March Field Trip

After a beautiful Spring weekend, this March day is blustery and raw. A bit of snow fell early on Tuesday morning. The moisture is welcome however it comes. Monday we took a day trip to central Nebraska. Our first stop was a shop in Hastings where I spent an hour or so with a very patient spinning teacher. More on that later. Then we drove further west to look at the sandhill cranes. Many poets write poems about birds. Some are about the cranes. I once wrote a poem about the cranes but words don't capture the magnificence of this migration. These ancient birds carry the story of time in their DNA. Even when the cornfields are dust and stubble and the sky gray, their presence and grace is apparent. Their call is music for the soul. I found myself wondering why as human beings, we can't just love and care for the world. 

We considered staying until sunset to stand on the pedestrian bridge while the cranes fly up and down the Platte River looking for their overnight roosting site. However, we were tired because we left home early to make my spinning appointment. The temperature was dropping and rain began to fall during the afternoon. We brought warm outerwear, rain ponchos, and extra shoes but driving 130 miles home on a rainy night in damp clothing didn't appeal to us. We may go back on a drier day to stand on the bridge at sunset. 

Today I link with Kat and the Unravelers to write about making. Sunday evening I finished the first sleeve of the ever-present cardigan. I'm saving photos for the finished sweater. Monday in the car I finished a washcloth for my gift stash and worked on the sock with a cable. As I mentioned, I took a short spinning class - one on one - at The Plum Nelly in Hastings. I tried two spinning wheels and was absolutely all thumbs. I have developed a unique spinning technique with a spindle that works for me. Plying singles spun on a spindle is a challenge. I have been making a plying ball by unwinding singles from the spindles and rolling them into a ball. Of everything involved in spindle spinning, this feels terribly tedious and takes a good deal of time. Two woodworkers I know of make Lazy Kates for spindles so that is a possibility.

I tried spinning on a Turkish Spindle because the singles are wound into a tight little ball that is easily removed from the spindle. Theoretically one can spin from both ends of the little turtle or one can spin from two turtles but they have to be kept separate. Maggie Casey, a spinning teacher and author of a book on spinning, suggested using flower pots and so I did. It is one solution but I had to keep the singles from tangling. I find spinning singles on a Turkish spindle not as much fun because I had to keep slipping the half-hitch from the shaft to wind the single and then form the half-hitch again and put it back on the spindle. However one spins with a spindle, one is limited by the length of your arm. All of this is to say, that I wanted to do something I said I'd never do which is to try spinning on a wheel. 

It is very humbling to be a complete beginner. As much as I knew the process was going to be awkward and come with a steep learning curve, I found it frustrating. The teacher was patient and kind. We did discover that even though I am right handed, I may be spinning left-handed with the spindle. I have never been physically coordinated but challenging this old brain is good for me. So it's something to ponder. 

Anyway, I continue to spin with my spindles. These are the first few skeins I made with the Amethyst colored mixed BFL fiber. It sure looks pretty with the little gray skein off the Turkish Spindle. I have more of each fiber to spin. Together the fibers will make a nice project someday. I am tying off the skeins with leftover white cormo so when I wash it for the first time I can see whether or not the dye bleeds into the white yarn. So far, so good. 

Wishing you a peaceful week and a little Spring.