I’m not entirely sure which day I used to set aside as spinning day, but for whichever knitting project waggled its needles in front of me, I sort of dropped the spinning habit. I can’t honestly say the last time I sat at one of my severely neglected wheels. Yes WHEELS. As in way more than one. I did use a drop spindle, what two weeks ago it is now. Nope still haven’t taken a picture of what the glorious bunny crack/merino combo looks like on the cute little Hatchtown spindle.
After spending some time whipping my bedroom, the most neglected room in my neglected apartment, into some semblance of order, I rewarded myself with some time at the wheel. My Lendrum upright lives in there along with the Kromski stool that I bought from Lea last year. Her husband was a dear and finished it in a clearcoat for me as they come in the other finishes but that one. Which reminds me, at some point I need to pick up one of the floor stands for my Harp Rigid Heddle loom. Amongst the more neglected of the hobbies is weaving. While I enjoy the weaving itself, I totally hate dressing the loom. That’s why my 4-H loom has been sitting in the corner for years untouched. Oh wait, it is dressed. I got bored with the placemats that I had been weaving, what, 3 years ago now? I know it was pre-short people as the loom lived in what would become their room. Hell, the placemats aren’t even the right color anymore as they were styled around the dishes I just pulled out to replace with the Melmac.
But I digress….
I sat for about 45 minutes last night and just spun. Why do I let so much time go between spinning sessions? I seem to forget how much I enjoy it until I’m sitting at a wheel. I spun more of that pink and blue Romney roving I got in Maryland from the Barefoot Spinner. The picture is the stuff, but I have to admit that it wasn’t taken last night, or even this morning. Even with the 45 minutes of spinning, it is fine enough and the WW winds it on so evenly that I can’t tell that the level has even changed. I’m even more in love with the Woolee Winder on the Lendrum than I was the last time I used it. I think. Not that I remember the last time I used it too clearly. I just spun and spun and spun. It was so relaxing. The hand hurts not this morning. Though I don’t think one evening off from knitting is what did it. I’m leaning towards toddler weight-lifting as being the cause of the hand problems. Kat was a bit clingy the night before and I spent considerable time toting her around. She ain’t getting any lighter!
Speaking of pain management, I’m pretty sure I hit on one of my migraine triggers. Artificial sweeteners. I’ve been a diet soda drinker for a couple of years now. I realized that the days I had had a diet coke (pepsi too) that I also had a pretty bad headache. I’d had issues with aspartame years ago, but it had been stomach discomfort and that was back in the early 80′s after it hit the market. I swore it off until the summer of ’01 when I wanted to loose my “quit smoking weight” and began dieting. I didn’t have any problems so I thought I was in the clear. Live and learn. So I did a test about a week or two ago. I started avoiding aspartame. I stopped getting headaches (with the exception of a hormonally induced one). I tried different sweeteners (sucralose – Pepsi One / Diet Rite ) and after a day or two of those, bam headaches again. Since I have the pink stuff in my one cup of morning coffee, I know that I don’t have issues with it. But I do have to give up diet soda… unless of course I can find a stash of Tab somewhere. Anyway, I’m happy to be relatively free of the regular headache and if a few more calories is the tradeoff, I’ll gladly take it.
That’s it for now… Craft on!
11 responses so far ↓
1 Nancy J // Aug 18, 2005 at 11:44 am
I’ll join you – my spinning and weaving have taken back seats lately also! ‘They’(the media) are claiming that diet soda actually provokes weight gain and that artificial sweeteners are poisonous to dogs — so — maybe it’s back to sugar/raw sugar/honey for all of us!
2 Carole // Aug 18, 2005 at 1:53 pm
Water, Risa! It has no calories and it won’t trigger a migraine. Plus, if you drink water often enough, pretty soon you can go around with a martini and everyone just assumes it’s water. Hee Hee Hee.
3 Laurie // Aug 18, 2005 at 1:55 pm
I don’t think there is enough time in the day for everything. I made sure I knit yesterday. Then I wanted to spin. Knit. Spin.
Yikes.
4 Chris // Aug 18, 2005 at 2:24 pm
Ahhh, heck – you’re the working mom of twin toddlers. You can use a few extra calories! I weaned myself off soda (the full sugar stuff) by mixing my favorite fruit juice (cranberry) with seltzer water. That was after I weaned myself off tea (caffeine). Couldn’t do both at the same time – imagine the headace from caffeine and sugar withdrawal at the same time!!! Glad you have been able to identify a trigger. I found my trigger was a triplet: caffeine, stress and lack of sleep. Any one of those elements missing and no headache. Obviously, the caffeine had to go. Good luck!!
5 --Deb // Aug 18, 2005 at 11:07 pm
I avoid artificial sweeteners–I’d rather have the 16 calories per teaspoon in my tea or coffee than have all the chemicals–but it’s great that you figured out that trigger.
The melmac? I meant to tell you–one of my co-workers visited your blog off the link on my page after your visit, and saw the picture of the dishes you’d just gotten. She got all excited–apparently the flowered dishes are EXACTLY the same ones her mother used to have. Small world, huh?
6 Elsie // Aug 19, 2005 at 9:02 am
Risa, I too have a neglected spinning wheel and RH Loom. Every now and then I take a day and work on these but all the exciting lace shawl talk has kept me busy. Maybe after I retire at the end of this year I will get back to it. Glad you found the source of your headaches.
7 Lelah // Aug 19, 2005 at 11:57 pm
Have you tried the Diet Coke with Splenda yet? Since it’s made from real sugar, it might not give you migranes. Might not. It’s kinda sweet, though, nothing like a diet soda tastes. I would drink it more often if I could have caffeine (I cheat at work, sometimes I just need a boost at 3pm!)
The yarn looks beautiful! I have also been neglecting my spinning. Just so busy!
8 Lynne S of Oz // Aug 20, 2005 at 8:39 am
The sweetener migraine is interesting. DH gets a “buzzy head” from nutrasweet. I’ve not been spinning so much recently cos I am spinning a pale coloured alpaca “carded” fleece that I combed up and jeez it is boring! It comes up well but it is boring. No pretty colour changes, not like in your lovely stuff! Plus I’ve got the sock bug bad….
9 Erin // Aug 20, 2005 at 9:44 am
Glad you found out what’s been causing your headaches. I can’t stand artificial sweetners. Every time it’s in something I know right away just by the taste. It’s tastes so, well, fake and chemically to me.
That spinning looks great. Even if you don’t sit down and do it all that much. Now’s not really the time to spin anyway. I find it’s much more of a winter sort of activity, mainly because you’re inside more in the winter and you’re not worried about missing the great weather outside!
10 Kim // Aug 20, 2005 at 6:16 pm
I took a peek at your butterscotch roving…..it is lovely and so is your spinning!!
I am a diet coke addict as well……I am really going to try this fall to eliminate those artificial sweeteners too.
11 rissa // Aug 20, 2005 at 11:36 pm
OMG…I am a TaB drinker too. Bizarre! I actually *like* battery acid in a pink can as Bobcat Goldthwait once referred to it. LOL I can still get it here without any real problem. In fact, they even sell it in the machine outside the Medical Library. There was a joke in college that I switched majors following the TaB around campus..not true…but I am soooo addicted.
As for the spinning, go you for finding time.
Your yarn looks wonderful.