The Tuesday after the Saturday before

Sometimes so much is happening that you barely have the time to catch a breath and sit down and reflect and look back. Sometimes you need to take the time to digest stuff that has been happening.
At the moment, I'm living in sometimes: the busy sometimes during the day and the digesting sometimes at night, when I'm trying to catch up with the rest of the world and with the worldwind of activity in our lives. With new popes, friends in trouble, friend with happy news, kids that want attention, and finding time for a husband, a house and a knitting bag gathering dust.
It's busy. Extremely busy. Just to cheer myself up, I did the accounts for the last few weeks of work, and I suddenly see why it's been so busy. No crisis at Babylonia. No time for crisis. Which is good. But which also means: less time for other plans. Less time for great ideas which are taking shape, which are in the head, shouting: 'LET US OUT!'

Luckily, sometimes you are forced to jump out of the work train and just sit and chill and enjoy. I usually don't get time to do it until sometime around midnight. But last Saturday was a whole day of chill and enjoyment. Hardly any sitting down but!

As National Spinning Group, we had our official annual meeting last Saturday. To ensure that we not only had a boring meeting, going through the minutes of the last meetings and vote on a few minor issues - which we managed to fly through in 19 minutes (is that a world record?) - we also decided to organize a small market and a demo corner. If people take the effort to come all the way down to Arnhem, they deserve a treat!
After finding the right location, inviting shops and organizing coffee, cake and other stuff, all we needed to do was arrive on time to set everything up. And when said location is in Arnhem, and you promise to be there at 8AM, that means no time to chill on a wintry Saturday morning, but a cold early wake-up call at 5.30AM and a chilly drive down south.
Luckily, smiles greeted me as soon as I arrived. Everyone was looking forward to a fun day together. We amazed the owner of the gym hall, who never believed that we would be able to get a hundred spinners together. With wheels and spindles. When we first made an appointment to go see the place, he thought he was dealing with sweating, lycra-wearing spinners of the bike persuasion. How wrong he was! This was going to be a relaxing, yarny and soft day!



I was 'in charge' of the blending boards, demonstrating its use and letting others try it out on a few boards which Woolness was kind enough to supply us with. It was great fun making little rolls, playing with colour and laughing and chatting away.



In the demonstration corner I was joined by Suzy B, who brought her hackle, blending board and art yarn spinning wheel, and Esther P, who showed her talents on the wheel. Even though we barely got to talk, it was great to share our passion for 'the stuff yarn is made from'. And that hackle, really, a true murder weapon! I also had some English wool combs on the table, to show to people, but had it covered most of the time. With those long pins, I was afraid people were going to hurt themselves when I wasn't looking!
On my other side was Hetty, with lots of weaving looms, while in the locker room, three microwaves were pinging away, producing steaming hot packages of dyed yarn. Over all: a great combo of different techniques on offer. We have lots of ideas for the Spinning Weekend in October!


I also had time to have a quick look around the market square. As I was desperate for another spindle, I had a look at what De spinkamer brought along, and Kiki came home with me, a cute supported spindle... Even though I was mighty tired and sore all over after the long day and long drive home, she was put to work straight away, and trust me, I can spin fine with a bottle of beer in me!

Since Saturday, I've been spindling away like mad. While the pasta is cooking. In the bathroom chatting to the kids in the tub. A last midnight spin to wind down the brains... And the reason for that? I'll be giving a spindling workshop at the Breidag in Nieuwegein at the end of the month! If you want to join me and learn the basics of drop-spindling in under an hour, check out the website!
A few things I did this weekend, with Koekie:

Shetland yarn, superfine...
With my drop spindle Tippi:

Bleu de maine, slightly coarser and thicker
And with Kiki:

Art batts, carded during Midwinterwol
Various other batts have already been spun up. Lots of rolags are being rolled. A plan is being hatched and a first tip of the veil has been lifted on Ravelry. Watch this space!!!





Comments

Gini said…
HĂ©, ik wil dolgraag leren spinnen op een spindle, maar heb jouw workshop helemaal niet op de site zien staan. Ik heb al ingeschreven op een andere workshop, maar misschien kan die van jou er nog bij (als je er op vrijdag bent :)
Maar ik zie m nog steeds niet op de site? Of kijk ik ergens over heen?
MoniqueB. said…
You and your girls! They produce the prettiest things in your capable hands!
Wat een dag. Je hebt nĂłg eerder dan mij een supported spindle, waar ik eigenlijk op uit was. Wist ik maar dat die ook in NL te krijgen zijn.
Nu eerst maar eens lid worden van die club; ben ik 101!

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