Musical Hearts

For Christmas 2008, Teresa gave me a painting she did to celebrate the years of music she enjoyed when she lived at home. It is a simple and elegant design. I never get tired of looking at this painting. The right side of the heart is the bass clef music symbol , the left side represents the time we both contributed to Teresa's music.

For Teresa's birthday this year, I had her design translated into a silver necklace. The necklace is a simplified version of Teresa's design. I think it turned out nice and I hope she will like it. I'm looking forward to giving it to her.

Both the painting and necklace make me think about our "music days". When Teresa was young she had to ride in the back seat of our '91 Toyota Corolla because her bass violin rode in the front seat - the bass was too big to get through the door into the back seat. We spent many hours together stuffed into that little car driving to music lessons, rehearsals, concerts and festivals. When Katherine was younger she and her cello would ride in the back seat next to Teresa, with the music stands, bags of music and school homework in the trunk. I often thought we'd make for a fun Toyota commercial demonstrating how much you could pack into one Corolla.

Life was traveling at a crazy pace for us then. I remember many times not having time to make dinner after work before I needed to drive the girls to a rehearsal, music lesson, or other event. On those days we would go to drive thru fast food restaurants. I'd hand hamburgers over my shoulder to the girls to eat in the car. It seems kind of crazy to me now when I think back on it. It was a faster pace of life than I could survive at now. I can't believe how many years have gone by since then. It's true, children do grow up faster than we expect. Recently my grandson, Christopher, began taking piano lessons. I am very excited for him and the many experiences he has ahead of him in the world of music. I'm happy that my children value the wonder of playing a musical instrument.

Thank you Teresa for the painting, I hope you will like your necklace even half as much as I like your gift.

Amethyst, Take-2


I finished my 2nd attempt of spinning the Amethyst roving this week. The final yarn is shown on the left in this photograph. I am pleased with this 4 ply cabled yarn, it has a smooth and dense feel and should make a nice durable pair of mittens.

The singles were spun Z twist on a drop spindle then transferred to Louet bobbins. Two singles were plied S twist on my Louet S10 wheel and then plied again Z twist for the final 4 ply cabled yarn. I spun a total of 490 yards of the final yarn at 1010 yd/lb and 12 wpi.

I have had troubles with preparing cabled yarn in the past and am happy to have obtained this balanced result. I did have to add more spin to the 2 ply intermediates by running them thru my Louet wheel a second time so that they would ply together nicely. As always, it's an experiment in learning about hand spinning - with nice results this time. I'm taking a moment to enjoy the nice feeling of accomplishment.....then onto the Chameleon colorworks roving!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!
When Katherine was about 4 or 5 yrs old, she made a marble painting at preschool. The marbles where placed in cups of paint, removed and placed on a piece of paper in a shoebox. The painting was created by rocking the shoebox so that the marbles would roll around. I thought it was a very cute painting and framed it many years ago.

Recently in preschool, Christopher made a shoebox painting. Katherine framed it and sent it to Art for his birthday.

Enjoying fond memories of Katherine and making new ones with Christopher.

Fiber Time
I have been spending time spinning fiber on my favorite drop spindle. I like it better than my wheel for spinning fine singles. I transfer the singles from my drop spindle to Louet bobbins and ply them on my S10 wheel.

Recently completed:

1) Louet Merino/silk roving (product # 12.8752-6, color fuchsia) purchased at Webs in Northampton, MA December 2009:

Fuchsia roving, singles and final 3 ply yarn (580 yd, 17 wpi, 1700 yd/lb) wrapped on cards:

2) 4 ply cabled yard (65 yd, 16 wpi, 1280 yd/lb,) made with left over Merino/silk fuchsia singles and white Tussah silk from roving purchased from Liberty Ridge Farms October 2004 at the New York State Sheep and Wool craft Fair in Rhinebeck, New York. :

Final skeins of the three ply fuchsia yarn and 4 ply cabled fuchsia and white silk yarn:

3) 2 ply (145 yd, 1300 yd/lb, 18 wpi) Alpaca and Angora blend; roving purchased from Cobble Rock Ridge Farm at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Fair in April 2009:

4) Merino/tussah spun from roving purchased from Clover Leaf Farms October 2008 at the New York State Sheep and Wool craft Fair ( 450 yd, 1700 yd/lb, 15 wpi):

Currently working on:

5) Amethyst Merino roving purchased from Webs in December 2009:

I fell in love with this roving and was in a hurry to make it into yarn. I tried spinning the roving on my Louet s10 wheel, but my rushed approach produced an uneven 2 ply yarn:

I purchased more roving and am trying to patiently spin thinner singles on a drop spindle. I would like to produce a smooth 4 ply cabled yarn.