Wheels for dummies, or Why yes, it is an impressive skill! Thank you!
Our landlord has been spending a lot of time around our place, what with the destruction of the basement and hazmat exploration and all. He was in the kitchen telling us of his grand plans for the new drywall, already impressed that we had
(a) grown basil in his yard, and
(b) made pesto of said basil*, all by ourselves,
and then he spied my Babe spinning wheel.
Is that like some kind of 19th century relic?
No, dude, it's PVC. See? And see the wheelchair wheel? And the plastic drive band? (He's a mechanically minded guy, and he gets a kick out of examining these things.)
What is it? Does it work? What's it do?
It's a spinning wheel; I make yarn on it. (I luckily have finished plying the white Brown Sheep fiber, but haven't yet wound it into a skein. I pull out a length of yarn and let him hold it.)
What do you start with?
Wool, fiber, roving, top... I show him the merino silk blend from the Fold, and say, "Like that! But obviously this fiber was white." (I decide to go really basic, and it also distracts him from asking what specifically is the fiber he's holding, since I'm embarrassed to admit I still can't get straight the difference between top and roving. I have to go look it up again someday.)
Wow, you start with this fluff and you make yarn?
Yep! I pull open the pillowcase of washed meat-sheep wool, and hand him a few locks. "I'll spin this next, probably." (This is a lie. I really want to spin the merino silk next, and while the short meat-sheep fiber works great on the spindle after carding, it's far too short for me to spin it on the wheel in my current non-expert state.)
So you card it, you spin it, then you can knit with it?
Yup. (He looks a little awed.) I've gotta have a skill when the revolution comes, you know?
When's that going to be?
Well, I don't know yet. That's why I have to get started.
____________________
*We beat the frost! Yeah! We have more than six cups of pesto! Thanks, Stephanie, for reassuring me that we will not get botulism and die if we store the pesto in the fridge for a couple days. The bulk of it will get frozen, but tomorrow we're having pasta with pesto sauce. Yum.
(a) grown basil in his yard, and
(b) made pesto of said basil*, all by ourselves,
and then he spied my Babe spinning wheel.
Is that like some kind of 19th century relic?
No, dude, it's PVC. See? And see the wheelchair wheel? And the plastic drive band? (He's a mechanically minded guy, and he gets a kick out of examining these things.)
What is it? Does it work? What's it do?
It's a spinning wheel; I make yarn on it. (I luckily have finished plying the white Brown Sheep fiber, but haven't yet wound it into a skein. I pull out a length of yarn and let him hold it.)
What do you start with?
Wool, fiber, roving, top... I show him the merino silk blend from the Fold, and say, "Like that! But obviously this fiber was white." (I decide to go really basic, and it also distracts him from asking what specifically is the fiber he's holding, since I'm embarrassed to admit I still can't get straight the difference between top and roving. I have to go look it up again someday.)
Wow, you start with this fluff and you make yarn?
Yep! I pull open the pillowcase of washed meat-sheep wool, and hand him a few locks. "I'll spin this next, probably." (This is a lie. I really want to spin the merino silk next, and while the short meat-sheep fiber works great on the spindle after carding, it's far too short for me to spin it on the wheel in my current non-expert state.)
So you card it, you spin it, then you can knit with it?
Yup. (He looks a little awed.) I've gotta have a skill when the revolution comes, you know?
When's that going to be?
Well, I don't know yet. That's why I have to get started.
____________________
*We beat the frost! Yeah! We have more than six cups of pesto! Thanks, Stephanie, for reassuring me that we will not get botulism and die if we store the pesto in the fridge for a couple days. The bulk of it will get frozen, but tomorrow we're having pasta with pesto sauce. Yum.
posted by Trope at 7:51 AM
3 Comments:
I get this kind of thing all the time,
is that a special kind of knitting you do to knit socks? (this one was from this morning)
Is that a toy you are playing with? Can I get one for my kids . . .? (about my spindle)
ha ha! that's hilarious. did you really say that part about the revolution? funny.
Too cool! That man learned something...how often do landlords actually learn something? And I envy you your pesto, indeed I do.
Post a Comment
<< Home