I'm not sure what sparked the back problem, but it is a week since I went to get out of the car at the Blackheath Farmers' market and found myself barely able to shuffle round the stalls. It' s now more or less better - I've even been on my bike today - but it has been a painful week that has seen me on the floor by the desk, on my back and clutching my knees to my chest (stretch manoeuvre) and doing a Mrs Overall each time I had to get up from the chair and go to the printer or the loo!
The good news is that Dad's socks are finished, washed and blocked, ready to be sent off for his birthday, and I have also managed to wash and block this little beany I made up from some handspun camel and silk. I hasten to add that it's not my handspun, but some I got from the box of random handspun at Vauxhall City Farm; the spinning group is making up some items to sell at our sheep & wool day on 14 June.
I hasten to add that it's not my handspun because it was so damned badly spun! I intended to make some socks with it and started on the toe, but I came across so many breaks in the yarn that I decided knotty socks were not going to cut the mustard. Even in camel/silk! So a beany it was. There's some vague stripes across it, there were two balls of the yarn, so I alternated them to produce stripes rather than risk running out of one and having the top bit change colour.
Incidentally, if you are interested in the properties of nettles; medicinal, for dyeing or spinning or otherwise, pop along to the Natural History Museum in London on 17 or 18 May for Nettle Weekend. There will be an exhibition of items dyed using nettles, which is being put on by our group of spinners and dyers from Vauxhall City Farm, along with many other nettle-related demonstrations, sorry but I'm a bit vague on any more details of this!
2 comments:
Ouch, you poor thing, your back sounds like it's been really painful! But glad you are feeling better.
I like the subtle striping on the beany, it looks pretty. But I know how infuriating it is when handspun turns out to be of a rather dodgy quality. It's a bit like when you bit into an organic farmers market apple and it's just a bit fluffy and tasteless and you (almost!!!) wish you'd just bought the ones in 5 layers of non-recyclable packaging from M&S. Almost. Camel and silk sounds like it'll feel lovely on though, it'd probably have been wasted on feet!
Hope the back carries on feeling better.
Weird – I'm making stinky nettle beer!
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