A New Day . . .

Yesterday was historic. I watched the inauguration with one of my work colleagues who has an office - we watched the AP feed from about 20 minutes before the hour until they played the National Anthem. I have such a feeling of hopefulness as we move into this next chapter of our history, and although President Obama (man, I love writing that!) has his work cut out for him, he's made it clear that it's not all his job. It's OUR job, too. And yes, I'm afraid the economy is going to get a little worse before it gets better - but get better it will. I feel that the country is now on the path back to itself, and after the last eight years, that's a welcome feeling.

Today's my "day off" from my morning treadmill walk, and I picked a good one. After all that cold, NOW is the day my lungs pick to act up on me. I woke up with a very tight chest. That sounds vaguely risque, doesn't it? ;-D But all it means is that my lungs are thinking about having an asthma attack. I will most likely be able to ward it off, but it bugs me because I was doing so well . . . I realize that asthma isn't something that's just going to go away, but I have been pretty much symptom-free for more than a year, so sometimes I forget. So, I'll spend the next few days with my rescue inhaler at the ready, and I'll be coughing gunk up out of my lungs for a week or so, and it'll blow over. At least that's my intention :-)

Here's some cheery stuff :-) This is the first skein of the Blue-Faced Leicester that I spun up. I went for worsted weight, and got about 150 yards from 4 oz. I have three more bumps to spin up, which should yield in the neighborhood of 600 yards, total. I have a tendency to put a pretty tight twist on much of what I spin. It uses up more of the fiber so I don't always get the yardage I might light. It's a tradeoff, though. I prefer to work with yarns that don't pill or fuzz so much, and to make those, I have to put in more twist.

Here's a close up of the yarn. I like what they call the "barber pole" effect that you get when you just spin it and ply it as it comes off the bobbins. I like the tweedy look it creates, and I think it pools less that way once you knit it up. I don't know that for sure, it's just what I think :-)

Anyway - the roving spun up quickly and easily, and I enjoyed working with it.

On the needles - I'm making progress with the sleeves for St. Patrick, but man, it's slow going. I'm doing them at the same time, and I'm starting to wonder if I should just put one of a stitch holder and blast through them one at a time. Somehow I think it might be faster. Still working on the Spring Forward socks, and also a pair out of Panda Cotton, which is really a misnomer because it has bamboo (ick!) in it. It's splitty as all hell. But it is knitting up pretty nicely - still, I don't think I would use it again.

In other news of the day - I tossed my name in the lottery for The Loopy Ewe's 2009 sock club last week . . . and I got in :-D I am always very lucky, but this was really a pleasant surprise, and worth hopping off the stash-busting wagon. I get a few dispensations in my year-long quest to bust the stash, and I've decided that this is one of them. I've had trouble getting my Wollmeise packages - thank you, US Postal Service :-( - so I'm kind of excited to get in a club where stuff is coming from a relatively short distance away.

I hope your day is filled with hope :-)

Comments

Kris said…
Spinning! your not suppose to be Spinning!! Get back to the St. Patrick my dear;)
Michelle said…
LOVE that BFL colorway! And agree with your first paragraph. I got quite the rant in the comments to my blog yesterday; was accused of "adulating" the man (which I don't) and being "paranoid" (which I'm not). Out of the commentor's mouth, the heart speaketh, I guess!
Cheryl said…
Your BFL is lovely!!! I think of you everytime I think of spinning. My DS GF got me a spinning book for Christmas so I am one step closer. Plus being on a stash bustiing mission myself the extra cash can be saved for a wheel. Have a wonderful time at the SF...I got in, it was a decision not to go based on someone else who could not go. But there is always next year...in the meantime yea for the Sock Club...

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