Spoke too soon

Last time I posted, I said I was recovering from surgery. I was. Two weeks ago, I got some GI something that was so bad I couldn't go to work and I eventually dehydrated myself to the point where I needed IV fluids. The fluids weren't at body temperature, so I got chills during the process. The blood work and “other sample” came back normal, so we're assuming viral, not a post-antibiotic, “is your insurance paid up” nasty. This weekend, it returned, but I'm trying to drink more, albeit unsuccessfully. It's hot out, so I fear for my Precious Bodily Fluids and have been hiding in the air conditioned comfort of home. My hands and feet are so swollen they ache. Though in a self-imposed cloistering, I've been keeping myself occupied.

Last Sunday I scored big – bunch'o free alpaca fleece from a friend who's coworker is raising them as a business. This was her first go getting them shorn, and the shearer didn't realize they were for handspinners. She offered the skanked up fleece to my friend, and who took the more better-er ones and brought them to the monthly fiber frolic to share the wealth. I got an entire cria and parts of several adult fleece – a couple kitchen garbage bags worth – and my task is to spin a sample of one of the named adults, knit a swatch or two, and return it to the donor so she can see what it looks like. Our feedback will help her improve her flock, so I’m morally obligated to return the favor of free fleece. Since I'm flush with fleece, I split the booty with a spinning coworker.

Last week, I got my latest eBay purchase – mohair from angoragoat.us. I've never worked with it before, and it’s lots of fun, like silk from a goat. It has to be scoured at higher temperature than sheep fuzz, so I've been heating water on the stove and using a meat thermometer to verify I’m keeping the temperature way below 82° C (180° F). Not having nice Nitrile gloves, I scaled myself a few times, but pain is a good teacher. (I am buying gloves online even as I type.) Though it doesn't scour well in the washer, I use it to do my final rinse with hot, and spin it before I lay it out to dry.

My first attempt spinning the mohair wasn't as fluffy as I anticipated, but I'm sure I'll improve with practice. I think I’ll dye (Jacquard acid) the first bobbin and ply it with some natural to try to hide where I attempted to scour my first batch in the washer. I emailed Angora Goat directly asking to purchase more and expected to get an invoice this weekend, but nothing yet. I'll ping them again Monday to see if they got busy or if someone else is now being billed for my order.

I'm taking a spinning class from a local Ashford dealer next month. This'll be my first formal spinning class, and I'm hoping to learn how to make more consistent singles to ply into sock yarn. I'm not sure how they look from the bobbin, but I'm not too keen on how I'm going. I realize that a little practice will go a long way, and with the mounds of fiber around me, I'm sure I'll make headway.

Right now I'm staring a some Merino, Targhee, Cormo blend roving that I dyed bubble gum pink with cochineal last month. In its current state, it kinda looks like loops of gut hanging over my inkle loom. I didn't skirt the fleece as well as I should have before I sent it out for processing, so its has many second cuts in hiding causing slubs every time I spin it. I really should just spin it bulky and enjoy the heck out of it rather than pretending it wants to be fine or sport weight. That way I could spin the rest of that pindraft and its dark cousin, the pindrafted natural Merino, with the same slub problem and get it the heck out of my office.

Later this month, I’m going to the Fiber Fest in Santa Monica, CA. I'm not sure what all I'll do up there, but an outing may be good for me. I'd better not buy any roving or raw fleece, but I'm thinking that combs might be nice. I tried contacting a manufacturer in Canada who makes two pitch combs that fold flat. Their site is up, but they haven't responded to my email.

I'm also trying to catch up on my knitting. I'd promised a coworker socks to commemorate the Detroit Tiger's 1984 season. I’m not a baseball fan by any stretch, but she's seriously in to it. (If I go, I score the game to keep busy, though I may now take my knitting with me.) I did the cuff in two bands of “lacy” ribbing, one orange, one navy, then separated the leg from the cuff with three rounds of white. In the white, I added beads to show the playoffs: three wins, a win, a loss, and three wins. Now I'm using Opal Tiger for the leg and will try the heel flap in an orange and white lice pattern. I'll continue the food in Tiger, then the star toe in navy. I've only been working on them since before the 2006 season. I'll have a photo when they're more complete.

Work has been evil, thick with deadlines and multiple projects, and my brain is full. I wanna go play.

And no, I didn't go to Pennsic.