Handspun by Floyd Skloot

Handspun by Floyd Skloot
 

My wife sits in her swivel chair

ringed by skeins of multicolored yarn

that will become the summer sweater

she has imagined since September.

Her hand rests on the spinning wheel

and her foot pauses on the pedals

as she gazes out into the swollen river.

Light larking between wind and current

will be in this sweater. So will a shade

of red she saw when the sun went down.

When she is at her wheel, time moves

like the tune I almost recognize now

that she begins to hum it, a lulling

melody born from the draft of fiber,

clack of spindle and bobbin, soft

breath as the rhythm takes hold.

Folyd Skloot lives in Oregon. His most recent book is Approaching Winter, from Louisiana State University Press.

Thanks to Beth at Lorna's Laces for first posting this!

 

 

Christmas on the Road

We are on the road this year for Christmas. Our whole clan is converging in Portland, Oregon this year to meet the newest member of the family, a beautiful little boy.

I have one knitted Christmas gift and I bet you suspect, knowing me, that it isn't done yet. Well, you'd be right. I'll be knitting right until the second I hand that gift over.

I can't wait to be back in Portland, even without family there, it's one of those cities that feels like home.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, if you celebrate, and a wonderful relaxing day off if you don't.

If you see me in an airport, plane, coffee shop or bookstore knitting away on the gift that never ends please come say hi and keep me company!

Blending with Natural

I am hearing the siren song of natural colored fiber. Not by itself, but as a mixer, a little tonic to my colorful vodka braids.

I am smitten by both of these. The dyed fiber is Maya by Cjkoho designs and the gray/taupe is a natural BFL.

I want to combine the two in a variety of ways over the holidays. First up will be the usual one single of each plied together, but I want to work through as many variations and combinations that I can think of, including working beyond 2-plies, drafting the two together and maybe even making a type of ombré.

If you combine naturals and color in your spinning, what do you like to do?

I love Christmas Music

I love Christmas music. I have an old iPod Nano that has over 800 Christmas songs on it. I can't wait to get it out every year. How long do I wait? I try for December 1, but usually it comes out right after Thanksgiving.

I feel the most Christmas-happy early in December and then the few days right before the 25th. There is a week in between, about the 15th-20th, when there is just too much 'buy me' and 'gimme' going on and I feel a little grossed out by it all.

But even in the days where I am Grinchy, Darlene Love singing, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), makes me smile and sing along.

I add to my stash of Christmas music every year. This year it's the amazing Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, the Ventures and Tracey Thorn. I have the standards, Elvis, Frank, The Vienna Boys Choir and Charlie Brown, but around our house it's not quite Christmas without Brian Setzer, Motown and Louis Armstrong.

What's your favorite Christmas music?

Frankenfinger Lives!

Twelve long days after I cut my finger in a kitchen mishap I got my stitches out. I celebrated by spending most of the afternoon just bending my finger and typing on the computer without holding my injured pointer finger skyward.

I have no nerve damage, full motion and the cut healed without infection or anything else gross. I am going to have an excellent scar.

Even though I can now type, knit and spin with all of my fingers, it's good to know that I could work around the injury and still do all of the things I do to make my living.

Working: I'm a Weekly Planner

In the world of trying-to-be-organized folks, we talk about being a daily or weekly planner. Do you like to look at the things you have to do in a daily view (one page per day) or a weekly view (a week over a page or a page spread).

I know that I am a weekly planner. My day to day, while having deadlines and some specific times to work, is fluid. I like to look at everything I need and would like to accomplish for a week and every morning plan my strategy for the day.

My planner, which is an inexpensive Muji notebook, has a weekly 2 page spread that I draw. The top of the spread has my week marked out by day. The bottom, the things I'd like to get accomplished that week by category.

In the daily columns, I list tasks in the largest part, using Bullet Journal notations, the middle section is for appointments and the bottom part is what's for dinner.

The weekly category lists are filled by looking at my project task lists and calendar. I also have separate spots in the spread to list the important must-do things for the week, big things that are coming up quickly, what I need to remember for next week, weekly check boxes for things like daily yoga, and a spot for wild hair notes.

I've been doing a weekly spread for a couple of years and know that is the one true way for me. I've been using this particular spread for a few months and still tweak it a little every week.

How do you organize your week?

I'm Knitting

It's been a long time since I've knit for pure pleasure. Really it's been a long time since I've knit anything bigger than a swatch. I do love sampling and swatching, but sometimes even I need a finished object!

I'm knitting two things and plotting a third. I'm knitting a baby blanket for my new nephew who I'm going to see at Christmas. We're all flying to Portland,Oregon on Christmas day to do a little festive baby holding. I'm using Knitted Wit Victory DK and a pattern out of Sequence Knitting excellent on-the-go mindless knitting.

I swatched for a big cowl with Freia Ombre Super Bulky. I used all lace patterns, I love the look of bulky lace. I'm reluctant to tear out my huge swatch becasue I just like looking at it and petting it.

I'm going to finally knit a Lopi. My girl picked out Alafoss from Knitting with Icelandic Wool. Her color guidance is, medium brown for the base color and dark purple for the main color, I'm on my own for the other three.

One of the reasons I'm excited about knitting again is that a new knitting shop is opening in Ann Arbor, Spun. It's going to be in Kerrytown and the people who are running it are fantastic and a lot of the yarns are going to be the exact toothy, tweedy ones that are my favorites.  I can't wait to have a new home away from home to hide and knit.

How's my finger? Gross and itchy. I go in for a wound check today. I think everything is OK healing-wise, but I am frustrated by all of the things that I can't quite do. I'm not a very patient patient.

Tell me what you are knitting!