A few weekends ago I flew down to visit my friends in Maryland and go to the Ren Fest with them. A blast was had. I’m not gonna show all the photos, but here are a few.

There was drinking (mmm MEAD and mixed wine), good food, a ton of laughter, axe throwing, totally failed dunk-the-wench, and generally good friendship. Oh, and I did a reasonable amount of spinning.

Interestingly, you can see behind me there were people watching (we were waiting for someone in the bathroom at the time). I didn’t know they were there. I also didn’t realize it’s apparently so Zen I only have one expression.

I’m spinning Polwarth on my Bosworth Mini, after it had been glued together after an unfortunate meeting with the tarmac. (It was a very rough weekend for my spindles).

Photos courtesy of Spencer (the dark haird shorter one in the last photo).

Here’s the great guys I was with, Adam, Spencer, and Mike

Oh right, I also forgot to mention…

With axe throwing there were funny hats.

A very very good time! And then it was back to prepping for Rhinebeck and working on my thesis.

~The Gnome

I have dyeing to put up, I have a surprise I want to put up, I have… stuff. But paper, thesis, etc. are swamping, so they come first.

So, a final report from Special Operative Gnome:

Goals met:
I did my mile, an even mile of singles and about a third of a mile plied 3-ply.
I spun my mile entirely in long draw, which I’d never done more than a few feet of before.
I spun every day, despite a trip, the paper, airplane flights, and no focus/energy.
I finished the polwarth silk bobbin
I got the hang of drafting tussah silk from the tip (on a spindle)
I managed a full 2oz spindle cop, twice the weight of the spindle, and larger around than the spindle.
I spun at 30-thousand feet
I spun on a boat
I spun walking around a Scottish festival.
I learned long draw well enough to (while still terrified I’ll fuck it up) actually start an important project with it.

I’m claiming this event a success for sucking less (the purpose of Team Suck Less). Especially considering what I had going on in the background.

Totals:
482yds 3-ply long draw BFL + 300+ yds longdraw BFL singles ~1 lb
1157 yds short backwards draw polwarth silk at 3700 ypp =5oz
Tussah Silk Spindle spun less than 1oz
BFL laceweight spindle spun less than 1oz
Cormo/Alpaca/Angora spindle spun =2oz
Tsock Batt longdraw less than 1oz

So somewhere over 2 miles. About a pound and a half of fiber. I actually dyed one of the skeins from my mile. It fluffs up beautifully but I didn’t take a photo before it got mailed out, so I may not have a photo of the dyed skein in time.

I’ve done a little more on the BFL (at the bottom) but I left it at my parents, so no photo. Doh.

On the last day, I got together with Marcy and Lynn for an excellent day of spinning and laughing and fiber… (image ganked from Lynn)

I’ll have more new content soon, I promise. Just have to get this paper out, get my dissertation started, clean the house, get the fruit fly infestation taken care of, and start applying for jobs. No problem.

::grins::

~The Gnome

Now, a break from hardcore chemistry…

When I wasn’t stuck in lab this weekend, I went home to visit my parents. I always enjoy visiting my parents, it’s relaxing and… good.

This weekend we went to the local Scottish Festival in Northampton. It was a lot of fun. I got to wear my kilt, eat bridie, listen to good music, and relax in the sun. Very nice.

I do admit that I laughed a little at what looked like a “historical reenactment” tent they had. There was woman making yarn on a colossal, unbalanced, rough as heck, top whorl spindle, and all I could think was, “That would be a lot easier if you flipped it over and used it as a bottom whorl.” I mean we’re talking a whorl that was 5 inches across and almost two inches deep, roughly hexagonal with a dowel the size of your thumb. But she was making yarn with it (albeit very slowly because as a top whorl she had to respin it every few seconds).

But that’s not actually what made me laugh. What mad me laugh was that next to this woman with the painfully “historic” spindle, was a woman… knitting. Um… no? Knitting is not that old. Later, the spindle spinner was weaving, on what looked to be a tapestry style loom. Which seemed an odd choice with the massive thick-thin yarn she was spinning, but… to each their own on that count, I don’t know enough about weaving to know if that was silly or not.

Anyway, it was a blast. We watched some of the highland games too. I like those. The smallest guy (not that much larger than me) came in second at the caber toss, and was one of only two guys who flipped the second caber. Only one flipped the third one. I like that the women compete with exactly the same cabers and weights as the guys. Watching them throw the weight up and over their head was fun too.

For most of the festival, I had my kilt and a normal t-shirt, and my cowboy hat to keep the sun off my head. Late in the festival, my parents bought me the totally awesome belt.

For those of you who object to the culture mixing there…

To go with the awesome belt, they also bought me this awesome gillie shirt, which fits well and is really comfy.

Yes, I realize all three are similar poses. I was tired, what can I say?

And for those wondering, here’s a closeup of the belt. They’re two separate pieces, and I picked them to coordinate. I’m really happy with them.

And of course, since I was walking around, I also spindle spun…

This is BFL top from a lovely fleece sampler from the Spinning Loft spun on my Greensleeves Damsel Monique. I’m not a huge fan of this plan as a walking spindle. I generally prefer to walk with a lighter yarn on a heavier longer spinning spindle. That said, I didn’t have any troubles at all, so I can’t complain.

