Boxes and Nostepinnes

Still having fun on the lathe - mostly lidded boxes and more nostepinnes lately.

Cherry (on left) and Red Gum

Same cherry box on left with lid; Honduran mahogany on right

Camphor Burl nostepinne - the lathe room smelled great!

Catching up on January exercise...

Wed., Jan. 2: 5.1 dreadmiles
Fri., Jan. 4: 5.1 dreadmiles
Sat, Jan. 5: Garmin says 5.55 mi
Sun, Jan. 6: Rowed 5K; did 5 elliptimiles

Tue., Jan. 8: 5.25 dreadmiles
Wed., Jan. 9: Garmin says 5.5 mi
Fri., Jan. 11: Garmin says 10K (6.2 mi)
Sat., Jan. 12: 11 miles of hills at Queeny Park

Tue., Jan.15: 5.25 dreadmiles
Wed., Jan. 16: 5.5 dreadmiles
Fri., Jan. 18: 4.25 dreadmile walk

Back on the road

It appears that I've got my health problems sorted for the moment. Who knew that it would take $$$-worth of tests to equate trouble breathing to asthma. Anyway, what is done is done. I'm doing the running/walking catch-up in one post.

Sun., Sept. 23: 6.2 mi
Tues., Sept. 25: 5.15 mi
Fri., Sept. 28: 5.25 mi
Sun., Sept. 30: 6 mi

... and with that lousy 6-mi slog of a walk, I took a break while I met several nice doctors, nurses, technicians, and testing apperati. Fast forward to life on inhalers...

Sun., Nov. 4: 6.25 mi  (benchmark pre-medication... yep, exercise still sucks)

Fri., Nov. 16: 1.2 mi. dog walk
Sat.. Nov. 17: 5.5 mi walk
Wed., Nov. 21: 1.2 mi dog walk
Thu., Nov. 22: 5.5 mi Thanksgiving walk
Sun., Nov. 25: 3.65 at Bee Tree + 1.35 mi dog walk = 5 mi
Wed., Nov. 28: 4.25 mi on the dreadmill. Oh joy.
Fri., Nov. 30: 5.5 mi + 1.25 dog walk = 6.75 mi

And... back to The Program, which includes the 4:45 am alarm settings. Woot.
Sun., Dec. 2: 6.1 mi
Tues., Dec. 4: 4.5 mi dreadmill
Wed., Dec. 5: 4.3 mi walk
Fri., Dec. 7: 6.1 mi
Sat., Dec. 8: 5.5 mi
Sun., Dec. 9: 7 mi walk w/A and Kev

Tues., Dec. 11: 5 mi dreadmill
Wed., Dec. 12: total of 12K between dreadmill run, dog walk, and dreadmill walk.
  ... yes... 12K on 12-12-12, including the 12:12pm dog walk. :-)

Acrylic - Not My Favorite

Working with acrylic makes just about everything else seem like butter. It is hard on my tools and I'm not a fan of the smell. But when it's all nice and shiny... it's amazing.

Off the lathe recently...

Pacific Yew on left, blue acrylic (for Paul) on right

Bottom two - various laminated woods, top is acrylic

Shiny needle cases in acrylic (available on my Etsy site)

Quick rehash of recent run/walking... still trying to figure out why I can't run well recently:

Sat., Aug 25: 3.5mi walk during Clean Stream event
Sun., Aug: 26: 5.5 mi walk

Week of Aug. 27: 5.25 mi Tuesday, 5 mi Wednesday, 5.55 mi Friday, 5.25 mi Sunday
Week of Sept. 3: 4.3 mi Tuesday, 5.25 mi Wednesday, 5 mi Friday, 6.2 mi Sunday
Week of Sept. 10: 5.3 mi Tuesday, 5 mi Wednesday, 5.05 mi Saturday, 5.2 mi Sunday
Week of Sept. 17: 5.35 mi Tuesday, 5.25 mi Wednesday, 5 mi Friday.

Run for Your Lives

We went, we ran, we died.  :-)

The 'Run for Your Lives' 5K was billed as an obstacle course where you are also chased by zombies. Sounded fun! There was a steep entry fee, but seeing everything they had to bring in and set up, I can understand it better in hindsight. There was also a $10 parking fee, but... Subarus got to park for free. Heh.

The future undead.

