First Impressions

What a day I had yesterday. It was totally AWESOME!!!! First, I think I am finally back to normal after the last dizzy attack. I started to think so on Friday after I had a day of running around after work trying to get things done so I could head up to Mount Albert and Keswick first thing in the morning. When I got home I realized I was feeling pretty good. I think my world is finally right again.

I drove up to Gemini Fibres to get this. I must admit when I first saw the box I asked Cheryl if I had to assemble it because the box is so small.


I like the way this assembles. I think the flyer is much easier to attach then on the Joy. It has a magnet so it just clicks in place so you don't have to unscrew it like the Joy. However, it is a little more fiddly to open and close than the Joy. I wish the carrying case had more padding like the Joy does but I think I will either get some foam or use towels to protect it when I take it anywhere. Everything is self contained. When you take it along with you everything has it's place so you shouldn't have a problem forgetting something. I am pretty good at doing things like that. The one thing I wish it came with is a treadling hook. I don't understand why it doesn't have one. I do understand that you can thread the orifice without it but if you break the singles as you are spinning I think a hook is needed. No worries, I will just get one when I go back to Gemini for the spinning clinic on May 5th.


When I tried to spin I had an awful time. It reminded me of when I first got Joy. The wheel kept wanting to turn counter clockwise. I think I have that pretty much under control now but I still have to get used to it. This is what I managed to spin when I was at Maggie's. It's not much but it was fun none the less. I actually thought the yarn was going to be awful but when I took it off the bobbin it wasn't bad at all.


After I finished playing with Victoria Maggie showed me how to dye. We did two different kinds of dyeing. We put plastic all over the kitchen table and put out 8 ounces of fibre. This is supposed to be for both of us in reds and blacks. This was when we were ready to wrap it up and put it in the steamer for 30 minutes.


This is what it looked like after steaming but, unfortunately, Maggie thinks it wasn't in long enough because when it was rinsed most of the colour was washing out so the fibre didn't have a chance to absorb all the dye. When I left Maggie put it in the oven in red dye to see how it turns out. I don't know how it ended up.
The second set we did two different colours in the oven. This is for Maggie in browns and yellows.
This is mine in reds and purples.
This is the mess when we were finished. I learned a lot but because of space restrictions in my apartment I don't think I will be able to dye with the plastic and steaming. I don't really have a place I can put the fibre out like we did. So, I think when I do my first try I am going to use the purple dye I brought back from Maggie's and just dye fibre one colour to start with using the oven method and see how it works out.

This is the finished product all dried out. I am pleased with it. Now I just have to start spinning it up. I want to finish the blanket today so the spinning will have to wait.