I Guess it Had to Happen...

If you own a lathe, you have to make a pen. I think that's written down somewhere. But, after making a bunch of spinning tools, I finally made pens. And a stylus with a pen inside.

Acrylic stylus/pen at top, then Canarywood, and Bois de Rose.

I also made some new needle holders, and additional stylus-pens - they're all up on my Etsy site, RiverPoet Fiber and Yarn.

Quilted Maple needle holder

Figured Pyinma stylus with telescoping pen

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

Back to School

I'm way overdue for a report, so... here it is!

The last week of July I was up in Michigan for spinner's camp... or more formally, the Olds College Master Spinner Program Level 1. Last fall, I heard that The Spinning Loft in Howell, MI was going to start hosting the classes. As that's about 30 minutes from Ann Arbor, I could stay with my family and drive up for class, getting a nice visit and some education all at the same time. I was able to get registered for it (there was quite the demand!), and made plans to head up.

Because of the extensive supply list, I was glad I was able to drive. Even though I have my cute new travel wheel, the rest of the gear would have needed to be shipped ahead if I had flown. For the record - it is 546 miles one-way from my house to Mom and Dad's.

Nope - still didn't step on it.

I went up early so we could pay homage to the Art Fair (three fairs in one,  and MUCH bigger than it used to be), and hang out with family. Then on Monday the 23rd, I drove up for my first day of class. We had instruction from 9am to 4pm all week, plus homework most nights, and rarely were we done by 4pm. Great classmates, wonderful instructor (Coleen Nimetz), lots to do and practice, and surrounded by raw fleece and fiber toys. What a great way to spend a 'vacation'!

Fleece drying outside the shop.

A bit chaotic, but that's half the fun! And that's Tess up front.

We sorted fleece, we spun different ways, we dyed many the things... and this was all to get us ready for our homework/self-study. I've got a big list of things to complete before I can sent my notebooks in for grading. (And I'm sure I'll be posting about it more as I complete assignments.) It will be a fun and busy autumn, and I'm already looking forward to continuing on to Level 2 some time next year - I'll be signing up as soon as it's posted.

The class of 2018 with Coleen!

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

Muddling Through

More fun at the lathe... I made some muddlers (those things you use to smash the heck out mint, in search of the perfect mojito).  And, while I was down there, I had a try at my first spindle. This one is a supported spindle, is 11" long, and weighs 27.5gm.

... so now I guess I need to get better at my supported-spindling.

All in blue mahoe wood from Puerto Rico:

Muddler, spindle, muddler

Spindle, muddler, muddler

Spindle!

Why I kept wanting to type "Mulder", as in X-Files, I have no idea.

Catching up on that avoiding-the-fat thing... running. I'm quite peeved that I'm getting slower rather than faster. So today I went out and walked - as in, WALKED - my Carondolet Park route. More muscle-tired, less overall-tired, which was fine since I spent the afternoon standing in front of the lathe. The summary since last time:

Tuesday, May 29: 5.5 mi in 1:03:22 (5 mi = 56:29)
Wed., May 30: 5.6 mi in ?? (watch fuckup)
Friday, June 1: 6 mi in 1:07:08 (5 mi = 56:03)
Sat., June 2: 6.2 mi in 1:11:21  (5 mi = 57:49)
Sun., June 3: did a 5.5mi run at CCL, then kayaked another 4 mi around the lake

Tue: 6 mi in 1:08:12 (5 mi = 56:44)
Wed: 5.5 mi in 1:03:30 (5 mi = 57:32)
Fri: 5.5 mi in 1:02:49 (5 mi = 57:01)
Sat: 6.25 mi power-walk in 1:24:55

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