Waves went off every half-hour, to spread the people out on the course. It was partly open fields (DUST), partly wooded trails that seemed to have recently been made or widened with a DR brush mower (DUST and root snags). Oh, and the obstacles and zombies. Some zombies just shuffled around, but others actively tried to grab one of the three flags on your flag-football-style belt. No flags at the end = dead and zombiefied after you cross the finish line.

 

Mah flags - now you see them, soon you won't.

The obstacles included sandwich-board-style walls to climb over, then wood beams to go under; a shack-type thing with a maze inside that also had zombies in it; a slimy mud pit; another shack-type thing you climbed into where it was dark inside... the piped-in "fog" didn't help... and electrified wires hanging from the ceiling. (I made it through that one OK, but Paul got zapped several times.) Near the end there was a large structure to climb with a water slide down the other side, little wooden things you had to crawl through on your knees in the mud, and then last you had to slide under, flat on your stomach, some horizontal chain link fence that they said was electrified, but I hit it twice with my head and nothing happened.

Live people are eligible for time-based awards, and dead aren't, but we all got the same medal. Theoretically there were "health packs" on the course with additional flags, but neither of us saw any sign of one. Not that I was in competition for an award anyway! So no matter. Stand in a long line for a cold shower with about 40 of your best friends, with water pumped direct from a tanker truck, and try to discreetly rinse out the mud that got INSIDE your shorts. Muddy shoes got dumped in a large pile - they'd be cleaned up and re-purposed through Project Sole.

 

See mine? They're right there... near the top...

All in all it was a lot of fun. I did pop my bad hamstring again... we'll see how long that takes to heal. Right now I have to lift my left leg to go up stairs and can't sit for very long - it's that spot right at the top where the hamstring attaches to your butt. Painful to sit at all. And my bad right shoulder is sore, probably from grabbing the tree to break my fall, when I dodged a zombie, caught a root with my toe, and torqued the hamstring.

But the zombies were all made up professionally by the race production company, and most of them looked pretty darn convincing. They did put a LOT of work into making the race happen. Advice to anyone who wants to do it, if they have it here again: take an early wave start.  :-)

Oh, and remember the rules:

1. Cardio

2. Doubletap

3. Beware of bathrooms

Since I probably will take a week or so off to let the hammie heal up...

Wed., 8/1: 5.5 mi

Friday: 5.5 mi

Sunday: 5.35 mi

Tues. 8/7: 5.5mi

Wednesday: 5 mi

Friday: 5.5 mi run, 1 mi dog-walk

Sunday: 7 mi

Tues., 8/14: 5.5 mi

Wednesday: 5.25 mi

Friday: 5.5 mi

Saturday: 5K zombie run, plus walking... total 5 mi

Quickie Running Update

It's been so bloody hot here - usually in the 70s at 5:30am, and humidity so thick it feels like breathing under water. But, still getting out there. I had a brief interruption when I went to Michigan last week and was in class all day and had homework at night. Oh, and some weird knee pain in my right leg. But plenty of rest has the knee better, even if the STL weather still sucks rocks.

Hey summer... are we done yet?

Sat., June 30: 5.3 mi walk in 1:14:31
Tues., July 3: 6.0 mi in 1:08:16
Wed.: 6.25 mi run/walk in 1:23:36
Fri.: 5.25 mi in 1:04:07
Sun.: 6.25 mi run/walk in 1:22:55

Tues., July 10: 6.0 mi in 1:08:11 (5 mi = 56:40)
Wed.: 5.55 mi in 1:04:59
Fri.: 6.0 mi in 1:08:40 (5 mi = 57:40)
Sat.: 5.5 mi walk in 1:18:49 (5 mi = 1:11:11)
Sun.: 3.1 mi (5K) on the ELM in 43:30

Tues., July 17: 5.5 mi in 1:05:40
Wed.: 5.2 mi in 1:02:29
Fri.: 5.0 mi in Ann Arbor
Sat.: walked 4.5 mi around Art Fair
Sun.: 7.0 mi run/walk at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor

Sat., July 28: 1.5 mi walk with Mom and Madi
Tues., July 31: 5.25 mi back in STL

Oh, you'll notice I stopped recording times. It's hot, and they suck, so no point!

Meet Tess

She is here! Meet Tess. She's a Carson Cooper Sabrina, a small folding travel wheel, made specially for me in birds-eye maple and camphor burl. She's a sweet little wheel.

