Woolybuns:

A failed project because I can't find a tool. So many internal growls and teeth gnashings happened last night. Ok, not quite failed, but stalled. Except. The mind makes magic in the midnight hours. I woke up with giggling basal ganglia and an itch in my hands to get going.

Isn't that a marvelous feeling? Wanting to get out of bed, get everything that needs doing done so you can get your hands on that which you want to do? Yeah, yeah, sometimes that doesn't require leaving the bed, but when your work excites you, that's a level of life satisfaction that just can't be beat.

My original plan will have to wait. The piece and I pinballed, and I played with it for the last couple hours. I now have a nearly finished hat. It's an ok hat, more pleasing than my lousy photo skills (and camera) have captured, but it is not the piece I originally planned, nor is it the hat that got my brain all a twitter. That hat is still hanging out in the foggy mist of my mind, marinating. It might even be two hats.

A few things that preserve sanity: a long deep massage, a peaceful lake tour in a canoe, a hot bubbly soak in a tub so big the water covers the boobs, hours at spinning guild with Amy from Spunky Eclectic teaching the class. Guess which one I did today? Yup, the guild class with Amy. I'm all peaceful and content. Until the next news cycle.

Class today was Spinning Stupendous Singles. While she discussed energized singles - those things we all spin before we ply - and how to use them, the focus today was low twist singles. I am now a fan. We started with dyed falkland wool, first spinning and even thin single, then played with a thick and thin version. Spinning the even single was such a relaxing delight! Fiber hand just kind of hung out loosely holding the falkland while drafting hand mindlessly fed wool into the wheel and my feet just quietly treadled in slow whispers. We used the same fiber for our first thick and thin but I loved the even thin experience so much, I only did a little thick and thin so I can spin enough even thin to knit a hat. It might be a toddler size hat but that's a grin worthy thought too. I need more practice with thick and thin single but I'm pleased with my first effort. We then worked with undyed falkland just to experience how differently dyed fiber behaves as compared to undyed. Undyed flows more freely, which makes sense since the dyeing process slightly compacts fibers. We played with a few more fibers - merino yak blend, wenslydale, coopworth roving - each required different handling to accommodate staple length and ease of twist. Merino yak blend is yummy but seems to gravitate toward thick and thin rather than even thin. I didn't care for the coopworth as a singles spin, and I need more practice with wenslydale. Mine was too lightly twisted and fell apart in several places. After a lunch break, we built on our basic skills, first using two natural colors to spin a marled single (loved it!), then spinning a little sparkly into our singles. My marled yarn needs a wash to tame it into useable yarn but it came out just like it's supposed to. I haven't finished the sparkly single yet so there is no photo. But I see all sorts of possibilities and play ahead.