Little of this and a little of that

I haven't touched my spinning wheel since New Year's Day. I've been dealing with a shoulder problem, which my doctors tell me is an overused rotator cuff. I'm on my second round of physical therapy and pain meds; the first time only lasted a couple months before I was back where I started. This time, I got a cortisone shot to relieve the immediate pain, stronger meds, and a return to therapy with lighter weights but for a longer term.

Today, I did no knitting. That's right, none. My shoulder can only tolerate knitting for short periods of time each day. Today, I decided to forgo knitting to see how well, or not, I could tolerate spinning. Here's the result:



This is a sample from Abstract Fiber. The sample didn't have any info on the tag, I don't know what the fiber is but I suspect by the way it drafted and spun that it's BFL. By looking at the website, I think the colorway is "Deep Lake"; lovely blues, greens, and turquoises.

Of course, I had my able spinning assistant nearby for support. I only spun for about an hour but my shoulder was talking to me pretty loudly by the time I was done. I'm going to let the singles rest on the bobbin for a few days before I ply it. I'm going to try this technique from Sarah Anderson; maybe it won't be so hard on my poor right shoulder.

Westside Wednesday had to say goodbye to Noriko this week. She joined us a couple years ago as a knitter, then moved from a drop spindle to a wheel, and has now written a pattern (scroll down to post 4). Now, she's done with school and internship, and will soon be off to do her optometry residency turns in Bellevue, WA; Wenzou, China; and Okinawa, Japan. We're sad to loose her, but she'll be back to do her final residency her. And besides, the world is getting a great new doctor!

Noriko sent these little tiny hedgies to come live with me. She's been clearing out and getting all her things packed up, but I'm pretty sure she could have found room in a box for these:

Look how tiny they are! The tiny one on the right isn't marked but it seems to be made of the same material as one that ToolMan bought for me several years ago; horn or antler.

They're both much heavier than you think they'd be, given their small size. And both have incredible detail; especially the little one from Noriko, which even has eyelids!

The one from ToolMan, though, is actually a little box with a surprise inside. ToolMan said the inside was what he wished he could give me:

The moon and the stars. All together now: "Awwwwww!" (I know that head sitting there is a little weird; I just didn't realize how creepy it was until I posted it in here.)

But as little as this guy is, he's not the tiniest hedgie in my collection.

That distinction goes to the other hedgie from Noriko. Or should I say "family of hedgies". These are wood and the largest has a sticker on the outside "Made in Russia". I have to admit that I've never seen another set of hedgie matryoshka dolls.

How in the world did they turn these out of wood on a lathe? And I whoever painted the face on the smallest one must have incredible eyesight or a really good magnifying glass! The middle one is about the same height as the dime and the smallest one is about the size of a dried pea. Absolutely adorable!

Lastly, I got the baby sweaters delivered to my girlfriend, Maryanne, this week. I'm working on a little blankie for the stroller or carseat and hope to have it done before she goes to see her sons in mid-June.

A Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting. Except I didn't follow the pattern, because come on, what's the fun in that? This turned out to be quite a stash buster of baby pompadour. I used up all the leftovers from baby knitting over the last few years. This pink is the last strip, I think. It could be a little bigger, but frankly I'm just about sick of garter stitch; I mean, really, there are MILES of garter in this thing and it's only about 36 inches square. Besides, I'm going to do a white, 4-stitch I-cord edge on it which I'm estimating will take approximately FOREVER to finish. And as much fun as this was to knit, I really want to get it done; because I really, really need something more challenging on the needles next.