DUDES! Enough with the L words. If you’re not careful, you’re going to turn this blog into a more scary than sexy soft porn cable drama about women who say they love women but only end up hurting each other in the end. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m on L word overload – too many to process – but I’m all about turning lemons into lemonade so hopefully I’ll have a new ABC entry this weekend. Get your M words ready. Just in case.
And thanks for the book ideas. I used to read more than I now knit so I’m always gratified to ask for book titles and find that I’ve read a hell of lot. It’s one of the only bad things about knitting – I read so much less it’s pathetic. I’m off to the book store today, so I’ll let you know what I pick up.
Yesterday was an experiment of sorts. I started out the day with only a couple of goals: Fold the laundry. Check. Spin up the rest of the blue merino. Not so check. Guess what I learned about spinning? The first 4oz? Exciting! Fun! You don’t know what you’re going to get so you spin spin spin and then you ply ply ply so you can smother yourself in handspun goodness! I MADE THIS! It’s beautiful! Look! I turned THIS into THIS. YIPEEEEEE!
The second 4oz? Not so much. OH MY GOD I’M SO BORED I CAN’T STAND IT ANYMORE!
So I take the wheel out onto the deck because it’s still early enough that the sun hasn’t come around to my side of the building and I download a couple of episodes of Cast On because Ann and Julia have been singing Brenda’s praises and I have my water and phone and fiber and I’m ready to go. There’s a nice breeze and it’s fairly quiet (read no kids in the pool) and I start spinning. It’s okay. I’m not loving it – but it’s nice to be outside and not sweat and stuff. The podcast is fairly interesting but I keep getting the headphones caught in the fiber and then my water goes flying with a big gust of wind and I’m sure the fiber’s wet now and after I curse for like ten minutes and the headphones come flying out of the CD player (no IPOD here thank you very much) I pack everything up and head inside.
Lesson learned: I’m not an aural kind of girl.
Even the Bruce music I love so much I love because of the words – not so much the music. G is all about the music. He’s always telling me what a great song such and such is and I’m always horrified because the words are like “I’ll be so happy when you die” or something like that. But he doesn’t even hear the words. Don’t get me wrong, I like music – even love music – but it’s the words that get me. Anyway. I’m not an aural kind of girl. I’m visual. I’m about touch. I’m not so into a voice inside my head (unless, of course, it’s my own voice driving me insane – then again, I’m not really so into that either.)
Lesson learned: You know what I like to do when I spin? Watch TV. So much for the lofty pursuit of zen while spinning. I only want to watch episodes of Another World. That’s it. And since I was all about accomplishing something yesterday, that’s what I did. I moved the wheel back into my bedroom (where the Tivo lives) and started watching. But I was still so bored!!! It was then I realized that I have never gone back to a fiber before – I usually buy a decent amount of something I like but when I spin up and ply that first bunch – I don’t go back. I move onto something new. But I want to knit something significant with this blue stuff so I’ve made a concerted effort to go back.
It was about two episodes in, when I couldn’t even stand the latest Cass and Frankie shenanigans anymore and I was tired of waiting for the new Vicky to show up so her and Ryan can get it on, that I finally understood the TRUE zen like quality of spinning. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s like hitting the wall when running a marathon. I’ve never run a marathon and can pretty much guarantee I never will, but I can understand that point where you just can’t do it anymore. You are dead for all intents and purposes and somewhere deep in you, you need to find the strength to soldier on. I think I hit that wall in spinning yesterday. I couldn’t do it. The yarn was killing me. I was blurry from the wheel spinning and spinning and on my god the spinning and my fingers were burning a little bit from running the fiber through my hand and I had a weird tingling sensation radiating down from my left shoulder and it got so bad I couldn’t tell the difference anymore between Vicky and Marley and OH MY GOD! I DON’T CARE IF I NEVER SPIN ENOUGH FIBER TO EVER KNIT ANYTHING BIGGER THAN A BABY HAT! MAKE IT STOP PLEASE!!
And then, as quickly as it came on, it was over. I kept on spinning and I broke through that wall and achieved some kind of fiber like zen that I can’t quite communicate to you. It was a centering, a balance between my hands and my heart and the fiber and I did the only thing a person can do when they are in that sacred place:
I cast on for another pair of knee highs.