Tess - a Carson Cooper Sabrina folding wheel

Front view

She's going to accompany me up to Michigan in July, when I head to The Spinning Loft in Howell, Michigan for the first level of the Master Spinner Program. We've already had fun getting to know each other. Again, I seem to default to spinning thing on every wheel.

Testing different fibers

Did I mention she's small but mighty?

Spinning on the deck

Despite the current record heat, I've been keeping to The Schedule. Catching up a bit...

Sunday, June 10: 5 mi on the Elliptical Machine of Death in 68:17
Tues., June 12: 5.5 mi in 5:03:37 (5 mi = 57:17)
Wed., June 13: 6 mi in 1:07:53
Fri., June 15: 6 mi in 1:07:50 (5 mi = 56:29)
Sat., June 16: 5.5 mi walk in 1:16:31
Sun., June 17: 5.5 mi run/walk in 1:08:19 (hot)

Tues., June 19: 6 mi in 1:09:58 (still hot)
Wed., June 20: 5 mi on the EMD in 71:51
Fri., June 22: 6 mi in 1:09:11 (5 mi = 57:03) ... still slowing down
Sat., June 23: 6.2 mi in 1:13:59 (5 mi = 59:30) ... still wfhot
Sun., June 24: 5.3 mi walk in 1:14:31

Tues.: 6 mi in 1:05:56 (5 mi = 55:10)
Wed.: 6 mi in 1:10:17
Fri.: 5.6 mi in 1:04:23

Nostepinnes... get your nostepinnes...

The nostepinne test cases continue - and I think I've hit on a design I like. Up to now, I've completed four of various sizes:

Nostepinnes!

From the top, that's honey locust, osage orange, purpleheart and flame birch. At first I thought the top two might be too large, but then I compared the winding end to my NKK ball winder, and... these are definitely still smaller.

Circumference of narrowest end and widest end of several winding tools.

And, yes, smaller than a Northern toilet paper roll tube, too. (Hey - those are useful for storing samples and small lots of yarn.) So today, I embarked on a quest to try and hit the perfect size. Work in progress...

Making a lot of wood shavings, definitely.

Nostepinne in progress

The final result - good proportions between a comfortable handle and good-sized winding end, along with the requisite yarn-notch for starting the ball, and a built-in half-inch WPI (wraps per inch) gauge just above the handle. And, I just love birdseye maple anyway.

Look at all of those eyes!

Birdseye Maple Nostepinne

I finally finished plying some yarn, too - this is Bugga! Fiber from Cephalopod Yarns in the Panoply of Heaven colorway. Ended up with 558 yds/115gm of 2-ply light fingering weight.

Latest handspun yarn - a superwash merino/cashmere/nylon blend.

 Running... I met Adrienne and Kevin at Queeny Park on Sunday, for a nice romp through the park in the heat. It was about 77F when we started, and when I finished my 8 miles, 90F. It was great to see them both again.

Sunday: 8 mi @ Queeny Park (with Kevin and A) - walk/run

Butterfly Wings

Fate?

On Friday, management said we could log off early for the holiday weekend. I decided to do just that (especially as I'd already gotten my 40 hrs in last week). While the computer was disconnecting from my remote session, I decided to take out some boxes to the bins in the alley.

Walking out, I happened to look over at the pond… and saw something odd. Dropped the boxes and went to take a look, and then realized - a baby bunny had somehow fallen in and was swimming for its life. It came around to me and I lifted it out. I have no idea how long it had been in there, or how much longer it would have been able to swim.

If I hadn’t decided to log off and take out some trash…

Baby bunny I rescued from the pond.

 I dried the poor thing off and made sure it was still breathing. I know bunnies can scare easily, especially palm-sized baby ones, so I tucked it under some plants in my neighbor’s yard (no dogs there), along with a few baby carrots.

About two hours later, I decided to check on it - if it was still there and alive, I'd offer up some of the broccoli leaves that the rabbits have been ravaging this spring. If it didn't make it, I'd be having a bunny burial. I went out, and it was not where I'd left it. I checked around the alley and garages, but no baby bunny. Hopefully it made its way back to its den, or better shelter. (I haven't seen the bunny-stealing crows lately, so I'm hoping it was safe from them, too.)

Catching up on that running stuff... most mornings have been great lately, but just recently it got hot again. I did manage to have Dr. Debbie ART away the glute pain I've been having. Turns out it was my right hip, and everything just went to hell from there.

