin-a-thon" which you can participate in either as an individual or as part of a team. Social media is full of groups, some of which are more restrictive than others in the rules they set, but many just tell you to set a personal goal and stick to it for the duration of the bicycle race. I've joined one of the latter type, and for my challenge, I'll be doing my first fractal spin. I bought a four-ounce braid, but being somewhat uncertain about how this is going to work, I'll be starting with half of that. I like to put my handspun up in two-ounce skeins when possible. If all goes well with the first half, I'll spin the second one the same way. And with that, I'm off on my Tour!

Toppin' and Tailin' Time

It's toppin' and tailin' time! If you are a gooseberry jam aficionado as I am, you'd be willing to put in the effort to top-and-tail, i.e., cut off the stem and blossom ends of each individual berry, which is necessary before they can be turned into jam. I pick, top-and-tail, cut each berry in two, and then freeze them in jam-sized batches so I can do the cooking during cooler fall weather. It took me 45 minutes to top-and-tail the three cups of berries from this morning's harvest..first of the year, with lots more to come. My bushes are absolutely loaded this year! I let a few of these get a little too ripe so they were hard to cut in two without squishing, but another batch this size will be ready to pick either tomorrow or the next day. I love my gooseberry jam!