You had me there for a minute. I thought you found spinning nirvana and all you found was an addiction to knee highs. Does that mean you’ll knit 3.5 knees highs and then move on to something else?
Hehehee – I think I know that Zen feeling. I don’t spin – but I have gotten to that point during a rather boring run of straight garter stitch. Where you can knit without even looking – your hands take on a life of their own and it is separate from you.
Have fun at the bookstore – as a former English major and constant reader turned constant knitter – I know what you mean about not reading as much anymore.
I do feel quite guilty about this at times – but not guitly enough to put my knitting down!
-Jody
How do you take such nice pictures of your own legs? Granted, it helps to have nicely shaped legs — which you have (and I used to have)… a timer, upside-down, whatcha doin’ over there in knee-high nirvana?
what is the yarn you’re using for the new knee highs? socks that rock? i’m getting pretty good (i think) at this yarn identification thing!
You are too funny. I cannot believe you have forsaken Cast On for your “stories”. You MUST try it again without the headphones – perhaps you hit an aural wall?
I am relieved to hear that you broke through and spun some blue stuff. It gives me hope, as I, too, am extremely fickle in spinning. I think using a drop spindle makes me more so.
hahaha, totally wasn’t expecting that picture when i got down to the end of the post 🙂
Do you actually watch the TV or just listen to what’s happening? I haven’t spun much on a wheel before so I can’t imagine not looking at what I’m doing.
I guess I definitely fall into the aural category. Give me an audiobook or a good podcast and I can spin for hours and hours — as long as the fiber is nice. If my brain is busy with someone else’s words, my hands will contentedly spin. Oddly, I have a hard time spinning in front of the TV. I can do it, but I don’t like dividing my visual attention.
I hope you are going to show us that merino you are spinning for the heels and toes of your kneehighs!
I love your posts.
Ooh, and the yarn is…. Fleece Artist?
It looks a lot like the yarn from my Olympic socks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19343257@N00/142492184/in/set-72057594128597254/
Second Skein Syndrome??
I have to have the tv on when I spin too!
You crack me right up. 🙂
The new knee high isn’t Sock Hop! It must be STR, then.
I’m guessing that spinning up 2 pounds of anything would be a bit much? One of these days I’d like to try an audio book to see how I like it while spinning or knitting.
Love the knee socks!
I have to agree. I love me some Days of Our Lives.
I’m loving the knee-highs. I may even need to knit a pair for myself.
Now for a warning note: Watch out for those pains that radiate out from the left shoulder. That isn’t always the beginning of zen. It can be heart troubles. Take care of yourself.
http://www.thedietdiary.com/blog/lucia/1508#more-1508
🙂
dearest, you have cute knees.
Oh, please tell us what yarn that is–I love it and want to know if I can get some!
Boy have I been behind! Happy anniversary you two! And G’s bday! Hope it was great!
I have a photobooth idea. I will keep you posted. 😉
Ah yes, hitting the wall and going on to the other side. I am a major procrastinator and have condemed myself to quite a few marathon spinning ordeals so as to meet deadlines for competitions, class homework or learning exchanges.
First anxiety, then bleakness, and then transporting to the magic zone. Reminds me a bit of Harry Potter finding his way to Platform 10 1/2.
Thanks for the BEST description of that stupid, stupid show I’ve ever heard (more scary than sexy soft porn cable drama about women who say they love women but only end up hurting each other in the end), and for (maybe)preventing me from joining the spinning ranks…
hahahaha – I REALLY did think you were going to say – cast on a sock!!! I’m so glad you’re so great about blogging – it’s one of my favorite yarny places.
dude, didn’t vicky and ryan get it on when anne heche was still playing vicky?
I laughed and laughed – I’m the same way with music. I know nothing about it, can’t ‘hear’ as much in it as some people do, so though I love it, all about lyrics andd storytelling for me.
Dale does the same thing with music – he listens to the MUSIC not the LYRICS. I’m all about the lyrics. Course, this is kind of funny since he’s a singer in a band. Ha!