Hand

Day 59: If you hang around spinners often enough, you will hear the term "hand" being batted about. This refers to the textural feel of a fiber as well as the ease with which it is manipulated into yarn. There are a number of considerations which enter into "hand," including crimp, fineness (measured in microns) and type of critter from which the fiber was harvested. Currently, I am spinning an alpaca/Romney blend which has the best hand of any wool I've ever spun. The fibers are long (4" or more!), silky and almost without crimp. Purchased as roving at a local bazaar and meticulously processed by the seller, this blend develops into a yarn of uniform diameter effortlessly, slipping through my fingers like silk as it winds onto the bobbin. Now I wish I'd bought more than a pound!

Pillow Provided

Day 43: There are only a few days left of Tippy's tenure in the Cone of Shame, so I feel compelled to explain that certain concessions to comfort have had to be provided at the expense of my trying to get anything else done. He has been such a good boy throughout the ordeal, first allowing doctor to perform surgery with only a local anaesthetic and then not protesting the Cone in the slightest. He's popped out of it twice accidentally, the first time when it caught the edge of the footstool as he leapt down to the floor and the second when he attempted to get onto the window sill behind the couch and fell between the couch and the wall. He did not resist or struggle when I reinstalled it. I suppose the least I can do is provide a soft pillow even if it means I'm not getting any needlework done. Sound asleep in this photo, he remained in this position for twenty minutes before shifting off my hand.