More Fun With Power Tools

Woodturning class #4... bowls. One bowl, lots of shavings.

We turned green maple wood, so right now that little bowl is in a paper bag, surrounded by fresh wood shavings. I'll take it back to class next week, and clean up the outside. And... start another bowl.

In the meantime, I'm sticking to The Schedule:

Friday, 3/16: Garmin says 5.25mi in 59:14 (5 mi = 56:18)
Saturday, 3/17: 5 miles on the EMD in 67:36... better!
Sunday, 3/18: Garmin says 6 mi in 1:10:38. Ouch.

Tuesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:01:28 (5 mi = 55:44)
Wednesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:02:12 (5 mi = 56:38)
Friday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:01:05 (5 mi = 55:20)
Saturday: Garmin says 6.2 mi in 1:07:31 (5=54:30, 5.5=59:59)
Today: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:01:44 (5 mi = ? ... forgot to look)

As The Lathe Turns

Second woodturning class - learning beads and coves. We got to practice on a few pieces, and I now have a nice beginner's candlestick!

Results of my second time using a lathe

This is fun!

Catching up on that running stuff... despite the time change this week and losing an hour of sleep, I've actually looked forward to getting up to run. It's been unseasonably warm here, with morning temps in the 50s (and daytime in the 80s!). I'm sure we'll pay big-time for this, but in the meantime... I'm quite enjoying the quiet morning running.

Tuesday 3/6: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:01:xx (5 mi = 58:53)
Wednesday 3/7: Garmin says 5.5mi in 1:02:15 (5 mi = 56:35)
Friday: 5.5 dreadmiles in 1:05:05 (5 mi = 59:16)
Saturday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 59:47 (!!!!) - 5 mi = 54:14 (!!!!) - after lathe class, no less
Sunday: Garmin says 6 mi in 1:10:40 (5 = 58:50)... totally paid for Saturday's great run

Tuesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:02:36 (5 mi = 56:36)
Today: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:03:32 (5 mi = ? ... too dark to see)

New Month, New Skill

In my quest to learn or do something new each month, March is for... woodturning! I signed up for a Beginning Woodturning class through the Craft Alliance here in St. Louis. Our instructor is Bernard Voss. He's made some pretty cool stuff, so I'm excited to be learning from him.

Our first class was my first time ever to use a lathe, so... it was a bit intimidating at first. But Bernard had us all working away fairly quickly, and it was fun. Our first project? Mushrooms!

Yeah, I know. But you have to start somewhere, right? Besides, I think they're cute.

Today's run: Garmin says 7.5mi in 1:25:15. (5 mi = 57:08; 10K = 1:10:40)

The Joy of Creating

Start with some raw fleece:

Raw Bond fleece - from a sheep  named Poppy

Scour it, and drum-card it into batts:

Bond batts

Spin it up really thin:

Singles - spun on a Canadian Production Wheel (CPW)

Ply it:

Navajo-plied (to a 3-ply fingering-weight yarn)

Then knit it up into something:

Pattern: Buttonwillow Wrap, by Romi

In the meantime... catching up on that running-stuff:

Friday Feb. 24: 5.5 dreadmiles in 1:06:xx (5 mi = 59:45)
Saturday: 5 miles on the Elliptical Machine of Death in 75:41
Sunday: an ill-advised 10K the day after the EMD miles, slogged through in 1:13:19 (5 mi = 58:??)
Tuesday: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:02:xx (5 mi = 59:13)
Wednesday: Garmin says 5.25 mi in 1:02:02 (5 mi = 59:02)
Today: Garmin says 10K in 1:09:01 (5 mi = 55:55) ... improvement!