Friday, May 11:  5.75 mi in 1:03:32 (5 mi = 55:19)
Sat., May 12: 7.0 mi at Queeny in 1:27
Sun., May 13: 4.5 mi in 52:56

Tues., May 15: 6.0 mi in 1:08:11 (5 mi = 56:58)
Wed., May 16: 5.25 mi in 59:00 (5 mi = 56:18)
Fri., May 18: 5.75 mi in 1:04:28 (5 mi = 55:52)
Sat., May 19: 5.5 mi in 1:14:34 w/Kevin @ Fenton City Park
Sun., May 20: 5.5 mi in 1:06:20 (HOT!)

Tuesday: 6.0 mi in 1:06:41 (5 mi = 55:48)
Wednesday: 5.5 mi in 1:02:08 (5 mi = 56:28)
Friday: 6.0 mi in 1:08:18 (5 = 58:48; 5.5 = 1:02:32) - hot and humid

Pretty AND Functional

The grinder is working great - sharp tools are sharp. And, I still feel like a badass every time I use it.

The sparks really don't hurt.

I roughed out a piece of osage orange, and made a nostepinne. Nostepinnes are an old-school way of winding yarn into center-pull balls for use. These days most people use ball winders where you just turn a handle, but nostepinnes are more portable. And it's fun to use one and confuse the muggles.

Osage Orange nostepinne

I'm using this one to refine the design and measurements. I like the handle and the winder-end length seems good. But I'll wind some yarn and see if I need to tweak the size at all.

Running... had a HORRIBLE run last week. Felt like my right hamstring had totally seized up. Got in to see Dr. Debbie, and she performed some ART magic on my right hip. I'm also using a foam roller and doing some new stretches. So far, not getting worse, so we'll see how it goes.

Friday, April 27: 5.5 mi in 1:03: 13
Saturday, April 28: 5.5 mi walk in 1:11:25
Sunday, April 29: 5.75 mi in 1:05:04 (5 mi = 56:42)

Tuesday, May 1: 5.25 mi dreadmiles in 1:07  (rain!!)
Wednesday, May 2: 5.25 mi in 1:06:05... the run from hamstring hell
Friday: 5.25 mi in 1:03:10 (5 mi = 57:20)
Saturday: took a kayak (Anna) up to Creve Coeur Lake for an hour + paddle
Sunday: 7.2 mi in 1:31:43 (hot and humid - walked about 2 mi total of that)

Tuesday: 5.75 mi in 1:05:15 (5 mi = 56:55)
Wednesday: 5.5 mi in 1:03:04

I feel like such a bad-ass...

... now that I can sharpen my own tools. Sharp tools are way the hell better than dull ones, and now I can just run downstairs and play on the lathe any time I want to, rather than try to figure out how much I can do before I need to run off to Woodcraft.

Case in point: before dinner tonight, I ran downstairs and turned another padauk bottle stopper top. The color in this wood is quite interesting - it's a bright orange fresh off the lathe, but after some time and two coats of butcher block oil, it's a deep rust-red color.

Padauk - oiled on the left, fresh off the lathe on the right.

And - I've been spinning! This came off the Lendrum this past weekend, and is now fluffy and dry. That's 300 yds of 2-ply in 103gm of Tunis. (It's from Gnomespun Yarn, if'n you've got a desire to obtain your own fiber.) I don't have as much experience with down-type fiber, but this was a lot of fun to spin and I love how it turned out.

Handspun Tunis yarn - 300 yds, 2-ply, 103gm

My two get-yer-ass-up-at-4:45am days this week are over - awesome.

Tuesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:03:08 (5 mi = 57:19)
Wednesdays-always-suck-days: Garmin says 6 mi in 1:09:18 (5 mi = 57:22).

Ol' Sparky is Ready to Go

And ... the last part of the lathe triad is in place... my grinder is here! You need sharp tools to do woodturning. Dull tools are both inefficient and dangerous. And with some hard woods, you need to sharpen after each small project, or several times during a  larger one. The grinder had a back-order date of the 27th, but I got a shipping notice last weekend, and it arrived mid-week. Today I finally had time to set it up, and get the grinding jig base in place.

Woodcraft 8" Slow-Speed Grinder and Wolverine Grinding system

I ordered the Wolverine Grinding System (including the Vari-Grind tool) because I'm sure I'll suck at grinding free-hand and wanted all the help I could get. The black bases under the wheels... yep, that. It holds the tool at the right angle to grind the edge correctly. I already sharpened my spindle gouge before I used it on another bottle-stopper top, and it made a huge difference already. I'd really dulled it on the last one I did - Zebrawood - so having it sharp for the Carob was awesome. Dull tools suck.

