Good Fridays in Port Fairy

Rain rain

This morning I left the apartment in pouring rain, arriving at work drenched to my knees.

















Tonight I went to see Sir Terry Pratchett OBE and it was marvellous

Then I went up to someone to ask if that was an Ishbel she was wearing and had she made it herself. She had, out of some Tosh Sock. She, in turn, complemented me on my Lacy Baktus and Rose Red.

Gosh, I love cold weather.

I'm so happy that someone built this

Nobody tell my mother, k?

Corriedale fleece for handspinning. Wilanjie Coloured Sheep. I am spinning straight from the bag, haven't even washed it. (And it turns out I remember a lot from when I was a little girl living on a farm with coloured sheep - I put down a drop cloth under the wheel before I started to catch all the stuff that falls out and I am finding it much easier to spin the raw fleece than carefully prepared roving).

I can't tell you how much fun I'm having

 I was getting up earlier anyway because of the change from daylight savings, so I decided to use that extra hour a day changing this:

















 To this:

















Then this:

Trying new things (also known as, slavishly copying the Harlot)

In which I saw a squirril and rescued a just-hatched butterfly from being trodden on

What I did on the weekend.

Meet my new wheel, Doris Rolland

A few months ago, a friend was at the Woodend tip and saw a spinning wheel. She bought it from the nice tip men and gave it to me for my birthday.


















I took it to the new home of the hand weavers and spinners guild yesterday morning (655 Nicholson Street [just as well I won't be in Melbourne much longer]) and it turns out that there was nothing wrong with it that a screw driver, a new drive band, two springs, some fishing line, candle wax, some sand paper, some machine oil and two hours of elbow grease wouldn't fix.

I had a lovely time restoring it [part way] to its former glory (I couldn't find any furniture polish - they didn't have any in the supermarkets I went to. I figure I will wait until I get home. Mum is bound to have stuff like that about somewhere).

And then a perfectly splendid time spinning. It is So Much Faster than the drop spindle (though I spin a much more consistent thread on the spindle at the moment, and Doris will not fit in my pack to go to Uzbekistan).

Green Spindle

The next lot of yarn I am spinning on the spindle is from fibre I bought many many years ago.

















 I want to be able to add to this thread on ravelry, so I am taking pictures as I go.

It is taking a Very Long Time. But I got my spinning wheel fixed this morning, so as soon as I have finished getting the rust off/out and fix the drive band and the bit that goes over the spool, I'll see how that goes.