Let the spinning begin

In a previous post, I said that if you doubt the existence of the Gods, tell them your plans. Most people take this to be a negative thing, like if you give voice to your plans, they wont come to fruition, and obviously that happens a lot. Sometimes you have to accept that though your plans may be what you want, they don't fit into whatever bigger picture there is for you or your family. I believe that if something is not right for you, then no matter how many ways you approach it and how long you keep trying, it simply wont work.

So imagine my surprise when just after my previous post about wanting to learn to spin and hopefully get myself out of the job I really don't like and can see coming to an end, I heard of a spinning wheel that might be for sale locally.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been making arrangements with the owner, and this week I took delivery of the wheel on Monday and the rest of the accessories arrived this morning. I handed over money that would have gone towards a flight to see my husband, but he is as excited about this new venture as I am and he just said I need to get spinning and selling that yarn so I can see him asap :) That's all the incentive I need!

The wheel is an Ashford traditional, looks like it was made around 1975 so almost the same age as me. OK, so I'm a little older, but we're both 70's babies :) I have given her a polish and some oil to her moving joints and she moves well. Took me a while to work out that the bobbin had been put on the wrong way round, but once I'd realised that everything fitted perfectly.

 

In the bag of accessories that arrived today were a niddy-noddy, a pair of carders, 3 spare bobbins, a ball winder and the best thing of all, a Jacob fleece! Good thing I got a book on spinning a while ago so that I could start scouring the fleece straight away :) (beware, the following photos make my bath look filthy, but I assure you it is just crud from the fleece)

 

 So you know what I'll be doing for the next couple of days.....

First of a long line

I've spun odd bits of fibre before but never created a complete yarn. Until now...

  

This is merino and mulberry silk plied to make the yarn. The silk was easier than the merino to spin, but another couple of hundred grams of merino and I think I'll have it at the thickness I really want.

Go me! :)

If you doubt the existance of the Gods......

....Just tell them your plans. So lets see, shall we?

I have a kinda, sorta plan for this year. It's possible (likely?) that I could be made redundant this year as things are changing at work and people are being shed like yesterday's chip papers. I never imagined I would ever work in an office, so my 7 and a bit years in this job has been somewhat of a blip in an otherwise more craft-filled existence. Parts of it have been fun, and I've met some nice people, but the physical reality of sitting down for most of the day and staring at a computer screen is beginning to take its toll on my body and frankly if they decide to pay me to leave, I wont be arguing with them.

I will almost certainly have to find other employment working for someone else, but I also want to invest in myself too. I want to learn to spin properly using a wheel (I can already use a drop spindle). I want to start dying fleece and fibre with natural dyes. I'd like to be able to sell what I produce too, and hopefully get to the point where I can offer work experience placements for youngsters who need something to put on their CVs. But that's jumping ahead a little!

To start with, this first half of 2013, I intend to practise spinning with my drop a bit more, and gather some more bits of equipment. I had a browse round Amazon the other day and picked out about 10 books that looked like they would be useful in this new endeavour. I've been asking around to see if any fleeces might be available locally and it seems like there are several possible options.

The thing is, I don't want to wait until the redundancy notice drops onto my doormat before I get started with a new Plan A. I need to get my skills updated and get some networking in place first so that the transition, if and when it happens, is not so much of a culture shock.

Lots of people knit and crochet. Not so many people spin and process fleeces and fibres. I want to be one of them.

Just finished

And ready in time for my not-step-granddaughter's 1st birthday in a few day's time. Meet Tippi:

A day like any other

My husband asked me a couple of letters ago how I really handle not celebrating Christmas when just about everyone else is all happy and merry and really getting into the festivities. He knows that my special day is the solstice, and that usually I do things over several days rather than cramming it all into a gluttonous 24 hours.

Plenty of people around the world do not observe Christmas as any kind of special day, and many have other days in the year that they celebrate with gifts and parties and a little too much food and drink. I often think that birthdays are more special than holidays, simply because your birthday is yours. That makes my husband's eyes roll as well, because he has no time for astrology :)

But seriously, it really is no big deal for me not to jump on the Christmas Day bandwagon. I've already opened the couple of gifts I received this year, when my daughter and her boyfriend came over for dinner on Sunday. They are spending today with friends who this year had a premature baby. But you see, just because I don't do Christmas, doesn't mean I don't participate in anything that happens at this time of year. Quite the contrary; many Christmas traditions are based on pagan activities.

