National Spinning and Weaving Week

So much for National Spinning and Weaving Week. I have nothing to show! So just imagine, then:

(insert image of Kiri shawl here)

Kiri is getting to the point where it takes more than a couple of hours to do 1 pattern repeat. Two hundred plus stitches can be a little difficult to manipulate, so I've switched over to my brand new Denise interchangeables, courtesy of Copper Moose. Kidsilk Haze makes such a beautifully light, but warm, gossamer. I am in awe that I am knitting something like this.

(insert image of 2 ounces of spun Coopworth here)

Spinning. Joyfully. It feels new every time I take the fiber up in my hands and start the wheel, but my confidence has grown and I'm able to spin much faster (although I'm still on the lowest ratio), with more tension, and I'm actually leaning back in my chair. Woohoo!

(insert image here)

We went to the library last week and I devoured every single book that I borrowed. I am bookless. In desperation I picked Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Supremacy from a pile to donate, but I put it back pretty quickly. His writing doesn't do it for me. For some reason Tom Clancy, with his 500-page, story-within-a-story, tangents going into other tangents, epic tales of battle and Jack Ryan, work better for me. Anyway, I browsed along the knitting section and picked up Barbara Walker's Knitting From The Top Down. This woman was prolific, wasn't she? I've been making notes, thinking of making a sweater with some stash yarn.

Speaking of stash, there's a definition that truly applies to all knitters who hoard "collect" yarn for future projects: the joy-to-stuff ratio. Uh-huh. That would be you. And you. And you.

BF and I watched a series of French movies last weekend: A Very Long Engagement, God is Great, I'm Not (both starring Audrey Tautou, of course, but the second was disappointing), and Bon Voyage, which I highly recommend. I really loved A Very Long Engagement and Bon Voyage because they were so well written, and the endings were perfect. Just perfect. You would have to watch them to understand what I mean. Lately the quality of "popular" American movies has been average, and we've been turning more and more toward foreign and indie films for quality entertainment...

Yvon Chouinard, climber, environmentalist, and founder of climbing companies Patagonia and Black Diamond Equipment, will be speaking tonight at the Mark Taper auditorium. One of my heroes. I'll give you a full report next week.

Have a good weekend!