More bottle stoppers

I still need to work at making sure the base is level so the stopper part sits right up next to the wood - EVENLY - all the way around.  And - see those rain drops in the stopper pic? The weather has been craptastic all day. I put off my morning run because I did the Elliptical Machine of Death yesterday, and just could not make eye contact with the dreadmill. And once I got started doing things, I needed to do ALL THE THINGS and just kept working through my mental to-do list.

So, last week's abbreviated run/EL list:

Tuesday: Garmin said 6.0 miles in 1:06:55
Wednesday: Garmin said 5.25 mi in 1:01:21 (5 mi = 58:20 - yeesh)
Friday: Garmin said 5.5 mi in 1:00:44  (5 mi = 55:00 - better)
Saturday: 5 mi on the Elliptical Machine of Death in 66:48 - way faster than last time
Sunday: pffft - blew off the run to Do Things since I'd already run in the rain on Friday

As The Lathe Turns, continued

One more piece of the puzzle is in place... a 'starter' drill press. Just big enough to do what I need it to do, which is drill a hole in the CENTER of something. Apparently I can't do that with a hand-held drill to save my life.

Does one thing - drills holes - and does it well.

In the last week, I did find time to keep practicing on my between-centers turning. The bottle-stoppers are quick little projects, and let me practice cuts with various tools - mostly the roughing gouge, spindle gouge, and - when I'm feeling brave - the skew chisel.

Far from perfect, but fun practice.

I picked up a bit of a head cold late in the week, and ended up blowing off Saturday's run. But that morning I did head out to the Waterloo (IL) sheep and craft festival. It's a fun little event at the Waterloo fairgrounds. Lots of fibery things to buy, from raw fleece to spun yarn; sheep and goat judging for the kids; sheep-pellet bingo for everyone; herding dog and sheep-shearing demos; and a nice selection of lamb chops, roasts, sausage and brats. Yeah, I know... petting the live ones and then buying some for dinner. Ironic or just sad... you decide.

Anyway, it had poured rain all morning, and was still raining by the time I got home. When it finally quit mid-afternoon and the sun came out, the humidity was high enough to choke a fish, so I retreated to the basement to set up the drill press. So... all I had last week was:

Tuesday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:02:06 (5 mi = 56:28)
Wednesday: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:01:xx (5 mi = 57:49)
Friday: Garmin says 5.55 mi in 1:01:35 (5 mi = 55:29)
Sunday: Garmin says a slow 6.25 mi in 1:13:44. But, it counts.

Little Workshop of Wood Shavings

Woot! Electric is in, all the correct accessories obtained (including face shield and fire extinguisher), and the home lathe shop is ready to go. After finishing assembling all.the.things, I finally got a chance to turn something at home. First up... a big pile of wood shavings.

Go big, or go home

LOL - there's actually a small project in that mess... I did an easy piece to get the feel of my own tools. It's a top for a bottle/wine stopper, out of padauk. Nothing like starting off with a colorful bang.

Bottle stopper top out of padauk

We'll see how long the current shop vac survives with all the woodturning clean-up.

Still keeping up with The Schedule... at least it's been nice enough outside that I haven't been on the dreadmill in quite a while.

Tuesday: 6 mi. in 1:07:21 (5 mi = 55:55)
Wednesday: 5.5 mi in 1:01:43 (5 mi = 56:13)
Friday: 5.5 mi in 1:01:32 (5 mi =56:03)
Saturday afternoon: 5.5 mi in 1:00:57 (5 mi = 55:22)
Today: 6 mi in 1:08:32 (5 mi = 57:04)

Not much progress in the speed department... time to work on that, probably.

Warped - but not just me this time

The last few woodturning classes - we're now learning bowls. On 24 March, we turned green (fresh) maple blanks. After class, we were told to put the green bowls in a paper bag covered with their own shavings, to help them dry more slowly. Mine sat for a week. When I opened the bag again, the bowl had dried nicely, but had warped into a slight oblong shape... it was 1/4" wider along the grain line axis! That meant it could definitely not go back on the lathe. I ended up sanding the outside of it with the ROS, and leaving the bottom tenon as a "foot" for the bowl.

Green maple bowl - still a bit rough outside, but looks like a bowl, right?