Brief TDF update… I’ve managed the “spin every day” goal, but haven’t been making a lot of progress on that. Some progress on the knitting project. Brain has no focus.

The rest of the weekend was spent in lab, and this week has been constant lab…

But it’s been worth it. I finally have all of my figures done. And an abstract written (but unedited), the introduction and results are going through their last edits now. Whee! We’re actually getting there. I’ll probably be starting to write my thesis next week.

Yay.

~The Gnome

So this weekend I went down to Baltimore to spend some time with some good friends down there for July 4th.

Special report:

TDF:
Team: Suck Less
Special Agent Codename: The Gnome

I started off with a TDF warmup lap in the Providence airport, spinning more of the cormo/alpaca/angora on the Bosworth Mini. It’s always fun to see people watch, and the airport especially so, when they have nowhere else to go and many have nothing else to do (how do they DO that?). No one had the guts to ask, so I just sat and spun away. And no, I didn’t have any trouble with security. Not even a little. The spindles were in their bags with their fiber in the water bottle holsters of my backpack.

Then I got to spin at 30,000 feet, though that was much slower since there’s a lot less freedom of movement. But still, spinning at 30 thousand feet on a plane? Awesome, right? The very bottom of the cop started to loosen up a little from the inning and outing of the spindle bag though. An advantage of the holster model, I suppose.

Friday and Saturday I pulled out the new Loki and traded the yak (just not right for the spindle and my skill) and the “Bronze and Wood” tussah silk I dyed myself. I haven’t spun much tussah, and I’ve never spun it on the spindle. I’m liking it.

July 5th morning I spun a little more sillk…

Sunday (July 5th) evening, it was time to fly home, which meant more spinning in the airport. So I added more to the Bossie, managed to stabilize the loose bottom a little, but it’s still looser than I’d like. Trying to decide exactly how far I want to try to push it. The spindle itself is 25g. The cop is now exactly twice that, at 50g. I’m tempted to see if I can add 6g more so it’ll be an even 2oz.

Last night I was a little less adept at the “Sucking Less.” I got some spinning done, but I kept getting distracted.

This is the Polwarth/Silk that I’ve been working on. Still haven’t decided if I want to weave with it or ply it for laceweight. It’s very slow progress, because I’m spinning it superfine.

I’m hoping to make more significant progress on that tonight. I may try to make Saturday my Mile Day (spin a mile in a day), or I may try to spin my Abbybatts (I have peacock, xocolotl, and green green grass) which I plan to use for weaving a scarf for myself (I know, something for me? Perish the thought!).

In Gnomespun news…

Right now I have silk and merino/angora drying. I’ll be picking up several pounds of heathered grey Border Leicester this week, which I plan to set to dyeing… and… oh right, I should be hearing back about the 40lbs of fiber from the mill any day now. ::crosses fingers:: I’m also hoping to get in an order for more of the Cashmere/Tussah shortly. And I need to get a box out to Holiday Yarns, because that was supposed to happen ages ago.

P.S.

Does anyone have “The Doozer Knitting Song?” I must have it. I have it on DVD, but I want to be able to put it on my iPod.

That’s it for now. Back to experiments.

~The Gnome

Purple! I’ve been playing with soft grey-purples lately. For you non-purple fans, don’t worry, I’ve got some super dark green in now, and plans for more green messing.

Lavender Clouds. It’s almost lavender time! I love lavender blooms… Similar to yesterdays Chionodoxa, but a little purpler and less grey.

Lavender Clouds – 4oz – Combed Wensleydale Top

And always a favorite both with me and others… a really nice true amethyst this round…

Amethyst – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

Will get these up in the shop shortly.

In the meantime… spindle goodness.

First, a new spindle! One I eyed at Spunky Eclectic’s shop when I was picking up Strider, then again at MA Sheep and Wool… I was being good, saving for fiber, and a benefactor (who wishes to remain nameless) bought it for me! ::squee::

Isn’t it pretty? Ok, yeah, so I have a thing for Bird’s Eye Maple. So sue me! I lurves it. I got it an ounce of yak, which I’ve never spun before, as a “Welcome to the Gnomespun family” present. It has a lot of yak flakes in it. Rrm… not too happy about that, but I think it’ll be ok.

Greensleeves: Loki – 23.5g – 0.82oz – Bird’s Eye Maple – Top Whorl
1oz Yak – Paradise Fibers

And here’s my travel spindle, the Bocote Bosworth (0.88oz) with the Cormo/Angora/Alpaca I got at NH Sheep and Wool.

Still building up the cop, aiming to get as much as possible on there. I’m at 37g now, which is 1.3oz, not too bad! It’s getting tougher to flick spin it, but it still thigh rolls without any trouble. So I definitely still have a ways to go, the cop is still totally tight and stable.

That’s it for now. Have to go work on the resumy/cv and my western blots. This weekend there will be more stuff, more knitting, more spinning, more dyeing, and some time with friends.

~The Gnome