I send Yule cards rather than Christmas cards. I spend quite a bit of time each November hunting down cards that say "Seasons greetings" rather than any reference to Christmas, and I make sure that some of them have no glitter or other embellishments on so that they are prison-friendly. They usually have trees on, or robins and snowmen.

Talking of trees, I would have a tree as long as it still had roots, but I don't have a garden to keep it in. So for the past couple of years I haven't had a tree indoors at all or any specific decorations beyond some seasonal greenery in a bowl. But I have a yew tree just 5 feet from my front room window so I usually have my own show of birds to decorate my view instead.

I give gifts. Mostly handmade, or just small things that I know the recipients really want. I receive gifts too, though rarely as many as I give, but that's OK. It's not the receiving that counts.

We share food and drink, with people we want to spend time with. That's possibly a little different to the majority Christmas where you "have" to spend time with "family" whether you want to or not because it is "tradition". I love to cook, so having the kids over for dinner was great for me to do a full roast. As I now live on my own, I rarely cook that much food in one go these days. Eating with friends is also part of my tradition, whether I'm making food to send to them, or eating out with them as I will be in a couple of day's time for one of our regular lunches.

So really as you can see, my end of December isn't that different to other people's. I just don't spend ridiculous amounts of money, or hoard bread and milk as if the world is about to end. It's quite liberating, in an old fashioned kinda way.

Seeing red

But in a good way! I've been busy knitting and crocheting for Yule, and there has been an awful lot of red yarn in use.

There is still more to make, with some miniature Xmas stockings as tree ornaments to go with our Desk Decorating Competition at work. Then hopefully during the Xmas break I will be able to finish a couple of projects that keep getting put to one side so that I can knit for others. It will be good to start January with clear decks again.

Security lockdown procedure

Some readers may find the following useful in understanding how a full security lockdown can operate in a TDCJ prison.

NOTICE TO OFFENDERS

You have been placed on a lockdown status because of disruptive behaviour or security reasons. This status has been imposed and will continue to be imposed until such time as this disruptive behaviour is eliminated or the security reasons no longer exist. To ensure you understand the conditions and process of your return to normal activities, the progressive release schedule is explained below.

Week one: You will receive showers and necessities three times weekly and you will only receive sack lunches. Visitation privileges may be suspended. You will not be permitted dayroom privileges. If your behaviour is acceptable you will progress to week two.

Week two: You will receive showers and necessities three times weekly. You will receive commissary privileges one day. Hygiene items, one of each, and correspondence supplies, at a limit of $10, will be allowed with one spend for a total of $20 every two weeks. You will receive a hot lunch one time during the week if unit design allows and sack lunches for all other meals. Visitation privileges may be suspended. You will not be permitted dayroom privileges. If your behaviour is acceptable, you will progress to week three.

Week three: You will receive showers and necessities three times weekly. You will receive commissary privileges one day. Hygiene items, one of each, and correspondence supplies, at a limit of $10 will be allowed with one spend for a total of $20 every two weeks. You will receive a hot lunch and supper three days if unit design allows and sack lunches for all other meals. Visitation privileges will be reinstated if suspended. You will be permitted limited dayroom privileges as appropriate for your custody designation. If your behaviour is acceptable you will progress to week four.

Week four: You will receive showers and necessities three times weekly. You will receive regular commissary purchase privileges one day as appropriate for your custody designation. Daily hot lunches and supper privileges will be retunred and visitation privileges will continue. You will be permitted limited dayroom privileges as appropriate for your custody designation. You may be allowed to return to work at the Warden's discretion. Upon approval by the Warden, lockdown will be lifted.

Generally, all meals will be delivered via use of the food tray slot. If your cell does not have a food tray slot, to receive a meal while on lockdown status you must go to the rear of your cell, face the wall, kneel down and place both hands behind your back. When you have followed these procedures, your meal will be placed inside the cell door.

If at any period during these four weeks there is a recurrence of disruptive behaviour, the unit or portion involved may be returned to week one of the lockdown schedule.