the quacking fiber addict

One of the great resentments of my life is my clinical depression. Before it's onset in my early 20's, I had much more energy than I do now. I just did more. Now there are good days and bad days. Today wasn't the worst, but I felt completely useless for most of the day. I've taken two separate 1 hour naps to take the edge off. But, the few times I tried to get things done, they were disastrous. I broke one of my favourite earrings and my earring stand - forcing me to back away from finishing unpacking my room for the upteenth time.

Instead - between naps - I tried to help Mum unpack the kitchen, helped Dad with the finances (mostly by keeping him from throwing them across the room), and took Charlie for a long walk (with Mum) at Laurelhurst Park:


The park is quite impressive for it's size and location - in fact, it made me think of some of the choicer parts of Central Park. There's a large pond with ducks, geese, and a great blue heron that likes to fly around the lake and be admired. The park also has some off-leash areas, Charlie was pleased to discover.

I took a couple more shots of the flora and landscaping - the entire park is located in a bowl, almost a miniature valley, which is probably why it seems so intimate.



Otherwise? Not much else to report. No news from Journey Wheel, no news from the Peace Corps. No new FO's.

But, I have been spinning on my brand-new Spindlewood Co. mini-drop spindle and I loves it muchly. It spins forever and so evenly. St M mentioned to me that some spinners she knew had suggested placing straws on the shafts of her spindles - to make removing/ unwinding/ plying the yarn easier.

We'd both had problems with this concept. She couldn't find the right sized straw, so I decided to go the paper-quill route (Emmos generously donated a piece from her stationary on Saturday for me to make said quill). Unfortunately, the quill kept coming off:


So, this afternoon, I had a brainwave - a rubberband below the quill would hold it on as needed and could be removed easily (unlike double-sided tape, my other idea):


Which meant I got to go back to spinning without worrying about the yarn and quill sliding off of the spindle shaft at any moment. In case you're wondering - the spindle is made from Red Heart wood and a maple burl. The fiber (1 oz) is a Romeldale lamb/ tussah/ silk noil blend from Crosspatch fibers, called "Lily in the Starlight". It spins beautifully and makes for a very soft and lofty lace weight.

At the moment I am dreadfully far behind on my Bloglines subscripts - over 149 posts to catch up on, but I'm down from the 400+ count of three days ago. Going without internet for a couple of days = badness. Hopefully I'll catch up with them within the next couple of days. Of course, all y'all could make this easier on me and not update so frequently ;P

... Just a thought.

Labels: depression, handspun, Portland