Spinning Around

An unexpected email from a family friend about spinning reminded me that I've not been writing about spinning much recently. This is not because I've not been spinning, rather that I've been so bad at posting that I keep forgetting what I've been up to.

So, I have been busy spinning. I made this necklace which I'm rather enamoured with....

Apologies for the picture quality. Here's the necklace in close-up...

I have to admit to pinching the idea from the latest issue of Spin Off which showed a bracelet of similar technique but with beads strung from it. It's made by wrapping a loose singles of merino (in this case my own hand-dyed), around a core of crochet cotton. The trick is to untwist the crochet cotton clockwise on a spindle while simultaneously twisting the singles over the cotton on your wheel in a counterclockwise direction. Basically you need three hands! Actually once I got the hang of it, it wasn't as complicated as I expected.

Here's some of the spun yarn from the merino/tencel mix that I bought from Wingham on my last foray...

I was worried that the colours would merge into one hideous browny/orange sludge colour when I spun this, but it seems to be ok. Some of the colours have softened and there is a slight sludginess, but mostly it is fine. I just don't know what I'm going to knit with it. There's about 200g.

Finally, my latest task, still on the bobbin, is some hand-dyed merino in lovely blues and greens...

This looks as though I have woefully underspun it, now that I look at it in the photo. Hopefully it's not as bad as it looks. Again I have no idea what to do with this.

Bubba had his stitches out yesterday and all is well so far. The heat I was feeling in his leg at the weekend seems to have gone now and he is using his leg more - in fact he seems to think that he's completely cured now and is demanding long walks and sulking when he doesn't get them. Back to the Other Vet in a few weeks for more x-rays to check that the bone is healing properly and then it's progressively longer and more demanding walks to build up the muscle in the leg again.

It's my day off today so I'm planning to knit on the Icarus shawl (almost finished the easy part) as everyone is out but me (and Bubba). Bliss.