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.

Remembrance

Over the past year I have gone from thinking that none of my family served in either of the World Wars (because no one had ever told me they had) to knowing that several fought in both as well as in the Boer War. So today, I remember 3 men who died in the Great War:

My great grandmother's cousin Sgt William Harry Sansum, 20th Battalion
born 25 September 1874
killed in action 19 August 1916 at Ypres, Belgium.

My great, great uncle Corporal William Henry James Josey Clanfield, Reserve Mechanical Transport Convoy
born 3 March 1873
died 29 October 1918 at Rouen, France.

My great, great uncle Albert Lay
born July 1883
Killed in action 29 April 1917 at the Battle of Arras, France. Below is how that day of the battle was described in the History of the 2nd Division, Berkshire Regiment:

"The Berkshires at once established blocks and flank defences and snipers were pushed forward into Oppy
Wood where they also established themselves. Here three enemy machine guns were captured and used with
considerable effect upon the retiring Germans. A number of the enemy's troops were also captured, some of whom pretended to be dead until tiurned over in order to be searched. Thes prisoners were immediately evacuated. Thus far the Berkshires held all they had so gallantly won. The right flank of the battalion was heavily counterattacked. Nothing daunted however, the enemy with great courage came on again and again, his troops being decimated by the splendid marksmanship of the Berkshires. Between 5 and 9.30 am he launched five separate attacks against the battalion. Four were repulsed but during the fifth the supply of grenades gave out and, almost exhausted and much reduced in numbers, the Berkshires were forced to give ground. And then as the men filtered back through the battered trenches they came suddenly upon a store of German bombs. Arming themselves with these they again faced the enemy and, attacking him furiously, won back all the ground they had lost.
Once more the enemy launched a heavy counter-attack against the right front and centre of the now very thin line of Berkshires. But ever as they came on the enemy's troops were shot down by rifle and Lewis gun fire. and this attack also was bloodily repulsed. Fresh enemy attacks continued to develop until at last
reduced to less than half their original strength and scattered over a front of about 500 yards the gallant
Berkshires were compelled to withdraw to the line of the sunken road running south west from the west corner of Oppy Wood.
The left company (C) holding its objectives north of the sunken road, now numbered only 35 other ranks, moved north along the trench taking with them their wounded and three captured machine guns until they joined hands with the 5th Infantry Brigade about B.12, d.0.4 Here the survivors of the company remained.
The remainder of the Berkshires their left flank in the air and all their bombs expended, retired to the old British line and. there maintained their ground. No wonder the Brigadier of 99th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier-General R O Kellett) said in his report to Divisional Headquarters "During this severe fighting the action of the 1st Royal Berks was beyond all praise ... towards the end practically all the Lewis gunners were killed or wounded." During the day's fighting the Berks had captured about 70 prisoners and 3 machine guns and had killed large numbers of the enemy."

Out of 200 Berkshire soldiers that staged the attack, 151 were killed.