The bottom - you can definitely see the warping (longer right to left).

But - after sanding and some butcher block oil, it looks fine for a first attempt.

In the 31 March class, our sub instructor, Matt, gave us some walnut to work on. Here I did a bit better... and finished the bowl in class, so I wouldn't have to worry about warping later. This is the little walnut bowl, also with a coat of butcher block oil.

Small walnut bowl (5-5/8" x 1-3/4")

Small walnut bowl

Last week's running was pretty good - nice mornings. Saturday and Sunday were a bit of a challenge... Saturday because I didn't go out until mid-afternoon, after turning class, and Sunday because it's just not right to have 80F + days already. I'll have to work on the heat-acclimation stuff. (And hope that it's not in the 90s all summer long!) Plus, I admitted that two pairs of shoes were past their use-by date, and were causing left achilles problems. On to new shoes.

Tuesday: 5.5 mi in 1:01:22 (5 mi = 55:44)
Wednesday: 6 mi in 1:07:18 (5 mi = 56:15)
Friday: 5.5 mi in 1:00:49
Saturday: 5.5 mi in 1:02:40 (5 = 57:02)
Sunday: 5.5 mi in 1:04:15 - at CCL. Car said 85F when I left the park.

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)

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!

Fat-Butt Update

Sticking to The Schedule since my return from FL...

Wed. 2/15: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:05:xx (5 mi = 1:02:xx)
Fri. 2/17: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:03:xx (5 mi =1:00:03... dammit); dog walk after work
Sat. 2/18: Garmin says 5.6 mi in 1:05:55 (5 mi = 58:00)
Sun. 2/19: Garmin says 5.3 mi in 1:00:54 (5 mi = 57:33); dog walk in the afternoon

This week:

Tuesday: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:03:xx (5 mi = 59:22... FINALLY)
Today: 5.25 dreadmiles in 1:03:xx (5 mi = 59:57)

At some point I'll get back on the Elliptical Machine of Death as it seriously kicks my ass. Maybe this weekend.

I'll Take Care of You

Kaje had to make a trip to the vet the other evening, for a leg she's been favoring on and off lately. Let's just say that the vet is NOT Kaje's favorite place to go. I think Zev knew that, and stayed close by when Kaje got home again.

Kaje and Zev

Catching up on a bit of running over the past weeks:

Tues. Jan. 24: 5 mi in 1:05:something on the dreadmill. Finally getting over the cold I had.
Wed. Jan. 25: 5 mi in 1:03:something - dreadmill
Fri. Jan. 27: 5.25 mi in 1:05:something - dreadmill
Sat. Jan. 28: 5 mi in 1:15:45 on the fixed elliptical machine. That kicked my ass.
Sun. Jan. 29: Garmin says 5.3 miles in 1:02:35 (5 mi = 59:00)

Onward to this week, when we had insanely warm weather for "winter":
Tuesday:Garmin says 5.3 mi in 1:02:28 (5 mi = 58:50)
Wednesday: Garmin says 5.35 mi in 1:03:59 (5 mi = 59:40)
Friday: Garmin says 5.5 mi in 1:03:06 (5 mi = 57:23)
Today: another 5 miles on the Elliptical Machine of Death, in 1:13:30. That thing wears me out.

Stupid Cold Germs

Last week was a bit of a bust with regard to running. I put in some time on the dreadmill - walk a half mile, slow run a half mile - and that seemed to be all right. I just want to keep this head cold crap from  moving into my lungs. I do not need to end up with bronchitis.

So... last Wednesday:  5 mi walk/run in 1:08:something.
Fast-forward to Saturday, when I did a VERY slow 10K in 1:27

At least it was something. Mileage so far for 2012: 75.65 mi

On the plus side, I did swap out the arms on the elliptical machine on Sunday.... something I've been meaning to do for... well, quite a while. Now I can try it out and see if the squeaking has gone away.

In other news... I'm working on a striped shawl in Malabrigo Arroyo. It's the Color Affection shawl.

Malabrigo Arroyo in Plomo and Borrajas

I also got a project off the loom - a scarf in The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga!, a merino/cashmere/nylon blend.

Bugga! in Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz (warp) and Black Witch Moth (weft)

And to round out the triad, I finished some spinning - this is Bugga! fiber in the Burrow Owl colorway. I ended up with 550 yds of 2-ply in 4oz.

Bugga! fiber in Burrow Owl